Malandrinum

Prepared from the morbid product of the equine disease historically termed “grease” (related to the glanders/farcy complex of cutaneous–lymphatic infection in horses). The nosode was introduced into practice by late-nineteenth-century homoeopaths (notably Swan), then clinically elaborated by Burnett and Clarke, who emphasised its utility in vaccinosis and obstinate cutaneous states with cracking, scaling, and warty outgrowths [Burnett], [Clarke], [Boericke]. Its pathogenesis rests on [Clinical] confirmations and [Toxicology] analogies of the parent disease rather than a formal Hahnemannian proving; pharmacy follows the usual nosode protocol of sterilisation and potentisation [Clarke], [Boericke].

No classical Hahnemannian proving. Data derive from clinical series (post-vaccinal disorders, psoriasis/eczema with fissures, warty excrescences, chronic rhagades of hands and heels), occasional provings-by-use (idiosyncratic cutaneous reactions), and repertorial confirmations compiled by Clarke, Boericke and later authors [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger].

Malandrinum stands as a sycotic nosode whose signature is hyperkeratosis plus fissuring, set against a background of suppression and vaccinosis. The patient’s story is classic: after vaccination or years of local salving, the skin becomes coarser, drier, more warty, and prone to cracking—at the margins (lips, nostrils, anus, vulva) and extremities (fingertips, heels, peri-ungual folds). Each contact with water, particularly cold water, restarts the cycle: splits open, bleeds, crusts, then splits again. The person adapts—gloves, greasy emollients, avoidance of washing—and the mind grows resigned, a touch irritable, bound to regimens that palliate but never cure. This is the sycotic logic: outward disease forced inwards returns as overgrowth (warts, corns), thick scaling, and indurated nodes, while the organism shows seasonal dependence—winter/damp brings relapse, dry warmth brings reprieve.

As a nosode, Malandrinum often works intercurrently, removing a miasmatic obstacle that has made well-chosen remedies stall. It is smaller than Thuja or Sulphur but sharper in the fissure–warty–washing triad. Thuja may dominate when vegetations and genito-urinary traits lead; Sulphur when burning/itching and standing heat colour the whole. Graphites governs the sticky, honey-oosing eczema and soft crusts; Petroleum the oily, nauseated, winter-cracked patient. Malandrinum sits where the skin is dry, splitting, and keratinised, washing aggravates, and the history of vaccination or local suppression is compelling. Its action is felt as the skin softens and knits, the need for constant salving recedes, and constitutional remedies hold once more. In this sense Malandrinum is less a “star” and more a key, turning the case toward resolution by restoring proper elimination through the skin and curbing the sycotic drift to overgrowth and induration [Burnett], [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Skin (keratinising/epidermal layer) — chronic fissures, rhagades, hyperkeratosis, psoriatic-like plaques, and warty/papillomatous outgrowths; cracks bleed easily; winter aggravations common [Clarke], [Boericke]. See Skin, Extremities.
• Appendages (nails, hair) — onychia, brittle, ridged nails; peri-ungual fissures; eczema beginning “under the nails” (a keynote) [Clarke]. See Teeth/Nails under Mouth/Extremities.
• Glands/lymphatics — indurated or “stringy” nodes with adjacent chronic eczema/warts; a sycotic cast [Burnett], [Clarke]. See Generalities.
• Mucocutaneous margins — fissured lips, nostrils, anal and vulvar cracks; soreness and oozing with crusts [Clarke], [Boericke]. See Face, Rectum, Female.
• Post-vaccinal sphere (Vaccinosis) — “never-well-since” inoculation: rough, dry, fissured skin; chronic eczema, recurrent boils, warts, neuralgia/aches since vaccination; clears the case for further prescribing [Burnett], [Clarke]. See Generalities.
• Feet & hands — cracked heels, splitting fingertips; chapped hands that bleed on washing; occupational aggravation by water/soaps [Clarke], [Boericke]. See Extremities.
• Warty/corny growths — peri-ungual warts, long-standing corns, callosities; thick crusts that recur after local treatment [Clarke]. See Skin.

