Ammonium carbonicum

I first learned about the homeopathic remedy Ammonium carbonicum when I was just beginning my adventure into the world of homeopathy. It was taught to me as part of a Banerji Protocol for menopausal symptoms: Brainfog, moodiness & irritability and abnormal menstrual bleeding.

I next stumbled upon Ammonium carbonicum when I had flu-like symptoms. I remember the headache very well. It was like I had eaten ice cream too fast except time was not helping the pain to go away. I was thumbing through a book that had been sitting on the shelf, waiting for this very moment to prove its usefulness. The Homeopathic Treatment of Influenza: Surviving Influenza Pandemics Past, Present and Future with Homeopathy by Sandra J. Perko. This book has since earned a prized location on my bookshelf.

Headache Symptoms: Am-c (Ammonium carbonicum): 
Headache with fever. Headache centered in the forehead at the root of the nose. Headache with nausea. Better with pressure and in a warm room (Perko, 2005, p. 211).

This description was by far the closest listed for my headache that day, though the words alone didn’t fully describe the pain I was experiencing. When I learned that Ammonium carbonicum is a homeopathic remedy made from smelling salts, that’s when the penny really dropped. If you have ever had a good whiff of ammonia, you know where that odor concentrates — right at the root of the nose — right where an ice cream headache settles in.

I took one dose of homeopathic Ammonium carbonicum 200c and I was on my way back to engaging with the world.

Perko’s book is formatted in such a way that even if it is you who is trying to figure out the best remedy for yourself when you’re feeling rotten, it is totally do-able. Following interesting information about influenzas throughout history (which you can marvel at later, when you’re feeling better), page 138 jumps right in with Predominating Symptoms: “Fever Predominates: High Temperature - Severe Sweating” and lists 54 short descriptions of homeopathic remedies and the types of fever symptoms they address. 

There are not chapters, per se, but headings: Fever, Perspiration, Chill, Respiratory symptoms, Catarrhal (mucus) symptoms, Cough, Throat, Larynx, Tongue & Mouth symptoms, Nasal, Sneezing, Eyes, Musculoskeletal, Headache & Face symptoms, and Vertigo. Each subheading is followed by dozens of 2-4 line entries of clear symptomatic descriptions of each homeopathic remedy.

Following the Predominating Symptoms is the “Influenza Differential Reference” listing the previously mentioned remedies and how they each relate to the flu. Unlike most Materia Medicas, this one first lists “Influenza Keynotes” and then provides a paragraph from noted homeopaths (current and historic) and their thoughts on the homeopathic remedy in regard to its connection to influenza. 

The end of the book closes out with a section on “Complications of Influenza” and homeopathic remedies which may help and a special Bird Flu section.

You may now be wondering how menopausal symptoms relate to a remedy for an ice cream headache. Good question. Most homeopathic remedies relate to all/most parts of the body in their individual ways.*

Let’s look at Ammonium carbonicum on a very surface level and think back to the old movies and novels where we would see women of a certain age taking a little whiff of their smelling salts. 

We learn in Tasca’s article, (2012) Women and Hysteria in the History of Mental Health that “During the Victorian Age (1837-1901) most women carried a bottle of smelling salts in their handbag: they were inclined to swoon when their emotions were aroused, and it was believed, that, as postulated by Hipocrates [sic], the wandering womb disliked the pungent odor and would return to its place, allowing the woman to recover her consciousness.”

​I posit that it wasn’t the “wandering womb” that was causing the problems and nor were her problems to be considered "hysteria," but various menopausal symptoms were in play and that the smelling salts were helping to address.
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Menopausal Syndrome, Banerji Protocol:
Menopausal symptoms, in general, including brain fog, moodiness & irritability
as well as heavy menstrual bleeding:
Ammonium carbonicum 200, once every 10 days. 
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Note: this is one part of the protocol and other remedies would be employed
to address further menopausal symptoms.

If you are experiencing a difficult time as a result of peri-menopause, menopause or post-menopause, book an acute appointment now

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* Keep an eye out for an upcoming article on homeopathic “provings” which will bring a little clarity on how we know how homeopathic remedies affect individuals. You can sign up to have the latest articles delivered to your email here.


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Banerji, P. and Banerji, P. (2013). The Banerji protocols : a new method of treatment with homeopathic medicines. India: Pratip Banerji.
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Tasca, C. (2012). Women And Hysteria In The History Of Mental Health. Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health, [online] 8(1), pp.110–119. 

Perko, S.J. (2005). 
The homeopathic treatment of influenza : surviving influenza epidemics and pandemics past, present and future with homeopathy. San Antonio, Tx: Benchmark Homeopathic Publications.