[Read before I.H.A., Bureau of Obstetrics and Pediatrics, June 15, 1938].
I want to present two little cases that have received much treatment with very little relief, but in each instance a seldom used remedy brought about prompt relief and an apparent cure.
CASE 1.
Master J.C., 8 years, October, 1936, came to the hospital with tentative diagnosis of otitis media and cervical adenitis.
The Family History. Father generally poor health, suffers from frequent colds. Mother suffers from chronic bronchitis and nephritis.
P. P History. Measles at 3 years. Scarlatina at 6 2 years. Frequent nocturnal enuresis. Occasional attacks of croup, followed by harsh cough for weeks with muco-purulent nasal discharge. He is the youngest and only living child of a family of five.
Present Illness. Dates back, as mother says, to the attack of scarlatina which is a little over two years ago when he had a running ear and swollen neck. The mother says the ear was never completely dry. Had his tonsils removed at an age of 5 years on advice of specialist.
Present Examination. We have a poorly nourished child who has mucopurulent discharge from the ear, yellow in color, offensive, throat congested, glands of neck swollen, sensitive to touch. Has loose croupy cough. Violent sneezing with each fresh coryza. Moist sweaty skin and furuncle on neck. He says he is worse in cold weather and very cold weather makes his throat sore causes a prickly feeling.
The laboratory reports of blood show simple secondary anaemia. Urine negative. Prescription Hepar s. 30 repeated for a month with little improvement. The only new symptom: child was chilly, wanted to be wrapped up warmly; ear discharge quite offensive. Silica 200 repeated for month with little improvement, except for the ear discharge which was less offensive and less in quantity, probably due to local care.
Considerable questioning of the mother brought out the following symptoms and modalities which the mother had thought were of no importance and so did not mention them to me. She said the child was always worse in any kind of cold weather; always complained that cold inspired air hurt his throat, even ordinary temperate air felt cold to his throat. Warm air felt good to his throat. He has quite an aversion to meat and will not eat it but will eat cheese sandwiches for every meal if permitted.
These symptoms with the foul otorrhoea and swollen glands of the throat led to the selection of Cistus canadensis 30, which was followed by steady but slow improvement and at the end of the first month the glands of the neck were completely reduced for the first time in two and a half years, and at the end of the second month there was no discharge from the year and no odor.
Up to the writing of this paper the child has had no colds of any kind. The ears have remained well and there have been absolutely no more swollen glands. The mother tells me he is careless about his amount of clothing but does not complain of his throat and eats everything, and has lost his abnormal craving for cheese.
The tonsillectomy did not prevent him from taking cold or cure his sore throat as was promised by the surgeon, but I believe it was the cause of some suppression which led to the sequel following the attack of scarlatina. The remedy. Cistus canadensis, was used in the 30th and 500 potency.
IODOFORM.
CASE II.
Young boy, age 10 years, first seen February 1937. Chief complaint: dry stuffy nose. The present complaint came on gradually for past two years with periods of temporary relief, but during the last six months patient says he has no comfort day or night. He has had a great deal of local treatment to nose and many oily sprays.
The chief symptoms given me: Dryness of inside of nose. Frequent desire to blow the nose, but no result or relief. Throat dry and smarting, probably due to mouth breathing at times. Some relief in the open air of cool and damp.
Examination of nose revealed dry mucous membrane, congested middle turbinated bones with some adhesive mucus.
Prescribed Sticta pulmonaria and permit occasional spray of pure non-medicated albolene for temporary comfort. Rx Sticta 30 was prescribed for one month with no relief whatever. It was prescribed because of the adhesive dry mucus in the nose, dryness worse in the warm air or warm room.
Kali bi. was also used with no particular improvement, likewise Psorinum was allowed to act for two weeks with no amelioration; nor could we get any new symptoms as he had to leave the city for a month, and his treatment was interrupted.
On his return home, his mother asked me if I could make a better guess for the following few symptoms: Dryness of nose. No discharge from the nose. Sense of fullness in the nasal mucous membrane. Constant snuffing which caused a disagreeable smell in the nose. Throat dry. Disturbed sleep on account of nasal distress.
So I again read over the old group of remedies and while reading I had made annotation from late. Walter M. James, given probably forty years ago, that the unusual remedy Iodoform was useful in dry nostrils. I personally had never used the remedy before in this condition but procured some Iodoform 30, and gave it to the patient morning and night.
He reported in two weeks and said, “I think I am a little more comfortable.” I repeated the Iodoform to take one dose daily. He reported again in two weeks much improved and said he did very little snuffing; and at the end of eight weeks he said life was worth living, that the sense of dryness was entirely gone and that he felt like a normal human being again and had used no local application of any kind for over a month.
So remember Iodoform with this group of symptoms in dryness of the nose when Sticta, Kali bi., Psorinum or Teucrium; fail to give relief. This unusual, seldom used remedy may be the answer.
DISCUSSION.
DR. GRIMMER: That paper illustrates very aptly that when we make a prescription and fail we dont need to be discouraged. We can master it later. We all expect to have those experiences. We want to go to digging a little harder until we find something that fits.
I want to thank the doctor for bringing the remedies to us. We might have recognized the Cistus canadensis by the enlarged glands and so forth, but I hardly think we would have thought of the Iodoform. It is well worth making a note of it.
DR. MOORE: I just want to add one item, and that is the nosode Scarlatinum. In these cases that date their trouble from scarlet fever it has been useful to me.
DR. CAMPBELL: Did I understand you to say, Doctor, that this child in the first case was the only living child, the youngest of five?.
DR. GRIGGS: The oldest was fourteen years old; they all died from some suppurative condition, one from an appendix, one from a mastoid I dont recall what the others died from. They all died in hospitals. This child would have gone on the same road after a while if they hadnt had him taken care of in time by the proper homoeopathic remedies.
The inordinate desire for cheese. I believe, is a guiding symptom for Cistus canadensis. It seemed so prominent in this case that I gave it on a stab. The Cistus took the inordinate desire fore cheese away, and the childs health improved.