Chronic cutaneous suffering lends a dull, irritable mood; confidence eroded by disfiguring fissures and warts, with self-consciousness about hands, face, or exposed skin [Clarke]. A history of being “never the same since vaccination” may include apprehension, weariness, and aversion to exertion, with a brooding sense that external measures only make matters worse—mirroring the remedy’s Worse suppression [Burnett]. The patient is often practical, resigned, yet easily vexed when cracks reopen on slight use (washing, cold air), and may become fastidious about coverings and salves—again a sycotic hallmark of management over cure. Sleep disturbance from itching or stinging fissures aggravates morning irritability; social withdrawal appears in youths with peri-ungual warts. Case: Adolescent with school refusal from bleeding fingertip cracks recurring after every art class (water, soap); Maland. 200C weekly for 3 weeks, with cessation of topical suppressants, restored function and steadied mood [Burnett], [Clarke]. [Clinical].

Broken by stinging cracks; wakes to apply grease or cover; warmth of bed sometimes increases itch around fissures (then must cool and re-cover) [Clarke]. Sleep improves as fissures knit; dreams unremarkable unless anxious about work with water/soaps—an acquired fear. Restless before storms (damp aggravation).

Few keynotes. Dreams of injury to hands/heels and of being unable to work because the skin splits recur in some tradespeople—clinically observed rather than pathogenetic [Clinical].

A sycotic nosode for vaccinosis and stubborn hyperkeratotic, fissuring dermatoses with warty outgrowths; modalities worse washing (esp. cold water), worse cold damp/winter, better dry warmth and greasy protection; history of suppression of eruptions and never-well-since vaccination strongly supports the choice [Burnett], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger]. Acts intercurrently to clear case obstacles and allow constitutional remedies to hold. Distinguish from Graph. (sticky, honey crusts), Petrol. (oily, nauseous, deep winter aggravation with gastric features), Thuja (sycotic vegetations with genito-urinary focus), Ant-c. (chapped corners with gastric disorder), and Sulph. (itching, burning, standing heat, dirty look) [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger].

Not febrile as such; chilliness in damp/cold weather accompanied by skin tightening; small sweats sting fissures on evaporation. If fever present, look elsewhere for the genus.

Chill in damp cold; relief in dry warmth; sweat stings cracks; washing post-sweat reopens fissures—modal cross-reference [Clarke], [Boericke].

Scalp dandruff with dry, branny scales and fissured retro-auricular folds; excoriation from scratching; winter worse, dry warmth better [Clarke]. Hair dull, lusterless; occasional peri-follicular crusts. Frontal tightness when skin is tense, especially in wind. The cutaneous–appendage theme (hyperkeratosis, cracks) repeats here rather than any cerebral picture. Comparison: Petrol. also has harsh winter scalp with fissures, but stronger gastric–nausea features; Graph. has sticky honey-like exudation under crusts [Clarke], [Boericke].

Lids fissured at the angles; eczema of lids with scaling and recurring cracks on cleansing, worse washing, better unctuous protection [Clarke]. Post-vaccinal blepharitis in chronic subjects belongs to its sphere when generalities agree. Lachrymation excoriates less than in Rhus-t.; Graph. shows more gummy crusts. [Clinical].

Retro-auricular fissures with oozing; winter aggravation, cracking on washing, raw and sore margins [Clarke]. Congestive earache in cold wind from chapped fissures about the auricle rather than middle ear disease. Again, the mucocutaneous border is the locus.

Nasal alae crack; inside nostrils fissures bleed on picking/washing; crusts reform on dryness [Clarke]. Peri-nasal warts or roughness in adolescents—sycotic colouring. Petrol., Nat-m. also chap the margins (Nat-m. more sun-sensitive, crystalline scales; Petrol. oil-skin with nausea) [Clarke], [Boericke].

Lips fissure and bleed in cold winds; angular cheilitis pattern with recurring splits whenever the mouth is washed; improved by unctuous covering [Clarke]. Peri-oral warts or corny elevations (bitten by habit) in youths after vaccination history. Thick crusts at corners of mouth less sticky than Graph.; cracks deeper than Nat-m. [Clarke].

Mouth corners fissured; gums occasionally spongy in chronic toxic subjects; metallic taste is not a keynote (contrasts with mercurials).  [Boericke].

Dental sensitivity merely from cold air and washing face. (Data chiefly [Clinical] compilations.) [Clarke]

Dryness with rawness in cold wind exposure; no membranous picture. Aggravation from cold rinses; better warm drinks. Not a primary throat remedy; consider only in vaccinosis constitutional cases [Clarke].

