CHAPTER V. – EXAMPLES OF THE HYDROGENOID CONSTITUTION FROM GRAUVOGL’S PRACTICE. – CONSTITUTIONAL MEDICINE With especial reference to The Three Constitutions of Dr Von Grauvogl by John H. Clarke

CHAPTER V. – EXAMPLES OF THE HYDROGENOID CONSTITUTION
FROM GRAUVOGL’S PRACTICE.

[The cases are given in v. Grauvogl’s own words]

Case
I.

     Catalepsy

,
etc. – Nux and Ipec. in
alternation ; later
Aranea diadema.

     A woman, 29, of healthy
parents still living (the father 89, mother 75), has suffered from her
youth according to her statement, on the slightest bodily exertion or
mental emotion from palpitation of the heart. The only cause she could
think of was that in her youth she was very timid and easily frightened,
which she ascribed to hearing children’s tales. Physical examination
revealed neither valvular nor other defects except rapid action even
during complete bodily rest ; the pulse was 80.

     Of children’s diseases
she had had whooping-cough and nothing else. The colour of her skin is
brilliant white, the skin clear, having never presented any eruptions,
hair dark-brown, eyes blue, figure slender, form symmetrical. She had
already given birth to three children without difficulty, but has
suffered with an incessant headache since her last confinement, which
was quite normal, and after which she nursed her child for two months,
when she weaned it for lack of milk. All this happened six years before
she came to see me ; The headache occupied no definite place but
extended from the forehead over to the occiput, only sometimes it was
most severe on the vertex. This headache did not permit her to visit or
receive visits from her most intimate friends even, because it was so
greatly agg. by talking or hearing others talk that vomiting
ensued ; and to make the pain at all endurable she had to take to
her bed, where she remained three or four days motionless and lying on
her back.

     Not unfrequently pain
in the stomach set in which ceased of itself after the discharge of sour
water rising in the throat with nausea, and also the eructations of
tasteless gas, which was more frequently induced by the ingestion of
vegetable acids or vegetables. Her appetite was good but not
ravenous ; she refused to eat meat, even the smell of it was
repugnant to her. The menses, as indeed was indicated by the pain in the
vertex, were irregular, scanty and pale, and were generally six to eight
days too early. In the interval there was more or less leucorrhśa which
was debilitating, and the accession of the menses was announced by a
violent colic.

     The respiration was
unrestrained, but in the apex of the right lung there was a dull
respiratory murmur, in a small portion without any change of sound on
percussion. She never had any cough and the digestion was regular.

     To the above symptoms
were added, since her last confinement also,

cataleptic
attacks, almost every morning,
after waking from an uninterrupted, good, but not refreshing sleep.
Thus, if her husband did not notice in the morning that she closed her
eyes again shortly after waking, and at the same time sighed once
deeply, and at this very moment did not at once shake her shoulders with
both hands and call to her aloud, then nothing would arouse her from the
motionless insensible condition lasting from one to two hours, in which
one could raise her arms and legs in any direction without them
returning to their former position. These attacks had come and still
came and went without any known cause, but they left behind them no
further ailment.

     As regards the

concomitant
circumstances of these pains,
I learned that they were much more violent in
damp weather than in dry and,
in fact, her general condition was agg. at such times, so that this
woman, who was previously lively and joyful became more and more
melancholic. The many physicians who had been consulted, the many cures
which had been tried for her, and especially all
use of baths, increased her
sufferings. I further learned that her headache especially, even aside
from considering the influence of the weather, was most violent in the
afternoon and evening ; that consequently it increased in severity
irregularly though periodically,
which also pointed to an affection of the nervous system ; that she
constantly suffered from chilliness,
hence the whole winter through was obliged to keep her room very warm,
and even in summer she had cold
hands and feet,
notwithstanding all her clothing and other means for keeping warm.

     Whoever has read the
foregoing will have no doubt that here we have before us a disease in a

hydrogenoid
constitution, which latter must be extirpated first of all, without
regard to the organs affected or the other parts of the organism ;
for as long as the general
conditions of a disease are not removed no thought can ever be logically
entertained of the cure or improvement of its special
form.

     I often read in the Homśopathic
journals clinical cases of physicians whose treatment, contravening this
logical principle, was followed by little good results, or less than
that which really was obtainable ; while, by virtue of the Law of
Similarity other physicians again were led to the right indication,
though this principle was unknown to them. This is, then, and
involuntary logic of the Homśopaths, as a counterpart to the
involuntary Homśopathy of the physiological school.

     I know full well that,
unhappily, few Homśopathists trouble themselves about the physiological
significance of remedies, but in the choice of these remedies they are
all the more uncertain inasmuch as our drug-provings still require
complements.

     In brief, among all the
remedies which might be indicated according to the law of similarity for
the case, which certainly was not easily to be cured, there were mainly
two of which I knew at once from many years’ practice, that they not
only produce a more active interchange of substance, and hence would
occasion more warmth in the body, and would not only restore the lost
power of resistance against the influences of cold and moisture, but
would also have an enlivening effect on the nervous system. These two
are

Nux vomica
and Ipecac.
I have also observed that each of these remedies had far less effect in
these directions when given by itself, alone, than when they were
permitted to operate on the organism in succession.

     I therefore ordered

Nux
3 to be taken at 7 or 8 a. m., and 6 p. m., and three or four drops of Ipec.
3, every two hours during the day, although it was the fervent desire of
this patient to be delivered as soon as possible, first of all and at
any price, from the headache which tormented her without ceasing, for
this was the most annoying of all her sufferings and hindered her in
most of her duties.

     Had I sought to conform
to this wish I should surely have had to select quite other remedies,
and probably a long series of them in succession, and most probably too
with no favourable result – or no result at all.

     Hence I told the
patient that I could not meet her wishes at once but on the other hand
promised her with all assurance the complete restoration of her health
and, within the space of a year at furthest, a deliverance from all her
sufferings ; adding that before her headache could be relieved she
would first have to notice a greater sensation of warmth in her body.

     Besides, I forbade her
to take any baths for more than five minutes, and for the time being her
accustomed washing in cold water ; and also her remaining near
water, especially standing water. I forbade her also coffee and, of
course, vinegar, fruit and fish.

     This was on the 1st of
May. I visited the patient every eight days, having told her to take the
remedies as directed for eight days, and then to set them aside for
eight days, and so on.

     On the 4th of June she
stated that she really thought she was not so cold as she had been for
many years, for she could now even sit in the shade in the garden, a
thing which had hitherto been impossible to her. At the same time the
cataleptic attacks had so diminished in intensity that she had often
only a mere intimation of them. But headache and palpitation of the
heart still unfitted her for all occupation.

     The cataleptic attacks
now happily had returned but seldom for several weeks (except the merest
indication of them), and even the headaches were no longer aggravated in
the evening, when, at the end of July, her children got measles one
after the other. She would not entrust the care of them to anybody but
was unspeakably happy that she could sustain the bodily exertions and
mental excitements thereupon attendant, which a month before would have
been utterly impracticable.

