Now if we make a very rapid review of the therapeutic arms of the officials, so as to understand their actions and to logically take up their method when the homoeopathic treatment is not sufficient we will see that there are four medicines; Mercury, Arsenic, Bismuth and Potassium iodide. These four are still in use.
The old Mercury always gives results. It may be used in soluble or insoluble salts. The insoluble salts seem to act long time and actively because it is long-time in contact with the treponema and they are eliminated very slowly. The Mercury is eliminated through the mucosa and saliva. It will therefore be indicated in all troubles of mucous membranes.
Mercury is not useful in skin troubles: 60 years ago the syphilitic persons were ameliorated by Mercury which was the only medicine used but there were some very rebellious skin affections for which this remedy gave no results.
You will soon see that in homoeopathic treatment we use Mercury with good results because it acts remarkably in lower doses. But the homoeopathic doses will be almost uniquely lower dilutions.
As regards Arsenic, used by the officials in the form of Novarsenobenzol and in all sorts of compounds there is a certain action on the skin and on phaneries.
These Arsenic compounds are marvellous cleaners of syphilis, but the treponema which is encased in the skin, is refugiated anew in the lymphatic tissues and perhaps also in the nervous system. It is here we may recall the cases of Arabs and Negros, whose syphilis does not evolve towards nervous troubles, but simply causes cutaneous lesions, now suffer from tabes and cerebral syphilis. Since when they are treated by Arsenic compounds which admirably clears the syphilides of the skin and of the mucosa.
The Bismuth is eliminated like Mercury through digestive apparatus.
As regards Potassium iodide it is accepted that it has an elective action on conjunctive tissue. This fact is to be well kept in mind because Potassium iodide acts marvelously in homoeopathic lower doses.
In summary we may say that it is the Homoeopaths who, while using Mercury or Potassium iodide, act allopathically though they do not admit it or better it is the Allopaths who while using these medicines act Homoeopathically without knowing it.
Whatever it may be, in both the Schools one may have results by using the same medicines but the chance of intoxication in Homoeopathic doses is the minimum, because the doses are always below the level of intolerance.
Homoeopathic therapeutic arms:
Let us now compare the Homoeopathic arsenal with that of the Official School.
Homoeopathic Arsenal is much more complete, but that does not mean that it is superior.
It has numerous minerals but the medicines from the vegetable kingdom are very few.
What is interesting to note is that we use Mercury, Gold, Potassium iodide and as helping remedies, Silver, Platinum, Arsenic, some plants also and in a general way our best remedies are the heavy metals in their natural forms.
The officials get some results because they have manufactured in an artificial way some compounds with large molecules. The molecular structure which is very complicated and complex, are more directly treponemacide.
In short, in order to act on the treponema or on the association of microbes some substances of complex molecular structure or heavy metals are necessary, i.e. to say some mineral substances whose molecular structure cannot be modified by homoeopathic dilution process.
It is a fact that when we prescribe high dilutions the result is inconstant. It is necessary that we remain in the material stage and give Mercurius dulcis 3x, Aurum metallicum natronatrum in 6x. Except in case of old syphilis, we will use lower dilutions.
In homoeopathy what is capital, is to take account of the local tropism on which will depend the elective action on the tissues or topographic action of our remedies, as well as the drainage and canalisation.
In this relation, it is interesting to read Sedillot, who however has not pronounced the word drainage but has made some numerous observations in this sense. He very often speaks of insufficient elimination and blockage of the liver which cause disasters. The drainage has certainly an importance as well in Homoeopathy as in Allopathy and it is as much important to us in the fight against syphilis as against tuberculosis and cancer.
