Catarrh, Colds and Grippe

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acute colds

THE MEDICINAL TREATMENT of cold divides itself naturally into three parts,--- Treatment of the acute attack, treatment of the condition when it has become the constitutional tendency to be affected by chills.

Colds in The Acute Stage.

Among the remedies for a cold in the incipient stage, two stand out prominently from all the rest---- camphor and Aconite. There is no remedy that has made more converts to Homoeopathy than Aconite, and its beautiful effect in dissipating the consequences of a chill is one of the most striking of its virtues. In a certain proportion of patients Camphor has an equally marked good effects; but Camphor has not such a wide range as its sister drug. Still, Camphor must not be neglected. The chill of Camphor is more marked than that of Aconite; and if a pilule (one of the large pilules sold in stoppered bottles by homoeopathic chemists) is taken every fifteen minutes from the moment that the chill has been experienced, and continued for a few hours until the reaction sets in, a cold will almost invariably be warded off. Later, on Camphor, though it may prove useful, is not so likely to do so as is Aconite. Aconite 1 may be taken every hour, in doses of one drop or six pilules for the first five or six hours, and afterwards every two hours. This may be kept up for forty-eight hours.

The use of these two drugs as indicated-----Camphor when the chill is first taken, Aconite if this stage has passed-may be followed, unless there are special reasons, why they should not be used, as a routine practice. The great majority of colds will be cut short by them. If Aconite causes perspiration, care should be taken to avoid another chill whilst the perspiration is going on. Other-wise, no special precautions need be observed.

It is useless to cite examples of the triumphs of these two medicines, for they are to be found in nearly every family throughout the land; for the use of Aconite in colds is by no means confined to homeopathic practice. The allopaths have in some mysterious way discovered the virtues of the drug, and made free use of it. Many patients of mine regularly cut short their colds with Aconite since they have learned how to take it.

If a cold has lasted more than two days, other medicines must be thought of. Among these Gelsemium, Mercurius, Arsenicum, Nux vomica, Pulsatilla, Sanguinaria, Cepa, Natrum muriaticum hold the first rank, and will be given according as the symptoms they have produced in the healthy correspond to the symptoms of the cold.

Gelsemium

Sometimes the fever following a chill does not yield to Aconite , and then Gelsemium is generally successful. The symptoms which call for Gelsemium are : ----Chills creeping up the back, fulness of the head, heat of the face, beating of the arteries in the neck, hot, dry hands, feeling of languor and drowsiness. The restlessness is less intense than that of Aconite, and it often subsides without inspiration, and returns again (of the "remitting" type, as it is called). The chilliness is often accompanied by a profuse flow of urine, which relieves the head. With this there is sneezing, fulness at the root of the nose, and flow of clear water from the nose and eyes. Dose : 3x ; one drop or six pilules every hour.

Arsenicum

When the nasal discharge is thin and irritating, with a hot burning sensation in nose and eyes, Arsenicum is the remedy; and if, in addition, there is burning thirst, red tongue, headache, sleeplessness, anxiety, and prostration, all the symptoms being ameliorated by warmth, the indications will be still stronger. The medicine should be given in the 3rd dilution, two drops (or two pillules) every hour or two.

Arsenicum is the best remedy, in a general way, for the "influenza cold", which produces a good deal of prostration, with free, irritating, thin discharge from nose and eyes.

Mercurius

It is to be given in most common colds when there is an abundant flow of serous mucus from the nose, which is often swollen and red; fetid smell of nasal mucus; heavy frontal headache; deafness; nightly sweats with febrile chill and beat; great thirst; pains in the limbs; low spirits and longing for solitude, all the symptoms being increased both by heat and cold. Dose : No. 6, two drops or six pilules every two hours.

Hepar sulph

When Mercurius is indicated, but does not respond, or when the patient has already had too much ; when each draught of cold air produces fresh cold or a headache, only one nostril being affected, and the headache being made worse by movement. Dose : No. 6, two drops or pilules six every two hours.

Cepa (made from the red onion).

Fluent coryza; tightness at root of nose; constant sneezing; pain in back, and chills; melancholy, anxiety, restlessness. Symptoms worse in a room, better out of doors. Dose : No. 3; two drops or six pilules every two hours.

A case of violent cold in the head with streaming eyes and nose, in a gouty patient, who had also a troublesome irritation of the skin, was cured completely by a few doses of Cepa. Usually her attacks, when occurring in the beginning of winter, went on to bronchitis, and in this instance the bronchial tubes has already become affected when i gave the Cepa, which cleared off everything.

