The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-11

"
the vital forces and focused them on the
refractory organ
The fourth case was that of a young man
said TO be suffering from a sunstroke. Soon
after he fell unconscious and then began
40 have violent spasms requiring the
united strength of half a dozen men TO
hold him and keep him from injuring
himself. He continued to be at times de-
lirious. and then for a while apparently
comatose, and again the spasms would re-
cur After a hasty consideration of the
history, surroundings and symptoms OF the
case l arrived at the diagnosis of acute
cerebral hyperaemia from heat prostration.
giving rise TO fear of sunstroke; the symp-
toms of which the subdivisions personal
ity proceeded to initiate 10 the best of its
knowledge and belief In other words. the
condition is what is usually designated as
acute hyste&ia from fright. By at once
assuming confident attitude. and assuring
the bystanders. in the hearing and for the
benefit of the apparently unconscious pa
tient, that there was no danger, he would
soon be all right again. l proceeded TO sug-
gest, through my talk with them the
course and sequence which the symptoms
would Immediately take. Strengthening
these impressions by the use of measures
in themselves imperative but asserted to
be most energetic. 1, in few minutes,
was able TO arouse the patient, quiet his
excitement. restore his reason and MS
powers of coordination. and to see MIN
walk upstairs to his room, and soon after
fail into a quiet. normal sleep, from which
he awoke the next morning well and little
the worse for his experience"
THE fifth case was that of a boy of Is
years, who had suffered from acute in
hammatory rheumatism, but h5sl been
cured except for slight lameness in the
right ankle. About a month later l was
surprised 10 learn that he had not yet been
out of the house, but that the pain In
| the right ankle had persisted and grad
/ ually grown worse. so that for the past
| two or three weeks he had been limpng
| about with the aid of a crutch. 1 found
| him unable 10 set his foot TO the floor
| and put any weight on it without vino
| ing, and entirely unwilling ~ trust it in
! walking. Examination showed no swell
/ ing or local tenderness. and l found
/ could manipulate the foot in ways that
| would have been very painful had there
! been any real Inflammation in the joint.
| ! was therefore forced to the conclusion
! that the pain was entirely subjective and
4 due to the timidity of the patient and his
! belief in its reality and persistency. BY
/ suggesting its prompt dissipation, as a
result of local applications and supposedly
! skillful massage, l was enabled within five
minutes to present him TO his mother
cured, free from pain, dancing, hopping,
running and laughingly assuring her that
! he should have no further use for his
crutch. He has never since had a twinge
! of rheumatism.
THE sixth case was that Of a girl of
| nine years of age of the hysterical tenn
! permanent Her medical attendant suspect
| ed infautile paralysis, From the waist
| down she gradually became paTalyZed.
After brief study of the symptoms
and assuring myself of the normal ac-
| ton of the kidneys, / came to the con-
clusion that here fear and suggestion had
been at work. and the doctors solcitude
in watching for the progressive symptoms
| of paresis had induced subconseiOusly the
very condition expected and feared. l al
once began 10 invoke the assistance of
| CONFERENCE.-THE and after gaining the
| confidence of the little patient it took but
! few minutes of energetic manipua tons
| and assurances of relief to have her out
| of bed, rush out to her parents, who
greeted her with the cry "A miracle! A
miracle!" and then run foot race with
! her little brother out of doors. Less than
ten minutes suggestion had sufficed to
remove permanently all symptoms of the
dreaded disease"
The seventh case was that of a woman
| of thirty years, with symptoms of men,
| branous Group who after couValescing
| suddenly seemed in dying condition. She
could not be aroused, was insensibe 10
pain from pin-pricks or pinching and
| most remarkable of all there was unmis-
taxable and pronounced pulmonary oede>
ma, large and small mucous rales being
! plainly audible throughout both lungs
| / was mOmentarily dumfOunded and rack
| cd my brain to recall any known disease
or disorder that could produce such an ar
ray of alarming symptoms in a person
ten minutes before seemingly in comfor-
| table health Hysteria at once forced its
claims upon me. / determined to use
! counter suggestion in a most active form;
and believing that, while the functions of
| the objective personality were in Temporal
nv oh 1T
acutely awake and responsive to outside
| impressions. | appealed to its attention by
! remarks, not to the patient, but to the
| neighboring doctors and nurses. / SEM
one of them for harmless remedy, which
| l began using with apparent caution in
minute doses, meanwhile assuring the at
| tendants, with warning sign, that it was
| most powerful drug, and that within
! nVe minutes the patient would either be
| dead or well on the way to recovery. Then
| speaking confidently, l observed that the
eyes would first open, then the mouth
| would move and consciousness return
next the use of her hands, arms legs, and
voice would follow, in never failing sue
| cession and that the oedema would grad
ually clear up and the pulse become strong
| er; and rs these effects promptly followed
each suggestion, by encouraging the now
| conscious and surprised patient 10 use her
various muscles as the danger was now
! passed. l succeeded within five minutes
from the beginning of this mental treat
ment In restoring her TO q perfectly nor
NAL condition, to the astonishment of all
concerned as well as myself. 1t had taken
from seven to eight hours of active medi-
| cation, two days before to bring about no
better results than were here duplicated
by few moments of suggestive thera-
/ peutics"
The eighth and last case was that of
woman of % years, upon whom DR. See
/ I've was authorized, as a last resort to per
| form an operation for tracheotomy if a
! crisis seemed imminent. During the prep-
| aration of instruments and dressings. the
dangers of the operation and chances of
recovery had been freely discussed, in the
! presence of the patient, by the six or eight
doctors and nurses attending. Then. stand
| ing at her head. l made my first incison
| through the skin over the thyroid carti-
| iage. As the knife blade cut into her,
! noticed a sliahI tNiLching of the arirls