     During the whole course
of the children’s sickness I naturally intermittent the use of the

Ipecac.
and Nux,
and only gave her Aconite
occasionally, as she was very much alarmed at the condition of one of
the children whose disease had become very severe.

     After this had all
passed off without injury for the children as well as for the mother,
the whole family went for eight days into the mountains of Bavaria. This
agreed very well with all except the mother ; for the

took
a sail upon a lake, which I
had expressly forbidden, and after this day felt chilly and cold again,
the headache also being notably aggravated.

     As I had found in my
practice that

Aranea
diadema even more than Nux
and Ipec.
diminishes the influence of hydrogen upon the system, and since it was
also indicated according to the law of similars, I directed her to take
four or five drops every two hours.

     The warmth of the body
soon returned, and for the first time the menses waited for the full
four weeks, but was more abundant and of a red colour. It is a pity that
in other cases, the

Aranea
diadema produces very violent
hćmorrhage, especially from the lungs, which fact calls for caution in
the use of this great remedy.

     After two weeks the
patient noticed a marked relief of the headaches which had
returned ; and after eight days this headache entirely ceased for
some days. The cataleptic attacks had already entirely disappeared for
about a fortnight and have not returned since. But it was not till the
13th of September that the patient finally assured me that, in the most
striking manner, just as if she had been delivered from a bad habit, she
had not had the slightest sensation of a headache for four days.

     Nor has it ever
returned again after the lapse of six years.

     After another
fortnight, during which time the patient had personally superintended
the removal from her summer residence to the city, a thing which before
was not to be thought of, she called my attention to the fact that after
having been in the city three days she had experienced increased
palpitation of the heart again, as had been the case every year after
this change. Now I gave her

Puls.
30, since the constitutional conditions for the previous ailments were
all removed. As the favourable effects of the 30th began to wear off in
a few days I gave Puls ; 3. This had the desired effect within six
days and the heart’s action became regular and remained so.

     I now gave her finally

Magnes.
sulph. 6, after which even her
leucorrhśa diminished, and now disappeared entirely, not to return.

     Thus, at the end of
November of this year this woman was perfectly free from all her
sufferings of years’ standing. She went into society again and renewed
her youth.

     From the above rule and
a large experience I know that neither

Puls.
nor Magnes.
sulph. would have afforded
relief so readily had not the constitutional treatment preceded.

Note on

Aranea
diadema.

     In addition to the
already known symptoms of

Aranea
and the above quoted symptoms as regards hćmorrhages, the following
have been obtained from a proving on a healthy woman :

     At night, immediately
after lying down, sudden violent pains in the teeth of the upper and
lower jaw.

     Periods eight days too
early, too strong and too copious.

     Numbness and
formication of ring and little fingers of both hands.

Case II.

     Hydrogenoid
Intermittent

. Aranea diadema.

     A pupil of the Academy
of Arts, 23, sent for me because he could no longer pursue his art with
love and pleasure ; he felt himself so constantly oppressed in the
chest that a walk across the room even put him out of breath ; He
attributed his trouble to an

intermittent
fever acquired in a university
city some months before, which was removed by very large doses of Quinine,
of which he often had to take 20 grains at once. Since that time an
enlargement of the spleen had
remained which reached to the space between third and fourth ribs. At
that place a dark time made on the skin with Nitrate of Silver by the
professor of the City Hospital to mark the outlines of the enormous
swelling of the spleen was still visible. Below the first line there
were other reddish marks, the traces of similar outlines which had
indicated the gradual swelling and ascent of the spleen. The heart was
pushed to the right and beat feebly, 98 to the minute. The respiration
was very short, raised the right side of the thorax only, 30 times to
the minute, and audible only at the very apex of the right lung.

     The appearance of this
young man of course indicated disease of the spleen. The upper edge was
found again between the third and fourth ribs, though in consequence of
earlier improvement, it must previously have stood lower.

     As soon as I entered
the house where he resided and which stood

close
to the water, I observed that
all the walls were very damp. I was now convinced that I should find a
disease-form arising from a hydrogenoid constitution, for such a house,
especially when it is but little or not at all exposed to the sun, is
very sure to harbour disease-forms of the most varied kinds, but which
ought not to be treated according to their names as they are set down in
the text-books of special Pathology and Therapeutics in which their
treatment is struck off after one and the same model.

     Here, however, the
disease was a relapse induced by the damp dwelling. On being questioned
the patient said that

he
was chilly day and night,
although it was midsummer, and as
often as it rained he has
always felt worse. He also acknowledged that especially during the past
four weeks, during which time he had lived in this room, he had felt
worse than ever.

     On constitutional
grounds, as well as on the strength of the indication of the law of
similars, there was no doubt that the remedy indicated was

Aranea
diadema. He was ordered it in
the 2x, four or five drops in a spoonful of water every two hours.

     After eight days the
upper border of the spleen was behind the fifth rib and fell within six
weeks to the seventh. The heart returned to its lace ; and in the
part of the lung which had been compressed the respiratory murmur was
again distinctly heard, and the patient felt himself well again.
Nevertheless I advised him to continue the remedy some time longer. Some
days after, however, he complained of acute pains in the teeth of the
upper and lower jaws which had occurred for two days when he retired at
night and lasted an hour.

     In this case it was a
fortunate chance that I had already learned this symptom of Aranea from
provings. Yet this case serves again as an example of the diagnosis of
the so-called Homśopathic aggravation ; of a diagnosis which is
always justified on the basis of drug-provings. Not a single adherent of
the physiological school possesses that acquaintance with the effects of
his remedies which could explain to him similar aggravations. Even this
important condition for the frequent elimination of the accidental at
the sick-led is utterly unknown to the physiological school and is one
of the causes of a host of mistakes.

     The physiological
school has collected some very valuable facts regarding the relations of
the water in the atmosphere to that of the organism, but it does not
know of what good they might be for its Therapy, for it lacks the
knowledge of how to find remedies against diseases arising from a
surplus of hydrogen in the organism. Thus Hemming in his “Doctrine
of the Causes of Disease” says :

     “The lungs exhale
an air saturated with hydrogen gas of a temperature of 37 1/2° C., 30°
R. [99.4°F.]. If the surrounding air, at a temperature of 37 1/2°C.
were saturated with hydrogen gas, then as much hydrogen gas would be
offered to the organism through the lungs as is given off. But since
this is not the case the blood in the lungs gives off to the dry
atmosphere determinate quantities of water.

     “Still greater is
the interchange through the skin and the excretion of water by the
kidneys. The exhalation of water through the lungs amounts on the
average in 24 hours to 354 grams ; by the skin to 720 and through
the kidneys to 1,369.3 grammes.

