“Complaints from the suppression of discharges–suppressed sweat-foot sweat. Silica cures long-lasting foot-sweat when the symptoms agree, or complaints that have lasted since the suppression of a foot-sweat.
“There is no deeper remedy than Silica in eradicating the tubercular tendency, when the symptoms agree; most tubercular cases are worse from cold, wet weather; better in cold dry weather.
“Silica has an aggravation from milk. Many times the infant is unable to take any kind of milk and, hence, the physician is driven to prescribe all the foods in the market as he does not know the right remedy. Natrum Carb. and Silica are both useful when the mother’s milk causes diarrhoea and vomiting. The routinist is likely to give such medicines as Aethusa, entirely forgetting Silica. The later, as well as Nat. Carb. has sour vomiting and sour curds in the stool. ‘Aversion to mother’s milk and vomiting.’ ‘Diarrhoea from milk.'”
In skin troubles Kent says, “There is a tendency to make the soft tissues harder and the hard tissues harder. Indurations, cracks and fissures. Crusty formations.”
Abscesses-fistulae. One remembers a doctor with whom one was working suddenly exclaiming, “If you wore a cap, I’d put a feather in it.” He said that for months he had been trying to cure a case of fistula ani with Silica low, and a dose of the cm had finished it.
But of course Silica is one of the polychrests, one of the drugs of many uses; affecting especially mucous membranes, skin, with nails, connective tissues, glands, in a Silica patient-i.e. chilly, easily perspiring, with want of self-confidence, of grit;-to build up and give backbone to the weaklings.
By the way:
Silica is one of the remedies of ANTICIPATION. These are not all collected into one rubric in Kent’s Repertory, but we will give them, so far as discovered; there may be more.
They are:- ARG. N., Arsenicum, Carb. v., GELS., Lycopodium, Medorrhinum, Pb., Phosphorus a., SIL., (?Thuja), viz.
Complaints from anticipation (p.4)-Argentum nitricum, Arsenicum, Gelsemium, Lyc, Medorrhinum, Phosphorus a.
Anxiety, anticipating an engagement (p. 5)-ARG. N., Gelsemium, Medorrhinum
Anxiety when anything is expected of him (p.6.)-Arsenicum
Timidity appearing in public (p.89) -Carbo veg., GELS., Pb., SIL.
Diarrhoea after anticipation (p.6II)-Argentum nitricum, Gelsemium, Phosphorus a.
Diarrhoea from excitement, as before a theatre (p. 612)-ARG. N.
Diarrhoea from excitement-ARG. N. Gelsemium, Phosphorus a., Thuja, and a few in small type.
