The Science of Therapeutics - Classical Homeopathy Online

Full text of "The Science of Therapeutics: According to the Principles of Homeopath...Page 174 of 653fers from an ordinary catarrhal mucus ; the former is very tenaciand glassy, ropy, firmly adhering to the mucous membrane, whereas ordinary mucus is lumpy and globular, and frequently causingeven in the case of adults a peculiarly spasmodic cough. Kow wewould ask, are there not conditions in the infantile organism sufficient to account for the convulsive nature of the cough ? It isdemonstrable fact that the urging to cough caused by the secretioof mucus, is much less in children than in adults, and so much lethe younger the children are. Whereas an adult expectorates everylittle quantity of mucus by a voluntary attempt to cough, the chidoes not expel the mucus until the urging to cough has reached anextraordinary degree of violence. This fact is evidenced in the cof children who sleep quietly in spite of a rattling respirationmucous rales in the trachea and bronchia that can be heard at adistance. The child only coughs if compelled to do so by the dyspnoea and the urging is very great. This condition will necessarilgive rise to a corresponding reaction, the cough will be so muchmore violent. Moreover the child has not sufficient strength of wto overcome the irritation which induces the cough ; at any rate,this attempt is only noticed among larger children, and thus it ithat a violent struggle arises where an energetic resistance mighhave given rise to a moderate turn of cough. The evidence for thistatement is derived from the circumstance that the older the chidren the less violent the cough. Again, robust children are attacwith less violent paroxysms than nervous children. Finally thespasmodic character of the cough is accounted for by the decisivedisi osition of the infantile organism to convulsive affections ;is likewise confirmed by the fact that among adults only such indviduals are attacked by whooping-cough as exhibit a disposition tspasm, namely females.It is therefore our opinion that the peculiar form of whoopingcough can be explained by the child's evidently feeble reactionagainst the urging to cough, by the insufficient energy to contro200 Diseases of the Lungs.the irritation and urging, and by the disposition to spasmodic aftions generally.These points, if applied to epidemic catarrh which not only causethe secretion of a peculiar mucus, but most probably determinesessential changes in the irritability of the trachea and larynx,sufficient reasons for the paroxysms of cough which otherwisemight appear inexplicable.In this manner a number of symptoms that otherwise wouldseem incomprehensible, can be made intelligible. The continualincrease of the violence of the paroxysms, for instance, for montat a time, cannot be accounted for by referring it to the simpleaction and development of the miasm, since we do not observe asimilar feature in other miasmatic affections, which are generallmost intense at the commencement of their course. The continualincrease of the whooping-cough can be easily accounted for by theincrease of irritability in consequence of the cough, and by thedecreasing amount of resistance. Chorea exhibits a similar featurin its course. Niemeyer advises to abbreviate the paroxysms byexciting the children to make an effort to control the cough. Anhttp://www.archive.org/stream/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog_djvu.txt