After a year of homoeopathic treatment Georges mother writes: “Everyone who knew George as he was marvels at his condition now. His health is excellent and he is getting on well in school. His father and I appreciate this more than we can say”. Sulphur 1M. started him on the right track; Puls. 200, an occasional dose for “acute” conditions, carried on the good work. George faces the cheerful prospect of a useful manhood.
Harvey came to homoeopathy when he was seven years of age. Here are the pertinent items of his history: dentition difficult and irregular; eczema on the face and body “cured” by salves at eight months. colds continuous since one year of age; antitoxin and vaccines at different times before he was give-and-a-half. Asthma developed before he was five. Tonsils and adenoids removed at about that time.
Ulcers on one eye. Sweat, particularly about the head. He tumbles, screams and jumps in his sleep. Two doses of Sepia 1M. in three years have made this boy over. His case was so spectacular in the eyes of the specialist who had “done everything” for the boy that the specialist threatened to send more patients for the privilege of observing their reactions – but he is still threatening.
Marcia developed a limp at five years of age. She comes of a family with a very chronic history; all her mothers family failed to erupt a full set of teeth; some teeth were markedly notched; some members of the family had extensive psoriasis; all the aunts were hysterical almost to the borderline.
Marcias parents were what might be termed intermittent homoeopathic patients, so not content with medicine, they decided Marcia must have up-to-date treatment. So she was hustled off to one specialist after another; she was hospitalized and later she wore a brace for a year. At last Marcia came back into homoeopathic hands, and in spite of the tubercular hip condition that the early x-rays revealed, Pulsatilla at long intervals has taken care of Marica and her occasional acute manifestations as well.
These are not intended as case reports. Rather, they are given as corroborative evidence of our claim that the “chronic” child has an excellent chance to gain normal health, even against heavy odds of environment and heredity.
Not every child can be saved; there is a certain percentage of circumstance against this; but given the opportunity, how many children can be saved to a useful, productive life with increasing opportunities for future generations?.
In order to accomplish sound results we must recognize the sequence of events; we must given due thought to hereditary problems. The delicate child, with silky hair and waxen skin, who develops severe headaches upon application to school work, severe nosebleeds, the tendency to take cold, sensitive to every breeze emotionally unstable, is not manifesting a series of unrelated conditions.
We must realize the tendency for this child to develop an active tuberculosis; and we must recognize it before the x-ray reveals a lesion if we are fair to our healing art and to the childs future. While we know that even if the condition has developed into active manifestations the child may be saved for a healthy future, we must stress the fact that regeneration will not be brought about by careless prescribing.
In other words, we must look to past history for background, to the present symptomatology as a stage in progression, and to our Homoeopathic materia medica for that power which unlocks the patients vital energy to cure, which is our goal for the patients future.
DISCUSSION.
DR. HEIMBACH: I just want to relate my experience with an infant that I delivered at birth. We couldnt get anything to agree with that child, breast milk, or any other combination. It had diarrhoea and vomiting until the child was pretty well emaciated, then I discovered she had influenza. China sulph 30x in two weeks time brought her along very nicely, and she is a very husky girl now.
DR. SPALDING: This paper decries careless prescribing, which, after all, is one of the difficulties of almost everyone. There is no question but that many, many children can be brought to useful manhood and womanhood through the application of a homoeopathic remedy. It is important to get the right remedy to begin with in this sort of work, much as in the cancer cases, and the only thing I could possibly add is that regardless of the time it takes to study the case, do not hurry the prescription; if necessary, observe the child two months, and I believe the work will be very much more satisfactory.
DR. GRIMMER: There is no short cut to real homoeopathic prescribing, but work, work. It seems the farther along the road we get, the more we have to work; the more we can do, the more work we have to do, but we never cease to get a thrill and kick out of a case that is held by a homoeopathic remedy.
DR. PANOS: Dr. Roberts brought out if a child is attended, the child naturally in later life will have less troubles from chronic conditions, not only physically but mentally, and we will have less criminal problems. Healthy minds and healthy bodies make fewer criminals.
I would like to ask Dr. Roberts if he ever had cases where under such prescription the indicated remedy did not restore the child to health, and also if the posture of the child has been taken into consideration. I think that fact should be taken into consideration in the growing child where the indicated remedy does not restore the child to complete health.
DR. ROBERTS: I said in my paper there were cases that were beyond the control of anyone. There is a possibility of that, always. My plea is for the homoeopaths go get back to foundation in prescribing and more of them take up pediatrics. You know this school of medicine can make the “old school” look sick if they just get into pediatrics and do the things that are possibly to be done.
DR. STEARNS: Dr. Roberts, does Tuberculinum come often for you in those cases?.
DR. ROBERTS: Not very often; comparatively seldom.
DR. STEARNS: We find it useful occasionally; it wakes up the case that fails to react to good constitutional prescribing.
DR. ROBERTS: Sometimes it wakes it up, but it seldom cures it.
DR. STEARNS: We have never had any harm from it. It opens up the case so the constitutional remedy is more clearly seen.
DR. ROBERTS: You get the right remedy, and it will open up; you give Tuberculinum and it carries you along for a little way and you think you are on the road to recovery, and you are not always. Dr. Margaret Webster brought out Tuberculin in the Recorder recently, and she makes this statement: That the nosodes seldom cure.
I do feel that we should go more into pediatric work. The possibilities of a young man going into the practice of medicine and specializing in pediatrics is simply marvelous today because they can walk away with the “old schools” work right away.
Who asked about tonsillitis? I said I didnt see why you asked such a silly question. Does the removal of a tonsil ever cure the patient?.
