SYCOSIS
There are two forms of gonorrhoea, the acute and the chronic. There is also a psoric catarrhal form or urethritis. The acute is much the most common from and its suppression does not lead to constitutional symptoms.- (Kent., Journal of Homoeopathics, April 1899.)
The chronic from begins in exactly the same way as the acute, and to all outward appearance the discharge is the same-(K.) As long as this chronic form is permitted to discharge freely no constitutional symptoms appear, thus markedly differing from syphilis.- (Kent., Medorrhinum Adv., Nov. 1888.)
The second manifestation of sycosis is the figwart, which is usually soft, sensitive, easily bleeding, red, with an offensive sweet smell. Sometimes the warts are smooth, red, shining. As long as these warts are allowed to remain undisturbed no constitutional symptoms appear. It is to be remembered that both the discharge and warts may be suppressed by the continual use of inappropriate homoeopathic remedies.
The first constitutional symptom of sycosis is the rheumatism, which may not appear for some months after the disappearance of the primary manifestation. This rheumatism i very similar to that caused by Rhus, but that remedy only palliates as it is not an anti-sycotic.
The order in which the other manifestations appear is not well known, but amongst the chief are orchitis, red phthisis and many affections, of the female genitals. It also causes asthma, which is apt to be aggravated in warm moist weather or in the spring.
According to Kent spasmodic asthma is almost invariably sycotic, especially if hereditary, and remedies like Spongia, Ipecac., Carbo ver., Bryonia and Arsenicum only palliate. One of its latest and most marked manifestations is a peculiar anaemia characterized by a waxy, shining, greenish-grey appearance of the face, with hollow cheeks and voice.
Sycosis, like syphilis, can, as a rule, only be taken once, according to Kent, and in these cases of repeated gonorrhoea only one was real or sycotic. In exception to this, a man in the last stage of the constitutional state, can take gonorrhoea in the first stage and go through the whole course, and a woman who has the anaemic state would, if exposed, get the discharge.- (K.)
Sycosis, like syphilis, is always taken at he stage it has arrived at in the person from whom it is taken, and consequently many women only have it at the anaemic stage.
When we have to treat a case of constitutional sycosis we must choose our remedy in accordance with the symptoms that are present, and, as a rule, this will be found to be one of the anti-sycotics. At times, however, we may have to go outside the list of known anti-sycotics, for at present it is far from complete.
In these cases of constitutional sycosis, when the suitable remedy removes on group, the next will appear, probably calling for another remedy, and this process will have to be continued from stage to stage until we have taken the patient through all he has formerly experienced, but the stages will appear in the opposite order to that in which they first came. In advanced cases it may take two or three years before we can bring back the primary manifestations whether that was a gonorrhoea, a rheumatism or a catarrh. If, when we restore the original gonorrhoea, it fails to remain for a length of time; it shows a want of reaction on the part of the patient and the cure will be doubtful.
Mercury and Sulphur seldom do anything but harm in advanced sycosis, though often indicated in the stage of discharge. It is rarely possible to cure old sycotic strictures by medicines, and it can only be done when the remedy sets up an acute urethritis with the return of the original gonorrhoea.
If the convalescence from acute disease is delayed we must not invariably regard the cause to be psora, but find out what miasm is present, and give the corresponding antipsoric, anti- syphilitic or anti-sycotic.- (K.)
A marked similarity between the symptoms of sycosis and those produced by vaccination led Boenninghausen and others to regard them as identical, but Kent dose not believe this to be correct. Ordinary gleet lingering for months is not always indicative of sycosis, but often of psora, and analogous to a catarrh from any other mucous membrane.- (K.)
It is worthy of notice that many remedies have a decided curative action upon the gonorrhoeal discharge, but are not known to have cured warty cases or to have developed a suppressed discharge.
It may be they are only gonorrhoea remedies and may cure the discharge and not sycosis. Any condition driven from the urethra may produce inflammation of the testicle, not necessarily sycotic. Remedies for the suppression of the discharge are, therefore, not necessarily, not necessarily anti-sycotic.- (K.).
