Mercurius Cyanatus

The history of this remedy is a romantic one. When Dr. Alexander Villers was

an infant he had diphtheria. Known remedies had failed to arrest the disease, and his father, Dr.

Dominic von Villers, was in despair. Taking counsel with his friend, Dr. Beck (of Monthey in

Switzerland), the latter was struck with the likeness of the case to the effects of Merc. cy. in

some poisoning cases, reports of which he had just been reading. He suggested the remedy A

small quantity of the salt was procured and an attenuation rapidly made and administered.

• ▸Improvement soon set in, and recovery happily followed.
• ▸The patient, saved by Merc.
• ▸cy.
• ▸, lived

to do most brilliant work with the same remedy when practising in St. Petersburg, and Merc. cy.

has taken a sure place at the head of remedies for this affection. The local symptoms are very

clearly defined, and among the general symptoms profound prostration, coldness, and cyanosis

are leading indications. Villers had better results with the 30th than with any lower attenuation.

• ▸Merc.
• ▸cy.
• ▸is also a very efficient prophylactic in diphtheria.
• ▸In the sensational New York

poisoning case of February, 1899, Mr. Henry C. Barnett, the victim, was treated for diphtheria by

• ▸his doctors before the cause of the illness was discovered.
• ▸Beck (Rev.
• ▸Hom.
• ▸Fran.
• ▸, xii.
• ▸153)

mentions among the leading symptoms: extreme feebleness, trembling, syncope. Icy coldness;

general coldness with nausea. Diphtheritic membrane in throat, mouth, and at anus. Nash reports

as particularly indicating it a chronic sore throat of public speakers, with rawness in spots and a

broken-down appearance, as if about to ulcerate, and this additional condition—"it hurts the

patient to speak." Heemorrhages occur, dark and persistent. Swallowing is impossible or = severe

cutting pains. Thought of food = retching. There are varicose veins with great tenderness on left

leg. Symptoms are < after eating.

Excitement, anger, raved furiously at attendant.—Excessive ill-humour after eating a

little too much.

Great excitement, fits of passion; fury; talkativeness. Atrocious headache. Eyes sunken; face pale.

Vertigo with singing in ears, < sitting up.—Very severe, tearing headache, esp.

forepart, < night.

Eyes: sunken; fixed; injected; pupils dilated.—(Syphilitic kerato-iritis; much

inflammation; severe nocturnal pains.)

• ▸Covered with ulcerations.
• ▸Tongue pale.
• ▸Free salivation.
• ▸Fetor of breath.
• ▸Pain and swelling of salivary glands.
• ▸Astringent taste.
• ▸Ulcerations of mouth have a gray membrane.

Teeth painful; gums swollen, covered with white adherent layers, under which is

found a violet border.—Tongue: pale with a yellowish streak on base; swollen with red edges;

grey, metallic-looking coat; eight blisters on |. margin and on soft palate, opening and becoming

irregular ulcers; afterwards on r. margin.—Lips, tongue, and inside cheeks dotted with greyish-

white ulceration.—Large grey leathery ulcer in mouth.—Inflammation of whole buccal cavity;

salivation; fetid breath; great pain on swallowing.—Taste: bitter; disagreeable; styptic; metallic.

Great redness of fauces with difficulty of swallowing.—White opalescent coating,

like mucous patches on faucial pillars and tonsils.—Roughness of throat, difficult

swallowing.—Follicular tonsillitis, <r.—(Chronic sore throat of public speakers; raw, sore,

• ▸broken-down appearance, raw in spots; it hurts to speak.
• ▸—Nash.
• ▸).
• ▸—Diphtheria; profound

prostration.—Uvula oedematous.

• ▸Feels raw and sore.
• ▸Mucous membranes broken down, ulcerated.
• ▸Looks raw in spots, especially in public speakers.
• ▸Hoarseness, and talking is painful.
• ▸Necrotic destruction of soft parts of palate and fauces.
• ▸Intense redness of fauces.
• ▸Swallowing very difficult.
• ▸Dark blood from nose.
• ▸Diphtheria of the larynx and nose (Kali bich).

