.73, 78. The photographs show the progress made. Some months will be required yet before he is cured completely. Case 4. May D., aged eight, came of a very tainted stock. She was one of a family of eight, and one died rapidly of meningitis. There was a history of phthisis on the mother's side, also. The present trouble for which she sought advice commenced ten months ago, as a small warty elevation over the region of the left trochanter. It gradually got larger and painful, and when I first saw her on Jan. 1, 1906, there was a tubercular nodule there, the size of a hazel nut, with infiltration of the surrounding skin, which was of a bluish color; the center of the nodule was suppurating. I ́ordered tuberculinum (Koch) 30, weekly doses. On Jan. 15th, the abscess was still discharging, but looking more healthy. I gave now one dose of tuberculinum, 12, which appeared to cause a reaction, for `on Jan. 22d, there was an increased swelling of the part and the left inguinal glands were enlarged and tender. The lips of the mouth appeared dry and peeling, as if feverish. On Jan. 26th, she came with a rectal temperature 100.6°, having been very sick the previous night. The abscess was drying up and a scab forming over it. The lips were still covered with dark crusts. Tuberculinum 30, in weekly doses, was prescribed. On Feb. 9th she was very much better, there was no discharge from the abscess, which was healing well, and the color was less blue. On Feb. 16th there was still some thickening where the abscess had been, and the lips were still very dry and covered with crusts. On March 16th she was very much better, and the lips also. On March 30th there was very little infiltration of the skin, and the same treatment was steadily continued, which consisted in the single remedy, tuberculinum, the potency only being varied. When last seen in July, 1906, the lips were normal and the tubercular abscess was marked only by an irregular scar. At the same time her general health had been greatly improved. The opsonic index was observed to rise during treatment from .75 to .8. Case 5 was a delicate little girl, Winifred B., aged seventeen months, who had been paying daily visits to Tottenham Hospital for the last five months, where, according to the mother's account "they kept on operating but gave no medicine." I first saw her on July 20, 1905. The second finger had been amputated, and there were two sinuses leading down to the fourth metatarsal bone which was also diseased. There was, besides, a tubercular nodule on the the outside of the right foot. I prescribed tuberculinum 30, weekly, and silica 12, thrice daily. By Sept. 21st she was very greatly improved, the nodule on the right foot had disappeared and only the sinus now remained on the left hand, which appeared much better. On Nov. 9th, the foot was quite well, the sinus on the hand healed, and the general condition of the child very much better. The next case, 6, Catherine H., aged six, came with a history of of a psoas abscess, which had troubled her since August, 1904, when she was operated on at the Hospital for Sick Children. When I first saw her, June 15, 1905, she was not able to walk and had a large scar in the left groin, the result of the operation for psoas abscess, and there was a discharging sinus here. In the left ischio-rectal fossa there was an induration and another sinus discharging. Silica 12, thrice daily, and tuberculinum 30, weekly, were prescribed, and continued until Jan. 9, 1906, when the notes record she had been walking again for the last two months, a thing she had not been able to do since July, 1904! The same treatment was steadily persevered with, and by Jan. 26th the sinus in the left groin had completely healed up. The sinus in the gluteal region discharges much less, at times not at all. Case 7. Walter B., aged nine, admitted on March 15, 1906, suffering from old tubercular disease of the left ankle bones. He had been under four operations for this at Paddington Green Hospital, and at University Hospital. A week before he came to me, another operation had been proposed. I prescribed tuberculin, 30, three drops weekly, and a placebo daily, and this treatment was continued until June 22, 1906, when he was walking well and in no pain-in fact, I discharged him cured. Case 8. John D., aged twenty-one months, another typical illustration of strumous dactylitis, which is fairly well seen in the photograph taken before treatment. I first saw him on Sept. 28, 1905. Six months previously the fingers began to swell and for two months he had been under treatment at the Western Dispensary. The ring finger of the right hand and the metacarpal bone of the left thumb were greatly enlarged, with a discharging sinus in each. There were no other physical signs. I prescribed arsen. iod. 3, thrice