During the spring of 1886 scarlet-diphtheria appeared in this place. On
March 28th I was called to attend the 8-year old son Matthias, of
Wernerus, a weaver, in the hamlet of Niepert, that showed symptoms of
the above disease. Cynanche was at high degree, and the throat was
filled with diphtheritic coating, so much so that I had reason to fear
the worst, on account of the accompanying fever and of the choked-up
condition and weakly (scrofulous) habit of the patient. But the
well-known remedy of Viller, given alternately with _Belladonna_, proved
itself also in this case, and the symptoms in the throat assumed, after
a few days, a less dangerous character. Not so with the fever, which
gradually assumed the form of typhoid, and ran very high, while the
scarlet-rash grew quite pale. On the morning of April 5th, his
temperature was 42.5 deg., the patient unconscious, the pulse weak and
intermittent, the feet swollen. Upon inquiry the parents told me that
the boy urinated very little. His urine, of which I had taken a quantity
the day previous for examination, contained a considerable amount of
albuminous sediments. I prescribed _Kali arsenicosum_ in the fourth
centesimal potency, which had been recommended in similar cases by Dr.
Hock in the international homoeopathic press; but, although the
temperature decreased after using this remedy, the dropsical swelling of
the feet increased more and more, and after a few days the entire body
of the patient was swollen very much. The discharge of urine grew
continually less. Under these circumstances I examined the patient again
thoroughly, and found great sensitiveness of the kidneys against
pressure, in spite of his otherwise apathetic condition. These symptoms
reminded me of _Virga-aurea_. This remedy was immediately applied, and I
had no reason to regret it. Within one day the urinal discharge became
profuse, the general condition improving at the same time; the peeling
off took place without further trouble, and after the patient had taken
_Virga-aurea_ for two weeks, and, on account of anaemia, for one week
three times a day, a dose of _Ferrum peroxydatum_ in the 2d trituration,
he had so far recovered that I did not consider it necessary to give
further medicine.
In 1885 a 45-year-old Belgian mine official (his work was office-work)
consulted me on account of sleeplessness and pain in the back. The
patient had no other complaints, only he carelessly added it sometimes
took him a long time to urinate, because of want of the necessary
pressure. He considered this weakness as the result of gonorrhoea,
from which he had suffered years ago. The sleeplessness, for which he
had tried all remedies possible, would make itself known from the time
he went to bed until 3 o'clock in the morning, at which time he could
get sleep, but not a refreshing one, and on arising he would feel very
tired, especially in the upper part of the thighs, and then would
commence the pain in the back, which extended to the loins, and lasted
until he went to bed in the evening, without being prompted by external
influences (warmth, cold, rest, motion). Also sleeplessness nights, pain
in the back daytimes. At first I considered _Nux vom._ proper, and I
prescribed the same for the patient, in the 3d decimal potency, four
drops twice a day. At the same time I requested the patient to bring a
sample of his urine at his next visit. After some time he came back with
the sample, and declared that the prescribed remedy had not shown the
least effect.
The urine was dark and slimy, reddish, slightly acid, and had at the
bottom of the bottle brick-dust settlings. Heat did not show albumen,
but by heating it the dark urine became clearer, and contained also
salts of uric acid. I examined the kidneys of the patient, found them
sensitive against pressure, and the diagnosis pointed to chronic catarrh
of the kidneys. Sleeplessness, pain in the back and the tired feeling in
the upper parts of the thigh were additional symptoms of this malady,
and I determined to use _Virga-aurea_. The patient took this for three
months three times a day, after which he wrote me that he was entirely
well. About a year afterwards he had a relapse, but not in the form of
former symptoms, but in the form of ischias, against which disease
Golden Rod proved itself beneficial.
In conclusion, may be mentioned a double case of the curative power of
_Virga-aurea_, which also contributes to the heredity of disease. Some
time ago, the wife of a farmer, 53 years old, asked me for a
prescription for a trouble which she had had for twenty-six years, since
her first confinement. The patient, a stout and fresh-looking person,
made the following statement: After the confinement, which was very
laborious, and which was followed by prolapsus uteri, the latter still
existing, her legs began to swell, and an itching rash broke out by
degrees. Menstruation had always come at the proper time, but suddenly
stopped six months ago.
Since that time the itching had become almost intolerable, the legs more
swollen and always cold, but she did not feel a continuous heat in her
head. The appetite was very poor; she had always a bitter taste in the
mouth, and the tongue was thickly coated. At the same time she had
rising from the stomach, as if she should suffocate, and at the least
exertion she lost her breath. She urinated very little, and this mostly
at night. My question, if there were pains in the back, was answered in
the negative, but the kidneys of this patient were also sensitive
against pressure. The appearance of the lower limbs of the patient
frightened me. From knee to heel they formed a bluish-red mass in the
shape of a stove-pipe, which were covered with little blotches and
crusts. This kind of an eruption, together with the other symptoms, led
me to the use of _Virga-aurea_, the prolonged use of which, although it
did not affect a cure, produced a mitigation of the whole body, so that
the lady induced her eldest son to come to me for help. This man had
also trouble in his lower limbs not unlike his mother. He had a year ago
passed through a severe throat difficulty, after which his lower limbs
began to swell and to itch; they were also tainted bluish-red and
covered with vesicles; he also complained of scanty urine, and his
kidneys were sensitive against pressure. What better could I, under the
circumstances, prescribe than _Virga-aurea_?
The result was good. After a few months the patient had no more
difficulty.
In the cases above mentioned, I prescribed the 3d decimal dilution of
the tincture of the whole plant of Golden Rod. The water of Golden Rod,
recommended by Rademacher and others, I have never tried.