Mercurius

Swollen, flabby tongue, taking imprint of the teeth; gums also swollen, spongy or bleeding; breath very offensive.

Sweats day and night without relief in many complaints.

Creeping chilliness in the beginning of a cold, or threatened suppuration.

Sliminess of mucous membranes.

Moist tongue, with intense thirst.

Glandular swellings, cold, inclined to suppurate; ulcers with lardaceous base.

Modalities: < at night in warmth of bed, while sweating, lying on right side.

Bone diseases; pains worse at night.

Dysentery: stools slimy, bloody, colic, fainting; great tenesmus during and after, followed by chilliness, and a “cannot finish sensation.”

The more blood and pain the better indicated.

Affects lower lobe of right lung; stitches through to back (Chel., Kali c.).

Intense thirst, although the tongue looks moist and the saliva is profuse.

In low potencies, hastens suppuration; in high, aborts suppuration, as in quinsy.

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As in Antimonium crudum, so in Mercurius, the leading characteristic is found in the mouth, or, I might rather say, characteristics, for the gums are swollen, spongy, sometimes bleeding; the tongue is also swollen, flabby, taking the imprint of the teeth (Arsenicum, Chelidonium, Podophyllum, Rhus tox. and Stramonium), generally moist, yet with intense thirst; the whole mouth is moist with salivation which is soapy or stringy, and the odor from the mouth is very offensive; you can smell it all over the room. No remedy has this condition of mouth in any degree equal to Mercury. It is found in very many complaints, and if anything corroborative of the truth of “similia,” etc., were desired the curative power of Mercury, when indicated by these symptoms, ought to be satisfactory. Many a time have I given great relief to my patient, and great credit to Homœopathy, by brilliant cures of that painful affection, quinsy, guided by these symptoms. Of course, in addition to the above symptoms the tonsils were greatly swollen and often apparently on the verge of suppuration. Right here let me warn against giving Mercurius too low, for if you do, it will hasten suppuration instead of aborting it. If anyone is skeptical as to the efficiency of the very high potencies, I invite him to a test in just such a case. Give a single dose, dry upon the tongue, or if you must seem to do more, dissolve a powder in four tablespoonfuls of water and give in half-hourly doses. Then wait. I have done it many times and am convinced. If the patient has that other strong characteristic of Mercurius, viz., profuse perspiration, without relief of the suffering, success is doubly sure. (Sweat relieves, Arsenicum, Natrum mur., Psorinum.)

I wish right here, as perhaps the most appropriate place, to disclaim being an exclusive high-potentist. The question of dose is, and I believe must remain, an open one as long as different degrees of susceptibility are found in different diseases and persons. I have experimented along the whole line and know that both the high and the low are efficacious in certain cases. The preponderance of evidence, however, is greatly in favor of the high and the highest. This is my opinion. You may differ, and are welcome to do so.

The fever symptoms of Mercurius are notable, especially in the sweats. The chill also is peculiar as I have observed it. It is not a shaking chill, but is simply creeping chilliness. Often when this creeping chilliness is felt it is the first symptom of a cold that has been taken, and, if left alone, the coryza, sore throat, bronchitis or even pneumonia may follow; but, if taken early, a dose of Mercurius may prevent all such troubles. This chilliness is felt most generally in the evening and increases into the night if not removed by Mercury. It also alternates with flashes of heat; first chilly, then hot, then chilly, etc., like Arsenicum. It is often felt in single parts. Then again it is felt in abscesses and is the harbinger of pus formation. If pus has already formed, especially much of it, the only thing Mercury can do is to hasten its discharge; but if little or none is actually formed a dose of Mercury high will often check the formation and a profuse sweat often follows with a subsidence of the swelling and rapid cure of the disease.

Now the sweats. They are very profuse and do not relieve like the sweats of inflammatory diseases generally do, but on the contrary the complaints increase with the sweat. (Tilia.) In what diseases is this condition found? It may be found in almost every disease: In sore throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, pleuritis, peritonitis, abscesses, rheumatism, etc., to the end of a long list. In short, in any disease in which this profuse and persistent sweating without relief is present Mercurius is the first remedy to be thought of.

Worse at night, and especially in the warmth of the bed, is another strong characteristic of Mercurius. (Ledum pal.) There is a long list of remedies that have aggravations at night, but not so many from warmth of the bed. I have cured many skin diseases of various names guided by this modality. The glands and bones also come strongly under the influence of this remedy. The glandular swellings are cold, inclined to suppurate, having these chilly creepings aforementioned. These with the bone-pains in the exostoses and caries are all aggravated at night in the warmth of the bed.

The mucous membranes are everywhere affected; the discharges from them are at first thin and excoriating, even from the catarrh of the nose to the diarrhœic, or dysenteric, discharges. Afterwards they become thicker, or more bland, like the Pulsatilla discharges. These are worse at night also, even the leucorrhœa.

Hahnemann ranked Mercury (first) for syphilis, as he did Sulphur for psora and Thuja for sycosis, and no doubt justly so, for Mercury in its various forms symptomologically covers more cases of that disease than any other remedy. But it must be remembered that Mercury is no more a panacea for syphilis than is Sulphur for psora or Thuja for sycosis, else there would be no truth in similia similibus. The case in hand must simulate Mercury, or that remedy is not “in it,” but some other remedy is. Experience abundantly corroborates this and proves the truth of the law, Similia Similibus Curantur.