Variolinum – Medicine


Variolinum – Medicine.

Introduction

      Dr. Fellg…


Introduction

      Dr. Fellger gave Variolinum reports, giving Variolinum to hundreds of people, and none of them were ever attacked with small-pox. In one family where the father had confluent smallpox, he gave Variolinum as a prophylactic, and of the others, although not one had been vaccinated, not one of them took the disease.

Cases

      Mrs.-and Miss-took Variolinum m. (Fincke), one dose, Nov. 22 and another dose Nov. 23. On the 24 a vesicle appeared on left side of neck, which became sore and itched severely where top was broken. It was red and angry, with a sharply defined areola about an inch in diameter; from the inflamed base were light-yellow, ray-like scales, like psoriasis. It ran its course in about two weeks. Several similar spots appeared on different parts of the body, with intense itching at times, but without systemic symptoms. On both, the eruption was similar in character and ran the course. Both had been vaccinated years before, but neither had any eruption of any kind.

Cases.

He reports case of a broker in Philadelphia who was well pitted from small-pox; when a child he was vaccinated, and he became idiotic in consequence. When sixteen years old he had a violent attack of small-pox, after which he recovered his reason. Variolinum is indicated in small-pox where there is not much pain; the patient can even eat fairly well; the skin looks natural between the pustules; the appearance of the eyeball is white and natural; the mild uncomplicated cases of small-pox are the ones calling for Variolinum.

Mind

      Delirium with initial fever.

Fear of death, wild excitement and begging to know if he was to die, and before the sentence was complete drops into a heavy sleep with loud breathing.

Head

      Vertigo.

Syncope in attempting to rise.

Forehead very hot, face red and bloated, carotids pulsating violently.

Headache: with or after a chill; all over head; particularly in forehead; severe in vertex; as if a band tightly encircled head; severe lancinating, throbbing; agg. with every pulsation.

Intolerable pain in occiput.

Crazy feeling through brain, hard to describe.

Eyes

      Keratitis, with small-pox and after vaccination.

Chronic ophthalmia with loss of sight.

Pupils contracted.

Ears

      Deafness.

Face

      Skin of face and neck deep dark-purple hue.

Jaw falling when asleep, with trembling when aroused.

I once made a beautiful cure of a most intractable case of acne with Variolinum, which I was led to prescribe because the man’s face was so disfigured by cicatricial marks so as to resemble one who had been afflicted with small-pox. – W. J. Guernsey.

Mouth

      Thick, dirty yellow coating on tongue.

When asleep tongue protruded, black coating, when raised it is with difficulty drawn back; looks like a mass of putrid flesh.

Tongue coated white, as with a piece of white velvet, in variola with headache, backache and high fever.

Teeth

      Teeth covered with thick brown slime.

Throat

Throat very sore, redness of fauces.

Pharynx and fauces deep purplish crimson, with gangrenous appearance; breath horribly offensive.

Painful deglutition.

Sensation as if throat were closed.

Sensation of a lump in right side of throat.

Diphtheria with horrible fetor oris.

Stomach

      Soreness in pit of stomach and across epigastric region.

Severe pain in precordial region, frequent nausea and vomiting of bilious and bloody matter.

Frequent bilious vomiting.

As soon as he drinks milk he vomits it up.

Appetite

      Food, esp. water, taste sickish sweet.

Stool

      Thin, bloody stools.

Several brown, green, at last grass-green stools, painless, loose, of intolerable fetid odor; no thirst; last stool slimy, with small quantity of blood.

Dysentery.

Constipation.

Urinary Organs

      Urine: high-colored, like brandy; turbid and offensive; stains a rose tea-color, difficult to remove.

Male Genitalia

      Enlargement of testicle.

Hard swelling of left testicle in consequence of a contusion.

Respiratory organs

      Oppressed respiration.

Asthma.

Troublesome cough, with serous and sometimes bloody sputa.

Hawking up thick, viscid slime, smelling bad.

Back and neck

      Stiffness of neck, with tense drawing in muscles, agg. on motion.

Pain in base of brain and neck.

Chills like streams of ice-water running down from between scapulae to sacral region.

Intolerable aching in lumbar an sacral region.

Pain in muscles of back like rheumatism; agg. on motion.

Upper limbs

      Hands icy cold during invasion.

