HOMOEOPATHY IN BLADDER TROUBLES


Clematis erecta is a medicinal plant which causes interruption of urinary emission. Homeopathy has a vast wealth of remedied which will not stupefy but cure, to the surprise and amazement of those doctors who undertake to experiment with these wonderful remedies.


PAINFUL URINATION AND PROFUSE URINATION.

THERE is a very large number of homoeopathic remedies which act upon the urinary organs and passages. I have hitherto mentioned only the most important ones, remedies which owing to their general usefulness can be employed in the majority of bladder cases. REaders should not be surprised at the number of bladder remedies.

Homoeopathy has a vast selection of medicine which should be chosen in accordance with the law of similarity. The large number of drugs available makes selection difficult and the choice requires careful comparison and differentiation among the competing remedies, a method of choice which we have to learn from homoeopaths, whether we like it or not.

Most of the medicines used for inflammation of the bladder have strong indications apart from bladder symptoms. I shall consider firstly medicines which act at the same time upon kidneys and bladder. I have already discussed Berberis with its characteristic burning pain and with pain radiating in every direction and affecting particularly the left side. I have also mentioned Pareira brava, indicated in difficult urination, which compels the patient to bend double, and Terebinthina called for in inflammation of the mucous membrane of bowel and urinary passages, accompanied by emission of blood.

Further, I have described Chimaphila, called for if there is thick mucus with threads of tissue in the urine and pain in the perineum, Cantharis with violent inflammation of the bladder and griping pain, Apis, Characterized by stinging and burning pain, and Mercurius corrosivus, which is called for if there is at the same time urging to urinate and urging to empty the bowels. We must now consider some additional remedies.

Uva ursi, a remedy which is widely used in mother tincture, and Cannabis sativa, European hemp, which affects particularly the bladder and urethra. When marking water, the patient notice burning pain in the urinary passage and it is particularly recommendable if inflammation of the bladder is due to gonorrhoea. This medicine is used as a rule in potencies ranging from the 1st decimal be the 6th centesimal.

Staphisagria is an important remedy for pain in the bladder. This medicine occupied a special place in bladder troubles because of its effect upon both urinary and sex organs, and because of its effect upon nervous disorders due to sexual abuses of every kind.

It is indicated when there is burning pain in the urethra, when the patient is not making water and the pain ceases when the patient empties his bladder. This peculiar symptom recommends the use of Staphisagria when there is bladder irritability in those who have recently married and in those who emit large quantities of urine owing to nervousness. As a rule this medicine is prescribed in potencies ranging from the 3rd toe the 30th centesimal.

Pulsatilla is called for if symptoms are constantly changing and if the is venous congestion and a abundant secretion of mucus. Therefore Pulsatilla should be studied if there is pain in the bladder nd profuse urination without apparent infection, and it should also be remembered in the case of people who have caught a chill, particularly a chill caused by the chilling of the feet. Pulsatilla is indicated in catarrhs of the bladder in newly married women, and to wind up bladder inflammation.

CONGESTION OF THE URETHRA AND OF THE PROSTATE GLAND.

I would like to discuss congestion of the urethra due to stricture and of the prostate, and I would state at once and emphatically that homoeopathy possesses means which will relieve the congestion of the prostate and which thereby will reduce urinary pressure and the frequency of urinary emissions and the troubles connected with this condition. The medicines available are extremely valuable for young people with prostatic trouble and for all those cases of prostate difficulties which are due to congestion.

Congestion of the urethra due to stricture is often caused by attempts to widen the passage mechanically by a catheter, particularly if the stricture is at the back of the urethra. For all these troubles I do not know any orthodox remedies which are reliable.

Clematis erecta is a medicinal plant which causes interruption of urinary emission. The stream stops and starts again. Occasionally it causes pain in the spermatic cord, and it causes hardening and pain of the testicles. Consequently Clematis erecta is a remedy for strictures with cramping pain and for congestion of the whole urethra. In discussing neuralgias of the genital organs I shall have to mention this remedy again. It is usually prescribed in potencies ranging from the 3rd to the 6th centesimal.

Chimaphila acts not only on kidneys and bladder-the Chimaphila kidney and bladder symptoms have already been described-but also on the urethra and the surrounding parts of the body. The patient has a feeling as if there was a welling between urethra and anus, in the perineum, and the sensation as if there was hard ball when he sits down. A similar sensation is characteristic of Cannabis indica, a medicine which is apt to be helpful in case inflammation of the prostate.

Sabal serrulata, usually given in potencies from the 1st to the 6th centesimal, is the standard remedy for congestion of the prostate, painful erections, and frequent urination at night.

Ferrum picricum, usually given in the 30th centesimal potency, is an excellent remedy for congestion of the prostate in elderly and old men, in patients where there is a general tendency towards hardening of arteries and of the tissues, difficult urination, frequent urination during the night accompanied with a sensation of fullness in the rectum.

Symphytum is a valuable remedy given in the mother tincture in the form suppositories. It is helpful for congestion of the prostate.

The remedies mentioned can be given in low potencies, from the 1st to the 6th the centesimal, or in mother tincture, with the exception of Ferrum picricum, which seems to be most helpful in medium potencies. Furthermore, the medicines mentioned may given one soon after the other, or in alternation. However, we must always bear in mind the fundamental principle of homoeopathy, according to which the use of the single remedy has the greatest effect.

The principal remedies for congestion of the urethra and of the prostate may be reinforced by other medicines, particularly by Arnica. Arnica is most helpful in the case of injuries and we must remember that injuries to the urinary passage and bladder can be caused by attempts of enlarging the urethra mechanically, by misuse of catheter and cystoscope, by over-energetic massage, etc., apart from injuries proper.

Staphisagria acts particularly on the sphincters of the bladder, and is very helpful in case of congestion of the urethra and of the bladder and of the sex organs in general. It is a very valuable sex organ remedy.

NEURALGIA OF TESTICLES AND OF EPIDIDYMIS.

If one meets with a case of persistent and occasionally violent neuralgias in an about the testicles of obscure origin, one thinks immediately of the possibility of their being caused gonorrhoea, tuberculosis and the development of varicose veins. These troubles are apt to lead to sexual neurasthenia.

Apart from the pain killers usually employed by orthodox medicine I know of no orthodox treatment for this condition. Allopathy is helpless. My experience enables me to recommend three homoeopathic remedies, which are very helpful, but of course it must not be believed that these three are the only ones.

Pulsatilla should be mentioned first. It is the same Pulsatilla which I have already discussed as a remedy for disorders of veins and nerve troubles. It is a remedy which is more frequently given to women than to men. However, Pulsatilla has an excellent effect upon the sex organs of men, especially if there is a tuberculous tendency.

Clematis erecta is particularly indicated if the spermatic cords are very sensitive and the testicles are painful and hard.

Hamamelis is a valuable remedy for congestion of the veins. It is indicated if in the affected parts there is a feeling of contusion, which makes touch and pressure intolerable. It is strongly called for when there is a violent pain in the spermatic cords which radiates into the testicles.

I do not wish to close this brief and fragmentary paper without mentioning subcutaneous treatments. The remedies given by orthodox medicine subcutaneously are homoeopathic in character and they are employed by homoeopaths, but they are used in a very different manner. Orthodox medicine had largely abandoned the use of Tuberculin because of its danger, but homoeopaths use Tuberculin frequently and safely in infinitely small doses, given by the mouth.

If there is infection by coli bacilli the indicated laboratory produce is given by orthodox medicine subcutaneously. Homoeopathy gives the same remedies more safely by the mouth in high potencies ranging from the 30th to the 1,000th centesimal potency with great success.

Aversenq