“Prognosis – Nausea and vomiting occurring in diseases of the brain, as in epilepsy, are unfavourable indications; on the contrary, in pregnancy or hysteria, no alarm need be felt, as they are merely symptomatic of irritation conveyed by the nervous system of the stomach. We may learn much by observing the time of the occurrence of vomiting, the nature of the matters ejected, and the extent and urgency of the symptoms.
If vomiting afford relief, and the nausea, oppression of the chest and stomach, and headache cease, the cause may be considered favourable; if, on the other hand the symptoms preceding vomiting are not relieved by it, but increase, the disease must be regarded as having taken an alarming form.
“Treatment – Should vomiting arise from over-repletion, or from indigestible food, it may be regarded as a conservative effort, and should be encouraged, within proper limits, by drinking warm water, or tickling the throat with a feather until the offending material is expelled. If sympathetic of organic disease, the treatment should be directed to the primary cause, while temporary relief from the vomiting may be obtained by the use of one of the following remedies. Under other circumstances, a remedy may be selected according to the cause of the vomiting, and the symptoms which exist.
“Ipecacuanha – Simple copious vomiting, with persistent nausea; greenish or blackish and mucous vomit; diarrhoea.
“Kreosotum – Chronic persistent vomiting. When the affection does not depend on simple indigestion. Kreos. is the best remedy; also for persistent retching, without vomiting.
“Secale – Chronic vomiting of sour mucus, with offensive eructations.
“Phosphorus – Food retained cold, but vomited as soon as it becomes warm.
“Arsenicum – Vomiting, purging, great prostration with a burning sensation in the stomach and throat and cold hands and feet. When caused by cancer or other malignant disease of the stomach, this remedy often relieves.
“Zincum – The food is suddenly ejected, without retching;a nd the patient becomes emaciated.
“Ant. crud – Nausea, heaviness of the stomach, foul white tongue, and dislike to food, which continue unabated after free vomiting.
“Iris – Bilious attack. Often an effectual remedy.
“Accessory Means – Small pieces of ice placed on the tongue are very grateful, and tend to allay the sickness. The diet should be simple, nourishing, and non-irritating. Beef-tea is, probably most suitable, and may be given every one to three hours, in small quantities, freshly mixed, can be retained and digested. The stomach will often remain bland liquid diet when it would reject any other”.
The foregoing volume is the magnum opus of Dr. Ruddock. He has written a number of smaller books as well, such as “The Ladies Manual of Homoeopathic Treatment”, “The Common Diseases of Women”, “The Diseases of Infants and Children”, “The Common Diseases of Children” etc. All of them are easily readable.
The books mentioned hitherto are arranged in accordance with the orthodox method. Orthodox medicine treats diseases with the indicated specific. Homoeopathy has no specifics, and it does not treat diseases in accordance with their names. It disregards the names of diseases and treats them in accordance with their symptoms. Whereas the skilled allopath may give the same medicine to twenty consecutive cases of psoriasis or asthma, the skilled homoeopath may give twenty different prescriptions.
Consequently, we find under the heading of the so-called diseases a number of remedies with indications of the symptoms which call for such remedies. The lay man may have some difficulty in treating cases if he has to diagnose them, if he has to discover their scientific name. He may never have heard of fistula, glaucoma, haematuria, and may never have seen a case of very simple diseases and disorders such as lumbago, colitis, sciatica, housemaids knee, etc.
The earnest student of homoeopathy must study, before all, the Materia Medica. Of course he can start treatment at once, guided by some book or books such as those mentioned. However, these books necessarily give only a few indications. In the homoeopathic handbooks we may find only eight or ten medicines mentioned under headings such as hysteria, enlarged prostate, bunion, etc. If the symptoms of the body as a whole call imperatively for Sulphur, then the patient with bunions must be given Sulphur, and Sulphur may cure the bunions although Sulphur may not be mentioned as a bunion cure in any of the textbooks. As I said before, the earnest student must concentrate upon the Materia MEdica.