In the `Propagateur de l’Homoeopathic” Dr. Delotte cites a case whom he cured with 5 granules of Syphilinum. He had a young maid servant who had syphilis. He began to treat her by allopathic medicines and she had epileptic troubles with Bordets Wassermann positive. He gave her Novarsenobenzol, which was well tolerated for six months. At the end of that period she could no more tolerate it. Bismuth and Mercurius cyanatum caused diarrhoea with blood. He showed her to Dr. Rouy who prescribed her a drainage with 5 globules of Syphilinum C.M. This last remedy was followed by an aggravation: cold sweats, no pulse, coma. The patient did not take the drainage remedies. Dr. Delotte insists on the danger of high dilution without drainage.
When we want to act on the conjunctive tissues we apply Kali iodatum; on the skin Arsenic compounds in lower dilutions; on the digestive system Mercury and Bismuth; on the general condition and on glands Mercury; on ganglions Mercury and often Kali iodatum, the one acts on the lymphatic tissues and the other acts on the interstitial tissues and on conjunctive tissues.
When we want to act on the nervous system the question is a delicate one. Evidently Mercurius is to be given, but very often it does not act. When there is sclerosis we are less armed or we have no arm like our allopathic friends.
For a Homoeopath Mercury remains to be a remedy of choice. It may be applied in 15 different ways. There are 15 compounds which are all active but we must know how to use them and I believe that many Homoeopaths face failure because they do not use the optimum dilution.
In my mind this question is not quite clear and in l’Hopital Leopold-Balland, we treated some patients with Mercurius dulcis 3 and Kali iodatum 3x. The results are very variable. We were forced to abandon Homoeopathy and treat the patient Allopathically.
Sometimes it becomes necessary to come down to 1x or even it becomes necessary to use Mercury suppository as local friction. We will speak in detail on the importance of the question later
on.
Mercury is then the remedy of choice when there is no skin trouble. It may be used in all periods, in primary secondary or tertiary stage of syphilis, even in hereditary syphilis.
Gold is the opposite of Mercury. It is not all suitable in the primary and secondary or tertiary stages of syphilis. It will act on pre-sclerosis in tertiary stage because its action is before all sclerogenous.
Silver and Platinum are less important and they should be used like Gold with indications very similar to it.
Arsenic is very much neglected in Homoeopathy. It is necessary to take up its compounds by Arsenicum bromatum, and others, prescribing them in lower dilutions, perhaps as a local applications.
Potassium iodide acts in the secondary and tertiary periods as well as Iodine (pre-sclerosis stage, elective action on the conjunctive tissues).
As regards acids, Fluoric acid, Nitric acid, Phosphoric Acid, when there is a corrosive stage, an ulcer, specially clear bordered ulcers, a characteristic of syphilis. In these cases Kali bichromicum will also be used because the bichromates act as corrosive like acids.
Osmium will be used in Syphilitic cutaneous affections. Sometimes affection of the mucous. But it is still less known and its dose is not yet fixed.
The ground remedies will be the antipsorics and antisycotics because there are no important medicine of syphilitic temperament. These remedies are to be used in lower dilutions and should be repeated frequently as in parasitosis.
Hahnemann has said:
KING OF PSORA: SULPHUR
KING OF SYCOSIS: THUJA
KING OF SYPHILIS: MERCURIUS.
But Mercurius given in high dilutions gives no result. I know well that, in the books there are exceptions. You will read in Nash that chancre at the beginning is treated by Mercurius protoiodatus in 1,000. But the American dilutions are as regards the digits much less diluted than those of ours, because they are decimals. On the other hand dilutions of Nash are not prepared in our process, this will correspond certainly to a much lower number.
In any case personally I will not dare treat a chancre with Mercurius protoiodatus 1,000, because I ask to myself whether the cure of Nash was only due to the fact that the patient entered in the silent period. In this case we must be very careful, knowing well the filed of action of Homoeopathy, without trying to extend its limit to the extreme.
After the great antipsorics and antisycotics we will have to speak about the nosodes.
What are they? Some years ago we had only Syphilinum with its special symptoms. It gave but very inconstant. It may be used in all the phases of syphilis but hardly it has any action in the first and the second stages while it seems to act better in the tertiary stage or in the hereditary syphilis.
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.