What is Natrum nitricum?

Natrum nitricum is a homeopathic remedy. It is made from sodium nitrate, a white salt. The Latin name is Natrii nitras.

The salt is watered down again and again in the making. This step-by-step watering down is called serial dilution. At a 30C strength, none of the starting salt is left in the pill.

Homeopaths have used it for chest tightness, thirst and watery colds. Trials do not show that it works better than a placebo (a dummy pill). Long use in a tradition is not proof that a remedy works, so read this page as a record of use.

How does Natrum nitricum work?

The honest answer is that we know of no way it could work in the body.

Homeopathy rests on two ideas. The first is "like cures like": a thing that causes signs in a well person is used to treat those signs in a sick one. The second is that watering a substance down makes it act more strongly.

At 30C there is no sodium nitrate left to act on you. Homeopaths say the water holds an imprint of the salt. There is no accepted science behind that claim.

So any change people notice is best put down to time, rest, the long talk with a practitioner, and the placebo effect.

What forms does Natrum nitricum come in?

You will most often find it as small sugar pills or pellets that melt under the tongue.

Other forms include drops in water and alcohol, and lactose (milk sugar) powder in paper packets. Strengths are written as 6C, 12C, 30C or 200C. The higher the number, the more times the salt was watered down.

Ask for a liquid form if you cannot digest lactose. Buy only from a pharmacy or a known maker, never raw sodium nitrate from a chemical supplier.

Where it comes from:

Sodium nitrate has an old common name: Chile saltpetre. It was mined in South America and sold for fertiliser and for curing meat.

Homeopaths tested it on healthy people in the 1800s and wrote the results into their materia medica, the reference books of the tradition.

It stayed a small remedy. It is used far less than its better known cousin, Natrum muriaticum, and few practitioners reach for it often.

What does Natrum nitricum help with?

• Chest tightness and a sense of pressure over the heart: Homeopathic books list this as the main picture for the remedy. No human trials have tested it for chest symptoms. Chest pressure can be a sign of a heart problem, so get it checked before you treat it yourself.
• Strong thirst with a dry mouth: Old texts describe great thirst for cold water. There is no trial evidence for this use. Lasting thirst can be a sign of diabetes or another illness worth testing for.
• Watery head colds and hay fever: The tradition links the remedy to a thin, burning nasal drip. No study has compared it with a dummy pill for colds or hay fever. Most colds clear on their own in about a week.
• Headache with a heavy, full feeling: Homeopaths list a dull, full headache in the remedy picture. No human trials support this. A new, very bad or unusual headache needs a doctor, not a home remedy.
• A fluttering or thumping heartbeat (palpitations): Old provings mention an uneasy heartbeat. There is no trial evidence at all here. A heartbeat that races, skips or comes with faintness should be checked by a doctor.

Which foods are rich in Natrum nitricum?

1. Cured meats such as bacon and ham: nitrate and nitrite salts are used to cure them
2. Celery: naturally high in nitrate, and celery powder is used to cure meat
3. Beetroot: one of the richest plant sources of nitrate
4. Spinach, rocket and other leafy greens: nitrate from the soil
5. Well water in some farming areas: nitrate can run off fields into water

Practical Tips:

These foods hold nitrate salts, but eating them is not the same as taking the homeopathic remedy.

What are the side effects of Natrum nitricum?

• Most people feel nothing at all from a 30C pill
• Wind, bloating or a loose stool from the milk sugar in the pills
• A short spell where symptoms seem worse, which homeopaths call an aggravation
• Rash or itching, rarely, from something in the pill
• Delay: the main real harm is putting off care that works

Good to know:

Side effects are rare at 30C. There is no drug left in the pill to cause them, so the pill itself is close to harmless.

The sugar base causes most of what people do report. If you cannot digest lactose (milk sugar), ask for drops instead.

The bigger risk is not the pill. It is using it for chest pain, a fast heartbeat or a bad headache while the real cause goes unchecked.

How much Natrum nitricum should you take?

• Recommended daily: No safe and useful dose is established, because no good trial has shown a dose that works. In practice, homeopaths suggest 3 to 5 pills of a 30C strength, taken two or three times a day. Follow the label on the pack you buy, and never use raw sodium nitrate.
• Best time of day: Any time of day. Many people take it on waking and again at bedtime, simply because that is easy to remember.
• With or without food: Take it away from food and drink. The usual advice is a clean mouth for about 15 minutes before and after. This is custom, not a proven need.
• Time to effect: Homeopaths often say hours to a few days. There is no trial evidence to back any time frame. If your symptoms are getting worse, do not wait it out.
• How long to take it: Homeopaths usually suggest a few days at most for a short-term problem. Stop and think again after three days if nothing has changed. Do not keep taking it for weeks in place of care that works.