The Science of Therapeutics - Classical Homeopathy Online

Full text of "The Science of Therapeutics: According to the Principles of Homeopath...Page 173 of 653198 Diseases of the Lungs.chronic bronchial catarrh, bronchiectasia, emphysema, deterioratiof single parts of the lungs, with consequent malformation of thethorax, pulmonary tuberculosis, heart-disease, although the lastnamed rarely and then involving mostly the right heart; eclampsiaoccasionally mental derangement, and lastly hernia which is of coparatively frequent occurrence. If the disease lasts a long time,complete marasmus is not an unfrequent occurrence; it is notattended with other morbid conditions^ and seems to result fromthe exhausted condition of the nervous system caused by the exceasive paroxysms of cough.The prognosis is always uncertain. Although the cough doesnot endanger the lives of healthy children, nevertheless, the supvention of one of the above-mentioned complications at any periodduring the course of the disease may occasion death or a lifeinfirmity ; thus it happens that we often see vigorous and healthchildren come out of an attack of epidemic whooping-cough likewretched invalids. "We claim for HomcBopathy the advantage thatsuch pitiable results are scarcely ever witnessed under homceopattreatment, except perhaps in the case of children with deterioratand rickety constitutions.Treatment. We consider the homoeopathic treatment of whooping-cough calculated to demonstrate the value of homoeopathictherapeutics to obstinate sceptics, and deem this a good opportunfor premising a few general remarks.Considering the extraordinary frequency of whooping-cough epidemics and the universality with which children are assailed ; anconsidering moreover the greatness of the danger to which childreare exposed during the prevalence of such epidemics, and the insuficiency of the ordinary mode of treatment, it seems quite naturathat extraordinary efforts should have been made to lay bare thecauses of this disease. It is an established fact that whoopingcough is the result of a noxa diffused through the atmosphere. Buhow is it that this noxa to which every body is exposed, engenderthis peculiar cough only in the case of children ? To adopt thetheory of a specific affection of the vagus, does not harmonize wthis exclusive invasion of the infantile organism whose pnenmogastric nerves are certainly constructed in the same manner asthose of adults ; moreover this theory is not corroborated by thenumerous post-mortem examinations. On such occasions thesenerves were scarcely ever found altered, but most commonly unTussis Convulsiva, Pertussis. 199changecL Thia hypothesis, like all other hypotheses that are notbased upon the evidence of facts, has now been abandoned.Nevertheless since a theory of the pathology of this disease mustnecessarily have an important influence on the treatment, we cannot refrain from recording our views on this subject. During theprevalence of epidemic whooping-cough, violent and obstinatecatarrhs are likewise very common among adults. It cannot wellbe denied that the quality of the mucus secreted at such a time dhttp://www.archive.org/stream/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog_djvu.txt