Materia Medica Homeopathy Papers

The Many Faces of Psorinum

homeopathic medicine for vomiting
Written by Arshi Tank

Dr. Arshi Tank describes some of the many indications for Psorinum, the important nosode prepared by Dr. Hering from the sero-purulent matter of the Scabies vesicle.

Below are some examples of situations calling for Psorinum. We frequently see street dogs scratching themselves vigorously. The itch is so bad, they seem very anguished. One day my pet dog Toffee developed a very bad itch. He would scratch himself so vigorously and bite himself till he would bleed.  At night particularly, he would be very restless scratching hard. He would not be able to sleep at all. His hair became very dry and tangled and fell out in lumps.

A patient consulted me for depression, saying he felt very sad and nervous. He did not feel like going to work.  He said, “ I love my work, but every few months, when the business is a little low, I get this kind of depression. Financially, I am comfortable, I don’t have to worry and nothing can go wrong drastically. I know this is just a phase, but somehow I am not able to come out of it. I get a bad feeling that, what if business does not pick up, then what shall happen? I have huge EMI’s to pay. Due to this nagging fear, I do not feel like going to work at all. This has all the more adverse effect. I am not able to collect payments due to me. All my thoughts have become very negative and I am not able to come out of this depression.”

In another instance, a young school going girl was brought in by her mother, saying, “ She is never happy. Most of the times she is irritable, snappy, sulky,anxious. She is good in studies, but when she studies too much, she gets a headache. She has got very good marks in all her tests so far, but she is worried for her final exams. We have told her, even if she does not study at all, she will get an “A”grade, since she has already scored far too well, but still she is stressed. It is very difficult to convince her. She is just worried that she may forget everything.  Typically she gets headache over her eyeswhich increases when she studies and gets better when she eats.”

Another gentleman presented with a lot of weakness and loss of appetite after a bout of viral fever. On enquiring he replied that he was sensitive to cold and had offensive perspiration.

These are a few presentations from my practice of Psorinum, the important nosode prepared by Dr. Hering from the sero-purulent matter of the Scabies (Homeopathy Treatment for Scabies) vesicle.

These small, itching, pin head vesicles are formed due to a flow of lymph caused by the venomous saliva of the sarcopte parasite. Hence, the material used for the preparation of Psorinum also contains the toxin secreted by the Itch Mite. (Studies conducted by Delafond and Bourguignon).

The acarus (female sarcopte) burrows under the skin of animals where they lay eggs and their toxin causes the eruption of vesicles and pustules. Their activity increases after evening and causes intense pruritis and intoxication. I now understood why Toffee would itch violently at night and remain drowsy during the day. This physical irritability extends to the mental sphere, where everything irritates her.Surprisingly, most proving symptoms are developed in a female. She becomes quarrelsome, prefers solitude and is afraid of the future because she is afraid, anticipating that everything she undertakes shall be a failure. The attitude is pessimistic, full of despair since she has fixed ideas regarding the situation.

This anxiousness, this cold interior gives her the impression of external coldness and even in hot weather,she wishes to be well covered.

This distorted perception of the weather (loosely translated into surrounding), continues into the mental delusion of doom, fear of “the chill” symbolizing the slack phase in work which explains the important rubric, ‘Fear of poverty, prosperous although.’

Observing from the outside, there does not seem to be a very strong reason for the “out of proportion” sadness and gloom the Psorinum patient suffers from. What can explain this state is that “The ITCH leads to DESPAIR”. The mental ‘Itch’ to do things, when obstructed with dark clouds of doubt, fear, anxiety, anticipation or disappointment gives rise to the intense gloom.Delusion poor he is; sick he is;  life is a burden, doomed he is.

There is another interesting set of rubrics:

Head separated from body

Body parts divided

Arms separated from body

Body parts absent

These Rubrics are suggestive of the incoordination, of the mind and body and imply that the mind and body are not in sync,so he cannot work optimally. He is not himself anymore.

Even when things are not too bad, he can’t help but be in a state of despair and inability to come out of it. Despair, recovery of convalescence, during. Despair, recovery of weakness with.

This was evident in the case of the businessman who had consulted me for depression. He still felt the gloom and hopelessness even when the business was recovering (convalescence). His mental weakness did not allow him to go all out.

He was indifferent to all the ‘joys’, indifferent to his surroundings with indolence and aversion to work.

The word “itch” has an undertone of persistence, progression, continuation in frequent intervals. Similarly, Psorinum is indicated for complaints continuing for a long time.These are complaints which have been brought out by the suppression of the itch. When complaints continue for long, it is obvious that lots of treatments must have been given, including Sulphur. The very fact that the case does not improve when ‘well selected remedies fail to relieve or permanently improve or have not responded to Sulphur’, call for a dose of this nosode.