Cutaneous—intermammary fissures and chafing; deep cracks at sternum in winter. No primary bronchial signature.

No specific organopathy; “tired, burdened” sensation in chronic toxic states is incidental. For cardiac sycotics, Medorrh./Thuja or constitutional minerals often outrank [Kent], [Clarke].

Air of cold, damp rooms provokes itching and chapping of exposed areas, making deep breaths feel raw at the lips; not an airway pathology. Better warm, dry air [Clarke].

Patchy appetite with aversion to cold drinks in winter; craves warm soups when skin is cracked (comfort rather than keynote). Nausea is uncommon; Petrol./Ant-c. would outrank if stomach is central [Boericke].

Fullness after cold exposures; “stitching cracks” felt at the umbilical scar is sometimes reported by patients with general fissure tendency (metaphoric echo). Bowel functions otherwise ordinary; constipation from reluctance to wash or move hands due to cracks is circumstantial rather than pathogenetic. [Clinical].

Fissures at anus with painful stool, bleeding; worse after washing/wiping; better by warm sitz baths and unctuous dressings—useful when the general skin points to Maland. Compare Nit-ac. (splinter-like pains; strong bleeding tendency), Graph. (sticky exudation), Ratanh. (knife-like pain) [Clarke], [Boericke].

Non-characteristic. Occasional peri-urethral chapping in cold weather with smarting on urine contact; belongs to the mucocutaneous border theme. Choose constitutional remedy on totality [Clarke].

Aggravation from salted/very spiced fare reported in a few (stinging of fissures); desire for warm drinks in winter for comfort. No guiding cravings.

Warty excrescences about hands/peri-ungual areas; scrotal chapping/fissures in cyclists in winter—a practical note rather than a keynote. Compare Thuja for sycotic warts when constitutional picture tilts that way [Clarke].

Fissured nipples in cold weather, cracks reopen on washing; vulvar rhagades with soreness and burning; warty or papillomatous tendencies peri-vulvar, especially after vaccination history [Clarke], [Burnett]. Leucorrhoea non-specific. Use as an intercurrent nosode when local palliatives have long suppressed eruptions. [Clinical].

Fissured hands make lifting/pushing painful; cracks along knuckles split with extension and gripping—occupational disability a practical rubric [Clarke]. Lumbosacral stiffness from guarding movements.

Signature sphere. Fingertips split, bleed on washing; peri-ungual eczema “begins under the nail”; heels cracked; palms hyperkeratotic with painful rhagades; repeated warty excrescences on knuckles; cold weather and water aggravate; dry warmth and greasy protection relieve [Clarke], [Boericke]. Corns and callosities stubborn after repeated paring; local suppression precedes deeper trouble (sycotic logic) [Burnett]. Compare Graph., Petrol., Sulph., Ant-c., Thuja.

The grand theme: hyperkeratosis with fissuring, psoriatic-like plaques, warty overgrowths, crusts that reform, oozing scant and not notably honey-like (less “sticky” than Graphites), bleeding on slightest washing, winter/wet cold aggravations; post-vaccinal persistence of eruptions (vaccinosis) [Burnett], [Clarke], [Boericke]. Itching is moderate but scratching reopens cracks; edges hard, centres raw; margins of nostrils, lips, anus and vulva are preferential seats (mucocutaneous). When eruptions have been driven in, internal malaise or nodes appear, calling for the nosode as an intercurrent [Burnett]. [Clinical].

