“Rheumatism is confessedly a very difficult disease to cure by the Old School treatment. Seldom is a case of the inflammatory form completely cured by them. The great majority of their cases run from the acute into the chronic form, and last for life. The patients are often drawn all out of shape, or left with incurable valvular heart trouble.
This is not the case under homoeopathic treatment. On the contrary, the patients treated homoeopathically are generally cured, and very seldom left with any heart trouble, even if the disease commenced there, as it sometimes does. Oftener, of course, it begins in the back, extremities or joints generally, and then, if treated allopathically with local applications, it is driven to the heart, which cannot be reached with local applications. Hence it stays there until exudations occur and hardened deposits from upon the valves. Any homoeopathic physician guilty of treating a case in this way, with such results, ought to lose his practice and his diploma.”.
Orthodox modern medicine has “specifics” for diseases. Drs. Gould and Pyle wrote in their Pocket Cyclopaedia, 1926, under the heading of Rheumatism: “Salicylic acid or its derivatives may be given in full doses for articular rheumatism. Muscular rheumatism also requires the use of Salicylates.” Very likely the frequency of heart disease following rheumatism is due not to the “guilty microbe” but to the drug which temporarily relieves the pain while injuring the sufferer permanently. The views of Sir Lauder Brunton and Drs. Wilde and Nash are shared by scores of eminent doctors whom I could quote in these pages.
The followers of the new art of healing have no specific for rheumatism. A good homoeopath refuses to give immediate relief to his patient by ruining his heart. As I have shown in previous chapters, homoeopaths, in selecting the needle medicine, are guided by “the totality of symptoms”, and they disregard the name of the disease. Dr. Th. Rucjerts work Klinische Erfahrungen described all the cures which have been effected by homoeopaths with a singe drug and which have been reported by them in their journals.
He describes 121 cases of rheumatism which were cured by 35 different drugs, Rhus tox., having been employed 18 times, Bryonia 16 times, Pulsatilla 12 times, Arsenic 9 times, Colocynthis 8 times, Aconite 7 times, Sulphur 6 times, etc., etc. In glancing at this important collection of cured cases, no homoeopathic physician can find a specific for rheumatism. In accordance with his teaching, the homoeopathic doctor does not prescribe as soon as the diagnosis is made and the name of the disease but for the individual patient.
He inquires carefully into all the circumstances and conditions of the case and then, instead of prescribing “Salicyclates in full doses”, which means in maximum doses, he prescribes the indicated remedy in the smallest possible minimum dose and it will effect a prompt and permanent cure which is rarely followed by heart complications. I would quote a case, described by Dr. George Royal in Homoeopathic Therapy of Diseases of the Brain and Nerves:.
“Mr. J. G., aged 49, a farmer, married, dark, firm build, muscular, with good family and personal history gave the following: For three years I have had severe pain and stiffness in and around my joints and back, especially my back, which nearly floors me when I try to get up after having been sitting for some time. Questioning brought out the fact that three years before he was shocking oats and, as a rain storm was coming on, he hurried, thereby becoming very warm and sweaty.
The storm came before he could get under cover and he was drenched. In arriving home he took a hot bath and put on dry clothing. The next day he was a little stiff and sore, but worked. About two weeks later, as another rain storm was approaching, he had severe pains in the back, shoulders and arms. These had been growing worse ever since. He had had plasters, over the back for what his doctor called lumbago but never was helped by them or by anything else.
He had been to Hot Springs, Arkansas, and been boiled and rubbed with grease. He stated with much positiveness that he was worse in damp weather and after either lying or sitting for any length of time. At times when the night had been wet his back was so bad that he could not turn over without his wifes help.
The case was so clear that he was given one dose of Rhus tox. 1,000th and an ounce vial of disks, saturated with alcohol. This was in August. Improvement began in a few days and continued. He reported the middle of October, after our usual rainy season: I never felt the pain at all. Two years later, while coming to town, he was again drenched by rain, and some six weeks after that came to the office with, My old trouble is as bad as ever.
He received the same treatment but to our surprise he returned after three weeks with: You did not give me the same medicine. This has done me no good. He was given another dose and asked to report in ten days. The report was the same. He then received Rhus in 30th, five drops three times a day. He began to improve in a few days and has had no return since.”.
