Heal Thyself Newsletter
FOUNDED 1865
April 1943
SOME HOMEOPATHIC DRUGS FOR MENTAL DISEASES
By DR. W. KARO
DIAGNOSIS and therapy of mental diseases (insanity) confront the practitioner with the greatest difficulties.The clinical symptoms of insanity are generally preceded by some premonitory signs which may either be entirely overlooked or, if observed, considered of no importance. I am especially
referring to changes of the patient's mind. The patient is inclined to exaggerate noted and observed petty incidents. For instance, a man with a suspicious mind and easily scared will, gradually becomes -a proper bugbear. He will feel that other people are threatening him with violence. Another patient having always been of bright and cheerful character, becomes depressed, even melancholic, to such a degree that it makes him unfit for hisusual work.
Other patients, again, are changing their habits or behaviour. A cool, calculating business man will suddenly indulge in foolish speculations, etc. Such changes are often accompanied by
physical symptoms, such as headaches, sleeplessness, digestive troubles, etc.
The general symptoms of insanity can be divided into two groups : into insane beliefs, and insane acts.
First group : The insane-minded patient is subject to various so-called illusions. He is convinced of being another person than himself, as a rule much above him. He believes, for instance, himself to be a prominent personality, a reigning monarch, etc.
The patient belonging to the second group is suffering from hallucinations : he is seeing, hearing or smelling the queerest things. A well-known symptom is seeing rats or mice, typical for alcohol addicts (delirium tremens). Illusions as well as hallucinations are leading to suicide in many cases. In other cases suicide may be due to profound mental depression or melancholia. A true suicidal impulse may
. be the only outstanding symptom of an acute insanity. Here again we can talk of two different groups.
Some patients try to do away with themselves, following a sudden and strong impulse to do it. Luckily these attempts are carried out so feebly that the patient does not harm himself seriously ; he will
recover quickly, and most likely not remember what he has done and probably not make another attempt at suicide.
Patients belonging to the second group act differently ; they think of every little detail of the suicide which therefore will very often have a fatal effect. In cases of recovery they will try again and again and no watching and looking after them will help.These unfortunate persons will find a way to end their troublesome lives.
Hahnemann thought of mental diseases no differently than of other diseases. Disease, in his opinion, is always the expression of a disarranged biological balance ; it makes no difference whether any disturbances will show themselves in the brain or in any other organ. In support of his theory he refers to many cases where diseases of the body have alternated with mental disorders.
In this connection I should like to mention that Hippocrates pointed to the relationship between insanity and chronic constipation. Constipation undoubtedly leads to intoxication of the whole system, resulting in all kinds of mental and nervous disorders, especially to depression and melancholia.
The successful treatment of insanity depends thus on a most thorough, careful and tactful examination with the aim of finding out what lies at the bottom of the insanity. Every disease from which the patient had suffered should be taken under careful ' review. In one case the mental disorder may be an accompanying
symptom of change of life, in another case it may be the consequence of a fall or blow on the head, or it may be due to an attack of scarlet fever, or there may be some connection with vaccination,
and so on.
It is only by following this rule that we are able to find the indicated homoeopathic drug. We should never rely on a single symptom, but must pick out the only drug which covers the totality of the symptoms. On the other hand we should differentiate between indispensable symptoms and symptoms of minor
importance. For instance in a case of insanity characterized by extreme restlessness and thirst it may be difficult to differentiate between Arsenicum and Aconitum or Phosphorus ; we should give Arsenicum only, if the restlessness is combined with tearfulness, general weakness, chilliness and the craving for hot drinks and heat generally. We should always be aware of the various ranks amongst the mental symptoms and remember there is not a specific drug for any case of insanity, but only an effective therapy
in accordance with our law of similars.
This admitted, I am going to give some characteristics of a few drugs which may be considered when dealing with mental cases:
Ignatia is the most important drug in cases of acute melancholia, especially in nervous, sanguine, extremely sensitive, peevish, excitable or hysterical patients. These patients want to be left alone, they generally brood, but sometimes have temporary fits of laughter. Feeling of a ball rising from the
stomach to the throat.
Argentum nitricum is a useful drug in hypochondria and insanity, accompanied by nervous dyspepsia and flatulence. These patients are irresolute from fear of failure, anxious and irritable. They are living under a mental cloud without any interest in any ordinary work. Their memory is weak or entirely lost. Craving for sugar and strong cheese. Aggravation by cold food and sweets.
Arnica. The drug for easily frightened, nervous, plethoric, sanguine patients who cannot stand pain, who are easily impressed with even slight mechanical injuries. They are inclined to scratch everything, their head as well as their bed or the walls of the room. The drug is especially indicated when the mental symptoms result from mechanical injuries.
Aurum metallicum. Melancholia, sanguine temperament, suicidal tendency, ruddy complexion.
Baptisia. The drug for maniacal or melancholic patients who are mentally restless but too lifeless to move. Mind confused, gloomy, unhappy. The patient has the feeling that his body is scattered about or that his head would fly off and is struggling vainly to get the pieces of his body together. Aggravation by
noise.
Coffea is the drug for patients where the overmastering effects of good news is responsible for a hysterical condition. It is especially indicated in sanguine patients with excited imagination.
Belladonna. The drug for plethoric, lymphatic patients with a tendency to cerebral hyperemia. Great mental excitement. These patients in their maniacal attacks are likely to be wild, fiery, and are trying to escape or to injure those who nurse them. Their pugnacious mood makes them a very unpleasant patient
to care for.
Bryonia. Irritable, bilious, slender, rheumatic patients, apathetic mental condition, aggravated by motion of head. Mind depressed and morose. These patients are generally worried about business affairs. Great thirst.
Cannabis indica. This drug acts especially upon the cerebrospinal system. Its key symptoms are the most various hallucinations and illusions. All impressions are greatly exaggerated ; time and space become immeasurable. These patients are unable to recall any thought or event of the past ; their exaltation of mind shows itself in singing or laughing, followed generally by sadness, depression and weakness.
Causticum. Great irritability, timidity, uneasiness and fretfulness. Neuralgic pains, especially in the morning, aggravated by bending forward, by motion and exposure to cold and draught. The patient is disinclined to work and cannot fix his attention upon any task. He is apprehensive and despondent, distrustful and without any self-control. The Causticum patient is generally sallow and sickly in appearance. It is the drug for anaemic scrofulous patients.
Cicuta virosa. Convulsions, spasmodic muscular twitching, mental depression and anxiety, loss of consciousness, violent hiccough. The Cicuta patients indulge in weeping and howling ;
at other times they sing, shout or dance in great mental excitement.
Cactus. The Cactus patient is sad and hypochondriacal, weeps quietly but steadily, and is disinclined to speak. There is always palpitation of the heart with sensation of constriction in the throat, chest, bladder, rectum, gullet or womb. Heavy pressure on the head, as if a weight lay on it.
Cocculus. It is the drug for light-haired patients of a lively turn of mind ; the mind is vacillating ; these patients cannot accomplish any work; their thoughts continue upon some unpleasant subject. They are depressed, easily offended ; every trifle makes them angry. Delusion of a hollow in one organ or
another. Aggravation of all symptoms by eating and drinking.
Hyoscyamus. The drug for jealous, suspicious, excitable, restless, sleepless patients with pale faces. They laugh at everything ; they are often delirious, jump out of bed, throw off the bedclothes, or take off their clothes and go naked. Aggravation when lying down, better when sitting up.
Digitalis. This drug is indicated in cases of melancholia or of any kind of depression with stupor, when the pulse is slow and irregular and when the eyes are brimming with tears. There is always stagnation throughout the whole system.
Gelsemium. The drug is indicated in melancholia when there is great weakness, fever, giddiness, general dullness of the mental faculties and a desire to lie in bed and be let alone.
