Syphilinum

A nosode prepared from the serous fluid of a syphilitic chancre or a syphilitic ulcer, dynamised to a potentised homeopathic remedy. It embodies the chronic, destructive, and degenerative miasm of syphilis.

No conventional medical use; serves only as a diagnostic symbol of miasmatic inheritance or pathology in homeopathy.

Introduced clinically by Swan and later extensively used by Kent, Allen, and Clarke; proving information gathered primarily through clinical usage and observation rather than traditional provings.

• Bones – caries, necrosis, night pain
• Skin – ulceration, eruptions, oozing, destruction
• Nervous system – neuralgia, tremors, tabes dorsalis
• Throat – chronic ulceration, offensive discharge
• Eyes – deep-seated pain, ulcers of cornea
• Genitals – syphilitic sores, discharge, inherited miasm
• Mouth and Teeth – ulceration, decay, congenital deformity
• Children – congenital defects, inherited miasmatic burden
• Mental sphere – despair, compulsions, suicidal tendencies

• Daylight
• Continued motion (for some complaints)
• Cold bathing (sometimes)
• Pressure
• Lying on painful part (odd amelioration in bone pains)
• Dry weather

• Night (particularly 2–4 a.m.)
• Damp, cold, wet weather
• Warmth of bed
• Touch
• Rest
• Suppression of eruptions or discharges
• Mental strain

• Mercurius – Also covers ulceration, bone pains, night aggravation; but more salivation, trembling, and acute tendencies
• Psorinum – Foulness, despair, filthy discharges; more chilly, hopeless
• Tuberculinum – Destructive, but more restless, romantic, and mentally active
• Medorrhinum – Wild, passionate, erratic; more sexual, compulsive, impulsive
• Arsenicum album – Deep-seated despair and anxiety; more burning pains and restlessness

• Complementary: Mercurius, Kali iod., Nitric acid
• Antidotes: Mercurius, Hepar sulph.
• Follows well: After Merc., Nitric acid, Aurum
• Precedes well: Deep constitutional remedies in inherited miasmatic cases
• Inimical: Psorinum (caution in alternating nosodes)

Syphilinum resonates with the core theme of destruction—not merely physical decay, but spiritual disintegration. It is a remedy of deep pathology, inherited or acquired, where degeneration replaces inflammation, and hopelessness overrides fear. The person feels unclean, broken, or cursed—bearing the karmic weight of generations. Time loses rhythm—symptoms are periodic, worse at night, devouring vitality silently and slowly. It suits those for whom life itself seems inherently flawed, and whose illness mirrors a hidden wound of the soul.

• Useful when symptoms are worse at night, periodic, or destructive
• Consider when well-indicated remedies fail due to miasmatic block
• Indicated in cases with history of syphilis or inherited luetic traits
• Often used in bone pain, ulcers, neuralgia, and tabes dorsalis
• Acts best in high potency, given infrequently
• Watch for initial aggravation—use as intercurrent remedy with caution

Mind

• Despair of recovery
• Suicidal disposition
• Compulsive washing
• Religious mania

Bones

• Pain, boring, night
• Caries, ulceration
• Pain in shin bones, < 2–4 a.m.

Skin

• Ulcers, syphilitic
• Eruptions, copper-coloured
• Hair loss in patches

Sleep

• Sleeplessness, night pain
• Dreams, frightful
• Night sweats

Mouth

• Ulcers, painless
• Teeth, decayed, notched

Generalities

• Night aggravation
• Left-sided complaints
• Ulceration, destructive

• James Tyler Kent – Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica: Detailed mental symptoms and miasmatic interpretation
• William Boericke – Pocket Manual: Clinical applications and keynotes for ulcers, bone pain, and syphilitic inheritance
• John Henry Clarke – Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica: Classical indications for eye, bone, and neuralgic cases
• C. Hering – Guiding Symptoms: Descriptions of night aggravations, ulcers, and general modalities
• T.F. Allen – Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica: Compiled early clinical observations and usage of Syphilinum