Case no. 11

Scarlet fever and worms

 Mr.-; a dealer in sweetmeats. Age 25 or 26 years. Was suffering from fever, palpitation and worms etc. The whole body used to become yellow during the fever. It was in November, 1911, that he had an attack of malaria. This malaria was treated allopathically and was stopped. But after 2 or 3 months of his recovery from the malarial fever, the patient began to feel feverish in the afternoon, at intervals of 3 or 4 months; and during these slight feverish spells too, the whole body used to turn yellow. There was loss of taste in the mouth, and worm troubles too. The patient as also his people were thinking that all these were due to his having to work near the fire. Various types of treatment-Ayurvedic, Allopathy and all sorts of country drugs were tried, but when nothing came out of these, the patient was brought to me, and the following symptoms were recorded:-
 [Let me mention here in passing, that the few symptoms as recorded above are enough for Allopathic prescribing, as Allopathy can proceed as soon as the name of the disease is hit upon. But the line on which we have to proceed is quite different, and the above symptoms are not in reality symptoms, but mere effects of the disease. As such, the few so called symptoms mentioned above cannot enable a Homœopathic selection being made.]
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 Symptoms:-
 Fever; headache, most towards the neck, and aggravated in the morning; as if the head would burst-and burst at the neck; as if all the blood in the circulation was rushing up towards the head; occasional boils and abscesses in the head, and they discharged blood. Occasional passing of blood instead of fæces. Nothing used to be retained in the stomach; everything used to be vomitted; vomiting of blood. The whole body used to become yellow. The onset of the fever was in the afternoon. It came on every day and lasted for 2 or 3 hours. Black, fetid, thin stools, at times with blackish blood. Sleep was rather tedious. It was never sound, and if it was at all sound at times, it was full of horrible dreams. These dreams used to break the sleep suddenly, and there was severe palpitation then. There was awful prostration then. The fit of the illness continued for 7, 8 or 9 days and then there was a remission for a month or so. The remission was longer previously, but the period of it was growing less and less. The severest period of the suffering was the summer. The patient was comparatively better in rains and winter. Temper extremely irritable. The liver hard and painful; could not lie on the right side for this pain. No taste for any food; preference for milk. Absolutely no perspiration, not even after any hard exertion, nor during remission of the fever. Unable to work near the fire but as this had to be done for the sake of the profession, something had to be placed before the fire so as to keep off the heat to some extent.
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 5. 2. 15. Crotalus-200, one dose weekly in the evening, Instructed to stop the medicine as soon as the fit of fever returned, and to repeat the medicine as soon as the fever was off. Report wanted after a month.
 2. 3. 15. The fever returned once only. No other change. Four doses of Crotalus-200, to be taken as before, and I was to be called in when the fever came.
 6. 5. 15. Fever, but the discoloration of the body was not as bad as before. There was no bloody urine and vomiting, and the fever had appeared at a longer interval. Crotalus-200. Two doses at an interval of 15 days.
 21. 8. 15. Fever much less than before, and slight discoloration of the skin. The pain in the liver was much less and the patient seemed to have gained in strength. Crotalus-500, two doses only to be taken at an interval of one month. No more medicine had to be given.
 17. 11. 15. Fever with malarial symptoms. This was not the old fever, but an acute onset resembling Natrum Mur. Two doses of Natrum Mur-30 were given, and this completed the course.
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 Remarks:-
 There was absolutely no hope of life if the patient had not gone through a course of Homœopathic treatment. All the previous doctoring was directed towards the liver, on the theory that the "liver" was the cause of the "fever". May I ask them, if the "liver" caused the "fever," who caused the "liver"? The fact is not that the liver was the cause of the fever, nor that the fever was the cause of the liver, but that it was the "Disease" that lay back of these, as also back of all the other sufferings of the patient. It is not the defect in the function or structure of any physical organ that causes the disease, but it is the disease-the internal disease that vitiates the organ and makes it impossible for it to perform its own functions; and hence the defect in the functions of the organ, and later on it the structures of it.

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