Great physical and mental exhaustion, loquacity, and its choice for the left side (Bell., Lyco., and Merc., the right), are others of the Lachesis generals. The abscesses of Lachesis are dark, dusky, purplish; the tissues surrounding have a purple, mottled appearance. Its pus is thin, dark, ichorous and very offensive. There is hot perspiration. I doubt if it should be prescribed under the twelfth potency.
Crotalus horridus, another snake poison, may be of use in certain suppurating conditions, but when it is called for the picture is indeed a horrible one. With a typical Crotalus patient, you will feel that death is very near. And with these patients, death generally does come so quickly – the entire system is so terrifically affected – that no part has had time to suppurate or resist.
In boils, abscesses carbuncles, the broken- down material which is being discharged is thick, black blood that will not coagulate, instead of pus. In fact the pus, if it may be called such, is not from bacterial cause, as we generally think of it, but from toxins.
Boils, carbuncles and eruptions are surrounded by a purplish condition of the skin, a mottled, blue, splotched or marbled state. It produces boils, abscesses and a condition resembling a carbuncle, with burning and violent pains, but the characteristic feature is the doughy centre. Around the boil or carbuncle for many inches there is edema, with pitting upon pressure; and the boil, or carbuncle for many inches there is edema, with pitting upon pressure; and the boil, or abscess, or carbuncle, will bleed a thick, black blood that will not coagulate.
Carbuncles that come upon the neck and back begin with a pustule, and then several come and they are surrounded by little pustules and papules and there is pitting upon pressure. For these carbuncles you will need to study particularly Arsenicum, Anthracinum, Lachesis, Secale, and Crotalus. They are the medicines that have in their nature malignant manifestations.
Tarentula cubensis may be mentioned here with the snake poisons. It will be indicated at times in septic conditions, and in various forms of malignant suppuration, where the parts take on a purplish hue, and have burning, stinging pains. Its chief characteristic is extreme restlessness. The patient must be in constant motion, though motion aggravates-rolling from side to side to ease the distress.
Tarentula has boils, abscesses and carbuncles, especially on the back of the neck and between the shoulder blades, characterised by a blue, mottled appearance, having intense knife-cutting and burning pains and a thin, excoriating discharge. Another indication is an early-marked black core centre. It produces a perfect picture of sloughing carbuncle with great prostration and atrocious pains. If a part is mottled, bluish, growing dark, and patient is chilly, nauseated, vomiting, and has great weakness, is probably delirious, worse from cold air, and from becoming cold, think of Tarentula as the remedy, and of the condition as an impending pyemia.
Rhus toxicodendron is a plant poison and might appropriately be mentioned at this time. When it is needed you will recognise it by its one grand prevailing characteristic-aggravation from rest and relief from motion. It gets its other leading indications- dark red, angry, edematous, erysipelatous swellings and eruptions, its great prostration, heat and burning, from its malignant septic and toxic states.
Besides it vascular eruptions -its dermatitis venenata, and erysipelas-it has abscesses and carbuncles which are exceedingly hot and painful, and discharges a serous, bloody pus. It has a predisposition to attack the cervical, salivary and axillary glands, which inflame, become hot and painful and suppurate. It has pustules upon the cornea, purulent conjunctivitis-the lids becoming agglutinated with copious, purulent, mucous discharge. Chronic, suppurating eruptions of the face may at times call for this remedy.
Arsenicum album, a mineral poison, is regarded by many as the chief remedy for carbuncle. It is almost synonymous with gangrene, yet has suppuration.
It will be of use many times, in the treatment of malignant, septic, suppurating disturbances, and you will know it when it is needed, by its pronounced characteristics-great weakness and prostration, burning everywhere-as if live coals were on the affected part, pains worse at rest and increased by cold, restlessness and anguish (here restlessness is not to relieve pain, as with Rhus, but from anxiety), midnight aggravation, unquenchable thirst for small quantities of water very often, and great irritability of mind and body.
It is of use in the treatment of carbuncles, bed- sores, dissecting wounds and abscesses, when you have the lancinating and burning pains, and other characteristic indications. The discharges are thin, fluid, bloody, putrid, cadaveric-similar to those of Mercurius, but thinner. It has perspiration which gives relief, while that of Merc. does not relieve.
Arnica montana has the characteristic bruised soreness as has no other remedy. This soreness is general or merely of parts affected, and is relieved by slight motion. Its suppurating processes, instead of maturing, retrogress, shrivel up, and a new crop follows. If definitely indicated, Arnica will often prevent the injured tissues from suppurating, hinder the absorption of pus, prevent pyemia or septicemia, even if given only on general principles.
It has many small boils, painful, one after another, extremely sore. It prevents suppuration and septicemia and promotes absorption. Arnica, although an old remedy is not so often used as it should be in general practice, obstetrics and surgery.
Echinacea, the corrector of blood dyscrasia, although a fairly new remedy, is a valuable one. It is of value in acute auto- infections, septic conditions with lymphatic involvement, for abscesses and carbuncles associated with great loss of strength, and for obstinate scrofulous and syphilitic diseases, for which it may be used both locally and internally. It may be indicated in conditions that come from crushing injuries, where the tissues have lost their resistance. It promotes localisation and pus formation.
At times it will have to be differentiated from ARnica, Arsenicum, Rhus toxicodendron and others. The leading characteristics are: aggravation after meals, in the evening and from motion, great prostration. Furthermore it has swollen glands, the skin over which is irritated and smarting, frequent pustules and furuncles, especially on the neck. It is an excellent remedy with which to break up the “boil habit”.
Sulphur – many of you may wonder why this great psoric remedy has not been taken up sooner in the study of homoeopathic remedies for suppuration. The answer is, that sulphur is a chronic remedy, and is not called for nearly so often as some of the remedies previously mentioned. It stimulates more the chronic ailments-maybe suppurative-and is called upon to stimulate the reactionary powers of the system and render it susceptible to the effect of other remedies in cases where it is not of itself capable of effecting a cure.
It does produce a tendency to boils and is applicable to scrofulous persons. Glands become inflamed and suppurate. It establishes all sorts of suppurating cavities, has numerous abscesses-beneath the skin, in the deeper tissues and in internal organs. Sulphur has all sorts of eruptions-vesicular, pustular, scaly, all attended with intense itching. It has an unhealthy condition of the skin aside from its eruption.
Small wounds will not heal but will continue to suppurate. Abscesses formed under the skin become little discharging cavities with fistulous openings which leak and discharge for a long time. The discharges are acrid, offensive, filthy, excoriating. Burning and itching, aggravated by bathing, are always present, whatever the complaint.
The Sulphur suppurating patient emaciates, has hectic fever- steaming heat-itching, burning, stinging, and is worse from warmth and washing. He is always thirsty, maybe hungry, but loathes food. Keep a picture in your minds of the Sulphur patient, and you will recognise him the moment he presents himself-the quick, wiry, nervous, dirty, unhealthy complexioned, selfish, happy-go-lucky. Sulphur follows well many acute remedies.
It is not best to give it before Lycopodium-Sul., Calc., then Lyco. It is not out of place to call your attention here to the value of Sulphur in puerperal and surgical fevers, when there are flashes of heat and steaming sweat.
Sulphur iodide, a very profound, long-acting remedy, has been spoken of highly by Professor Bier, for the treatment of boils. However, it is with this remedy as it is with all others, it must be the absolute similimum of the case before it can cure. It has many eruptions, pustules, boils, blood boils, accompanied with itching, burning and stinging. It has ulcers-bleeding, cancerous, indolent, sensitive, spongy, suppurating; the discharges being copious, bloody, corrosive, thin, watery, yellow.