Natrum muriaticum. The drug is indicated in cases of melancholia, following intermittent fever. All symptoms are characterized by their periodicity. These patients are, as a rule, anaemic, chilly, easily weeping and weary. They have generally a prematurely old-age appearance.
Nux moschata. Remedy for melancholic patients with hysterical tendencies. The mood is changeable, laughing and crying alternating quickly.' Great depression and confusion of the ideas. Loss of memory and general stupidity.
Opium. Cases of chronic melancholia, characterized by vivid imagination, frightfulness, hopelessness, stupidity. The pupils are contracted. It is, like Phosphorus, a reliable drug in cases of somnambulism,
that means a condition in which the patients walk about in their sleep. It is especially indicated in snoring patients with heavy, stupefying sleep and voluptuous dreams.
Stramonium. Key symptom : great loquacity and hysterical restlessness. These patients are praying, singing, entreating and devoutly beseeching. Aggravation after sleep, in the dark, by perspiration. Better in company.
Thuja is indicated in conditions of mental depression and apathy with the desire to be left alone. The Thuja patient thinks he is made of brittle material and may break, he has the illusion that his limbs are separated or that a living animal inhabits his abdomen, which he feels moving there. Thuja is
Hahnemann's famous antisycotic drug, acting especially on thin patients of the brunette type. Antidotes vaccination. It corrects the physical susceptibility which adds to the severity of gonorrhceal. disease and cures the lowness of spirits, selfdeprecation and loathing of life which is often found in mental
disorders.
Veratrum, viride. The drug is indicated in plethoric, delirious, quarrelsome patients, suffering from convulsions, cold sweat and vomiting. They are inclined to incessant muttering, screaming
or kicking.
Source : homeopathycourseonline.com
March 1943
DROSERA
By DR. M. L. TYLER(From The British Homoeopathic Journal)
A FEW years ago I came to the startling conclusion that the only two people who really knew anything about Drosera were Samuel Hahnemann and myself ; and I have had it in my mind ever since that I would like to communicate such knowledge as I possess to my colleagues the world over. An opportunity· has now been thrust upon me, and I can only hope that I may be enabled to rise to the occasion, and to add something very real to our powers of fighting at least one formidable disease TUBERCULOSIS.
Of course, everybody knows all about Drosera ! Has it not a place in every "Manual of Domestic Homreopathy"? and a groove in every box of a dozen homreopathic remedies, fitted for emergencies, and for common use ? For Drosera is classical and that for a hundred years, as a laryngeal remedy, and as our great remedy in whooping cough. But when through a happy accident, I began to realize
what Drosera can do in tuberculous disease of BoNE, of ]OINT and GLAND, I was amazed, and I started hunting homreopathic literature for my warrant in so using it. Kent knew it not. Clarke knew it not. But so far as bone and joints were concerned, I found my justification in black type in the provings of Hahnemann. I wonder why we are content to take most things at second or third hand ?- why we so seldom go to the fountain-head ?How many Homeopaths of our day read Hahnemann's Materia Medica Pura ? I shall refer to his chapter on Drosera again and again. But I may t ell you that Hahnemann
gives big black type not only to the laryngeal symptoms that have made Drosera famous among
homreopaths, but he gives the same big black type to Joints, to Shoulder, to Hip, and again and again in
separate paragraphs, to Ankle ; besides to the Shafts of Long Bones, and to all the Joints ; and the same big black type for Pains in Limbs and in diverse Muscles. Hahnemann also, in a footnote, especially designates the use of Drosera in laryngeal phthisis.
But it was only after I had shown some of my gland and bone Drosera cases to the Society in 1920, that the whole picture of Drosera began to dawn upon me. I wasrather apologetic, I remember, about my use of Drosera in such cases; and in fact, I think my " indications " were demanded of me. But after the meeting, Dr. Kennedy referred me to the Cyclopcedia of Drug Pathogenesy, where the key to the whole position lay, in the experiments of Dr. Curie. For Dr. Curie proved the homceopathicity of
Drosera to tuberculosis in its widest and most important aspect- that is, he showed that Drosera breaks down resistance to tubercle every time in animals supposed to be absolutely immune to that disease ; and he also proved to his own satisfaction that Drosera was also able to raise resistance to tubercle, by curing early phthisis. And I saw with joy that, in Curie's experiments, GLANDS, especially abdominal and cervical glands, were tremendously affected.
Ancient, non-homceopathic medical literature, as Hahnemann points out, suggests the same fact- viz. the
opposite, or homceopathic action of Drosera. It was what Hahnemann had written, together with his further researches in literature, that suggested to Curie to determine " the exact physiological action of the plan " and to see "how jar it was connected with the Law of Similars " . For, among the ancients, Drosera had been alternately extolled as a remedy for consumption, and abandoned as a remedy for consumption- as accelerating the disease. Hahnemann explains this. He says, "several of the older
physicians found this plant useful in some kinds of malignant cough, and in phthisical persons, thus confirming its (homceopathic) medicinal power; but the moderns, having no knowledge of any other than large doses, knew not how to employ this uncommonly heroic plant, without endangering the life of their patients ; hence they rejected it altogether."
And now a word about DROSERA ROTUNDIFOLIA (Sundew), which Hahnemann describes as" one of the most powerful medicinal herbs in our zone". Drosera is, I believe, our only insectivorous plant. It
sits on the ground in boggy places, yvith its circle of round leaves, studded with glandular hairs, which exude drops of viscid, acrid juice, and which close down on, and digest, any hapless insects that dare to settle on the plant. Dros.era has an evil reputation in regard to sheep fed on pastures where it abounds. They are said to acquire a very violent cough, and to waste away. Hahnemann, in a footnote to his black-type laryngeal symptoms of Drosera, points out " their likeness to some kinds of laryngeal phthisis, where Sundew is so peculiarly useful, provided there be no specific cachexy," he adds. In the sixteenth century, the Sundew had a reputation as an excellent remedy " to restore vital moisture in persons labouring under consumption" ; but Gerarde states that "They have sooner perished who used the
distilled water thereof, than th.ose that abstained from it."
Sundew had also a reputation for the cure of madness; and in the homceopathic provings we find, Restlessness (in black type), suspicion, Delusions of Persecutions (in black type), and inclination to suicide by drowning. It was used also in coughs and diseases of the lungs, and here also it is purely homceopathic. Also in chronic asthma-purely homceopathic- and palpitation of the heart.
To Be Continued
"Should Homceopathy ever abandon the strict inductive method of prescribing, we are lost, and deserve to be mentioned only as a caricature in medicine. " - HERING.
Source : homeopathycourseonline.com
March 1943
MIRACLES WITH HOMCEOPATHIC MEDICINE
By vVJLLIAM HENRY ScHwARTz, M.D.
As yet, not all sickness can be cured by Homceopathy instantly. The time required to cure depends on the duration of illness. Chronic cases usually take from two to five years, if curable. That depends on heredity, environment, vitality and degree of tissue change. To cure I mean taking the chronic case backward
through its present life history; bringing back the old symptoms in orderly form, the original sympto'ms being the last ones to again come into view, and therefore the last ones to respond to the remedy. For you cannot get the spoiled potatoes out of the bottom of the barrel until you take off the first top layer, then
the second layer, and then the third layer; and so on down to the bottom layer of the barrel.
There are many diseases that cannot be cured instantly. Symptoms that come on suddenly can be cured suddenly. Cramp conditions, spasms, sudden pains, vaso-motor disturbances, all respond instantly to the simillimum. Typhoid c·an usually be aborted in ten days ; intermittents in from twelve to twenty-four
or forty-eight hours ; diphtheria within twenty-four hours, etc. That does not imply that it takes that long for relief. Relief is a matter of minutes usually in all sickness, providing the right remedy has been administered and in suitable potency ; but it is not so much a matter of potency as the proper remedy. However, the potency must be sufficiently attenuated to reach the plane of disease. Sugar or salt must first dissolve before it will be diffused in a liquid. .
