We laugh together and joke about the old times, when Manhattans were dispensed over the justly famous Hoffman House bar, at two for a quarter, if you please! And then we go to the medicine cabinet and from the maze of remedies and potencies we fish out Arsenicum album 30th, a few doses to be tucked away beneath that lordly paunch. Nor are we disappointed in its action, for it always does him good and will continue to carry him on, until that tired heart finally lays down its burden, forevermore.
Such is the simplicity and the versatility of homoeopathy, playing all parts with simple directness and playing each one well, without the aid of props or gaudy trappings. Tis a field for the artist, the creator who loves his work and expresses himself in it; he needs no artifices or devices; he knows what he can do and in this thought is quite content and satisfied.
Post Hoc or Propter Hoc! Which Is It? – An elderly, though very energetic and active patient, recently called upon us with a startling pallor upon his face; the term ashen, rather a favorite with writers of lurid stories, would aptly describe his countenance. He was very weak and had, in fact, reached our office with much difficulty. A few questions revealed the history of a discharge of dark blood from the rectum, several days before, but with normal stools since and no return of bleeding.
No pain had been complained of, nor was any pain present now; an examination of the abdomen was negative, as no tumor could be felt and the liver and spleen were of normal proportions; no evidence of any inflammatory condition could be elicited. The blood-pressure was extremely low, 100/60. The pulse was compressible and somewhat rapid. Vertigo, with pulsation in the ears and buzzing and a tendency to walk to the left, were complained of. A blood specimen was immediately taken for examination, and the report, received on the following day, showed-
Haemoglobin…………………..45.
Red blood cells…………2,640,000.
Haemoglobin index……………0.85.
Leucocytes………………..13,200.
We need no present the rest of the details of the examination, other than to state, that the pathologic findings were those of a marked degree of secondary anaemia.
One dose of Natrum mur. 20m F. was given and the patient sent home to rest for several days, after which he travelled to Chicago, to keep an important business engagement. He was seen again fifteen days later, looking very much better and feeling decidedly stronger, though by no means entirely well. His blood pressure was now 120/80. The aural noises had entirely disappeared and vertigo was no longer present. A second examination of the blood was made and presented the following findings-
Haemoglobin…………………..45.
Red blood cells…………3,200,000.
Haemoglobin index…………… 0.7.
Leucocytes………………..11,800.
The pathologists report reads, in part- “As compared with the previous count, the red cells are better in appearance and are higher in number, although still running much below the average . . .”
Of course, a period of sixteen days is hardly long enough to expect much change in the blood picture; nevertheless the improvement in this picture, together with that of the patient himself, is significant and speaks well for our old friend, Natrum muriaticum. The cause of the haemorrhage is still to be found and may be discovered in an ulcer, somewhere within the intestinal tract, or possibly in a carcinoma. Our purpose here is, merely to call attention to the evident response to a single dose of a remedy, highly and perhaps ridiculously potentized to the dizziest heights.
A New Homoeopathic Publication.-There has recently come to our editorial table the first number, volume 1, of The Homoeopathic Survey, to be issued quarterly by the American Foundation for Homoeopathy, Inc., of Washington, D.C. This foundation has, without fuss and feathers, been quietly working for the cause of pure homoeopathy, during the past few years, and each summer provides a post-graduate course in homoeopathic philosophy, materia medica, therapeutics and repertory analysis, given by a number of the ablest and most ardent teachers of homoeopathy in the country. Its work is divided among four bureaus, as follows: BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIONS:
Opportunity at Headquarters for intensive study of the principles of Homoeopathy; the use of the Repertory, of the Materia Medica; case-taking and record-keeping; and the preparation of drugs. Other centers to be established.
BUREAU OF RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION:
Drug proving; Demonstration of the law of cure in clinics and hospitals; laboratory research bearing upon Homoeopathy; correlation of Homoeopathy to other sciences and philosophies: e.g., chemistry, physics, electricity, psychology, sociology.
BUREAU OF PUBLICATION:
Report of all Foundation activities; accumulation of data for use of students and investigators; facts for laymen; reprinting of much valuable material now out of print; complete index and file of all homoeopathic literature; legacy of homoeopathic libraries for supplying new centers; collection of Hahnemanniana and various relics pertaining to homoeopathy.