     “The mean
proportion of water in the healthy organism is 79 per cent, while there
are large numbers of individuals whose blood contains more water and
others whose blood is richer in solid constituents. The cause of
Chlorosis is scanty excretion of water from the organism, together with
a mode of living which allows of the formation of few solid constituents
in the blood. The scanty excretion of water is caused by living in an
air relatively damp, by too little bodily exercise and by deficient
expansion of the lungs.

     “The
swelling of the spleen has developed before the outbreak of the
intermittent and is the cause and not the effect of the febrile
attacks ; the enormous perspiration produced by the paroxysm is the
attempt of nature to remove the fundamental cause of the watery
character of the blood and the swelling of the spongy body of the spleen
therefrom arising.”

     All the above are very
good indications for practice, which Homśopaths alone know how to make
use of. Could Flemming have found the remedy for this case ?
Certainly not, since the Physiological Materia Medica makes no mention
of

Aranea
diadema.

     [Commenting
on the above case Dr. Jousset remarked that the “swollen
spleen” was possibly a big pleuritic effusion. But this makes no
difference to the fact of the Hydrogenic cure.]

Case III.

     Sycotic
Neuralgia

. Natrum sulph.

     For many years I have
known a vigorous young man of herculean musculature and form, with most
blooming countenance and cheerful temper. After a few yeas I saw him,
quite as powerful as ever, it is true, but labouring now under

mental
depression. As I fear nothing
so much as to appear obtrusive, I could not ask him any further
questions, especially as he had assured me in reply to the usual
enquiries that he was very well. A few years later again he came to
consult me about certain attacks which alarmed him very much although he
had already consulted on this account several of the most eminent
physicians and had received from them the same assurance that these
attacks had all the less importance as
they always disappeared of themselves very rapidly and completely,
in short, that they were no objects of medical treatment.

     The sun and substance
of the whole complaint was, indeed, trifling enough to the ignorant, and
was as follows : “Within a period of three years it has
already happened to me three times when in perfect health, and the last
time three days ago, that when walking I am

suddenly
taken with such an acute stitch
in the left hip as utterly disables me from walking further because it
is absolutely impossible to stand on that foot since it becomes so
weakened as to be utterly incapable of furnishing any support. This
stitching pain is so severe that I think
for the moment that I shall lose my senses
and must fall to the ground every moment ; that I am sure I could
not bear it if it lasted but a minute ; the pain of having a tooth
drawn being child’s play compared to it, and no words can describe it.
But the strangest thing is that, in the very moment when it seems as if
I must succumb to it, it
disappears without leaving a trace just as suddenly, and apparently just
as much without cause, as it came,
after having lasted according to my calculation two or three seconds,
and I can at once go on my way as if nothing had happened. Before and
after it I am quite well ; but the dread of never being secure for
a moment against this most fearful of all pains does not allow me to
rest till I find help, and indeed I am all the more disquieted by it as
the last time the pain was not only in the hip but at the same time
reached to the knee joint.”

     This symptom was
already known to me as a precursor of sycosis in a high state of
development, and although the patient assured me that he had always been
quite well, I had him undress himself and found upon his chest the
characteristic exanthem which he made very light of, since now it mostly
broke out in the Spring, now soon disappeared of itself, while during
the

whole
Summer and Winter it was not to be seen,
and he thought it was to be attributed to the time of year. On further
enquiry I learned that three years ago a friend of his, a physician, had
touched some whitish-blue
spots, which he showed him on
his lips with Nitrate
of Silver, whereupon after a
few days they disappeared and have never re-appeared since. Moreover, he
was often overtaken with such a disgust for life that he had to summon
all his moral force to refrain from shooting himself, though he did not
know any other cause for this than a disheartening disgust for life.
Beyond this I could learn, nothing, and as regards any results from
sexual intercourse, he assured me that he had never observed any
whatever. We know very well how little we can credit such statements. In
the meantime it was not essential to know whether, such a cause had
existed or not, for a pathological form is always the combined
result of causes and
conditions ; hence the specific disease-form according to time,
place and circumstance, is the
only object of Therapeutics.
For the sake of curiosity I examined a drop of his blood, which
contained, however, no more colourless corpuscles than is customary in
non-leucśmic blood.

     It
has long been known to me that at the outset of the so-called Sycotic
cases

the
percentage of water of the blood is increased,
as also in the later stages, in which Virchow had discovered leucśmic
blood. It was also known to me that Glauber’s Salts protected the red
corpuscles from the influence of an excess of water, while in Brüminghausen,
Handschuk, Wilhelm, Klurge, etc., I had men before me of great powers of
observation, who were in favour of treating syphilis with Glauber’s
Salts, but who are long ago forgotten, because Sycosis and Syphilis were
confound and there was no indication for Glauber’s Salts in the latter
diseases and as a matter of fact it never accomplished anything. Thus
both theoretical and practical experience sustained me, which left no
doubt in me that Glauber’s Salts were indicated for this case. I did not
acquire certainty, however, except through the Homśopathic provings of
Glauber’s Salts – Natrum
sulphuricum – likewise known
to me in so far as this that no other remedy belonging to this category
presents these relations to the hip and knee joints in connection with
other circumstances as do Glauber’s Salts. Without hesitation I
prescribed Nat.
sul. 3x, five drops every two
hours. Since prescriptions which are based not only on theoretical and
practical experience, but also on the law of specific direction, or the
law of similars, can never fail of success, so did the result not fail
in this case, although it required nearly a year to complete, and to
guard against supersaturating the system the remedy was often set aside
for weeks together. After this period, however, there was no trace of
the exanthem to be seen, the former cheerfulness of the patient as well
as his blooming complexion had returned, and since he has now passed
five years in this desirable condition without further use of the remedy
and without complaints, I may consider the cure to be complete.

Case IV.

     Latent
Intermittent Simulating Consumption

.
Chinin. sulph.

     A married woman, 29,
suffered from a cough for eight years without any known causes, the
cough having every year terminated in pulmonary hćmorrhage. Four years
ago she had for six months pains in the face on the right side, which
would yield to no medical means of the physiological school, though
these pains ceased of themselves after a change of residence ;
hereupon, however, the cough,

which
during the continuance of the pains had disappeared, returned again,
so that the woman became much emaciated, and had to drink Ems water at
her own house since, on account of her weakness she could not be taken
to Ems. By this means, however, her strength was so far restored that
the following year she was able herself to go to Ems there to continued
the cure.

     After hour weeks

she
returned home no better. Blood
was always present in the copious puriform expectoration, and her
physician, who only saw her every week or two, told her husband that his
wife was incurable. She herself, believing what the physician said of
her hopeless condition, became despondent,
and her condition sensibly grew worse.

     She now thought of
consulting me. Her husband requested me, after telling me everything,
and after all hope of any improvement had long been given up, at least
to pay her a visit.

     One cannot refuse even
such a somewhat unreasonable demand. I found a woman in a great state of
depression, always weeping, with marked mucous rattle on the right upper
part of the chest, and on the left side as well as the right a clear
sound on percussion, puriform expectoration, constant irritation to
cough under the sternum.

