Many an amateur with a little wooden box of homoeopathic remedies, has wrought a remarkable cure which might have been beyond the reach of the professional. But often the amateur never knew what he had cured. Hence a well balanced mind is a great advantage; one which, with all its impediments of learning, can still bring the imagination of the artist to bear upon the medical problem before it. Each case is a problem, peculiar to itself alone, even though, diagnostically considered,it may resemble many others. Imagination is important, for it gives us the ability to visualize, to perceive more clearly and more deeply, what is before us.
The prescriber must, intuitively as it were ask himself such questions as-what is wrong with this patient; what ails him; to what extent has his perverted physiology progressed; how much is it reasonable to believe, can be done; can this patient be cured at all or if not, can he be helped to some extent? Most of all, must the physician as himself the question, what does this sick mans symptoms resemble and here indeed, his knowledge of materia medica must come to the front. Some little, very trivial circumstance or thing, may unlock the door to success, but how often do we hunt for the key in vain ! Here again is where the importance of a knowledge of types, is of advantage; why try to fit Nux vomica to Pulsatilla for example? What Kent called the generals is here of importance and the word pictures of Kent, Dunham, Farrington, Tyler and others, enable us to differentiate the types.
The bold broad outlines give us the cue,the little particulars may or may not always fit in; but the generals rule. to see the remedy then, often requires an unusual genius, even cockeyed at times, much to the amazement of the too scientific physician, who, in his scholastic erudition, has lost the viewpoint of the artist and must needs deal solely with the rough stones of concrete knowledge.
There are few real artists and this is why homoeopathy progresses slowly. The way of art is long and arduous indeed!.
How Much Shall We Claim?-Some months ago, an overgrown, pasty-faced youth of seventeen years was brought to us for advice and treatment; his history was uneventful, except for an attack of diphtheria during his sixth year. His principal complaint was that of fatigue and consequent lack of ambition and vigor; his appetite was fickle and inclined to be poor; he lolled about the house most of the time and after school hours, refused to play, because of fatigue. Physical examination proved to be negative, through his blood pressure was too below. Examination of the urine showed a large amount of albumin and the characteristic evidence, such as casts, etc., of a chronic croupous nephritis. He was put upon a milk and graham cracker diet exclusively, was forbidden any but the simplest exercise and was given Calcarea arsenica 12th, q.24 hours.
Under this dietary and therapeutic regime he soon improved in appearance, appetite and strength and some dietary concession was now made, by permitting him chicken once a week well cooked vegetables and ripe raw fruits. Meat and salt were interdicted, with the exception of chicken, as above stated. After four months he has become active and rugged, fond of playing tennis, even on hot days, eats his food with a relish, and feels no fatigue. His urine shows no epithelia or casts and but the most minute trace of albumin. Surely, thus far, happy result!.
The question at once arises, how much to the diet? This is difficult to solve; it is easy to ascribe the successful outcome to one or to the other therapeutic measure, or to both. Both do we really know ? Frankly, we do not; one swallow does not make a summer! Both Calcarea and Arsenicum are powerful and deeply acting remedies. Undoubtedly the arsenite of calcium is equally powerful and so far as we know, has a decided action upon the kidney as well as upon the heart.
But, before we can make great claims for its therapeutic ability in nephritis, we must observe its action in other and similar cases, for obviously,not all cases of nephritis will be favorably, not all cases of nephritis will be favorably influenced by this remedy. Here is where our remaining homoeopathic hospitals can serve a useful purpose, in experimenting with such a drug as this one, in a series of cases of nephritis, under proper diagnostic control and observation. But in so doing, they must not be guilty, as they so frequently have been in the past at least of the sin of polypharmacy. Many of our hospital case records are for this every reason, useless for the purpose of homoeopathic demonstration.
The Dentist and the Homoeopathic Prescriber-We often wonder what has become of the old-time homoeopathic prescriber, who studied out a case of toothache and cured it with a well selected remedy. Apparently, in the large cities at least, he is as extinct as the dodo; patients now fly to their dentists, at the slightest sign of trouble and in so doing, often get into still deeper trouble. The old Domestic Physician of Hering, gave many symptoms of dental difficulties and remedies for their alleviation. “Infected” teeth were helped and even saved and pain was quickly relieved. Many a toothache has been helped by Belladonna, or by Chamomilla, Coffea, Mercurius, etc.
The sensation as though the teeth were too long, has often led to the happy use of Mezereum in many a case of alleged neuralgia; perhaps the allegation was unfounded and not based upon good diagnosis or correct pathology, but the pain was nevertheless removed, which after all, was what the patient wanted. We wonder, whether in some respects, we are not becoming too infernally scientific and in danger of atrophy of the organs of common sense. If our simple homoeopathic remedies cured these dental troubles years ago, why cannot they do so now? Are we not running specialism into the ground and in so doing, losing opportunities for doing good with our well tried, simpler and more general measures?
While on board ship, returning from Europe a few weeks ago, we were called upon to prescribe for a swollen face. Inspection revealed a commencing abscess above one of the upper molar teeth on the left side. Pain and tenderness were of course present; a few doses of Mercurius sol. 1000 quickly removed every vestige of the trouble; simple enough-for homoeopathy, but had the patient been in the hands of the average dentist, quite a clinical dental drama would have been unfolded.
The lesson of all this is, that we physicians should assert our right to be active and of use in a sphere in which we know our remedies may be active and of use in a sphere in which we know our remedies may be relied upon, always co-operating with the dentist, and leaving to him the purely mechanical or surgical part of the work, which we do not pretend to be qualified to do.
He Cannot Lie-This is not dissertation upon honesty nor an attempt to be jocular at the expense of the legal profession, though lawyers are said to be able to lie on either side.
Phosphorus cannot lie on the left side, finding his cough and distress of breathing greater when he does so. Not can Spigelia, on account of stitching cardiac pains, assume the left- sided position. Carbo animalis and Stannum are distressed and cough more when lying on the right side and Kali carb. finds his lungs and pleuritic pains to be worse when he attempts it. Mercurius joints this group, cough and other symptoms becoming more severe when he rolls over to the right or painful side.
Bryonia on the other hand, prefers to lie upon the affected side, for by so doing motion is lessened, hence chest and other pains are relieved; thus this remedy cannot lie upon the unaffected side. Pulsatilla finds herself to be more distressed when she attempts to lie upon the left side, which she often therefore, cannot do. Rhus tox. frequently cannot lie in any position, at least with comfort, for more than a few minutes, pains and physical restlessness compel constant changing of position; but in lumbago Rhus does find some comfort by lying upon his back and upon something hard. Natrum mur. does this trick also, finding it easier to lie flat upon the back, thus relieving lumbar pain. Aconite cannot lie at all, thrashing are constantly about the bed, but mental anguish, fear and restlessness the compelling causes.
Chamomilla cannot lie, at least still at night, from sheer cussedness and anger, as pains arouse his ire and compel him to get up and move about for relief. Arsenicum album, weak as he is, is a poor one to lie, mental anxiety and restlessness compel him to be everlastingly on the move, all over the bed and from the latter to the chair and back again. Coffea cannot lie, but is incessantly on the go, howling and weeping in desperation at his neuralgic or dental pains; a mouthful of ice water,that national drink of these arid United States, gives him temporary relief, but once the water is warm or has been swallowed, the circus begins again.
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.