THE MEDICINAL TREATMENT OF CATARRH OR CHRONIC COLDS AND THE TENDENCY TO TAKE COLD.
CHRONIC COLDS require somewhat different treatment. when a cold has gone on for weeks without any signs gone on for weeks without any signs of passing away. Turkish baths, hot baths, hot foot baths, warm gruel, and all the rest of the domestic armamentarium having proved in vain, there is still some hope for the unhappy sufferer. He may yet find deliverance from the ruthless enemy which holds him by the nose, without going to a warm climate or waiting till the summer comes.
If the patient has not been already under homoeopathic treatment, the remedy for the case will most likely be found among hose already described after Camphor and Aconite; and even if he has had homeopathic treatment, and his symptoms correspond to those which are characteristic of any one of the above-named remedies, this must be given.
The chief remedies for chronic colds are Headrests, Calc, carb., Natrum mur., Dulcamara, Mercurius, Sulphur.
Hydrastis-This remedy is indicated when there is much thick discharge from the nose, and especially the posterior part of the nose which leads to the throat; when the mucus drops down into the throat, which is also affected with the catarrhal condition tongue yellow coated; tendency to constipation. Dose: No.1, two drops or six pilules every two hours.
Hydrastis will be found useful in many conditions. AS patient who suffered from chronic cold in the nose, and also deafness (which latter was the result of scarlatina, and dated many years back), the discharge from the nose being thick and the throat being also affected, was completely cured of the catarrh by a course of Hydrastis, the deafness being also slightly improved.
When a cold has settled in the back of the nose and throat, with a good deal of phlegm in the throat, and perhaps deafness, there is no better remedy than Hydrastis.
Calcarea carb-In persons of phlegmatic temperament, pale, and inclined to be fat; in fair, plump children; in persons who suffer from acidity; internal chilliness; coryza, chiefly dry; nostrils sore; polypus; margins of eyelids sore. Aggravation; mornings, evenings, and after midnight; from cold and cold air. Dose: No.6, two drops or six pilules every four hours.
Natrum mur-When the coryza is fluent; chilly subjects; the blood thin and watery; complexion unhealthy; thirst; constipation.
Disposition melancholy and tearful. Dose: No. 6, two drops or six pilules every two hours. It is patients of this description who will benefit by brine baths. the baths should be hot, and should not be stayed in too long. They should be followed by cold spaying.
Dulcamara.- Extreme sensitiveness to damp cold; blocking of the nose, with a discharge that the least cold air stops anew; dryness of the mouth without thirst; hoarseness.
Aggravation; during rest; amelioration during movement. Dose: No.6, two drops or six pilules every two hours.
Mercurius.- Abundant tick or fluent coryza of fetid odor; feverish condition; night sweats; pains in the limbs; desire for solitude. Aggravation by both heat and cold. Dose: No.3x trit, two grains, or two drops of No.6, every grains, or two drops of No.6, every four hours.
Sulphur-Blocking and great dryness of the nose, or abundant secretion of thick, yellowish, purulent mucus; bleeding; loss of smell; suited to lean persons inclined to stop; those subject to skin affections who perspire easily. Aggravation from warmth of bed and when walking. Dose: No.6, two drops or six pilules every two hours.
It is sometimes to send patients of the patients of the sulphur type, if the english climate tries them greatly to the sulphur springs, such as those of Eaux-Bonnes in the Pyrenees.
Among the sequelae of a cold in the head (vulgarly called “dregs of a cold”) may be mentioned loss of taste and smell. This sometimes persists for a long time after all other signs of a cold have disappeared. For this the remedy is Magnes-mur.6, two drops or six pilules every four hours.
The TENDENCY TO TAKE COLD may be counteracted by a course of constitutional treatment. In order that this may be brought. In order that this may be 0brought about, every individual must be considered in the light of his own constitutional peculiarities. Only the remedies most generally applicable can 0e indicated here, but they will be found to cover a very large number of cases.
The remedies should be taken steadily twice or three times a day, and should be continued for one or two months. They may be commenced, if indicated, whist the cold still continues, or after it is cured.
The remedies I shall name in this connection are Natrum mur., Calc, carb., Carbo veg., Agaricus, Sulphur, Mercurius. These remedies, must be selected according as they correspond with the constitutional state of the patient, rather than with any idea of finding an agreement between their cold symptoms and the peculiar features of the patient’s colds when they have them.
Natrum mur-Anaemic, il-nourished, chilly persons, of unclear complexions; inclined to constipation; despondent and tearful; feel worse when lying down, from heat; better in open air. Dose: No.12, two drops or six pilules three times a day.
With this remedy I have frequently removed the susceptibility to cold. Here is a case typical of many. A young girl about puberty, subject to colds, which came on with a kind of bilious attack; always chilly; hands and feet never warm,, clammy; of nervous temperament; and somewhat anaemic. Natmur. 12, six pilules night and morning, made a complete revolution in her general health and susceptibility to chills within a month.
Calcarea carb-Pale, phlegmatic persons; abnormally fat young people; scrofulous or tubercular tendency; those liable to acidity.
Feel worse from cold and cold air. Dose: No. 12, two drops or six pilules three times a day.
Carbo veg-Persons whose vital powers are low; venous system predominant, giving a blue look to the countenance and flesh; six cold blue hands and feet; symptoms worse in cold damp weather. Dose: No.12, two drops or six pilules three times a day.
Agaricus-When there is marked tendency to chilblains; more suited for persons of light hair and lax fibre, and for old persons with indolent circulation. Symptoms worse in night; in cold air; during repose; before a thunderstorm. Dose: No.6, two drops or six pilules three times a day.
Sulphur-Chilly persons with tendency to skin irritation or actual skin disease; tendency to constipation and piles; symptoms being worse from warmth and by rest. Dose: No. 30, one drop or six pilules three times a day.
Mercurius-Scrofulous, rheumatic, bilious, and those subject to catarrhs of all kinds; broken down constitutions; trembling limbs; cold pale hands and feet. Patients feel worse at night from warmth of bed; from perspiration; cold weather; cold evening air; warm autumn days; damp cold nights; better during the day and during rest. Dose: No.12, two drops or six pilules three times a day.