The
menses, however, were not yet deranged, appetite and sleep were good,
pulse 72 ; the face was very pale but did not have the expression
of the tuberculous. On being
questioned she assured me that she had long ago observed that she had two
good days, and one poor one, and that only in damp weather did she
suffer all days alike ;
that she had told this to her physician many years before, but he had
always said that it was irrelevant, as well as the circumstance that she
always had cold
feet and hands.

     I could now no longer
about that here a latent intermittent had existed for eight years, and
the remedy which I gave,

Chinin.
sulph., a dose every two
hours, had such an effect that, from the first day the cough became less
frequent and on the eighth day had entirely disappeared. The patient
soon appeared very happy and gained in strength from day to day.

     Since then four years
have elapsed and there has never been any return of the cough, or of the
hćmorrhage, and the abnormalities on the upper part of the lungs could
no longer be observed.

     This woman, granting
that I saved her life, would have been buried long since as surely as
the treatment of her physician of the physiological school was a false
one ; because these physicians, on account of the knowledge which
they have obtained mechanically, and of which they always boast as
infallible, are not able in such cases to establish a true
diagnosis ; for they cannot, and never could, estimate the
circumstances accompanying any disease-form.

Case V.

     Uterine
Fibroma in a Hydrogenoid

. Nux
and Ipec.

     A married woman, 28,
who gave birth to her last child some years ago without difficulty, and
who appeared to have no predisposition to any disease, complained that
for six months her abdomen had been greatly enlarging to such an extent
that everyone had been congratulating her on a new pregnancy, which,
however, could not be the case, as she had none of the usual
indications. Her periods were regular, every four weeks as usual and
only for a few weeks she had had a constant leucorrhśa. The abdomen was
round and everywhere uniformly hard all round in a circumference of
about six inches diameter above the symphysis pubis, but it was entirely
free from pain even on pressure. An examination showed a condition of
the os uteri as in the fourth month of pregnancy. The os was high and
directed backwards. Around it, in the bottom of the vagina, the same
cartilaginous resistance was felt as externally on the abdomen, and this
resistance formed the immediate prolongation of the cervix and thus
belonged to the womb. I have twice happened to observe a similar
swelling of the womb arising from a dead fśtus ; in one case the fśtus
lay five and in the other eleven months in the uterine cavity without
being expelled. In the first case metritis suddenly set in and during
its course, which could not be mitigated, the separate bones of the
fśtus were discharged one after the other through the rectum. The other
case escaped my further observation. Both cases were free from doubt by
means of the signs of pregnancy which had been manifestly present, and
in the latter case even the parts of the fśtus could be distinctly
felt. All this was absent here. Thus it could only be considered a
fibrous polypus, or, more probably, a round fibroid within the uterus.

     Owing to the size of
the growth an operation was not to be thought of, though to the
physiological school any other resource is unknown. Consequently this
woman would have been given over hopelessly, a prey to all the dangers
which were to be anticipated in the case.

     What may deliver us
from such a dilemma ? Nothing but the teaching of Homśopathy
touching the

Concomitant
Circumstances.

This woman

did
not look at all ill, had a good appetite and slept well, only she became
sooner more wearied by her domestic duties than was previously the case,
in the discharge of which duties she was very much incommoded by this
tumour in her abdomen.

     This was on April 4th.
The remedies which I administered internally so long as I had my eye on
he object of the disease alone were attended with no success, and from
month to month the abdomen increased in size until – unhappily it was
not till September 6th – I enquired about the concomitant circumstances.
She acknowledged that

she
felt chilly every evening, and was worse, that is, there was more rapid
enlargement of the abdomen, during moist weather.
On this account I prescribed Nux
3 and Ipec.
3 in alternation every two hours, and with such effect that as early as
September 26th the tumour had decreased in size to a diameter of three
inches, though it could still be distinctly felt above the pubic bone.
The cervix had also assumed a convex position and by the 30th of October
had become quite perpendicular again ; the lips were somewhat
swollen, but the leucorrhśa had disappeared.

     The improvement
continued without interruption, during frequent suspension of the
remedies, and four years have passed without any complaint from the
woman, so that her complete cure was certainly accomplished.

Case VI.

     Hydrogenous
Pneumonia

. Nux and
Ipec. ; Nux and Aranea.

     A butcher and tavern
keeper, 25, was taken, according to the declaration of his physician,
with so violent a pneumonia that there was no hope of his recovery. The
patient, however, was about to be married and the business would have
been lost to his betrothed by his death. The physician therefore advised
the patient to consummate his marriage as soon as possible. This took
place ; but now I was called to take charge of the case, a request
which, of course, I thought I had a perfect right to decline. Yet I
could not withstand their repeated urgent appeals for more than a day. I
found hepatisation of the whole right lung from the lowest part to the
apex, above the clavicle, the sound on percussion was somewhat hollow,
and there was some respiratory murmur yet to be heard. The left lung had
remained free from any affection. There was great difficulty of
respiration, excessive debility, voice harsh, inability to lie on the
left side without danger of suffocation, pulse 130. The cough brought up
purulent yet scanty expectoration, the tongue was thickly coated,
appetite entirely wanting. There was great emaciation with collapsed
features.

     On enquiry the patient
stated that

one
day he was better – on the next decidedly worse, and then at 8 p. m. he
was worse then ever, so that
he really thought the evening before that his time had come ; he felt
chilly also, notwithstanding
the constant sweat, and in spite of the warm clothing on his abdomen. I
prescribed Nux
vom. and Ipec.
in alternation every two hours. On the next day, August 2nd, there was
amelioration of all the symptoms. After eight days he still was
chilly in the upper part of his body
hence Aran
diadem. 3 was given in hourly
alternation with Nux,
although the hepatisation was decreasing from above downwards more and
more every day. On August 29th he was already able to remain two hours
out of bed, for his appetite had returned in the first days of my
treatment, and hearty food was given as his strength increased. He now
felt quite well. The whole right lung was again serviceable for
respiration, and in the same proportion the burden of the other ailment
was also removed. The bodily weakness, however, was still considerable.

     That day the young wife
of the patient was standing at the door of house as her previous
physician passed by. He stopped to enquire about her husband, when, with
a joyful countenance, she replied that he was quite well and already up.
To this the doctor replied, “That is utterly impossible.” A
week later the patient himself met the doctor and gave him ocular
demonstration of that which he had declared to be utterly
impossible !

Case VII.

     Caries
of Os Calcis ; Gangrenous Ulcer

.
Arsen., Aggravation
by Calc. and
Silic., Cure by
Aranea diadema.

