Introduction
(NOTE FOR THOUGHT. – All our progress as a school depends on the right view of the symptoms obtained by proving with Camphor or Opium. – HERING.)
Fever
Characteristic – Blondes most affected, persons very irritable and mentally weak. Catarrhal and choleraic diseases.
Exceedingly sensitive to cold air (Hepar, Kali muriaticum, Psorinum). Surface cold to the touch, yet, cannot bear to be covered, throws off all the covering (Medorrhinum, Secale).
Bad effects of shock from injury, surface of body cold, face pale, blue, lips livid, profound prostration.
Skin of the whole body painfully sensitive, slightest touch hurts.
Sudden attacks of diarrhea and vomiting, nose cold and pointed, sweating, vomiting, purging, anxiety and restlessness, skin and breath cold.
Long – lasting chill, great coldness of skin and sudden and complete prostration.
Great coldness of the surface with sudden and complete prostration of the vital force, often a remedy in congestive chill, pernicious intermittent (Verbascum), pulse weak, extremely small, scarcely perceptible, yellow fever.
Antidotes many vegetable remedies, hence its use in the sick room in the crude form of tincture is not advisable.
In most other cases the smelling of Camphor is not antidotal, but palliative by producing the symptom, “pain better while thinking of it.”
Aggravation: Cold air, night, motion, lying covered.
Amelioration: When thinking of existing complaint, warmth, warm air, drinking cold water.
Type: Periodicity not marked. Pernicious fevers: the so called sinking or congestive stage of intermittents (Verbascum), yellow fever.
Time: At any time. All periods.
Chill: Without thirst. Long – lasting, terrible chills, icy coldness all over, extremities cold and blue, with death – like paleness of the face (Verbascum). The body generally is quite cold, coldness of the skin. Excessively sensitive to cold air, great aversion to cold air, he is obliged to wrap himself up warmly, and even then he is chilled through and through. Great chilliness, excessive chill, shaking chill and chattering of the teeth, with cold arms, hands and feet. The skin of the whole body is painfully sensitive and sore to the slightest touch (Apis). Coldness for an hour, with deathly paleness of the face. Coldness increased by walking. Hands and feet extremely cold, complains of freezing, worse when walking. Chill with anxiety, pale face, unconsciousness, clonic spasm, skin cold as marble, yet the child cannot bear to be covered, hot breath (cold breath, Carbo vegetabilis ). frequent chilliness of back and loins (Caps.). Paroxysm of fever, severe chill, with gnashing of the teeth and much thirst, he sleeps immediately after the chill, with frequent wakings, almost without the slightest heat. Chill the predominant stage. Congestive chill. Heat: Without thirst, of the whole body, which becomes excessive when walking. Heat with distention of the veins, increased by every motion (ameliorated by motion, Caps. ). Glowing heat, with full rapid pulse. Heat in the head, face, occiput, back, legs, lobules of the ears, body hot and sweating, but averse to uncovering.
Sweat: At first warm and profuse, which relieves, then profuse cold sweat over the whole body, very weakening. Sweat most profuse during sleep, and on slightest exertion (Bryonia, Cinchona). Excessive perspiration of hands and feet. Sweat profuse, shirt and clothes drenched, having penetrated to lower side of feather – bed (Thuja.). Sweat often clammy and always exhausting. Cold sweat on face, when beginning to vomit (Verbascum).
Tongue: Cold, trembling, flabby, spongy, covered with a tough yellowish mucus.
Pulse: Small, weak, slow, often imperceptible.
Apyrexia: Great weakness and exhaustion, lassitude. Convulsions may occur in children. Weak, weary and great anxiety. Face anxious, pale, livid, haggard and sunken. Yellowish, green, red, brown, turbid urine, of a musty odor. Terrible sinking and exhaustion.
In 1829, on the approach of Asiatic Cholera to Western Europe, Hahnemann, from a description of the disease, published in advance of its approach, that Camphor would be the remedy in the state of collapse, and the clinical experience of each subsequent epidemic demonstrated his prediction. This power of prevision, the crowning glory of our school of medicine, the absolute proof that “similia” is a “Law of cure,” the demonstration of the claim of homoeopathy to be ranked as a medical science, was first shown by Hahnemann in the fatal typhus which followed the terrible retreat of Napoleon from his Russian campaign in 1812. He published in advance that Rhus would be the principal remedy, and the recognition of homoeopathy by the Austrian Government was the reward of its successful administration.
There is probably no stage of any disease that bears so close a resemblance to the collapse of cholera as the true, “pernicious” “sinking,” or “congestive” stage of intermittent fever. Hence, Camphor should deservedly be placed in the front rank with Apis, Carbo vegetabilis, Gelsemium, Lachesis, Nux., Verbascum, as one of our “sheet anchors” in this form of fever, instead of Quinine, often so indiscriminately and empirically used.
This abuse of Quinine is borrowed by the pseudo – homoeopathy from his allopathic brother, who has no “law of cure” upon which to rely, and is compelled to depend upon his theories (malarial and cryptogamic) to prevent the return of the paroxysm. Quinine may suppress it, as it will many simpler forms of the fever, but there are many cases it will neither suppress nor cure, and these are generally the fatal cases that so often occur in the practice of regular (?) medicine. The fatal “third paroxysm” is rarely known under the properly selected homoeopathic remedy. It is a “bug – bear” of allopathic teaching and practice. No homoeopath, surely, would think of giving Quinine in cholera collapse, for no better reason than it is given by the rational (?) school of medicine. The statistics of comparative mortality of each system of practice “in cholera” ought to be convincing.
A Case.
Last summer I had two cases, one a boy the other a girl, which defied all my efforts. When I saw her she was in the sweating stage, face looked cold, pale blue pinched, anxious, and was covered with a profuse sweat. When I looked at her I thought if you were suffering from cholera I would give you Camphor. Why should I not give camphor in this sickness? I accordingly gave her the 2x trit., three or four powders per day. I was agreeably surprised to find that she did not have a recurrence of the chills, has remained free ever since.
Her fever was of the tertian type. – R.C. Allen, M.D. Medorrhinum Investigator, Sept., 1885.
Analysis – Chill, severe, long, terrible, congestive, of pernicious fever. Sensitive to cold air. Face and extremities cold, blue, pinched, cannot bear to be covered.
Heat: light, without thirst, of single parts.
Sweat: cold, profuse, exhausting.
