W.L. REED, M. D.
November 1, 1889. -E. L., a lad of 16 years, came to my office with his mother, from whom I obtained the following history: He had been treated by an allopathic physician of this city for three months. The mother was finally informed that “her son was incurable,” “that he could do nothing more for him, as he was far advanced and in the last stages of Bright’s Disease. That he was liable to drop dead any moment.” A specimen of his urine was produced, which I proceeded at once to test.
I found an acid reaction with a specific gravity 1.008. I filled a test tube half full and heated to a boiling point. A brownish-white deposit of half the amount of fluid in the tube was observed. I then took another portion and applied the Nitric acid test with a like result on standing. I now confirmed the previous expressed opinion that he was in a precarious condition, as such cases are always fraught with great danger.
His face had a bloated appearance; eyelids were swollen and dropsical swelling of the extremities. Rapid breathing, hoarse cough day and night. Every other morning about 8 A.M., yawning, stretching, great thirst; chill at 9, lasting till noon, beginning in the toes and fingers, extending to back; violent headache; blue lips and nails; great thirst for large quantities of water; and often nausea and vomiting; sleepiness; almost constant coughing; tearing pains in the extremities, desiring to be heavily covered.
This was followed with burning heat; increased thirst; “an intolerable hammering headache;” a desire to uncover; cross and irritable when spoken to; great restlessness. Fever blisters covered his lips like pearls and had existed for several days; tastelessness of all food. This was followed with a profuse sweat, with thirst; gradually all the bone pains were relieved, save the headache; this latter gave him great distress every time he was obliged to cough.
During the apyrexia, which was not very distinct, there was great languor with excessive debility; a livid, sallow complexion; who could desire a more typical case? I most sincerely commiserate any homoeopath who falls to comprehend the pathogenesy of one of our most valuable and indispensable polychrests. The patient is asking in unmistakable tones for sodium chloride, although he has been a daily consumer of this article. While this was a typical Natrum mur. case, it was a very pronounced case of Morbus Brightii.
I did not stop to inquire whether it was one of acute or chronic parenchymatous nephritis. Whether there were any epithelial hyaline, or blood casts, and should the desquamative stage have obtained, there was only one indication for me to consider and that was the picture presented. This boy had been living over in Illinois in the Mississippi river bottoms; “going in swimming,” lying on the ground, following in the track of freshly turned sod when the sun was hot, generating miasm.
He had been treated scientifically (?) as his mother thought, by one who makes it a specially to treat all such class of diseases. It was presumed he knew all about such diseases as his office was constantly thronged with sick people.
Now after having been cycloned by this wiseacre for two months, in his vain endeavors to diminish the intensity of the renal inflammation, by the use of hydragogue cathartics, saline laxatives so useful by the way of depletion, fomentations over kidneys with hot flannels, or spongio-piline; diuretics, for the dropsical diathesis, rigid abstemiousness of all albuminous articles of diet, elaterium, gamboge, bitartarate of potassium, etc., ad nauseam; after all this vain endeavor to promote resolution by the eliminative process, the organism of this patient was still racked with disease, strange to say.
So he issues the edict that all had been done that could possibly be done, and that he must yield to the inevitable. Thus I found this case after having passed through the terrible ordeal that all patients must undergo from the hands of the self-styled scientists.
The general cachexy of the organism calls for a remedy the pathogenesy of which is a similiarity upon the healthy organism. So we gave him Natrum muriaticum, and see what followed:.
On the 1st day of November, 1889, being the well day, I gave him three powders, Natrum mur. 200, to be taken six hours apart. Paroxysm next day as usual, but there was a diminution of 25 percent. of albumen. Sac. lac. was given interim; but on the 4th chill and fever again. There more powders, six hours apart, after paroxysm. There was a gradual decrease in amount of albumen in urine. Chill and fever still persisted till the 10th. Realizing we had not found the similimum, we gave him one dose of Natrum mur. cm. (Fincke) with happy results.
On 12th had a very light chill and light fever, with a greatly diminished deposit of albumen. Cough, rest, sleep, appetite greatly improved. There was a steady improvement in his condition up to the 24th, when another slight chill and fever, with increased deposit of albumen, appeared. One more dose of cm. No more chills.
On December 7th there was an indication of another paroxysm, by slight increase of albumen, restlessness and cough. One more dose of Natrum mur. cm. everted the paroxysm. This was the last dose of medicine given. Urine remained all this time at a specific gravity, ranging from 1.010 to 1.012. It gradually grew more dense and in one month’s time it was normal 1.018. Was kept on Sac. lac. for two months. No tonics were permitted.
