CALCAREA CARBONICA
METRORRHAGIA
Case 50
Mrs. E. G., ćt. 36, had been given up to die by her
family physician.
She came of a consumptive family, her mother and her mother’s parents
having died with the disease. She had always menstruated VERY PROFUSELY,
and after having practiced upon herself, within the course of eight or
nine years, no less than seven abortions, her menses assumed the type of
recurrent hćmorrhages. Her lungs had always been very sensitive ;
has had more or less cough ; at first DRY and HACKING, later loose
and hollow. Has had pneumonia twice, making a tardy recovery each time.
At present was convalescing from a third and severe attack of pneumonia,
when some imprudence on her part brought about an unfavourable change,
and she failed so rapidly that her case seemed hopeless.SYMPTOMS. Constant hollow, loose cough, extreme sensitiveness
of the lungs to cold air and to far ; profuse and
general perspiration at night, of a
sour smell. Extreme emaciation,
constipation alternating with watery diarrhśa ;
great despondency ; constant passive
hćmorrhage from the uterus of dark foul blood. Calcarea
carb. 30 was the first and only remedy prescribed. Under its
use she not only made a good recovery from this attack, but regained by
its long continued use a surprising degree of general health. (Arndt.)
ENTERO-COLITIS
Case 51
Peckham, child at 18 months. Fair haired, blue eyes,
chubby when born, but with open fontanelles and sweaty headed. Has for a
few weeks past had what her doctor called cholera infantum. All sorts of
foods had been tried until now, when they called me in, the diarrhśa,
of a sour smell and light colored,
was almost incessant ; every diaper. There was also frequent
vomiting of sour substance and the
milk came up in very large curds. There was great emaciation and child
when it slept did so with half open eyes, and the sweat on the head wet
the pillow far around. I put Calcarea carb.
6m. (Jenichen) in the child’s food, as suggested by Dr. Hering, and in a
few days marked improvement set in and continued until the patient was
perfectly well. Many such cases are on record. (Nash.)
CARIES
Case 52
Frank
W., a lad aged 10, blue eyes, light thin hair, pale, thin face and of a
scrofulous disposition. One year previous to my call a periostitis set
up in the shaft of the left tibia upon the inner side. Case as presented
to me the first time ; bone has exfoliated along the whole length
of the shaft ; ulcer is so deep that not more than one-half of the
supporting structure remains and leg is much bent ; ulcer keeps up
a continuous discharge which has left little vital resource behind.
Patient is not only badly emaciated,
but has a hectic fever and a bad cough, with dullness
in the right apex. Cough is dry
and harasses him in the evening ; has
night sweats. Was given Calcarea
carbonica 6, and urged to use milk freely as a diet, to which
added the amount of three tablespoonfuls of brandy every twenty-four
hours. Ulcers were fully healed and bone reparation complete within the
next twelve months. All traces of lung trouble also passed away and I
have never known of subsequent trouble, though case passed from my
observation in the course of half a dozen years. We will here add that
we have many times succeeded in curing these bone ulcers, commonly
called “fever sores,” with the use of Calcarea
carb., milk and brandy, and they all remain cured so far as
we know. (G. N. Brigham.)
I do not think that so much stress need be placed upon the milk and
brandy. With other nourishing diet the Calcarea
would have cured just the same. I made just as remarkable a cure of
caries with Calcarea hypophos.
without the use of the stimulant. (N.) (See Leaders in Hom.
Therapeutics, 3rd. E., page 241.)
MARASMUS
Case 53
Eddie D., 18 months old. Oct. 30, 1881, the mother
brought him to me, saying she had done all she could, and now desired me
to treat him, if I thought I could do him any good.
The child was pale, flabby and very weak ; has pale blue eyes and
golden hair ; had diarrhśa three months, which nothing could stop.
According to the mother’s ingenuity, “He’s a good
child and never cries much.” Was eating a biscuit when his mother
entered the office with him. I told her the child was forming a bad
habit. She immediately answered, “I must always carry something for
him to eat wherever I go, because he wants to eat all
the time, and he just loves eggs,
but I don’t know whether he ought to have them or not ;
they make his bowels run off, and he takes a very bad spell once a
month. I have noticed it now three times.”
Question : What time of the month ?
Answer : When the moon fulls.
I noticed a watery coryza and rattling in the chest. Every time the
mother opened her mouth I thought more of Calcarea,
which I gave in the 85m potency, one dose, dry on the tongue, in the
office, and thirteen powders of Sac. lac.,
a powder to be dissolved in a half glass of water, and a teaspoonful to
be given every two hours. The mother desired to know about letting him
have the eggs. I told her that his craving for them would gradually
decrease, and that I could not withhold them from him.
November 14. Much better in every respect. “He does not crave eggs
quite so much and his bowels are better, but he cannot walk
yet.” I told her she should not expect the child to be
entirely well in two weeks, when it had been sick three months.
Sac. lac., 13 powders to be taken in
the same manner.
Dec. 9. Still improving. Is beginning to walk again and does not crave
eggs any more, though he likes to eat them. Mother thinks his bowels are
natural now. I could detect no rattling in the chest, and nose had
stopped running.
Sac. lac., nine powders. Told the
mother she need not come back unless the child got worse, and then to
let me know immediately. I have heard from the child repeatedly and he
is still “hearty.” (Tom Hagen.)
RÉSUMÉ
1. Deficient or irregular bone development (wide open
or partly closing fontanelles), crooked spine, deformed extremities.
2. Leucophlegmatic constitution or temperament. (Fair, fat, flabby).
3. Coldness, general and local ; objective and subjective,
especially as if had on cold, damp stockings ; affections from
working in cold water.
4. Sweats general (night sweats and on exertion). Local : Head
(children) axillć, hands, feet, etc.
5. Digestive tract sour (sour taste, eructations, vomiting sour curds,
diarrhśa).
6. Great debility ; cannot walk far or ascend stairs or hill for
shortness of breath ; easily strained by lifting.
7. Modalities : < In cold
air, ascending or exertion, straining ; from profuse menses to
which she is subject.
This is another one of the medicinal agents which but for the provings
and potentizing process of Hahnemann’s would have remained comparatively
unknown.
If we were to judge by the number of disease affections named in
“Clarke’s Dictionary” and “Hering’s Guiding
Symptoms”, it would seem as if it must be a veritable
panacea ; and if homśopathic therapeutists were guided by
pathological names it would be true.
But when we recognize that the characteristic symptoms, both subjective
and objective, must lead to its selection, it becomes apparent at once
that while the remedy may be applicable to each or all of these
affections, it may, on the other hand, not fit one of them. This is the
true spirit of homśopathy, and anyone who ignores or don’t understand
it must of necessity become a routinist or a bungler in prescribing. It
seems appropriate here to call attention to the fact that while the Calcarea
combinations have their family resemblances, they also have their
peculiarities. For instance, the Calcarea carb.
subject has an abnormal desire for eggs, while the Calcarea
phos. one desires bacon or ham rind.
Of course, it is not the domain of this work to make exhaustive
differentiations, but they must be
made or indifferent success is the result.
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