I have many times wired to the late Dr. Kent for consultation in my earlier days of practice in desperate cases, and if we had the time it would be profitably spent in listening to some of these
experiences-miraculous results by a master who understood disease and understood the nature of his medicines, and the results were often uncanny, savouring of Divine guidance. I can't recall a single failure in cases both acute and chronic ; so-called surgical cases when surgeons refused to operate, so
you know they were bad cases ; typhoid, diphtheria ; impacted gall bladder ; gall stones ; kidney stones ; abscess of vital organs ; chills and fever ; every case consulted recovered ! Dr. Kent would see the remedy from my t elegram when I could not see the remedy with the patient before me. Can you deny
that such results are miraculous ? It is beyond human belief to those who have not seen for themselves.
I will rest my case with you, my professit>nal colleagues, with one more personal experience that is of such import that I feel it should be placed on record as it is official.
Scene: Washington, D.C. The week of presidential election in 1916. Case: United States Postal Department vs. the Ensign Remedy Company, Battle Creek, Mich. Dr. Ensign was cited to
appear before the postal department to show reason why a fraud order should not be issued against him barring him from using the mails on two charges. First, that homreopathic medicine, or rather his medicines, contained no medicine ; and secondly, that no medicine can cure. (The Ensign literature, some of which circulated through the mails, claimed that his homreopathic medicines cured sick folks, to which the 'government took issue maintaining that no medicine ever cured. That being the
position of allopathy.) The trial of the case took .five days of very bitter .fighting. Indeed, a biased government prosecuting attorney was so incensed during the trial one day that he had a very severe attack of acute indigestion on his return to court after eating dinner in that angry state of mind. They were about to adjourn court , when, .having my pocket case of 6ox (B. & T.) with me, I offered to prescribe, which assistance the lawyer very graciously accepted while the dozen or more government physicians and other
physicians called to testify from Washington and elsewhere, looked on in amazement. For several days I had been of the opinion that t his lawyer needed a dose of Nux vomica for his disposition and now I knew he needed it, so I gave it to him on his tongue, and so certain was I of the result that I stated aloud
so that everyone could hear that that one powder would relieve him within .five minutes. One of our defence witnesses (an ex-president of the American Institute of Homreopathy) arose from his seat and exploded, " Dr. Schwartz, I would not say that ." " Why not? " I asked in reply. "It cannot always be
done," he answered. "Oh yes," said I, "when you give the r ight medicine."
I had hardly more than reached my s(!at when the government prosecuting attorney called across the court, " Dr. Schwartz, I am entirely relieved." It is needless to say that Homreopathy itself won her own case although the statutes still forbid the word " cure " on bottles of medicine or advertising matter sent through
the mail. And the government chemist from the Department of Agriculture is still wondering why he could not .find any medicine in Ensign's homreopathic sugar. "Believe it or not," it is a matter of record.
Source : homeopathycourseonline.com
Janurary 1943
GERIATRICS-TROUBLES OF THE AGED~'
By DR. AUGUSTO VINGALS
(From The Homceopathic Reco rder, March 1942)
FAILING MEMORY.
One of the more constant phenomena of old age is the diminution or failure of memory, remembering
remote events, but forgetting : Where did I lay that book ? Where are the scissors ? et c. ; absence o£ intellect. Baryta carbonica 30 or 200 is indeed the friend of such old people, especially if they are of the obese type. Other remedies for this condition are : A nacardium, which cannot r member the names of friends ; cannot find the adequate word ; cannot fix attention ; is inclined to hypochondriasis. Glonoin forgets the streets which he knows so well. Natrum muriaticurn weeps because he cannot remember the story he started to tell. Cocculus, Zincum , Kali phosphoricum and others also have this altered memory.
MENTAL SYMPTOMS. In the aged there appear mental perturbations which require the study of many rem.edies in order to find the simillim.um for each case. Here we sometimes meet a woman who formerly was very particular about everything, who did not allow a piece of furniture to be out of its place, etc. ; she had
become careless, even indifferent to everything, at times including her feeling toward her family, until Sepia 200 changed the entire picture. Other patients become irascible, and some turn hypochondriacal
or jealous of their friends or neighbours, and embitter life with sad presentiments. Ignatia, Hyoscyamus and Phosphoricum acidum have many times restored the tranquillity of the disturbed internal ego.
Asthmatic Affections are found in old people and in those who have aged prematurely. One time it is "cardiac asthma which makes us think of Adonis vernalis, which has irregular action from a weak heart ; Digitalis has the very slow pulse ;Cratcegus is a great heart tonic. Again it may be a " cardiorenal asthma " with uremia, which is relieved by Strophanthus and Apocynum in low potency. In many cases we find asthma associated with a bronchitis : humid asthma relieved by much expectoration, where Senega, Tartarus and sometimes Carbo vegetabilis are of much service. Dr. Cartier recommends in alternation Naphthalinum 6 and Grindelia 6 to help the tenacious expectoration, dyspnea and poor circulation. And in how many cases of senile asthma proper in which dyspnea is caused by pulmonary arteriosclerosis .has Baryta carbonica or muriatica admirably complemented Tartarus in pulmonary paralysis of the aged ! Arsenicum is indicated in these periodic asthmatic attacks at midnight, or early around 3 o'clock. Natrum sulphuricum comes in question where attacks are worse when the weather changes from dry to damp, or at the seashore. Dr. Jones of Buffalo recommends in alternation Gelsemium and Sumbul, .eight drops in a tablespoonful of hot water every fifteen minutes, and states this has never failed him when given at the beginning of the attack.
CATARACT. I am not claiming that all such cases can be cured by Homeopathy, but as their evolution can be retarded many times, so also an acceptable improvement is possible. Calcarea fluorica 6, according to Schuessler, is the chief remedy with its marked action on the crystalline tissues. Calcarea carbonica 30
and zoo is,for hard cataract in the beginning, the phagosclerosis type, with concentric opacity. Phosphorus has a cloudy film or nucleus, and patients have better vision in dim light. Euphrasia one drop in boiled water for external use, and internally in low potency, is indicated in capsular opacity. Colocynthis is helpful
in soft cataract. Cannabis sativa is of advantage in corneal opacity, and where there is painful pressure in the orbit from front to back. The Causticum patient rubs the eye to relieve the pressure. Secale is indicated in cataract with fine peripheral filaments, while Natrum muriaticum has irregularly distributed peripheral
stri<e. Magnesia carbonica has cataract with large irregularly distributed striae, thick at the base ; can see best in bright daylight.Cineraria maritima has been much recommended for external application, one or two drops instilled (quite painful), but I have never seen any real cure from it. Nevertheless I believe that in
some cases it may aid the action of the internal remedy. The simillimum must be chosen conscientiously, properly individualized, as also applies to Conium, Euphrasia, Naphthalinurn, Silica, Sepia, Thiositzaminum and many others which, chosen according to their particular indication, can aid and relieve in many cases.
URINARY APPARATUS. ,-Another of the old people's nightmares is the loss of bladder control, when the urine escapes involuntarily, and the bladder feels full, not relieved by urination : Gelseminum and Causticum in various potencies and repetitions, and Equisetum hyemale tincture in frequent doses is of advantage in most cases. Frequent night micturition in the aged, Causticum 30 ; frequent micturition of small quantities, Kali phosphoricum ; if the urine is of strong odour like horse urine, Benzoicum acidum ; if of violet odour, Terebinthina; fishy odour, Uranium nitricum. If urine escapes while coughing, walking, or while passing flatus, or in bed, Pulsatilla, Verbascum, etc.
