Kent's - Classical Homeopathy Online

administering a dose of Bryonia for a constitutional state, to have your patient come in and say she hasbeen made very ill from eating some one of these things. It is well to caution persons who are under theinfluence of Puls. to avoid the use of fat foods, because very often they will upset the action of theremedy. It is well to say to patients who are under Lyc., "See that you do not eat oysters while takingthis medicine". These medicines are known to produce states in the stomach inimical to certain kinds offoods; certain remedies have violently inimical relation to acids, lemons, etc. If you do not particularlymention the fact, and say, "You must not touch vinegar or lemons; nor take lemon juice while takingthis medicine", you will have the remedy spoiled, and then wonder why it is. The medicine often stopsacting and the patient gets a disordered condition of the stomach and bowels; a medicine that should actfor a long time ceases action and you do not know what the trouble is. Homeopathy will rule out suchthings as are inimical to the remedies and inimical to patients in general, or do not agree with aparticular constitution. To have an iron-clad rule is not correct practice; the only iron-clad rule is to besure that the remedy is similar to the patient when you administer it, and the things that he is to haveare to be in agreement with that remedy. It is not an uncommon thing for a patient who has been underthe influence of Rhus tox., and has been doing well up to a certain time, after he has taken a bath, tohave his symptoms return in the form of a Rhus state; the action of the remedy stops right there. Hemust of course take a bath, and yet it is true that some constitutional cases under Rhus must stop takingtheir ordinary bath in order to keep themselves under the influence of Rhus. It is the same withCalcarea--a bath will of ten stop the action. I only speak of these things to impress upon you theimportance of feeding and treating your patient in accordance with the remedy; in accordance with aprinciple and not by rule; do not have one list of foods for your patients; do not have a list of things foreverybody. There is no such thing in Homeopathy.The patient himself in all the strange and peculiar things is worse from eating; the cough isworse from eating, the complaints of the head, the headaches, are worse from eating, and therespiration is worse from eating. The stomach is distended with wind after eating, but especially afteroysters. Oysters are not, as a rule, a dangerous article of diet, yet some are poisoned by oysters. "Worseafter eating or drinking". When the case is one of whooping cough, the cough is worse, the paroxysmsare more violent and all the symptoms are worse a little while after eating, but later, when digestion isfinished and the stomach is empty, he is much relieved. The Bryonia patient is ordinarily relieved fromdrinking, but if, when overheated, he drinks cold water, all of his rheumatic symptoms are worse, thecough is worse, and the headache is worse. He will have a violent headache after drinking cold waterwhen heated. In Rhus patients complaints are worse from drinking cold water when heated. Theheadache increases into a throbbing and bursting pain tenfold greater than it was before drinking.The Bryonia patient is subject to hiccough, to belching, to nausea and vomiting, so thatdisordered stomach is the general term. Bitter eructations, bitter nauseous taste. He vomits bile.After eating all these things are increased. In the stomach and abdomen we have a great manysymptoms resulting from disordered stomach, or from taking cold, or from becoming overheated, orfrom drinking ice water when overheated. Dis-ordered stomach; irritation of the stomach so that hecannot eat without extreme pain, and this increases until the inflammatory condition involves the wholestomach and abdomen, and there is sensitiveness to pressure, and it can be diagnosed as a gastroenteritis,with the soreness and tenderness, stitching, burning pains, all worse from motion; nausea andvomiting, diarrhea, tympanitic abdomen; unable to move because it so increases the pain.With the exception of the abdominal and stomach pains, the Bryonia pains are better frompressure. The Bryonia patient with the inflammatory conditions will often be seen lying perfectly quietin bed with the knees drawn up; lying with the limbs flexed in order to relax the abdominal muscles; hedoes not want to be talked to, does not want to think; every movement is painful, and increases thefever and often cause alternation of chilliness with heat; high fever.The Bryonia patient, when lying perfectly quiet, is sometimes quite free from nausea, but theinstant the head is raised from the pillow the dreadful sickness returns, so that he cannot sit up. Hecannot be raised up in bed because of the nausea, and if he persists in rising up the nausea comes onmore than ever, with burning in the stomach. With every motion he gulps up a little mucus and slime,which is putrid.All sorts of pains are felt in the stomach and bowels, but most particularly stitching and burningpains; feels as if the stomach would burst, as if the abdomen would burst. Peritoneal exudations. Awfulsoreness. Sensitiveness of the pit of the stomach, and sensitiveness over the whole abdomen. This iscommonly relieved by heat, although the patient himself wants to lie in a cool room. The heat of theroom is oppressive, yet heat applied is agreeable. Every inspiration, every motion of the chest greatlyaggravates these pains, so that you will find a Bryonia patient shortening up his breathing instead ofbreathing deep. He keeps that up until he cannot stand it any longer, and then he takes a long breath