Reports on symptoms in the domain of the nervous system are practically never absent in the three series of studies. The fatigue and relaxation have already been mentioned for the muscles and particularly in the first three was great fatigue, lassitude and desire for sleep, and in the two other series they also appeared in the majority of provers. To this was added aversion for physical work, inability to concentrate the thoughts. Once at the same time occurred a highly increased nervous irritability and in others restless sleep. Practically all reports mentioned headache. They are expressed as dullness and a sensation of pressure increasing up to pain. The headache was now more diffuse, now unilateral (right sided) now limited to single spots, and often began in the occiput. In two provers attacks of vertigo were reported, and once trembling of the hands and uncertainty on movement. Once burning and pains in the eyes was reported, once injection of the conjunctiva bulbi and palpebrarum, and once rapid fatigue of accomodation.
In spite of definite counts of the pulse rate the vascular system did not show many symptoms. In three cases there was a slight increase in the pulse rate, in one case a later decline in the frequency. At another time the increase of pulse was only on one day and was associated with respiratory acceleration and internal unrest, at another time cardiac palpitation appeared with a simultaneous feeling of oppression. Sensation of oppression in the chest was reported 4 times and in one other case sudden palpitation and also internal anxiety once. On the respiratory system no symptoms were observed on the whole.
On the other hand in 16 of 17 cases symptoms in the digestive organs were in good agreement. In the one case in the second series where they did not appear, the protocol is very insufficient and the administration of the drug very irregular. Many times the picture was of such a nature that at first marked collections of gas occurred in the intestine with flatulence; there was colic and gurgling in the abdomen, at times very severe cutting pains with urgency for stool. The stools were irregular, often constipated, at times painful and then also after normal stools, suddenly soft, light yellow and diarrhoeic.
The urgency to stool was often without result only flatus being evacuated. Tormenting tenesmus and the sensation as though the stool would be large although it was actually small and frequent.
On the urinary organs only the ingestion of the pure acid produced symptoms, 2 times polyuria, whereby once the act of urination was accompanied by burning pain in the glans; there times the urine was scanty, concentrated and in two cases smalled intensely urinous.
SILICEA
Provings of Silicea are found: 1. Hahnemann: Chr. Kranh, Bd.3, p.208, 1828.
2. Knorre: Allg. hom. Ztg, Bd. 6, p.37 1835.
3. Ruoff: Hygea, Bd. 8, p. 1 97 193 and 330, 1838.
4. Becker: Hygea, Bd. 22, p.401, 1847 (Aqua silicata).
5. Hencke: Allg. hom. Ztg. Bd. 55, p.135, 1857.
6. Sorge: Ztschr. do Berl. V. hom. Aerzte, Bd. 12, p. 267, 1893.
7. Bootz: In. Diss. Greifswald, 1903.
A summary of the indication of Schussler is found in Allg. hom. Ztg. Bd. 98, p 172 1879.
In homoeopathy silicea belongs to the polycrests which have a prolonged action. On the one side as a chief agent for the support of defense functions against external injuries, particularly chronic infections, silicea is suitable; on the other side to fundamentally alter the internal metabolic and energy exchange. We shall first consider the “outer” actions because they are more accessible to observation and easier to comprehend.
SUPPURATION AND FISTULA
Silicea acts on suppurations of all types, acute as well as chronic. The purulent processes in the organism for which it is suited are those which reveal a lessened tendency to scar formation. Therefore silicea is employed less at the beginning or at the height of a suppuration and more at the end of acute processes when they are prolonged and in chronic processes. In particular it is prefered after hepar sulf. calcar. Lersch reports: In Upland silicea is a flok remedy against suppuration in general but particularly against furunculosis, in which, according to Soderberg, one gives a knife point covered with powdered flint stone. From the capacity of silicic acid to stimulate leucocytosis this indication finds explanation. And that healing by it can be perfected or accelerated is due to the stimulation of fibroplastic activity, the promotion of granulations and scarring. For this reason silicea is also a chef remedy in fistula and by suppuration promotes the removal of foreign bodies and sequestra. The suppurations of a suitable character of fistulas may arise from a susceptible tissue or organ, this making no difference inregard to the utility of the remedy; they may be provoked by bacteria of various types, staphylococcus, streptococcus or tubercle bacillus. As the organism exerts itself against all actually with the same indeterminate defense agents, among others phagocytosis and indeterminate opsonins, thus by promotion of this defense power the bacterial actions of the most diverse types can be made harmless. In particular there should be mentioned bone suppurations, old fractures, whether in long or short bones or joint, the vertebra or the teeth with swelling of th check and toothache, which is worse at night and from cold; furthermore begin and malignant suppurations, ulcers on the skin, particularly those announcing their age and defective healing power through their stench; recurrent, indurated styes as well as ulcers of the nails; moreover suppuration in the lymph glands and in the breast, inflammed nipples; for fistula, silicea, as said above is a chef remedy. Here lachrymal fistula as well as those of the rectum and others come into consideration; here as well as elsewhere there is the thin, acrid, offensive secretion, the hard borders which are sensitive to contact; chronicity and defective tendency to healing. Ulcera cruris tending to go into the depths with these characteristics experience improvement by excitation of granulation from the external application of aqua silicata and the internal use of silicate medication.
