In 1982 at the Five Points House of Industry Hospital, while I was Senior interne, I noticed the case of a little girl of about twelve years, rachitic, who had for years of at her right elbow joint a greenish purulent discharge, which had produced necrosis in this area. She was declared incurable and was kept at the mercy of a quasi nurse to change the dressing maybe daily.
Upon my appointment there I treated this case, and after Dr. Tuttle (since deceased), the visiting surgeon, who came at my request, had cleared the necrosed field, I gave her Sulphur Iod. 3rd, four times per day, and ordered the wound to be kept clean.
Under this treatment the case was cured, and the patient had use of this elbow without any ankylosis. In ordinary instances that arm would have been amputated at the insertion of the biceps muscle.
Another case at Wards Island (Homoeopathic Hospital) of a young man who had stony-hard testicles due to gonorrhoeal orchitis and was received in the venereal ward during my service. After the visiting surgeon, the late Dr.John H. Thompson, had given the permission to castrate, I put the patient on Aurum Met. 30th in water, t.i.d. I then noticed the glands gradually soften and finally return to their normal condition in about a fortnight.
On the next visit of the same visiting surgeon, after our usual rounds, I asked him to examine the same case. He at first did not recognize the patient, and told me that there was nothing the matter with him and that I could discharge him. I then called his attention to this case which he had permitted me to castrate, and said that this was the same man although now cured. He could not believe his eyes, but gladly accepted the result.
HAd our surgeons studied materia medica and become homoeopaths, not in name only, many times the knife would have been spared, and they could be called homoeopathic surgeons. I think that Gilchrist and Wm. Tod Helmuth, Sr., both now dead, were of this type, as their books attest.
A CASE OF HYSTERICAL SIALEMESIS WITH TACHYCARDIA.-
In 1894, while occupying the parlor floor in a house. I had occasion to know that a lady, about 35, married, having a four-and-a-half-year-old child, was sick on top floor, for no end of doctors was going in and out. The husband, being an allopathic druggist, most of these attendances were complimentary. I likewise was called one evening, during one of her crises. She was in bed with an attack of tachycardia, with fear of death. The presence of the doctors used to quiet her most of the time.
She had been a sufferer for four consecutive years from vomiting of slime, retching, accompanied with tachycardia, insomnia and was on an almost exclusive milk diet. Every doctor of their acquaintance and treated her, some even known as professors, had had a hand in the case. Her stomach was washed out frequently, and I do not know how many remedies she had been given.
I finally told her to change treatment, and as compared with the four years of unsuccessful trails of so many allopaths, to give me a chance of four months. She agreed and I then urged upon her that she, while taking homoeopathic remedies, should not take anything else.
Looking over the past and at the failures of so many well known doctors, I thought of Dr. Martin Deschere, since dead, a good prescriber, whose clinical assistant I had been in childrens diseases at the out-door department of the Flower Hospital.
At this office, after examination and taking her symptoms, Natrum Mur, 200th, was prescribed, to be taken once a day. Improvement soon followed and in less than six weeks the symptoms subsided. This was the only remedy given and she became perfectly well. She is still alive, with two daughters, and a son to be soon a doctor.
A CASE OF DIARRHOEA IN A WOMAN AT WARDS ISLAND HOSPITAL (HOMOEO.), WARD B.-
As senior of the staff (1891-92), I was called by one of the members of staff, Dr.F., to see a case for him. I found the patient sitting on the toilet. She did not return to her bed for almost two days, diarrhoea being so urgent.
My colleague had tried his best, even using starch enemas. I took her symptoms, which in concise from were: urgent, continuous desire for stool; gushing, watery, preceded by colic. On my finding that she had eaten, before this occurrence, CABBAGE, I prescribed, at about noon of that day, Petroleum 6th in water, first, a spoonful and then a teaspoonful hourly and at longer intervals as the improvement began. After a few doses the patient left her seat and went to bed much improved. Next morning I went purposely to see the case and found her sitting in her bed, having no more diarrhoea and having passed a restful night, showering, in her gratitude, blessings upon me. The doctor in charge asked me what I had given her. I told him that it was Petroleum, 6th, and pointed out in the GUIDING SYMPTOMS the symptoms, which were plainly evident.
