Investigations have proved that mothers milk is not only the best protection against the gastro-intestinal diseases, but also that babies taking it thrive more normally and appear to exhibit a greater immunity to the infectious diseases. If any of the infectious diseases are contracted, the breast-fed babies have a better chance of recovery and exhibit fewer unfavourable sequelae.
While rickets, scurvy and beri-beri have been known to develop in breast-fed babies, their occurrence is relatively rare where the dietary of the mother contains the necessary food elements, and where the babies are not nursed exclusively at the breast for too long a period. Rickets and scurvy are extremely rare in China where breast feeding is well-nigh universal. They were practically unknown even in the treaty ports, until artificial feeding was introduced by the foreigners. – DR. R.A. BOLT. “The Mortalities of Infancy”.
MEDICAL CASES
By a HOMOEOPATHIC DOCTOR IN THE PROVINCES
Case 1.
On August 17th, 1910, a small child, Grace D., aged 2 years, was brought to me to see what could be done for her. There was a bad family history of tuberculosis; the mother was in rapid consumption before the birth of this child and died soon after the child was born.
The history of the child was not good: in 1909 she was said to have nearly died from diarrhoea. In April 1910 she had pneumonia, and in the June had been operated upon for an abscess (? tub.) over the Malar bone.
The patient was a brown eyed, fair haired child, fat and flabby. Face pale almost chalky white; mucous membranes very pale; abdomen swollen, but no mesenteric glands could be felt. Right ankle swollen and inflamed; right leg weak; walked with a limp with the foot thrown outwards. Abductor muscles of right thigh wasted; head sweats at night; anterior fontanelle not completely closed; teeth carious and showing black edges protruding from the gums. The child was extremely fond of eggs.
On August 17th. Calcarea carb. 10m., one dose given. Four powders of Tuberculin 30, one dose weekly to be given. Massage ordered for the thigh muscles and boots for support for the ankles.
On September 14th the child was examined again. right ankle less swollen; has been better generally until three days ago when she had diarrhoea for two days. Lips less colourless; walks a little better. Cries very much at night. Calcarea carb. 10m., one dose given.
On October 14th.-Child again examined. She has improved wonderfully. Flesh more normal in appearance; eats better and sleeps better. No swelling of ankle now; right leg less weak, can keep leg straight if told to do so, otherwise there is still a tendency for it to turn outwards. Lips now a good colour and cheeks have a slight rosiness. Anterior fontanelle closing rapidly.
After this the child was not seen until September 1911, nearly a year later. She then had a good colour, was bright and cheerful. Ankle quite normal; walks without throwing leg outwards; can skip and play like any child.
What of the after history of this child? There was no further trouble as regards health, and she grew up strong and healthy. Certainly no one who saw her in 1930 could have imagined that the poor wretched looking child of 1910 would have grown up to the fine healthy looking young woman.
CASE II.
Margery K., aged 11 years, had never been a strong child according to the mother. When seen on November 29th, 1910 she looked like a little shrunken wax figure. Her lips were colourless; she was too weak to stand for more than a few minutes. The mother said she usually crouched over the fire or lay on a couch during the day. The child had been ill for a year and was steadily getting worse. In fact from her appearance it did not seem that she could be very much worse and live. The child was generally depressed and remarked, “I should be better off in my grave”, A strange remark for a child to make!
On getting out the symptoms the mother said the child would eat spoonful after spoonful of salt if not watched. She was always thirsty for cold water but was never satisfied. Although she sits by the fire all day yet must have the windows open; wants air. She had headaches, forehead and temples, pain like knives. Rightly or wrongly one dose of Natrum mur. 10m. was given to the child. Possibly it was a mistake to have given so high a potency to so serious a case, for on December 5th the child nearly died.
The next day it looked very ill. Phosphorus 30 was given two hourly until some improvement set in and then it was to be given four hourly or less often as the child improved. Two days later it was definitely improving, and five days later it was eating better and was certainly more cheerful. One dose of Phosphorus 200 was now given. Four days after that the thirst was much less and there was now no craving for salt. The urine examined at this stage showed a large deposit of phosphates, but no albumen or sugar.
Seen on December 28th only a month from the commencement of homoeopathic treatment, she was very much better. She was sleeping well and eating well. The child steadily went on regaining her health.
Now let us turn to Kents Materia Medica and see if we can learn why there was such a craving for salt in this child. Under Natrum mur. we find : “One may find an individual growing thin with all the symptoms of salt; he is taking salt in great quantities, but digesting none of it.
There is a Nat. mur. inanition, a starving for salt. We do not with our small dose supply the salt that the system needs, but we cure the internal disease, we turn into order the internal physical man, and then the tissues get salt enough from the food.” Natrum mur. is the old name for salt and it was salt that the child required to put her right, but salt in the potentized form, not the crude drug. Phosphorus is a useful remedy to counteract the effects of excessive salt eating.
CASE III
Miss H., aged 28 years, had an epulis on the lower jaw,the dentist wanted to operate but the patient was not at all keen. The patient came to the writer to see if medicine could remove it. There was very little to prescribe on in the way of symptoms. In Clarkes Repertory four remedies are given for this condition, among them Thuja and Calcarea. Early in December 1918 Thuja 10m., one dose was given.
The case was seen again on January 1st, 1919, and there appeared to be no difference in the growth. Calcarea carb. 10m., one dose was given. On January 28th, the epulis was definitely a little smaller and remained at that until July 24th, when one dose of Sulphur 200 was given. (The patient had a skin that appeared dirty and unhealthy.) After this dose of Sulphur the growth steadily grew less and finally disappeared. when seen two years later the jaw was normal, and there was nothing to indicate that there had been anything wrong with it.
An epulis is a tumour growing from the alveolar periosteum, and the usual treatment found in the surgery books “consists in removing the growth altogether with the teeth or stumps with which it is connected. If small, it will suffice to cut away and scrape the bone from which it arises; but if large, the portion of the alveolus from which it springs must also be excised.” In the above case the growth was of a fair size and the operation would have removed a considerable portion of tissue, etc.
