“In the process, originated and perfected by M.Besredka of the Pasteur Institute, the vaccine is contained in a pill, which when dissolved in the mouth gives immunization against typhoid. The method does not produce the painful reaction which follows when the vaccine is injected subcutaneously. It is declared to be not dangerous to babies.
“In a recent typhoid epidemic in a small area at Pas de Calais the pill method was employed with great success under the direction of Dr.Lois. Villani, medical inspector of the Department of Hygiene. Out of 1236 inhabitants vaccinated with pills, only five developed typhoid, whereas four out of 173 vaccinated by the hypodermic method developed the malady.
“It was ascertained that all nine of the victims were attacked by the fever before the vaccine had the necessary time to take effect”.
Here we have another bit of evidence that the advanced men in the Old School are approaching nearer and nearer to homoeopathic methods. Logically potentization will follow in time and ultimately foundation principles of homoeopathy will be adopted in all their completeness, even though their so-called sectarian origin may not be acknowledged and the nomenclature may be changed. The main thing, however, is that suffering mankind will have the benefit.
EFFECTIVE PROPAGANDA.-
During the annual convention of the State Medical Society (Old School) in New York City in May, the public press was well provided with accurate reports of the proceedings and gave much valuable space to their presentation.
The New York Herald of May 24th contained an account headed “Finds Pneumonia Serum Cures 93 Per Cent. Care Needed to Suit Vaccine to Individual, Dr. Cole Tells Physicians.” The account then proceeds:
“Dr. Rufus I. Cole, medical director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, in all address yesterday before the State Medical Society, in session at the Waldorf-Astoria, said that the results obtained by the institute in the use of the anti-pneumococcus serum for treating lobar pneumonia show the vaccine to be virtually 100 per cent. effective if properly administered.
“He revealed for the first time that of 221 cases treated by the institute since he perfected the serum, in 1914, there have been only twenty-four deaths, or a mortality of 10 per cent. Six of these deaths, he said, were complications resulting from pneumonia before the serum could be administered; hence the actual mortality should be administered; hence the actual mortality should be placed at 72 per cent., he said. “DEATH RATE HERE IS 10,000.
“These figures gave great encouragement to the 2000 physicians attending the annual meeting. They visualized a considerable decrease in the annual death toll of 150,000 in this country from pneumonia. The death rate in this city amounts to more than 10,000 a year, it was pointed out.
“Dr. Coles treatment is for the Type I of lobar pneumonia, which constitutes about 60 per cent. of all cases. He pointed out that for the general practitioner “the difficulties of administering the serum are very great. but called attention to the aid offered by the State Board of Health to physicians engaged in private practice.
“He said that in order to make this treatment effective it is necessary that in each case the type of pneumococcus causing the infection be determined before treatment is commenced In most cases, however, he added it is possible to do this within a few hours after the patient comes under observation”.
The public at large will naturally derive much comfort from Dr. Coles announcement and the medical profession will reap a considerable reward as a result; the psychology of this publicity is unquestioned; it is good and legitimate advertising; the homoeopathic school ought to, and could, if it would bestir itself, adopt similar methods of publicity; homoeopathy is sadly in need of legitimate propaganda; but in order to make this effective, it must first of all be able to produce results. It must use the weapons of the old school; this means that something of the same sort must be done as was done sometime ago by Dr. G. Harlan Wells of Philadelphia, in the Hahnemann Hospital of that city.
Our pneumonia cases must be carefully diagnosed and typed, not because typing is necessary from the therapeutic point of view, but solely because it is most essential from the statistical and comparative standpoints. We must able to present convincing figures, deduced from series of cases. Wells, for example, showed results in pneumonia from the purely homoeopathic treatment, the purely physiologic treatment and from a combination of both. Such work can only be done in hospitals which have a very active service and are ably manned and well equipped. The work cannot be done in private practice, except in a small and uncovering way. Homoeopaths have relied too much on assertion and too little upon actual performance.
