Eye Surgeon
I have found Homoeopathy to be a very exacting science where ordinary errors as committed in Allopathy are not tolerated. I have been handicapped by the noncooperation of the patients who do not understand why I am asking them information quite unrelated to their eyes for which they have come and who do not much like going into the past history. The second point that hindered me was that according to the pure homoeopathy when treating eye diseases only internal medicines and nothing in the form of external medicines are: to be used.
This point was cleared by Dr. L. D. Dhawale, B. A., M. D. when I saw him a few years back. He pointed out that Dr. Norton used both external and internal medicines in eye diseases. I am herewith giving a few examples of the benefits of the homoeopathic treatment. In some cases I admit I was myself very much astonished at the unexpected cures (vide No. 1 case, where the Trachoma was completely made symptomless by a medicine which is nowhere given as a cure for Trachoma).
CASE. No. 1. Trachoma.
A Mohammedian patient. Tall. fat. Taxi driver by profession. Has had Trachoma for over 4 years. Has been treated for it by many doctors. Wasserman-Plus. Was given nearly 25 injections for the same, elsewhere, without any effect. Condition of the eyes: both eyes had pannus reaching even below the centre of the cornea. In the history the remarkable and unexplainable fact was brought out that he had very bad pain, photophobia, inability to open the eyes from 12 midnight to 12 next noon. After 12 noon the was quite well and was able to drive his car in comfort.
One would have expected that from 12 noon onwards this man, a taxidriver should have been worse due to the sun and the dust, that month being May, the height of summer, but it was the reverse. I had not much time that day to repertorize the case. Acting therefore on “only two legs of the stool” and not three, as one should have at least, (1) the nightly aggravation, (2) the history of Wasserman plus and history of syphilis as admitted by the patient, I gave him one dose of Syphilinum 200 and asked him to report after 4 days.
Imagine my very great surprise when this patient came and fell at my feet and told me that for the last over 6 months he has had no sound sleep during the night. The pain and photophobia was much less. For his satisfaction I gave him Euphrasia Mother tincture 2 drops to an ounce of distilled water as eye drops and asked him to come whenever he felt his eyes were getting bad.
He reported about 10 days afterwards. Another dose of the same quitened him down. He used to come off and on at intervals of 1 month or 2 for a dose which I later increased to 1000, and now for over 2 years I have not seen him. The last time I saw him, the pannus was completely healed but the trachomatous condition of the lids was the same. I saw him the other day driving his taxi and on asking him he said he was quote all right and had nothing to report.
CASE NO.2. Haemorrhage in the vitreous.
A young Mohammedian University student hurt, his right eye while cranking the car. The whole eye was swollen and there was blood in the anterior chamber. No fundus reflex was elicited though projection was present. On atropine, Dionine and other treatment the eye quieted down, the hyperaemia disappeared but the blood in the Vitreous would not absorb. Saline and cyanide subconjunctival injections, Mist Pot Iodide, etc. were given without any effect. The case went on for 3-4 months and I even got him short-wave therapy in the hope of effecting some change.
This went on for nearly 18 months and the vision in that eye was about counting finger at 2 feet only, when the fingers were kept on the temporal side only. There was retinitis proliferans and detachment of retina on the temporal side and thus only the nasal retina was functioning. It was hopeless and I could do nothing, having tried everything in the allopathic line. I thought then of trying Homoeopathy. I first gave him one dose Arnica 200 because there was a history of trauma and allowed it to act for 3-4 days. I followed that up by Lachesis 30 to absorb the haemorrhage. After a few days I gave him that medicine in 200 potency.
The case began to improve from the first dose. In 6 months time the vision in that eye looking temporarily improved to 6-24 from 2 when the treatment was begun. Almost a marvelous thing! The detachment remains the same. That has not been cured but the functioning retina on the nasal side is able now to see that much. His vision does not improve any more by higher doses of Lachesis or Crotalus which I gave him now and then. I feel that had the case got this treatment from the very beginning the eye might have been saved.
