I have seen all these symptoms come on after Apis. The antidote for that is Carbolic acid. I have seen Carbolic acid administered in that state, and the patient described the sensation of the Carbolic acid going down his throat as a cooling comfort.
He says:
“Why, doctor, I can feel that dose go to the ends of my fingers.”
When you administer an antidote under such circumstances listen to what your patient says. When you get the true natural antidote, and, at times, when you get the true curative medicine in a case, no matter how high the potency is, the patient will say:
“I feel that to the roots of my hair and to the ends of my toes.”
Such is the feeling it gives when the true antidotal medicine goes to the innermost portions of his economy, and that is the way we want to get our medicines always, to be guided by the symptoms of our patient that they will tell us what medicine to administer, and when the medicine is administered its highest reaction is of that sort.
Eyes: If we are well acquainted with the symptoms of Apis we can many times get along without having a specialist to treat the eyes. They make more people blind with their lotions, caustic solutions, etc., than they benefit.
The old-fashioned way was to cauterize with copper and silver nitrate solution, and the modern things are not much better. At the present day, the homoeopathic physician who is not capable of taking eye symptoms as well as lung symptoms and symptoms of any part of the body is not competent to practice medicine.
Eye cases can be prescribed for by the physician. In Homoeopathy there is no such thing as treating the eye and other organs of the body, but the patient with all his organs, not the patient with one or two organs.
Apis is a great remedy for the eyes. It has deep-seated inflammatory complaints of the eyes as a result of disease. Inflammations that are erysipelatous in character, that leave thickening of the mucous membrane and lids, and white spots over the eye; opacities.
Inflammation with opacities very extensive or in patches. Enlarged blood vessels.
Face: When the inflammatory condition is active it is attended with oedema of the lids, both upper and lower, and the whole face is sometimes in a state of oedema, such as you would expect to see after a bee sting.
The swelling of the mucous membranes of the lids is so enormous that they roll out, looking like pieces of raw beef. The fluid will run out over the cheeks in great abundance. Burning and stinging like fire, better from washing, from cold applications, worse from heat.
Chronic eye troubles that are worse from looking into an open fire, worse from radiated heat; wants something cold applied. Chronic granular lids. The results of chronic inflammation are numerous and extensive. Worse from looking at white things, worse from looking at the snow.
Pain in the eyeballs, pain deep in the eyeballs, stitches, burning, stinging and shooting. Chemosis. Apis is often suitable for old scrofulous affections of the eyes. Vascular. affections, the veins are enlarged.
“Iritis.”
“Congestion to the eyes, blood-vessels injected;” whole conjunctiva inflamed.
Photophobia. Rheumatic ophthalmia, that is, a high grade of inflammation of the eyes in rheumatic subjects. Catarrhal inflammation of the eyes; scrofulous inflammation of the eyes. Hot tears gush out of the eyes; burning in the eyes.
Erysipelas of the eyes and sides of the face, extending from the right to the left. This direction is an Apis feature in many other respects.
Erysipelas commences on the right side of the face, extends over the nose to the left side.
Inflammation commences in the right side of the abdominal viscera and extends over to the left. In inflammation of the ovary the right is preferred to the left. The right side of the uterus is preferred. Pains in the whole right side of the pelvis extending over towards the left. Burning stinging here and there extending from right to left.
Inflammation of the middle ear in connection with or after scarlet fever.
Throat: Now we come to the throat troubles of Apis. We have much throat trouble.
Apis cures diphtheria, especially when there is a high grade of inflammation and the membrane is scanty or comes slowly or insidiously, and it is somewhat of a surprise the gradual progress it makes; the parts are oedematous and the soft palate is puffed like a water-bag, and the uvula hangs down with a semi-transparent appearance like a bag of water.
All around the throat and mouth there is an oedematous condition looking as if it would flow water if pricked. Burning, stinging pains in the throat ameliorated by cold and aggravated by heat. Aversion to all warm substances and drinks.
The tongue swells until it fills the mouth, worse on the right half of the tongue, or involving the right side first. Raw beef appearance, denuded appearance of the tongue and buccal cavity and throat.
