Zarnikh - arsenic

Essence.
Arsenic is white, yellow and red.

Choice.
The best arsenic is red, rich in color, with spots, ground into powder and smelling like sulfur; Yellow, free-flowing Armenian is also good, breaking up into thin golden plates, like yellow talc.

Nature.
Hot in the third degree, dry in the second.

Actions and properties.
All arsenics are putrid and burning; red arsenic is better than kalkadis.

Cosmetics.
Arsenic reduces hair loss and is used with rathiyanaj for fox disease.

Wounds and ulcers.
Arsenic with lard is applied to wounds.

Tumors and acne.
Arsenic with lard and oil is smeared with jarab, wet safa and rotting meat; it burns the skin. For lice and bruises it is mixed with myrrh, and for marks left by nails it is mixed with zift. Sometimes it is also used for lice with olive oil.

Organs of the head.
A wax ointment made from arsenic, especially red arsenic, helps against corrosion and ulcers in the nose and mouth.

Respiratory and chest organs.
Arsenic is given to drink in honey water or in water sweetened with honey to patients with suppuration in the lungs, and mixed with rathiyanaj, it is fumigated for chronic coughs and for expectoration of pus. Arsenic is sometimes added to asthma pills.

Eruption organs.
Arsenic and rose oil are used to lubricate pimples and kidney bumps in the anus.

Poisons.
Sublimated arsenic kills. White arsenic also kills.