• Graphites — Cracks with sticky, honey-like exudation and eczematous crusts; more oozing and obesity/coldness traits; Maland. is drier, more warty and vaccinosis-linked [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Petroleum — Harsh winter skin, deep rhagades, oiliness, gastric nausea; Maland. has washing-aggravated cracks and nosode role in vaccinosis [Clarke].
• Thuja — Sycotic warts, genito-urinary sphere, mental fixities; overlaps on post-vaccinal states, but Thuja has sensation of fragility/foreignness and greasy sweat; Maland. more fissure-hyperkeratosis [Burnett], [Clarke].
• Antimonium crudum — Corns, cracks, thick soles; gastric irritability and white-coated tongue; Maland. more tied to washing/cold damp and vaccinosis [Boericke].
• Sulphur — Itching, burning, heat of vertex, unwashed look; wide polycrest; choose Sulph. when burning/itching dominate; Maland. for splitting fissures & warty overgrowths post-suppression [Clarke], [Boger].
• Rhus toxicodendron — Vesicular eczema, oedematous erysipelas; intense restlessness; Maland. lacks vesicular swellings and has stronger hyperkeratotic profile [Clarke].
• Nitric acid — Splinter-like pains at fissures, bleeding; darker, syphilitic cast; Maland. has washing/winter modality and warty overgrowth [Clarke].
• Natrum muriaticum — Chapped lips and nose-margins, sun-aggravation; more emotional reserve and headaches; Maland. shows peri-ungual onset and washing aggravation [Clarke].
• Medorrhinum — Sycotic nosode with strong genito-urinary and restless/burning soles; warts plentiful; use when mental and sexual restlessness lead; Maland. is cutaneous-fissure focused [Kent], [Clarke].
• Variolinum / Vaccininum — Smallpox/vaccine nosodes for specific pock-like eruptions and prophylaxis; Maland. is the “grease” nosode used for post-vaccinal dermatoses and chronic fissures [Burnett], [Clarke].
• Mezereum — Thick crusts with ulcerative base, neuralgia; stronger bone/nerve pain; Maland. more dry fissure–warty complex [Boericke].

• Complementary: Thuja — both sycotic; Thuja for vegetations/mental traits; Maland. for fissure–hyperkeratotic aftermath of suppression or vaccination [Burnett], [Clarke].
• Complementary: Sulphur — opens cases with cutaneous inertia; Maland. intercurrent when fissures and vaccinosis block progress [Clarke], [Boger].
• Complementary: Silicea — for driven-in eruptions and indurated nodes after long suppression; Sil. follows Maland. to complete cutaneous repair [Clarke].
• Follows well: Variolinum/Vaccininum — when specific vaccine/smallpox miasm is cleared yet chronic fissures/warts persist [Burnett].
• Follows well: Graphites/Petroleum — if exudation/oiliness subside but cracking remains (switch to Maland.) [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Precedes well: Nat-m. — when sun-cracking and lip chaps remain after winter fissures are improved [Clarke].
• Antidotes (functional): Cessation of local suppressives (salves/caustics) is the true “antidote” in management; dynamic antidotes per totality may include Sulph. or Hepar-s. if suppuration ensues [Burnett], [Clarke].
• Related nosodes: Medorrhinum (broad sycotic), Psorinum (filthy skin, chilliness, bathing worse), used when respective miasmatic pictures dominate beyond Maland.’s narrower cutaneous sphere [Clarke], [Boger].

• Indications: Chronic fissured hands/heels, peri-ungual eczema beginning under the nails, warty overgrowths, winter relapses, and never-well-since vaccination—especially when washing reliably aggravates and greasy protection temporarily soothes [Clarke], [Burnett], [Boericke].
• Dosing (intercurrent): 30C–200C, single dose or weekly repetition for 2–4 weeks, then pause; observe for de-suppression and knitting of fissures; interpose the constitutional remedy once movement begins [Burnett], [Clarke].
• Topicals: During early response, avoid suppressive salves; use simple grease (lanolin/vaseline) as protective only—this aligns with Better greasy protection and avoids driving in [Burnett].
• Sequence: In long-suppressed cases, Maland. may precede Thuja/Sulph.; in vaccinated subjects with systemic features, consider Vaccininum/Variolinum first, then Maland. for the residual fissure–warty terrain [Burnett], [Clarke].
• Pearls:
  • Case: Printer with bleeding fingertip fissures, worse cold washing, winter relapses; Maland. 200C weekly ×3 plus cessation of medicated creams—hands serviceable within a month [Clarke].
  • Case: Post-vaccinal peri-ungual eczema “beginning under the nail,” refractory to Graph./Petrol.; Maland. 30C alt-days ×10 days, then pause—fissures knit, warty collars shrank [Burnett].
  • Case: Cracked heels in a washerwoman; Maland. 30C daily for 7 days, repeat in 3 weeks; winter relapse prevented with prophylactic monthly 30C during cold months [Boericke], [Clinical].

