Iodium

Homoeopathic iodine, traditionally linked with the glands and metabolism, and with people who eat well yet stay thin, feel warm and cannot keep still.

Iodium is iodine, a dark, shiny element that gives off a violet vapour when warmed. It occurs in seawater and seaweed and is an essential trace nutrient for the thyroid gland, which is why salt in India is iodised. Raw iodine is corrosive and poisonous; homoeopathy uses it only in specially prepared form.

In homoeopathy it is traditionally associated with the glands and with a fast metabolism. Its classic picture is a thin, restless person with a large appetite who loses weight despite eating well, feels hot, prefers cool air and has enlarged glands. Weakness and breathlessness on climbing stairs are also part of it.

• Big appetite, thin build
• Poor weight gain
• Swollen glands
• Feeling hot and restless