CASE No. 3. Trachoma.
Another case of Mohammedian University student. Treated off and on by me and other surgeons with Silver Nitrate and Copper, the recognised treatment for Trachoma for over 12 years with no benefit. In fact his eyes were getting worse. The pannus had come down to lower than the centre of the cornea in both eyes. He was unable to study and had to leave the College. He was desperate. On taking down his history it was found that (1) He had trachoma and pannus in both eyes. (2) He used to get palpitation of the heart everyday at midnight (3) He had a suicidal tendency. Taking these three into consideration I gave him Aurum 30 to begin with while continuing the local treatment of Silver Nitrate 2 percent touching lids with and atropine.
The patient began to show improvement from the very beginning. His heart symptoms which were a regular feature gradually disappeared and when I saw him last, still under treatment, the last attack was a week back and was a very trivial one. He has joined his College again and is prosecuting his studies but will probably take another year before he is practically relieved of his troubles.
CASE No. 4. Iritis.
Fat bulky Mohammedian patient. History of both syphilis and gonorrhoea for which he was treated with more than 40 injections which did not cure him but led him on to Arthritis which has practically ankylosed his right thigh. The adhesions in this joint were stretched under chloroform without any effect. When the patient came he had intense pain in the right eye with circumcorneal injection and posterior synechia due to which the pupil was irregular. I put him on the usual treatment for iritis, i.e. atropine 1 percent drops 4 times, leeches to the temples, milk injections intragluteally after a good purge.
The pain remained the same after 3 injections of milk in increasing doses. Then I give him Gonococcal vaccine P. D. Cos 4 injections with no effect whatsoever. I gave him then Sulfarsenol intramuscularly 2 injections. No effect. And I was at the end of my tether. And the patient was disappointed but stuck on to me as no other doctor gave him any better hopes or guarantee. I gave him two Calcium injections intravenously which had very little effect also. Then I decided to take down his history and see what Homoeopathy could do in the matter and I repertorized the case from Boger-Boenninghausen on the following 10 symptoms.
1. Left eyeball (p. 304)
2. Photophobia (p. 315)
3. Night (p. 335)
4. Lachrymation (p. 310)
5. Itching (p. 313)
6. Ciliary neuralgia (p. 314)
7. Lying side, painless, aggravates (1131)
8. Worse pressure, external. (p. 1135)
9. Bathing, hot water, aggravates
10. Worse, after midnight (Boericke 1070).
On repertorizing the following came through:–
Puls 26/8
Nat. mur. 25/8
Bryonia. 24/1
Calc. carb 24/7.
On considering the first three, Puls and Natrum mur. were discarded as they had not their important symptoms in the patient. A dose of Bry. 1000 was given at 10 A. M. There was severe reaction but the patient had a little sleep in the early hours of the morning which he never had before. His atropine and other drops were taken off and were substituted with Euphrasia drops.
There was gradual improvement and in 14 days time the eye became quiet, he began to sleep well and the astonishing part was that the posterior synechiae which had not yielded to Atropine 1 percent drops 4-5 time daily were broken and the pupil was again round with just a trace of synechia at one point. Strangely the other aches in his joints were also better. The above case had strange sequel. This patient got somehow in the clutches of a quack who promised to relieve him of his ankylosed right hip-joint and make him walk and for which Rs. 500 were demanded. I do not know how much the patient paid.
Anyway the treatment was begun with the result that he was admitted to the hospital with angry swollen left knee joint. Here also Gonococcal vaccine was given with no effect. He was relieved a bit with short-wave therapy. After his discharge from the hospital he again developed iritis and came back to me. I gave him Nux v. 200 to counteract the various medicines he has had, and the none dose Medorrhinum 1000. After allowing these to act for 2 days I gave him his constitutional Bryonia 1000 and he was again cured in a few days and this time the atropine acted and the remaining synechia was broken.