Rheumatism caused by damp and worst in damp weather, a strong indication of Rhus, had been plaguing the patient for no less than three years. A few infinitely small doses cured the case. I would now quote a still more remarkable cure of a terrible case of rheumatoid arthritis, which had lasted no less than twelve years. It was cured by an anonymous, but reliable layman, and described in the Homoeopathic World, Vol. 53, page 222:.
“Edward Swayne, 51, agricultural labourer. Kicked on left knee by cow twelve years ago. On crutches ever since (arthritis, the doctor said). Knee contracted; leg, foot, toes quite rigid. Knee swollen, discoloured, intense pain– also severe pain, tingling, pricking in fingers, toes and neck; pains shooting to top of head and eyes (especially when stooping). If foot touched leg or table or any obstacle, agony of pain followed.
Face very pallid– looked ill and suffering. Twice been in Dublin hospitals for six months at a time — returned worse — all the doctors told him bone diseased,nothing could be done. Knee fired by local doctor. Middle of November, 1917, gave 6 pilules Hypericum 1x daily– knee rubbed every night with Rhus liniment.
At the end of three weeks all pain disappeared from every part of body– could move toes, foot, and leg a tiny bit–pallor gone, looked well. Could touch the ground with foot (it had been about two inches from ground) and even walked a little without crutches ! Legs quite warm always. Could bend knee slightly.
In February, 1918– six pilules only on Sundays — liniment used Tuesdays and Fridays — knee rubbed and exercised as much as possible every night. Examination knee middle of March– swelling and discoloration all gone –(discoloration went down leg and into foot, gradually disappearing –now below ankle), kneecap quite flexible, can see muscles moving a little — and tiny wrinkle below kneecap. Foot touching ground; can kick it against obstacle without pain; stand on bad leg alone for two or three moments. Crutches discarded– stick for right arm, can take long walks — go up steps, etc.–no stick used in house. Chest expanding; head erect; looks and feels in perfect health.
This wonderful cure was effected not by small doses of Rhus tox., which of course is no specific for rheumatism, but by Hypericum, given in 1/10th of a grain doses. That drug has a wonderful healing effect upon suffering or injured nerves. The anonymous layman had evidently thoroughly studied the homoeopathic Materia Medica and had cured a case which would probably have been declared incurable by all the heads of the orthodox profession. Homoeopathy specializes in curing the apparently incurable.
Homoeopaths have many remedies curative of diseases which are caused by nerve injury. The homoeopath does not learn, like a parrot, for nerve injury give Hypericum. Hypericum will cure only those nerve injuries which are of the Hypericum type, which display the same nerve symptoms which were caused in healthy provers who had been given that drug.
In nerve injuries and diseases which have not the Hypericum characteristics, Hypericum will prove ineffective and another drug must be chosen. Dr. K. Stauffer, an eminent German homoeopath, described the following case in his Klinische Homoop. Arzneimittellehre, 1926:.
“A lady, aged about 45, of nervous temperament, had injured her left elbow by a severe blow five weeks ago. Immediately afterwards she felt excruciating pain radiating from the elbow down to the finger tips which soon disappeared. However, a week afterwards she was suddenly attacked by unbearable pain throughout the left arm, which radiated towards the backbone on the one hand and towards the breastbone on the other hand.
The pain was tearing, lancinating, cutting, and she was unable to move the arm and had to double up with the pain, which lasted until 11 0clock at night. The pain disappeared in the warmth of the bed, but it returned every evening about the same time. During the day there was no pain if the arm was kept immobilized. The pain was relieved by pressure, but was greatly aggravated by the slightest touch. Movement brought about aggravation, warmth did good. The patient was irritable, restless.
James Ellis Barker wrote a very large number of books, both under the name James Ellis Barker and under his real German name Otto Julius Eltzbacher, The Truth about Homœopathy; Rough Notes on Remedies with William Murray; Chronic Constipation; The Story of My Eyes; Miracles Of Healing and How They are Done; Good Health and Happiness; New Lives for Old: How to Cure the Incurable; My Testament of Healing; Cancer, the Surgeon and the Researcher; Cancer, how it is Caused, how it Can be Prevented with a foreward by William Arbuthnot Lane; Cancer and the Black Man etc.