Pulsatilla

Discharge of yellowish-green fetid mucus from the nose; loss of appetite and sense of taste; head heavy and embarrassed, especially in the evening and by the warmth of a room; with stoppage of the nose, no thirst; tearful humour; chilliness all the evening; amelioration in the open air. Dose : 3x, two drops or six pilules every two hours.

Nux Vomica

It is the remedy when the cold is "dry" and the nose blocked; or it may be dry in the morning and fluent in the evening. There is heaviness of the forehead. An angry, quarrelsome humour is characteristic of Nux. Aggravation of symptoms occurs from mental exertion; in the morning; after retiring, especially after dinner; from motion; from slight touch; in the open air (in this contrasting with Pulsatilla, as it does in so many points); and in dry weather.

Sanguinaria or Nitrate of Sanguinarin

Profuse fluent coryza; ordry, with frequent sneezing; dull heavy pain at the root of the nose; odour of roasted onions in the nose; dryness of lips: tongue feels as if burnt; throat full, swollen, and constricted; sharp stitches in chest; depression and irritability.

Aggravation: morning and evening; from light and motion. Dose of Sanguinaria : No. 1, two drops or six pilules every two hours. Of Nitrate of Sanguinarin, 3x trituration, one grain every two hours.

Natrum muriaticum

Fluent coryza in chilly subjects; chills along the back; great thirst; vesicles on the lips or tendency to them; constipation; weight in forehead on rising in the morning; sadness, depression, tendency to weep. Aggravation of symptoms in the morning, and periodically . Dose : 3 trit., two grains every two hours; or No. 6, two drops or six pilules every two hours.

I take some credit to myself for bringing forward Natrum muriaticum as a remedy for colds. About sixteen years ago, when Dr. Burnett's work on the drug appeared. I made a study of it, and was struck with the number of cold-symptoms it possessed.

Having a pretty severe cold myself at the time, i took a few doses of No. 6, and was intensely delighted to find my cold quite cured in the morning. I soon repeated the happy experience on several patients; and then my partner, Dr. W. Roche, gave it on my recommendation to a patient of his own who was suffering from a very severe cold. This patient declared he had never got rid of a cold so quickly in his life. At that time I thought that the range of the drug was so wide that it was equal to curing almost any cold. Subsequent experience did not justify that, but it did confirm me in my opinion that it is one of the most valuable remedies for cold we possess.

It was whilst reading up the literature of this drug that i was struck by the coincidence of its being also recommended, from the old school point of view, in the shape of salt baths or douches; and also by the popular use of the drug in salt food I shall have to refer to it again as a remedy for chronic colds and the cold-constitution.

Kali hydriodicum(Iodide of Potassium)

Profuse flow of clear water from eyes and nose; accumulation of thick, tenacious mucus in the nose; discharge of greenish-black or yellow matter of foul smell; nose-bleed; discharge of decomposed greenish-red blood. Sensation of fulness and tightness at the root of the nose, swelling and redness of the nose; sensation of fulness in the nose; with beating pains in the nasal bones; throbbing and burning in nasal and frontal bone with swelling; after abuse of mercury. Aggravation : at night; in cold air; at rest; better from motion. Dose : No. 3 or 30, two hours.

These are the chief medicines that will be required for the cure of ACUTE COLDS.

The Medicinal Treatment of Catarrh or Chronic Colds and The Tendency to take Cold:

Catarrh

CHRONIC COLDS require somewhat different treatment. When a cold has gone on for weeks without any signs of passing away, Turkish baths, hot baths, hot foot baths, warm gruel, and all the rest of the domestic armamentarium having proved in vain, there is still some hope for the unhappy sufferer. He may yet find deliverance from the ruthless enemy which holds him by the nose, without going to a warm climate or waiting till the summer comes.

If the patient has not been already under homoeopathic treatment, the remedy for the case will most likely be found among those already described after Camphor and Aconite; and even if he has had homoeopathic treatment, and his symptoms correspond to those which are characteristic of any one of the above -named remedies, this must be given.

The chief remedies for chronic colds are Hydrastis, Calc. Carb., Natrum mur., Dulcamara, Mercurius; Sulphur.

Hydrastis

This remedy is indicated when there is much thick discharge from the nose, and especially the poterior part of the nose which leads to the throat; when the mucus drops down into the throat; which is also affected with the catarrhal condition; tongue yellow coated; tendency to constipation. Dose : No. 1, two drops or six pilules every two hours.

Hydrastis canadensis

Will be found useful in many conditions. A patient who suffered from chronic cold in the nose, and also deafness (which latter was the result of scarlatina; and dated many years back), the discharge from the nose being thick and the throat being also affected, was completely cured of the catarrh by a course of Hydrastis, the deafness being also slightly improved. When a cold has settled in the back of the nose and throat, with a good deal of phlegm in the throat, and perhaps deafness, there is no better remedy than Hydrastis.

