The Science of Therapeutics - Classical Homeopathy Online

Full text of "The Science of Therapeutics: According to the Principles of Homeopath...Page 246 of 653whereas Carbo has but a very slight expectoration which, moreover, aftbrds no relief.Lycopodium is recommended by Hartmann, if the patient feelsvery nervous, without heat in the head or flushes on the face, wicircumscribed redness of the cheeks, great weakness, perspirationwhich does not relieve, redness and dryness of the tongue, frequent urging to cough with a little grayish expectoration which iraised with difficulty, after which the rfiles in the chest are ndiminished in the least, and the dyspnoea is very striking. Thesesymptoms seem to us very vague, and we doubt whether such agroup has ever been seen in practice. Adding to the above thestatements of other physicians, we assert that Lycopodium is onlysuitable in pneumonia after the acute symptoms have all passedaway, whereas hectic symptoms have taken their place. HenceLycopodium is very closely related to Carbo veget., even the locadrug-symptoms are very much alike. As distinctive signs we pointout under Lycopodium a deficiency of the symptoms denoting ageneral decomposition, the absence of colliquative symptoms inother organs, especially in the intestinal canal, and the absencePneumonia. 287lesser degrees of passive congestion, and finally the copious exptoration which affords no relief. In pulmonary abscess Lycopodiummay be tried, but it is not a leading remedy.Regarding Opium, Miiller, after quoting the scanty, literary material, has the following: "Despite the poverty of the homoeopathliterature, Opium can be assigned a place in pneumonia with tolerable certainty. Excluding all acute inflammatory conditions of thlungs, Opium can be given with great success for paroxysmalobstructions of the respiration and for suffocative paroxysms thaare occasioned by various disturbances of the pulmonary and cardifunctions (hence also in the course of a pneumonia where no resoltion has taken place,) as well as when general cerebro-spinal afftions are complained of. The following symptoms are especiallycharacteristic: These symptoms originate during, or are aggravateby sleep; absence of pain, except a constrictive sensation on thechest ; labored, rattling respiration, or very slow, almost impertible, even* suspended breathing; sudden blueness of the face; sting, immovable, half-closed eyes; somnolence before or after anattack; trembling, twitching and jerking about the whole body, orelse rigidity of the body, general coolness of the skin; irregulaintermittent pulse, constipation. Many give moreover the followinsymptoms as indications for Opium : Bad effects of fright and fealikewise of w^ine-bibbings and ailments incidental to old age; geeral insensibility of the nervous system and deficient reaction acertain medicines." We do not consider these indications sufficieclear and definite to be of much practical use in the treatment opneumonia; for this reason we add a few detached observations,because we regard Opium as a really important remedy in pneumonia. That Opium causes pneumonic infiltration, is evident froma case of poisoning of a child of three months which is reportedBoyd-Mushet in the Med. Times and Gazette, March 20, 1858. Itis remarkable that it is precisely in the case of children that tnot simply narcotic effects of Opium are so prominently developedon which account it is our opinion that it is only in infantile phttp://www.archive.org/stream/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog_djvu.txt