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THE

AMERICAN

HOMEOPATHIST

AN EXPONENT OF HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINE

VOLUME XXI

1895

EDITOR:

FRANK KRAFT, M. D.

NEW YORK:

A. L. CHATTERTON & CO.

The American Homeopathist.

NEW YORK, JANUARY 1, 1895.

NO.

FRANK KRAFT, M. D., CLEVELAND, OHIO, EDItor.

OME few of the medical colleges still follow the old and many times unjust practice of offering a prize for unusual excellence in one or the other departments of the college. A man grown who, having entered upon the serious task of fitting himself for the medical profession, yet needs the spur of a glittering bauble to incite him to do his fullest endeavor in his life work, is not very much entitled to the medical honors he solicits. School children and others of immature judgment, whose parents or guardians "pay the freight," may be hothoused by the promise of a picture in four colors, a reward-of-merit card, a red-edged, gaudily bound, goody-goody book, and the like; but this motive ought not to govern in a professional school.

THERE

HERE is something in the workings of the world that brings out the good or the bad that is in mankind. A competitive examination, after a study of three or four years, brings out only the readiness of memory and the imitative faculty. The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong. The prize scholar, like the class essayist, may live to find the special excellence for which he was crowned with the laurel wreath was about the only thing which has proved inutile to him. There is also the constant menace of injustice being done; that human nature being human nature, even in the medical fraternity, a pet scholar or one's own student may be selected for the wearing of the twenty-dollar gold piece artistically decorated and suitably engraved, or the forceps, or the

Fit were always possible to confer the blue surgical set. The writer of this editorial con

ar gold piece, suita a sense of soreness on this point, a

bly inscribed with the donor's name, upon the
most meritorious party, who would, in truth,
bear the palm of victory in future days, and not
upon the tar-bucket memory party, who has
neither practical knowledge nor inclination,
then there might be the less objection to the con-
tinuance of the much-abused custom. (It may
be possible, indeed, that the giver of the medal
is not by any means a loser by his generosity.
It is an advertisement in the catalogue, a promi-
nent item of the commencement exercises, and a
long-lasting advertisement in the mind of the
recipient after the alma mater has been deserted
and the cold world attempted. It is really a
very cheap way to become locally famous.)
But, on the other hand, it is a well-known fact
in all ages that the prize boy or girl was not the
one who knocked the persimmons in after life.
American history especially is vocal with the
success of the other boy or girl.

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Materia Medica Miscellany.

Arsenicum, THE "LIQUID CATHETER."Mrs. C. W. D. was taken with a severe pain in the left side, accompanied by chilliness and short, hacking cough, says the Chicago Homeopath. Thinking it nothing but a cold, she "doctored" it in accordance with the usual domestic methods. The pain persisted, dyspnoea came on, grew worse, and was followed by orthopnoea. Forty-eight hours after the inception of the attack the writer was summoned. At that time the respirations were rapid, shallow, and labored, pulse fast and weak. Dyspnoea was intense, and patient was unable to either eat or sleep. Percussion disclosed flatness over the entire left thorax below the clavicle. The apex beat of the ⚫ heart was to the right of the sternum. The case looked critical, and paracentesis appeared a necessity. Not having an aspirator at hand, the operation was postponed. Patient was given arsenicum alb., 3x trit., 2 grains once an hour. Returned the next morning with aspirator, but found patient markedly better. Continued treatment, and the next day she showed still further improvement. Progress toward recovery commenced and continued from the first hour. Nothing but arsenicum was given from the first. till the patient was discharged, recovered. effusion disappeared with a rapidity that bordered on the marvelous, and the cure was apparently complete. This was in 1889, and the patient has had no similar trouble since. A remarkable feature of this case was that the patient came from a phthisical family, had lost a daughter with phthisis shortly before this attack, and in view of these facts was practically given up as doomed; but she recovered, to the surprise of doctor and discomfiture of undertaker.Harvey Dale, M. D.

Berberis Vulg. FOR PAIN IN Right Ureter. -Mrs. N., aged forty-two years, has had leucorrhoea for several months. She has pain in the right kidney, following the course of the ureter. Has had cough since she was a little girl. Berberis was given, thinking that these pains came from sand passing through the ureter. After the pains she passed large quantities of muddy urine. The curative effect of a drug is on the reverse side of the provings. Ber

beris has cured the pain in the right ureter, and the pain in the left ureter has been produced by the remedy. Berberis is a great remedy for passages of stone or sand through the ureters. Her appetite is better since she began taking the remedy; her cough continues same, but in every other respect she is better. On the third return of the patient the berberis was discontinued and sac. lac. substituted. Progressed to complete recovery. From Private Notes.