     After opening an
abscess on the left heel of a man, 75, the edges of the wound mortified
and the physician declared that as

gangrena
senilis had set in the foot
must be removed. Upon this decision I was called in. For more than year
I had seen this old man in the street limping with his left foot, and
now I saw clearly the cause thereof – a chronic inflammation of the
periosteum of the os calcis, which had probably extended to the bone
itself, and a gangrenous ulcer half and inch broad, causing insufferable
pains and surrounded and partially covered with a gangrenous crust. Arsen.
10 gave prompt relief. The gangrenous crust was thrown off. The surface
of the ulcer took on a healthy appearance, but after ten days did not
show the least tendency to cicatrise, although the pains were
decreasing. Both Silic.
10 and Calc. c.
10 aggravated all the symptoms so far as this that none of them were
better, but the ulcer had increased in breath and depth, so that the
probe could now touch the denuded and carious os calcis. The patient
wanted his first drops again because they had relieved his pains, which
now had returned to their former severity. This was granted him in the
absence of any better indication. But he sleeplessness setting in, which
could be attributed only to the Arsen.
required that this remedy should again be discontinued. His sleep now
returned but the pain increased again also.

     A thorough examination
now led me to the source of all his troubles, to which, indeed, the
striking effect of

Arsen.
had already called my attention, as this remedy was given only to arrest
the mortification. On being questioned, the patient acknowledged that
his pains increased
and decreased periodically,
and that regularly, every other day. He added that he might have told me
this long before had he supposed that any importance could have been
attached to such a trifle. He had thought that quite as little
importance was to be attached to the circumstance that he
was always cold, and hence was
always trying to get warm.

     Aranea
diadema

removed the pains and
effected a rapid cure. At first the ulcer grew less ; then many
very small sequestra were thrown off ; but five months passed under
the repeated use of this remedy before the cure was complete.

Hay-baths.

     I avail myself of this
opportunity to call attention to the use of hay-baths in many forms of
caries and in enchondroma of the bones. It was in the country that I
first learned of these baths as a popular remedy for necrosis of bone.
If what the country people related to me is true then it can only be the

Silex
contained in these baths which makes them useful in diseases of the
bones. Hence I examined the hay chemically in order to learn whether
Silex could be found in solution in these baths ; and this proved
to be the case.

Case VIII.

     Hydrocephalus

.
Sulphur, Calc. phos., Arg. nit.

     A young married couple
had two years previously lost a child from acute hydrocephalus. The
second child, then eight months old, was committed to my charge when the
disease had already reached the convulsive stage, and it died in a few
days.

     It now devolved on me,
as the family physician to solve the problem of protecting the next
child from this disease and thus remove the

conditions
under which, both times, the development of this fatal disease had been
possible, a problem which, as everybody knows, the physiological school
is not able to solve.

     Both parents were
perfectly healthy and never ill. Both had blonde hair, thin skin and
blue eyes. The husband was spare, the wife of full habit. Hence no
positive point of support could be gained from either. The wife had
nursed both children, but without having sufficient nourishment for them
as I learnt on enquiry, for she was obliged to give them in addition
milk and sugar-water, and both were taken ill when they began to

cut
their teeth.

     In hydrocephalus the
nutrition of the bones is always deficient and hence during the period
of dentition this nutrition must be carried on at the expense of other
tissues. But the

conditions
of this deficient nutrition of the osseous system must have given long
before the period of dentition.

     Hence I told the wife
that she must not nurse the next child, and that she must during her
next pregnancy take

Sulph.
6 one day and Calc.
phos. 6 the next, so that she
should not lose a third child by this disease. Sulphur
I wished to exhibit as a nutritive remedy favouring the formation of
tissues, while Calc.
phos. was to favour that of
bones.

     Five weeks later the
woman informed me that she was again pregnant and asked me for these
remedies. She was delivered at term, and this child, now five years old,
remained healthy, as well as a second, now three, which was carried the
regular term under this prophylactic treatment.

     These are not solitary
cases, for I have pursued this method for six years in all families in
which there has ever been a hydrocephalic child, and with the same good
result.

     But where I have taken
charge in other families of children who had already suffered from
hydrocephalus none died during the last seven years, during which time I
have given such children every morning and evening a powder of the
second trituration of

Calc.
phos. ; and only such
children as I first see in the last stage received morning and evening a
few drops of Arg.
nit. 6 and every two hours the
powder of Calc.
phos. with the best result. t
the same time I have repeatedly convinced myself that in such cases one
of the remedies alone affords no such relief.

Case IX.

     Sycosis

.
Thuja and
Natrum sulph.

     In September, 1861, I
received from a well-known Homśopathic physician the following letter,
which I give

verbatim :

     “I hope you will
excuse me for taking the liberty of relating my disease to you with the
request that you will kindly give me the benefit of your skill in my
case.

     “I am 53, of
nervous constitution and have suffered from piles since my youth. I have
employed all sorts of remedies against these with but transient
treatment. Subsequently a hypochondriac mood was super-added. Homśopathy
and the water cure have given me but little relief from my sufferings.
My manner of life from my youth up was much like that of others. I drank
two or three glasses of beer every day, smoked tobacco and partook of
the ordinary fare. Married at 23, I became the father of eight children,
quite healthy and vigorous. I was never syphilitic, rachitic or
scrofulous, but when a child was afflicted with itch which perhaps was
checked too soon by means of ointments. Although I was never excessive
in amorous indulgence, I always observed a pressing pain in the
testicles after coitus, which was more violent a the coitus was more
frequent and

vice
versa ; it was agg. when
standing but amel. by walking and still more on lying down. This,
perhaps, may have its cause in youthful sexual sins.

     “My hćmorrhoidal
pains, which were especially severe in the years from 30 to 40,
tormented me after every stool with their burning pains as if the parts
were raw. Later in life the pain disappeared, and the hćmorrhoidal
knobs were only swollen when I drank a glass of beer too much of an
evening. Only very seldom was there any discharge of blood, and it was
only after having used cold sitz-baths and cold injections for several
years that there were repeated hćmorrhages after stool, without
affording any essential relief.

     “I am very nervous
and hence could never take the sitz-baths under 68° Far., since if used

in a lower
temperature febrile attacks were always induced.

     “In 1859 an acute
burning sore pain appeared again after every stool as well as protrusion
of the hćmorrhoidal tumours. The pain after stool was very severe and
sometimes continued for hours. As no remedy afforded me any relief I
determined to adopt a vegetarian diet. Accordingly from the beginning of
September, 1859, I avoided all animal food, drank no beer, denied myself
smoking and every irritant. My breakfast and supper were bread and
milk ; my dinner consisted of vegetables and dishes made of flour
and milk ; my drink was water. As a consequence I strictly resisted
the greatest longing for meat. Now and then I took a dose of some Homśopathic
remedy of which

Calc.
Carb. and Sepia
200 acted most beneficially. In connection with this I practise
gymnastics every day according to Dr. Neumann’s directions in his
‘Hausgymnastick’. My sufferings were more endurable but the hćmorrhoidal
pains continued, and a melancholy as of undeserved injustice set in,
with pressure in the throat, agg. on walking in the open air ;
easily wearied by a long walk causing a careless gait. Last spring I
became accidentally acquainted with Braunscheidtismus and got possession
of Braunscheidt’s book. The great recommendations of the method against
hćmorrhoids and hypochondria soon aroused a desire in me to try it.
Hence I proceeded at one to carry out my plan and applied the instrument
with intervals of ten days upon the back the sacrum, the whole
circumference of the abdomen, on the outer side of the thigh, on the
calves seven times, and it was used the last time seven weeks ago.

