New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies Part 30

To guard against this I have carefully filtered my tincture, but this has not made the slightest change in its beneficial influence.

CASE I. Woman aged seventy-four; admission date, September 24, 1892.

Nose never clear; breath very unpleasant; for twelve hours nose bled continuously last Christmas; unable to smell properly; hearing for the past seven or eight weeks bad; watch not heard on contact. Prescribed _Lemna minor_ [Greek: theta]A. October 1, 1892: Feeling of cold in nose is better; sense of obstruction nearly gone; can smell better; hears on contact on both sides; no medicine. October 22: Decided, though slight improvement in hearing; nose, throat and all parts around more comfortable. Last attendance.

In proceeding with the consideration of the action of this remedy, I must consider myself fortunate in having the following case to bring forward:

1. A boy of fourteen, whose nose was completely blocked up for the last two years, and whose nostrils were full of polypi, the nose itself being broadened, and in whom the nose had been cleared out by operation a year ago at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, was sent to me by my colleague, Dr.

J. H. Clarke. The boy never remembers having smelt anything, and the polypi can easily be seen blocking up both nostrils.

From the 26th of November, 1892, to the 4th of March, 1893, four doses of _Lemna m._ [Greek: theta]A were given at regular intervals without much change, then _Calcarea carbonica_ 200 was given, and two weeks after, as he had faceache, _Mercurius_ 3d dec., and on the 8th of April following the faceache was better but the nose in no way improved.

Then _Lemna_ was given again, and this time with the most p.r.o.nounced relief; the nose became much clearer, and he went on taking it, and it alone with scarcely an exception, in fortnightly doses, till the 14th of March last, when his nose was quite clear, with none but a very small polypi visible; he could breathe freely and his sense of smell had completely returned.

The delay in the manifestation of remedial change from November to March arose from complete blockage of the nose, and until the s.p.a.ce created by the subsidence in the size of the polypi sufficed for a pa.s.sage of air the patient had no reason to acknowledge relief.

In the treatment, both of swollen tonsils and in that of nasal polypi, the prescriber will be led away at the onset who accepts the testimony of the patient alone; he should make careful inspection of the parts, and be guided by what is often but a slight local change, as well as by concomitant, and it may be remote, symptoms.

2. The next case I have to bring forward is one of ozoena in a girl of sixteen, who had been three years under the treatment of a colleague who kindly sent her on to me for treatment at the London h.o.m.oeopathic Hospital. The girl, whose occupation was a teacher, has had ozoena since three or four years old. The odor complained of was horrid, and the discharge excessive; a most unpleasant smell in the nose and nasty taste in the mouth; she takes cold easily if out in the night air or damp, and her nose, at times, gets stuffed up; bowels irregular; catamenia only twice--once three months ago and two months before that.

On December 30, 1893, I prescribed _Lemna minor_, and she returned to me from the country, where she was living, on the 31st of the following March, imploring me for another powder, as she had been almost well for two weeks after the last and then had relapsed to her old state; breathing is short and is low spirited.

21st of April, very much better; odor not nearly so bad, discharge much less; unmedicated pilules, three times a day.

19th of May, 1894, kept better for a month; took cold two weeks ago, and since then throat has felt thick and nose has discharged with a horrid odor. Catamenia regular. Breathing is better; crusts coming from both, worse on the left side. To have _Lemna minor_.

This patient came from a distance which prevented frequent attendance, but the above is quite sufficient evidence of the power possessed by _Lemna m._ in acting upon the nasal mucous membrane.

In both these cases relief was immediate after the administration of the dose, and in neither case could any reasonable doubt exist as to its being drug effect.

In some cases I have known a certain disturbance of the bowels to set in after a dose of _Lemna_, but this effect of the remedy is not sufficiently p.r.o.nounced to be able to say much about it. Still it is interesting to narrate one or two experiences, especially as in the first of these, at all events, the concomitants were interesting.

3. In a married lady, aged about twenty-six, for whom I prescribed _Lemna m._ [Greek: theta]A on Sat.u.r.day afternoon, November 12, 1892, and in whom there existed a good deal of catarrhal pharyngitis, due to high up post-nasal ulceration, and who suffered from a dry feeling at the top of the throat with flatulence, and some pain in the bowels toward the evening, described as "twisting" pain, and in whom the nose was blocked on the right side, but without any visible polypus, and in whom the heart was easily disturbed, causing dyspnoea, the bowels being slightly confined.

Two weeks subsequently she stated that after the dose of _Lemna_ the nose felt less blocked, and she felt better in every respect; but that on the Tuesday following diarrhoea set in, which began with twisting pains in the bowels and went on to sickness; continual watery stools.

The least chill or nervousness, I must say, upsets her in this way; and she was subject to the same the last two catamenial periods. She still wakes with her throat dry and tongue coated. _Borax_ 2x was then (November 25) given without any noticeable effect, and on the 9th of December _Lemna minor_ [Greek: theta]A was again prescribed for the following symptoms:

Mouth sore after talking or singing, and dry in the morning; tongue coated.

On the 23d of December, reported herself much better; tongue not so coated; heart less disturbed; no indigestion or diarrhoea.

Nose not perfectly clear, but no unpleasant smell or taste as she used to have, and throat no longer dry or uncomfortable. Instead of waking up with a dirty mouth, it feels clean and her taste pure.

