FOLLOWING upon the immense progress of medical science during the last century one speciality after the other developed. To- day there is not a single organ in the human body which is not dealt with by a specialist. I do not for a moment undervalue the scientific knowledge due to the development of all these specialities, but on the other hand we have to face the disadvantages of such a one-sided practice.
The specialist, being too much interested and absorbed by the morbid conditions of a special organ, sometimes does not pay attention to the general constitution of the patient. Owing to his technical and surgical knowledge he may be too favourably inclined to operation, even if such an interference is not immediately essential.
The following two cases may illustrate my statement:.
I.
Some years ago a lady consulted me, complaining about discharge from the vagina. She told me that she had been treated for the last ten years by a great number of specialists, but their different treatments were a failure. All these doctors prescribed solutions of pyroxylic acid, alum, acetous argillaceous earth or other astringent drugs. Examining the patient I found that the left ovary had been removed by operation, the right very much inflamed and swollen, as was the womb and the whole mucous membrane of the vagina.
Answering my question why the left ovary had been extirpated, the patient told me that eight years ago the gynaecologist insisted upon it, in order to cure her from the discharge. But the operation was a failure, a few weeks after the operation the discharge restarted even more intensively than every before. Two years later another gynaecologist removed her womb, but this operation was also a failure, the discharge not stopping at all.
During the last ten years she had been doing everything recommended by her doctors, but, alas, without any effect at all, the discharge now being worse than ever before; it is thickly purulent, the underclothing yellowish colour and owing to its burning acridness corroding the vagina. Besides, she is suffering from serious pains, especially in the right side of her abdomen; her general health being aggravated to such a degree that she is unable to do her housework. Entirely desperate she asked me whether or not I would be able to help her.
My answer was: Certainly. I will do my best, having no doubt that my treatment will be a success. But, of course, my treatment will be an entirely different one. Up till now, all prescriptions of her doctors had only aimed at suppressing the discharge. I expressly say suppress, because up till now there was no cure at all.
In order to cure such a discharge we have to comprehend its cause. According to my experience nearly all these discharges are due to an inflammation of the genital organs; i.e., not only of the vagina, but also of the womb and the ovaries, the discharge is nothing else than the product of these inflammations; consequently we have to deal with the inflammation of these organs. As soon as the inflammation has been cured the discharge will stop by itself.
The mistake of her doctors was that they did not attempt to cure the inflammation, but rather tried to stop the discharge by strongly corrodent and astringent remedies, which almost tanned the mucous membrane of the vagina. By that method the excretory ducts for the discharge have been obstructed. Certainly, for a time the discharge had stopped; that was a mistake, because, dealing with an inflammatory process, resulting in swelling and suppuration, the most important principle ought to be to get rid of the pus rather than to hold it back artificially.
I am sorry to say that the whole previous treatment resulted in such an artificial retention of the pus. Owing to that artificial retention of the inflammatory products, the inflammation of the genital organs has been aggravated. For that reason her disease up till now has not improved at all, on the contrary, it has been made worse, being now chronic.
By that statement the poor woman was frightened and desperate. Thence consoling her I made her sure of being more hopeful regarding my treatment. My aim would be to cure the inflammation of the genital organs. I applied three leeches above the pubes, prescribed Mercurius corrosivus 6x and Hydrastis 4x, each drug to be taken twice daily. Besides I ordered the patient to irrigate the vagina every morning with a solution of Arnica O, 5 drops in a pint of warm water; the aim of such an irrigation being not to stop the discharge, but rather to improve the condition of the inflamed genital organs.
I put the patient on a lacto-vegetarian diet and, in order to eliminate the toxic products of the metabolism, I suggested a cup of Adinolan tea three times daily. I warned the patient that at the beginning of the treatment the discharge would increase and she ought to be rather happy about it, because all retained virulent poisons would be finally eliminated.
Two weeks later the patient came to see me again. She had carefully followed all my prescriptions and happily told me that everything had happened as I had predicted. For the first three days all her pains had been aggravated, the discharge being increased, but then the improvement took place, the discharge got less corrodent, being more liquid, and all her pains went. I told the patient to continue the same treatment and, in order to improve the blood circulation in the genital organs, I prescribed Gophan suppositories, one to be taken before going to bed.
Six months later the patient felt better than ever before in her life. All her pains gone, no discharge. Examining the patient I found that there was no inflammation, no swelling of the genital organs; still more, no discharge. The patient was able to do her housework, menstruation was regular and without any pain.
I give that case an example, for, like that woman, there are thousands of other women suffering from such a discharge. Besides, I give the case as an example in order to teach what ought to be the point in treating these patients. I therefore urgently ask all women suffering from discharge, to reflect upon my statement, trying to understand thoroughly its meaning, in order to stop the nuisance of removing the discharge by an artificial suppression or even by useless operations.
Honestly, is it not a thousand pities to see young and often happy women in their youth being mutilated, or in any case being burdened for life with a great scar of the abdomen? I must emphatically underline, that in nearly all cases such an operation is not only useless, but it may aggravate the morbid condition, whereas a suitable homoeopathic and dietetic treatment is able to cure the patient without any surgical interference.
Having demonstrated that the womans discharges were due to the inflammation and swelling of the ovaries, of the womb and their mucous membranes, I have now to answer the question, what is the cause of these morbid conditions? In a great number of cases the women tell us that their disease is due to a so-called “lifting injury”, or due to other overstraining, while other patients believe that their discharge is due to a cold.
I contradict these statements, because, according to my experience, the disposition of the patient already existing, being congenital, is responsible for the disease. That disposition is characterized by the accumulation of slags in the body, especially I have to suggest of uric acid and carbonic acid.
Women are the real carbonic acid natures. These slags provoke the inflammations, breaking out as soon as other causes, such as cold or overstraining, etc., join in. We can prove that statement by the fact that many women, being free from slags, may be exposed to all kind of such injurious causes, without getting the diseases above mentioned.
But if the organism of a woman is already overladen with slags, then these injurious causes are giving the so called last impulse for the appearance of the disease. The latent carbonic acid by its gas pressure causes the inflammatory products, i.e., the discharge gets pressed through the tissues and especially through the mucous membrane and in that way makes it appearance.
Certainly, besides these causes, provoked almost by the organism itself and by its own poisons, there are some other causes provoking morbid conditions of the genital organs. I refer only to the infectious sexual diseases; but I desist from discussing these very serious conditions in the present article.
II. –
About 5 years ago, Mrs. E.H., 41 years of age, consulted me. Her very first words were: “Doctor, I am hopeless, the most unfortunate woman. I feel rather suicidal, because I do not think that there is any help for me whatever. I am always depressed and whining without any reason. I am feeling very weak generally, besides, I am suffering from my genital organs, feeling a nearly unbearable pressure downwards; that pressure being sometimes violent to such a degree that, in order to get rid of it, I would rather hang up by the legs.” By examination I found that the womans womb was retroflected and dislocated backward.
