The Science of Therapeutics - Classical Homeopathy Online

Full text of "The Science of Therapeutics: According to the Principles of Homeopath...Page 184 of 653frequently in chronic catarrh of other mucous membranes, are seldom seen on the mucous lining of the bronchia.Considering our mode of living, and when affecting personsbeyond the age of fifty, the milder cases of chronic bronchialcatarrh do not present any marked symptoms. The patients cougha little, most geuerally in the morning, and after that they expetorate some, but assimilation is not affected by the disease, northe respiratory process interfered with, and the condition sometimes remains unchanged for years. The more violent cases, on thecontrary, cause constant and most commonly increasing trouble.After the termination of an acute bronchial catarrh, — for chronicatarrh seldom sets in gradually without any preliminary acutestage, — cough and expectoration remain and continue with slightvariations until made worse again by another acute attack. Thecough is marked by two essentially distinct features. If the bronchial secretion is scanty, tenacious and firmly adhering, the parysms of cough occur less frequently, but in such a case the coughis mostly severely spasmodic and not unfrequently leads to gagginand vomiting. The paroxysms occur most frequently at night, lesscommonly in the day-time. After violent exertions, some of theabove-described mucus is expelled ; sometimes a little mucus is nhawked up till some time after the cough. If the secretion is morcopious, the cough sets in chiefly in the morning-hours or afteruse of warm food ; it may continue for a long time, but is not spmodic, for after a few energetic spells of cough, the mucus is detached and expectorated.Sooner or later the cough becomes associated with more or lessviolent oppression of breathing, which may even creep along without, being perceived and corresponds with the increasing hypertrophy of the bronchial mucous membrane, a diminution of itselasticity and the copious quantity of the secretion. At first thoppression is only perceived by the patients when making an efforduring a rapid walk, going up hill; soon, however, it is felt eveduring an ordinary walk, even during rest, and causes a great dea212 Diseases of the Lungs.of annoyance. In the higher grades of the disease, the patients athreatened daring the paroxysm of cough with danger of suffocation ; even between the paroxysms the nature of the existing affetion is revealed at first sight by the elevated thorax and the cosequent shortening of the neck. The most intense pain, however,is endured by the patients if an acute aggravation of the diseasetakes place. Under such circumstances they exhibit such a perfectpicture of distress that it seems as though they could not possiblive longer than twenty-four hours. These acute exacerbationsoccur almost certainly once at least every spring and fall, eventhe patients have not knowingly been exposed or have not evenleft their room.The structural changes, superinduced by chronic catarrh, renderthe disease, if it lasts any length of time, almost constantly unbearable. Emphysema which often is produced by, but seldomengenders catarrh, usually accompanies the latter and occasions pmanent dyspnoea corresponding with the extent of the emphysema.http://www.archive.org/stream/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog_djvu.txt