So far as homoeopathic hospitals are concerned, the chief difficulty would be in finding sufficiently able prescribers who can treat their cases along strictly homoeopathic lines. With some exceptions, such men are not to be found in our hospitals; of the physiologic prescribers there is unfortunately a plethora. Furthermore, if figures concerning purely homoeopathic therapy are to have any value, they must relate to cases in which no adjuvants such as pneumonia jackets, antiphlogistine, etc., have been applied.
Whenever our national or State organizations hold their sessions, the newspaper publicity concerns itself with the exploitation of the personality of the essayist, who has made some startling, unusual or bizarre announcement, or it deals with the field of surgery or of surgical specialties; it rarely takes account of the exploitation and featuring of homoeopathy itself. The very thing which is most desired is not done; instead of emphasizing the importance and superiority of homoeopathic principles, we glorify the organizations in whose questionable keeping they lie. Such propaganda will never help homoeopathy itself, for the simple reason that it does not properly represent it. There is crying need here for urgent reform.
ZINC POISONING.-
Homoeopathic prescribers as well aware of the profoundly poisonous effects of zinc and of the great value of this metal when potentized in accordance with homoeopathic pharmacal methods and prescribed in consonance with the law of similars. The usefulness of Zincum aceticum or of Zincum metallicum in brain inflammations is decided, like wise the value of this remedy in represented eruptive diseases. In chronic disease with brain or spinal symptoms, trembling, convulsive twitchings or jerkings and “fidgety feet” are guiding indications.
The poisonous effects of Zinc are interesting told by The London Lancet as follows:
“A sudden outbreak of illness occurred recently amongst the inmates of a large institution near London which indicates the danger which may arise from the use of galvanised iron vessels for cooking purposes. About 400 persons were served at tea with hot stewed apples. The remainder of the meal consisted of bread and margarine and tea. Within a few minutes more than 200 of those who partook of the stew complained of dizziness, sickness, or a feeling of sickness, colic, and tightness in the throat.
There was some diarrhoea, but no double vision. The medical officer at once administered doses of bismuth and chalk mixture, and within a short time most of the sufferers had recovered and were able to take supper at 7.45 P.M. Only 10 persons were at all seriously ill, and all of them were able to carry out their ordinary work next day, so that obviously the effects of the poisoning soon passed off. The apples were freshly gathered and were stewed in large galvanised iron “skeps which were placed in iron steamers.
The skeps were used because it had been found on a previous occasion that the apples became black if placed directly in the steamers. A chemical examination of some of the stewed apples remaining over from the meal showed that they contained 7 gr. of zinc expressed as zinc oxide per pound-this being equivalent to 25 gr. of hydrated zinc sulphate to the pound. The emetic dose of zinc sulphate is 10-30 gr. and each person consuming the stew may be assumed to have taken 18-20 gr. of sulphate of zinc.
“It is well known that vegetable acids are prone to act on metals, and the cause of the outbreak in question hardly seemed in doubt from the first. But expert scientific opinion states that vessels of galvanised iron should never be used for containing food materials in view of the solvent properties which many of these possess of zinc. It seems well that the general public should be aware of this fact”.
From our homoeopathic standpoint, certain additional therapeutic guides are of importance. Relief from a discharge or flow of blood, for example, is a great characteristic of Zincum, hence the womans complaints are frequently relieved as soon as the menstrual flow begins. This modality recalls Lachesis and Melilotus off. The latter has a pulsating headache with scarlet redness of the face, relieved by a copious nosebleed. In spinal affections, burning of the spine is another characteristic and incidentally, is suggestive of Lycopodium and Phosphorus. Arsenicum album, Secale cornutum and a few others such as Phosphoric acid, Picric acid and Thuja may be added to the list.
American Homeopathy Doctor.
Rabe graduated from the New York Homeopathic Medical College and trained under Timothy Field Allen and William Tod Helmuth.
Rabe was President of the International Hahnemannian Association, editor in chief of the Homeopathic Recorder, and he wrote Medical Therapeutics for daily reference. Rabe was Dean and Professor of Homeopathic Therapeutics at the New York Homeopathic Medical College.