CASE VI. N.W. This male child, age 18 months, was the exact replica of pictures you may have seen of famine suffers. No words of mine could described him. His little form was emaciated beyond belief. He lay on the table as he was about to be examined, an inert, moaning bundle of bones.
The spirit animating that child was magnificent. When an attempt was made to insert the tongue depressor into his mouth he resisted with a vigor that could not have come from his wasted muscles. There is no note to show how long he had been sick, when he was first seen on October 12, 1937. The previous physician has given the impression that the child was dying, and nothing could be done about it.
He coughed incessantly, a loose cough, but with a horrible tearing sound that almost made one wince. He held both hands to his face with every paroxysm. His mouth was plastered with a gluey mucus, adhering to teeth, tongue, soft palate and cheeks. No reflexes could be elicited. Chest clear-the inflammation seemed to extend from larynx to the end of the trachea. T. 104.3. P.160, R.65. Hepar CM.
October 13, a.m. T. 103.2, P.160, R.70. Nostrils sooty. Fanning of alae nasi. Entire body dusky and mottled. Ant. tart. 50M.
Evening, T. 102.3, P. 160, R.72. In desperation prescribed Bry. 200.
October 14, a.m. T. 102.3, P.166, R. 80. Sulph. MM.
Evening, T. 103, P. 168, R. 84. The respirations were so extremely rapid they could be counted only with the greatest difficulty.
October 15, a.m. T. 102.3, P. 156, R.86. Cough now dry, incessant. Rumex 1M.
Evening, T. 102. Condition unchanged. After long study, Nux 30 was given.
October 16, a.m. T. 101, P. 160, R. 80. He seemed perhaps a shade better so Nux vom. 30 was repeated. By evening he was definitely brighter although his temperature had risen again to 103.2, but the cough still continued to torture him. He refused all warm drinks, but would sip at cold water, so somewhat more hopefully he was given Phos. CM.
October 17. No longer inert. REstless tossing about, crying, moaning and coughing. On the restlessness alone Rhus tox. CM., three powders ex aqua, were given. T. 102.3, P. 170, R. 80.
Evening. What a change! The child was sleeping. Respiration 68. The doctor made up two more powders of Rhus tox. and tiptoed out.
October 18. T. 99, R. 40. Brighter, better in every way.
October 19. T. 97.4, R. 31. Sitting up in his carriage! For five full days death hovered near, and on the seventh day the child actually sat up in his carriage: what a boy!. TORONTO, CANADA.
DISCUSSION.
Dr. FARRINGTON: This is a very interesting paper, and the thing I liked about it was that the Doctor didnt skin over his mistakes and the remedies that didnt do any good. He gave the whole history and then the remedy.
I dont think, however, that we can say that all asthma is sycotic. I may be wrong, but what about those cases of asthma that come from suppression of a psoric eruption? What about cases that are syphilitic or have really another miasm at the base? According to what the Doctor said, if that is true, Blatta orientalis, Anagallis and Mephitis must be antisycotic remedies.
DR. STEVENS: I wanted to speak about-I think it was-the second case, in which Calcarea carbonicum was given and gave so much relief at first and then afterwards seemed to be followed by aggravation. Isnt it rather ordinary that Calcarea carbonicum does aggravate if repeated in an adult? Isnt it considered rather a dangerous thing to repeat Calcarea carbonicum in a grown person?.
DR. CAMPBELL: I have read that too, DR. Stevens, but the Calcarea was repeated with a considerable interval between doses, and it wasnt that it seemed to produce an aggravation but it seemed to lose its effect entirely. The patient wasnt any worse. She was better, but she did stop improving.
With regard to Dr. Farringtons remarks about sycosis not causing all asthma, he said that in that case we would have difficulty explaining the cases of asthma that arose following the suppression of a psoric eruption. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish whether an eruption is psoric in origin or sycotic, except on the accompanying symptoms: and, too, as you all know, we very seldom get a case of pure psora, pure sycosis, or pure syphilis. Ninety-nine per cent. of our cases are a mixture of two of them or even all three together, and in those cases it may be that the treatment of the sycotic factor results in the improvement of the asthma, although I do know, of course, that Syphilinum is a remarkable asthmatic remedy.
With regard to Arsenicum, Kent says that you will find these cases of asthma where Arsenicum apparently relieves the acute condition but fails to clear up the case.