This case I have taken great pride in, and had greater satisfaction from than any case I ever treated, owing to the gravity it presented. What wonderful results from the dynamic power of the drug. I do not think the 200th potency could ever have cured him, as it needed a remedy more potent or powerful. The more grave the case, the more potent your remedy. In his daily food he had taken Chloride of Sodium, and still the dread disease invaded his system. Not until the salt had been far removed from materialism, or become dynamic, did it prove efficacious.
If this be true of Natrum chloride, is it not possible it may be the same with Cinchona and its varied alkaloids, or any other remedy? I for one am not willing to jeopardize the life of any of my patients by the administration of materialistic agents, when we have something more potent and reliable. If we would cure tuto cito of jucunde, give the remedy as far removed from materialism as possible, taking care never to repeat, after improvement, till you are satisfied the last dose has ceased to act in the organism.
Our State Medical Association met in our city last April. During the proceedings an article was read upon Albuminuria, in which the pathological conditions obtaining in such cases was dwelt upon, also the alimentation requisite to the successful treatment, but very little information was given as to the pathogenesy of those remedies which are so essentially requisite to the successful treatment of such cases.
I gave a very brief account of this detailed case of Natrum mur., laying stress upon the fact that the 200th potency was not homoeopathic to the case, but as soon as he received the similimum, which was the cm. potency, a speedy recovery was obtained without any regard to the alimentation or the pathological condition. After I had finished my remarks, I was beset upon by one of the assassins of the law, who proclaimed “that such nonsense was not worthy of notice, and that it was a shame what such doctrine should be instilled into the minds of the young members of the Association.
That the deposit in this case was nothing but mucus and that there was nothing seriously the matter in this case.” My reply was not that of Sunday-school parlance, nor perhaps as decorous as that which is requisite in the drawing-room. In fact, it angered all those in sympathy with his utterances. I commiserate such abject poverty and utter ignorance of the law as this member evinced. He hails from Kansas City and is nothing but an antiquated reminiscence of barbarism. Draw your own conclusion after what he said.
He averse that in his experience in an epidemic of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis in the year 1862, he being an avowed homoeopath, resorted to actual cautery, and depended upon external applications in the treatment of these cases. In spite of this treatment a majority of them died. In treating eclampsia, I always go higher and higher, as I grow older, until I now give from a grain to a grain and half of Morphine at a dose. I am sorry to state that these treasonable utterances were applauded by a majority of those present. Instead of a rebuke being given by the President, I saw a genial smile steal over his countenance, indicating approval.
This same society, by a concensus if opinion, has elected as its president for the ensuing year, on who has the temerity to proclaim on all occasions, Lex non scripta. In his address of welcome to the society he stated “they were here to sustain this principle or doctrine.” Oh, depths of depravity in medical science! Such unanimity of such sentiments is treasonable. I took upon such transactions as unvarnished villainy.
It is this we are here for, to stand for our God given principles, and flight this effort at this sinister effacement of the true principles of Homoeopathy. The stolid indifference, or apathy, of some of our members in defending our noble cause, is enough to make the statue at Leipsic leap from its pedestal, and hasten the resurrection of the sainted dead of our beloved science. I have as much respect for a John A. Merrill, a Jesse James, or a midnight assassin as such men who ruthlessly stabbed the sacred principles of Homoeopathy.
Per Contra to this treasonable sentiment we proclaim this motto which should be inherent in, and sacredly cherished by, every true homoeopath. Lex scripta et certissima. As shame and disgrace fell upon the ancient Greek participants in the torchlight races if they failed to transmit their torches unextinguished to their successors, so may it ever be to those who would deign to trail the sacred banner of Homoeopathy in the quagmire of Empiricism.
“As we have received from the successors of Hahnemann the blazing torch which he, the Prometheus of our system lighted at the Altar of Eternal Truth,” so we as Hahnemannians have a sacred duty to perform, to fling to the breeze our banner bearing that glorious apothegm Similia, Similibus, Curantur. “Our honor depends on the care with which we cherish it, and the state in which, in turn, we transmit it to those who shall follow us”.
It is epigrammatic. it is salient. It is a verity.
“War, war is is still the cry, war even to the knife.
War my noble father thus we fling it,.
And fair-eyed peace, farewell”.
DISCUSSION.
DR. H. C. ALLEN: One suggestion I would like to make, and that is, that we drop the name mongrels and mongrelism, for the reason that we can catch more flies with sugar than we can with vinegar.
DR. THOMSON: We are not here to catch flies, nor to hold a candle to the devil. We have a mission; to proclaim the truth regardless of results.
DR. H. C. ALLEN: Yes, but they retaliate. I do not like to be called a Hahnemanniac, and if I were on their side of the boat I would not like to be called a mongrel. Empirics and Empiricism meet the case fully as well.