HAEMATURTA. If blood is arterial, think of Trillium and Ipecacuanha, and in some cases ,Millefolium; if it is venous, Hamamelis and Pulsatilla. lf due to cystitis, Uva ursi, Thlaspi bursa pastoris, as also Solidago and Senecio. If of renal cause with tenesmus, Terebinthina is a valuable remedy. lf frequent haematuria we must think of bladder polypi, in which Teucrium, Thuja and Phosphorus work marvellously; or it may be due to neoplasm, which is always grave.
PROSTATE. In acute inflammation with tenesmus, Pulsatilla, Belladonna and Ferrum phosphoricum are the most valuable remedies, as also Selenium in the chronic form. In beginning prostatic hypertrophy with some inflammation and urinary disturbance Sabal serrulata 3x produces a splendid effect, hence it has been called the " homceopathic catheter " because it acts quickly and markedly on congestion. Ferrum
picricum. follows it importantly. Do not forget Calcarea ftuorica 6x and Equisetum hyemale tincture, often indicated in hypertrophy of medium severity. If there is no undoubted improvement, or if there is advanced sclerosis, we must think of the deep acting remedies such as Baryta carbonica 200 or Conium 1M. Often
there may be an adenoma or tumour of grave origin.
IN SUMMA. Homceopathy has much to offer in such cases, and various remedies demanding deep study of our incomparable "Materia Medica Pura," the proper application of which, with individualization in each case, gains much and many acceptable cures.
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. Many are the circulatory disturbances: one time there is marked chest oppression with the sensation as if the heart were squeezed with an iron hand, in which case Cactus
is the indicated remedy. Another time we find an irritable heart action and somewhat trembling palpitation ; here Crategus in tincture or low potency should be given, which calms the nerves and sustains the heart.
After the menopause many women get oedematous swelling of the ankles from defective circulation: Apis mellifica 3 is the remedy if also indicated by other symptoms. ln other cases we are consulted for involuntary escaping of urine while coughing, laughing or sneezing, for which Causticum 30 is simply marvellous. \\'here we find cramps in legs, especially when lying down, we have a good friend in Magnesia phosphorica 6x; when aged patients complain of much burning of feet as soon as they are in
bed, so they have to stick them out from under the covers to cool them, there Sulphur is a grand remedy.
VERTIGO, PRURITUS SENILIS AND SENILE GANGRENE. Endless are the habitual indispositions which molest the aged, of which vertigo is the greatest, and in which Homeopathy gains fine laurels through Tabacum and Ferrum. Pruritus is at times mild, but it may also become a torture, which is often nicely relieved by Dolichos pruriens and Fagopyrum esculentum. In other cases Croton tiglium or Mezereum may be indicated by other symptoms; we must also remember our remedies of more general action like Arsenicum, Baryta carbonica, Carbo vegetabilis, Conium and Sulphur. Yet there are admittedly
cases where all remedies fail. Senile gangrene, the graver condition, most frequently affects
the great toe, is often cured astonishingly quickly by Secale cornutum, which is the perfect simillimum.
ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION. Our materia medica has many indicated remedies for this trouble, of which Aconitum 6 heads the list for the acute condition with the hard, quick and rapid pulse so characteristic for this remedy. It has been called the '' homreopathic lancet". Viscum album, Ethyl alcohol and other medicaments selected according to individual indications should be prescribed until the physician sees the expected results. It is not always easy to determine when to stop. When the tunica media of the arteries is damaged, Baryta carbonica 30 or Baryta muriatica 20 prove to be the grand friends
of the aged with hypertension, as Hahnemann's marvellous sagacity bequeathed to us in the so precious pathogenesis.
APOPLEXY. To prevent this justly feared condition in our elderly patients Arnica montana is a most valuable remedy in connection with proper diet. The preliminary symptoms in some cases are: inclination
to exaggerated laughing over an unimportant joke or without any motive. Or there are present congestion to the head, vertigo with inclination to fall forward ; or flushes run from head to feet ; light flashes or darkness before the eyes are present, and here Veratrum viride 2x, a few globules on the tongue every
time such symptoms occur, are a powerful aid. Many times a single dose will end such conditions, and as soon as possible a remedy for the totality of the symptoms must be selected. During an attack Ferrum phosphoricum, Baryta carbonica, Arnica, Opium, etc., according to the case, may be indicated
and remove the danger. And finally Kali muriaticum and Arnica in hourly alternation facilitate the absorption of the exudate. Some authorities recommend Phosphorus.
Source : homeopathycourseonline.com
February 1943
REMEDIES IN INFECTIONS
By HERBERT A. ROBERTS, M.D.
The snake venoms ar e always to be considered in association with septic states, whether these be localized or general. There is no class of remedies that presents such possibilities in combating these dread states. Let us consider Lachesis for a moment. Probably the most outstanding symptom of Lachesis is its
exquisite sensitiveness to touch, whether it be touch of the infected part or of the general system. This aggravation is from the slightest touch rather than from the firm touch, and there is amelioration from heavy pressure. There is always the sense of constriction, especially about the neck, but it may be limited to the part affected. Most of its complaints are to be found on the left side, or beginning on the left side. The hemorrhages of Lachesis are very dark, fluid blood. It is characteristic that small wounds bleed much. ' This is because of the venous stasis, instead of the arterial h<emorrhage ; therefore we get the blue colour of the skin, and mottling. The inflammation has a tendency to go on to suppuration. The septic conditions
where we most often find this remedy indicated are surgical fevers, gangrene, carbuncles, where there is a tendency for sloughing of the parts affected. The patient is worse after sleep; in fact, the aggravation begins before the sleep ends. There is aggravation from warmth and from a change to warmer weather. Often we find this aggravation as the warm spells of spring come on . The nervous system is very strongly affected,
and there is trem~ling and tremor of the parts affected . The patient is profoundly weak, physically and mentally. Thus we have in the leading remedy of the reptile family many of the peculiar symptoms that may frequently be indicated. In connection with the snake poisons, I would point to the peculiar symptoms of Vipera which make it so valuable in septic conditions. It produces all of the profound blood-poisoning
states of its family, but there is also intense aggravation from the affected part banging down ; a feeling as if the part would burst. This is the result of the venous inflammatory state. The hemorrbages are frequent, and again they are venous rather than arterial. In the profound states, especially if there is coma, a peculiar symptom of Vipera is that pressure upon the abdomen, which is usually tense, invariably causes distension of the facial muscles. There is marked mottling of the skin, becoming almost black, and a peculiarity of this mottling is that some of the patches are cold to the' touch, and there is great tendency to sloughing. Vivid spots appear on the hands or feet, with a red streak following the course of the veins upward to the body.
A study of all our snake remedies will reward the physician who has to deal with septic states.
The spider poison, Tarantula cubensis, has all of the restlessness and hysterical tendency of the Tarantula hispanica, but with it, it has the added symptomatology of malignant suppuration and unhealthy abscesses, especially carbuncles, with burning, stinging pains, great weakness and diarrhcea. The pains are intense and
most troublesome, and their effect on the nervous system is to produce hysterical manifestations. The parts affected are·usually of a purplish hue, with a tendency to. slough-again venous stasis. This remedy is to be compared with Lachesis and Vipera.
Rhus tax. can be of immeasurable service to the physician in these desperately sick patients from septic conditions. Probably the most outstanding indication for Rhus is its lameness, stiffness and soreness. This is particularly so when the patient is first moved. It ranks with Arnica in the bed being hard and the parts laid on being sore and lame. It is aggravated very much from touch. In Rhus conditions, there is a tendency for
the inflammation to follow up the tendons, causing them to become inflamed and sore, along with the constitutional symptoms. The parts become very red, shining and there is swelling, often covered with small white vesicles. In erysipelatous swellings with this eruption it is one of the first remedies for us to consider, as in cellular inflammations. The glands become swollen, hot and painful. With all complaints there is restlessness, aching and soreness ; better from motion, but aggravated from beginning to move. R hus tax . will abort many of these septic states almost at their beginning, and it will be curative even after the condition has been thoroughly established, when these characteristic indications are present.
