An Epitome of the Homeopathic Healing Art Part 3

Croup.

This is a disease of children. Comes on in consequence of a sudden cold.

Children suffering from Hooping Cough are more subject to it. The cough is of a peculiar whistling kind, like the crowing of a young chicken, with rattling in the throat and difficult breathing, fever is present, and often very violent. It is properly an inflammation of the Larynx, but the inflammation may also exist in the Pharynx, the tonsils may be involved, and it may extend to the trachia, (wind pipe). A false membrane forms in the larynx if the disease is not arrested, and so obstructs the breathing as to cause death from suffocation.

TREATMENT.

Give at first _Aconite_, _Phosphoric Acid_, and _Spongia_, giving them in the order here named once in ten minutes in a very violent case, and as the patient improves at intervals of half an hour, and then an hour.

Should the fever subside, and still the tightness in the throat and cough continue to be troublesome, give _Ipecac_ in place of Aconite. And when the cough seems to be deep seated use _Bryonia_ instead of spongia.

The patient should be kept in a warm room, and free from exposure to currents of cold air. The application of a cloth wrung out of cold or ice water to the throat, covered immediately with dry warm flannels so as to exclude the air from the wet cloth, will often exert a decidedly beneficial effect, and there is no danger if managed as here directed.

The feet should be kept warm and the head cool, but _don't_ put _cold_ water on a child's head.

Asthma.

If an attack comes on from sudden cold, take _Aconite_ and _Ipecac_ every hour for a day, and if any symptoms remain, in place of the Aconite use _Copaiva_, _a.r.s.enic.u.m_ and _Phos. Acid_ with the _Ipecac_, giving them in rotation, a dose every hour.

In _Chronic Asthma_, where the patient is liable to an attack at any time, great benefit will be derived from taking these four in rotation about two hours apart for a day or two, at any time when symptoms of an attack begin to appear.

I have recently succeeded in alleviating several bad cases, at once, by these four remedies in succession as here recommended, on whom (some of them) I had at various times tried all of them, as well as other medicines, singly at longer intervals, as directed in the Books, without any decided benefit. After trying these in succession, as here directed, I found no trouble in arresting the paroxysm in a few hours, and I am strong in the faith that with some, at least, I have effected _cures_.

It is worth much to _arrest_ the _paroxysm_ if no more.

Hooping Cough.

According to my experience, though this disease may not be entirely arrested in its course, and not generally much abridged in its duration, still the use of appropriate medicines will greatly modify it, and render it a comparatively trifling affection.

In treatment, give at the commencement of the attack _Bell._ and _Phos.

acid_ alternately every twelve hours for a week, then once in six hours, and if the child should take cold so as to bring on fever, give one every hour. Continue these, as above directed, for the first two or three weeks, then, in their stead, after the cough becomes loose, and the patient vomits easily, give _Copaiva and Ipecac_ in the same manner as directed, for the two former remedies.

Dyspepsia.

This term is applied so loosely and so indiscriminately to all chronic derangements of the stomach, that it is difficult to define it. I shall therefore point out some of the more common ailments of the stomach and their proper remedies.

For sour eructations with hot, burning, scalding fluid rising up in the throat, with or without food, give _Phos. acid and Pulsatilla_ in alternation every half hour, until the stomach is easy. For a feeling of weight and pain in the stomach, with dull pain in the head, with or without dizziness, give _Nux. Vom._ every hour until it relieves. If there is a _burning_ feeling in the stomach as well as the heavy load, _without_ eructations and rising of fluid, _a.r.s.enic.u.m_ should be alternated with the _Nux. Vom._, at intervals of two hours. There are persons who, from imprudence in eating or drinking or both, or which is more frequent, from _harsh drug medication_, have so enfeebled their stomachs, that, though by care in selecting their food, and prudence in taking it, they may suffer but little, are, nevertheless, when from home or on special occasions, liable to overeat or take the wrong kind of food, from which unfortunate circ.u.mstance they are made to suffer the most tormenting and intolerable distress in the stomach and bowels, which may last, more or less severe, for several days. Soon after the unfortunate meal, perhaps the next morning, or, it may be, in a few hours, the stomach begins to bloat, by acc.u.mulating gas within, which is belched up every few minutes in large quant.i.ties; the stomach and bowels are racked with the most torturing pains; cold sweat stands on the brow, and he is the very picture of misery. Thus he may roll and tumble all night, and remain in misery the next day and several days longer, before the food will digest. It often pa.s.ses from the stomach without digestion, and on its way through the bowels inflicts constant pain. If he does not take some emetic substance, he is not apt to vomit, his stomach cramping so as to prevent it.