     The result, however, is
very sad ; for after the fifth application the left axilla swelled
up and became painful. Soon after I got an ulcer on the outer side of
the thigh, and one on the left forearm, suppurating for a long time.
Then developed a reddish knotty eruption spreading over the whole body.
The tubercles of the size of a small lentil are in many places so
elevated above the skin that they resembled wart-like excrescences.
These have their seat chiefly on the vertex, above the ear, on the
forehead, on the left side of the neck, between the scrotum and the
right thigh, and scattered here and there on the penis and about the
anus. Small scales form on them, they itch but little and after being
scratched the itching is relieved. At the same time, above the third rib
on the left side near the sternum there was a swelling, painful on
pressure. My knees became stiff so that I could go upstairs only with
the greatest labour. There appeared besides an oppressive weight on each
shoulder, with sensitiveness thereof to pressure. Great sensitiveness in
separate small portions of the thorax agg. by drawing a deep breath and
by eructations, but soon, disappearing again, now frequently annoyed me
very much. The most distressing pain, however, was a rheumatic,
throbbing, tearing pain in the head, which disappeared entirely, perhaps
on the use of

Merc.
sol., Nux and Bryonia.
In short, after this Braunscheidtismus, as I think, a rheumatism
developed itself, which has lasted now for about six weeks.

     “To give a more
exact detail of my case, I take the liberty of describing my present
condition as follows :

     “Rheumatic tensive
pains on the left side of the neck. Pressing pain on the shoulder with
sensitiveness of the top of the shoulders to external pressure. Pain as
of dislocation in the shoulders and arms on raising the arms.
Painfulness of the bones, especially of the left hand, so that I can
hardly grasp and hold a small weight, a book for instance. Painfulness
of the third rib on the left side on external pressure. Redness and
swelling of the skin over the point of the right elbow. A slight jar
with the hand upon a firm substance produced, some days ago, a dull
humming pain in the hand. Painfulness of the spinous processes of two of
the lumbar vertebrć on pressure (at present one only being painful).
Painfulness in the right elbow joint, and on the upper part of the right
arm, especially when turning the hand outwards. Paralytic weakness (and
paralytic pains) of the legs, especially of the right, with painfulness
of the knee-joint on extending and flexing the leg. When sitting in a
chair I can raise the right leg only by keeping it extended. Raising the
leg while the knee is bent is impossible on account of the pain in the
knee-joint. Weakness of the knee-joint when walking in the room. Sitting
down or rising from a sitting posture can only be accomplished by the
most powerful support of the hands. Going up stairs is impossible.
Painfulness of the heels, especially the left, when rising and
afterwards, and when beginning to walk. Redness of the uvula and velum
pendulum palati, with pain in the throat, especially on empty swallowing
(this is much better). A red tubercular eruption about the anus and
between the right thigh and the scrotum, almost like warts raised above
the skin, itching but little and especially at first on the forehead,
now on the forehead, now on the vertex above the ears, on the left side
of the neck and on the front of the chest. Furuncles on the right arm
near the axilla. For a few days past slight śdematous swelling of the
feet. Respiration sighing. Pulse 90. Weeping mood ; doubtful of
recovery.

     “I must add,
however, that my pulse has always been somewhat accelerated, and that
the pains seem to be seated in the bones and are agg. only by pressure
and motion, as well as that the upper ends of the shin bones, just below
the knee-joint, are painful on being pressed. Sour smelling night-sweat.

     “The above
symptoms have set in since the use of the Braunscheidtismus. But in
order to give you a closer insight into my disease I will also give you
those symptoms which have annoyed me for a long time and which are now
present :

     “Confusion,
humming, heaviness and fullness of the head, glittering before the eyes.
Roaring in the ears, mucous rattling. Heat in the mouth. Bad breath.
Appetite and digestion good. Protrusion of the hćmorrhoidal tumours at
stool. Burning and soreness at the anus after stool, agg. on walking and
amel. by sitting and lying. Cracking of the joints ; sense of
swelling and difficult motion of the fingers, agg. when walking in the
open air and in the morning in bed. Powerlessness of the hands when
writing, which is very difficult for me. Hardness and thickening of the
skin on the ball of the left toe, with pains when walking on the
pavement as if treading on small stones. Easy perspiration ;
sour-smelling perspiration. Sensation as if a fibre were torn or snapped
off suddenly at the left axilla. Aching in the testicles after
coitus ; amel. by sitting, still more by lying down. Pain in the
groin from the pressure of the loins, which annoyed me very much since
the Braunscheidtismus, although I have not worn the truss for fourteen
days (at present relieved).

     “Against this
complaint I have already taken

Merc.
sol., Nux vom., Bryonia, Ant. tart., Sulphur
and Colchicum.
I have now taken Rhus since September 7th. I have taken two drops of the
2x, repeated at first every six hours. Now, September 21st, I am taking
a dose only morning and evening. I do not notice any striking result
such as I have often seen in my practice.

     “I am father of
seven children yet unprovided for, without means, and the support of my
large family depends entirely upon the earnings of my practice. Hence my
situation at present is truly a sad one and the future looks darker
still, since I fear my lower limbs may yet become paralysed.”

No expert will doubt that for this disease the
physiological school has no name, and since it has none it hence cannot
say what is really present here, and at most could recognise as special
troubles, hćmorrhoids, paralysis, etc. To establish a

Constitutional
Diagnosis is hence impossible
for it, and consequently it could make neither a rational prescription
nor prognosis. Neither could empiricism help in this case. Was Homśopathy
as helpless as the others ?

     On the contrary. After
I had received this letter of September 23rd, 1861, and had reflected on
it wrote the patient as follows :

     “In your letter
you have given me a very good description of the phenomena which are
wont to accompany the development of

Sycosis,
whether you have acquired or inherited it. Hence you will have the
goodness without delay to take Thuja
30 morning and evening as well as Natrum
sulph. every third hour – four
or five drops of each in a spoonful of water. At the same time I beg of
you not to practise great abstinence, nor to fast, for no form of
sycotic disease can be cured without good food, without nutrition of the
parts which remain healthy. Whether you are quite curable I would rather
leave undecided at present, but in any case you can be so far restored
that you will be able to resume your practice again.”

     Truly this strict diet,
which unhappily many Homśopathists from great misunderstanding of facts
insist upon even to this day, so that to a sick man actually nothing if
left to live upon but the air, does by no means aid in the spread of
Homśopathy, and indeed it is thus wantonly deprived of one of the
greatest guarantees of its results at the bedside.

