The Science of Therapeutics - Classical Homeopathy Online

Full text of "The Science of Therapeutics: According to the Principles of Homeopath...Page 135 of 653we shall speak of it only so far as may be necessary to discriminbetween the two kinds of congestion, active and passive.Symptoms and Course. The symptoms of pulmonary hyperfieraiavary greatly, according to the condition of the lungs anddegree of engorgement. The lower grades of acute congestion onlycause a sensation of oppression with shorter and more hurriedbreathing, at times passing away rapidly, at other times moreslowly, or having remissions but being otherwise painless. In thehigher grades the breathing suddenly becomes oppressed to an extraordinary degree, so that the patient seems on the point of suf152 Diseases of the Lungs.cation. The respiration is hurried, superficial, noisy; the pulseincreases in frequency and fulness, the face looks flushed. Mostmonly these symptoms are associated with a desire to cough, andthe frothy sputa are tinged with blood. There is no pain if thelungs are otherwise sound, whereas tuberculous individuals ex*perience a great deal of pain. In the highest grades of hypersemithe dyspnoea increases so rapidly and the sanguineous engorgementbecomes so great that the patients die of asphyxia, sometimes sosuddenly that an accident of this kind has been termed pulmonaryapoplexy.The lesser grades of the affection generally terminate sooner orlater in complete recovery, whereas in the higher and more protracted grades of the disease, oedema of the lungs may developitself, which may continue for a long time, even after the hypersemia is entirely removed. It is questionable whether a simplehypersemia can ever pass into pneumonia, notwithstanding thatpneumonia is very commonly initiated by symptoms of hypersemia.Passive hypersemia has almost the same symptoms as the activeform, great oppression of breathing, turgescence of the countenanaccelerated action of the heart. The resemblance is sometimes sogreat that passive hypersemia is treated in the same manner as thactive form, to the great detriment of the patient. In such casescorrect diagnosis can only be determined by the anamnestic circumstances of the disease and a careful exploration of the conditionthe heart ; for passive hypersemia never sets in without being prceded by considerable morbid derangements. Hypostasis of thelungs or, in other words, an accumulation of blood in accordancewith the law of gravitation, is scarcely ever any thing else thanpartial manifestation of other diseases; it occurs almost exclusiamong old people, and is generally destitute of any symptomaticappearances.The prognosis in acute congestion is almost always favorable;congestions caused by violent emotions are the least promising. Afrequent repetition of the attacks is always a very bad sign ; thshow that either the heart is intensely diseased, or else that pumonary tuberculosis is their exciting cause.Treatment. The main remedy for all active congestions of thelungs is undoubtedly Aconite. We are amazed that Hartmannshould have omitted any mention of this remedy. Aconite is particularly appropriate in hypersemia depending upon cardiac affechttp://www.archive.org/stream/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog_djvu.txt