Iodine IN CHRONIC OVARITIS.-Anna P., aged forty-two, has pain in abdomen and in bowels, more on left side; has been suffering in this way for twenty-six years, with relief at times. On lifting the arms there is a tearing pain in the left groin. Wakes up at 3 A. M., and can't sleep any more. Aggravation from walking too much; better from moderate exercise. Pains come on at 3 A. M. She can lie on either side, but not very long. Relief after eating. Pains come on just about meal times. Can't eat sour things. Tenderness on pressure in left ovary. Pain in left ovary during stool, a little before stool, and also after stool. Has leucorrhoea, aggravated on passing stool. Giddiness, with sensation as if she would fall, on exercise. Faint, sick spell, with nausea, on getting up in the morning. Fresh fish gives nausea. Has to lie propped up on account of difficult breathing. Leucorrhoea white and thick; burns and smarts. Menses twice per month, but natural in quantity. Bowels move twice, sometimes three times a day. Has trouble in urinating, a little at a time, red color, with aggravation in night. The pains in the ovarian region are worse at 3 P. M. The urine intermits, as it does in conium. Iodine was given because of the pain just before eating and the relief upon eating, the early morning sleeplessness, the left side trouble, and because the menses come, and stop, and go on again. Improvement was marked from the first dose, and was progressive for several weeks, when sac. lac. was substituted. Entire recovery.-From Private Notes.

Stramonium IN LAMENESS OF KNEE.— Julia, aged five years, has pain in left knee, which may be the beginning of hip-joint disease. On rotating the leg in socket no pain is experienced, nor on suddenly striking the leg below the knee are the patellar reflexes absent. She has spon

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Conium IN DYSMENORRHEA.-Miss G., aged twenty-five, has always had dysmenorrhea, says Dr. Goodno in Hoyne's Clinical Therapeutics, the flow scanty, almost stopped; epistaxis, cough, stitches through the left lung at times. Two years ago, after unusual exertion had bearing-down pains, etc. Bry., sepia, sulph., and graph. relieved dysmenorrhea somewhat, but the prolapsus pains increased. Examination showed uterus prolapsed and anteverted; bearing down as though the womb would be forced from the vulva, aggravated when standing and walking, before and during the menses; intermittent flow of the urine, with cutting after micturition; obstinate constipation, absence of stools for seven days (long standing); stools large, hard, and followed by tremulous weakness; she must lie down; dull pain below left mamma (one year); conium 1000, with prompt relief and speedy cure.

Lycopodium IN SCIATICA AND LUMBAGO OF TWENTY YEARS' STANDING.-Dr. Banerjee in Calcutta Med. Jour.-An old lady, aged seventy years, was suffering from very painful sciatica and lumbago for the last twenty years. Since the last five years she was confined to bed. She never suffered from rheumatism nor gout. She was subject to acidity only.

Present condition: Very irritable, abuses servants and relatives needlessly, and then weeps ; very obstinate; always afraid of being left alone; this dread of solitude is noticeable both in the day and at night; is drowsy during the day, but wakeful at night; starting on falling asleep at night; continued oppression of the chest, and dyspnoea from the least exertion; complains of painful flatulence every night; cough day and night with copious purulent expectoration which tasted salty; frequent copious urination at night and wetting of the bed every night. Another

prominent symptom was burning between the scapula (like coals of fire). This also she used to feel in the night after lying down and when the back was in contact with the bed.

All these symptoms closely resembled lycopodium symptoms, and it was prescribed in the 30th potency thrice daily. After taking six doses she felt almost cured. No more medicine was given. She has been enjoying good health since the last six months.

Calcarea Carb. IN RHEUMATISM.- Dr. Chaudhuri in Calcutta Med. Jour.-A lady, aged about thirty-four, was suffering from acute shifting rheumatic pains in the left arm from the shoulder to the elbow joint. The pain was of a very agonizing character, which she described as aching and throbbing. There was aggravation from cold and during the periods of full and new moon. There was no decided swelling or tenderness. She came under my treatment on the 4th of May, 1893. the 4th of May, 1893. Puls., bryo., rhus tox., mez., were given, but without effect. It at last became less under calc. c. 12. On the 13th of June, the day of new moon, notwithstanding that calc. c. was being continued, the pain again. returned in an aggravated form, though not as bad as before, but it was less the next day. By the further persistent administration of the same medicine the pain disappeared altogether, and did not return.

Cuprum IN CHOLERA.-The old school is awaking to the fact that the microbic doctrine of cholera has not been able to introduce a successful therapeutics of the disease. And accordingly we find a French physician, M. Mouricourt, drawing attention to a mode of treatment which was found efficacious before the doctrine of microbes had come into existence. He refers to the practice of Dr. Burq, who, in 1849, is said to have succeeded in arresting the cramps of cholera by copper bars in the majority of cases, and who, in 1866, by the internal use of sulphate of copper, effected sixteen cures in eighteen most severe cases, in which there was no heat, no pulse, and no urine.

Need we remind our colleagues of the dominant school that so far back as 1831 Hahnemann recommended the use of copper in cholera on the only rational principle on which drugs ought to be administered in any disease, and that ever

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