Instances of some of the rarer varieties of morbid growths swellings, &c. connected with the organs contained within the abdominal cavity.

  • Ogle, John W. (John William), 1824-1905.
Date:
[cbetween 1800 and 1899?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Instances of some of the rarer varieties of morbid growths swellings, &c. connected with the organs contained within the abdominal cavity. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

    38/44 (page 4)
    Now about this treatment by Acid : I gave it at one time in com- bination with Sulphate of Magnesia, which I have long discontinued. The Homoeopaths of the latest school, who treat by similars without regard to the infinitesimal doses of the founder, may point to this as an illustration of their principle. They may say, acids gripe and produce dysentery, and acids will cure the same. Be it so : a dis- cussion on this point would be an intrusion on the space of this article, but it may commend itself to the consideration of the profes- sion. I may say in passing, however, that the occurrence of an occasional homoeopathic relationship between diseases and remedies is not denied, its universality is called into question, and its applica- bility in all stages of all diseases. Dr. Ridge, in his work. Health and Disease^ p. 190, strongly advocates Nitrous Acid in this com- plaint, on the principle, That it is an inflammatory disease, and it is needful to furnish fresh supplies of the acids which are every hour flying off from the system, and upsetting the balance of the law of health. I was informed by one lady that she attributed her attack to soda cake, which always acted as a purgative, but this time had produced acute symptoms. This was not her first attack. The treatment in her casel^ was by acid, and she stated that her recovery had on no former occasion been so rapid. Dr. Henderson in his report of the Shanghai Hospital for 1862, says : On examining the blood of some patients suffering from dysentery and comparing it with blood from the healthy, the former gave a much more decided alkaline reaction than the latter; the urine also exhibited an alkaline reaction in typhoid cases, thus indicating a condition of super-alkalinity in the body, or at .least a deficiency of acid. This led me to adopt an acid mode of treatment, which proved decidedly beneficial and successful. I may therefore consider my third proposition estab- lished, namely. Dysentery does not require active treatment, the administration of acids hy different ^practitioners in various countries, lias been attended ivith marked success in favouring recovery. The duty of the physician, however, is not confined to writing prescriptions; v/e have in Australia ventured to dissociate the dispensing from the prescribing, and we no longer lay ourselves open to the charge of ordering medicine to make up our bills, the attendance only being charged for. Some wiseacre, during a late discussion in one of the Melbourne daily papers, wrote : What doctor would ever think of paying a first visit, without writing the inevitable prescription ? It is done daily nevertheless : advice about diet and simple remedies are as valuable as drugs, and in the subject of this paper, the most essential part of the treatment is repose—rest for the bowels. I have not yet tried the treatment of this affection without medication ; but I would infinitely prefer it to being blistered, leeched, and salivated. Grede experto ! The less that passes down to trouble the colon, and the less its mucous surface is harassed, the sooner will it heal, and the less will the sufferer be called on to bear. But nature, while she is not opposed, must be supported, and the best means of doing this will