The element time in the cure of disease is not sufficiently considered either by medical men or by their patients.
These remarks are introductory to a short consideration of the treatment of chronic tubercular processes by Bacillinum, etc., so as to find out the direction of nature’s way.
Whenever we have chronic ailments to cure, it is necessary to pause a wee bit and think, and we soon see that the duration of the treatment must be proportionate to the time required by nature to effect her organic processes, the sum of which makes up the cure.
It is commonly held that a tuberculously diseased part of an individual should be surgically got rid of, in order to prevent it from infecting the whole person, the idea being that the bacilli are the cause of the tuberculosis. The bacilli are the concomitants, and no doubt often the carriers of the virus which they very likely produce. Let us watch the behaviour of some chronic tubercular processes.
In October 1895 I received the following letter:- “10th October 1895.
“DEAR SIR,-To-morrow, Friday, I intend to bring my brother to you for advice. He has had two operations-removal of leg twenty years ago in consequence of a white swelling at knee, and at Christmas 1894, removal of one testicle in consequence of a swelling of a tuberculous nature. Since then it has attacked his other testicle, and another operation is advised; we seek your guidance in the matter,-Yours truly.”
Patient’s father died at sixty of tabes dorsalis, and his mother of apoplexy at forty-five. On examination, I found him in fairish condition, but very dusky; spits blood off and on for years; dulness under right clavicle; right leg amputated above knee; left testicle ablated, its position occupied by ill-healed scar; right testicle swelled, in its lower half solid, and on its outer surface three discharging fistular openings.
This gentleman’s medical advisers were of opinion that though the case was hopeless by reason of the process having already gravely affected the right lung, still they thought the removal of the remaining testicle might prolong life, in as much as the testicle was evidently teeming with bacilli which had already spread to the right lung.
Let us consider this case, which has many points of importance. Now, if the infection had spread from the circumference towards the centre, the reasoning would seem to be sound, but is that here the mode of progress?
It appears to me that a bacillary invasion may be from without inwards, but in most cases I think the individual becomes qualitatively, potentially tuberculous, and nature, so to speak, picks up the bacilli elements somewhere within the organism where found, and bundles them off, away from the central organs and parts to, or towards, the periphery.
This point is of the highest practical importance as bearing on treatment, for if the process is centrifugal, surgical interference may be quite useless, and even harmful; and so in the case of enlarged tonsils, which is the point I am driving at.
I have thought the matter out, after carefully watching many clinical cases, and I find the trend of vital processes to be from within outwards, and the peripheral manifestations are principally nature’s ways of turning the tubercular and other elements out of the economy, i.e., nature’s midden-outlets from the more important inside.
If any one will take the trouble to watch nature’s ways-say, in skin diseases-he will see that even where the first origin of the disease is by infection at a given point of the outside, the disease indeed at first marches inwards; but then in the within great battles are fought and many slain, whereupon the organism reacts centrifugally by carrying the dead and dejected inside the camp to a point at the periphery-i.e., she ejects them. I determined to act on this view, and began to regard and treat chronic cases dynamically from within.
This case-from October 1895 to the end of the year, all through 1897 and 1898-was treated steadily and persistently with infrequent doses of Bacil. 30, C., Tuberculinum test. 30, C., and some half-a-dozen other remedies, and at the moment at which I am writing, March 1900, patient is in good general health and spirits, and so he has been nearly all the time. At first his cough and blood-spitting lessened, and finally disappeared altogether; neither lung has any trace of active disease now for very long, but the place, where the left testicle used to be, opened and became fistulous, in even pace with the healing up of the right lung and the disappearance of the cough, and this is still somewhat flickeringly active here and there, thus conclusively proving that the left testicle was the midden of the economy, which being ablated and forcibly healed up, nature then chose the right lung as her next least harmful of fall pit. The surgeons who ablated the left testicle to save the organism have watched this case during all this time, urging for many months the terrible danger of delay in operating on the remaining testicle; and now that the patient has been well and sound of wind for very many months, they are of the same opinion still! Thus we see that a case of an admittedly tubercular nature, chronic, steadily progressing death-wards, was steadily left to itself surgically-dynamic doses of Bacillinum given at about eight-day intervals for several years, and the patient has slowly got well, and so remains; the healing processes taking place in the inverse order of their appearance.
The tubercular process in the right lung was the last to appear and the first to disappear, then followed the right testicle, and finally the points of severance of the left testis.
I have watched this in a certain number of other chronic tubercular cases, and with the same result. So long as the peripheral opening is free to discharge, patient’s life is safe, and if antibacillinic treatment be persevered in for many months, or several years, a genuine cure results. This is beautifully seen in fistula in ano, and in chronic tuberculosis of the tonsils.
Any close observer, if sufficiently patient can convince himself that in the common chronic tubercular processes having a peripheral manifestation, the natural course which nature follows is centrifugal.
Thus, only two days ago, a young lady, niece of Lord X., was sent to me for treatment. Eight years ago she developed a strumous gland in the right side of the neck, an inch and a half below the ear; said gland was very neatly excised. Six years ago another lump was found at the same spot, this lump was also equally neatly excised, and now there is an other lump come at the side of the very neat scar, evidently a gland. That the thing is constitutional is thus clearly manifest, and this is made the more certain by the fact that menstruations now occurs every fortnight, and the glands in the right groin are found to be indurated.
It therefore follows that the treatment should be from within, and the local peripheral tubercular processes are to be regarded as outlets, and not as inlets, where for the ordinary surgical treatment of such tubercular processes is wrong and harmful.
CHRONIC COUGH. TUBERCULAR DISEASE OF LEFT ELBOW.
A single gentleman, thirty-two years of age, came under my observation on March 14, 1899, telling me that he had tubercular disease of his left elbow joint these twelve years. Six operations had been performed on the part, in Germany, during these twelve years, with the view of eradicating the disease, and thus saving the constitution, and with it the patient’s life, but the seat of operation would never quite heal. Patient is well nourished, and I found his left elbow joint almost anchylosed, but an unhealing fistula exists at its side, from which mattery stuff is oozing. He is advised to have the whole joint excised, so as to be rid of the fistula. I advised, on the contrary, that internal treatment was the real thing to do. Patient consented, and placed himself frankly under my care for that purpose.
I began with a month of Bacill. C.
April 11.-Less discharge from the fistula.
Rep.
May 8.-I notice that the cough is worst in the morning, and in my experience the exclusively morning cough is often vaccinosic, and moreover, I find patient was vaccinated as an infant, and again at twelve or thirteen for the second time. Ergo, Thuja 30 for a month in infrequent doses.
June 21.-The opening of the fistula is much dryer and shows a tendency to close.
Rx Rep.
July 25.-The fistula has healed, but only with a scab.
Rx Bacill. C.
August 22.-Well, save a very little morning cough.
Rx Thuja 30.
October.-He is quite well, and with friends in Germany.
April 5, 1900.-Remains quite well; no cough, and elbow has quite healed, and he has increased in weight.
From this case it seems to me that the nature of the ailment was vaccinosis implanted on tuberculosis, and that, moreover, the two existed side by side, each as a separate biosis, working from the centre towards and into the periphery.
CHRONIC STRUMOUS GONITIS.
Burnett was one of the first to speak about vaccination triggering illness. This was discussed in his book, Vaccinosis, published in 1884. He introduced the remedy Bacillinum. He authored twenty books, including the much loved "Fifty Reason for Being a Homeopath." He was the editor of The Homoeopathic World.