Source : homeopathycourseonline.com
SOME HOMEOPATHIC DRUGS FOR MENTAL DISEASES
By DR. W. KARO
DIAGNOSIS and therapy of mental diseases (insanity) confront the practitioner with the greatest difficulties.The clinical symptoms of insanity are generally preceded by some premonitory signs which may either be entirely overlooked or, if observed, considered of no importance. I am especially
referring to changes of the patient's mind. The patient is inclined to exaggerate noted and observed petty incidents. For instance, a man with a suspicious mind and easily scared will, gradually becomes -a proper bugbear. He will feel that other people are threatening him with violence. Another patient having always been of bright and cheerful character, becomes depressed, even melancholic, to such a degree that it makes him unfit for hisusual work.
Other patients, again, are changing their habits or behaviour. A cool, calculating business man will suddenly indulge in foolish speculations, etc. Such changes are often accompanied by
physical symptoms, such as headaches, sleeplessness, digestive troubles, etc.
The general symptoms of insanity can be divided into two groups : into insane beliefs, and insane acts.
First group : The insane-minded patient is subject to various so-called illusions. He is convinced of being another person than himself, as a rule much above him. He believes, for instance, himself to be a prominent personality, a reigning monarch, etc.
The patient belonging to the second group is suffering from hallucinations : he is seeing, hearing or smelling the queerest things. A well-known symptom is seeing rats or mice, typical for alcohol addicts (delirium tremens). Illusions as well as hallucinations are leading to suicide in many cases. In other cases suicide may be due to profound mental depression or melancholia. A true suicidal impulse may
. be the only outstanding symptom of an acute insanity. Here again we can talk of two different groups.
Some patients try to do away with themselves, following a sudden and strong impulse to do it. Luckily these attempts are carried out so feebly that the patient does not harm himself seriously ; he will
recover quickly, and most likely not remember what he has done and probably not make another attempt at suicide.
Patients belonging to the second group act differently ; they think of every little detail of the suicide which therefore will very often have a fatal effect. In cases of recovery they will try again and again and no watching and looking after them will help.These unfortunate persons will find a way to end their troublesome lives.
Hahnemann thought of mental diseases no differently than of other diseases. Disease, in his opinion, is always the expression of a disarranged biological balance ; it makes no difference whether any disturbances will show themselves in the brain or in any other organ. In support of his theory he refers to many cases where diseases of the body have alternated with mental disorders.
In this connection I should like to mention that Hippocrates pointed to the relationship between insanity and chronic constipation. Constipation undoubtedly leads to intoxication of the whole system, resulting in all kinds of mental and nervous disorders, especially to depression and melancholia.
The successful treatment of insanity depends thus on a most thorough, careful and tactful examination with the aim of finding out what lies at the bottom of the insanity. Every disease from which the patient had suffered should be taken under careful ' review. In one case the mental disorder may be an accompanying
symptom of change of life, in another case it may be the consequence of a fall or blow on the head, or it may be due to an attack of scarlet fever, or there may be some connection with vaccination,
and so on.
It is only by following this rule that we are able to find the indicated homoeopathic drug. We should never rely on a single symptom, but must pick out the only drug which covers the totality of the symptoms. On the other hand we should differentiate between indispensable symptoms and symptoms of minor
importance. For instance in a case of insanity characterized by extreme restlessness and thirst it may be difficult to differentiate between Arsenicum and Aconitum or Phosphorus ; we should give Arsenicum only, if the restlessness is combined with tearfulness, general weakness, chilliness and the craving for hot drinks and heat generally. We should always be aware of the various ranks amongst the mental symptoms and remember there is not a specific drug for any case of insanity, but only an effective therapy
in accordance with our law of similars.
This admitted, I am going to give some characteristics of a few drugs which may be considered when dealing with mental cases:
Ignatia is the most important drug in cases of acute melancholia, especially in nervous, sanguine, extremely sensitive, peevish, excitable or hysterical patients. These patients want to be left alone, they generally brood, but sometimes have temporary fits of laughter. Feeling of a ball rising from the
stomach to the throat.
Argentum nitricum is a useful drug in hypochondria and insanity, accompanied by nervous dyspepsia and flatulence. These patients are irresolute from fear of failure, anxious and irritable. They are living under a mental cloud without any interest in any ordinary work. Their memory is weak or entirely lost. Craving for sugar and strong cheese. Aggravation by cold food and sweets.
Arnica. The drug for easily frightened, nervous, plethoric, sanguine patients who cannot stand pain, who are easily impressed with even slight mechanical injuries. They are inclined to scratch everything, their head as well as their bed or the walls of the room. The drug is especially indicated when the mental symptoms result from mechanical injuries.
Aurum metallicum. Melancholia, sanguine temperament, suicidal tendency, ruddy complexion.
Baptisia. The drug for maniacal or melancholic patients who are mentally restless but too lifeless to move. Mind confused, gloomy, unhappy. The patient has the feeling that his body is scattered about or that his head would fly off and is struggling vainly to get the pieces of his body together. Aggravation by
noise.
Coffea is the drug for patients where the overmastering effects of good news is responsible for a hysterical condition. It is especially indicated in sanguine patients with excited imagination.
Belladonna. The drug for plethoric, lymphatic patients with a tendency to cerebral hyperemia. Great mental excitement. These patients in their maniacal attacks are likely to be wild, fiery, and are trying to escape or to injure those who nurse them. Their pugnacious mood makes them a very unpleasant patient
to care for.
Bryonia. Irritable, bilious, slender, rheumatic patients, apathetic mental condition, aggravated by motion of head. Mind depressed and morose. These patients are generally worried about business affairs. Great thirst.
Cannabis indica. This drug acts especially upon the cerebrospinal system. Its key symptoms are the most various hallucinations and illusions. All impressions are greatly exaggerated ; time and space become immeasurable. These patients are unable to recall any thought or event of the past ; their exaltation of mind shows itself in singing or laughing, followed generally by sadness, depression and weakness.
Causticum. Great irritability, timidity, uneasiness and fretfulness. Neuralgic pains, especially in the morning, aggravated by bending forward, by motion and exposure to cold and draught. The patient is disinclined to work and cannot fix his attention upon any task. He is apprehensive and despondent, distrustful and without any self-control. The Causticum patient is generally sallow and sickly in appearance. It is the drug for anaemic scrofulous patients.
Cicuta virosa. Convulsions, spasmodic muscular twitching, mental depression and anxiety, loss of consciousness, violent hiccough. The Cicuta patients indulge in weeping and howling ;
at other times they sing, shout or dance in great mental excitement.
Cactus. The Cactus patient is sad and hypochondriacal, weeps quietly but steadily, and is disinclined to speak. There is always palpitation of the heart with sensation of constriction in the throat, chest, bladder, rectum, gullet or womb. Heavy pressure on the head, as if a weight lay on it.
Cocculus. It is the drug for light-haired patients of a lively turn of mind ; the mind is vacillating ; these patients cannot accomplish any work; their thoughts continue upon some unpleasant subject. They are depressed, easily offended ; every trifle makes them angry. Delusion of a hollow in one organ or
another. Aggravation of all symptoms by eating and drinking.
Hyoscyamus. The drug for jealous, suspicious, excitable, restless, sleepless patients with pale faces. They laugh at everything ; they are often delirious, jump out of bed, throw off the bedclothes, or take off their clothes and go naked. Aggravation when lying down, better when sitting up.
Digitalis. This drug is indicated in cases of melancholia or of any kind of depression with stupor, when the pulse is slow and irregular and when the eyes are brimming with tears. There is always stagnation throughout the whole system.
Gelsemium. The drug is indicated in melancholia when there is great weakness, fever, giddiness, general dullness of the mental faculties and a desire to lie in bed and be let alone.
