The gonorrhoeal virus, is undoubtedly a great remedy. Any one who has had much to do with gonorrhoea well knows the severe form of rheumatism, which is often the consequence of the introduction of this disease product into the system. I have seen some remarkable results from the use of this remedy in chronic forms of rheumatism. One case (a middle-aged lady) was not able to attend church, a few rods from her residence, for a long time, the trouble being in her feet and ankles and soles of the feet. The ankles were so sore and stiff and soles so tender that she could not walk on them. ANTIMONIUM CRUD., which had cured some bad cases with similar symptoms for me, was without any beneficial effect, but MEDORRHINUM cm., one dose, so benefited her that she could walk where she pleased. In the ORGANON (journal), Vol. 3, Dr. J. A. Biegler, of Rochester, N. Y., reports a remarkable cure of chronic rheumatism in a man 60 years of age. No history of previous gonorrhoea appears in the case, and I have never found any such history in the cases which I have been able to benefit with this remedy. In Vol. 1, of the same journal, is a remarkable cure reported by Dr. Skinner, of Liverpool, England. It is a cure of caries of the spine of long standing by SYPHILINUM (high). I had a very similar case, for which I had been prescribing for over a year without success, when I first read the report of this case. In my case, as in his, the patient had severe pains in the diseased part DURING THE NIGHT. Every one acquainted with syphilitic troubles, especially of the bones, knows of these (terrible, sometimes) nightly bone pains. Three doses of Swan's SYPHILINUM cm. cured this case in the remarkably short space of forty days. I could not find any reliable history of syphilis in this case. Then the question arises, is Swan's nosode theory true, or are disease products homeopathically curative only in those cases resembling them, not having a disease product history? Let others answer, I am not able to as yet.
Since writing the above I have experimented more with the so-called nosodes and have had seemingly very good results from this remedy as well as SYPHILINUM in intractable cases of chronic rheumatism. The most characteristic difference between them is that with MEDORRHINUM the pains are worse in the DAYTIME, and with SYPHILINUM in the NIGHT.
There are, no doubt, great curative powers residing in these two disease poisons and they should not be discarded simply because they are the products of disease.
In regard to the other nosodes, I have, within two years past, seen some remarkable effects from them.