A man x, aged 65 (sixty-five) years had complaints for a long time of indefinite digestive troubles. This patient was not always constipated but suffered much from diarrhoea and sometimes with mild type of dysentery; unfortunately he was attacked with a severe type of dysentery at last.
Symptoms: Thin, brownish, bloody mucus (frequent and little). Before stool: Cutting pain about the umbilicus, backache, constant urging but often ineffectual. During stool: Violent tenesmus. After stool: Cessation of the pains and tenesmus but sensation as if more stool would pass. Nux vom./200 one dose before bedtime and S. L. Pil., B. I. D. for three days but not much improvement.
Besides, the patient complained much of colic, before and during passing stool, griping and pinching about the umbilicus and indescribable sick feeling in the stomach, bloody fermented frothy stool, green, jelly-like mucus. Ipec. 6, 30 two doses each for two days. No changes occurred with these remedies and the disease manifested itself with the symptoms of a very bad type.
Cutting, excruciating, doubling-up pains, worse at night, scanty and frequent bloody stool. Before stool: Violent and frequent urging; During stool: Violent tenesmus and nausea; After stool: Violent tenesmus and continued urging, never-get- done feeling, prolapsus Recti, urine scanty and turbid. So, seeing the symptoms Merc. Sol. was given of the 30th potency, twice daily for two days, but without any benefit. Merc. Cor./3X was also tried as mucus with profuse blood also dribbling, and cutting pain while urinating, but there was no effect.
Patient became prostrated and also restless which made his family very anxious and they changed their minds to try allopathic treatment–so they did–and six Emetin injections were given within a week, but instead of any improvement, the disease was aggravated in an extreme degree and the sufferings were so violent that at last the patient himself became depressed and hopeless about his life and made up his mind to be treated homoeopathically again by some eminent practitioner, who, after thoroughly examining him and seeing the condition and character of the stool (bloody, reddish mucus stool like scrapings of the intestines) gave him a few doses of Cantharis/30 but without any marked improvement.
The patient now became gradually very weak, aphthae developed in the mouth, bloody skinny stools coming out all at once with prolonged effort and relief after stool, he gave a few doses of Gambogia/30 but without effect. On the other hand hiccough commenced violently and everyone thought that he would die very soon. However, Hyos/30, and Carb. Veg. 30, 200 were given but to no effect.
At last Acid. Sulph. was prescribed by some other physician which was given of the 30th potency. After two doses the hiccough stopped altogether and the patient was a little bit better.
He was then sent for a change to come village but, unfortunately, was attacked with fever and dysenteric stools. He was again treated allopathically and gradually fell into a hopeless condition and the fear of death occupied his mind. For want of a good homoeopathic physician, he was brought back to Sibpur (Calcutta) and called me. I examined him thoroughly and prescribed Sulph./1000 one dose and S. L. Pil., B. I. D. for a fortnight, after which he was without fever, stool was of a light green color tinged with blood with a very offensive smell, night aggravation, thirstless condition, tongue coated white, hankering for fresh air.
I now gave him Puls./3X T. I. D. for two days, but there was no good result, so I gave Puls./1000 one dose and S. L. Pil., T. I. D. for a few days, which stopped his night aggravation; the color of the stool changed to yellow, frothy (first watery and mucus), then bilious bloody, worse after eating and drinking; squeezing and cutting pain in the abdomen, better lying on the abdomen and by hard pressure. So I was bound to prescribe Coloc./30 B. I. D. for two days with no such satisfactory result as indicated by the characteristic and prominent symptoms.
However, I gave S. L. Pil., Q. 24 hours for three or four days, after which I saw his stools were bloodless but greenish again, with slimy mucus containing flakes of pus offensive and watery, with glossy tongue, thirstless, ankles of both legs and palms of both hands and forearms swollen. I gave him Apis / 2X twice daily– morning and evening–for two days and to my astonishment his stool was thoroughly changed to a yellow, semi-liquid and bloodless condition and he was in a very comfortable state, had a good sleep, appetite returned. S. L. Pil., T. I. D. continued for a few days; he now passed a healthy stool and was completely cured.
I gave him a dose of China/200 for his prolonged weakness and anaemia and he was perfectly cured of his chronic dysentery.
