(Read at the June, 1922, Meeting of the International Hahnemannian Association.).
Mrs. W., aet. 36,a frail-looking, medium-complexioned, sallow woman,who had one child was desired.
Her own history was that of a robust though croup childhood during which, before reaching the age of eight, she had had measles, whooping-cough, chickenpox, diphtheria and German measles. At nine years of age, she had malaria which recurred for several summers. After diphtheria,which occurred at the age of seven,she had one or two attacks of tonsillitis every year,m followed each time by a catarrhal cold that lasted for several weeks. for these attacks, much quinine was given her.
Throughout her girlhood she had constantly thick,grew catarrhal nasal discharge. ?At twelve she had a series of boils and the next year menstruated with pain before each period during the first year.
At nineteen one tonsil was clipped and a “growth” removed from the base of the tongue. In childhood, her teeth decayed badly and she had many amalgam fillings and crowns.
At twenty-five she had a second attack of diphtheria,which was treated with antitoxin and this was fallowed by scarlet fever, after which much quinine was given her; this caused her ears to ring and also left her with a deafness which has persisted.
At twenty-five this patient married and,after a year, became pregnant. During the latter part of this pregnancy her feet swelled, she had a trace of albumin and a low elimination of urea.
During her nursing period she had an abscessed tooth.
Four years late a lump came in the left breast, which disappeared in eight months under Sulphur followed by Conium. Directly after this Mrs. W. had an attack of fulminating appendicitis,m the appendix rupturing within a few yours of the first onset of symptoms.
At the age of thirty-six she conceived again and was normal up to the last two months of pregnancy. All dietetic and hygienic precautions we instituted early.
during the ten years previous to this pregnancy, she had been under careful homoeopathic prescribing and her deafness and catarrhal condition,together with her general health, a had gradually improved. One significant condition, a facial neuralgia, persistently returned, although at times controlled for a few months. X-Ray examination of the teeth revolted root abscesses and treatment of them somewhat relieved the neuralgia.
At the beginning of the last two months of her pregnancy albumin and cases appeared in the urine, the output of urea diminished, blood-pressure began to increase, feet and hands became puffed, she had dizziness and flickering before the eyes. In addition, she had a constant feeling of being filled up,sour eructations after going to bed, dry mouth with desire to sip water to moisten it; green, thick nasal catarrh,smarting haemorrhoids and a craving for the air. All these symptoms improved under Pulsatilla 10 m, but only for seventeen days, at the end of which time her blood-pressure went to 200,she had a slight uterine haemorrhage, occipital pain extending to the left eye, pain from incarcerated ages in the left lower abdomen.
She could not lie down because of gas pressure, but has relieved by passing gas up or down. Carbo veg, repeated every two hours, relieved all symptoms and the blood pressure gradually dropped to 140. Two weeks later the blood pressure gradually dropped do 140. Two weeks late the blood pressure gradually crept up again to 195, with these symptoms; Fullness in the occiput extending to the head and ears with pain over the left eye upon waking in the morning,lasting until noon; pain in the lower abdomen like false labor pains, during two nights, which left the abdomen sore; pains like incarcerated Flatus in left lower abdomen; frequent eructation which gave some relief. Milk disagreed because it caused formation of gas; sleeplessness because of abdominal discomfort.
Restudying the case,taking the three rubrics,fullness of the head,aggravation from milk and relief from eructation,Kali carb. 200th was given in the evening and the next mornings record reads; “Sleepy at once; slept at night; all symptoms nearly gone; blood pressure 150.” Her pulse was normally 6o and at no time did it go above 85. Her delivery took place normally two weeks later.
Six days after delivery she had badly cracked nipples. which quickly helped under Lycopodium 1m. Suddenly,during the fourth week,her left breast became inflamed, she developed high fever with chills, all of which cleared up on Phytolacca. It was quite startling the way the fever and the other symptoms disappeared after a few doses of this remedy, only to be immediately replaced by herpes of the lips and a key sore tongue, the tongue remaining sore for over a month.
This happy outcome of a case,which for two months kept me constantly fearing that it would be necessary to induce labor, was highly gratifying. It illustrates the value of eternal vigilance and frequent observation of he expectant mother. But does it reveal the factors than can be utilized to prevent the development of so dangerous a condition?
Also, what relation existed between this patients childhood susceptibility to all infections the attacks of tonsillitis,the malaria, the quinine meditation,the teeth,the appendicitis, the toxic state during the two pregnancies, the cracked nipples and the mastitis?.
Or can we glean anything from the hereditary factors? She was an only child,resembling her father in physical characteristics. Her father was forty-four years old when she was born and her mother was thirty. The father died at sixty eight of heart failure; he was dark, wiry, and his only illness was a rheumatic tendency besides indefinite ailments attributed to the hardships of the Civil War. Her mother is obese, dark-complexioned and always well except for neuralgia,bad teeth and slight rheumatism.
The second case was a slender, pale,frail-looking woman of medium complexion, twenty-seven years old, first pregnancy, Began with labor pains in the evening, described as cramping, with urging to stool and burning urine with each pain. When she lay down the pains were worse and obliged her to walk about all the time; better bending forward.
The patient wanted on one to talk to her. Pains came and went gradually. No prescribing was attempted. At 5 A.M. her attending physicians had her anesthetized and a normal male child was delivered with forceps. His head was badly marked by the instruments. On the second day, at one of its regular times, the baby began to nurse,then let go of the nipple, gave a little shudder and died.
The effect of this tragedy on the mother can be imagined., Neither religion nor philosophy reconciled her other infants death and one year later she was in the following condition: For one week before menstruation everything irritated her to a point where she was unable to se anything in a jut or reasonable light; this state would endure for hours on end, after which there would come a sudden lightening of the gloom and irascibility and she would say to herself: “I am all right now.,” but in a few minutes the cloud would come over her again and she would return to the former brooding,irritable state.
She complained of soreness and aching in the whole right lower abdomen; there was no tenderness on pressure, but great pain during and after straining at stool. the pain in the right side alternated with a lumbar pain,some days one pain being uppermost and other days the other. Menses regular, not profuse, with some pain on the first day. The mental state was,each month,increasing in duration.
This patient was worse in warm weather. The trouble in the right lower abdomen had started three years before with two wettings whilst she was menstruating and,and the same time,overworking and had given her much trouble ever since.
Advice was sought by mail; no competent examination was made to ascertain whether the right-sided abdominal trouble was appendicular or ovarian.
The remedies which most prominently cause aggravation before the menses and which are also worse from warmth in general are: Lach.covered the case. Improvement began with the first dose of the 10m. and all symptoms vanished after the second dose,which was given six weeks later. The sad part of this case is that a keynote of Lyc. is that during the labor-pains the woman must “keep constantly in motion.”
Any of us who have used Homoeopathic remedies in labor know that when a similimum as close as this is given instrumentation is seldom necessary,and this patient would undoubtedly have delivered herself normally had she been so fortunate as to have her similimum, Lycopodium, during the night preceding her babys birth.