daily, and tuberculinum 30, weekly. On Oct. 15th, the hands were looking much better, and a piece of dead bone came away from the right finger. On Nov. 24th, silica 12, was substituted for the arsen. iod. In March, 1906, I admitted him to Barton Ward, where the good food assisted his recovery, and on July 6th, the discharge had entirely ceased, although the finger was still swollen. Illustration No 3 Case 9. Dorothy F., aged twelve, is an illustration of how strumous glands can be made to disappear. She first came on Jan. 22, 1906, with a large mass of tubercular cervical glands on the right side, which enlarged after an attack of measles when six years old. Weekly doses of tuberculinum 30, were given. On March 16th she was very much better, and the glandular mass so much reduced in size that the individual glands could be distinguished. By July 6th the glands were very greatly reduced, also her general health had so much improved, and she was brighter in every way. Tuberculinum was the constant remedy and no change, whatever, was made in her surroundings. The opsonic index similarly improved during treatment: .65; .7; .75. The foregoing are but a few cases showing the value of this nosode, in the treatment of a variety of common tubercular lesions, the children were under various social conditions. The following cases illustrate what tuberculinum will do in pulmonary cases. Dr. Garrison, of New York City, also speaks favorably of its use here, although it is generally acknowledged to be less serviceable than in tubercular conditions elsewhere. Case 10. Marian C., aged four, came to me on Oct. 12, 1905, with a bad family history of phthisis, her mother, aged thirty-two, and three brothers had died of the disease. She had suffered from a cough each winter, and there were abundant sonorous and crepitant râles all over the chest, especially both bases, and the left base was dull. I gave phos. 3, every three hours, and tuberculinum 30, weekly, which was steadily continued with intercurrent remedies, such as ars. iod. 3; silica 12; and stann. iod. 3x. On July 6, 1906, she was decidedly better. A few dry scanty sounds over both bases, especially the left, where there was tubular breathing. Case 11. Frank S., aged seventeen months, suffered from tubercular disease of the abdomen, complicated with tubercular disease of the right lung. He first came under my care on April 12, 1905, with the usual symptoms of offensive diarrhea, wasting, and cough, and well-marked physical signs of the disease. I prescribed ars. iod. 3, and tuberculinum 30, weekly; he also had nitric acid 3x, and phos. 6. In March, 1906, he was doing well, had passed through the winter without any serious relapse, had gained flesh, and there were no adventitious sounds to be heard in the chest. In April he took a fresh cold with relapse of symptoms, and at the right posterior base a few sub-crepitant râles were heard. In June there were no râles to be heard, only weak breathing at right base. On July 13th the note said, "Doing well gaining weight no cough repeat tuberculinum." Case 12. Esther B., aged twelve, came to me on July 24, 1905, with a history of phthisis on her mother's side, and a constant cough, which she never loses, and with it expectoration of a quantity of creamy phlegm. She had a very deformed, flattened chest, especially over the precordial region, where the cardiac impulse was very visible. The left side was moving more than the right, and respiration was chiefly abdominal. Resonance was deficient on the right side with weak breathing. There were abundant crepitant râles at the left base. Phos. 6, and 12, and tuberculinum 200, weekly, were given. The cough was nothing near so bad" in September, and on Nov. 27th, physical examination showed the right base dull with numerous moist creaking râles, but very few râles at left base. In December the mother remarked "she never did so well under any other treatment" and she passed through the inclement winter months most satisfactorily, and in February there 66 was no expectoration, and cough was better. Wheezing sounds could be heard like the crumpling of fine paper. On April 27th I found her very much better, of a good color, eating and keeping well. There was no expectoration though the perspirations continued. It is always tedious to listen to the notes of cases, especially when we have never seen the patients, and I must apologize for having inflicted so many upon you; and yet it is only by patient note taking and the watching of our cases that we can prove the powers of our medicines. The above cases I have selected from scores of other similar ones, which prove incontestably what an invaluable medicine we have in this ncsode. The second nosode to which I will briefly call your attention is syphilinum. This I have uniformly employed in