M.T. Ahmad W. Boericke
Mount Hekla is a volcanic mountain. The medicine prepared from the lava of this mountain is called Hekla Lava. I do not know of any other kind of lava used for the preparation of a homoeopathic medicine.
The contents of all the lavae are probably identical, however, the effects of lava may differ from area to area. Therefore, the lava of other volcanoes should also be experimented upon.
Hekla Lava mainly affects the bones, especially the bones of the face and the jaw. However, it has an effect on the other bones of the body as well. Hekla Lava can be of useful in the treatment of tooth decay associated with a lot of pain and which refuses to respond to any other treatment.
Sometimes, the jaw becomes very swollen and may apparently exhibit all general signs of Hekla Lava, yet does not benefit from the treatment with Hekla Lava. In that condition, the most important and effective treatment is Sulphur. Sulphur is found to be very effective against certain dangerous conditions that the doctors have labelled as incurable. For example cancer of the jawbone that has advanced significantly and causes severe discomfort, affecting the ears. Once, a woman was in severe pain due to the cancer of the jaw. One side of the face was extremely swollen causing pressure over the eyes. She used to scream due to the severity of pain. She remained in one of the best hospitals for a long period, but the doctors found no effective treatment for her disease. Ultimately, she was discharged from the hospital with the pronouncement that her disease was incurable. I gave her one dose of Sulphur CM, which decreased the severity of the pain and within two weeks, there was marked decrease in the size of the swelling of the face. After this, I treated her with one dose of Silicea CM. With this the process of recovery, which had previously slowed down, was restored. Sometime later, I gave her another dose of Sulphur CM. The disease completely disappeared. Several years have passed since the treatment of this patient and until today, she is completely healthy. My reason for mentioning this in relation to Hekla Lava is that she had apparently all the symptoms of Hekla Lava but did not benefit at all with Hekla Lava. This shows that Hekla Lava may be effective against other diseases of the bone but is definitely ineffective against the cancer of the bones.
Hekla Lava must be a really good remedy but personally, I do not have experience of its effectiveness. However, some homoeopaths adore it.
The specific symptom of Hekla Lava is stated to be the pain in the jawbones. There is considerable swelling around the jaws and the jawbones become thickened and enlarged.
Regarding the treatment of the deep-seated bone diseases, in addition to Sulphur, I have found Calcarea Carb to be much more effective than Hekla Lava. I have used Calcarea Carb in the treatment of bone cancer that had been histologically proved. Within a few months of the treatment with high potency Calcarea Carb, the disease was overcome significantly. Such patients should doubtless be treated carefully, over a long period. One should not just rely on using Calcarea Carb, some other adjuvant treatments will also be required keeping in view the overall symptoms of the patient. Thus, the focus of the treatment would obviously be Calcarea Carb, however, several other medicines may also prove to be very useful.
Calcarea Carb is particularly very useful in the treatment of bone diseases due to a lack of calcium (osteopenia). Sulphur is also effective. Calcarea Carb is chronic of Sulphur. Generally, Calcarea Carb is more effective in the diseases of the bones of the lower legs than Sulphur. Calcarea Carb is also effective against the cysts of the hands.
In my practice, I have not been able to use Hekla Lava much, possibly due to the fact that I was not fully conversant with its signs and symptoms. I do not mean to discourage other homoeopaths from using it. I would advise them to go over the writings of other doctors about Hekla Lava and then use it on their patients in different potencies. It is just possible that they may successfully use it for the treatment of many more diseases, in spite of my failure to use it much.
Some doctors have found Hekla Lava very useful in the treatment of teething problems of children. I do not have much experience of that myself. Instead, I have found the following prescription effective, without any doubt, in teething problems:
Kali Phos + Ferrum Phos + Silicea + Calcarea Phos + Calcarea Fluor
Additionally, the above prescription has been found very effective against certain kinds of bone cancer and the diseases of the covering membrane of bones (periosteum).
In the homoeopathic literature, the conditions which can be effectively treated with Hekla Lava are: the thickening of the skull bone behind the ears, the thickening of the outer surface of the bone, ulcers on the nasal bones, neuralgic pains over the face resulting from the extraction of the teeth or the caries, and neck glands which have somewhat receded after initial enlargement. The symptoms of Hekla Lava aggravate in humid weather.
Antidotes: Camphor, China
Potency: 30 or above.
HEKLA LAVA - Lava Scoriæ from Mt. Hecla
Marked action upon the jaws. Of great use in exostosis, gum abscess, difficult teething. Nodosities, caries of bone, etc. Osteitis, periostitis, osteosarcoma; rachitis. Tumors in general. Bone necrosis. Necrosis and sinus after mastoid operation.
Face. Ulceration of nasal bones. Facial neuralgia from carious teeth and after extraction. Toothache, with swelling about jaws. Abscess of gums. Enlargement of maxillary bone. Cervical glands enlarged and indurated.
Relationship. Compare: Silica; Mercur; Phos; Conchiolinum--Mother of pearl (diaphysis of bone affected; parts extremely sensitive to touch).
Amphisbæna Snail-like lizard (great affinity for the jaw bones, worse by air and dampness).
Slag (Great itching of parts).
Dose. Lower triturations.