Nausea, vomiting, bilious, bloody; hiccough; abdomen painful, tender to pressure.

Aversion to food.—Intense thirst, but drinks are speedily vomited.—Burning

thirst, vomits but not ingesta; cannot endure soups or hot drinks, which always seem too

• ▸salt.
• ▸—Incessant hiccough.
• ▸—Violent retching from merely thinking of sugared water.
• ▸—Milk

>.—Epigastrium sensitive to pressure.

• ▸Intolerable pain.
• ▸Redness around anus.
• ▸Frequent haemorrhage; stools with tenesmus.
• ▸Discharge of fetid liquid with gangrenous odor.
• ▸Black stools.

Round anus: small piles; pains (and in rectum) when sitting; sensitive light

red swelling; diphtheritic deposit.—Frequent urging to stool with tenesmus.—Frequent diarrhoea

• ▸preceded by severe colic.
• ▸—Offensive, green, slimy stools.
• ▸—Bloody stools.
• ▸—Scanty

stools.—Obstinate constipation (later effect).

Micturition painful—Urine: albuminous; amber yellow; retained;

completely suppressed.

Amber color, painful, albuminous, scanty. Nephritis with great debility and chilliness. Suppression of urine.

Semi-erection of penis (persisting even after death).—Dark blue

colour of scrotum and penis (persisting after death).

Severe pain in 1. calf; the veins of the part form two hard cords meeting

above popliteal space, very painful to slightest touch; leg swells when standing.—(Inflammation

of articular cartilages of r. wrist, with oedema of forearm.)

• ▸24.
• ▸Generalities—Great weakness; cannot stand up.
• ▸—Repeated fainting.
• ▸—Great debility during

diarrhoea; at last he fell to the ground in a swoon.

Moisture, with icy coldness.

• ▸Icy coldness.
• ▸—Great sensitiveness to cold.
• ▸—Extremities very cold; in evening.
• ▸—Skin

moist and cold.

• ▸Diphtheria.
• ▸Dysentery.
• ▸Enteric fever.
• ▸Heemorrhages.
• ▸Kerato-iritis syphilitica.

Phlebitis. Throat, sore. Varicosis.

Sixth to thirtieth potency. Aggravation is apt to occur from potencies below the sixth.

Given a Merc, base and diphtheria, when the membrane is greenish

and inclined to spread through the nose and involve a large surface,

the Cyanide of Mercury is needed. It has exudation more marked

than any other form of Mercury. Malignant forms of diphtheria,

rapidly forming, and with phagedenic ulceration.

MERCURIUS lODATUS FLAVUS.

{Proto-iodide of Mercury.)

There are sore throats that especially call for the proto-iodide.

When in sore throats the inflammation and pain predominantly affect

the right side, and there is a tendency to remain on the right side, or

if the Merc, state is present and the sore throat goes from right to

left, it is the proto-iodide you want. The patient that needs this remedy for constitutional troubles will be worse during rest and from a

warm room and better in the open air.

• ▸This is especially true when the patient needs Merc.
• ▸prot.
• ▸in neuritis of the right arm that comes on in writers.
• ▸The arm then is very

painful when writing, from passive motion, from rubbing, from

pressure, from both heat and cold, but better from walking in the open

air. Complaints are nearly all worse on the right side of the body.

MERCURIUS lODATUS RUBER.

(Bin-iodide of Mercury.)

Again, if in a Merc, patient with diphtheria, tonsillitis, etc., the

inflammation and pain begin on the left side, and incline to remain there

or spread to the right, the bin-iodide is indicated.

These two iodides have niore rapid and greater induration beneath

ulcers and chancres than Merc,^ and in old syphilitics the iodides are

664 MERCURIUS?

sometimes more useful.