Natrum muriaticum. The drug is indicated in cases of melancholia, following intermittent fever. All symptoms are characterized by their periodicity. These patients are, as a rule, anaemic, chilly, easily weeping and weary. They have generally a prematurely old-age appearance.
Nux moschata. Remedy for melancholic patients with hysterical tendencies. The mood is changeable, laughing and crying alternating quickly.' Great depression and confusion of the ideas. Loss of memory and general stupidity.
Opium. Cases of chronic melancholia, characterized by vivid imagination, frightfulness, hopelessness, stupidity. The pupils are contracted. It is, like Phosphorus, a reliable drug in cases of somnambulism,
that means a condition in which the patients walk about in their sleep. It is especially indicated in snoring patients with heavy, stupefying sleep and voluptuous dreams.
Stramonium. Key symptom : great loquacity and hysterical restlessness. These patients are praying, singing, entreating and devoutly beseeching. Aggravation after sleep, in the dark, by perspiration. Better in company.
Thuja is indicated in conditions of mental depression and apathy with the desire to be left alone. The Thuja patient thinks he is made of brittle material and may break, he has the illusion that his limbs are separated or that a living animal inhabits his abdomen, which he feels moving there. Thuja is
Hahnemann's famous antisycotic drug, acting especially on thin patients of the brunette type. Antidotes vaccination. It corrects the physical susceptibility which adds to the severity of gonorrhceal. disease and cures the lowness of spirits, selfdeprecation and loathing of life which is often found in mental
disorders.
Veratrum, viride. The drug is indicated in plethoric, delirious, quarrelsome patients, suffering from convulsions, cold sweat and vomiting. They are inclined to incessant muttering, screaming
or kicking.
Source : homeopathycourseonline.com
March 1943
DROSERA
By DR. M. L. TYLER(From The British Homoeopathic Journal)
A FEW years ago I came to the startling conclusion that the only two people who really knew anything about Drosera were Samuel Hahnemann and myself ; and I have had it in my mind ever since that I would like to communicate such knowledge as I possess to my colleagues the world over. An opportunity· has now been thrust upon me, and I can only hope that I may be enabled to rise to the occasion, and to add something very real to our powers of fighting at least one formidable disease TUBERCULOSIS.
Of course, everybody knows all about Drosera ! Has it not a place in every "Manual of Domestic Homreopathy"? and a groove in every box of a dozen homreopathic remedies, fitted for emergencies, and for common use ? For Drosera is classical and that for a hundred years, as a laryngeal remedy, and as our great remedy in whooping cough. But when through a happy accident, I began to realize
what Drosera can do in tuberculous disease of BoNE, of ]OINT and GLAND, I was amazed, and I started hunting homreopathic literature for my warrant in so using it. Kent knew it not. Clarke knew it not. But so far as bone and joints were concerned, I found my justification in black type in the provings of Hahnemann. I wonder why we are content to take most things at second or third hand ?- why we so seldom go to the fountain-head ?How many Homeopaths of our day read Hahnemann's Materia Medica Pura ? I shall refer to his chapter on Drosera again and again. But I may t ell you that Hahnemann
gives big black type not only to the laryngeal symptoms that have made Drosera famous among
homreopaths, but he gives the same big black type to Joints, to Shoulder, to Hip, and again and again in
separate paragraphs, to Ankle ; besides to the Shafts of Long Bones, and to all the Joints ; and the same big black type for Pains in Limbs and in diverse Muscles. Hahnemann also, in a footnote, especially designates the use of Drosera in laryngeal phthisis.
But it was only after I had shown some of my gland and bone Drosera cases to the Society in 1920, that the whole picture of Drosera began to dawn upon me. I wasrather apologetic, I remember, about my use of Drosera in such cases; and in fact, I think my " indications " were demanded of me. But after the meeting, Dr. Kennedy referred me to the Cyclopcedia of Drug Pathogenesy, where the key to the whole position lay, in the experiments of Dr. Curie. For Dr. Curie proved the homceopathicity of
Drosera to tuberculosis in its widest and most important aspect- that is, he showed that Drosera breaks down resistance to tubercle every time in animals supposed to be absolutely immune to that disease ; and he also proved to his own satisfaction that Drosera was also able to raise resistance to tubercle, by curing early phthisis. And I saw with joy that, in Curie's experiments, GLANDS, especially abdominal and cervical glands, were tremendously affected.
Ancient, non-homceopathic medical literature, as Hahnemann points out, suggests the same fact- viz. the
opposite, or homceopathic action of Drosera. It was what Hahnemann had written, together with his further researches in literature, that suggested to Curie to determine " the exact physiological action of the plan " and to see "how jar it was connected with the Law of Similars " . For, among the ancients, Drosera had been alternately extolled as a remedy for consumption, and abandoned as a remedy for consumption- as accelerating the disease. Hahnemann explains this. He says, "several of the older
physicians found this plant useful in some kinds of malignant cough, and in phthisical persons, thus confirming its (homceopathic) medicinal power; but the moderns, having no knowledge of any other than large doses, knew not how to employ this uncommonly heroic plant, without endangering the life of their patients ; hence they rejected it altogether."
And now a word about DROSERA ROTUNDIFOLIA (Sundew), which Hahnemann describes as" one of the most powerful medicinal herbs in our zone". Drosera is, I believe, our only insectivorous plant. It
sits on the ground in boggy places, yvith its circle of round leaves, studded with glandular hairs, which exude drops of viscid, acrid juice, and which close down on, and digest, any hapless insects that dare to settle on the plant. Dros.era has an evil reputation in regard to sheep fed on pastures where it abounds. They are said to acquire a very violent cough, and to waste away. Hahnemann, in a footnote to his black-type laryngeal symptoms of Drosera, points out " their likeness to some kinds of laryngeal phthisis, where Sundew is so peculiarly useful, provided there be no specific cachexy," he adds. In the sixteenth century, the Sundew had a reputation as an excellent remedy " to restore vital moisture in persons labouring under consumption" ; but Gerarde states that "They have sooner perished who used the
distilled water thereof, than th.ose that abstained from it."
Sundew had also a reputation for the cure of madness; and in the homceopathic provings we find, Restlessness (in black type), suspicion, Delusions of Persecutions (in black type), and inclination to suicide by drowning. It was used also in coughs and diseases of the lungs, and here also it is purely homceopathic. Also in chronic asthma-purely homceopathic- and palpitation of the heart.
To Be Continued
"Should Homceopathy ever abandon the strict inductive method of prescribing, we are lost, and deserve to be mentioned only as a caricature in medicine. " - HERING.
Source : homeopathycourseonline.com
March 1943
MIRACLES WITH HOMCEOPATHIC MEDICINE
By vVJLLIAM HENRY ScHwARTz, M.D.
As yet, not all sickness can be cured by Homceopathy instantly. The time required to cure depends on the duration of illness. Chronic cases usually take from two to five years, if curable. That depends on heredity, environment, vitality and degree of tissue change. To cure I mean taking the chronic case backward
through its present life history; bringing back the old symptoms in orderly form, the original sympto'ms being the last ones to again come into view, and therefore the last ones to respond to the remedy. For you cannot get the spoiled potatoes out of the bottom of the barrel until you take off the first top layer, then
the second layer, and then the third layer; and so on down to the bottom layer of the barrel.
There are many diseases that cannot be cured instantly. Symptoms that come on suddenly can be cured suddenly. Cramp conditions, spasms, sudden pains, vaso-motor disturbances, all respond instantly to the simillimum. Typhoid c·an usually be aborted in ten days ; intermittents in from twelve to twenty-four
or forty-eight hours ; diphtheria within twenty-four hours, etc. That does not imply that it takes that long for relief. Relief is a matter of minutes usually in all sickness, providing the right remedy has been administered and in suitable potency ; but it is not so much a matter of potency as the proper remedy. However, the potency must be sufficiently attenuated to reach the plane of disease. Sugar or salt must first dissolve before it will be diffused in a liquid. .
