The first call we made there were two cases. After his examination he did not think one of them would live twenty-four hours. He was informed that he was again wrong. The next call there were three cases; he seemed to be quite sure that I would lose one of them. He missed his guess. The next call he was surprised to find four cases; again he doubted their recovery.
The symptom on which I based my faith in Adaxukah was an intense feeling of exhaustion in the morning, better after getting around a little. It was a left over from the old cord condition but there were so many Adaxukah colds about at the time that I was curious to try the remedy. But at last report the “keynote” symptom had not changed.
Seeing and observing the patient is somewhat different from reading over the record. We noted and unusual restlessness and many erratic motions (see Gestures, page 50 of the Repertory). It almost seemed as if the diagnosis of chorea was still a possibility.
It is of historical interest to trace the origin of the humanitarian movement which Hahnemann advocated in the management of the insane. Dr. S. H. Talcott, in his work on Mental Diseases and Their Modern Treatment, has discussed at great length the early history of insanity to its modern treatment by hospitalization of the insane.
Accompanying a change from the state of health in an individual, is a group of symptoms exhibited in a certain order, which collectively constitute a disease. Certain diseases are so well known that they may be instantly recognized by the constant picture they present. However, there are other diseases, and many of them, that must be diagnosed by the symptomatology presented.
The complementary second remedy needed to clear the case was Lachesis, which ran pretty well through the first study. The mental symptoms were entirely removed by Stram., Lachesis later followed by Carbo veg. for incidental physical ailments that developed after.