     I will now give (1) the
symptoms which led me to this diagnosis ; and (2) what induced me
to give two remedies in alternation, an abomination to orthodox Homśopathists.

     [(1) The following
symptoms are above all characteristic of the sycotic form of this
disease ; Swelling and suppuration of the axillary glands, sores on
the outer side of the left leg ; tubercular wart-like eruptions on
the above mentioned parts of the body ; swelling of the rib on the
left side near the sternum ; stiffness of the knee, the various
so-called rheumatic pains ; redness of the velum palati with
painfulness of the throat on empty swallowing ; pains in the
loins ; cracking of the joints ; with all the symptoms above
indicated under the modern. idea of the locomotor ataxy of Duchenne end
Eisenmann.]

     [(2) As regards the
remarks, that according to this diagram

Thuja
is indicated needs no further discussion for those who are versed in the
Homśopathic drug-provings. But Thuja,
both according to these provings and experience at the bedside, cannot
cure the tubercular, or, as our colleague expressed it, wart-like
eruption ; Natrum
sulph., alone can accomplish
that. But this tubercular eruption is just the most dangerous form of
this disease. If not removed at once it luxuriantly develops in many
parts of the body, especially on the neck and in the region of the
clavicle, and grows into great clusters which the inexperienced confound
with strumous and other glandular swellings and mistreat, although they
occur in places where there are no glands.]

     An evidence of this I
find in many patents who have sought and obtained help from me, not only
after the injurious treatment of the physiological school, but also
after unsuccessful Homśopathic treatment.

     For the sake of brevity
I will only give as much of the correspondence as appertains to the
case.

     October 16th. “The
rheumatic tensive pain on the left side of the neck, the painfulness of
the third left rib and of the spinous processes of two of the lumbar
vertebrć to pressure, the reddish tubercular eruptions between the
scrotum and the thigh of the right side, the sighing respiration, the
tearful mood despairing of cure, the śdematous swelling of the feet
have all disappeared.

     “The following
symptoms are relived : the pressing pain in the shoulders, the
painfulness of the hand on grasping and lifting even small
objects ; the painfulness of the elbow-joint when strongly flexing
it, the paralytic weakness of the leg, in consequence of which it is
somewhat easier to rise from a seat and sit down again ; the
reddish tubercular eruptions of the head and neck, and the sensation as
if in the right shoulder a fibre was suddenly torn and jerked loose.
Osseous distension of the left parietal bone along the sagittal suture,
with less sensitiveness to outward pressure, which symptom I forgot to
give in my last letter. The abscess on the right arm near the axilla,
which broke once, discharged pus, then healed, has now disappeared by
absorption.

     “I must add that
in the morning and during the forenoon the pains in my leg are relieved,
and that the swelling of the knees, especially of the right knee, has
disappeared, and that my legs feel best while lying in bed. As I
suffered one evening from a violent burning, tearing and itching in the
painful eruption at the anus, I resorted to the external use of

Thuja
by which not only was the pain relieved but the condylomata were also
reduced at least one third.

     “I could not for a
moment believe my complaint to be of a sycotic nature, for living
twenty-seven years in happy wedlock I have always led a pure life ;
it would have been a bare impossibility for me to have indulged in
sexual intercourse with any other woman.

     “One symptom which
I have had for many years has become aggravated – a creaking of the
ankle when stretching out the foot, so that I am obliged to keep the
foot quiet in the joint and have to lie down, whereupon the pain soon
leaves. The roaring in my head and ears, which has become habitual, is
also much aggravated. To this is added a dullness of the brain which
does not, however, interfere with conversation.”

     To the question whether
he should continue the former prescription and might drink beer, I
replied in the affirmative.

     October. 31st.
“The tubercular eruption has, for the most part, disappeared ;
the condylomata (?) at the anus are reduced to the merest trace. The
painfulness of the metacarpal bones on flexing the hand has disappeared.
The exostosis on the left parietal bone is much improved, and the pains
in the right ankle when stepping have not been noticed for eight days.

     “Present
condition. Difficulty of hearing and roaring in the head and ears ;
painfulness of both trochanters and femurs when lying on them. Weakness
of the knees as from relaxation of the ligaments ; painful cracking
of the right ankle when extending it ; pain in the right heel when
stepping on it ; painfulness of the shoulders, of the point of the
right elbow and of the right index and ring fingers on pressure ;
of the left humerus when bending the arm backward, or when raising or
extending it. Sensation of stiffness and sleepiness of the hand,
especially when resting on the elbow. Pains in the neck when bending the
head back. Suppuration of the left axillary gland which is still
somewhat hard. Fourteen days ago this was the case in the right axilla.
Painful glandular knots in the groins and the anterior surface of the
thigh as well as in both sides of the neck. Difficulty of falling
asleep ; stools insufficient ; apparent inactivity of the
rectum when at stool, with protrusion of the hćmorrhoids and burning
pains ; blood when at stool ; urine often interrupted, also
with a double stream as if from stricture.

     “On the whole an
improvement n my condition cannot be denied so that I indulge a hope
again that I shall be able to resume my practice.”

     I directed him that if
there were any strictures in the urethra they should be dilated, and
that otherwise he should continue with

Thuja
and Nat. sulph.

     November 10th.
“Two days after sending my letter the pains in the throat, which
had previously disappeared, returned again and light grey ulcers with
red edges presented themselves. In my anxiety I took on my own
responsibility in place of

Thuja,
Lycopod. 200, several pellets
in a humbler of water, a spoonful morning and evening. Nat.
sulph. I have continued to
take. It is a great remedy. There is nothing worse for me than my own
treatment. Since yesterday I have taken morning and evening two drops of
Nitr. acid.,
as the ulcers on the throat seem to be spreading again. I expect nothing
whatever from Thuja.
But the symptoms and pains of the leg are considerably better, as well
as those of the upper extremities. My mind is active, but without
application or endurance, and when reading I am dull and unobservant,
yet am in good spirits again.

     “Years ago I tried
to insert a bougie into the urethra but had to refrain from too great
sensitiveness of the passage.”

     “I shall await
your prescription and shall take a dose of

Nit.
ac. 200, if anything.”

     I replied :
“It would have been better if you had not taken

Nit.
ac. and Lycop. ;
they will do no good. Hold fast to Thuja
and Nat. sul.
Whatever may occur, there is no indication whatever for any other
course.”

     November 23rd.
“To-day can report a great improvement, for the pains in my bones
are reduced to a minimum : the knee-joints are stronger so that I
can rise much more easily from my seta, and that with the help of one
hand only. The pain in the heel is much relieved, and for many days I
have experienced such a sense of comfort that while lying in bed where I
have otherwise been in the habit of reading, I give myself up entirely
to this delightful sense of returning health and do nothing.

