CASE 1,.
Mrs. McC., colored, aged 34, was first seen on June 16, 1928. Her complaint was asthma for the past eight years. These spells occur nightly about 8-9 p.m. and ;last through the whole night.
She is better in the cold air.
She is better in winter.
Wants her hair down as the scalp hurts.
The attacks are better drinking cold water.
During the attack her head feels too big and is better from pressure.
She coughs with the asthma and her head feels as if bursting on coughing.
She walks the floor all night.
The walks the floor all night.
The disposition is very cranky during the spells.
She is not worse in wet weather,
She feels the cold but is markedly better in the cold air.
She likes sweets and uses salt heavily.
Bryonia 30x, one dose.
May 7, 1930. The patient was not seen in two years. There have been no attacks during this period, since the day following the first dose of Bryonia,until this month when she had three spells each coming on at 9 p.m. with great tenderness of the scalp again and markedly better in the cold. Bryonia 1M, one dose.
May 26, 1930,She was comfortable for two weeks after the remedy.,She now has coughing spells with pain under the sternum associated with her menses which begin at 10 a.m.,m and are brighter red than usual. the cough continues three days with foamy egg white sputum, splitting headache with the cough, and great dryness of the mouth and throat. Bryonia 10M, on3e dose. Sac. lac. night and morning.
June 10, 1930. After taking this third dose of the remedy she was all right in the morning and has had no trouble since.
It is interesting to see a remedy like Bryonia, commonly thought of as an acute remedy,take hold of a chronic case so well. It may be that Natrum mur. will be indicated alter.
CASE 2.
Mr.H., colored, age 47, has suffered forms ever attacks of asthma for the past five years. It began following severe chilling after marching and playing in a band one hot July day five years ago. Since that time he has hardly eve been free of the trouble. It comes at any season, summer, winter, spring and fall.
It is worse from dust and smoke.
Worse from lifting.
Worse from walking fast.
worse from any exertion.
Much worse in damp weather and his nose stops in the damp.
worse from 1-3 a.m.
It is better in cold dry weather.
better on a hot day.
better in the open air.
better flat on his back with the head low.
The attack starts with a drowsy, logy feeling,then his chest tightens up until it feels so tight that he gasps for breath. The throat and larynx are so dry they feel as if worms were crawling there. there is a severe, drawing, contracting in the abdomen,. He feels best lying flat and is very thirsty,drinking much cold water. when the attack begins to cease up he raises wads of white expectoration,but when the attacks after very severe,about 6 or 7 times a year, the expectoration is in long watery strings 1 or 2 feet long which he has to pull our with his hands. the attacks last several days and leave him very weak. It takes 2 or 3 days to get his strength back.
He is cold blooded and his feet are always cold.
He is susceptible to draft.
He catches colds easily but they go quickly.
He feels worse in the evening after work.
He feels best in the sparing.
The nose and throat susceptible to cold but no sore throats.
He prefers his food hot.
He has a dry skin and perspires very little.
He often has a left sided,stitching, sharp,cutting pain in the lumbar region which comes suddenly and is so severe he cant move. He tightens his belt and is then all right. This leaves a sensitive,sore spot which is better from rubbing.
He sleeps well, on the right side, and does not dream.
He is of uneven happy.,contented disposition and never gets mad. His wife says he is very easy going.
March 20, 1930. Kali carb. 200., one dose. Five minutes after taking it he he had a severe dizzy attack, and had to hold onto the table. His wife had to help him to bed. ?The table and floor swung up and down. Nevertheless he had his first whole nights sleep in years.
April 11,, 1930. Two mild attacks last week, entirely free of complaints and felt fine up to this time. Feels better, walks without trouble, lifts better, sleeps better (all night),sensation of worms crawling gone. Sac.;lac. One Kali carb. 200 for emergency.
