It seemed to me that this was a clear cut case of Rhus tox., which was administered in the 200th potency, which was administered in 1/2 glass of water, advising two teaspoonfuls every three hours. The next morning, to my dismay, the situation was unchanged, the poor wretch had had no sleep, no relief. Well, it could not be Arsenicum, which is right sided and has a prostration, a thirst, a chilliness that did not exist; furthermore the restlessness of Arsenicum is mainly due to anxiety. Lachesis, Mezereum and Graphites did not seem to fit the picture.
There is one remedy, however, that is frequently indicated for thoracic herpes zoster of the left side and that is Ranunculus bulbosus. One dose of the 10M. was given on the tongue in spite of the fact that it is aggravated by motion, that there is no such restlessness nor such a peculiar tongue. The effect, though, was dramatic. Greeting me the next day the patient said: “I never felt so wonderful in my life; I slept fine the whole night,” and from that time on the recovery was rapid, everything cleared up nicely, zona, heart, urine and all.
Now, why is it that Rhus tox., which seemed to fit the picture pretty well, especially the subjective symptoms, failed, whereas Ran. b., apparently contraindicated by the modalities, worked so well?.
Ranking the symptoms according to the classical method, leading straight to Rhus, failed in finding the similimum, whereas the tissular elective affinity, the objective signs and clinical experience indicated Ran. b., in this case at least, as strongly as Rhus t. . . However, there are four remedies mentioned in Kents Repertory for Zona of the chest, and 42 in the Skin chapter.
Well, a swallow does not mean the spring, and an exception is said to confirm the rule; however, such cases are by no means rare and you all have had them in your practice.
Now, what should we conclude from all this? First : That no method of ranking the symptoms as an approach of the similimum is a hundred per cent. Second: Both the Kentian and German scales–although opposite–are successful in selected cases.
Even if all roads lead to Rome, wouldnt it be highly desirable to equip the student with a good chart that should be a clear synthesis of the various methods in use, at least those that have been confirmed by experience. A very important step toward the perfecting of our art of healing would be a standardization of our materia medica. The student who explores the inextricable jungle of the symptoms of the materia medica needs a guide, a manual, bringing out a correct and universally accepted grading or ranking of the symptoms of each remedy.
There are many contradictions between the different authors of our materia medica and this is a real handicap for the beginners. This may be more apparent in the European materia medicas, where the ranking of the symptoms differs greatly from one author to the other. What we really need is a synthesis of materia medicas like Pulfords excellent Key to the Materia Medica, combined with Bogers Synoptic Key–which emphasizes the organic, tissular and functional specificity so highly praised by the German school–and the precious clinical notes of J. H. Clarkes Dictionary.
This is no single mans job. Why not attack such a tremendous task to so worthy as end under a permanent committee, something like the French Academy whose job is the building of the dictionary?.
At a time where our school is threatened in its very existence by socialized medicine, I feel that it would go a long way to attract the physician of the “old school” if we could make our materia medica more practicable and translate it in a “scientific terminology” that is more understandable to him.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.
DISCUSSION.
DR. SHERWOOD: I want to say something regarding the situation in Germany and Kents Repertory. At the time that Repertory was translated into the German, or shortly after, I had quite a lengthy correspondence with Dr. Schlegel.
By the way, have you Schlegels book on cancer?.
DR. MOORE: Has it ever been translated to our languages?.
DR. SHERWOOD: No. I had considerable correspondence with Dr. Schlegel after the criticism, and it was more or less an apology from Dr. Schlegel because he told me it was often very difficult to get certain remedies in Germany and that most of the prescribers were those who used very low potencies, in most instances the combination tablets, and they knew nothing of the Organon, Kents Philosophy, and books of that class.
The man who translated the Repertory used the wrong words to express himself many times, since he didnt know just exactly what we meant in our language. For instance, under the mental symptoms another word was used for “confusion,” and many similar things, so that when they tried to use the Repertory it was doubly foreign to them. That apology and explanation was made.
DR. MOORE: We certainly have had lots of trouble in our translations. What are we getting from Margaret Tyler in the last while seems to me very fine in simplifying and cutting down somewhat the Organon.
DR. GRIMMER: I like Dr. Schmidts appeal to simplify the materia medica, but it is not a simple job. As we all know, anybody who commences working with the materia medica is in deep. Who shall say what in the materia medica is to be thrown out and what is to be kept? Most of our materia medica has been built up by proving–perhaps not complete in all cases–and to that have been added many valuable confirmations of cure by unquestionably good men, confirmations that have been repeated.
The idea to incorporate some of the things that the doctor suggests is very good, and again it would take a genius to do those things. He will have to have the ability to discriminate between that which is really valuable and that which is not so valuable. I suppose a man like Dr. Schmidt, who is widely read and has had fine experience, would be able to do that very well, and I would like to have him try it.
DR. TAPLEY: Experience has taught me that the mental symptoms are of the greatest importance in the selection of the remedy. Bach, of London, with his ten or twelve remedies, depends upon the mental symptoms altogether.
To illustrate: This case had cut her foot and tetanus was supposed to have set in. That was the diagnosis of the doctor treating her, and he wanted to give her the innoculation. I was called about midnight, and I could hear her screaming as I drove up. At the bedside, I found the torso was like a cement post. She couldnt bear the least bit of covering. When her mother attempted to throw the sheet over her, she slapped her mother in the face, and you could have heard it a block.
When her father, at the foot or of the bed attempted to cover the body with the sheet, she kicked him in the stomach and tied him up in a knot. He couldnt get his breath for a few minutes. She could use her arms and feet, but she was so sensitive to pain she couldnt stand it. She could not have any covers on her body and, oh, such ugliness I never saw in any case for which I ever prescribed!.
The diagnosis was supposed to be tetanus, but there was one remedy called for by the mental symptoms, and that was Chamomilla. What was I to do? I couldnt ask her all the questions. Chamomilla might possibly do something for her, so I put 1M. of Chamomilla in about six teaspoonfuls of water, and she was to have a teaspoonful every fifteen minutes. She took the first teaspoonful, and before I could give her the next teaspoonful she was sound asleep and she slept until morning.
From then on, Christian Science got the credit for the whole business.
DR. BELLOKOSSY: This discrepancy about which Dr. Schmidts paper tells us between the Kentian and the German philosophy is, I think, a kind of conceitedness on the side of the German homoeopaths. The German homoeopaths dont know any philosophy. They have only pathogenesis, and that is in all the German literature today, except what Hahnemann wrote. They dont even read. It is most difficult for a doctor in Germany to study homoeopathy, because he just cant learn how to practice it.
It is hard to understand how the Germans can have the courage to criticize Kent, because the dont know him. They have translated Farringtons Materia Medica, and even that is very poorly translated.
In the case of Dr. Schmidt, I think it does not contradict Kent. It is a matter of interpretation. The restlessness of the case probably came only from the pains, nor because of being a Rhus tox. symptom. The deeper change of the tissues may have been only indicative of Ranunculus bulbosus and not of Rhus tox.
DR. SHERWOOD: I think you need an indicator other than Rhus. tox. or any other in herpes.
DR. SCHMIDT: I thank you very much for the interesting discussion my paper brought, and I think maybe that is the most valuable part of it.
It is true that if they had had a Kentian in Germany
to translate Kents Repertory, it would most likely have been a very different thing. I knew only one there, and that was Dr. Schlegel. Unfortunately, he was an old man with a tremendous practice, and could not start such a work. Dr. Manning was the one who started that work, but he was really not familiar enough with English to be able to cope with it. It is a very unfortunate thing.
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.