     “For several days
there has been a feeling of some overwork and inclination to sweat, and
after I had taken the first dose of

Nat.
sul. yesterday morning I had a
pain in the bowels as from diarrhśa ; after the second and third
dose there appeared besides trembling and fermentation in the bowels. My
good appetite was entirely gone at noon. Hence these were effects of Nat.
sul., which I have now taken
fifty-three days continuously. Thus for the present I have discontinued
the remedy. The next evening there was heat in my right ear, chilliness,
and when out of bed a shaking chill with increased thirst. Pulse 104. At
night slight sweat and good sleep. Pulse now in the morning 116,
otherwise I feel well. The sores in the throat have not spread. Since I
took Thuja
again the condylomata have disappeared to a mere trace. My tongue is
coated white ; the taste is flat ; dryness and heat in the
mouth ; disgust for meat ; this morning no colic ;
eruptions of the forehead and head entirely gone. Since the urethra is
no longer as sensitive as it was I have undertaken its dilatation. The
urine passes more easily and there is but seldom a double stream. The
urinary difficulties are also less. The stricture is situated far back
at the entrance of the urethra into the bladder.

     “Till further
orders I shall suspend the use of Glauber’s Salts (

Nat.
sul.), but shall continue with
the Thuja,
which I last took in the 200th (Jenichen’s).”

     To this I
replied : “Since you are now saturated with the Glauber’s
Salts, you should, as a matter of course, suspend their use for about
eight or fourteen days. But I should rather see you continue with

Thuja
30, for the 200th requires to be taken at longer intervals, otherwise
you would have your blood over saturated with it too soon.”

     December 24th. “I
had already taken

Thuja
200 at longer intervals but returned to the Thuja
30 (four drops) as soon as I received your letter. However, my regular
morning stool soon became so hard that I took only two drops. In a few
days the stools were easier, but soon after the same difficulties at
stool returned again. The stool occurred now with the greatest effort,
and was accompanied with burning sore pains lasting all day, so I was
obliged to cease the use of Thuja
entirely, and even at the risk of your finding fault again, I took Nux
vom. 30 several successive
evenings with this result : The stools were passed with more ease,
the protruding hćmorrhoids became softer and smaller, and I was no
longer annoyed with pain after stool. After ceasing the use of Thuja
for six days I took it again, but the difficulty at stool returned again
at once, so that I resolved to dispense with it for a longer time.

     “After having
discontinued the

Nat.
sul. for ten days I took it
again, three drops in water every hour. After taking if three weeks my
appetite diminished again, and last evening also I had a slight chill. I
took this to be another indication that I was over-saturated with Nat.
sul., and hence will wait for
further directions before I take any more medicine.

     “In other respects
I improve constantly. The pains in my right heel have disappeared
entirely, and my legs are so strong again that to-day I was able to rise
from my seat without the support of my hands. An enlarged gland in the
left groin, which I have noticed for many years, has already diminished
very much and become softer, and the kernels on the thigh also appear to
grow smaller. In the urethra I can already pass a catheter of large
size. The stream of urine is stronger and not divided as before. The
eruption on the ears has healed. If I find that I continue to improve,
can I take a short walk out of doors ? For four months I have not
been able to leave the room.”

     Answer. “There is
nothing to be said against the use of intercurrent remedies if they seem
necessarily indicated, since you now seem to have lost the hasty anxiety
which sometimes leads to things superfluous.

     “I now commit to
you the further treatment of the case and see no reason why you should
not go out in mild weather, if you only guard against too rapid change
of temperature.”

     April 12th. “My
disease is so much improved already that I am able to visit patients
even several hours distant, and can go up stairs though with some
effort. The tubercles are somewhat diminished, the bloody stools as well
as the condylomata above the anus have disappeared.

     “I have not had
any more occasion for intercurrent remedies

Thuja
and Nat. sul.
I still use according to your directions.”

     June 23rd. I received
another letter from this colleague asking my advice about one of his
patients, with the remark that he was entirely well and could take quite
long walks without injury.

     [Many years ago, Dr.
Pascal of Paris, gave an account of Grauvogl’s constitutions in the
“

Bulletin
de l’Homśopathie” and he
added to Grauvogl’s cases the following which he translated from the
Italian Revista
Omiopatica – J. H. C.]

Dr. giovanni urbanetti’s case.

     Hydrogenoid
Constitution

. Nux, Ipec., Nat.
sul.

     M. N., 46, tall and
well built, having come to Venice with his family in July, 1874, to take
the baths, came to consult me and gave me the following account of his
case :

     “Although my
constitution, as you perceive, is neither weak nor delicate, I cannot
say I am satisfied with my health. I have never had serous illnesses but
I am subject to a crowd of little discomforts which rob me of gaiety,
activity and spring, I am very often tormented with coryzas which easily
spread to the throat and cause a little difficulty in swallowing,
thickening of the voice and bronchial catarrh. I am worried with
rheumatic pains though not severe. My digestion is capricious, sometimes
good, sometimes bad with bad taste in the mouth. I am

worse
in Winter when the weather is cloudy and when it rains. I am always very
chilly and my feet are constantly rather cold. I
am better in
Summer, and especially when I perspire
I feel relived ; and if by misfortune the sweat is checked I am
easily taken with slight shivers and quickly fall back into my usual
state of depression. My urine is abundant and the colour varies
according as my sufferings are more or less attenuated. I cannot name
any likely cause for this state, since my life is very regular, I have
never had any suspect maladies, nor has my morale
had to undergo any violent troubles. The Homśopathic remedies which I
take or have prescribed for me, promptly relieve me, it is true, but
they do not protect me against frequent and extremely easy relapse. I
should like to know from you, sir, if there is any means of establishing
my health by any radical treatment whatever ?”

     To anyone who knows the
Constitutions of Grauvogl I imagine it would be impossible to find a
more exact picture of the Hydrogenoid Constitution than this. After the
directions of the author the indications for the correction of this form
of constitution would be :

     First, to

restore
the spent animal heat ;
then, to disburden
the blood of the excess of hydrogen.
The first result was obtained by exciting the spinal nervous system by Nux,
and the great sympathetic by Ipecac.
These two remedies should be given alternately, in a low dilution,
frequently through the day and kept up until the bodily heat is
restored. The first effect gained, Nat.
sul. 6, two drops night and
morning for a long time to free the organism from the excess of
hydrogen, which is the cause of the catarrhs and rheumatism.

     After having well
studied the symptom picture of this case the choice of these remedies
was clearly justified by the law of similars, a guide of which Homśopaths
must never lose sight, just a she should never forget the special action
of the remedies in high and low dilution, which constitutes a great
difference. According to Grauvogl, the low dilutions act more
particularly on the organs, tissues and systems affected, whilst the
high ones act by preference on the general symptoms.

     This is the plan I
prescribed for my patient, who promised to follow it out exactly.

     In July of the
following year he came to see me again and told me the result of the
treatment had been very happy. He had passed an exceedingly severe
winter in Paris without experiencing any inconvenience.

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