Jatropha Euphorbia
Nausea and vomiting. Sudden vomiting, without any premonitory signs.
Vomiting simultaneous with Vomiting simultaneous with or followed by purging with purging.
Colic, (in the transverse colon) Pain entirely absent; rumbling in the abdomen; tympanites rumbling, no tympanites.
Cramps, especially in calves. No cramps.
Palpitation of the heart. No palpitation.
You might ask : How can a drug which has sudden vomiting as a characteristic, ever be expected to be called for as a homoeopathic remedy in diarrhoeic cholera, one of the characteristics of which is just its slow and gradual invasion? The answer consists in this, that a phenomenon may, up to a certain point, be slow and gradual in its making way towards its outwards manifestation, and yet burst forth with unexpected suddenness after a certain point in the line of its development has been reached. And this is just what often happens in diarrhoeic cholera. A slight nausea, a laxity of the bowels, a general feeling of indisposition–for hours, or even for days– and then, all of a sudden, there is a violent fit of vomiting, or a profuse, loose stool, which leaves hardly any doubt about its nature and significance. Well, the progress of such a sudden outburst of vomiting might, perhaps, best be checked by the timely administration of a few doses of Euphorbia. Should, on the other hand, cholera first manifests itself by an increasing nausea, gradually developing into vomiting, then we might perhaps do best by using Jatropha, reserving Ricinus for such cases of cholera-invasion of the usual form, which begin with more or less choleraic stools.
There is one more ingenious suggestion to be mentioned, coming from Dr. Hale, with regard to the eventual suitability of Euphorbia to some epidemics of summer diarrhoea, which might find application even in case of cholera, at its first stage of invasion. I wish to call your attention, says Dr. Hale, to the similarity of the action of Euphorbia to some epidemics of summer diarrhoea, when previous to the attack the child or the adult, has an eruption of small watery vesicles with redness of the skin. It has been observed that, if the eruption suddenly recedes, choleraic evacuations suddenly occur. Now this remedy may be quite homoeopathic to such cases, as in Croton Tiglium. If the eruption had been like urticaria, Apis or Arsenicum is indicated.
I remember some years ago I was called in the night to see a patient living in some of the villages near Calcutta. The man had cholera for the last 48 hours. He was treated homoeopathically from the very beginning. He was far advanced in the state of collapse. The attending practitioner had just given him a dose of Sulphur, before I arrived. After he had related to me all he had done in the shape of medication, I asked him, how he came to prescribe Sulphur. Partly, he said, because, remedies properly indicated, failed to benefit the patient, and partly because the patient is troubled with a skin disease. The skin disease after due enquiry turned out to be, scrotal eczema, for which he had used some ointment only shortly before he fell ill with cholera. I gave him a few pellets of Croton Tiglium 12 dry on the tongue, with instruction that the medicine should be continued every half hour, for two or three hours. Just before I was going to leave, which was only 15 to 20 minutes after the administration of the first dose of Croton, the patient passed a large yellowish, greenish, watery stool–a stool so characteristic in all respects of the mode of purgation produced by the drug just administered. I changed the dilution of Croton from the 12 to the 30, ordering that a dose should be given every hour, instead of every half hour–and the patient made a good recovery.
Jatropha may be worth a trial in case of tympanites, as described in a previous lecture. Pressure on the abdomen, brings out, in such cases, a gurgling noise–the secreted fluid contained in the intestinal tube, rushing, in consequence of the pressure, from one intestinal tract to another, and thereby causing a gurgling sound. Such sounds are often heard even without any pressure. Jatropha prominently causes such gurgling noise, with tympanites.
In conclusion I must say that most of my suggestions concerning both Jatropha and Euphorbia are given on theoretical ground. As to Ricinus, I can recommend it with full confidence based on experience. Ricinus is one of our greatest acquisition in the homoeopathic treatment of cholera. As the remedy is still new, although it has acquired in a comparatively short time a large reputation, I extract the following cases, from the March and April numbers of the Indian Homoeopathic Review. The first four cases have been reported by Dr. P. C. Majumdar, L. M. S.; the remainder by Dr. Behari Lal Bhaduri, L.M.S., Editor of the above mentioned Review.
Case I. Prolhad, aged 35 years, robust constitution, was attacked with purging and vomiting on the 25th December, 1882. I was called at 6. P.M. and found him quite prostrate. The voice became husky, skin of the fingers and toes shriveled, eyes sunken, nose pointed and pinched. On inquiry I was told that the man took some indigestible substances a day before. There was still purging and vomiting, the evacuations were serous mixed with flakes of mucus resembling the true cholera dejections. Pulse was scarcely perceptible at the wrist, extremities were cold. The cramps were not very marked, only there were slight contortions of the muscles of the extremities. I prescribed Ricinus after every stool. At 9 P.M. I was informed that four doses of the medicine were taken and the vomiting ceased; there were four stools, the last one, passed about half an hour ago, was a little yellowish; but in the night, the friends of the patient could not exactly judge the real nature of the stool; but it was decidedly less copious and seemed to be thick in consistence. I saw the patient at midnight and found unmistakable improvement. The extremities were still cold but pulse could be found though very small and thready. I ordered the medicine every three hours. I visited the patient next morning and found him much improved in his condition. He passed one large semi-solid stool in my presence which consisted of faecal matter, mixed with some yellow mucus. There was complete anuria before but with his last stool he passed about two ounces of pale, straw-colored urine. The extremities and surface of the body assumed nearly the normal temperature, I discontinued the medicine and ordered arrowroot in water for diet.
Case II. The manager of a wine-shop in Amherst Street, a healthy young man, fell ill of cholera, the purging and vomiting of rice-water character were marked, but no collapse. I was told that before my visit three doses of Rubini’s Camphor, ten drops each time, were taken. I found him shivering, pulse small, but frequent, eyes blood-shot, great restlessness and anxiety. There was a slight pain on pressure upon the hypogastric region. The patient had a great fear of death. I at once prescribed Aconite 1x every two hours; scarcely four doses of the medicine had been consumed, before I saw the patient again. At my first visit I found him wrapped up in a blanket, but now he had thrown it away. Restlessness was diminished, pulse very small and thready, skin was not warm but perspiring. Purging and vomiting remained unaffected. I stopped Aconite and gave Ricinus 6 after every evacuation. It was arranged that I shall see him once more before ten o’clock in the night. As I went at candlelight with a homoeopathic friend of mine we were surprised to see the patient almost cured. After taking two doses of Ricinus the purging and vomiting stopped, pulse improved, in volume and frequency. We ordered a little barley water, and stopped all medicine. Next morning he was all right, and I allowed him rice and fish.
Case III. A young lady, aged 16, of a robust constitution, was attacked with cholera on the 15th January, 1883. After the first stool I was called to treat her. The husband of the patient was very anxious, inasmuch as there were two deaths from cholera in the same family, though they were treated homoeopathically by some other eminent physician. She had a copious stool, which, the husband said was purely water. I inquired whether she had any pains in the abdomen or nausea, but was answered in the negative. She had another copious stool in our presence, of rice-watery nature, and some cramps in the extremities, though not very violent. I at once prescribed Ricinus 6, in drop doses after every stool. She took three doses in the night and the husband reported to me next morning that she was much better. There were altogether five stools since I left her, but the last two assumed distinctly a bilious character. I discontinued the medicine and gave her arrowroot in water. In the evening I went to see the lady and was told that she had three scanty stools during the day. I ordered her another dose and she was all right in the next morning. Though this is a very simple case, there having been no collapse, still the husband was struck with my treatment.
