Almost everyone knows the feeling: the dull band across the forehead after a long day, the throb behind the eyes, or the kind of headache that sends you to a dark room. Headaches are one of the most common complaints there is, and they come in many different forms.
The early Biochemic practitioners who worked with cell salts paid close attention to those differences. In his 1894 book The Biochemic System of Medicine, Dr. George W. Carey opened his headache chapter with a single line: "a deficiency in any one or more of the inorganic salts may produce a headache." He then described, salt by salt, the type of headache each one was traditionally matched to.
This article walks through that traditional picture in plain, modern language. It is meant as an introduction to the history and philosophy of cell salts, not as medical advice.
What are cell salts?
Cell salts, also called tissue salts or Schuessler salts, are 12 mineral compounds identified by German physician Dr. Wilhelm Heinrich Schuessler in the 1870s. Schuessler believed these minerals were the building blocks of healthy tissue, and that many complaints reflected an imbalance in one or more of them.
Headaches vs. migraines
Most everyday headaches are tension-type headaches: a steady, pressing ache, often on both sides of the head, linked to stress, poor sleep, eye strain, skipped meal or dehydration.
Migraines are different. They are usually throbbing, often on one side, and can come with nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. Some people see visual disturbances, called an aura, beforehand.
The 19th-century texts rarely used the word "migraine." Instead, they described a "sick headache" or "blind, sick headache" with vomiting, which closely matches what we now call migraine. You will see those phrases in the remedy pictures below.
The traditional headache picture for each cell salt
The old texts matched each salt to a "picture": the type of pain, where it sits, what makes it better or worse, and what comes with it. Here is how Carey described the headache picture for 10 of the 12 salts.
Ferrum Phos (4): the throbbing, congested headache
Ferrum Phos is linked to headaches from a "rush of blood to the head": throbbing, pressing pain with a red face and bloodshot eyes. These headaches are described as worse with movement or bending over and eased by cool compresses. It was called the "blind, sick headache" with vomiting, a tender scalp, and headaches brought on by too much sun or cold.
Kali Phos (6): the tired, overworked-mind headache
Kali Phos is the salt of the "nervous" headache from mental strain. Carey specifically mentions students and people worn out by fatigue. The picture includes exhaustion, trouble thinking, poor sleep, an empty feeling in the stomach and humming in the ears. Interestingly, these headaches are said to feel better with gentle movement and cheerful distraction.
Mag Phos(8): the sharp, shooting headache
Mag Phos is matched to neuralgic headaches with sharp, shooting, darting, or stinging pains that come and go in waves. The key clue is temperature: the pain is described as better with warmth and worse with cold air or drafts. Some say they have "sparks before the eyes" and other visual disturbances with this type of headache.
Nat Mur(9): the dull, heavy, watery headache
Nat Mur is linked to dull, heavy headaches with watery eyes, a runny nose, drowsiness and sleep that doesn't feel refreshing. Carey connects this picture with young women at puberty and with irregular cycles. These headaches are described as typically worse in the morning and easing as the day goes on.
Nat Sulph(11): the bilious, nauseated headache
Nat Sulph is the salt for headaches that come with digestive upset: a bitter taste, nausea, vomiting of bile, and a greenish-gray coated tongue. Carey lists the "sick headache," dizziness, and violent pain at the base of the skull or top of the head. He also called Nat Sulph the principal remedy for gout, and linked it to headaches in people prone to gout.
Nat Phos(10): the acid, sour-stomach headache
Nat Phos is matched to headaches with acidity: sour burps, sour-tasting vomiting, and a moist, creamy yellow coating on the back of the tongue. The classic picture is a headache on the crown of the head on waking. Carey even includes Dr. Walker's famous note about "headache after taking thick sour milk," which he defends because Nat Phos was believed to help the body process lactic acid.
Kali Mur(5): the sluggish-liver headache
Kali Mur is linked to headaches alongside a sluggish liver, a white or grayish-white coated tongue and thick white mucus.
Kali Sulph(7): the stuffy-room headache
Kali Sulph is matched to headaches that get worse in a warm room and in the evening, and feel better in cool, fresh air.
Calc Phos(2): the cold, numb headache
Calc Phos is linked to headaches with a cold feeling in the head, where the head even feels cool to the touch, along with a creeping numbness. Carey also suggested it for neuralgic headaches when Mag Phos didn't help.
Silicea(12): headaches with scalp bumps
Carey's entry for Silicea is short: headaches accompanied by small, pea-sized lumps on the scalp.
Why the old practitioners looked at the tongue
One of the most distinctive parts of the biochemic tradition (study of cell salts) is its attention to the tongue. Carey even advised that when a headache came with a coated tongue, the color of the coating should guide which salt to pair with it.
|
Tongue coating |
Salt it was traditionally linked to |
|---|---|
|
Brownish-yellow, "like stale mustard" |
Kali Phos |
|
White or grayish-white |
Kali Mur |
|
Moist, creamy yellow at the back |
Nat Phos |
|
Greenish-gray |
Nat Sulph |
This is a traditional observation, not a diagnostic tool. But it shows how carefully these early practitioners looked at the whole person rather than the headache alone.
Why do some people take all 12 cell salts together?
Because Carey and others believed a headache could reflect an imbalance in "any one or more" of the salts, some people prefer a combination of all 12 rather than trying to identify a single one.
Source and disclaimer
Source: George W. Carey, The Biochemic System of Medicine (1894), Headache and Gout chapters.
This article is for educational purposes only and describes the traditional use of cell salts. Claims are based on traditional homeopathic practice, not accepted medical evidence. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Cell salts are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider about headaches, and use any product only as directed on its label.