Calcarea carbonica

In persons of phlegmatic temperament, pale, and inclined to be fat; in fair, plump children; in persons who suffer from acidity; internal chilliness; coryza, chiefly dry; nostrils sore; polypus; margins of eyelids sore. Aggravation; mornings, evenings, and after midnight; from cold and cold air. Dose : No. 6, two drops or six pilules every four hours.

Natrium muriaticum

When the coryza is fluent; chilly subjects; the blood thin and watery; complexion unhealthy; thirst; constipation. Disposition melancholy and tearful. Dose : No. 6, two drops or six pilules every two hours. It is patients of this description who will benefit by brine baths. The baths should be hot, and should not be stayed in too long. They should be followed by cold spraying.

Dulcamara

Extreme sensitiveness to damp cold; blocking of the nose, with a discharge that the least cold air stops anew; dryness of the mouth without thirst; hoarseness.

Aggravation: during rest; amelioration during movement. Dose : No. 6, two drops or six pilules every two hours.

Mercurius solubilis

Abundant thick or fluent coryza of fetid odor; feverish condition; night sweats; pains in the limbs; desire for solitude.

Aggravation by both head and cold. Dose : No. 3x trit., two grains, or two drops of No. 6, every four hours.

Sulphur

Blocking and great dryness of the nose, or abundant secretion of thick, yellowish, purulent mucus; bleeding; loss of smell; suited to lean persons inclined to stoop, those subject to skin affections who perspire easily. Aggravation from warmth of bed and during rest; better during motion and when walking. Dose No. 6, two drops or six pilules every two hours.

It is sometimes advisable to send patients of the sulphur type, if the English climate tries them greatly to the sulphur springs such as those of Eaux-Bonnes in the Pyrenees.

Among the sequelae of a cold in the head (vulgarly called "dregs of a cold") may be mentioned loss of taste and smell. This sometimes persists for a long time after all other signs of a cold have disappeared. For this the remedy is Magnes. Mur. 6, two drops or six pilules every four hours.

The 'Tendency to take Cold' may be counteracted by a course of Constitutional Treatment.

In order that this may be brought about, every individual must be considered in the light of his own constitutional peculiarities. Only the remedies most generally applicable can be indicated here, but they will be found to cover a very large number of cases.

The remedies steadily twice or three times a day, and should be continued for one or two months. They may be commenced, if indicated, whilst the cold still continues, or after it is cured.

The remedies I shall name in this connexion are Natrum mur., Calc. Carb., Carbo veg., Agaricus, Sulphur, Mercurius. These remedies must be selected according as they correspond with the constitutional state of the patient, rather than with any idea of finding an agreement between their cold symptoms and the peculiar features of the patient's colds when they have them.

Natrium muriaticum

Anaemic, ill-nourished, chilly persons, of unclear complexions; inclined to constipation; despondent and tearful; feel worse when lying down, from heat; better in open air. Dose : No. 12, two drops or six pilules three times a day.

With this remedy I have frequently removed the susceptibility to cold. Here is a case typical of many. A young girl about puberty, subject to colds, which came on with a kind of bilious attack; always chilly; hands and feet never warm, clammy; of nervous temperament; and somewhat anaemic. Nat. Mur. 12, six pilules night and morning, made a complete revolution in her general health and susceptibility to chills within a month.

Calcarea carbonica

Pale, phlegmatic persons; abnormally fat young people; scrofulous or tubercular tendency; those liable to acidity. Feel worse from cold and cold air. Dose : No. 1 é, two drops or six pilules three times a day.

Carbo vegetabilis

Persons whose vital powers are low; venous system predominant, giving a blue look to the countenance and flesh ; cold blue hands and feet; symptoms worse in cold damp weather. Dose : No. 12, two drops or six pilules three times a day.

Agaricus muscarius

when there is marked tendency to chilblains; more suited for persons of light hair and lax fibre, and for old persons with indolent circulation. Symptoms worse in night; in cold air; during repose; before a thunderstorm. Dose : No. 6, two drops or six pilules three times a day.

Sulphur

Chilly persons with tendency to skin irritation or actual skin disease; tendency to constipation and piles; symptoms being worse from warmth and by rest. Dose : No. 30, one drop or six pilule three times a day.

Mercurius solubilis

Scrofulous, rheumatic, bilious persons, and those subjects to catarrhs of all kinds; broken down constitutions; trembling limbs; cold pale hands and feet. Patients feel worse at night from warmth of bed; from perspiration; cold weather, cold evening air; warm autumn days; damp cold nights; better during the day and during rest. Dose : No. 12, two drops or six pilules three times a day.