Bacillinum – The Nosode of the 21st Century
By Sadhna Thakkar, BHMS (Ind.), CCH
Bacillinum has been one of the more under-described and under-prescribed homeopathic remedies until recently. Although Farrington and other homeopaths in the past made several references for its efficacy over Tuberculinum, it still remained obscure. In the past few years, having treated many cases successfully with Bacillinum, the clinical presentation of Bacillinum has clearly emerged to me as a distinctly different remedy.
Bacillinum is prepared from the macerated lung tissue containing not just bacillus but also lung tissue in all phases including the tubercle phase whereas Tuberculinum is prepared from the glycerin extract of a pure cultivation of tubercular bacillus. Just by the nature of the preparation, one can imagine the difference between the two. While Tuberculinum reflects the perspective of the bacillus, Bacillinum is the manifestation of the intense struggle between the bacillus and the immune response of the host. The following description will describe this difference clearly.
Tuberculinum
Intermittent complaints, URTI.
Periodic complaints.
Dry, hacking cough.
Desire for open air.
Desire for meat, eggs, cheese, milk, sweets, delicacies, ice-cream, fat, cold, pizza.
Delusion crushed he is by everyone.
Fear of death, being buried alive, (premature death), evil, something will happen, unpredictable danger, fear of strangers.
Restlessness, wandering, independent, loves to travel, courageous, bored easily, needs excitement and change, dare devil activities
Violence when restrained, contradicted, defiant, striking out, throwing things
Bacillinum
Chronic complaints, skin diseases.
Lingering obstinate complaints.
Muco-purulent cough.
Air cold, open aggravates.
Aversion meat, cheese, sweets, cold food.
Desires alcohol, vinegar, pickles, mustard.
Delusion suffered wrong he has.
Predictable danger, such as disease, loss of money, business, future. Fear of cancer, incurable illness, long standing incurable conditions, anxiety about money, future.
Restless, likes traveling but conscientious, anxious about business, money, health, diseases, Despair of recovery, discontent, cautious activities.
Moaning, lamenting, complaining, or sitting quietly, never laughing, well says when he is sick. If any violence, it is directed towards self, striking, hitting himself.
From the above differences, it is easy to visualize a Tuberculinum patient to be a young, hopeful person who is ambitious, courageous, and a risk taker with a faith that life will work out whereas a Bacillinum patient is an older person seasoned with life experiences and who knows that in order to have a happy life, one must have money, business, and health. Both are independent but the Tuberculinum independence is desired and the Bacillinum independence is due to circumstances in life. When Tuberculinum desires change in activity, it is often with enthusiasm. In Bacillinum, on the other hand, restlessness is more anxiety related, with a need to change the doctor for instance in order to find the cure for the obstinate, incurable disease.
During the past few years, I have made more successful prescriptions of Bacillinum than Tuberculinum. When I looked at the common elements in Bacillinum patients, the theme ran very close to the modernization of the 21st century. As we know, life in the 21st Century seems to be moving at an ever increasing speed. Every day new discoveries and inventions are made. Globalization and real time communication capability has resulted in a much smaller and compact world. It is difficult to imagine that just 50 years ago, television was a luxury and the idea of cell phones was not even in the consciousness of most people.
The advances of the 21st century have brought a new set of problems with them, including new diseases and the resurfacing of old diseases. The result has been a sense of an increasing threat from virulent acute epidemic type diseases such as Avian flu, Malaria, Tuberculosis, SARS and AIDS and the medical community and government bodies have been responding with increased research into vaccines and treatment plans. This increased perceived threat has also reached the geopolitical level with a fear of terrorist bombs, biological warfare and a sense of imminent danger and impending chaos. The motto ‘Let’s kill them before they kill us’ is pervading into the political as well as medical system.
The experience on an individual level is one of increased activity, anxiety, worry and stress. People have to work harder and longer, security is disappearing, more medications are taken to cope and the medical system is straining to cope with the ever increasing crisis in medicine.
When these measures seem to be failing with little or no relief from the newer medicines, there is a growing realization that every one is ultimately on one’s own. How do we all deal with the personal travails of illness, and if doctors can’t relieve us nor are able to answer any questions about our health, what are we going to do. As a result more and more people are expending great effort on their own health needs, from diets to gyms to all forms of conventional and alternative therapies. There is a huge amount of energy being expended on one level, researching on the internet and imposing self-control on their emotions and immediate surrounding and on the other level extreme passivity, a growing despair, hopelessness and depression saps the rest of the energy as well.
The above state is very beautifully described by the following symptoms of Bacillinum:
Delusion about to die
Delusion everything is strange
Fear of the disease, cancer, incurable disease
Fear of being attacked
Hectic Restlessness
Complaining , bitter
Moaning, lamenting, whimpering
Delusion suffered wrong he has, (tears his hair with headache)
Despair of recovery
Irritability with sadness, disturbed averse to be,
Sadness from headache (minor complaint like headache creates despair)
Sadness moves constantly
Laughing, never
Change the doctor desire for, Travel des to place to place
Discontented with fever, pain, surrounding
Dreams of running, full of cares
Religiousness
Well says when very sick
Striking himself, tearing himself
Sleeplessness/Insomnia
As a result, the common physical manifestations include
Eczema of the eyelids; eczema of the ear passage. Impetigo behind ears.
Impetigo of the head; pityriasis versicolor, squamous eczema, generalized eruptions.
Weeping eczema of the head, behind ears in the folds of the skin.
On the face, especially on the left cheek, some small button like eruptions; juvenile acne, which persists for long time (Anthracinum.) Alopecia of the head.
Prolonged Weakness after infectious diseases
Never well since pneumonia
My clinical observations of Bacillinum patients include:
Recurrent URTI, flu, gastric flu
Eczema worse after every cold
Eczema on the folds of the skin, face, around mouth
Acne in puberty
Painful boils in nostrils
Strawberry red rash around perineum in babies
Herpes - genital
Perspiration on soles, axilla
Stunted growth, especially delayed teething
Less fighting, more independent and self-reliant, do not even think about asking for help
Very restless, anxious before sleep and on waking
Self reflection, fear of loosing self control, self reproach,
Suspicious, hate having to be dependent on expert opinions of others
Strong willed, self restricting of many things they like
Do extensive research and apply more restrictions with stronger convictions
Need to control their own treatment, make their own decisions
Waking up at 4am, sleepless due to thoughts and activities of mind
Silent ill-humor and serious
Industrious, hard working, conscientious
Prolonged weakness after acute illnesses
In my opinion, Bacillinum is truly a Nosode for the 21st century, which is about conquering disease and death, about refining technology, about acquiring more power and money, about creating wars to fight the terrorist, about controlling and redefining social norms, about not feeling okay with oneself, about changing the environment as opposed to oneself, about relief more than the health, about speed than peace, about information than knowledge. Bacillinum covers the entire spectrum perfectly.
