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Mercury in general is an important deep-acting remedy. It affects each and every part and cell of the body. Once Mercury has settled in the body it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to eradicate its ill effects. Like Arsenic, it too produces deep and permanent ill effects, however, Arsenic does not get carried into the next generation. Its ill effects remain confined to the person poisoned, though they last throughout his life. Arsenic embedded in the body gets buried with the person. Mercury however, is extremely dangerous because its ill effects pass on from generation to generation.
Syphilis also behaves the same way. That is why Mercury
happens to be a top class treatment
for syphilis. Syphilinum too, given in very high potency, is very
useful in the treatment of syphilis; it is prepared from the syphilis lesions.
However in case it does not benefit, it will at least enhance the action of
other remedies, especially the Mercury compounds. The above basic feature of
Mercury must be well remembered that its poisonous effects last throughout one’s
life as well as getting passed onto the next generation. In an ironic sense, Mercury
is a dangerous poison with ever-lasting effects. In fact, it tops the list of
dangerous poisons. It affects the bones as well as the nerve cells. It
percolates through the blood, skin, heart, inner linings and nerve fibres and
then settles in the bone and brain tissue. In olden days, the doctors used to
treat syphilis with Mercury. It offered temporary relief but resulted in
long-lasting deleterious effects on the body. The syphilis simply got
suppressed and transmitted through reproduction to future generations. Besides
this, past physicians used Mercury fearlessly for other conditions as well.
Excessive, unnecessary use of mercury produces syphilis like symptoms. Mercury kills the nerve cells and causes
decay of the nasal bones and fingers, like leprosy. The homoeopathic use of
Mercury, on the other hand, has the capability to cure these symptoms.
Excessive salivation, profuse sweating, sore throat and pungent
smell are the common symptoms of Mercury, well known to doctors. A Mercury patient always smells putrid,
unbearable to others. It is difficult to explain the nature of this smell. One
has to personally experience it. Proper use of Mercury will surface the illness
to the skin. Sometimes a severe itch, discharging
sinuses and ulcers covered with whitish matter develop. White spots
appear on the skin. Once I saw a patient who had widespread painful whitish ulcers on and
around the thighs that were intractable. With the use of Mercury, he was, by
the grace of God, completely cured within a month.
When the sores
developing on the skin turn into ulcers with raised edges, and there is a fear of gangrene formation, then Merc Cor instead of Merc Sol is a better remedy. The difference
between the two, it that Merc Sol is relatively mild but long acting
compared to Merc Cor. The ailments of Merc Cor happen to be severe and
of acute nature. Merc Cor is distinctively a fast-acting remedy in
acute as well as chronic
conditions. Chronic dysentery associated with passage of mucus
and blood should be treated with Merc Sol. If, however, the
dysentery is of acute onset and is associated with severe gripes (tenesmus) and
continuous bleeding, then Merc Cor will be found more effective.
In Mercury ailments, the gangrenous
process involves the lips, the inside of the cheeks and the gums
(cancrum oris). The overlying skin becomes dark and looks horrible. In syphilis, a similar
affliction is noted on these areas. The nose may also be affected with the
resultant decay of the nasal bones. Chronic
ulcers of the mouth are also suggestive of Mercury ailments.
One sign of Mercury is the formation of white specks on the
skin resembling leucoderma. This condition is neither leucoderma, nor do the
spots spread and coalesce like leucoderma. But, if the constitutional symptoms
of Mercury are also present, then Mercury can effectively cure even leucoderma.
Another tine, a patient had widespread leucoderma affecting the entire body and
also had the general symptoms of Mercury. A single dose of Mercury 1000 resulted
in the disappearance of his white patches for good, within the week. When
Mercury benefits skin conditions, it does not afflict any damage to deeper
glands, but, while it primarily works on the deep glands and organs, it may
surface some kind of skin condition. This shows that the Mercury has rendered
the glands healthy by pushing the disease from the inside, out to the skin.
Mercury is useful in the treatment
of chronic bone pains, especially of the superficial bones that are
devoid of any muscle padding under the skin. Mercury should not be forgotten
while considering the treatment of chronic sinuses connected to the bones or
glands. A peculiar symptom of Mercury is that joint pains tend to be associated
with pus formation. The constitution of a Mercury patient is like that of
syphilis. Therefore the bones, when inflamed, develop sinuses and produce pus.
Conventional therapy consists of aspirating the pus with a syringe. On the
other hand, Mercury when started in a low potency and then gradually increased,
can in fact produce better results. However,
a high potency, right at the onset of the disease, can prove dangerous. In
chronic diseases, the potency should be increased gradually. The safest way is
that the treatment should be initiated in a low potency and then gradually
increased.
