Muriatic acid is one of the neglected remedies, yet one of the most valuable.
The clinical symptoms: Clean, dry, red tongue, sometimes bluish, is an important guiding symptom (not the slick, and shining tongue of Lach, and Kali bich.) There may be unconsciousness, moaning, and restlessness; thirst for acids and wine are also important; stool dark and mushy; urine passed involuntary; loud moaning, lower jaw dropped, tongue shrunken and dry like leather; haemorrhage from the bowels. This remedy stands between Rhus. and Bryonia. The patient is not made better from motion, like Rhus, and not worse from motion, like Bryonia. It controls the septic process and blood changes as well as Bry, or Rhus.
Gelsemium-The heaviness of the limbs and thirstlessness; the bright eyes and contracted pupils; the active delirium; the extreme sinking feeling, paralytic weakness and fear of death; loquacity, talking in sleep. On the other hand the face is pale and sallow and the pupils are dilated, yet the heaviness is always present. The mind symptoms and nervous prostration are most marked; the septic symptoms are not marked as in Arsenicum, Baptisia, Arnica, and Phosphorus The tongue trembles and is coated yellow. The many symptoms pointing to cerebral hyperaemia, point to Gelsemium and seldom to Belladonna in these fevers. The sleeplessness is as prominent as any feature of these fevers, and Gelsemium is most generally its remedy. He is wide- awake all night. “Not one wink of sleep last night” is the common answer (Opium, Coffea) There is often pain running up and back, with contraction of dorsal muscles and stiffness, as if there were some meningeal complication; pain from spine to head and shoulders.
Lycopus Virginicus- This remedy has been of great service to me. It is the remedy when the patient is stupid, will not answer questions, is waxy, cold and has a pulse very low, yet full and large, soft and compressible; haemorrhage brown bowels, heavily loaded, tawny, expressionless face; if he has a fever it is not high, and he chokes and swallows; his eyes are expressionless; the veins are full and the face is bloated; the eyes seem to project from their sockets.
Rhus-tox, is one of the most important remedies. The restlessness better from motion, great thirst, dry tongue, sordes; reddish, watery, frothy stools in the morning, have been the symptoms calling for Rhus. The chilliness, like being dashed with cold water, and like cold water coursing through the veins, fever continues without sweat, and the restless aching, are often met. The patient, often moves for relief; he finds a new place, and because he is completely exhausted he thinks he can rest; but soon the horrible aching and restlessness come on and he is compelled to move and finds a new place, and this is continued night and day, and there is no rest and no sleep; there is a dry cough.
Bryonia is the remedy to be contrasted with Rhus. The rains may be severe, yet they are made worse by the slightest motion; he wants cold water in large quantity, but only occasionally; there is the dry, brown tongue, and the bowels are generally constipated; the stool is dry and hard as if burnt; the bowels are tympanitic and there is a foul, bitter taste in the mouth; bleeding from the nose is common; there is often a dry cough and the right lung is often involved; there is delirium; he is busy and wants to be taken home; the fever and delirium are worse from nine o’clock till midnight. In Rhus the fever and delirium have been worse during the whole night and often continues all day. I see, by comparing my notebook that several of my cases cured by Rhus had aggravation of mental and febrile symptoms at 5 a.m. and p. m. Bry, seldom has the twitching of muscles so common to Rhus, and of the two, urticaria, commonly in the beginning of some fevers, can only be found under the latter. The general aggravation from cold is characteristic of Rhus, but,Bry is oftener ameliorated by cold.
The long-lasting severe pain in the head is found, in my Bryonia cases, in the temples and eyes; improved by cold; eyes were turgesced and the face was bloated and blue.
Colchicum was given in one case where the patient had an extreme disgust at the sight or smell of food, with marked benefit.
Natrum sulphuricum is a very important remedy. The patient says he has not been well for a long time; his sleep has not rested him, and his mouth, has for a long time had a bad taste and his tongue is covered with a thick, yellow, pasty fur and tastes bitter. He now vomits bile and slime and has pain in the back of his head and his bones ache; the chill comes on and he runs into a quasi- continued fever, with chills occasionally; he has no appetite, his skin is yellow, and he has a yellow diarrhoea mixed with green slime.
Ipecac.- The aching in the back, thirstlessness, constant nausea, vomiting of green slime, red and pointed tongue, bitter taste; the case abused by quinine, Ipecac, is the remedy.
In the third and fourth week, some cases become very low; the tongue is sometimes red and slick, the papillae all absorbed, and a smooth, slick glossy surface on the tongue, and there is much vomiting of viscid, stringy mucus and bile. The patient is listless and delirious alternately.
Eupatorium perf. has improved cases when there was a bitter taste in the mouth, aching in the bones as if they would break, yellow skin, violent headache, day and night, worse during the scanty sweat, if there should be such a moisture; in many cases there is no perspiration, but great dryness of the skin and vomiting of bile.
When searching for remedies that correspond most faithfully to the fevers with absent sweating stage; Arsenicum, Baptisia, Belladonna, Bryonia, Chain., Colchicum, Eup-perf., Gelsemium, Hyoscyamus, Ignatia, Ipecac., Kali-bi., Lachesis, Lycopodium, Mercurius, nitricum acidum, Nux-v., Opium., Phosphorus, Phos-ac., Rhus, and Sulph. may be consulted.
It will be found mostly that we are curing our patient from this list of remedies. When the exhaustion is the most marked feature, Arnica, Arsenicum, Baptisia, China, Gelsemium, Hyoscyamus, Lachesis, Lycopus, Phosphorus, Phos-acid., and Rhus have been most useful.
When the congested symptoms have been prominent, Arnica has been the remedy. It will be observed that I have not mentioned many of our so-called sheet anchors, as I have not found them of much service. Aconite, Belladonna, and China have not been indicated in any of my cases. I have made use of bathing and inunction of lard in some protracted cases with great benefit, but never cathartics, stimulants, or quinine.
The single remedy is my reliance. I give the selected remedy every four hours in these fevers, night and day, until improvement begins, and then I repeat cautiously.
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.