It is indicated in cases of weakness and loss of appetite remaining after acute diseases. The symptom of feeling unusually well before falling ill is observed frequently. I remember a classic Psorinum presentation when a child came with a severe throat infection. His tonsils were greatly swollen. There was intense burning, scalding, cutting pain. When he opened his mouth for examination, I was disgusted at the offensive odor from the mouth. The saliva was profuse, sticky and the child kept hawking frequently to loosen cheesy balls.  His mother said, “It is very strange that he has this bad infection, since he was so active and well yesterday. He came home after play, was very cheerful and even had three rotis( pancakes) instead of his usual two.”

The peculiarity in Psorinum skin is the itchiness in folds, where the skin is thin, for example, behind ears, between fingers, around navel, anus, perineum and mouth. Itchiness is made worse by abrasion of clothes, wool, dresses with thick embroidery or fancy laces. It is worse by heat of bed and undressing.

The look of the skin is dirty, unwashed, offensive, oily, due to overactivity of sebaceous glands and improper functioning of cutaneous glands. The skin could be very dry with intense itching, scaling, cracks, lot of desquamation. Fungal infections like oral and genital candida (thrush), ringworm, herpes especially of the lips. There is inevitably a history of a skin condition, especially scabies,or occurring in the parents or siblings and which have been treated with ointments.

It is indicated in parasitic infestations like pinworms, nits, fleas, headlice.

Allergic reactions of long standing like asthma, hay fever, skin, nose and  eye reactions to pollens, dust, feathers,  detergents, oils or chemicals in chilly patients call for Psorinum.

Many infant and childhood complaints  like nappy rash, measles, heat rash, nasal catarrh, painful teething, susceptibility to colds, fevers, night terrors,  sleeplessness in children, irritated behaviour, offensive otorrhoea also suggest this nosode.

PSORINUM IN PRACTICE

Psorinum should not be given in very high doses at the outset. A dose of 30 or 200 (one dose or triple split dose) should be given followed by waiting for a fortnight or a month. Slowly, the potencies could be stepped up, waiting longer each time.

One must be very patient, as it is a very deep acting remedy that elicits change and symptoms for many months.  There is often a delay of 9-10 days before any change appears.  Psora is not a blockage that is quickly removed after a few doses of 200 or 1m. An impatient approach will hamper the progress of a case. Greater patience is required with Psorinum than with probably any other remedy.

References :

Allen’s Encyclopedia

Kents lectures

Julian’s nosodes. 

Complete Repertory 2015. 

About the author

Arshi Tank

Dr. Arshi Tank is a Homoeopathic physician practising at her clinic, Aastha Homeopathic Clinic, Mumbai, India for 18 years. She did her post graduation in Advanced Homoeopathy (Gold medalist) and courses in Reiki, Yoga, Dietetics. She is passionate about spreading awareness of homeopathy, especially for ailments which have no cure in Allopathy. It is her mission to take Homoeopathy to the masses. For this, she conducts lectures, camps, writes on blogs and is associated with various charitable institutions. Genuinely caring, she guides her patients through the treatment by hearing them patiently, counseling, suggesting dietary and lifestyle changes along with medicines which enhance the process of complete cure.

6 Comments

  • I’m scared I used to much Psorinum 1m. I took 2 pills to treat scabies. I never took this medicine before. And I can’t find any information on how much or how often. And I would like to know, after it starts working how long does it stay in my body and keep killing the scabies? After about 9 days do I need to keep washing everything daily? And sterilizing everything daily? I hope I get a reply soon! And I’m very scared I decided to try this after reading things people have said about it. Yes there were a lot of things it does great I see too.

    • DEAR MANISH, DONT FEEL OFFENDED BUT DO YOU REALLY READ ARTICLES OF AUTHOR BEFORE WRITING YOUR COMMENTS? I don’t THINK SO, THE VERY FIRST LINE THAT IT IS PREPARED FROM SCABIES VESICLE IS WRONG, HERING HIMSELF WAS NEVER SURE OF THIS In 1830, Dr. Constantine Hering, while in Surinam, or Dutch Guiana collected pus from the forearms, hands and between the fingers, from mature pustules, on a young and otherwise healthy Negro. The Negro had been handling some stuff imported from Germany and had become infected, but Hering says that he does not know whether the infection was due to the Acarus scabiei or not, although he speaks of it as the itch pustule.

      • Thank you so much for clarifying this sir. I wish everyone, including myself, had even a small percentage of your vast knowledge. There is nothing to feel offended about. Your guidance and opinion is always valued and cherished.

        It is my personal shortcoming that I tend to focus on what’s good in an article or a person, and that I am unable to nitpick.

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