Another characteristic of Mercury is that arthritis and rheumatism
are associated with swelling and inflammation. Suffering increases with the
warmth of the bed and on sweating. The patient sweats profusely yet gets no
relief. His restlessness continues in spite of frequent sweating. In acute
tonsillitis, when the fever subsides on sweating, the patient’s condition
further deteriorates. In this condition, two to three doses of Mercury will
first bring back the fever and
then make it subside gradually. The patient sweats profusely once instead of sweating
repeatedly. In this fever, susceptible to Mercury, one sign is that the child’s
eyes appear glossy as if painted with varnish. In measles and chicken pox too,
the eyes have a similar appearance for as long as the rash has not appeared.
Their breath has a foetid odour. The
child may develop meningitis
and have visual delusions. In this condition, if Mercury becomes
ineffective, Hepar Sulph should be used. If this also fails, then Silicea will
be found effective by God’s grace. Usually this condition is within the range
of these three remedies. I also use a biochemic prescription for such
conditions and that is Natrum Phos, Ferrum Phos, Silicea, Kali Mur and Calcarea
Phos in 6X. For inflamed
tonsils, Calcarea Fluor should also be added and the mixture
administered repeatedly. This prescription has often proved very useful. If the
illness is still not controlled and the patient has the symptoms of Mercury,
then Mercury must be used, after Hepar Sulph of course.
Mercury has a fluctuating nature. Its ailments show ups
and downs in their severity. Blood pressure and fever can also behave the same way.
In other words, Merc Sol should be used for the treatment of any inconsistent
type of condition. When the symptoms of Mercury become severe, the hands
tremble and become weak. One becomes incapable of even holding a cup of tea. Mercury may possibly be of benefit in the treatment of epilepsy-like conditions
in children as well as neurological diseases associated with
spontaneous involuntary movements of the limbs (chorea, athetosis).
A Mercury patient has an impulsive
nature, speaks rather fast and is impatient.
He wants to do things at the spur of the moment. His anger knows no bounds. The
tendency towards insanity may be very strong. When emotionally excited, he is
very dangerous. He may commit a serious crime or kill himself. He remains tense
and is extremely restless. He is fearful of becoming insane and of death. He becomes
a coward and possesses a suspicious mind. He loses hope in life. When
questioned, he replies carefully and slowly. Memory
and the mind become weak. The headache in a Mercury patient is connected
to the suppression of body discharges. For example, the suppression of sweating
of feet or the sudden stoppage of nasal secretions will precipitate the
headache. A sudden cessation
of menses will also provoke the headache. The head feels tied up
with a bandage. On lying flat on the back, the patient feels dizzy. The Skull
feels tightly squeezed and under pressure. Burning and itching are also common.
Mercury ailments intensify in the cold as well as hot
weather. Gusty wind is unbearable.
If after measles etc., the head
seems expanding, then Mercury can put a stop to this tendency immediately. The skin of Mercury patients has a clay-like
appearance. Secretions from the itchy
and eczematous skin are offensive and start bleeding. The edges of the ulcers are rounded in shape
and covered with white exudates. Skin conditions aggravate at night. The warmth
of the bed aggravates symptoms.
The eyes become inflamed and red along with a burning sensation.
There is a lot of watery discharge from the eyes. Black dots
appear before the eyes. On looking towards the fire, the eyes
become red and swollen. There is pain around the eyes and at the temples.
The vision becomes blurred. The cornea becomes inflamed. Eyes become hypersensitive to light. All the eye symptoms of ‘pink eye’
at the onset of summer are also found in Mercury. If the eye
symptoms are not clearly identified, then Merc Sol should be used. Seeing
the sun during its eclipse can
seriously damage the retina of the eye.
The
effect may not become apparent right away. Damage shows up
years after the incident. Black dots appear in the visual field. Sometimes the right
eye gets blinded and at other times, the left eye. The patient then gradually
becomes totally blind. This blindness is not amenable to any kind of
conventional therapy so far. However, two to three doses of Merc Cor CM given
monthly seem to be of benefit, by the grace of God. The process of being
blinded stops there and then. It is not possible to repair the detached retina
that definitely needs to be treated with laser surgery. Some doctors are of the
opinion that Merc Sol, in a low potency, may benefit many retinal conditions. I
have no such experience. I suggest more research should be carried out.Stinky, white or dark green pus discharging from the ears is
a typical sign of Mercury. The
inner as well as the outer ear become infected.
The ear-drum (tympanic membrane) may perforate causing deafness.
Sometimes, Merc Sol can quickly control the common cold, although this
is only a superficial treatment. Since Merc Sol is not a long acting remedy,
one should not depend on it. Instead, for a persistent common cold, one should
use Kali Iodide. Kali Iodide is intimately related to the conditions affecting
the mucous membranes.
