Throat: The sore throat in this remedy has numerous symptoms.
“Inflammation of cellular tissue of fauces and tonsils.”
This remedy is one in general catarrhal symptoms of the throat. Granulations of the throat, so that the pharynx looks shiny, studded with coarse granules becoming inflamed with every cold spell, or from being chilled.
Every cold change inflames the tonsils, and in children they very soon enlarge. Children with enlarged tonsils, and with enlarged glands in other places, somewhat dwarfish intellectually, slow to learn, Baryta carb. will cure the enlarged tonsils.
But these, you see, are constitutional symptoms. You are not selecting the remedy purely on enlarged tonsils.
“Inflammation of the tonsils.”
The inflammation not so violent as that which comes in Bell., it does not come on in a night, it does not go on rapidly to suppuration; but it is a very sore throat, has come on slowly after many days of exposure and there is gradual growth and gradual development.
That is the character of the Baryta carb. tonsillitis; while that of Bell. comes on with great rapidity. Hepar is also rapid and goes on to suppuration. There is a remedy for inflammation of the tonsils where the ear is involved and is ameliorated by heat, that very few use, but it is of great value; it is Chamomilla, and it is especially indicated if the patient is irritable.
The pain is ameliorated by heat and comes on with great violence. It might be mistaken for a Bell. inflammation, but Cham. cures it permanently.
“Sensation of plug in the throat;” that is, the tonsils are so large they feel like a great ball or great lump in the throat.
They change the character of the voice, cause difficulty.
“Much burning in the throat. Inability to swallow anything but liquids.”
This irritation keeps up a constant choking and spasmodic constriction in the throat; contractions, and drawings, and crampings in the throat.
It also has a spasm in the oesophagus when swallowing, especially in old nervous, or prematurely broken-down people.
“Spasm in the oesophagus. Difficulty in swallowing.”
The bolus of food goes down a little way, and then causes spasms, and he gags and chokes. This gagging and choking with a little food is a very strong feature in Kali c., Graph. and Merc. cor.
This is also a strong feature of Baryta carb., but much stronger in Merc cor.
The troubles of eating and drinking and appetite and stomach can all be run together.
Stomach and abdomen: There is weakness of digestion, all sorts of disorders and disagreeable sensations in the stomach after eating. Sometimes gastralgia; sometimes distension.
“Stomach aches after eating.”
Extreme weakness after eating. Abdomen hard and tense.
“Mesenteric glands swollen and hard; with a big belly; abdominal muscles sore to touch.”
It has cured, in the early stages, tabes mesenterica. It has cured the enlarged abdomen of children, when there was emaciation of the limbs, emaciation everywhere, knots of enlarged glands and a dwarfed intellect.
Baryta carb. has an inveterate constipation.
“Difficult knotty stools. Stool hard, and insufficient.”
A lack of action in the rectum, and hemorrhoidal protrusion during stool and urination.
Genitals male: Of the male sexual organs we have some strange features. This medicine takes away all sexual desire and ability, leaving the genitals relaxed, and in a state of impotency.
“Relaxed penis. Impotence. Diminished sexual desire. Hypertrophied prostate. Atrophied testicles.”
It cures old gleety discharge from the urethra. An old, painless, whitish, gleety discharge that has been in existence a long time. It is an offensive discharge and there is no inflammation.
“Numbness of the genitals.”
Genitals female: The female has many troubles. Sterility. Dwindling of the ovary. Dwindling of the mammary glands, and yet the lymphatics become enlarged and infiltrated.
A passive leucorrhoeal discharge, whitish, thick, persistent, often copious, worse about a week before the menstrual period.
Larynx: With some a constitutional weakness takes hold of the larynx; a paralytic weakness. Voice entirely lost.
Or, “hoarseness and huskiness.”
Low, deep voice. Aphonia from constitutional weakness, and from paralysis. Feeling in the larynx all the time as if inhaling smoke, or pitch, or sulphur fumes, or dust.
With the hoarseness there is a chronic dry, hoarse, barking cough; not a hard cough, but it comes every night. Suffocative cough of old people.
It says here, “impending paralysis of the lungs.”
Chest and cough: That is in keeping with the general nature of the remedy. Chest full of mucus, but unable to expectorate it.
You observe from the effort made in the cough that there is a weakness somewhere, a lack of power. It is not a strong effort.
“Night cough, with asthmatic breathing.”
Cough excited by irritation in the larynx and trachea. There is a cough in Baryta carb. where he coughs and coughs, and gets no relief until be lies on the abdomen; and so long as he lies on the abdomen he is free from cough.
Palpitation from slight exertion when lying on the left side when thinking about it, with anxiety and orgasm of blood, with strong pulsation in the head, rapid pulse. Palpitation in chlorotic girls.
Tension in the muscles of the back. Swelling of the glands of the back of the neck.
” Swelling of the cervical glands. Fatty tumors upon the back.”
A number of times a patient has said,
“Doctor, did you intend to take away that fatty tumor I had on my back?
The chances are I did not know he had one. That is generally, the way such things appear in the practice of the homoeopathic physician, for he does not prescribe for the tumor, and the chances are he thinks little about the tumor in his prescription; he gives the constitutional medicine, and they often disappear after a while, and then the patient thinks the doctor has done a wonderful thing.
He gets more glory and more credit for curing a wart than he does for curing the patient. The doctor who prescribes correctly turns the vital state into order.
He cures the patient, and the patient, being in a state of order, commences to repair his body, and the tissues go through a general house cleaning and such things as are not needed are dispensed with; and the physician is considered a wonderful man.
So this remedy cures tumors and warts. Warts upon the limbs, and upon the back, and upon the hands.
The pains are of a gouty, rheumatic character, worse from becoming cold and from cold weather. Paralytic weakness and trembling and numbness of the feet.
Offensive perspiration of the feet which causes soreness of the soles, ulcers on the feet, checked foot sweat. Trembling of the feet while standing and tottering while walking. Tearing, drawing pains in lower limbs. Sudden sharp pains in knees.
In 1881, Kent accepted a position as professor of anatomy at the Homeopathic College of Missouri, an institution with which he remained affiliated until 1888. In 1890, Kent moved to Pennsylvania to take a position as Dean of Professors at the Post-Graduate Homeopathic Medical School of Philadelphia. In 1897 Kent published his magnum opus, Repertory of the Homœopathic Materia Medica. Kent moved to Chicago in 1903, where he taught at Hahnemann Medical College.