Subacute and the chronic suppuration of the mucous membranes and the deeper lying organs also not rarely offer a phase adapted for silicea; for example, when the tonsils undergo prolonged suppuration, and the purulent materials are difficult to evacuate or are discharged incompletely. Soreness and sticking as from a needle in the throat on swallowing are subjective indications from the provings. A sensation as if there was a hair on the tongue has been cited as a symptom ever since the first provings and shows a striking agreement with the other great inflammatory remedy, hepar sulphur calcareum. In chronic purulent pyelitis or prostatitis, silicea is at times indicated. In old ulcerative processes of the cervix the already mentioned acrid, excoriating leucorrhoea irritates the vulva in silicea cases. On the respiratory passages a purulent, offensive profuse expectoration with purulent bronchitis, bronchiectasis or prolonged pneumonias suggests that silicea is to be considered as an agent of reaction and interpolated remedy.
The old clinical report: mucus pulmonary tuberculosis in stone cutters, millers, in old people is worthy of mention in respect to the etilogic connections to such “pituitous” gland processes from silicic acid containing dust.
From Pg. no. 607
TUBERCULOSIS AND SCROFULOSIS
In tuberculosis of the lungs difficulty exists in determining the suitable case and the adapted stage from the organ symptoms. Sensation of soreness in the chest, occasionally sticking in the chest going through to the back, deep hollow cough with bloody expectoration or cough with vomiting of mucus or the previously mentioned foetid-purulent expectoration, shortness of breath when lying on the back, or cough on exertion, profuse acid smelling night sweats, are too little differential signs and the aggravation from drinking cold liquids is also present in other remedies (for example, phosphorus) and characteristic of them, so that the aggravation of the cough and shortness of breath at night seems the surest. Moreover in reference to this modality one might think of pressure from swollen bronchial glands in silica. And it is exactly these in the first but also often in the chronic stage of tuberculosis with the lymphogenous metastasis when adenitis and peritonitis appears and which have the tendency to scar by proliferative processes, where one may expect a favor- able result from silicea; it is similar in chronic mesenteric lymph gland tuberculosis of emaciated children with swollen abdomen.
The glandular swellings and indurations in silicea are slightly painful and merely itching of the overlying skin signifies the development of a chronic inflammation. Together with the skin manifestations and a chilly or easily chilled constitution the glandular swellings give the general for the indications in scrofula. The skin is “sickly,” unhealthy; it has a lowered power of resistance. At first there is itching over the entire body without a visible eruption, then the skin irritation progresses to erythema and red nodular patches, vesicles and pustules and eczematous eruptions appear. The itching is worse at night, but also from cold and contact, as in general with silica, warmth relieves. Nose, throat and ear symptoms may accompany the scrofulous state: persistent occlusion and dryness of the nose, alternating with flowing coryza with acrid excoriating discharge and ulcers in the nose; occlusion of the ears with explosive sounds and difficulty in heating which indicates the participation of the eustachian tube. But again the average pathognomonic symptoms are not able to say in which cases and phases of scrofula silicea is suitable but the decision. Silicea is especially suitable in thin, pale, “anemic” children (not pasty as in calc. carb.) with swollen abdomen and weak musculatu- re; thereby a certain hypersensitivity against external influences, particularly cold, drafts and contact is present (the last in any case in contrast to calc. carb.) Ricketic symptoms are also mentioned for silicea: difficulty learning to walk, retarded labored gait, weakness of the joints, enlargement of the head with open fontanelles, evening head sweating, great muscular weakness. But these clinical indications give less occasion for the use of silicea in florid rickets; rather they indicate a further source of depressed development in the constitutional picture as it, differing in calc. carb., correspounds to silicea. In such children occasionally an enuresis nocturna may be present.
Leeser, a Consultant Physician at the Stuttgart Homeopathic Hospital and a member of the German Central Society of Homeopathic Physicians, fled Germany in 1933 after being expelled by the German Medical Association. In England Otto Leeser joined the staff of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital. He returned to Germany in the 1950s to run the Robert Bosch Homeopathic Hospital in Stuttgart, but died shortly after.
Otto Leeser wrote Textbook of Homeopathic Materia Medica, Leesers Lehrbuch der Homöopathie, Actionsand Medicinal use of Snake Venoms, Solanaceae, The Contribution of Homeopathy to the Development of Medicine, Homeopathy and chemotherapy, and many articles submitted to The British Homeopathic Journal,