Bacillinum

Prepared from a pathological specimen of tubercular lung tissue, specifically the sputum of a consumptive patient. The preparation includes the bacillus of Koch in its dynamised form.

Introduced clinically by Dr. J. Compton Burnett (late 19th century), later confirmed and expanded by Clarke, Kent, and others through clinical observation rather than formal Hahnemannian provings.

Bacillinum is a nosode of deep constitutional importance in individuals with tubercular inheritance, even in the absence of active disease. The essence is decay beneath vitality—patients may appear lively or well but possess deep miasmatic tendencies to suppuration, glandular degeneration, and nervous exhaustion. It is especially useful when well-selected remedies fail in patients with a history of chest troubles, skin disease, or family tuberculosis. Restlessness coexists with languor, and the battle between inherited decay and a striving for vitality is the core dynamic.

Introduced clinically by Dr. J. Compton Burnett (late 19th century), later confirmed and expanded by Clarke, Kent, and others through clinical observation rather than formal Hahnemannian provings.

Morose, irritable, and suspicious. The Bacillinum state shows withdrawal, introversion, and contempt for authority or interference [Clarke]. Patients are anxious, especially about their health. A strong fear of impending disease or fear of consumption may dominate. Forgetful, dull, yet oversensitive. Children are fretful, obstinate, and difficult to please—cranky in the morning. Aversion to company; desires solitude yet fears being alone. A strong, brooding mental state, with a dark outlook and sudden impulses to wander or flee. Disgust for life in chronic sufferers.

Disturbed, unrefreshing sleep. Screaming in sleep. Night terrors. Sleeps with head thrown back. Dreams of fire, pursuit, or suffocation. Night sweats common.

Fearful dreams of falling, death, or suffocation. Vivid, disturbing dreams. Dreams of being pursued or of catastrophic events. Waking anxious or confused.

Marked tubercular diathesis. Weakness, emaciation, early decay. Complaints from suppressed eruptions. Sensitive to weather changes. Inherited phthisical tendencies. Chronic, lingering complaints with periodicity, glandular involvement, and skin affections. Family history of TB, asthma, eczema, or chronic lung disease often present.

Low-grade, lingering fever. Worse at night. Flushing of cheeks. Heat alternates with chills. Burning hands and feet. Febrile states with emaciation.

Chilly in back, especially between shoulders. Heat of head and face with cold extremities. Sweat profuse at night. Sweat offensive, stains linen.

Morose, irritable, and suspicious. The Bacillinum state shows withdrawal, introversion, and contempt for authority or interference [Clarke]. Patients are anxious, especially about their health. A strong fear of impending disease or fear of consumption may dominate. Forgetful, dull, yet oversensitive. Children are fretful, obstinate, and difficult to please—cranky in the morning. Aversion to company; desires solitude yet fears being alone. A strong, brooding mental state, with a dark outlook and sudden impulses to wander or flee. Disgust for life in chronic sufferers.

Photophobia. Dimness of vision. Chronic conjunctivitis with red, irritated margins. Tendency to style formation. Pains extending from eyes to temples. Eyestrain from slight effort. Dryness of eyes alternating with profuse lachrymation.

Noises in ears—ringing, humming. Chronic catarrh of middle ear. Hearing impaired in scrofulous children. Otorrhoea offensive, persistent. Itching deep in ears. Mastoid affections following cold or eruption suppression.

Chronic nasal catarrh with yellow-green discharge. Crust formation with bleeding. Epistaxis in weak children. Snuffles in infants. Oversensitivity to odours. Nasal obstruction with mouth breathing.

Pale, sickly expression with dark under-eyes. Emaciated, especially in children. Facial neuralgia in delicate constitutions. Skin dry, scaly. Lips dry, cracked. Lips and cheeks occasionally bright red, especially during fever.

Tongue coated white or dirty. Mouth dry, burning sensation. Ulceration in corners of mouth. Metallic taste. Offensive breath. Gums spongy and bleed easily. Grinding of teeth in children.

Poor dentition. Caries early. Delayed teething. Sensitive to pressure and temperature. Teeth yellow or chalky in appearance. Children cry during teething.

Rawness, soreness, especially in the morning. Chronic irritation with hawking of mucus. Tonsils enlarged, indurated, or ulcerated. Frequent clearing of throat. Sensation of a lump or plug.