BUREAU OF PUBLICITY:
Intensive work for laymen conducted by laymen with the guidance of qualified homoeopathic physicians; instruction in the simple fundamentals of medicine; encouragement to think soundly and independently about medicine; equipment with basis of choice as between physicians of different kinds, so that laymen may carry their right responsibility for their own health; circuit field visits to centers of interest; talks to gatherings by invitation; establishment of Laymens Leagues everywhere; written publicity, periodic and permanent”.
It will be seen, therefore, that this organization has adopted an ambitious program, one which, if adhered to, will eventually check the decadent spirit which, if adhered to, will eventually check the decadent spirit which homoeopathy has evinced in the United States within recent years. Such an organization needs a medium of expression, and the new publication, The Homoeopathic Survey, under the guidance of its brilliant editorial staff, Dr. Benjamin C. Woodbury, Mr. Arthur B. Green and his talented sister, Dr. Julia M. Green, will undoubtedly measure up to the great demands which will be made upon it. Their announcement of the purpose of the Foundation reveals its high character-
“The purpose of Medicine, as we generally accept it, is to heal the sick; but the real purpose of Medicine is to establish and to increase the power to remain well. The ideal of Medicine, as we generally accept it, is to correct the abnormal so that they may become normal; but the higher ideal of Medicine is to strengthen individuality, to reveal character, and to endow with the full power of inborn talents.
It is to these higher aims that True Medicine addresses itself.
The American Foundation for Homoeopathy is not a sect built upon a narrow creed. It represents fundamentals, on which all medicine depends, and is pledged to teach them, to increase scientific understanding of them, to record the work of the Profession, and to spread sound doctrine to the people”.
The Homoeopathic Survey is published at 1811 H Street N.W., Washington, D.c.; its subscription price is two dollars per years. THE HOMOEOPATHIC RECORDER bids this newcomer to the ranks of medical journalism welcome, and wishes it success, long life and an unrestricted field of usefulness in the spreading of Hahnemannian principles and practice.
Digitalis May Cause Fibrillation.-“Digitalis may produce auricular fibrillation. I had one such case under observation several years ago (Selian Neuhof on The Heart, Blakistons Sons & Co. ). A boy with a decompensated mitral regurgitant lesion and an otherwise rhythmic heart showed fibrillation every time he was under the maximum effects of the tincture of digitalis. Polygraphic tracings left no doubt as to the type of the arrhythmia. I tried the digitalis experiment several times; when the drug was discontinued, fibrillation stopped and the pulse became regular at the end of a day or so; when it was again administered the auricles again fibrillated.
It is interesting to note that, though the auricles were fibrillating, the patient felt perfectly well and compensation was completely restored. In this case the toxic action of digitalis upon the vagus was probably responsible for the arrhythmia; at the same time the contractile power of the heart that is its pumping power-was considerably improved by the drug. It has been shown experimentally that if the entire gastro-intestinal tract of a cat be removed from esophagus to anus, the digitalis be injected intravenously, the cat will go through the action of emesis. In other words, the drug apparently possesses some action upon the cerebral center. Thus, the vomiting caused by digitalis may be similarly explained in patients to whom we have given too much digitalis, or who are particularly susceptible to the drug.
Allan D. Sutherland was born in Northfield, Vermont in 1897, delivered by the local homeopathic physician. The son of a Canadian Episcopalian minister, his father had arrived there to lead the local parish five years earlier and met his mother, who was the daughter of the president of the University of Norwich. Four years after Allan’s birth, ministerial work lead the family first to North Carolina and then to Connecticut a few years afterward.
Starting in 1920, Sutherland began his premedical studies and a year later, he began his medical education at Hahnemann Medical School in Philadelphia.
Sutherland graduated in 1925 and went on to intern at both Children’s Homeopathic Hospital and St. Luke’s Homeopathic Hospital. He then was appointed the chief resident at Children’s. With the conclusion of his residency and 2 years of clinical experience under his belt, Sutherland opened his own practice in Philadelphia while retaining a position at Children’s in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department.
In 1928, Sutherland decided to set up practice in Brattleboro.