Vaccininum

Prepared from vaccine lymph of vaccinia (cow-pox) by trituration and subsequent potentisation. The historical materia medica derives its picture from clinical observations and toxicological notes of post-vaccinal states: local cellulitis and abscess, erysipelatous spread up the arm with axillary gland swelling, eczema vaccinalis, pustular and ulcerative eruptions, fever with cerebral irritability, neuralgias, and occasional gastro-mucosal upset. J. Compton Burnett systematised the notion of “vaccinosis”—a chronic constitutional disturbance following vaccination—often responding to Thuja but also to the nosode itself in certain residual states [Burnett], [Clarke], [Hering], [Allen], [Boericke]. Pathophysiologically (correlative), the picture reflects a hyper-reactive cutaneous-lymphatic axis with suppuration, and neuro-vascular irritability explaining the headaches, insomnia, and neuralgic pains recorded in the literature [Hughes], [Clarke].

No Hahnemannian proving. The pathogenesis is predominantly [Clinical] and [Toxicology], compiled from case collections of post-vaccinal disorders: erysipelatous inflammation of the arm, axillary adenitis, pustular/eczema-like eruptions, chronic headaches, insomnia, neuralgic pains, and lingering malaise; many reports note amelioration when the eruption is allowed to fully express and aggravation after suppression [Burnett], [Clarke], [Hering], [Allen].

Vaccininum stands at the crossroads of skin and lymph, where an exanthematous process, whether native or induced, has been checked, misdirected, or incompletely discharged. The organism is hot-headed and wakeful; the skin burns and itches, worse in the heat of bed, and the glands along the drainage path—from inoculation site to axilla—grow tender, corded, and indurated. When the process is allowed to “come right”—to sweat, to ripen, to discharge—the headaches ease, the neuralgia softens, the mind finds rest. This therapeutic polarity—suppression breeds inner irritation; expression restores calm—is the guiding law of the picture as preserved by Burnett, Clarke, Hering, and others. The nosode’s sphere is neither the global psoric blaze of Sulphur nor the constitutional sycosis of Thuja, but a conditional state: sequelae historically linked to vaccination or to the arrest of a skin eruption, heralded by cellulitis, adenitis, pustular–crusted eczema, and insomnia with hot head. The modalities ring true across sections: worse night, worse heat of bed, better open air, better after perspiration, better as discharge becomes free.

Thus, when a case tells this story—arm sore and heavy, lymph-streaks to the axilla, nodes hard and tender; the skin itching and burning under bed-clothes; head throbbing in hot rooms; sleep broken till a sweat comes—and especially when the patient dates their disturbances from a vaccinal episode or suppressed eruption, Vaccininum answers with coherence. If the process advances to frank suppuration and the tissues call for it, Silicea or Hepar-s. may carry the work to completion; where warty vegetations and the sycotic temperament dominate, Thuja complements. Vaccininum itself centres the path that runs from arrested surface to internal irritability, and back again to resolution by safe, physiological expression. [Burnett], [Clarke], [Hering], [Allen], [Boericke], [Hughes].

• Skin and appendages — vesicular, pustular, eczema-like and ulcerative eruptions, especially after vaccination or after suppression of a cutaneous process; thick crusts, oozing, and indolent ulcers (see Skin). [Clarke], [Hering], [Allen]
• Lymphatics and glands — axillary, cervical, and epitrochlear swellings; lymphangitic red streaks from inoculation site; nodes tender and indurated (see Back, Extremities). [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Local cellular tissue — cellulitis, abscess at the site; slow healing; bluish-red margins; tendency to recur (see Skin). [Hering], [Clarke]
• Nervous system — neuralgias, cephalalgia, insomnia, irritability, and, in children, fretfulness and startings following an exanthematous suppression (see Mind, Head, Sleep). [Clarke], [Allen]
• Mucosae — otitis, pharyngitis, and gastro-intestinal irritability historically reported after vaccination; catarrhal states intercurrent with skin flares (see Ears, Throat, Stomach). [Clarke], [Hering]
• Vascular/serous surfaces — erysipelatous spread and synovial arthralgias in a minority (see Extremities, Generalities). [Hughes], [Clarke]
• General reactive vitality — lassitude, chill–heat alternations, and fever in the wake of cutaneous processes; “better after a free sweat” (see Fever, Generalities). [Boericke], [Clarke]

