Homoeopathic Treatment of Syphilis -2


Homeopathic Treatment of Syphilis. Important homeopathic remedies for treatment of various stages of Syphilis. Important remedies include salts of Mercury, Kali-iod, Platina etc….


Analytical Study

1. The Nosode Syphilinum: Two questions arise: Is Syphilinum capable to Negativise the Bordet-Wassermann reaction?

The second problem which requires solution is : How many times Syphilinum is indicated in Syphilis?

In fact we do not know absolutely anything. It is one of the nosodes that we may use in two ways, either according to the real Homoeopathic method, or uniquely on the etiology of Syphilis in a systematic way. But when we give it systematically its action is very inconstant. Then it is necessary to ask oneself if it is faithfully only in relation to the symptoms of its pathogenesis, or it can really transform and negativise the serological or humoral reactions.

About ten years ago a Homoeopathic doctor of America used in syphilitic patients numerous medicines strictly according to the law of similars. The Bordet-Wassermann reaction was tested before and after the treatment. The medicines that seem to negativise are Lycopodium. Syphilinum comes to the second rank ex-aquo with many other remedies.

That was not a very intensive study. It is necessary to take up the question again. Because some persons may pass through the stages of negativation and reactivation in the evolution of the disease. However, it seems that in some cases Syphilinum acts in a sense of negativation.

Clinically Syphilinum seems to act better in the hereditary syphilis or in some very old cases and it is possible that its action is eclipsed like the disease itself. We do not find always the symptoms of Syphilinum, specially when the treponema enters the blood. The symptoms are rather manifested when the treponema is refugiated in the nerve tissues according to a still unknown mechanism. I have often observed when Wassermann test is positive, the Syphilinum has no indication whereas when it is negative the symptoms of Syphilinum are frequently seen.

2. The Metals: We are now going to speak about the classical Homoeopathic treatment of syphilis.

Our arsenal has many minerals than vegetables. Let us study at first these minerals.

Among these arms Gold and Mercury are very important.

The Mercury: It has about 15 salts which may be used.

The most well known is Mercurius solubilis or Mercurius vivus.

When you study the pathogenesis of Mercurius, you will find that this metal affects specially:

–The Lymphatic System: Ganglions and vessels.

–The Bones.

–The Mucosa.

It is necessary to know that it acts in all the stages of syphilis and in all its periods. It is a classical remedy of the Allopaths and so it is of the Homoeopaths.

Mercurius has, however, advantages as well as some disadvantages. It is surely advantageous when it is necessary to act on the Mucosa, on the digestive canal. But very much inconvenient when it is necessary to act on the skin or even sometimes on nervous system.

First of all in primary syphilis, is Mercury capable to act? We may reply in the affirmative. When you have to treat a chancre it is classic in Homoeopathy to use Mercurius solubilis or an other compound. That does not mean we will be satisfied with it. In France we understand Homoeopathy in such a manner that we want to become first of all a doctor then a Homoeopath and we draw out of Allopathic arsenal when Homoeopathy is not enough for us. Dr. Nebel informed us of a German doctor who in primary syphilis used Mercury and its salts in 2x, 3x, 4x, with impressive results. The author of the book pretends to have cured chancres with complete stoppage of Syphilis of that period. As for me, I am very sceptic, and I would preferably follow Dr. Bonard of Marseille. He very courageously rose against the exclusive Homoeopathic treatment of syphilis which may cause us to be treated as sectarian by the other school.

In the Homoeopathic clinic one cannot say frankly that we obtain excellent results in primary syphilis and secondary syphilis, because first of all among our patients we do not find any such case. As for me, in my private consultation, I still wait for such a patient with indurated chancre. I have seen only two such patients in Hospital consultations and that is all. Besides chancre is relatively rare.

On the other hand most of the persons do not know how they have contracted syphilis. The chancre has disappeared unperceived and one does not know whether there was a chancre at all. It is, therefore, not possible to form an opinion about the treatment of syphilis with necessary support with facts. We cannot buy say what other authors say and we are not always sure of their scientific mind.

Mercurius solubilis: In the secondary syphilis Mercurius Solubilis will act better in the 2nd decimal. One is proud of the action on the pains and ulcerations of the throat and of the mouth and in mucous plaques of all sorts, in articular pains and in alopecia of syphilitic origin.

In the tertiary syphilis, it may still act when there are gammas.

But Mercury acts specially on the hereditary syphilis. I think that for us, the salts of Mercury should really be considered with respect in the treatment of heredos because there are least we have solid experience. If we do not find any patient with plaques or chancres, the hereditary syphilitics very often come to us, specially children and in these cases we receive undeniable results.

