Cases


John.H.Clarke was so convinced that Piles are not by any means difficult to cure by constitutional means, and when cured thus the patient is cured, and no dangerous after-effects are to be feared. he presented many case of piles treated with Homeopathy….


TO judge by my experience, there must be something in the atmosphere of the Houses of Parliament, or in the habits they engender, conducive to the production of haemorrhoids as well as influenza, and the first case I will mention here is that of a prominent politician who consulted me some years ago.

CASE I. BLEEDING HAEMORRHOIDS.

The patient was a tall, spare man, dark complexioned, between fifty and sixty years of age, who had travelled much about the world, undergone a good deal of exposure in open-air sports and without indulging to excess, was fond of a good dinner and his pipe. For five years, and especially for the last two, he had been much troubled with piles, which protruded, bled periodically, discharged continually a mucous fluid, and occasioned much heat, bearing-down sensation, and discomfort. The motions were at times constipated and light-coloured. The urine was thick after taking any wine. Without having actual pain in the liver he was often conscious of possessing that organ.

Before coming to me he had consulted his ordinary medical man, a well -known consultant in town., who had told him there was nothing for, it he wished to be relieved of his trouble, but to make up his mind to lie up for three weeks and undergo an operation. As it was not convenient to lie up for three weeks just then not to mention a possibly longer period my patient, who had some acquaintance with homoeopathy, determined to give it a trial. It was near the end of March when he called upon me and I put him on Nitric acid 12. A month later he called again, and reported that he had been quite free from any inconvenience until a few days before his visit. He had been dining out, and had a little return in consequence, with constipation, but no bleeding and no bearing down.

Rx Nux v. 30.

After this I saw nothing of him till the following September, when he had a slight reminder of his trouble after a fishing expedition in which he had done a good deal of wading.

Rx Calcarea c. 30, in powders, one night and morning. This kept him right till the following April, when Lycopodium was given, and he has had hardly any trouble since.

I will now give the case of the patient referred to in my introductory chapter.

CASE II. -OBSTINATE CONSTIPATION; MARGINAL PILE.

This patient was a lady of very gouty family, past middle life. She had always been of a constipated habit, and had dosed herself freely with pills and other kinds of aperients. She had, however, partially escaped from the dominion of the latter by the aid of a domestic work on homoeopathy, from which she learned the virtues of Nux and Sulphur, after which she had very little trouble in that way. I was called to see her for an attack of perityphlitis, and after she had got quite well of this, attack of piles developed without any symptoms of constipation. There was a large protrusion, but in its origin it was partly external and partly internal, with great pain and discomfort.

There was also some ulceration.

When I discovered the extent of the disease I came to the conclusion that it would take a long time to cure, and I then made the suggestion that an operation would be the most satisfactory way of riding her of the trouble. But my patient, who was of a very sensitive temperament, was so terrified by the idea that I did not venture to repeat the advice, and though the complete cure did take sometime, the acute symptoms were subdued in a few days by the internal and local use of Hamamelis, so that she was soon able to return to her ordinary avocations. Aesculus was given later with good effort. What remained of the pile was not so important as a return of the constipation, and it was whilst under treatment for this that the pile finally disappeared.

The origin of this patient’s constipation is instructive, and may serve as a warning to those who have the care of young girls. When about fourteen years of age, she was sent to some friends on a visit. Whilst there, she was dreadfully constipated, and being very timid, said nothing about it. On this occasion she went eight days without an action. On another occasion when again on a visit, but to another place, the same thing happened; but this time she fainted, and when she revived she confessed what was the matter. Purgatives were there and then administered, and had to be continued ever after, till she came under the influence of homoeopathy.

The medicine which I found give the most help was Natrum mur., indicated by the largeness of the motions, and the feeling as if something remained in the bowel after the action. Magnes. mur. Hydrastis, and Lycopodium also did good service, but it was not till Natrum mur. 200 was given that the condition was completely mastered.

I advised, in addition, the use of whole-meal bread, but that by itself had no effect, and moreover, it had been tried before.