Irritable, restless, cannot settle; a vexed, over-heated mind accompanies the cutaneous and glandular tension [Clarke]. Children are fretful, cry out in sleep, and start from the least disturbance after a suppressed or partial eruption (cross-link Sleep, Skin) [Hering]. Anxious concern about health; easily excited in the evening; ideas crowd, yet concentration is poor; insomnia with hot head and hot hands (echoes Sleep, Chill/Heat) [Allen], [Clarke]. Apathy may alternate with excitability, especially if the arm or glands are acutely painful. The mood generally improves as the eruption freely discharges (see Modalities—Better: free eruption). [Clinical]

Sleepless from heat and itching; tosses, uncovers, seeks cool places; children cry out, start, or grind teeth in phases of cutaneous irritation [Allen], [Hering]. Sleep improves after a good sweat or free discharge of the eruption (modality concordance). Dreams anxious, vivid; wakes with hot head and smarting skin. [Clinical]

Exciting, anxious dreams; dreams of fire or heat; disturbed by itching that forces waking and scratching (cross-link Skin). [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Sequelae of vaccination (historic literature): skin and glandular irritations, neuralgias, headaches, and insomnia worse at night and heat of bed, better open air and after free perspiration/discharge. Lymphatic system reactive; cellulitis and axillary nodes often involved from the arm upward. Constitutional irritability wanes as the eruption “goes to rights” with full expression; suppression invites relapse or internal symptoms [Burnett], [Clarke], [Hering], [Allen]. [Clinical]

Chilliness alternating with burning heat of face and scalp; better after perspiring; pulse quick, skin dry till sweat appears [Boericke], [Clarke]. Evening rise; thirst for small sips; fever often tracks the intensity of the skin process. [Clinical]

Heat with hot head, hot hands; chill runs on exposure; sweat breaks the headache and irritability (unlike Sulph. where heat persists) [Clarke], [Boericke]. Night sweats around resolving eruptions. [Clinical]

Throbbing headaches with hot head and sensitive scalp; worse at night and in heated rooms; better in the open air and after a sweat [Clarke], [Boericke]. Neuralgic, shooting pains over one eye; a bruised or band-like sensation over the brow; the headaches often date from vaccination or from the suppression of a skin trouble [Clarke], [Burnett]. Giddiness with nausea on first rising; face flushed with the headache, eyes bright, pupils slightly dilated in some cases [Allen]. When the arm is acutely inflamed the head throbs in sympathy; the pain recedes as suppuration matures (modality cross-reference). [Clinical]

Smarting, photophobia with hot lids during febrile skin flares; margins red and itching; small styes and pustules at canthi in the week following inoculation have been recorded [Clarke], [Hering]. Vision blurs in hot rooms and clears in cool air (matches Better open air). [Clinical]

Otitis media and external ear eruptions in a minority of post-vaccinal cases; ears hot, tender, and throbbing; noises in the ear at night from vascular tension [Clarke]. Glands behind the ear swollen and sore; relief follows resolution of skin discharge. [Clinical]

Coryza with burning at the alae; crusting and small pustules on the septum; smell over-acute during febrile skin phases [Clarke]. Nasal obstruction worsens in heated rooms, relieving in cool night air (mirrors Head). [Clinical]

Hot, flushed, sometimes puffy; scattered pustules round mouth and chin; eczema at angles with oozing and crusts; sensation of heat-burn, worse in bed [Clarke], [Hering]. Neuralgia radiating from brow to cheek with throbbing temples; improved by cold sponging. [Clinical]

Tongue red at tip, coated posteriorly; metallic or flat taste; aphthous spots in irritable mucosa coincident with skin outbreaks [Allen], [Clarke]. Saliva increased in fever, dry mouth at night; thirst for small, frequent sips (see Fever). [Clinical]