I have many times wired to the late Dr. Kent for consultation in my earlier days of practice in desperate cases, and if we had the time it would be profitably spent in listening to some of these
experiences-miraculous results by a master who understood disease and understood the nature of his medicines, and the results were often uncanny, savouring of Divine guidance. I can't recall a single failure in cases both acute and chronic ; so-called surgical cases when surgeons refused to operate, so
you know they were bad cases ; typhoid, diphtheria ; impacted gall bladder ; gall stones ; kidney stones ; abscess of vital organs ; chills and fever ; every case consulted recovered ! Dr. Kent would see the remedy from my t elegram when I could not see the remedy with the patient before me. Can you deny
that such results are miraculous ? It is beyond human belief to those who have not seen for themselves.
I will rest my case with you, my professit>nal colleagues, with one more personal experience that is of such import that I feel it should be placed on record as it is official.
Scene: Washington, D.C. The week of presidential election in 1916. Case: United States Postal Department vs. the Ensign Remedy Company, Battle Creek, Mich. Dr. Ensign was cited to
appear before the postal department to show reason why a fraud order should not be issued against him barring him from using the mails on two charges. First, that homreopathic medicine, or rather his medicines, contained no medicine ; and secondly, that no medicine can cure. (The Ensign literature, some of which circulated through the mails, claimed that his homreopathic medicines cured sick folks, to which the 'government took issue maintaining that no medicine ever cured. That being the
position of allopathy.) The trial of the case took .five days of very bitter .fighting. Indeed, a biased government prosecuting attorney was so incensed during the trial one day that he had a very severe attack of acute indigestion on his return to court after eating dinner in that angry state of mind. They were about to adjourn court , when, .having my pocket case of 6ox (B. & T.) with me, I offered to prescribe, which assistance the lawyer very graciously accepted while the dozen or more government physicians and other
physicians called to testify from Washington and elsewhere, looked on in amazement. For several days I had been of the opinion that t his lawyer needed a dose of Nux vomica for his disposition and now I knew he needed it, so I gave it to him on his tongue, and so certain was I of the result that I stated aloud
so that everyone could hear that that one powder would relieve him within .five minutes. One of our defence witnesses (an ex-president of the American Institute of Homreopathy) arose from his seat and exploded, " Dr. Schwartz, I would not say that ." " Why not? " I asked in reply. "It cannot always be
done," he answered. "Oh yes," said I, "when you give the r ight medicine."
I had hardly more than reached my s(!at when the government prosecuting attorney called across the court, " Dr. Schwartz, I am entirely relieved." It is needless to say that Homreopathy itself won her own case although the statutes still forbid the word " cure " on bottles of medicine or advertising matter sent through
the mail. And the government chemist from the Department of Agriculture is still wondering why he could not .find any medicine in Ensign's homreopathic sugar. "Believe it or not," it is a matter of record.
Source : homeopathycourseonline.com
Janurary 1943
GERIATRICS-TROUBLES OF THE AGED~'
By DR. AUGUSTO VINGALS
(From The Homceopathic Reco rder, March 1942)
FAILING MEMORY.
One of the more constant phenomena of old age is the diminution or failure of memory, remembering
remote events, but forgetting : Where did I lay that book ? Where are the scissors ? et c. ; absence o£ intellect. Baryta carbonica 30 or 200 is indeed the friend of such old people, especially if they are of the obese type. Other remedies for this condition are : A nacardium, which cannot r member the names of friends ; cannot find the adequate word ; cannot fix attention ; is inclined to hypochondriasis. Glonoin forgets the streets which he knows so well. Natrum muriaticurn weeps because he cannot remember the story he started to tell. Cocculus, Zincum , Kali phosphoricum and others also have this altered memory.
MENTAL SYMPTOMS. In the aged there appear mental perturbations which require the study of many rem.edies in order to find the simillim.um for each case. Here we sometimes meet a woman who formerly was very particular about everything, who did not allow a piece of furniture to be out of its place, etc. ; she had
become careless, even indifferent to everything, at times including her feeling toward her family, until Sepia 200 changed the entire picture. Other patients become irascible, and some turn hypochondriacal
or jealous of their friends or neighbours, and embitter life with sad presentiments. Ignatia, Hyoscyamus and Phosphoricum acidum have many times restored the tranquillity of the disturbed internal ego.
Asthmatic Affections are found in old people and in those who have aged prematurely. One time it is "cardiac asthma which makes us think of Adonis vernalis, which has irregular action from a weak heart ; Digitalis has the very slow pulse ;Cratcegus is a great heart tonic. Again it may be a " cardiorenal asthma " with uremia, which is relieved by Strophanthus and Apocynum in low potency. In many cases we find asthma associated with a bronchitis : humid asthma relieved by much expectoration, where Senega, Tartarus and sometimes Carbo vegetabilis are of much service. Dr. Cartier recommends in alternation Naphthalinum 6 and Grindelia 6 to help the tenacious expectoration, dyspnea and poor circulation. And in how many cases of senile asthma proper in which dyspnea is caused by pulmonary arteriosclerosis .has Baryta carbonica or muriatica admirably complemented Tartarus in pulmonary paralysis of the aged ! Arsenicum is indicated in these periodic asthmatic attacks at midnight, or early around 3 o'clock. Natrum sulphuricum comes in question where attacks are worse when the weather changes from dry to damp, or at the seashore. Dr. Jones of Buffalo recommends in alternation Gelsemium and Sumbul, .eight drops in a tablespoonful of hot water every fifteen minutes, and states this has never failed him when given at the beginning of the attack.
CATARACT. I am not claiming that all such cases can be cured by Homeopathy, but as their evolution can be retarded many times, so also an acceptable improvement is possible. Calcarea fluorica 6, according to Schuessler, is the chief remedy with its marked action on the crystalline tissues. Calcarea carbonica 30
and zoo is,for hard cataract in the beginning, the phagosclerosis type, with concentric opacity. Phosphorus has a cloudy film or nucleus, and patients have better vision in dim light. Euphrasia one drop in boiled water for external use, and internally in low potency, is indicated in capsular opacity. Colocynthis is helpful
in soft cataract. Cannabis sativa is of advantage in corneal opacity, and where there is painful pressure in the orbit from front to back. The Causticum patient rubs the eye to relieve the pressure. Secale is indicated in cataract with fine peripheral filaments, while Natrum muriaticum has irregularly distributed peripheral
stri<e. Magnesia carbonica has cataract with large irregularly distributed striae, thick at the base ; can see best in bright daylight.Cineraria maritima has been much recommended for external application, one or two drops instilled (quite painful), but I have never seen any real cure from it. Nevertheless I believe that in
some cases it may aid the action of the internal remedy. The simillimum must be chosen conscientiously, properly individualized, as also applies to Conium, Euphrasia, Naphthalinurn, Silica, Sepia, Thiositzaminum and many others which, chosen according to their particular indication, can aid and relieve in many cases.
URINARY APPARATUS. ,-Another of the old people's nightmares is the loss of bladder control, when the urine escapes involuntarily, and the bladder feels full, not relieved by urination : Gelseminum and Causticum in various potencies and repetitions, and Equisetum hyemale tincture in frequent doses is of advantage in most cases. Frequent night micturition in the aged, Causticum 30 ; frequent micturition of small quantities, Kali phosphoricum ; if the urine is of strong odour like horse urine, Benzoicum acidum ; if of violet odour, Terebinthina; fishy odour, Uranium nitricum. If urine escapes while coughing, walking, or while passing flatus, or in bed, Pulsatilla, Verbascum, etc.
HAEMATURTA. If blood is arterial, think of Trillium and Ipecacuanha, and in some cases ,Millefolium; if it is venous, Hamamelis and Pulsatilla. lf due to cystitis, Uva ursi, Thlaspi bursa pastoris, as also Solidago and Senecio. If of renal cause with tenesmus, Terebinthina is a valuable remedy. lf frequent haematuria we must think of bladder polypi, in which Teucrium, Thuja and Phosphorus work marvellously; or it may be due to neoplasm, which is always grave.
