Yellow fever and its homoeopathic treatment / by Wm. H. Holcombe.

  • Holcombe, William H. (William Henry), 1825-1893.
Date:
1856
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Yellow fever and its homoeopathic treatment / by Wm. H. Holcombe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    supposed action of his drug.-;, can get at the pure facts of nature unbiassed by theories of any kind. He has only to find a remedy which shall produce a train of similar peripheral derangements, indicating an action on the nerve-centres similar to that of the disease. Without its producing this, that, or the other physiological disturbance, the disease and its symptoms gradually subside under its administration. IV. TREATMENT. Before passing to the homoeopathic treatment of yellow- fever, I cannot forbear making a few strictures on the methods by which allopathic physicians flatter themselves they can encounter this formidable disease. No ''outsider could be more severe on the whole school than the adherents of differ, ent practices in it have always been, and still are, on each other. They harmonized in little but in blistering the epigastrium, and abusing Homoeopathy. There were several theories in vogue during the present epidemic, but they were the old ones revamped, with little revision and no amendment. The wonderful advances in chemistry, physiology, and pathology, gave no new light to the therapeutical management of yellow- fever. The dominant Molochs of allopathy, the lancet, calo- mel, quinine, and expectant medicine, each had his altar, and each received a satisfactory quota of victims. We will take a brief glance at these toxicological appliances for the cure of disease, which will hereafter be characterized as having belonged to the dark ages of medical opinion. The idea of depletion is thoroughly ingrained into the allopathic philosophy of medication. Founded on the plausible fallacy that disease is a state of excitement requiring means of moderation, it proceeds, by perturbating measures, to increase the evil it would remove, or to superinduce other and worse dangers on those already existing. There is no doubt that ab- straction of blood will frequently give prompt relief to pain by diminishing the nutrition of the nerve-centres^and thereby modifying and lessening sensibility; but that it impairs the vital powers, disturbs the natural process of cure, complicates the phenomena, makes organic lesions more liable to occur, and retards recovery, is almost unquestionable. Many stan-