CASE III. CONSTIPATION AND BLEEDING PILES.

A governess, aged 30, consulted me at the Homoeopathic Hospital on Nov. 9, 1887. She had been suffering from bleeding piles for nine months. She had never had them before, and attributed the attack to excessive walking and overwork. She was inclined to be constipated before the attack came on, and had been much so the last six weeks. Before coming to me she had attended at the Westminster Hospital. The bowel was then prolapsed, and had been returned by the doctor who attended her He said, however, there was nothing to be done further but an operation. This so terrified her that she never returned, but came to the Homoeopathic Hospital instead.

There was much aching pain of the bowel, worse at night, preventing sleep. The stools were large, hard and knotty. Before the prolapse occurred she had taken a strong pill. The bowel remained in that condition for a fortnight.

Rx Ac. nit. 12, gtt, 1 quarter die.

Nov. 22. Very much better.

After this there was no more thought of operation. The medicine relieved her so completely that I saw nothing of her till the end of the following June, when I made this note:-

June 30, 1888. Has been much better. Now only feels the piles when out of health. Motions regular. Feels weak, and is sleeping badly, waking at 4 A.M. Is constipated, which is very unusual; is very nervous. Frontal headache.

Rx Ignat. 12 gtt. I ter die.

July 4. Very much better; feeling quite different. Feels worse in damp weather.

Repeat. After this she saw me at rare intervals, and had Nitric acid 12 again and Dulcamara 12 (which always relieved her when feeling the effects of damp weather). She complained at times of pain in the left ovarian region. In February 1889, an abscess formed near the anus and broke but healed rapidly under Silica 30. On April 10 of that year she had constipation, small green stools; this was relieved promptly by Phosphorus. All the time she continued to discharge her duties, which were heavy, and eventually she got quite well.

I will now relate two cases of an acute character.

CASE IV. PILES FOLLOWING INFLUENZA.

A lady, who had recently recovered from an attack of influenza, suddenly, after stool, experienced great pain accompanying haemorrhage and the appearance of a pile. The case being quite recent, and there being no complications, a short course of Hamamelis, given internally and applied as a lotion, completely relieved and permanently cured the patient. The lotion gave immediate relief.

CASE V. ACUTE PILES. This patient was so impressed with the relief obtained in her own case, that she came to consult me a short time after on behalf of a friend. This was a young unmarried lady who was subject to headaches, which had formerly been greatly relieved by Lycopodium. The attack of piles had come on suddenly apropos of nothing definite. There was, according to the account I received, a good deal of protrusion, with bleeding and pain. I did not see this patient, but I prescribed Hamamelis, and in a very short time she was well.

I may here say that Hamamelis, or Witch Hazel, has a very wide range of usefulness, in conditions of varicosis and piles. It has a very definite relationship to the venous system, and is one of the first medicines to be thought of where the veins are at fault. Of course it must be used with judgment, and cannot be expected to cure, in all cases. Those cases which depend for their origin on some deep constitutional dyscrasia will require the appropriate remedies. Hamamelis may be given in almost any attenuation with good effect. For a lotion, twenty to thirty drops of the strong tincture to the pint. It may be used either cold or warm.

CASE VI. RAPID RELIEF OF AN ACUTE CONDITION. As an example of what may sometime be done in an emergency, I will mention the case of Lord, who came to me one morning in great distress, suffering from prolapsed piles, with excessive soreness and discharge, he having an important engagement to address a political meeting in the country the same evening.

Now there is one remedy which in my experience is more useful than any other where excessive soreness is the leading symptom, and that remedy is Causticum.

John Henry Clarke
John Henry Clarke MD (1853 – November 24, 1931 was a prominent English classical homeopath. Dr. Clarke was a busy practitioner. As a physician he not only had his own clinic in Piccadilly, London, but he also was a consultant at the London Homeopathic Hospital and researched into new remedies — nosodes. For many years, he was the editor of The Homeopathic World. He wrote many books, his best known were Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica and Repertory of Materia Medica