the 200th centesimal potency and in some cases with marvelous effects. The micro-organism of syphilis has recently been discovered by the late Professor Schaudinn, and called the spirocheta pallida. It appears difficult to find, but it is possible the same methods of procedure may be employed as with the bacillus tuberculosis, for this organism appears to be the cause of syphilis in the same way as the bacillus tuberculosis is the cause of tuberculosis. I have used it in cases of congenital syphilis, of which we see so many at the hospital. It appears useful in all syphilitic lesions, but particularly so with syphilitic keratitis. Case 13. Dorothy F., aged six, came in December, 1904, with interstitial keratitis. Four years previously I had treated her for congenital syphilis. She had been taking merc. cor. 2x, and having atropin drops locally. On Jan. 16th, there was some improvement, no pain in the eyes, but photophobia marked. There was complete opacity of the left cornea, the right cornea was clearing except for a small spot over the pupil. I now added syphilinum 200, in weekly doses, to the previous prescription. The change was remarkable; in February she could see well with both eyes and there was no photophobia. In April the opacities were disappearing, and by November only the faintest opacity could be discovered with the aid of a lens. Case 14. Violet A., aged eleven, had been attending the Ophthalmic Department since Jan. 12, 1905, and having merc. cor. 3x, and atropin drops; lotio hyd. perchlor, 1 in 5,000; sulph. 3; hep. sulph. 6; lotion formalin, 1 in 3,000, for ulceration of the cornea and photophobia. On April 27, 1905, I prescribed weekly doses of syphilinum 200, and nothing else. On May 18th, she reported very great improvement and could do without her shade after the first dose! The ulcer had now healed and left a nebula. In June she was doing well, and her mother said this medicine had done more good than any other she had ever had; and there had been abundant opportunities for treatment, as she had suffered with her eyes, on and off, for nine years. In November she had a relapse and two small ulcers appeared. Syph. 200, healed them at once, the improvement taking place in three days from taking the medicine. Dr. Norton of New York also speaks highly of syphilinum in phlyctenular conjunctivitis. Case 15. Elsie D., aged nine, came to me on July 20, 1905. She had been attending the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital for keratitis since Easter, and presented a nebula over the right cornea. I prescribed weekly doses of syph. 200, and calc. phos. 6, thrice daily. On Aug. 10th, the nebula had completely vanished, and there was no need to return to the Ophthalmic Hospital. The eye got well very rapidly. I have the notes of many other such cases, but I fear I have already exceeded the allotted time which has been all too short for my subject, although sufficiently long to have taxed your kind indulgence to its utmost limits. I hope I have succeeded in removing a prejudice which exists against the nosodes as a class of remedies.- -an attitude of mind which ill becomes us, the pioneers of medical science, who should prove all things and hold fast that which is good. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. London Homoeopathic Reports. Vol. VI. 1897. p. 92. Diseases of Children. Raue. 2nd Ed. p. 282. 2. 3. Dudgeon's Lectures on Homœopathy. Lect. VI. p. 143. 4. 5. 6. p. 143. 8. 9. Clinical Bacteriology and Hæmatology. Emery. 1906. 7. Homœopathic World. June, 1906. pp. 241–2. 10. 11. p. 1059. 12. Ophthalmic Diseases and Therapeutics. M.D. 3d Ed. p. 618. Dec. 29, By A. B. Norton, THE time has come and the rights of humanity demand at the hands of the great profession to whose care their lives are trusted, to put forth their best endeavors and adopt only the best measures, eliminating useless remedies, for the relief of suffering and disease. Not only the physical measures but all therapeutical and surgical procedures should be judiciously investigated, professional bias and personal motives and interests be forever removed from consideration by our great profession, and the results of investigation be given wide publicity. An institution of this sort would forever eliminate the prejudice of pathies, overthrow the infamy of quackery, and place the profession upon a dignified basis which would make it obligatory upon our legislators and the public to recognize only as valuable what passes the censorship of a properly constituted judicial body. Under wise supervision the good and true and valuable in therapeutics would be recognized, and all possibility of narrowness and exclusiveness in the various departments of our science be forever eliminated. Wm. B. Snow, M.D., Journal of Advanced Therapeutics, October, 1906 |