Toothache of a neuralgic type in the upper jaw accompanying brow pains; aggravated by heat of bed; relieved by cool applications (parallels Face). [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Rawness, burning, and dysphagia during erysipelatous phases; tonsils enlarged and tender; submaxillary glands swollen (affinity: lymphatics) [Clarke], [Hering]. Warm drinks soothe the fauces; cold air aggravates the neuralgic ache while relieving the head heat—an internal polarity often seen in eruptive states. [Clinical]

Oppression with feverish skin; stitching toward axilla when nodes are involved; breathing easier in cool air [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Palpitation with heat and throbbing head; pulse quick; settles after sweat and open air (see Fever). [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Quick, shallow in fever; sighing with restlessness; coryza adds to discomfort in heated rooms (cross-link Nose). [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Nausea with the headaches; aversion to rich food; eructations and a bruised epigastric feeling in fever [Allen], [Clarke]. Appetite poor until the skin “breaks” freely; warm drinks ease; milk may disagree in children during exanthematous irritability. [Clinical]

Rumbling, slight colic with fever; mesenteric nodes tender in some cases; abdomen sensitive to the clothes when the skin is flaring (cutaneous–visceral reflex) [Clarke]. Constipation from inactivity in fever alternates with loose stools as the case resolves. [Clinical]

Itching and soreness about the anus with peri-anal papules in some eruptions; fissural smarting if the skin is dry and suppressed (compare Ratanhia if knife-like pain dominates) [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Darker urine during fever; scanty with heat, freer after sweat (cross-link Fever). No fixed vesical keynote; if urinary tenesmus is prominent, compare Canth. rather than Vac. [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Desire for cool drinks; aversion to rich food; aggravation of pruritus from stimulants and heated rooms rather than from definite articles (differentiate Graph. and Sulph. where fats strongly disagree) [Clarke], [Boericke]. [Clinical]

Scrotal eczema, erythematous or pustular, in post-vaccinal states; itching worse warmth of bed; better cool air [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Mammae and axillary glands tender and swollen; menses may anticipate with increased skin irritation; pruritus vulvae with erythematous patches in warm rooms [Clarke], [Hering]. [Clinical]

Axillary and infraclavicular gland soreness; red lymph-streaks from arm toward axilla; aching between shoulders with fever; better with hot applications (matches Affinity: lymphatics). [Hering], [Clarke]. [Clinical]

At the inoculation arm: redness, heat, throbbing, cellulitis, induration; lymphangitis with tender cords; axillary adenitis; arm feels heavy and bruised; relief as suppuration declares and drains (cross-link Modalities). In legs: erythematous patches, urticaria-like wheals in bed heat [Clarke], [Hering]. Arthralgia, particularly in wrists and knees, during febrile phases; better gentle motion after restlessness has subsided [Clarke], [Hughes]. [Clinical]

Central field. Eczema vaccinalis; vesicles → pustules → thick honey-yellow crusts; margins red-violet; burning and intense itching, worse at night and from heat of bed, better cool air [Clarke], [Hering], [Allen]. Indolent abscess at site; bluish edges; ulcers with thin, ichorous discharge; healing slow unless discharge is promoted (echo Better free eruption). Urticarial wheals in warmth; furunculosis; warts and papillomatous outgrowths may appear in chronic “vaccinosis” terrain (compare Thuja). Suppression of discharge rekindles headache, neuralgia, and insomnia—a recurring clinical observation [Burnett], [Clarke]. [Clinical][Toxicology]

Aetiology (Post-vaccinal states / Suppressed eruptions)

• Thuja — Classic “vaccinal” constitution: warts, mucous growths, oiliness, and mental fixities; less cellulitis/abscess than Vac.; Thuja often complementary or first choice when sycotic traits dominate [Burnett], [Clarke], [Kent].
• Silicea — Suppuration with tendency to expel foreign bodies; cool, sweaty; less erysipelatous blush from inoculation; use when indurations will not “ripen” [Hering], [Clarke].
• Sulph. — Heat, itch, burning, worse bed, general psoric blaze; broader constitutional range; Vac. is narrower and post-vaccinally keyed [Kent], [Clarke].
• Malandrinum — Eruptions and cracks of hands, rhagades; “vaccinal taint” type with rough, fissured integuments; less axillary lymphangitis than Vac. [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Variolinum — Small-pox nosode for variolous states or small-pox-like exanthem; Vac. used more for vaccinal sequelae than variolous [Clarke], [Boericke].

