In cases of chronic tonsils which are foci leading to fast hearts, dyspnoea, exhaustion, neuritis, etc., such remedies as Lach., Sulph., Tub., Sil., Graph., Sep. and Arg. nit. do wonders. As illustration of the last mentioned is the case of Mr. K.:.
Man, 26, right rib resection at 4 for empyema T.B.C. in both parents families; gaining weight fast (200 lb,).
Chief Complaint: Exhaustion on least effort, for two years chronic hoarseness; nausea on arising in a.m. Burning in epigastrium, better by cold. Wants only cold food and room and air. Craves sweets. Thinks has gastric ulcer. Deep sounding cough without modalities. Lungs negative, also lung x-ray and gastric series. Heart found 120-140 at rest, regular, no murmurs. Electro-cardiograph normal. “Never a sore throat” but tonsils though small are unhealthy looking. Slight tic twitch of head. Diarrhoea from anticipation. Worrier.
Arg. nit. 10M. one dose.
Two weeks later, stomach brilliantly relieved, no morning nausea since second day after dose. Cough almost gone, less hoarse. Tonsils look 50 p.c. better. Heart 98. Ran four blocks without thinking. After two months, slight relapse: Arg. nit. 10M. Heart 78, less tired, throat looks almost normal. Urinating much, losing false fluid weight, due to weak heart.
Cases of breast lumps, fibroids, fistulae, mastoid, proven duodenal ulcer, gallstone colics, kidney colics, thyroids, piles, bony exostoses of the foot, varicose veins pronounced clearly surgical, and spinal pain where fusion operations failed to help have yielded to the remedy without benefit of surgery.
DISCUSSION.
Dr. Grimmer: Dr. Hubbard brings out clearly and beautifully the homoeopathic philosophy throughout this paper. That should be our guide in prescribing. First of all, she accentuates the necessity for taking the case carefully and getting the symptomatology that we need before prescribing, and then the unfoldment of the case, the result of the prescription, and the meaning of those symptoms coming after. Those are the things that distinguish homoeopaths from scientific doctors, so-called. What greater science can you have than the Science that cures perfectly and permanently , leaving no sequela, no drug sequela, behind it?.
There was one thing she said that was very impressive, which I have confirmed in a case, about the obstructive and suppressive action of surgical scars. Many years ago I answered a call to attend a little lady who had what was called by another doctor a bowel obstruction. She had all the symptoms of it. She was vomiting fecal material. There had been no bowel movement or gas passing in twenty-four hours.
The history had been an appendicitis operation several years before, followed a year later by a second operation for adhesions that had formed. During the second operation, or following it, she had had a tube left in her side for months, draining, but after that was taken out there was a great mass of adhesions reformed, and that was the condition that I found a perfectly solid mass of adhesions around that right abdominal region. With all these symptoms, it really looked like an acute case for an emergency operation for bowel obstruction. I was so impressed with that idea that I told her so.
I said, “It would be criminal on my part to prescribe for it.” But she said, “Oh, no, Dr. Grimmer, if you will prescribes for me, I will get well, but I will never submit to another operation after months in the hospital with a tube in my side. I want no more of it.” I said, “I will prescribe, but I will have to sign your death certificate.”.
I gave her Graphites, and in twenty-four hours there was a marked charge of blood and pus and serum through the old surgical scar. All that great mass of adhesions and everything went away, and the woman was well after that.
Dr. Alfred Pulford: Dr. Hubbards is a very fine paper, but I am going to take exception to it. Surgery covers a multitude of sins. It shows up our ignorance and covers it up. I want to report just one case of a government meat inspector who had his finger caught on a hook, and sepsis started right away.
They worked around with it until they got the first phalanx off; they got into the next one and took that off; and then they got into the next one. There was an Episcopal minister an Astoria, one of the greatest homoeopaths and the greatest friend I believe I ever had a regular chum. When he finally died, he died in my office. Think of that! That is worse yet. He died of apoplexy before I could get to him. He was a great big fellow.