May 2, 1930. about two weeks ago took the Kali carb. as he felt an attack starting. One hour later he had a very severe headache across the frontal region which lasted for 8 hours. the pain was sharp and piercing and took away all his ambition. He had never had a headache like this before and has not had a headache of any kind for many years. Now he often sleeps several night without waking up. A sudden change in temperature, from hot weather to showers, stuffed him up a little but the powder of Kali carb. stopped the attack. He has had only one bad attack lasting one day. He looks better, feels better and is beginning to grow fat. His friends remark on how well he is looking.
May 23, 1930. Gained 13 pounds. Had had one short bad attack on a rainy day. Took an emergency Kali carb. 1M and in half an hour was first asleep.
June 10, 1930. Fine up to one week ago. The past week has been very fairly, hot and damp. He has had some wheezing,rather slight. took another emergency powder of Kali cab. 1M and has been better since but because of the rain is not entirely cleared up. His chest is not nearly so tight, he is not so dry,the crawling sensation has not returned, he feels strong and does all his work without difficulty. Ordinarily he would be very sick in such weather, good for nothing. He now raises nothing. Kali carb.10 M. I hope this fixes him for a long time.
CASE 3.
Sept. 24, 1929. Miss R., age 62,complains of frequent attacks of epilepsy beginning in 1898. this is the only case in the family. At 8 years of age she fell and fractured her skull. Pressure increased until in 1898 it was necessary to do a trephine operation after which the convulsions began. The attacks are frequent and come both by day and by night. Sometimes 7 or 8 a day.
The night attacks are always after midnight,m bearer day break, sometimes as many as 3 or 4 a night.
There is both petit mal and grand mal. She is much weaker from the minor attacks, in which she does not lose consciousness.
She is worse in wit weather; better from heat sensitive to drafts; must sit up,even in bed, as lying down starts an attack; worse from touch, and better when held.
There is no aura to tell when a spell is coming; she gives a sharp scream and becomes suddenly unconscious. If she is sitting up the slumps and falls gently. There is no dizziness. She becomes very stiff all over and the whole body twitches. This may begin anywhere but the right side is worse; the right arm flexes and jerks, the right leg taps the floor rapidly. The face and hands turn black; she is cold during the attack,especially the feet, and beads of sweat stand out on the upper lip and forehead. During one of the spells she jabbers rapidly and unintelligibly. It seems to be about the happenings of the day. She is irrational also. The spells last about three to give minutes; as she is coming out she pulls things to pieces.It takes about an hour the effect and as stated earlier, she is weaker after the minor attacks.
She is chilly patient,always worse in winter and better in summer.
She tries easily and is worse about 4 p.m.
The appetite is good. She prefers her food hot.
She drinks quantities of water, cold,a glass at a time.
She likes to eat better than to drink.
She dislikes sweets and hates fruit, especially oranges and lemons, “they come back on her”.
The sleep is normal,and she seldom dreams. Usually she sleeps on her right side. the sister thinks this may start the convulsions.
She is much better sitting up and does so even in bed, Lying down makes her head throb and starts the convulsion. Perspiration,she thinks,is normal. On examination the palms of the hands were warms and moist.
She is horribly afraid of thunder storms and always knows she one is coming for she “gets an awful stomach ache”and the bowels move. During the storm she is very fidgety and feels badly.
There is a sore pain on top of the head ear the trephine opening, also in the forehead. This may last all night. The onset of this pain is slow. sometimes there is pain in the left abdomen. the throat is very sensitive always,and there is a little difficulty in swallowing,as if sometimes we stick in the throat, as if the tonsils were swollen. the right leg shows some swelling probably due to varicosities. She has lost flesh the post year and considerable during the past ear and considerable during the past week,during which she has had many convulsions. The bowels are normal. the urine is passed about every two hours during the day and twice at night. the blood- pressure is 160/108 Otherwise the examination is negative.
The menses were established at 19 and she has never been regular, always late. Her family has always worried about this. She had some kind of an operation on the uterus, what I do now know.
