Kent's - Classical Homeopathy Online

of Allopathy and try something else. He was a good, well- bred Irishman; so he had to have some goodstout physique. Some of his friends prevailed upon him to stay in the country for a while. He did so, buthe did not get better; he was irritable; he wanted to die. His wife said she could hardly stand it withhim; always wanted to die; did not want to live. His fits drove him to distraction. He did not knowwhen he was going to have one, they were epileptiform in character. Well, in the country he ran acrossa homoeopathic doctor, because he had one of these attacks and the handiest doctor at the time was aHomeopath. That Homeopath told him that he had better come back to St. Louis and place himselfunder my care. He did so. At that time it had been about six months that he had been having these fits.When he walked into my office he staggered; his eyes were nearly bloodshot; he could hardly see, andhe wore a shade over his eyes---so much was he distressed about the light---such a photophobia. Hehad constant pain in his head. He had injured himself by falling upon the back of his head, and he hadwith this all the irritability that I have described. There was nothing in his fits that was distinctive of aremedy, and the first thing that came into my head was Arnica; that is what everybody would havethought. Arnica however, would not have been the best remedy for him. Had I known no other or betterremedy, Arnica would have perhaps been the best. As soon as he had finished his description, and I hadgiven the case more thought I found that Natrum sulfuricum was the best indicated remedy for injuriesabout the head, and I have been in the habit of giving it. So I gave it in this case. The first dose ofNatrum sulfuricum cured this young man. He has never had any pain about the head since. He hasnever had any mental trouble since, never another fit. That one prescription cleared up the entire case.If you will just remember the chronic effects from injuries upon the skull---not fractures, but simpleconcussions that have resulted from a considerable shock and injuries without organic affections--thenNatrum sulfuricum should be your first remedy.Now, that may not be worth remembering, but when you have relieved as many heads as I havewith Natrum sulfuricum you will be glad to have been informed of this circumstance. Ordinarily,Arnica for injuries and the results of injuries, especially the neuralgic pains and the troubles from oldscars; but in mental troubles coming on from a jar or a knock on the head or a fall or injury about thehead, do not forget this medicine, because if you do many patients may suffer where they might havebeen cured had you made use of this remedy.It has violent head pains, and especially so in the base of the brain; violent pains in the back ofthe neck; violent crushing pains as if the base of the brain were crushed in a vice, or as if a dog weregnawing at the base of the brain. These symptoms have led me to prescribe the medicine. In the spinalmeningitis of today, if all the remedies in the Materia Medica were taken away from me and I were tohave but one with which to treat that disease, I would take Natrum sulfuricum, because it will modifyand save life in the majority of cases. It cuts short the disease surprisingly when it is the truly indicatedremedy.In relation to the symptoms that you are likely to find in spinal meningitis, there is a drawingback of the neck and spasms of the back, together with all the mental irritability and delirium alreadydescribed. The violent determination of blood to the head we find in this disease, clinically, is readilyrelieved.The next most important feature is in relation to the eyes.That is characteristic, and is equalled only by one other remedy in chronic diseases where thereis an aversion to life with photophobia, and that is Graphites. You take these cases of chronicconjunctivitis, with granular lids, green pus, terrible photophobia, so much so that he can hardly openhis eyes; the light of the room brings on headache, distress and many pains.Here Natrum sulfuricum should be compared with Graphites, because Graphites has also anextreme aggravation from light in eye affections. Of course, this classes it entirely away fromBelladonna and the other remedies that have acute photophobia, of acute determination of blood to thebrain, because it gives you a chronic state and condition that you must study.Natrum sulfuricum produces a stuffing up of the nose, red tongue, irritable mucous membraneof the eyes, nose, and ears, with great dryness and burning in the nose. Pus becomes green uponexposure to the light.The mouth always tastes bad. The patient says: "Doctor, my mouth is always full of slime".That is a common expression of the patient when he comes to you. And the provers, all of them, saidthat they were troubled with a slimy mouth. Thick, tenacious, white mucus in the mouth. Alwayshawking up mucus; it wells up from the stomach; mucus from the oesophagus; mucus by belching;mucus coughed up from the trachea, and it is always foul and slimy.There is a distended feeling in the stomach; a sense of a weight in the stomach; almost constantnausea; vomiting of slime, bitter and sour. These are the characteristics; bitter and sour.