Nevertheless, Kali Iodide alone may not be sufficient for
catarrhal conditions. Several other remedies can also be used. Dr. Kent has warned against the repeated use
of Mercury for skin diseases, lest it causes permanently serious ill effects.
It is possible that Mercury may only be related to certain skin diseases and
may not have any similarity to the overall constitution of the patient. The result
would be that some diseases might get better while the majority would merely be
suppressed or rendered latent.
Mercury is very useful in the treatment of diseases of the teeth, especially
when they become brittle and the gums recede, along with the formation and
collection of offensive discharge (pyorrhoea). Teeth turning black and decaying at their
root can be treated with Kreosotum as well as Merc Sol. If the roots of the
teeth have become black, then Staphysagria works better than Merc Sol. In
congenital syphilis, the teeth of the children decay at an early age and become
black. The tongue appears to be thick and expanded with teeth markings on its
margins. Deep ulcers form
inside the mouth. The gums hurt on eating or on touch. Extremely foetid odour from the mouth
fills the entire room. In Mercury, the taste of the mouth becomes
metallic. The throat is red and swollen. Due to excessive salivation, the
patient needs to constantly swallow it. Any change of weather results in
inflammation of the throat. A worsening of the discomfort on drinking hot
fluids, the difficulty in swallowing liquids and the persistent feeling of
something being stuck in the throat (as in Hepar Sulph), need to be treated
with Mercury.
The appetite of a Mercury patient is either markedly
increased or it is totally lost. There is aversion to meat, coffee and fatty
food. There is an intense feeling of weakness along with increased
appetite. Milk and sweets produce hyperacidity in the stomach. The patient
has a strong desire to drink cold liquids. The stomach feels inflamed, burns inside and is tender to the touch. The patient experiences hiccups as well as belching. The stomach becomes tense.
There is a feeling of a pin pricking over the area of the liver. The patient
feels uncomfortable while lying on the right side. Dysentery and a stinging type of abdominal pain are
also the symptoms of Mercury. In Merc
Cor, there is irritation and inflammation of the bladder also.
Urination becomes frequent and interrupted, associated with
scalding.
Dysentery also sets in. In the presence of all these symptoms, Merc Cor proves
to be almost a sure shot remedy. Acute
summer dysentery can also be effectively treated with Aconite and Ipecac.One symptom of Mercury is that the heart starts beating
fast on the slightest physical exertion. There is a feeling of weakness over
the heart. The symptoms become worse at night. The limbs tremble, but especially the hands and
the feet. There may also be sudden jolting of the muscles (tonic convulsions).
The body feels unusually heavy, weak and tired. The stiffness becomes worse at
night in the warmth of the bed.
Regarding the diseases of women, such as stinging and
burning the ovaries, excessive
menstrual bleeding, abdominal pain, the abrasive type of leucorrhoea getting worse
at night, morning sickness and scalding
urination, followed by itching which gets relieved on washing with
cold water; are all the signs of, and effectively treatable with, Merc Sol. Abortion, in the early
months of pregnancy, resulting from weakness can be treated with Merc Sol. Merc
Sol removes the weakness and provides the strength to carry the pregnancy through.
Mercury cannot cure the cancer of the uterus or the breast, but
definitely ameliorates the pain and relieves the
suffering. Noncancerous lumps can however be cured with Mercury. One Mercury compound
called Proto Iodide has proved to be very useful in the treatment of breast cancer.
Dr. Kent used to prescribe Proto Iodide 100 for the treatment of pain due to
cancer of the breast. It helped every time it was used. Dr. Kent had noted an
egg-sized cancerous lump of the breast was resolved or dissolved completely
with the use of Proto Iodide of Mercury. It benefits more on the right-sided tumour,
while another compound of Mercury-bin-Iodide, works better on the left-sided
tumour.
Merc Sol is very useful in the treatment of spasmodic stiffness of the neck, on
exposure to the cold. If the suffering is noted as first thing in the morning,
then Belladonna should be used first. If it fails, then use Merc Sol.
In certain paralytic
conditions, there can be spontaneous
jerky movements
of the limbs, bending them. These too may possibly be treated with Merc Sol. Its Eczema and the ulcers are associated with a burning
and piercing sensation. The exudating smells are extremely foul and nauseating. In this type of symptom complex, any homoeopathic
remedy of which the main con stituent is Mercury will be found useful with rare
exceptions.The symptoms of a patient of Mercury aggravate at night,
like Syphilinum and Sulphur. In Sulphur, the aggravation is due to the warmth
of the bed, while in Mercury it is the time of the night, that aggravates
whether the patient is asleep in bed or not.