Alumina is a deep-acting remedy with a primary action on the nervous system, mucous membranes, and skin. Its keynote is sluggishness and dryness. The patient often suffers from chronic constipation with no urge to stool, even when the rectum is full. There is also marked mental dullness, confusion, and weakness of memory.

It is valuable in neuroses, paralysis, and locomotor ataxia, where movements are slow, clumsy, and unsteady. On the skin, it is useful for dry, rough, cracked eruptions with intense itching, worse in the evening and from warmth of the bed.