There was nothing except for a psoric taint in the family-cum-past-history and no tangible picture of a drug was left, as one hundred grammes of Streptomycin, twenty million units of Penicillin, moire than two hundred tablets of P.A.S. and considerable doses of Vitamin and Colloid Calcium in combination with collapse-theory had proceeded our treatment. But relaying simply on the rightsidedness tenderness of chest internally and externally, desire for external and internal warmth and emotional disposition, a few doses of Lycopodium 200., 500. and IM were administered, which brought about a radical change in the overall picture with steady progress to perfect health.
The cure holds good for five years until now. Another case, a thirsty-give-year-0old., tall, stopped, anemic gentleman suffering from various troubles (dyspepsia, abdominal colic, pyaemic abscesses, bronchitis, fleeting neuritis, melancholia, etc.) for a long time, suddenly developed high temperature (104 degree-105 degree F.)with acute pains in chest, coupled with convulsions due to excessive pain.
He was vigorously treated, first for malaria, then for pleurisy, next for B.coli with quinine, Vitamins, Penicillin, Terramycin and mixed B.Coli vaccines, which all failed to produce any appreciable result in four weeks, time. But the continued suffering from one thing or another, the frequent change of site and nature of the disease, and its final disposition to localise in the chest, gave me the clue to the tuberculosis allergic allergic condition, which was on the threshold of breaking forth upon the lung tissue. The remedy administered was Tuberculinum bovinum 1M, in two doses, morning and evening, which controlled the case in three days, cured the patient in eight days and the cure holds good for three years till now.
THE SIMILE.
A physician in his lifetime may have to face a few cases which cannot be measured and resolved by the above five standards and instruments of the similimum., In such cases eight from too great an artificial suppression of symptoms by a most vigorous antipathic, antibiotic treatment which destroys or paralyses the symptom-producing capability of the nervous system and keeps the defense mechanism in abeyance the live principle remains stagnant.
Here, because of extreme paucity of symptoms, even our reactive remedies like Causticum, Carbo vegetabilis, Sulphur, Psorinum and Tuberculinum fail or are short-acting, and sour last but not honourable recourse is to select a remedy from among the ferrums, Calciums, Iodine, Kalis or from the combinations in their group, the pathogenesis of which resemble to a considerable extent the tubercular process (marked by a deficiency of any or all of the said inorganic principles) in the most common symptoms of loss of appetite, emaciation, gradual anaemia, evening temperature, cough chest pain, haemoptysis and night sweat.
Those remedies may someway be called the basic drugs, as they rectify a molecular imbalance causing a deficiency of one or more of those principles in the human constipation, and so revitalize the system. These revitalizing basic drug are therefore sometimes called for intercurrently whereupon either the symptom picture changes or the patient is rapidly carried over to the outskirts of convalescence. A thirsty-six-year-old, tall, slender, fair youth of a tubercular family, and himself having had acquired syphilis and gonorrhoea (treated with Penicillin in twenty million units), developed tuberculosis, confirmed with X-ray, and A.F.B., test of the sputum.
Two patients of the same family, treated with Calcium. Vitamin and Streptomycin, died previously and Homoeopathy was to be tried in this last case. The young man under Thuja 1M, Syphilinum 1M, 10M and Tuberculinum 1M, 10M, applied in the aside order, progressed to some extend but there was a halt and in spite of my best efforts no further result could be achieved. Calc. phos. was then applied in the 1M potency, though its peculiar characteristic symptoms were not present. The result in the first month was encouraging and, continuing with it in the gradually ascending potencies at long intervals, the patient came round completely.
There has been no recurrence of any of the symptoms in the last two years. Further, under this group, for a dearth of remedies in our Materia Medica and a prevalence of many peculiar inexplicable symptoms in disease we often have to resort to the undependable method of analogy, as we have to figure out similarity to match it with a notable drug picture.
THE PECULIAR TECHNIQUE.
From the aforesaid observations upon the varied aspects of the similimum based upon experience gained in the management of a large number of cases of various types, a technique peculiar to the treatment of Tuberculosis seems to evolve, as indicated below:
1.For the tubercular diathesis and the pretubercular state where the disease has not yet broken forth, the remedy par excellences is Tuberculinum bovinum or Bacillinum. Other tuberculins may play their part, but the present author has no experience with them.
2.The treatment does not very with the varied site of the disease. Pulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculosis cutis, tuberculosis abdominalis, tuberculosis of glands and bones equally tolerate the same treatment.
3.When the best-selected remedy fails to produce any effect, Causticum, Carbo veg. Sulphur and Tuberculinum in medium potencies( Preferably Tuberculinum bovinum or Bacillinum), bring about a favourable reaction.
4.The most prominent symptoms guide us to the indicated remedy. The mild semi-chronic cases require the moderately acting remedies, while the serious ones need the deep-acting constitutional drugs, including the Nosodes. The moderate or shortacting remedies may be required in some cases intercurrently to meet an emergency, a new development, or a new twisting of an old symptom. Besides, the deep-acting remedies may be indicated by their local symptoms for some local conditions, and here in medium potencies.
Further, even a single peculiar characteristic symptom may be of immense value. the discovery of the genius of a drug, as distinct from memorizing the long array of its symptoms, is a definite step towards mastering the Materia Medica, in the intensive sense of the term, and ought to render a service that can not be expected otherwise. Even some pathological and physiological symptoms and a few faintly figured out aspects by means of an analogy with a notable drug picture may serve as the last resort to work out a similimum.
5.Heredity and acquisition, as envisaged in the diathesis, are strong factors to be met on the constitutional level, by the Nosodes and other constitutional remedies.
6.Deep-acting constitutional or suppurating remedies like Hepar sulph, sulphur, phosphorus and Silicea, in high potencies, should be administered with proper caution.
7.To begin with a medium potency, say the 200th, and gradually to ascend to higher ones is the safest course in tuberculosis. But a repetition of the same potency, before ascending to the higher, so as to give a second stroke to the reactive field to gauge its depth of susceptibility is a well- advised practice. An acute phase in the midst o treatment may require a medium potency even of the same remedy which in high power is still acting in th patient in the higher field of susceptibility.
8.Nervousness and over-haste on the part of the physician, as exhibited in too frequent change or repetition of remedies, complicate the case beyond all change of resolution, as they either dull or over-excite the sensitivity of the system to drugs and thus induce fatal issues. A well-selected remedy must be given sufficient time to work, should not be repeated too often, and so long as the first dose is acting favorably. Many a favourable case has been marred by too indiscriminate repetitions. Notwithstanding, constitutions still robust and vigorous tolerate more frequent but judicious repetitions than the devitalized and the prostrated.
9.A basic dry from among the inorganic principles, like the Ferrums Calciums. Iodines and Kalis, apart from its local and constitutional suitable (in which case it must, of course, be administered at the first instance), is frequently called for intercurrently to correct a molecular imbalance that stands in the way of an indicated remedy to act, and it then revitalizes the system even after the failure of the Nosodes and other reactive drugs, which, again, find a suitable field for action after it.
10.Diet, climate and environment-social, economic and psychological-are strong factors in modifying a case. Utmost care should be taken with regard to them. That which suits the patient and improves his conditions most is best advised.
11.For haemoptysis our haemorrhagic remedies; Ferrum phos., Hamamelis, Lachesis, Nitric acid, Millefolium and phosphorus are gems., All filing. Tuberculinum bovinum 200., next “1M.”
12.For a general antidote to allopathic drugging Sulphur 200., or Thuja 200., 1M. suffice.
