Does Bedbug Transmit Kala-Azar? A total of 138 Cimex hemiptera, all caught in the bedding of cases of kala-azar, were examined by Shortt and Swaminath by culture of the entire gut in NNN medium. The cultures were uniformly negative J.A.M.A.
Frankly, we do not know and we probably care less, for there are many more important things to worry about. Yet, bedbugs (cimex lectularius), can certainly make life very uncomfortable. It seems to us as though Europe, more particularly Germany, had a monopoly of them; at least every time we have travelled abroad, we have managed to pick up a few samples. Oh, how they did itch! In desperation, one rainy night in September, arriving at a comfortable hotel in Schwerin, on our way to Copenhagen through Germany, we plunged into a tub of delightfully clear hot water and in short order, three specimens of the bedbug family were spurlos versenkt.
We have always believed that we had annexed the devilish little beasts in Hamburg, for anything may happen in Hamburg, with its great cosmopolitan population, its beautiful Alster Bassin and its wonderful residential suburbs of Harvestehude, Uhlenhorst, etc. not to mention the marvellous North German cooking and Rhenish wines. In our childhood days, a famous topical song ran something like this:
“The June bug he has wings of gold,
The fire-fly has em of flame;
The bedbug has no wings at all,
But he gets there just the same!”.
Truly he is a veritable go-getter, with a post-graduate degree in salesmanship, for does he not sell himself to you, whether you want him or not? Ah, this indeed is art! Kala-Azar, by the way, sounds like the name of some Rudolph Valentino sheik, but really is an extremely fatal epidemic fever of Assam. So dont you go there unless you must and if you do, be extra cautious, remembering the little go-getting jingle we have just recited.
Homoeopathically considered, Cimex is said to be of use in certain case of intermittent fever, when there is a sensation as though the tendons of the joints were contracted or too short. Ausprobiren and find out!.
Leukemia and Pernicious Anemia Consecutive to Occupational Injury from Radioactive Substances.:- Emile-Weil reports a fatal case of myelogenous leukemia in a mechanic occupied for several years in the preparation of radioactive substances of the thorium family. Another mechanic, working on the same substances for several years, in the same factory, died from pernicious anemia.
Both were robust and of healthy families. On microscopic examination, the lesions of the spleen, liver and bone marrow appeared to be identical with those in ordinary leukemia. It is assumed that irradiations as well as infections may induce changes in the cells in the hematopoietic organs. The author comments on the fact that the same radioactive substance seemed to be responsible for the two quite different blood diseases, probably on account of differing predisposition. He cites another case of fatal leukemia in a woman given a single intensive seven hour application of radiotherapy seven years before J.A.M.A.
In the December issue we called attention to the disastrous possibilities of radioactive substances. This poor victim, whose case we cited, is still suffering, after eight weeks of torture, from the pain and spasms of the pharyngeal muscles, due to the prolonged effects of the Radium seeds which had been implanted in her tonsils. The latter have now been enucleated entirely but the surrounding tissues still show an ugly picture of necrosis and sloughing.
The X – ray, radium, etc., with their wonderful powers for good, are at the same time capable for spreading destruction and death Medical science should most assuredly proceed cautiously in their employment.
Impacted Wisdom Teeth –
Wishart treats each attack of tonsillitis as if it were premonitory to an attack of rheumatic fever. With the aid of an atomizer or throat brush he applies to the tonsils, during gentle expirations, a paint consisting of one part of tincture of iodin to seven parts of anesthetic ether, until the tonsils become iodin colored and dry. It may be found necessary to repeat the application every third day. J.A.M.A.
Those who still believe in the efficacy of straight homoeopathic prescribing more and more are meeting the pressure of opinion, which stands behind such modern methods as employed by Wishart. Old-fashioned homoeopathy is losing its grip, except among the small number of the intelligentsia who are powerless to stem the tide. This modern age of ours is a swift one indeed, especially in our large cities, particularly New York.
Quick results are wanted, nobody wants to wait; everyone wishes something tangible to be done and painting the tonsils is assuredly something tangible! Those who do not employ such theatrical methods are in danger of finding themselves playing to empty houses; the furniture in the waiting room accumulates dust and rapidly becomes an index of the old foggy doctors dwindling practice. Its all very sad, but very true and as a notorious Tammany chief once said, “What are you going to do about it? Shall we bow to the seemingly inevitable and let principle go hang, or is virtue, resplendent and lonely, to be its own reward?.
Case of Anaphylaxis to White Wine.
De Lavergne and P.Florentin observed a case of this kind in a patient with recurring urticaria. An excessive amount of some protein substance added to the grape juice in making the white wine may have produced in it an antigen property, thus responsible for the anaphylactic condition. This was confirmed by the skin reactions in the patient, as well as by experiments on guinea pigs. J.A.M.A.
Let us see! Anaphylaxis is “the state of unusual or exaggerated susceptibility to a foreign protein, which sometimes follows a primary injection of such protein”. Well, protein or no protein, individual reactions to white or other wines are extremely variable and at times ludicrous. In one of our unpadlocked Italian restaurants, which thus far has happily escaped the eagle eye of Emory Buckner, assistant united States District Attorney, we recently observed a typical Yankee of the obnoxiously vociferous type, in a state of flaming inebriation, call for and consume three large plates of ice cream in rapid succession, perhaps the truly wonderful Chianti for which Greenwich village resort is famous, may have warmed the cockles of his heart not wisely, but too well; no doubt his urticarial manifestations were altogether internal and hidden by his well-padded rotund anatomy.
Of course, down in the “village” the simple-minded jokers dont call it “anaphylaxis” and euphonious though this highly cultured and scientific term may be, the denizens of the Quartier Latin of New York use a much simpler and shorter word, which everyone understands. Yes, the good old Italian red ink can produce a wide variety of bizarre, anaphylactic effects; there is some atmosphere still, in little old New York. May it never vanish entirely!.
Value of Iron in Anemia.
Williamson and Ets have found that inorganic iron, whether given by mouth, subcutaneously or intravenously, is absorbed and may be found especially in the liver and spleen, but is not converted into hemoglobin. Animals made anemic by one or several large bleedings do not recover any more rapidly when inorganic iron is given in any of these ways. The efficiency of food iron is very pronounced, and animals on a diet containing food iron only recover very rapidly from hemorrhages that remove an amount of iron greater than exists in the entire body outside the blood. In the light of the foregoing experiments, the administration of inorganic iron has no therapeutic value in anemia. J.A.M.A.
This is no particular news to homoeopaths, who are well aware that iron is rather seldom of use in anemia. More often Natrum mur and Pulsatilla will demand recognition. When iron is indicated, the patient will present a pseudo-plethoric appearance, the face pales, but just as easily flushes from any exertion or slight emotion. Fatigue and sensitiveness to cold are complained of; throbbing headaches occur; gastric distress, with vomiting of food, especially at night, is common and diarrhoea with undigested food in the stools, often takes place. Pale lips are a striking feature.
The menses are too copious, appear too frequently and last too long, the menstrual blood is pale and watery. Amenorrhoea, on the other hand, may be present. Loss of appetite alternates with an unusual hunger. Diarrhoea takes place immediately, while eating or drinking. The Ferrum patients symptoms are ameliorated by walking about slowly, in spite of her marked sensation of weakness.
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.