I have here described one of the bad cases, but bad as it is they are by no means _very_ rare. There are such cases in abundance, of all grades from the one here described down to a slight derangement. They all require a similar course of _treatment_.

It is useful for such patients to take at once large quant.i.ties of lukewarm water, and repeat the draught every ten to fifteen minutes, until free and thorough vomiting is induced, so as to throw off all the food from the stomach.

But even this does not often cure these bad cases. If it did, it is not always convenient to do it. The medicine that is quite certain to afford relief at once is _Podophyllin_. Let it be given, and the dose repeated in an hour. A third dose is rarely necessary. After relief from this attack, the medicine should be taken night and morning for a month or more until the stomach is restored. In the meantime care should be taken not to overload the stomach.

Constipation.

The medicine for this affection is _Nux vom._, to be taken at night on retiring. If there is fulness and pain in the head from costiveness, _Bell._ should be used in the morning, and at noon. Let the patient contract a habit of drinking _cold water_ freely on rising in the morning, at least half an hour before eating. The patient _should not take physic_.

For constipation of children, _Nux_ and _Bryonia_ are to be given Nux at night and Bryonia in the morning. _Opium_ is useful.

Much needless alarm is often felt by persons on account of a costive state of the bowels. If no pain is felt from it, there is no cause for alarm.

"Heartburn."

This peculiar burning and distressed feeling at the stomach depends on imperfect digestion, but is _not_ ordinarily, as is generally supposed, connected with a sour or acid state of the fluids in the stomach. The condition of the fluids is alkaline, in most cases, though it is sometimes acid. If it depends upon biliary derangement, _Nux Vomica_ and _Podophyllin_ are the remedies for a male; _Pulsatilla_ and _Podophyllin_ for a female.

Erysipelas.

This is a disease of the skin, producing redness, burning and itching pains, appearing in patches, in adults, most apt to appear about the head and face, but in children, upon the limbs, or in very young children, beginning at the umbilicus. It sometimes begins at one point, and continues to spread for a time, then suddenly disappears, and reappears at some other point.

_Simple Erysipelas_ only affects the surface, with redness and smarting.

_Vessicular_, produces vessicular eruption, or blisters filled with a limpid fluid, somewhat like the blisters from a burn.

The _Phlegmonous Erysipelas_ affects the whole thickness of the skin and cellular tissues beneath it, producing swelling, and not unfrequently, resulting in suppuration, ulceration or gangrene and sloughing of the parts. It is a dangerous disease, especially when on the head.

TREATMENT.

For the simple kind, _Bell._ is all that will be needed, unless there should be considerable fever, when _Aconite_ should be alternated with the _Bell._ For the _vessicular_ kind, where there are blisters, _Rhus tox._ should be used with _Bell_. For the _Phlegmonous_, with deep seated swellings, _Apis mel_ is the most important remedy. I prefer to use three of these remedies, giving them in rotation, beginning with the _Bell._, followed with _Rhus_, and then by _Apis mel._ giving them one hour apart. In a mild case, or after the patient begins to recover, give them at longer intervals. The _Apis_ alone will often be sufficient.

During the whole time, the affected parts should be kept covered with dry, superfine flour, some say Buckwheat flour acts most favorably. The diet should be very spare. Eat as little as possible, until the disease begins to subside.

A very important part of the treatment of this affection is to keep the patient in a room that is comfortably warm, say at a temperature of from 65 to 75, and keep the temperature _uniformly the same_, as nearly as possible, night and day. Do not, by any means, expose him suddenly to cold air, or a cold breeze, as on going into a cold room, going out into cold air, or undressing or dressing in a cold room. Uniformly warm temperature is of great importance.

Burns and Scalds.