Various kinds of swelling in the throat; benign swellings, with burning, stinging and redness. Ulcers in the throat that come as a result of this inflammation. Apis is suitable in the severest forms of sore throat accompanying scarlet fever.
Scarlet fever: It cures scarlet fever when the symptoms agree, and it is not an uncommon thing for Apis to be suited to scarlet fever, though the rash is sometimes rough.
The scarlet fever rash is not always smooth and shiny. When the rash does not come out at all the face is very pallid, with a high grade of inflammation of the throat; the scarlet fever is in the family, and the skin is red without any rash; in those cases that are worse from heat, want the covers off, and are sensitive to the heat of the room.
The patient desires a low temperature in the room, is worse from heat, wants cool things, worse from radiated heat especially, or hot air that comes from a register or fire.
He suffocates when a little warm air is radiating over the body. He is disturbed from heat even in the chill of an intermittent fever; if in a warm room when having a chill, he suffocates. So it is with the scarlet fever, with the sore throat, and in diphtheria; from the least whiff of radiated heat he suffocates.
He wants the doors and windows open, wants something cold. Sometimes the scarlet fever patient will go into convulsions because the rash fails to come out.
Apis is sometimes a suit able remedy and must be compared with Cuprum, Zincum and Bryonia. A warm bath will intensify the convulsion.
“Sensation of constriction and erosion in the throat in the morning.”
Throat sore and swollen; stinging pains.
“Could not shallow solid food.”
With these complaints there is often shivering, shuddering, little chills intermingled with the febrile state. Many times you will think to comfort him by covering him up with a warm blanket, but it will make him worse, he will throw it off.
A child will kick off the covert an adult who is shivering while covered up will kick off the covers. These strange and peculiar things are guiding features, things that cannot be accounted for.
Stomach and abdomen: In Apis there is vomiting, nausea, retching and vomiting, with great anxiety. Vomiting of bile and everything eaten. Vomiting of bitter and sour fluids
Apis causes soreness and tightness throughout the abdomen and hypochondria. Sensation of tightness runs through many of the complaints of Apis. The abdomen is distended with gas.
Meteoritic condition, great tension and fullness, hard and drum-like. In all inflammatory complaints, in peritonitis, inflammation of the liver, inflammation of the pelvis, there is great tension, tightness; but this tightness is not always general, sometimes it is local; sometimes it is with little congestion, but tightness prevails throughout the abdomen, and this tightness makes it impossible for the patient to cough for fear something will burst.
The cough makes him feel as if something would be torn. Cannot strain at stool. This is common in the abdominal and pelvic complaints of women. The woman will say she cannot strain at stool, because of the feeling that if she strains something will break loose.
The same state exists in the chest It seems that on coughing something will tear loose, as if the fibres are in a state of tension or stretching.
Hypersensitive state of the liver; inflammation of the liver and spleen. Pain under the short ribs, worse on the left side.
“Pains from below the ribs spreading upward. Obliged to bend forward from a painful contracted feeling in the hypochondria.”
All the complaints are likely to make the patient bend forward and flex the limbs, because the state of tension is painful.
Sensitiveness of the stomach to touch. Over the whole abdomen she is so sore that touch is extremely painful; in all the inflammatory complaints of women the abdomen is very sore and painful. Soreness, distension and stinging burning pains through the abdomen. Burning beat in the stomach.
In the external abdomen there is an oedematous state. Dropsy, sometimes alone, sometimes with anasarca. Limbs swollen to the full extent, pitting upon pressure, the feet and limbs swollen, with burning, stinging and numbness in the limbs.
In 1881, Kent accepted a position as professor of anatomy at the Homeopathic College of Missouri, an institution with which he remained affiliated until 1888. In 1890, Kent moved to Pennsylvania to take a position as Dean of Professors at the Post-Graduate Homeopathic Medical School of Philadelphia. In 1897 Kent published his magnum opus, Repertory of the Homœopathic Materia Medica. Kent moved to Chicago in 1903, where he taught at Hahnemann Medical College.