Marked tubercular lung affinity. Chronic cough, dry or with scanty expectoration. Morning aggravation. Oppression, stitching pain in apices. Rattling without expectoration. Breath short. Used in early phthisis. Family history of TB is a keynote.

Palpitations on exertion. Cardiac irritability in consumptive types. Chest pains may radiate. Feeble circulation. Anxiety felt in chest.

Shortness of breath with exertion. Suffocative attacks at night. Wheezing or rattling. Oppression from cold air. Useful in asthma when TB history exists. Better in open air.

Poor appetite with a craving for cold milk, pickles, or salt. Nausea in the morning. Vomiting of undigested food. Slow digestion. Gnawing hunger alternating with aversion to food. Heartburn, acidity, flatulence.

Enlarged mesenteric glands. Bloatedness, especially after eating. Chronic diarrhoea alternating with constipation. Colicky pains in thin, irritable children. Sensation of weight or dragging.

Frequent, offensive, green or mushy stools in children. Constipation with dry, crumbling stools. Worm complaints—itching and irritation of anus. Diarrhoea following suppression of skin eruptions.

Scanty, high-coloured urine with offensive odour. Frequent urination with burning. Incontinence in children at night. Red sandy sediment. Albuminous urine in chronic lung patients.

Desires cold milk, salt, pickles, fatty foods. Aversion to meat or cooked food. Appetite irregular. Emaciates despite good appetite.

Increased sexual desire with weakness. Emissions debilitating. Genital itching. Chronic prostatitis. Seminal loss with spinal or nervous exhaustion.

Menses delayed, scanty, irregular. Chronic leucorrhoea. Pruritus vulvae. Tendency to pelvic abscess or glandular enlargement. Weakness after menses. Amenorrhoea in anaemic girls.

Shortness of breath with exertion. Suffocative attacks at night. Wheezing or rattling. Oppression from cold air. Useful in asthma when TB history exists. Better in open air.

Cold hands and feet. Burning soles at night. Neuralgic pains in long bones. Growing pains in thin children. Perspiration of feet. Restless legs. Finger joints swollen or enlarged.

Ringworm, eczema, especially behind ears or on scalp. Suppressed eruptions. Dry, scaly, unhealthy skin. Skin prone to abscesses, boils, ulcers. Cracks and fissures. Offensive discharges. Long-lasting scars.

• Tuberculinum – More intense restlessness, travel desire, hot-bloodedness
• Psorinum – More filthy, despairing, chilly, and offensive
• Silicea – Similar suppurative tendency but more yielding and chilly
• Calcarea carb. – More plump, sweaty, slow child with bone issues
• Phosphorus – More extroverted, sensitive, haemorrhagic and warm-blooded

• Complementary: Psorinum, Silicea, Calcarea phosphorica
• Antidotes: Hepar sulph., Tuberculinum
• Follows well: Tuberculinum, Psorinum
• Precedes well: Sulphur, Phosphorus
• Inimical: None noted

• Useful in chronic bronchitis, asthma, eczema, and ringworm in patients with TB history
• A powerful miasmatic intercurrent remedy
• Best used infrequently, usually in high potencies
• Helpful in emaciated children with large heads, sweaty scalp, and swollen glands
• Consider when acute disease follows suppression (e.g., vaccines, eruptions)

Mind

• Morose, irritable, silent
• Fear of consumption
• Sensitive to contradiction

Chest

• Cough, dry, chronic
• Lungs, phthisical tendency
• Oppression, apical pain

Skin

• Eczema, chronic
• Ringworm
• Suppressed eruptions

Generalities

• Weakness, emaciation
• History of tuberculosis
• Glandular swellings, indurated
• < damp, cold, suppression

Sleep

• Screaming at night
• Night sweats
• Dreams of suffocation

• J. Compton Burnett – Curability of Consumption by Homeopathy: Original introduction of Bacillinum and clinical uses
• James Tyler Kent – Lectures on Homeopathic Materia Medica: Insights into mental picture and tubercular miasm
• William Boericke – Pocket Manual: Keynotes, clinical tips, and general modalities
• John Henry Clarke – Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica: Expanded indications for lungs, skin, and nervous system
• C. Hering – Guiding Symptoms: Clinical verification of symptoms related to glands and skin