PROSTATE. In acute inflammation with tenesmus, Pulsatilla, Belladonna and Ferrum phosphoricum are the most valuable remedies, as also Selenium in the chronic form. In beginning prostatic hypertrophy with some inflammation and urinary disturbance Sabal serrulata 3x produces a splendid effect, hence it has been called the " homceopathic catheter " because it acts quickly and markedly on congestion. Ferrum
picricum. follows it importantly. Do not forget Calcarea ftuorica 6x and Equisetum hyemale tincture, often indicated in hypertrophy of medium severity. If there is no undoubted improvement, or if there is advanced sclerosis, we must think of the deep acting remedies such as Baryta carbonica 200 or Conium 1M. Often
there may be an adenoma or tumour of grave origin.
IN SUMMA. Homceopathy has much to offer in such cases, and various remedies demanding deep study of our incomparable "Materia Medica Pura," the proper application of which, with individualization in each case, gains much and many acceptable cures.
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. Many are the circulatory disturbances: one time there is marked chest oppression with the sensation as if the heart were squeezed with an iron hand, in which case Cactus
is the indicated remedy. Another time we find an irritable heart action and somewhat trembling palpitation ; here Crategus in tincture or low potency should be given, which calms the nerves and sustains the heart.
After the menopause many women get oedematous swelling of the ankles from defective circulation: Apis mellifica 3 is the remedy if also indicated by other symptoms. ln other cases we are consulted for involuntary escaping of urine while coughing, laughing or sneezing, for which Causticum 30 is simply marvellous. \\'here we find cramps in legs, especially when lying down, we have a good friend in Magnesia phosphorica 6x; when aged patients complain of much burning of feet as soon as they are in
bed, so they have to stick them out from under the covers to cool them, there Sulphur is a grand remedy.
VERTIGO, PRURITUS SENILIS AND SENILE GANGRENE. Endless are the habitual indispositions which molest the aged, of which vertigo is the greatest, and in which Homeopathy gains fine laurels through Tabacum and Ferrum. Pruritus is at times mild, but it may also become a torture, which is often nicely relieved by Dolichos pruriens and Fagopyrum esculentum. In other cases Croton tiglium or Mezereum may be indicated by other symptoms; we must also remember our remedies of more general action like Arsenicum, Baryta carbonica, Carbo vegetabilis, Conium and Sulphur. Yet there are admittedly
cases where all remedies fail. Senile gangrene, the graver condition, most frequently affects
the great toe, is often cured astonishingly quickly by Secale cornutum, which is the perfect simillimum.
ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION. Our materia medica has many indicated remedies for this trouble, of which Aconitum 6 heads the list for the acute condition with the hard, quick and rapid pulse so characteristic for this remedy. It has been called the '' homreopathic lancet". Viscum album, Ethyl alcohol and other medicaments selected according to individual indications should be prescribed until the physician sees the expected results. It is not always easy to determine when to stop. When the tunica media of the arteries is damaged, Baryta carbonica 30 or Baryta muriatica 20 prove to be the grand friends
of the aged with hypertension, as Hahnemann's marvellous sagacity bequeathed to us in the so precious pathogenesis.
APOPLEXY. To prevent this justly feared condition in our elderly patients Arnica montana is a most valuable remedy in connection with proper diet. The preliminary symptoms in some cases are: inclination
to exaggerated laughing over an unimportant joke or without any motive. Or there are present congestion to the head, vertigo with inclination to fall forward ; or flushes run from head to feet ; light flashes or darkness before the eyes are present, and here Veratrum viride 2x, a few globules on the tongue every
time such symptoms occur, are a powerful aid. Many times a single dose will end such conditions, and as soon as possible a remedy for the totality of the symptoms must be selected. During an attack Ferrum phosphoricum, Baryta carbonica, Arnica, Opium, etc., according to the case, may be indicated
and remove the danger. And finally Kali muriaticum and Arnica in hourly alternation facilitate the absorption of the exudate. Some authorities recommend Phosphorus.
Source : homeopathycourseonline.com
February 1943
REMEDIES IN INFECTIONS
By HERBERT A. ROBERTS, M.D.
The snake venoms ar e always to be considered in association with septic states, whether these be localized or general. There is no class of remedies that presents such possibilities in combating these dread states. Let us consider Lachesis for a moment. Probably the most outstanding symptom of Lachesis is its
exquisite sensitiveness to touch, whether it be touch of the infected part or of the general system. This aggravation is from the slightest touch rather than from the firm touch, and there is amelioration from heavy pressure. There is always the sense of constriction, especially about the neck, but it may be limited to the part affected. Most of its complaints are to be found on the left side, or beginning on the left side. The hemorrhages of Lachesis are very dark, fluid blood. It is characteristic that small wounds bleed much. ' This is because of the venous stasis, instead of the arterial h<emorrhage ; therefore we get the blue colour of the skin, and mottling. The inflammation has a tendency to go on to suppuration. The septic conditions
where we most often find this remedy indicated are surgical fevers, gangrene, carbuncles, where there is a tendency for sloughing of the parts affected. The patient is worse after sleep; in fact, the aggravation begins before the sleep ends. There is aggravation from warmth and from a change to warmer weather. Often we find this aggravation as the warm spells of spring come on . The nervous system is very strongly affected,
and there is trem~ling and tremor of the parts affected . The patient is profoundly weak, physically and mentally. Thus we have in the leading remedy of the reptile family many of the peculiar symptoms that may frequently be indicated. In connection with the snake poisons, I would point to the peculiar symptoms of Vipera which make it so valuable in septic conditions. It produces all of the profound blood-poisoning
states of its family, but there is also intense aggravation from the affected part banging down ; a feeling as if the part would burst. This is the result of the venous inflammatory state. The hemorrbages are frequent, and again they are venous rather than arterial. In the profound states, especially if there is coma, a peculiar symptom of Vipera is that pressure upon the abdomen, which is usually tense, invariably causes distension of the facial muscles. There is marked mottling of the skin, becoming almost black, and a peculiarity of this mottling is that some of the patches are cold to the' touch, and there is great tendency to sloughing. Vivid spots appear on the hands or feet, with a red streak following the course of the veins upward to the body.
A study of all our snake remedies will reward the physician who has to deal with septic states.
The spider poison, Tarantula cubensis, has all of the restlessness and hysterical tendency of the Tarantula hispanica, but with it, it has the added symptomatology of malignant suppuration and unhealthy abscesses, especially carbuncles, with burning, stinging pains, great weakness and diarrhcea. The pains are intense and
most troublesome, and their effect on the nervous system is to produce hysterical manifestations. The parts affected are·usually of a purplish hue, with a tendency to. slough-again venous stasis. This remedy is to be compared with Lachesis and Vipera.
Rhus tax. can be of immeasurable service to the physician in these desperately sick patients from septic conditions. Probably the most outstanding indication for Rhus is its lameness, stiffness and soreness. This is particularly so when the patient is first moved. It ranks with Arnica in the bed being hard and the parts laid on being sore and lame. It is aggravated very much from touch. In Rhus conditions, there is a tendency for
the inflammation to follow up the tendons, causing them to become inflamed and sore, along with the constitutional symptoms. The parts become very red, shining and there is swelling, often covered with small white vesicles. In erysipelatous swellings with this eruption it is one of the first remedies for us to consider, as in cellular inflammations. The glands become swollen, hot and painful. With all complaints there is restlessness, aching and soreness ; better from motion, but aggravated from beginning to move. R hus tax . will abort many of these septic states almost at their beginning, and it will be curative even after the condition has been thoroughly established, when these characteristic indications are present.
Source : homeopathycourseonline.com