There had been at one time a severe rent in the womb at one of her confinements; later on there was adherent placenta, and there- upon followed divers floodings, till, when I examined her, the uterus was big, hard heavy, and thick.
Patients was well preserved in person, and quite free from disease in the ordinary sense, and, in fact, apart from the huge uterus, she was fairly well in herself, except that she was pale and anaemic from her too frequent periods.
I had the very greatest difficulty to persuade the lady that I thought medicines would quite cure her, and that such a terrible mutilation of her person was not necessary.
“But the operation is fixed for to-morrow mornings!”
“What if it is? Have it put off, at any rate.”
“But I have come all across the world for the purpose of having the operation done; it’s too late to alter now.”
The lady could not be persuaded to have the operation postponed, inasmuch as she had come over on purpose, and she had been terribly tortured with her poor womb, and she had borne the long voyage bravely, in the joyful anticipation of being finally rid of the unbearable burden for good and all.
“How old are you?” said I.
“Thirty-eight.”
“And your husband, is he a worn-out old man?”
“Oh dear, no, not at all; he is really a young man still, and very strong.”
“And you are going to have yourself thus mutilated,-you with a strong young husband?”
The contemplated operation was abandoned for a time, to see whether our medicines would do any good.
I removed the pessary, and ordered the lady 5 drops of the strong tincture of Fraxinus Americanus three times a day in water.
In a week already the operation was given up provisionally; in three weeks all idea of an operation was given up as certainly needless; and in seven weeks the patient could, and actually did, go to Scot-land, and there took long walks on the moors without even a backache. The womb had simply diminished to about its normal volume, and gravitated back into its proper place,-and this under the sole influence of one medicine only-viz., the Fraxinus Americanus, at first in 5, then in 6, and latterly in 10 -drops doses.
Patient had formerly had a good deal of Quinine, and was very cold and chilly; this was cured by Nat. mur., 6 trit. She had been three times vaccinated, and was sycotic. Thuja occid. 30 and Mal. (C.) cured this state, and on one occasion I gave her Ignatia amara but all this was subsequent to the cure of the womb by Fraxinus Am. I dwell upon this to make it quite clear upon this to make it quite clear that the patient was cured of the uterine hypertrophy, and was running about on the Scottish moors, rejoicing in her new-found liberty, solely from the use of little material doses of one organ remedy-Fraxinus Americanus.
More than three years later-December 1895-an aunt of this lady called upon me on her own account, and on my inquiring after my Fraxinus patient, she exclaimed, “Oh! she is splendid, and her social duties are very heavy, owing to her husband`s official position. Nobody can understand it.”
No physician can demand a better clinical result than this, and my contention that organ remedies cure organ diseases stands again confirmed; and I again contend that it lies within the homoeopathic sphere of influence. Not that I claim to hold a brief for homoeopathy; for if homoeopathy be not the very best thing in drug therapeutics, then let it be swept away; only it seems to me that organopathy and elementary homoeopathy are identical, and that the heather for the besom that shall sweep homoeopathy away is not yet planted. “Shall we give up the law of homoeopathy and revert to chance again?” So exclaimed one of the reviewers of my “Diseases of the liver.” Not at all, dear friend; but also do not let us give away so big a bit of the foundations of our homoeopathic house as is included under the term specificity of seat, or organopathy.
Whether it lies within homoeopathy, as I contend, or not, it is true-very true-at the beside, and that is good enough for me. It will not cure constitutional disease at all whose environment is the macrocosm, but it sets right the relationship of the organ to the microcosm, the organism.
ENLARGED WOMB DISTURBING MICTURITION, WITH SEVERE VOMITING.
The mother of six children, 72 years of age, sister of Sir William X., came under my observation on November 18, 1890, for insomnia and vomiting. The region of the pylorus being tender had led to the diagnosis of cancer of the pylorus, which appeared fully supported by the patient’s semi-cachectic appearance. There was also some dullness on percussion in the pyloric region, and cruel attacks of dyspepsia came on in the night.
There seemed little doubt as to the diagnosis, particularly as there was at times a very foul uterine discharge.