Mercury seems to have double action. On the treponema and on the syphilitic ground. We may avoid all sorts of intoxications using it in classical fashion.

But in order that Mercury acts well and rapidly it should be used in ponderable doses like the officials. Mercury suppositories, frictions, etc…

In summary we may say that the attitude of Homoeopaths should be: preferably Mercury alone and Arsenic the least possible.

In the hereditary syphilis, Mercury may act on all possible troubles.

I will recall to you some of its symptoms which may indicate it in acute or chronic cases. But if we try to reason inversely we will find that we will arrive at in a practical way, some interesting facts. Instead of telling to ourselves: whenever there is syphilis, let us give Mercury. Let us rather say: every time Mercury is indicated, let us try to find out whether there is really Syphilis and very often we will be right. When you have some very clear symptoms of Mercury similar to Syphilinum it is specially necessary to think about it. First of all an important Modality: Aggravation at night, which is perhaps more or less a symptoms of all the medicines that gravitate around Syphilinum. In Mercurius solubilis or vivus you have Aggravation in the heat of the bed; great sensitiveness to all changes of weather; sensitiveness to heat and cold. The patient is too much hot, he has sweats and often burning sensation but sweat does not ameliorate. Sweats are oily and extremely abundant, which does not ameliorate. The subject has foetid breath, foetid smell of the whole body and of all excretions, having a suppurative tendency.

Sedillot says that the treponema has a very great affinity for all superadded infections. It is very clear in Mercurius subjects who has the tendency to develop all sorts of suppurations. There is a very clear association with pyogenic germs and treponema.

Mercurius will particularly give good results in Vincent’s angina. It is to ask oneself whether Vincent’s angina and mumps are among infectious diseases, being given that Mercurius acts very rapidly in those cases.

It is said that Mercury is a real human thermometer because it registers all sorts of thermal changes.

I will act on soft chancre and more in hard chancre.

This is what we know about Mercurius solubilis, the most important of all Mercury compounds. Now let us speak of other remedies. There are three others of which the Latin names do not begin with Mercurius: Aethiops, Aethiops antimonialis and Cinnabaris.

Aethiops: The first one is black Sulphur or Mercury, Aethiops or Mercurius mineralis. It contains Sulphur and Mercury.

It is generally used in 2x in hereditary syphilis and in what was formerly known as Scrofula. We are of the same opinion with Dr. Dano who says that the scrofula of the ancients is really an association, in a child of tuberculinism and syphilis.

In scrofulous state, there may appear ophthalmias, otorrhoeas, and some irritating and painful eruptions. On this subject every time you see a child who has early sensorial localisation, specially of suppurations, it is necessary to look for very attenuated Syphilis. That does not mean to say that all the children who have otitis are heredos. However, when there is deficiencies on the side of eyes or ears, it is necessary to look for the indications of Syphilinum.

Dr. Seidengart who has learnt it from Dr. Crepit, told me one day that in these cases Sulphur iodatum may act usefully. This will be the ground remedy of the Luetics who have sensorial localisation with certain facial asymmetry.

Aethiops should be given in lower dilutions and sometimes in the 30th.

What is interesting in this remedy is that it is capable to cure stubborn cutaneous affections; some cases of herpes, eczema and psoriasis.

Mauritius Fortier-Bernoville
Mauritius (Maurice) Fortier Bernoville 1896 – 1939 MD was a French orthodox physician who converted to homeopathy to become the Chief editor of L’Homeopathie Moderne (founded in 1932; ceased publication in 1940), one of the founders of the Laboratoire Homeopathiques Modernes, and the founder of the Institut National Homeopathique Francais.

Bernoville was a major lecturer in homeopathy, and he was active in Liga Medicorum Homeopathica Internationalis, and a founder of the le Syndicat national des médecins homœopathes français in 1932, and a member of the French Society of Homeopathy, and the Society of Homeopathy in the Rhone.

Fortier-Bernoville wrote several books, including Une etude sur Phosphorus (1930), L'Homoeopathie en Medecine Infantile (1931), his best known Comment guerir par l'Homoeopathie (1929, 1937), and an interesting work on iridology, Introduction a l'etude de l'Iridologie (1932).

With Louis-Alcime Rousseau, he wrote several booklets, including Diseases of Respiratory and Digestive Systems of Children, Diabetes Mellitus, Chronic Rheumatism, treatment of hay fever (1929), The importance of chemistry and toxicology in the indications of Phosphorus (1931), and Homeopathic Medicine for Children (1931). He also wrote several short pamphlets, including What We Must Not Do in Homoeopathy, which discusses the logistics of drainage and how to avoid aggravations.

He was an opponent of Kentian homeopathy and a proponent of drainage and artificial phylectenular autotherapy as well.