Homoeopathic Treatment of Syphilis -2



Guaiacum has an action on fibrous and conjunctive tissues. We generally use it in rheumatism aggravated by humidity.

It is a satellite of Thuja and Natrum muriaticum.

It acts on the syphilitic affection of the throat.

It has rheumatic pains, with stiffness and foetid smell of the whole body; secretions are foetid, tendency to abscesses and suppurations.

Two important symptoms: Like apples and dislikes milk.

Modalities: Aggravation by movement and by heat, in humid atmosphere; amelioration by external pressure.

Thus the evolution of this remedy is towards Natrum sulphuricum, Mercurius and Thuja.

Rhus glabra. The less known and the less used among the Rhuses. This remedy has an amusing symptom. The subject thinks that he is flying in the air. I do not know if this is a faithful symptom or not.

It is used as antidote to Mercury, also employed in secondary syphilis. This is important. We have seen Calotropis, a similar remedy.

But the important antidotes of Mercury are Hepar sulphur and Thuja and sometimes Sulphur.

Rhus Glabra has tendency to putrid ulcers. It is a satellite of Mercurius, it has also debilitating sweats like that of China.

In this connection it may be compared with China, Natrum muriaticum (sweat while eating), Iodium ( in tuberculous patients), Tuberculinum, Jaborandi, Pilocarpine, Kali carbonicum, Conium ( sweat while sleeping).

Phytolacca is a very important remedy of syphilis. It is a complementary of Lachesis and of Arnica but it is incompatible with Mercurius.

It is interesting to use it in heredos, also in the tertiary period when there is syphilis of bones as in Asafoetida, of hypertrophied ganglions of the neck with inflammation.

You know that it is a good remedy of angina. In this case we use the M.T. for gurgling.

It is specially indicated when the syphilitic ulcers have a purple colour, copper red. There may be ganglionary hypertrophies or hypertrophies of glands. It is an important remedy of cancer and adenoma of breasts. It is also used in pre-cancer stage.

It is also related very closely to Iodium and Thuja as ground remedies.

There may be pains as if from electric shocks in the limbs like Kalmia latifolia.

It is a good remedy of syphilitic sciatica, often bilateral.

On the side of the heart, there may be pains irradiating in the left arm like that of Spigelia and Cactus.

It may be indicated in some typical forms of anginas of the chest ( heart).

Kalmia latifolia. It is on the one hand an important remedy of fulgurating pains and on the other hand it acts specially on the heart and on the kidneys.

On kidneys it may cause albuminuria and chronic nephritis.

On the heart: Angina of the chest, slow pulse, it has an action on His muscle bundle and in the disease of Adam Stokes. Pain irradiating to the left arm.

It is really a very good remedy of fulgurating pains of tabes. In this case it is very near to Oxalic acid.

Lastly you have Stillingia, which may be used in some syphilitic troubles, in the eruptions of secondary syphilis with bone pains and pains in the extremities, specially at night; pains in ganglions and ganglionary hypertrophies.

The patient has insufficient function of the liver with jaundice and constipation, periostitis, and periostitic pains with syphilitic or scrofulous affections.

In summary you see that the remedies from the vegetable kingdom are less in number. The most important are: Anantherum, Corydalis, Asafoetida, Mezereum, Phytolacca and Kalmia.

These remedies are almost always complementaries to our minerals.

Synthetic study.

It is necessary to complete our study of the treatment of syphilis by a general review of that so vast and controversial subject of which we are attempting to give an introduction, has but a practical and temporary value.

Let us refer to our scheme of remedies of the syphilitic troubles:

1. Etiological treatment. The nosodes.

2. Ground treatment. The ground remedies of morbid temperaments.

3. Direct treatment. Specific remedies.

4. Helping remedies acting on the functional troubles or on the organic troubles, having local actions.

1. The Nosodes. Their actions are on the deep etiology of the ground, of the deviated temperament, of tertiary or hereditary stages. Action is inconstant, more sure in heredos.

Hepato-syphilinum in visceral troubles.

Rachi-syphilinum in nerve lesions.

Syphilinum P, a mixture of dilutions having rapid but short lasting effect without temporary aggravation.