4. A man, aged forty-seven, who suffered from old-standing vascular deafness and who specially complained of snoring a great deal, was given _Lemna minor_, and next day a rumbling and disturbance in the bowels set in and he felt as if he had taken medicine of a searching character.

This lasted for three days, bowels acting during this time freely with much heat in the pa.s.sage (a.n.u.s); but was not bilious, nor were the motions diarrhoeic; the snoring went away, and he ceased to dream unpleasantly when asleep. Hearing, too, seemed somewhat improved.

5. In another case, after a similar dose, diarrhoea came on next day, with pains across the bowels as from flatus; worse after eating, and a very putrid taste with an improvement at the same time in a stuffiness of the nose from which he was suffering.

6. Crusts form in the right nostril and pain like a string extends from the right nostril to the ear of the same side and right ear is deaf. (In a woman, aged twenty-six, great relief.)

It is with great pleasure that I have now to bring forward, not my own observations, but those of two valued colleagues. Dr. J. H. Clarke sends me the following:

_Lemna minor_, CASE I. A lady, aged forty-seven, two years previously met with an accident; a sign board fell on her head when out walking in the street. Seven days after that was taken with sneezing attacks, suffered from nasal catarrh with little intermission until March, 1893, when she came under my care. _Psorinum_ 30 soon put a different complexion on the case, and she became so far relieved of her trouble (which has made her life almost unbearable, as she never dared make an appointment for fear of an attack coming on) that she discontinued treatment. Last Christmas a sharp attack of influenza brought back the catarrh, and this time it proved less amenable to treatment.

Fears of polypus distressed the patient, though I could not discover any.

However, she again made progress, but scarcely as rapid as I could have wished, when I thought of giving her _Lemna_ on indications given by Dr.

Cooper.

On February 15, 1894, I gave it in the 3x, one tablet four times a day.

February 22, very much better; has felt freer in the head than at any time during the last ten years; has felt very much better generally; spirits braced up.

She steadily progressed to cure, and by March 15th could endure the smell of strong scented flowers, which before was impossible.

CASE II. Captain B., aged forty-four, consulted me on February 29, 1894, for violent neuralgia on the right side of the neck, the part being exquisitely sensitive to touch. He had cough and cold for a month. On getting up in the morning he filled two pocket handkerchiefs with yellow deflusion before he got his nose clear. I gave him _Bell._ 12 to take till the neuralgia was better, and then told him to take _Lemna_ 3x gtt.

j. three times a day.

On March 9th he reported that the _Bell._ speedily took away the neuralgia, and that then the _Lemna_ cleared off the catarrh in a most astonis.h.i.+ng fas.h.i.+on. He never had a medicine to act so magically before.

_30 Clarges street, Piccadilly, W., April 21, 1894._

The next communication that I have to bring forward is one from Dr. J.

C. Burnett:

Dr. Cooper told me that he had relieved a case of nasal polypus with _Lemna minor_, and having several cases of the kind that had long been under my observation I thought it my duty to give them the benefit of _Lemna_.

CASE I. A gentleman of sixty years of age, with nasal polypus only moderately developed, yet of many years' duration, was much troubled by the chronic nasal obstruction which was markedly worse in wet weather.

I gave him _Lemna_ 3x, five drops in water, night and morning. Returning in a month, he exclaimed: "That is the best tonic I have ever taken; I have never taken any medicine in my life that has done me so much good.

I feel quite comfortable in my nose and can breathe through it quite well."

CASE II. A lady, about forty-five years of age, mother of a large family and whom I had formerly cured of an uterine tumor, was so troubled with nasal polypi that her life was very distressful; moreover, the polypi had swelled so much that they hung out of the nostrils and compelled the patient to remain within doors. This was notably the case in wet weather. Why not have them removed chirurgically?

"Oh, I have had them operated on over and over again, but it's no good; they only come again worse than ever."

I have tried many things to cure these polypi, but in vain; they would get temporarily better, but the first rainy weather brought them back worse than ever; hence Dr. Cooper's recommendation of _Lemna_ is very welcome to me.

I ordered, as in the last case, with the result that the polypi very greatly diminished in size, and the patient could again take her place in society.

I have used _Lemna_ in many other similar cases, and with the like result. In no case is the polypus really cured, but greatly diminished in size, and the patient rendered relatively comfortable. Clearly the _Lemna_ does not either kill, cure or otherwise get rid of the polypi, but it rids them of much of their succulence and thus reduces their volume, and also diminishes the influence of wet weather to which such patients are so p.r.o.ne. And this is no small boon; is itself in every way superior to any operative interference. The tincture I made use of was made by Dr. Alfred Heath. The first prescription only being of Dr.

Cooper's own make. Both acted alike well.

_86 Wimpole street, June 4, 1894._

From these remarks of Dr. J. H. Clarke and Dr. J. Compton Burnett, as well as from my own, I think there can be no doubt, whatever, that the _Lemna_ exercises a powerful influence upon the Schneiderian mucous membrane. How far it is capable by its specific action of removing large groups of polypi remains, as yet, an open question.

My own experience of the treatment of nasal polypi is that we have very few remedies that can at all be depended upon for giving even temporary relief. Even from _Calcarea carbonica_ and _Teucrium marum verum_ I have not had the effects that some pract.i.tioners testify to their possessing.