Skin (eczema/pustular/ulcerative)

• Mez. — Thick crusts with beneath-burning, neuralgia; often worse cold air on skin; Vac. ties to post-vaccinal causation [Hering], [Clarke].
• Graph. — Oozing honey-like exudate, fissures, fat intolerance; slower lymphangitis; Vac. shows arm-to-axilla spread and cellulitis [Clarke].
• Rhus-tox — Vesicular, erysipelatous patterns, restless; often < cold, wet; > heat; Vac. has stronger after vaccination causation [Hughes], [Clarke].

Glands/Cellulitis

• Bell. — Bright red, throbbing, high fever; less tendency to suppurate; Vac. more suppurative/lymphangitic [Clarke].
• Hepar-s. — Marked suppuration, extreme touch-soreness, chilliness; use if pus is established and offensive; Vac. earlier in the chain [Hering].
• Echinacea — Septic states, lymphatic sluggishness (clinical); adjunctive complexion more than a primary simillimum here [Clarke].

Neuralgia/Headache

• Cimic. — Aching, rheumatic–nervous cephalalgia with irritability; not tied to skin/glands; Vac. has an eruptive–lymphatic background [Farrington].
• Gels. — Dull, heavy head with tremor and prostration; lacks cutaneous/lymphatic affinity of Vac. [Kent].

• Complementary: Thuja — Often alternated or followed where sycotic vegetations and mental traits predominate; Thuja as “vaccinosis” classic, Vac. for nosode-specific states [Burnett], [Clarke].
• Complementary: Silicea — To ripen indurations and promote discharge when Vac. has unlocked the case [Hering].
• Follows well: Sulph. — After Sulph. clears psoric congestion but residual post-vaccinal features persist [Kent], [Clarke].
• Precedes well: Hepar-s. — If suppuration declares with great tenderness and offensive discharge [Hering].
• Related: Malandrinum, Variolinum — Nosodes of the variola–vaccinia sphere; compare indications and causation carefully [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Antidotes (drug/state): Thuja, Sulph. — Frequently cited as antidotal to “vaccinal taint” or suppressed eruptions in classical literature [Burnett], [Clarke].

• Post-vaccinal arm with cellulitis, lymphangitis, and axillary adenitis; burning, throbbing pains worse heat of bed, better hot applications; consider Vac. early, then Silicea/Hepar-s. as suppuration declares [Clarke], [Hering].
• Eczema/pustular eruptions dating from a suppressed skin event; thick crusts, burning itch worse at night; Vac. often unlocks the case; Thuja may complete constitutional work in sycotic temperaments [Burnett], [Clarke].
• Headache–insomnia complex with hot head, better after sweat and open air, recurring with attempted suppression of skin discharge [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Dosing (classical usage): 6x–30C for local–lymphatic states; higher (200C and above) when constitutional “vaccinosis” is inferred; repeat cautiously, extending intervals as discharge and sleep improve [Boericke], [Burnett].

Mini-pearls

• Case: Arm cellulitis with red streaks to axilla one week post-vaccination; Vac. 6x hastened resolution; Silicea 12x completed drainage [Hering].
• Case: Chronic eczema since suppressed impetigo after vaccination; Vac. 30C restored discharge pattern and sleep; Thuja followed for warty stigmata [Burnett], [Clarke].
• Case: Night headaches with hot scalp, better after sweat; recurring whenever crusts were forcibly removed; Vac. 200C stabilised the cycle [Clarke], [Boericke].

