Clinical cases.
By Henry Newell Guernsey, M. D.
Presented by Sylvain Cazalet
Dr H. N. Guernsey
Case I
:
Was called in
consultation to see Miss. M—., who was thought to be near dying. I
found the patient in great distress panting
respiration, unable to speak only in a wisper, and each word
uttered separately from the next by several respiration’s. She had great
pain shooting all through her chest,
from front to back. She had informed me she could not long survive as each
breath seemed as if it would be her last one. She had no thirst, scanty
urine, and had not slept for two days. Percussion over her
chest gave a clear and healthy sound.Auscultation revealed
permeability of air through, her lungs, but a very loud bronchial rale.
No other remedy has this combination of symptoms excepting Apis.
My choice fell on the 40M potency for the reason that she was too ill to
bear a lower potency of a large dose of the material. Directions were
given to repeat Apis 40m in water
every hour till she seemed a litter better, then to cease giving
entirely till we saw her in the morning. After the third dose, she
became quiet, fell asleep for two hours and remained quiet all night,
sleeping at intervals till morning.Contrary to
instructions the medicine was repeated every time she awoke, till 9 in
the morning, when she received the last dose remaining, soon after which
she became as bad as on the previous evening. We saw her at 10.30 A. M.
and found her about the same as on my first visit. Now what was to be
done ? The same remedy was still indicated and it was very evident
that she had been overdosed ; therefore Sac.
Lac. was given during the day and when we saw her at 6.30 P.
M. she was again more comfortable. Sac. Lac.,
was given till 10.30 the next morning, when we found her still more
comfortable. Next day still better, and still Sac.
Lac. So day after day showed that, on the whole, she was
improving and she made a perfect recovery without further dose of
medicine.
Case II
:
Syphilis ; Nitric Acid.
Some time ago, I was
called to attend a patient afflicted with syphilis, who had been
discharged from the syphilitic ward of the largest Philadelphia hospital
as an incurable. I found him in the following deplorable
condition ; the prepuce, leaving that organ perfectly denuded. At
one inch posterior to the corona glandis, on the left side of the corpus
spengiosum, was a fistulous ulcer extending into the urethra, so that in
micturition a portion of the urine escaped through this orifice. The
integuments covering in the pubic region had likewise sloughed away,
leaving the muscular structure bare, and ulceration was extending
upwards under the pubis.The entire diseased
surface was in a very unhealthy, or phagedenic, ulcerated condition.
Frequent painful erections occurred in the latter part of the night. He
had had chancres on the glans, and bubœs were still in a condition of
ulceration. I had the entire diseased surface dressed with sweet oil and
raw cotton, and ordered Nitris acid 200, in water, to be taken night and
morning. This resulted, in a comparatively short period, in a perfect
cure, the fistulous opening into the urethra even being closed. Of
course, the true skin, prepuce and hair, which had been destroyed, were
not reproduced.
Case
III :
Hæmorrhage in Typhoid Fever- Lachesis.
The following case is
illustrative of a number of similar occurrences, and I give it as a
sample of the treatment to he-pursued hinder similar circumstances, with
a great deal of confidence.One day, during the
treatment of a case of typhoid fever, there occurred some very loose
evacuations from the bowels, and occasional attacks of epistaxis. At my
evening visit, I requested “that the stools, if any, passed during
the night, night be saved -for my inspection in the morning. At
day-light the next morning I was summoned in haste to visit the patient,
and found her suffering from a violent epistaxis, with consequent
exhaustion.Three or four liquid
stools, passed during the night, had been kept in different vessels, and
were submitted for my inspection as I had desired. These proved to be
composed of blood together with thin and offensive fecal matter. On
tilling one of the vessels, in order to examine the sediment, if any. I
recognized the following which I regard as a never failing key note, viz. :
flakes of decomposed blood, having the appearance and form of perfectly
charred wheat straw in longer or shorter flat pieces,
together with portions more or less ground up.Close observation of
the patient, and the replies to a few inquiries, soon satisfied me that
lachesis would be the appropriate remedy, as I had supposed. Accordingly
a single dose of Lachesis 4M, was placed upon the patient’s tongue. In
the course of half an hour the epistaxis had entirely ceased, and the
patient fell into a sweet sleep. A slight attack of epistaxis occurred
in the afternoon ; but was not repeated, the hæmorrhage from the
bowels gradually coarsed, and the patient made a rapid recovery.A second dose of
Lachesis had been given by mistake, but was not required, and in ten
days the women was walking about the room. The hæmorrhage from the nose
is not always present in these cases, but, when decomposed blood, in the
form described, in observed in the dejection’s, whether occurring in
typhoid fever or in other diseases, Lachesis will, in my judgement,
always prove to the remedy. I am of the opinion that it should not be
given in a lower dilution than 200, and in low form of fever, when thus
indicated, I prefer the 4m, or higher. In similar cases I never knew
Lachesis fail to place the patient in a condition of safety, but
frequently other remedies are required to complete the cure. However,
the Lachesis should have ample time to produce its full effect before
prescribing any other medicine.
Source :
Hahnemannian Monthly, 1870.
Copyright © Sylvain
Cazalet 2001
