A clinical case. By Constantine Hering, M. D.

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A clinical
case.
By Constantine Hering, M. D.
Presented by Sylvain Cazalet

Dr Franz Hartmann

Mr. D—., musician,
age 59, somewhat below medium height, of weakly constitution, sallow
skin, emaciated ; so weak he can scarcely walk, and greatly
depressed in mind.

Had the diseases of
childhood without any sequelæ ; remained well to his thirtieth
year, when he came under allopathic treatment for a fever. Twelve years
ago he had tertian intermittent, which was successfully treated by Dr.
Hartmann, homœopath. Since then his health has been tolerably good, but
he began to drink hard during the last months, since when his present
symptoms have made their appearance.

He complains
principally of mental weakness ; loss of appetite ; had a
whitish, dry tongue, feeling of fullness and pressure in the
epigastrium ; great tension and dropsical swelling of
abdomen ; tardy, infrequent, and hard stool ; scanty, dark red
urine, painful in passing. He has a Hydrocele the size of an infant’s
head ; the penis is curved in the shape of an S, at least four
inches in circumference, swollen ; the prepuce œdematous to such a
degree as to hide the orifice. Short, frequent cough, mostly dry ;
occasionally whitish frothy mucus ; great dyspnœa ; has to be
propped up in bed. Anxiety ; sleeps little and seldom ; great
and unquenchable thirst ; craves refreshing drinks. Legs œdematous
as far up as the abdomen ; very ill-humored ; small, frequent
pulse ; dry skin and weak voice.

Physical examination
revealed enlargement and induration of the liver, particularly of the
left lobe.

Prescribed Arsenicum.
Carbo-veg. and Zincum
without the slightest benefit. The disease made rapid progress ;
the ascites and hydrocele increased, the latter to a degree which
threatened gangrene. There was now suppression of stool and urine, when
one night the patient suddenly and involuntarily passed a large quantity
of urine, and was attacked by fear of death, with great prostration.

Tartar-emetic

was
prescribed in alternation with Aconite.
Two days later his condition was as bad as ever.

Fluoric Acid 6,

in water, a teaspoonful every four hours. This remedy worked such a
rapid and remarkable change as I have never before witnessed in similar
chronic cases. His forces rallied, the swellings decreased and entirely
disappeared within eight days. Stool became regular, urine passed
copiously and without pain ; appetite, sleep and pulse in a short
time became normal. In two weeks he was well enough to work ;
continued his medicine for two weeks more, and had no relapse during the
next year. –Dr. Carl Haubold. Allg. Hom.
Zeitung. Vol. 53, p. 157.

Remarks by Dr. Hering.

Dr Constantine
Hering

The Fluoric Acid

was prescribed in this case according to Dr. Jeane’s statement :
“In two cases of incurable hydrothorax Fluoric
acid 3rd gave much relief.” (Symptom 320. Transactions
of American Institute of Homœopathy. Vol. 1, p. 54,
Philadelphia, 1846.)

Note 1 : Every
physician, in a large practice, will have observed cases in which
younger or older men, mostly in the prime of life, got an irresistible
desire for strong drink after having passed through a typhoid or
intermittent fever, or some gastric disturbance of a bilious nature.
Since this is not regarded as a distinct disease, nor as a possible
sequel of an enteritis, either by the patient, his family or his
physician if he happened to be a fanatical temperance man, no attempt at
a cure is made. These good people resort to what is called moral
persuasion, by which we know the error is only increased. It is the same
gross error as to suppose that hysteria may be removed by calling the
patient “nervous” or “hipped”, in the belief that
such patients could overcome their symptoms if they only showed a firm
will.

As regards the effects
of alcoholism, our homœopathic art has made greater advancement in the
curing of this horribly ruinous disease than it has in many other
serious troubles. Our repertories abound in symptoms peculiar to this
morbid desire.

Dr Jacob B. Jeanes

Note 2 : My dear
sanguine old friend Haubold, a candid, upright and amiable man, tries to
excuse himself for making an experiment in a public hospital, before the
eyes of many witnesses, on this particular case. He says he was
primarily led to prescribe Fluoric acid
by the great prostration of strength of the patient and next by the
remark of Dr. Jeanes quoted above. We clearly see that it was in truth a
very lucky, but after all, an accidental, cure. The prostration, great
as it was, could not be considered a leading symptom since it depended
on other conditions and is not peculiar to the remedy. It is true, we
find under symptoms 594 to 599 a few remarks relating to weariness, but
increased muscular action and greater ability to stand exertion
predominates.

There can be no doubt
that it was the remark of Jeanes that led to the choice of the remedy.

What may have induced
Jeanes, who never makes experiments on his patients, to prescribe Fluoric
Acid in the hopeless case of hydrothorax ? It may have
been the observation that the aggravation observed in his patient came
an hour earlier each day, since some symptoms of the remedy had the
decided peculiarity of appearing every day, or every other day at a
later hour. In conversations with Dr. Jeanes we had dwelled upon the
necessity of giving, remedies with postponing symptoms for diseases
which antedate and vice versa.

It is to be hoped that
by attempting to explain this remarkable accidental cure, that none, in
expectation of a similar lucky accident, will prescribe Fluoric
Acid without sufficient similarity of symptoms. A sudden
running discharge of fluid secretions, i. e.
tears from the eyes, water in dropsy, ichor from ulcers, etc., has been
observed in a number of cases after receiving Fluoric
acid. making this one of the most characteristic symptoms of
the remedy.

The old lady (Symptom
9, page 29, Transactions of the American
Institute, and Symptom 10, page 144, Vol. 22 of Stapf’s Archives,
and again in the following volume, page 21) had running of slimy
purulent water from the eyes, in a dream down the cheeks.

Dr Carl Haubold

Fluoric acid.

given
for suppurating glands, increased the discharge even in cases in which
there was no curative result ; it caused ears to run and feel as if
a stream of air was running from them. Might not the quite unusual
sudden discharge of quantities of urine observed in the case
quoted ? be taken for an indication belonging to Fluoric
acid ? Might it be taken for a useful hint in cases where we have
no other leading symptoms ?

What Haubold mentions
about induration of the liver, and a specific influence of the remedy
upon this condition, is worthless. The cause of the dropsy in the case
could not be attributed to amyloid degeneration of that organ, in which
case there could not have been so speedy, complete and permanent a
recovery. Besides, Fluoric acid. among its 725 symptoms obtained from
more than seventy provers, most of whom were physicians, while having
eight symptoms from the region of the spleen, has not a single one from
the liver.

The lucky accident of
this remarkable cure proved of little 30 to the doctor who reported it,
who even complained of the wordiness of the provings -a sure sign that
he did not study them. On page 108, reasons had been given and the uses
of the remedy stated under diagnostic remarks.

Source :

The Homœopathic Recorder,
Vol. LI., N°. 5.

Copyright © Sylvain
Cazalet 2001

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