We should not forget the association of syphilis with the Psora and sycosis in Syphilism with corresponding nosodes: Tuberculinum, Medorrhinum, Marmoreck, etc…

Very often subcutaneous prescription of two associated nosodes is preferable, specially in children.

2. The ground remedies. They act only indirectly on the syphilitic germs. But in practice we cannot leave them our because the syphilitic ground is very rarely simple. Intrication with Psora or sycosis is a rule.

There are the link between the Nosodes and the specific remedies. Mercury Gold, Iodide of Potash, Kali bichromicum, etc….

It would be long to study the symptoms of these remedies. One should study the Materia Medica.

We will indicate later on the relations of these remedies of morbid temperament with the remedies acting directly on the germs.

As regards the ground remedies we have on our schema marked as the most important on the second line : Arsenicum, Sulphur, Lycopodium, Calcarea carbonica, Calcarea fluorica, Phosphorus, Hepar sulphur, Silicea, Thuja, Nitric acid.

Somewhat less important is Carbo Vegetabilis (related to Thuja), Carbo Animalis, a remedy of pre-cancer stage ( related to Silicea and Thuja): Iodium ( related to Hepar Sulphur, Phosphorus, Silicea); Baryta carbonica ( related to Calcarea fluorica), Sepia, of which we have shown the difference from Calcarea carbonica. The old Calcarea carbonica who becomes Sepia does not have real ptosis. On the contrary the Sepia subject who comes from Calcarea fluorica has possible uterine ptosis. Finally let us not forget that Lachesis and Graphites may be two ground remedies.

Let me remind you that the manner in which I have arranged the remedies in the chart has not any great importance. We will be just now forced, in order to show the relations of these important remedies of the ground with the other medicines, to have arrows which will go from one side to the other of the schema. As for example, Arsenicum may be placed near Thuja as well as near Sulphur. We will not be able to indicate it and you must keep these relations in mind as if the patient may evolve in space between the remedies, going from one or the other according to the evolution of the morbid stages that he may have.

3 and 4 Direct and Functional treatment. We have to classify two groups of remedies:

–The Minerals, very important in number and in quality.

–The Vegetables are the satellites of the Minerals.

Minerals. They are heavy metals. Let us recall that they are to be given in lower dilutions or in triturations and often even in ponderable doses.

The Mercury will be naturally in the centre of the chart. The other important remedies will be : Gold, Potassium, and its salts, Potassium iodide, kali bichromicum and the Flour represented by Fluoric acid.

Our scheme has mnemonic value and to teach it allows us to have a better mnemonic classification.

The Mercury, king in Allopathy, remains so in Homoeopathic treatment of syphilis. You will soon see how it acts. It has particular tropism: special action on the mucosa and on the lymphatic system. We will have to use it when there is the fear of visceral attack.

It acts less on the skin. You may use it as suppositories or as frictions on the skin.

Mercury has an important centripetal action. In the centrifugal sense its action is very little.

On the contrary the heavy metals, Gold, Silver and Platinum whose importance is secondary, have actions on nervous troubles. It is for the reason we have placed them near Arsenicum.

In the official medicine, when we will be forced to use it, the compounds may cause some dangers. It may drive back the treponema into the nervous sphere, check the cutaneous troubles, and instead may cause nervous troubles.

In such a case our arm of defence will be Arsenicum in high dilutions in order to antidote the effects of Arsenic compounds in ponderable doses. It will be prescribed, for example, at interval of 15 days in 200 or in 1,000 to persons who have taken for a long time Novarsenobenzol.

Gold and its salts will be indicated specially in nervous troubles.

The other minerals will act on conjunctive tissues, on lymphatic tissues like Iodides and Potassium, or specifically on syphilitic ulcers, like Kali bichromicum or Fluoric acid or on corrosive secretions caused by syphilis. Naturally one must first of all decide whether the case in question really falls in the sphere of Homoeopathy or not, as we know that Homoeopathy has also its limits. As we have said that Kali bichromicum may act beautifully in ulcers cut as if in a punch, but in other cases it may be completely useless and Allopathic treatment should be taken recourse to.

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.