INTRODUCTION
(Cleavers.).
COMPARE WITH
Agave-Americana, Erigeron-canadense, Chimaphila, Iodine.
INFORMATION
Of the various species of Gallium which are found both in this country and in Europe, the Gallium-aperinum is the species generally employed for me…. preparations. It has been extensively used by eclectic physicians, and is likewise used by physicians of our own school, in the shape of a cold or warm infusion, which seems to be the most efficient mode of securing the therapeutic virtues of this plant, the root of which is not used. It is recommended and has been used with success in dysuria, ischuria and calculous affections. It is likewise said to be useful as an anti scorbutic agent. The British Journal of Homoeopathy, vol. XXIII., page 139, contains the record of a cancerous affections of the tongue cured by Gallium. “The patient was a married woman, 60 years of age, and was admitted into the hospital April 5th, 1864, on account of a hard, firm, somewhat circumscribed tumor, of about the size of a boy’s marble flattened, imbedded in the substance of the tongue, on the right side, about an inch from its apex, which had been gradually increasing in size since she first observed it, five weeks before, when it was about as large as a hemp-seed.
“The upper surface was nodulated and uneven, and the swelling generally had the appearance and feel of a scirrhous formation in the organ. It had all along been extremely painful, so much so as entirely to prevent her sleeping at night; it was exquisitely tender to the touch when handled, and latterly she had experienced a throbbing, beating pain in t, which had induced her to think it was about to burst. There was no appearance of its having been caused by injury to the tongue through a decayed tooth. She had always been in the habit of living tolerably well, but had been suffering a good deal from general debility and languor for some time before the commencement of the swelling. Her countenance did not indicate any peculiar cachectic condition of the system, and there was no history of any hereditary cancerous taint in the family. The tumor had increased rather rapidly lately, and she was quite unable to masticate solid food on account of the pain it induced, which had added much to her original weakness.
“She was ordered to have strong cold beef tea frequently during the day for diet, with a pint of porter daily, and to take the following medicine: Two ounces of the solid extract of Gallium- aperinum to half a pound of water. Of this solution she took one drachm and a half a day, in a wineglassful of water. She was also ordered to use the above mixture as a warm lotion to the mouth several times a day, keeping it in the mouth for some time during each application.
“A month after her admission, she had completely recovered from the languor and debility under which she had previously been suffering; her face, instead of being pallid and sallow, had recovered a healthy and somewhat florid appearance, which was natural to her; the pain in the tumor had been gradually diminishing; and the tumor had been gradually diminishing; and the tumor itself had become so much reduced in size as to be scarcely discernible to the touch, and as she was not able to take solid food without discomfort and with an appetite, she was, at the end of five weeks, discharged from the hospital. A fortnight afterwards, having continued the remedies prescribed, she presented herself as an out-patient, when it was found that the tumor had entirely disappeared, and the tongue had recovered its natural structure and appearance.”
In epilepsy, Dr. Ogle has obtained the most successful results by means of this agent.