No matter what the nature and extent of the burn may be, the very best of all medicines of which I have any knowledge, is _Soap_. If the parts affected, are immediately immersed or enveloped in Soft Soap, the pain will be greatly lessened, and the inflammation that would otherwise follow, will be essentially modified, if not entirely prevented. It acts like magic; no one who has never tried it can have any idea of its potency for the relief of pain, together with the prevention of bad consequences following severe burning. Under the influence of the _Soap_ applications, burns and scalds will often be rendered comparatively insignificant injuries. Instead of endangering the life of the sufferer from the excessive pain, or the ulceration, or gangrene and sloughing that would follow if the pain in the first instance does not destroy life, the pain ceases, or becomes bearable in a short time, and either little or no suppuration or sloughing takes place, or the sore a.s.sumes the appearance of healthy suppuration, and heals kindly--avoiding those unsightly deformities that so commonly follow severe burning. If practicable, the soap, as before suggested, should be applied immediately after the burn, the sooner the better. The part may be put into soft soap, or cloths saturated with it can be wrapped around or covered over the affected surface, to any desirable extent. The parts should not be exposed to the air for a single moment, when possible to prevent it. During the first two or three days, dressings need not be removed, unless they cause irritation after the first severe pain has subsided. They should be kept all of the time moist, and as far as practicable, in a condition to be impervious to the air.

When it is necessary to remove them, let the affected surface be immersed in strong soap suds, at a temperature of about 75 or 80, and the dressing removed while it is under water, and others applied while in the same situation. In ordinary cases, however, even of extensive burns, after the fever consequent upon it has subsided, and the part is tolerably free from pain and smarting, the dressings may be removed in the air, but others should be in readiness and applied as speedily as possible. The soap dressings are to be continued from the beginning until the inflammation has subsided and the sore has lost all symptoms that distinguish it from an ordinary healthy suppurating sore.

After the first few days, or in case of a slight burn at the beginning, an excellent mode of applying the soap, is to make a strong thick "_Lather_" with soft water and good soap, such as Castile, or any other good hard soap, as a barber would for shaving, and apply that to the affected part with a soft shaving brush; apply it as carefully as possible, so as to cover every part of the surface, and go over it several times, letting the former coat dry a little before applying another, forming a thick crust impervious to the air. In small burns, and even in pretty extensive and severe ones, this is the best mode of application, and the only one necessary.

In many cases of very severe and dangerous burns, under the influence of this application, the inflammation subsides, and after a week or more, the crust of lather comes off, exposing the surface smooth and well.

Although it is important to apply the _soap_ early, and the case does much better if that has been done, still I have found it the best remedy even as late as the second or third day. In such a case, the _lather_ application is the best.

For the fever and general nervous disturbance, _Aconite_ and _Bell._ should be given alternately, as often as every half hour, and the _Aconite_ should be given in appreciable doses; it acts powerfully as an anodyne. The soap treatment, or at least, the mode of applying it was first suggested to me by Dr. J. TIFFT, of Norwalk, Ohio, some six or seven years ago, since which time I have had opportunities of testing its virtues in all forms of burns and scalds, some of which were of the severest and most dangerous character, and I am quite sure in several cases, no other remedy or process known to the medical profession, could have relieved and restored as this did.

The application of finely pulverized common salt, triturated with an equal part of superfine flour, acts very beneficially on burns. It seems to have the specific effect to "extract the heat," literally putting out the fire. It is particularly useful for deep burns where the surface is abraded. Some may suppose this would be severe and cause too much pain when applied to a raw surface, but so far from that being the case, it is a most soothing application. It often so changes the condition of even the severest burns, in a short time, as to render them of no more importance and no more dangerous than ordinary abrasions to the same extent, by causes unconnected with heat. _Urtica urens_ is directed for burns, and is useful, but the _Urtica dioica_ is better. For

Chilblains,

That follow freezing or chilling the feet, causing most distressing uneasiness and itching of the feet and toes, take these remedies, _Rhus_ and _Apis_, the former at night and the latter in the morning. In bad cases, they should be used once in six hours. Applications of _Oil of Arnica_ to the affected parts at night, warming them before a fire, will serve greatly to palliate the sufferings, and frequently effect a perfect cure. The _Urtica Dioica_ will relieve recent cases, immediately, and is one of the best remedies for the chronic affection.