IV. Past history reveals the remedy.
For instance: any physician who has studied homoeopathic prescribing conscientiously for many years learns to recognize almost intuitively the insidious after effects of malaria dosed with quinine. Generally the malaria dates back to youth. Perhaps any suggestions of it in later years have been suppressed with more quinine. The result in middle or elderly life is pitiful and remedies apt to come to mind fail. These cases need to be unlocked, so to speak, freed from the dreadful suppression. A small group of remedies, skillfully handled will do it. Prominent among them are Sepia and Natrum mur.
V. Oftentimes a patient needs a series of remedies to accomplish cure, remedies which naturally follow each other in sequence. Suppose, for example, the patient needs Sulphur for a starter in treatment of deep chronic tendencies. Suppose this remedy fails after a while without a cure and the symptoms change.
Then the remedy now required by the new symptoms picture may be Calc. carb. and when this gives out very likely the new picture points to Lycopodium. For all three of these remedies Pulsatilla may be indicated in acute attacks and given in low potency will rarely interfere with continuing action of the chronic remedy in high potency.
Other related remedies are Arsenic and Sulphur, Arsenic and Tarentula; Sepia and Nat. mur. with Ignatia for an acute remedy to work with them Pulsatilla and Nitric acid.
Always the symptom picture is the guide but it is useful to bear in mind remedy groups. It often prevents spoiling a case and rendering it incurable.
VI. Epidemic remedies.
Nearly every epidemic reveals one or two or more remedies which will cure nearly every case. Discovery of them makes ones work vastly simpler and more efficient. Such epidemic remedies vary in different localities and climates in the same epidemic and also vary in different epidemics in the same locality. In the recent flu epidemic here in Washington Pulsatilla and Kali bich cured most cases, remedies with much in common but widely different characteristics. A doctor in Chicago writes that Eup. perf. cured most of his cases. Another announces Gelsemium as his epidemic remedy, so on.
VII. Nosodes as intercurrents.
We could not get along in treatment of our deeply miasmatic patients if we had not nosodes to help out in case one is needed. Many a time skin cases are cured by Psorinum, rheumatic cases by Medorrhinum and nervous cases by Tuberculinum. These nosodes stand in their own right as polychrest remedies but they might be the curative remedy used as intercurrent also.
VIII. Taking other drugs interferes.
Case 1. Miss A.D.B. middle-aged with unusually responsible hard work to do, was treated for several years for chronic ills with fairly good results, then for a time with quite unsatisfactory results. She suddenly developed a vicious sore throat which was something like “strep throat,” something like diphtheritic throat, something like quinsy but not a clear picture of anything.
Her vital force failed steadily under it and in spite of all endeavour to prescribe accurately she died after three days. The very day of her death I learned that she had been taking a strong drug secretly for her migraine attacks ever since improvement of chronic ills stopped thereby, suppressing the headaches and overpowering her vital force sufficiently to render her incurable when a menacing acute disorder came to her.
IX. Past ailments are the key.
Case 1. Mrs. H.W. a young married woman of good health developed rather suddenly terrific pain in right parietal region affecting vision somewhat. Two physicians consulted said tumor on brain and recommended surgery as her only hope. Her husband brought her to me with this report. Symptoms were few and confusing until I secured the statement that she had had such a profuse offensive footsweat for years that some months before she started using a powder on them and in her shoes.
This suppressed the footsweat entirely and soon after the headache began. Sure enough this cleared the confusion of symptoms and I prescribed Silica with the result that headache grew lighter and after several weeks the footsweat returned and increased to the old quantity and quality. Gradually pain in head disappeared entirely and later the sweat diminished though it remained in milder form. This was more than seven years ago and general health has been excellent since. Vision in that right eye remains somewhat blurred, the only sign of what threatened so seriously.
Case 2. Mr. T.P. had severe malaria in early manhood suppressed by quantities of quinine. In middle life he developed epilepsy which grew worse as years went on. A fine prescriber gave him the remedy he would have given for the malaria where-upon the malarial chills reappeared and the epilepsy grew very much lighter though never entirely cured. Malaria attacks soon vanished and general health remained good, with the one exception, until old age.
Case 3. A woman was given up to die from uterine cancer pronounced incooperable by her former doctor and a good surgeon. This same fine prescriber was called in as a last resort. There were no symptoms evident upon which to prescribe. The picture was all pathology and failing vitality. On proving into past history an acute attack of haemorrhoids was revealed which was suppressed by local treatment. Fortunately, the patient could remember clearly the symptoms of that attack. The remedy then indicated was given with the result that haemorrhoids returned and uterus was cured. I never knew the after history of this patient.
X. A combination remedy furnishes the key.
Case 1. M.C. a five years-old girl began to lose strength in her muscles. This continued, with wasting of muscle tissue, until she could not climb up on a chair, pulled herself upstairs by both hands on the bannisters, could not turn over in bed, tumbled down trying to walk, etc. She was taken to the Johns Hopkins clinic where the diagnosis of muscular dystrophy was made with hopeless prognosis and life up to perhaps ten years.
Whereupon the father committed suicide. The child was brought to me with this pronouncement. I could find few functional symptoms and these suggested only two remedies. Calc. c. and Phos. I tried each without success. Then I tried Calc. phos. and behold the whole case began to clear up. Over the next nine months muscles filled in, color improved, strength returned until next year she was more athletic than her play-mates, climbing fences and tearing about with the best of them. She is seventeen now, a healthy active girl.
XI. When nothing else will serve in an incurable case a remedy based on its reputation for that malady may serve well for palliation.
Case 1. Mrs. S.L. a woman in her early eighties developed cancer of the tongue. There were no symptoms upon which to prescribe evident in present condition or past history. Nitric acid was prescribed upon its reputation in these malignancies and it surely calmed the distress and eased the patient down to an easy death.
XII. Suppression is the key.
I have already dwelt upon this hydra-headed source of chronic ills but here are two more illustrations given for mental characteristics.
Case 1. D.W. a boy of five had an ugly facial eruption four years before which was suppressed violently by a skin specialist who wrapped the whole head in bandages after applying some salve.” So strong was natures tendency to throw out eruptions that the boys face and head were wrapped a second time. That was enough and the skin remained clear but when I first saw him he was pale, languid, dull mentally, lacking in the gaiety of normal childhood.
He had to lie down frequently and was not fit to hold his place in school. This boy received Zinc for a remedy in a series of potencies and during the next two years it made him over permanently. The eruption did not return, however. His older sister received the same remedy for chronic symptoms; fits of high temper, great restlessness, sleeplessness, frequent acute attacks with high fever and slow recovery. It acted most favorably with her also although indication for it might never have been seen except for the family relationship.
Case 2. Mr. W.E.G. in his late fifties developed delusions of persecution, lost much weight, could not eat or sleep normally, aged rapidly and evidently was approaching need for institutional treatment. A negro woman across the street, a policeman on the beat, fellow workers in the office, fellow travellers on the street cars all knew something evil in his past life and would show it to him in their expressions and behaviour toward him. Now this man had always been over-sensitive, had suffered intensely from it in childhood.
He had developed his one great talent to a high degree of perfection but not quite high enough to attain his goal. He had married a woman who heckled him and attempted to debase him in the eyes of others. The patient was quiet, uncomplaining, plodding but evidently was a fine example of emotional suppression from early childhood. Zinc fitted his symptoms well and this remedy has a wonderful reputation for overcoming suppression. It cured that case completely ten years ago with no return of symptoms.