Among the books which deal with Materia Medica, my favourite is Dr. John H. Clarkes Dictionary in four large volumes, which is, unfortunately, out of print, and therefore unobtainable. Among the smaller books I would like to mention Dr. E.B. Nashs “Leaders in Homoeopathic Therapeutics”. This is a book written by an excellent doctor. It runs to 493 pages and is sold at 18s. 6d. by the Homoeopathic Publishing Company. It has been bought by innumerable doctors and laymen who study the volume day after day. I, myself, have read and reread it with the greatest advantage, and I can strongly recommend it to readers.
Those who wish for a more comprehensive book may care to study “The Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica”, by Dr. William Boericke, ninth edition, published by Boericke and Runyon of New York in 1936. This is a handy pocket volume of 1,042 pages, strongly bound in flexible leather and printed clearly on India paper. It deals with about a thousand remedies beginning with Abies Canadensis, and ending with zingiber.
The volume is not merely a Materia Medica, but is at the same time a guide to treatment. Of the volume 688 pages are given over to the Materia MEdica and 320 pages are devoted to what is called a repertory, where all diseases, disorders and symptoms are classified under headings such as mind, head, eyes, ears, nose, face, teeth, etc. Under the heading, “Mind”, we find sub- headings such as Brain fag, catalepsy, clairvoyance, cretinism, delirium, under the heading “Nose” we find sub-headings such as, Discharges, albuminous, clear, Mucus, Bloody Mucus, Gland Mucus, green, yellow, fetid mucus, offensive, profuse, salty-tasting, etc.
This book is, therefore, not merely a Materia Medica but a compendium of treatment as well. It is one of the books which I use every day. It is sold at 45x. and is cheap at the price.
As I stated before, the homoeopathic practitioner is not guided by the name of the disease or disorder, but by the symptoms of the patient. The good homoeopath disregards the name of the disease. He does not say to himself: “This patient suffers from cancer.
Cancer is incurable except by operation. Consequently I shall not treat it.” He carefully studies all the symptoms of a cancer patient, and if he comes to the conclusion that the patient needs Arsenic or Calcarea or Sulphur, then he will give his patient the indicated remedy or remedies, and he may add to them a disease product, or disease products such as Carcinosinum, Syphilinum, Bacillinum or whatever the patient may need, and he may achieve a wonderful cancer cure.
Cancer will never be cured by men who are afraid to treat a patient suffering from this horrible disease, and who wash their hands of the case and send the unfortunate patient to the surgeon who operates without the slightest attempt of achieving a cure by acting upon the blood stream and upon the constitution of the patient.
As stated before, the skilled homoeopath does not treat diseases, but he treats individuals in accordance with their most characteristic symptoms. If a case of cancer, a case of neuralgia and a case of psoriasis have in common, symptoms which indicate Sulphur, then he will prescribe Sulphur to the individual suffering from cancer, to the individual suffering from neuralgia, and to the patient suffering from skin disease, and Sulphur may cure all three cases, although all three might have proved incurable to the orthodox physician who had given the so-called specific for each of them recommended in the textbooks.
Skilled homoeopaths prescribe for symptoms. There are thousands and thousands of symptoms, and for each symptom there will be found a number of remedies, and it is difficult to make a proper selection. No human brain can contain all the symptoms mentioned in the so-called repertories together with the remedies covering each individual symptom. It follows that considerable study and search will be necessary to discover the right remedy. There are a number of symptom registers which are called repertories.
There are general repertories of symptoms and repertories of symptoms of the eyes, of the stomach, of the skin, and so forth. Most prescribers will wish to use a general repertory. There are a number of bulky volumes called repertories. The best is undoubtedly Professor J.T. Kents, “Repertory of the Homoeopathic Materia Media”. This is a wonderful work on which the author spent sixteen years of his busy life. Before me lies the fourth edition. It extends to nearly 1,500 closely printed, large pages.
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.