Psorinum

A nosode prepared from the seropurulent fluid of a scabies vesicle, potentised according to Hahnemannian principles. Symbolically and physiologically connected to the psoric miasm as defined by Hahnemann.

None in orthodox medicine; used solely within homeopathy as a deep-acting antipsoric remedy.

Introduced and utilised clinically by Hahnemann; proving symptoms gathered through both toxicological and clinical observation, extensively elaborated by Boenninghausen and later Allen, Clarke, and Hering.

• Skin – chronic eruptions, dirty, foul, itching, worse at night and from warmth
• Mind – despair, suicidal depression, hopelessness, lack of confidence
• Respiratory mucosa – asthma, fetid expectoration, recurring bronchitis
• Gastrointestinal system – chronic diarrhoea, ravenous hunger, emaciation
• Nervous system – prostration, coldness, anxiety
• All excretions – offensive, acrid, putrid, foul
• Thermoregulation – chilliness, lack of vital heat
• General vitality – debility, constitutional collapse, “never well since”

• Warm clothing, even in summer
• Lying down (in some nervous states)
• Eating (temporarily relieves debility)
• Rest and warmth
• Tight wrapping or bundling

• Cold air, slightest draught
• Uncovering, even briefly
• Night, especially after midnight
• Changes in weather, especially before a storm
• Suppression of eruptions
• Physical or mental exertion
• Open air, even mildly cool

• Sulphur – Both psoric; Sulphur is more intellectual, expansive, extroverted, and burning
• Calcarea carbonica – Also chilly and sweaty, but more anxious, methodical, and plodding
• Sepia – Despairing and chilly, but more irritable and better for exercise
• Carbo vegetabilis – Collapse state with coldness and offensive discharges, but less chronic skin history
• Syphilinum – Nosode with offensive discharge, but symptoms more destructive, compulsive, and periodic

• Complementary: Sulphur, Tuberculinum
• Antidotes: Coffea, Camphora
• Follows well: Sulphur, Lycopodium
• Precedes well: Calcarea, Silicea
• Inimical: None established, but may not follow well after acute suppressive allopathic treatment

Psorinum embodies the deep, chronic suppression of psora, manifesting as mental despair, physical decay, and loss of vital heat. Its essence is the collapse of reactive power, the inability of the body and mind to cleanse or restore balance. The patient is overwhelmed by chilliness, foulness, and hopelessness. Useful in deep chronic cases, where the patient appears filthy, hopeless, and lifeless, often with a history of suppressed eruptions or recurrent respiratory and digestive infections. Psorinum stimulates vital reaction when all other remedies fail to act.

• Use in chronic eczema with offensive discharge and debility
• Excellent for constitutional collapse after long illness
• Consider in chronic asthma with history of suppressed skin eruptions
• Indicated when the patient says “I will never get well”
• Useful when well-chosen remedies fail to act due to underlying miasm

Mind

• Despair of recovery
• Suicidal thoughts at night
• Lack of confidence
• Fear of poverty, future

Skin

• Eruptions, offensive, itchy, suppressed
• Eczema, chronic, night aggravation
• Scalp eruptions, greasy

Stomach

• Ravenous hunger, night
• Craves coffee, fat
• Indigestion with debility

Rectum

• Diarrhoea, foul, exhausting
• Itching, burning
• Constipation alternating

Generalities

• Coldness, extreme
• Offensive discharges
• Weakness, “never well since”

Samuel Hahnemann – Chronic Diseases: Introduced Psorinum as the main antipsoric nosode

Boenninghausen – Lesser Writings: First to extensively apply Psorinum clinically

T.F. Allen – Encyclopaedia: Collated clinical and toxicological data

John Henry Clarke – Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica: Provided vivid symptomatology and deep insights

James Tyler Kent – Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica: Emphasised mental despair and miasmatic collapse

C. Hering – Guiding Symptoms: Detailed the offensive, psoric expressions and unique modalities