The womb was very large and anteverted, pressing on the bladder and causing much distress, as patient was often unable to pass water except in the erect position, the body being poised so as to take the pressure off the bladder. From my knowledge of the family, constitution I was disposed to attribute most of the lady’s symptoms to the bladder and uterus, which certainly were very distressingly to the fore: it seemed to me probable that the flatulence, fermentation, vomiting, and nocturnal attacks of vomiting might very well have their origin in the hypogastrium. This view of the sequence of the symptoms in the case was supported by patient’s narration that she had formerly suffered much from leucorrhoea, and that a number of years after-her change of life she had a bad discharge from the womb, and which was got rid of with the aid of vaginal injections.
I ordered Bursa pastoris, 0, 5 drops in water every four hours, and later on 6 drops night and morning only. Patient was completely restored to health thereby, and no other remedy was needed or given. At first sight such a thing seems next-door to impossible, but when we note that the Shepherd’s Purse is a very splendid uterine remedy, we understand how it would be possible, which experience confirms.
This lady remained to my knowledge quite well for years,- indeed, I believe she is still alive. To this case I should have liked to append a few remarks on the suppression of whites by injections as a cause of disease, for this case was clearly of such an origin, but I must leave that for little further on. My choice of Bursa pastoris was because it is very apt to set up uterine discharge, and as I have before shown, it is most certainly a uterine medicine. Moreover, it seemed to me, from patient’s narration, that the nature of the case was gouty rather than cancerous, which the sequel has proved: there had been a gouty catarrh of the endometrium; this was refused outlet as leucorrhoea, and so it was reflected back on to the duodenal region. A brother of this lady, now turned 80 years of age, is my patient, and he is for years subject to urethrorrhoea, certainly of a gouty nature and autochthonous. Had it not been for this side-light on the case, I should most certainly have accepted the more serious diagnosis of cancer of the pylorus.
The aid to a correct diagnosis of a given case afforded by a due regard to the organ, by itself and quoad the other organs, and to the organism, is very great; at times a correct diagnosis is, without such appreciation, impossible. Science is constantly adding to our knowledge of the hierarchy of the organs; thus some lately performed experiments by a French observer show that the spleen is of all organs of the body the most highly endowed with oxidizing power, next comes the liver, and in third place only the lungs. And with the increase in our knowledge come forth new physiological facts, showing that each organ has a function all its own for the benefit of the organism. This is well seen in the case which follows, and purely from the clinical side.
BAD LEG; ENLARGED UTERUS; INTERMITTENT LEUCORRHOEA; AGUE CAKE; FRONTAL HEADACHE.
An unmarried lady, 48 years of age, came to me in March, 1895, for a bad leg. The bad leg consisted of a flat mass of quite small varicose veins about the left ankle, constituting a flat tumor raised about a quarter of an inch above the level of the skin. Towards evening this varicosic mass burned a good deal. Patient changed fifteen months before from her visit to me, but suffered from intermittent leucorrhoea, and when the leucorrhoeal discharge came on the burning in the varicosic lump was intense. The uterus was moderately enlarged; general health excellent, barring the flushes, which were trying. Patient came because she was much concerned about the varicosic mass on her ankle, which would, she had been informed, become a “bad leg.” The very moderate enlargement of the womb did not sufficiently account for the mass in question, and the burning in it seemed curious, notably the great burning in it when the leucorrhoeic discharge was active. I have elsewhere was active. I have elsewhere maintained that leucorrhoea is frequently connected with spleen. A distinguished physician has tried to ridicule this, but I am still of the same opinion, and here reiterate the statement that leucorrhoea is frequently connected with the spleen, and this case strongly confirms this view. Finding that patient’s spleen was swelled, I enquired if she had ever had ague? “Yes, in India, ten years ago.” The leucorrhoea I regarded as from this spleen enlargement, and I also thought the varicosic tumour was likewise due to the state of the spleen.
Burnett was one of the first to speak about vaccination triggering illness. This was discussed in his book, Vaccinosis, published in 1884. He introduced the remedy Bacillinum. He authored twenty books, including the much loved "Fifty Reason for Being a Homeopath." He was the editor of The Homoeopathic World.