Swelling of arm which had been half-paralyzed.

Lower limbs

      Muscular rheumatism; agg. on motion.

Petechial eruptions, erythematous, on lower abdominal region, apex of triangular form being at pubis, and the base crossing the abdomen transversely, in neighborhood of umbilicus; also on lateral surface of trunk to axilla, invading folds of axilla, corresponding portion of arm and pectoralis major.

Terrible pains in back on right side of spine, and over and below shoulder blade; muscles sore to touch, nausea, pains all over especially in legs; tongue clean; pulse 120; Varolian. cm.; body completely covered with large pustules, face one mass of confluent pustules, pulse still high, constant expectoration of viscid mucus, mouth and fauces lined with pustules, even tongue covered with them; bowels constipated, mild delirium at times; eight days later temperature 104 1/2; pulse 120, very weak and stopping at intervals; great fear of death; begging to know if he must die, and before sentence was completed would drop into a heavy sleep with stertorous breathing, jaw dropped on breast, pupils contracted, teeth covered with thick brown slime, center of tongue perfectly black, mucous membrane of mouth and pharynx of a deep purplish-crimson, with gangrenous appearance and breath horribly offensive; skin of face and neck of a deep dark purple; odor from body like a fetid stream; little control over tongue or jaw, latter hanging down, and tongue protruding like a mass of decayed liver when asleep; an effort to speak when roused up caused violent trembling of jaw and tongue, which was drawn back into mouth with difficulty, was stiff, but looked like a mass of putrid flesh; urine dark colored, passing freely through whole attack; had continued the cm. till now, gave one dose CM. dry on tongue; next day almost convalescent; made a good recovery with but few marks.

Severe chill followed by high fever; severe pain in back as if broken; pain all over head, very severe and constant in occiput; frequent bilious vomiting; thick, dirty, yellowish coating on tongue; wild delirium and spasms; night before eruption appeared obstinate constipation; on third day very thick eruption of small-pox pustules, soon assuming confluent form, Varolian. CM.

Small-pox; peculiar smell causes intense sickness of stomach; congestion toward head, palpitation of heart; two hours after took a dose Varolian. 30; an hour later crawling in back and feeling of coldness in lower extremities; cold feet; back lame, heavy feeling in left arm; no appetite; sleep disturbed by heat; toward morning some perspiration over body; next day continuous pressing headache, especially in occiput; pulse somewhat irritated, disinclined to mental work, when reading heat in head and forehead, weak when walking; pain in joints of upper and lower extremities, as if lame; toward evening again feverish, pressing pain in small of back down to sacrum (Glonoin 3 relieved headache); in bed, drawing in upper jaw and teeth; sleep full of dreams; toward morning again perspiration; urine smells ammoniacal; on fourth day red pimples on back of left hand, staying for several days without filling with pus; mental work still causes heat in forehead and pressure in head; escaped smallpox.

On third day of eruption, when pustules had filled, and were confluent on face, intense itching; Variolinum 1M. in water, every two hours; on second day itching nearly gone, pustules shrinking; third day drying; fifth day crusts fell from face, seventh day other crusts fell off, and tongue clean.

Have used and seen it used in many and severe cases, and when treated with Varolian. 200 disease is shortened nearly or quite one-half, sufferings of patients much mitigated, secondary fever either absent or very much lighter, pustules do not burst, but wither or wilt and fall off, suppurative stage immeasurably hastened and shortened and patients are not marked.

Fever

      Very severe chill, followed by hot fever.

Intense fever, commencing with chills running down back like streams of cold water, causing shivering and chattering of teeth.

Fever with intense radiating heat, burning hot to touch.

Hot fever, no thirst.

Very profuse, bad-smelling sweat.

Skin

      Exanthema of sharp, pointed pimples, usually small, seldom large and suppurating, dry, resting on small red areola, frequently interspersed with spots of red color, sometimes severe itching.

H. C. Allen
Dr. Henry C. Allen, M. D. - Born in Middlesex county, Ont., Oct. 2, 1836. He was Professor of Materia Medica and the Institutes of Medicine and Dean of the faculty of Hahnemann Medical College. He served as editor and publisher of the Medical Advance. He also authored Keynotes of Leading Remedies, Materia Medica of the Nosodes, Therapeutics of Fevers and Therapeutics of Intermittent Fever.