New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-09-14

discovery. But camphOr must tit the case
| exactly. or it will be OF little value, and th
was not camphor epidemic.
Camphor represents the sudden and rapid
development of genuine Asiatic cholera.
The symptoms which call for it are great
| muscular prOstration, occurring stimuli
| taneOusly with mental apathy, GOODNESS of
| the whole surface, hoarsenese, stupOr. in
tense anguish, and all before any great
sweating. vomiting or purg;ig has ex.
hausted the system. 1t does not represent
an extensive gastro-intestinal catarrb, but
rather terrible shock to the great synpa-
thetic nervous system, and suits the CON
gestive chill of malarious disease lust IA il
does the worst form of Asatic cholera. in
which the case seems to begin, instead of
ending, with collapse.
Now there may have been cases of that
kind in the city which might have been
saved by camphor, but l saw none of them
The constitutional type of the disease as it
came under my notice, called especially for
veratrum alb, vomiting and purging of rice
water, cramps in the abdomen, cold skin,
forehead, feeble pulse, etc, with no special
rapidity in the Development in the case.
In every case | alternated veratrum first
dec. with cuprum third cent. every five
minutes, until the cramps and discharges
ceased, which occurred in almost every case
in from two to four hours. l enjOined the
horizontal position, insisting even dpOn the
use of the bed-pan for the excavations. 1
allowed ice water to drink, frequently, but
no more than a quarter of common tum-
bier at each time. Insisted upon the patient
lying still and under moderate cover. APP
pied a mustard plaster over the whole
abdomen IN some very painful cases, and in
one instance where the excavations we're of
enormous size, gave injections of starch
water and laudanum with apparently good
effect.
Tae difference between cuprum and
veratrum seems to be this: l. c. veratrum
affects the sphere governed by the great
sympathetic: cuprum, the cerebrO-spinaI
sphere Neratrum has cramps predOmi-
nantly of the voluntary muscles. Cold
sweating demands veratrum especially,
while violent cramps call more loudly for
cuprum. Either remedy may be used alone
with excellent effect when clearly indicated;
but in the cholera the cerebro-spinal and
the ganglionio systems are SO often impl-
Gated together and act and react upon each
other, that thought it best to alternate
the remedies, and the brilliant result has
in my opinion justified the measure.
When you see cases of cholera of the
genuine camphor type, you may be sure
that cases demanding arsenicum, and even
secale cor, will present themselves. Arse
nicum may be said to represent the reaction
against the camphor-cOngestion. In other
words, case of camphOr- cholera, slowly
recovering, will almost certainly call for
arsenicuD. And when camphor is rarely
indicated in the beginning. you will rarely
find demand for arsencum.
In the late epidemic, the characteristic
symptoms of arsenicum did not appear in
any OF my cases. Incessant restlessness
and change of position; intense thirst salts
fed for few moments by small quantity
OF water; cold skin, with great subjective
heat; violent burning pain in the epigas-
trium, and discharges, not rice water, but
frequent, scanty, and of a dark or yellowish
water. 1t takes all these symptoms COM
bined to make true arsenic case.
l saw one case which recovered SLOWLY
under arsenic and carlo. veg. thirtieth atten-
uatlon, after veratrum and cuprum had ar
rested the rice water discharges and cramps,
but failed to advance the cure beyond that
point. The patient was an old English
and the symptoms remaining were:
,etchlng without vomiting, dirty, yellow
discharges, fatulence, huskiness of voice,
slight discoloration of cOuntenance, thirst.
'estlessness, and fear of death.
The arsenic of cOpper-cuprum arsenicum
bird cent, was found very useful in the
,holeric diarrhea which has prevailed dur
ng the summer, in the disturbed condition
u the bowels during cOnvalesence from
,nOlefa, ana even IN some OF the dysenteric
'ases which prevailed on the decline OF the
Epidemic.
For the stage OF reaction after an attack
It cholera, aconite is PROFESSIONALLY the
,est remedy. put ten drops of the mother
incture into half glass of water, and gave
wo teaspoontuls hourly. My experience
With that dose has been so satisfactory that
have had no occasion to experiment with
he higher attenuatiOns.
Abdominal neuralgias were very frequent
turing the prevalence of the disease.
ramp in the stomach, bilious collie. ovarian
euralgia, nephritic collie, lumbago and
clatica were prescribed for more frequently
han before. Several cases were mistaken
Or cholera sicea, dry cholera, from the very
lolent and alarming symptoms, which
roved nothing but intermittent neuralgia
t the c1laic plexus.
L lost no case of the late perncious CASTRO
Intestinal catarrh, or false cholera, as [
you'd term it. This is not at all surprising.
'hen none of the cases were of the very
evere type, when they all occurred in pa
tents IN most cOmfOrta BILE circumstances.
7hen was called in ample time to every
ase, and when the treatment was homeopa-
hlc. L do not believe that the most Judi
lous allopathy, with all the same advan
ages, could have presented SO fair result.