Mind

• Irritability from chronic skin complaints. Cutaneous burden drives mood [Clarke].
• Aversion to washing because cracks reopen. Practical pointer to modality [Clarke].
• Anxiety and low spirits since vaccination. Vaccinosis stamp [Burnett].
• Fastidious about coverings/salves. Sycotic management pattern [Clarke].
• Sleep disturbed by stinging fissures; fears work involving water. Functional overlay [Clinical].

Head / Scalp

• Dandruff, dry, branny; fissures behind ears; winter worse. Keratinising terrain [Clarke].
• Cracks retro-auricular, bleed on washing. Margin theme [Clarke].
• Scalp itching, scratching reopens splits. Recurrent trauma [Clarke].
• Dry warmth improves scalp fissures. Seasonal relief [Clarke].
• Eczema of scalp with thick scales, sticky exudation absent or scant. Differs from Graph. [Clarke].

Face / Nose / Lips

• Fissures of lips (angular), bleed on washing or exposure to cold wind. Border preference [Clarke].
• Cracks of alae nasi and nostrils, scab and split again. Recurrent crusting [Clarke].
• Peri-oral warts/corny elevations in adolescents. Sycotic overgrowth [Clarke].
• Cheilitis winter-aggravated, better greasy protection. Modal match [Clarke].
• Nose, inside, fissures with bright bleeding from slight touch. Fragile margins [Clarke].

Skin (General)

• Rhagades; fissures of hands/heels; bleed easily. Grand keynote [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Hyperkeratosis; thick, dry scales; psoriatic-like plaques. Terrain [Clarke].
• Warts; peri-ungual vegetations; corns stubborn. Sycotic growths [Clarke].
• Worse washing; worse cold damp; worse winter/early spring. Modal frame [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Better dry warmth; better greasy protection; better summer. Relief set [Clarke].
• Ailments since vaccination; chronic eczema post-inoculation. Nosode sphere [Burnett], [Clarke].

Extremities / Nails

• Fissures of fingertips; bleed on washing. Occupational disability rubric [Clarke].
• Eczema begins under nails; peri-ungual cracks and crusts. Nosode key [Clarke].
• Heels cracked; painful on first steps; cold damp worse. Local keynote [Boericke].
• Hands hyperkeratotic with chaps, worse soaps/alkalis. Mechanic’s/wet-work clue [Clarke].
• Nails brittle, ridged; onychia with peri-ungual fissures. Appendage theme [Clarke].
• Corns/callosities persistent despite paring. Sycotic overgrowth [Clarke].

Rectum / Genital Margins

• Anal fissure with bleeding on wiping; worse washing; better warm sitz. Border fissure rubric [Clarke].
• Vulvar rhagades with soreness; peri-vulvar warty tags. Sycotic border lesions [Clarke].
• Fissured nipples, winter; washing restarts cracks. Care rubric [Clarke].

Generalities / Modalities

• Ailments from vaccination; never-well-since inoculation. Nosode indication [Burnett].
• Worse washing (especially cold water). Cardinal modality [Clarke].
• Worse cold, damp, winter; better dry warmth. Thermal polarity [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Worse suppression of eruptions. Sycotic principle [Burnett].
• Glands indurated with adjacent chronic skin lesions. Terrain clue [Clarke].

Burnett, J. Compton — Vaccinosis and Its Cure by Thuja (1884): foundational concept of vaccinosis; clinical use of Malandrinum as intercurrent.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): primary monograph on Malandrinum—keynotes, modalities, vaccinosis links, differentials.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1901): concise indications (fissures, warts, washing aggravation; ailments since vaccination).
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key (1915): repertorial pointers for sycotic skin, modalities, intercurrent nosodes.
Hughes, R. — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (1870s eds.): pathological analogies (glanders/grease) and cautions on nosodes’ scope.
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1905): miasmatic perspective (sycosis/syphilis) applied to chronic skin suppression (comparative framework).
Tyler, M. L. — Homoeopathic Drug Pictures (1942): clinical tone on nosodes and their intercurrent use; distinctions with Graph., Petrol., Thuja.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1899): therapeutic sequencing; post-suppression management principles.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): comparisons among cutaneous remedies (Graph., Ant-c., Petroleum, Sulph.) useful for differentiation.
Boger, C. M. — Boenninghausen’s Characteristics & Repertory (1905): modality and locality rubrics employed in case analysis involving Malandrinum.