That most fascinating of books, the dictionary, defines a nosode as “a disease product used as a remedy”. Many of our homoeopathic doctors would describe nosodes in opprobrious terms; some use one to open almost every chronic case; others give them where the miasmatic history is clear and the symptoms are mixed or obscure; certain prescribers put them in as “intercurrents”; the French school combine or alternate the suitable miasmatic nosode with the most similar remedy for the top layer, or recent symptoms.
In cases where no drug stands out, after patient questioning and repertorizing, some give the nosode of the main miasm in order to stir up the depths and throw out indications for a curative prescription. We hear much of the role of the nosode when seemingly well chosen drugs fail to act or hold; and in the clearing up of recalcitant relapses. The strict homoeopath uses the exanthem nosodes for immunization often, although Merc. cy., Bell. and Dros. prevail, too.
The list of nosodes in current usage in homoeopathy is sizeable; in the precious fourth volume of Clarkes Dictionary of Materia Medica, the Clinical Repertory, we find mention of twenty-two, including such a well-known remedy as Secale. In Great Britain Bach developed a new group of the intestinal variety mostly. Certain ones from the exanthemata have been added, such as Scarlatinum and Pertussin. Some are rare to many, as Melitagrinum, Skinners nosode from eczema capitis, or Nectrianinum, the tree cancer remedy.
The big three, corresponding to Hahnemanns miasms, Psorinum, Medorrhinum and Syphilinum, are well known to all, as is Tuberculinum or Bacillinum. H.C. Allens book, The Nosodes, is a classic on these; but an adequate knowledge of them must be built up by study of J.H. Allens books on two of the three miasms, as well as modern sources such as H.A. Roberts masterly lectures to the American Foundation for Homoeopathy Summer School.
The best practice, I believe, gives the nosodes by their definite symptomatology, like any other remedy; and this truism has led me to make some brilliant results in acute cases. While driving on your rounds, ask yourselves the acute uses of Syphilinum or of Psorinum.
As an example let us take the case of Miss X. who was beside herself with agony at receiving an enema from a skilful nurse. Sensation of unbearable constriction at rectum, with pushing down pain, and actual prolapse of anus, clusters of hard tender piles with fissures and burning; history of obstinate constipation for years; habitually took an enema twice a week, and dreaded the ordeal to the point of hysteria. Luetic family history. Fears the night, when she is <, and the exhaustion of waking; and insanity. Such remedies of Aesc. and even Lach. had been given without relief. Syphilinum 1M., one dose; relaxation of the rectal spasm in a few minutes, followed by almost normal bowel action for the first time in her memory, with relief of depression, etc.
Or again, Mrs. M., in the knee-chest position, cyanosed, gasping and wheezing, her coarse unruly hair standing out in all directions, muttering, “If I could get to the seashore – if I only could.” Medorrhinum 10M., one dose, with relief in five minutes while I watched. (Previous adrenalin in other attacks with no help.).
An eleven-year-old boy in bed with fever of 103, room stifling but a woolly muffler wrapped around his head, pale, dirty skin, drenched in fetid sweat, slight thin discharge from ear which could be smelled on entering the room. No pain whatever unless his head was raised on a pillow, as I discovered on asking why the pillow was on the floor.
History of running ear on and off since scarlet fever at four years of age. Psorinum 10M., one dose. Fever dropped in two hours, ear discharged violently for a week; chilliness, sweat and odor gone. Three weeks later mother said boy was never so well; no ear discharge for ten months, when it became necessary to repeat dose.
The Bellevue-Stratford is hardly the olive grove at Colonas, nor Philadelphia Greece; yet there is a school of notable philosophers here as there, and though we may not be peripatetic, I hope we will all join in a deep and sprightly discussion of the uses and abuses of these unpleasantly important instruments of human correction, the nosodes.
NEW YORK, N.Y.
DISCUSSION.
DR. BAKER: I agree with Dr. Hubbard, that you get your best results in using the nosodes where you can prescribe them as a regular homoeopathic remedy on the symptoms, only you cant always get the symptoms. Then you have to use them until you can get the symptoms – especially that case of the knee-chest position and the Medorrhinum. I have seen that work like a charm.
DR. GRIMMER: The paper ought to be discussed. It is a valuable subject; it is a subject that has been handled a good many ways. There is no doubt but what the nosodes have been tremendously abused in the past. On the other hand there is no doubt but what they are very valuable aids to real curative work.
I agree with Dr. Hubbard that the most logical thing to do in the use of them is to get their symptoms and history, and there are cases where, with a very great paucity of symptoms, with other remedies or this remedy, with a family history and the personal history of the specific miasm to which they are related, you will sometimes get a brilliant unlocking of the case, if not a cure.
I think I can remember but very few real cures by the nosodes. My experience has been that they have helped, but so far as I can remember I dont know of but one case I really cured, and that was a case with Tuberculinum, a very bad case of migratory pneumonia in a child six years old. I went 2,000 miles to put a powder of Tuberculinum on this childs tongue when he was about moribund.
He had three other doctors in Seattle, Washington, the best “old school” doctors in the city, and they said there was no hope. The child had a few symptoms when I got there. He had had about two weeks of this, very high temperature and violent chills. Every time there would be a new area of infection he would have a chill followed by high temperature, little spots all through the lungs, pneumonic spots, a chain of the glands of the neck swollen and hard, bird-like claws, extreme weakness.
I got into the case with their consent. They said, “Yes, Doctor, we are glad to have you take the case if you think you can do anything. We cant.” They removed their medication. They were giving him expectorants. They permitted me to give the remedy and I gave him Tuberculinum 10M., and in twelve hours that case ended by crisis, not by lysis. He had a coughing spell and spit up about a pint of pus and then went down from a temperature of 105 degrees to 96 degrees. He had a drenching, very profuse sweat, and of course the doctors came in at the familys solicitation and they said, “Well, he is dying,” and they looked at him. I said, “No, he is not dying”.
He had a good pulse in spite of all this. I said, “It is merely reaction. He will be all right in a short time.” He was all right. He made a very brilliant cure and a perfect recovery without any further medication.
DR. MOORE: I am ashamed of myself for getting up so much, but I looked forward so long to coming to this meeting and I want to get things out of it. I cant give anything because I dont have things to give, but I realize that there are masters here.
I want to ask someone if they can remember the article – it is in some of our literature but I cant find it any more – right along the line on which Dr. Grimmer was talking. There is an Indian doctor, one of the masters in India; you know Indian has more homoeopaths, it is the dominant school in India the same as it is in Mexico, and some big things have come out of India.
This man had ten cases of pneumonia and all were terrible cases. They were at the end, and in some of them he went 100 or 200 miles to be in at the death because they were ready to go, and he cured every one of those cases with Tuberculinum. I dont know what symptoms there were, especially, but they were all desperate cases, and I wonder if anybody can remember the article. I have lost the article. I have looked and looked for it and I cant find it.
I want to find that article if I can. The Germans say, “Jeder Mann hat ein wenig Tuberculosis”.
I dont think we need medical history to give a dose of Medorrhinum. About three months ago I took many M. of Medorrhinum, and inside of two weeks I had a bit wart come out here (indicating), and I still have one on the side of my neck, and there you are!.
DR. LEWANDOWSKI: The totality of symptoms, as we all understand, is the deciding factor in the selection of the remedy, and along with my discussion I might add my experience with the nosodes. It seems that the totality of symptoms is not always true in the selection of a nosode. In the repertorization of any case it is very rarely that a nosode comes out. That struck my mind to where I did a little investigating, and since a nosode rarely comes out in a repertorial case I decided to use a nosode wherever it did.