This meat inspector finally wrote to his son, who was out in Washington where this ministers wife was living. She said, “You send him right up to Toledo,” but he didnt come to Toledo. He wrote me a letter, and the only thing he could say in that letter was that he would like to get rid of his stinking feet. I sent him two powders of Silica 1M., and they didnt cut that hand off.
Dr. Hubbard: I would like to ask a question in the discussion of this learned body. Dr. Grimmer speaks of Graphites in that case of adhesions. Have any of you used Kali muriaticum in dissolving adhesions and also in pathological prescribing? I have seen it do things where there were very few symptoms except pathological.
Dr. Woodbury: The paper by Dr. Hubbard is a delight, a treat; it is an acknowledgment of how little the rest of us know.
Dr. Pulfords remarks remind me of one of the speeches of Sugar in the Bluebird, by Maeterlinck. Sugar, you know, had long fingers made of sugar candy that came out like that. When he was speaking to little Tytyl and Mytyl of the joys of following the quest for the Bluebird, I think it was Mytyl who was rather worried about the situation and was in a weeping state. Sugar immediately said, “I break off one of my fingers for you,” and immediately he did it. It snapped right off: So that wasnt much different from losing those fingers, as we note in this instance, from maltreatment or lack of proper treatment.
I havent anything to add to the brilliancy of this paper because Dr. Hubbard has said it all.
Dr. Roberts: There is one thing that was brought to my mind immediately while I was listening to this paper. Dr. William Todd Helmuth used to tell us in New York never to say positively what is in that part of the body that we call the abdomen until we get in there. There is a question in my mind how much the remedy did for that tubercular mesentery, because the treatment of opening the abdomen and letting the air and oxygen into it, cures it in some way or other. No one knows why, but it is so. I got that several times with some of my patients. It is questionable whether the remedy that Dr. Hubbard gave possibly supplemented the oxygen.
Dr. Farrington: Dr. Hubbards paper certainly deserves commendation. In the first place, I think it would satisfy some of our friends who lean toward diagnosis and pathology, because in nearly every case she had laboratory findings and, therefore, the confirmation that many of our friends desire or require at our hands.
I did not hear all that Dr. Roberts said, but I noticed the spoke about inflamed mesenteric glands. The case undoubtedly was one of adenitis mesenterica, and the surgeon could hardly be blamed for missing the diagnosis. It is exceedingly difficult to differentiate between the inflammation of those glands and a case of appendicitis, especially as the glands of the lower right quadrant are most often affected. Undoubtedly, we have made many cures of that disease unknowingly and thought that we had cured appendicitis.
I have had two or three cases of appendicitis which were relieved by discharge through the bowels, and I have often wondered whether it was merely good fortune or whether the homoeopathic remedy is capable of directing the discharge in a safe direction; just as Pulsatilla is capable of correcting the position of the child in the womb.
The prescription of nitrate of silver is an excellent example of the futility of trying to prescribe on a diagnosis. We know that Argentum nit. has a marked affinity for the tonsils as well as for other parts of the anatomy, but it isnt set down, as far as I know, that it is good remedy for pus.
Dr. Hubbard: I am afraid you are all too kind under the Virginia influence of courtesy to ladies. I expected to be heartily bawled out by at least eight of you for allowing an appendix to perforate. That is really something, you know. The surgeon was just fit to be tied and I dont blame him. I was fit to be tied, too, until she began to get better. I agree with Dr. Farrington that I never had an appendix perforate on me before. This is the first one, and that is why I wrote about it. But I firmly believe that that woman would have been headed right out.
The surgeon was sure of it because he didnt know what the homoeopathic remedies will do. He said, “Just pray. I wouldnt touch her with a ten- foot pole.” I do believe that the homoeopathic remedies do often direct the way in which events shall come. I dont know whether I feel like bawling you out for not bawling me out, but I am really interested, if it isnt just courtesy, that one of you feel that was too big a risk to take. Of course, I am one of these creatures so full of faith in homoeopathy that I will almost take any risk, even with my own and myself.
Calcutta
Chief Editor, Homeopathic Herald