Mind

• Mind; irritability; with heat and itching of skin — vexed restlessness in bed [Clarke].
• Mind; insomnia; heat of head; with cutaneous irritation — wakes to scratch; better after perspiration [Allen], [Clarke].
• Mind; anxiety; health; after vaccination — dates complaints from vaccination [Clarke], [Burnett].
• Mind; excitability; evening; headaches with hot head — mental over-activity with throbbing [Allen].

Head

• Head; pain; throbbing; heat; room, in; agg. — better open air and after sweat [Clarke].
• Head; pain; after suppression of eruption — cephalalgia returns when discharge is checked [Burnett], [Clarke].
• Head; neuralgia; supraorbital; night; agg. — relieved by cool sponging [Allen].
• Scalp; heat; burning; night — worsens in bed [Clarke].

Ears / Throat

• Ear; inflammation; after vaccination — otitis with vascular tension [Clarke].
• Throat; tonsils; swelling; glands; with — submaxillary/tonsillar adenitis [Hering], [Clarke].

Skin

• Skin; eruptions; post-vaccinal — key indication [Clarke], [Burnett].
• Skin; eczema; pustular; crusts; honey-yellow — eczema vaccinalis [Hering], [Allen].
• Skin; ulcers; indolent; bluish margins — slow healing unless discharge is free [Clarke].
• Skin; abscess; at site of vaccination — cellulitis/abscess [Hering].
• Skin; itching; night; bed; heat of; agg. — classical aggravation [Clarke].
• Skin; suppression of eruption; complaints after — neuralgia/insomnia/cephalalgia [Burnett], [Clarke].

Glands / Lymphatics

• Glands; axillary; swelling; tenderness; after vaccination — red streaks up arm [Clarke], [Hering].
• Lymphatics; inflammation; lymphangitis; cords painful — inoculation path [Clarke].
• Glands; induration; slow to resolve — better hot applications [Hering].

Extremities

• Upper limb; arm; cellulitis; vaccination, after — bruised, heavy arm [Clarke].
• Upper limb; pain; along lymphatics; red streaks — tender cords [Hering].
• Joints; arthralgia; fever with skin eruption — reactive synovial pains [Hughes], [Clarke].

Sleep / Fever / Generalities

• Sleep; sleeplessness; itching; from — heat of bed agg., sweat amel. [Allen], [Clarke].
• Fever; perspiration; relieves complaints — headaches and restlessness lessen after sweat [Boericke].
• Generalities; after vaccination; sequelae of — causative rubric [Clarke], [Burnett].
• Generalities; suppression; of eruptions; complaints from — keynote of the nosode state [Burnett], [Clarke].
• Generalities; night; aggravates — skin, head, neuralgia worsen [Allen].

Burnett — Vaccinosis and Its Cure by Thuja (1884): foundational concept of vaccinal constitutional states; clinical sequences and relationships.
Clarke — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (c. 1900): principal monograph for Vaccininum; skin, lymphatic, and neuralgic symptomatology; modalities.
Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879–91): glandular/lymphangitic notes; eczema vaccinalis; abscess and suppuration cues.
T. F. Allen — Handbook of Materia Medica and Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1892): insomnia with hot head, cephalalgia, post-vaccinal annotations.
Boericke — Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1901): condensed indications; dosing and relationships (Thuja, Variolinum, Malandrinum).
Hughes — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (late 19th c.): pathophysiological correlations (erysipelas/lymphangitis; neurovascular irritability).
Boger — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): generals–modalities synthesis used for rubric framing.
Farrington — Clinical Materia Medica (1890s): neuralgia/cephalalgia comparisons (Cimic., Gels.) employed in differentials.
Kent — Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1905): miasmatic colouring; contrasts with Sulph., Thuja; constitutional pointers.
Nash — Leaders in Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1899): constitutional sequencing (Sulph., Silicea, Hepar) referenced in tips.
Tyler — Homoeopathic Drug Pictures (early 20th c.): nosode portraits and practical bedside hints for vaccine-related cases.
Phatak — Concise Repertory of Homoeopathic Medicines (20th c.): repertory rubrics for “after vaccination,” suppression of eruptions, and night aggravations.