No doubt the cases above referred to having taken place at Wards Island in those years, are well remembered by Dr.Geo. T. Stewart, who was then chief of staff.
A CASE OF TRAUMATIC PACHYMENINGITIS.-
A man, single, aged about 50, photo-engraver, consulted me for a retention of urine and feces. On inquiring as to any causative factor, I found that several years ago he had received a strong blow on his head by a co-worker. As he was a bachelor and hence needed special care, I advised to go to Flower Hospital. There his urine was drawn and enemas resorted to, with all the classical routine procedures as well, but resulting in nothing. Dr.OConnor diagnosed a traumatic pachymeningitis.
The attending visiting physician, in spite of all treatment, failed to relieve the condition of retention of urine and feces. Finally I myself was authorized to prescribe.
Studying the symptoms, I gave the patient Opium 30th, and this resulting in cure, with no relapse. The man is still alive and is married and a photo-engraver. The similimum was has curative remedy.
ARTHRITIS DEFORMANS AND ITS TREATMENT; THE CASE OF KITTY NOLAN.-
A reprint from the August number of the AMERICAN PHYSICIAN was sent to me by Dr.Ott. of Philadelphia, dealing with rheumatism and arthritic conditions and their effective remedy.
The author discards all known etiological factors, such as the bacteriological, neurotropic, the uric acid predominancy, staphylococcus pyogenes and the diplococcus, the infections arising from different foci, such as: decaying teeth, diseased tonsils, chronic middle ear and gall bladder infection and other auto-intoxications arising from the perversions of the alimentary tract.
He bases his firm belief in the infections origin of this disease favored and invited by minor traumatism which produces a low grade of irritation rendering the part a favorable nidus for location and destruction.
The small phalangeal joints, especially the distal ones, as the index finger in particular, are above all other parts of the body exposed to traumatism, as in these articulations is found in most cases the primal and most frequent involvement of the articulations in the human body; either by knocks, superflexion or extension, lateral stretching, concussions, twists and strains. Standing on this platform, he cites two illustrated cases of gouty arthritis with marked deformity.
Above all remedies known to the old school, he suggests Acylmethelene-disalcylic acid in 30 grain doses 4 t.i.d. and better still,Dybenzyl-diethyl-methylene-disalcic-dypyruvic (cinchoninic) acid, with marked improvement and curative in effect.
The result obtained by the author does certainly not justify his theory concerning his advanced etiological factor.
According to the idiosyncrasy of the individual, different factors may have played a part, and I wish to bring to the attention of the readers of THE HOMOEOPATHIC RECORDER a case of real arthritis deformans, which I believe unique, so far as cure is concerned, in the annals of medicine.
I relate the case of MRS. KITTY NOLAN, at the WARDS ISLAND HOMOEOPATHIC HOSPITAL, who was bed-ridden for nearly twelve years in this institution. In 1891-92 during my service as senior interne, I noticed this case and took interest in her, before even I changed wards,for not only was she a total cripple, helpless, but she was a good mother, having two nice little girls who visited their mother on Sundays.
Her appearance presented the picture of health, red cheeks and of good humor. She was about forty years of age.
All those who had preceded me during these ten years and more had failed to relieve or cure her. Surely after their trials the case could be considered as incurable, and she was fed four powders of morphine, given at intervals during the night, merely to relieve her pains and thus give her restful sleep.
I took all her symptoms, both objective and subjective, and I regret that I have not the symptom record in detail, but in general they were as follows: Body stiff like a corpse, not one joint movable, all ankylosed, fingers and toes much distorted, thickened and filled with tophi. Her nails were distorted and elongated to almost two inches, each growth of nail overlapping the next pousse, and in appearance resembling rocky oysters and like them, of a dark color. Drawing and tearing pains, worse at night; appetite, fair.
