In urgent cases I have given the medicines every 5 or 10 minutes, with decided benefit.
A Useful Hint to Mothers.
Children push beans, peas, corn, &c., into the nose and ear, causing much alarm. To remove such a body take a syringe that works tightly, put the end of the pipe against the bean, shot, or other substance, draw back the piston so as to suck up the article firmly as the pipe is withdrawn from the cavity.
LOCAL APPLICATIONS.
That medicines act locally, that is, manifest their symptoms by peculiar derangement or disturbance of some particular part of the system, more prominently than of any other part, for the time, no one will deny. That each one has some particular locality or tissue upon which its action is more perceptible than anywhere else, is equally undeniable, and that the prominent symptoms are often external and local, is also true. Yet, with these truths clearly demonstrated, there are those of our school who discard the external or local application of all remedies except Arnica.
Why this is done, is difficult to determine, unless we can believe that such physicians suppose it to be heresy to make use of any remedy in a different manner from what was recommended by the "Father of Homœopathy," and abjure all possibility of improvement in our practice.
That nearly if not all medicines, may be applied externally with advantage, when there are local manifestations similar to those produced by the drugs, there can be no doubt in the mind of any sensible man. That they will act favorably when so used is reasonable, as a matter of theory, and that they do, as a matter of fact, has been proven to my mind, by abundant experience in their use. Therefore, I hesitate not to recommend the practice to others. Medicines must act either by combination with the affected part, or by Catalysis, changing the molecular action of the living tissues. In either case, they must come directly in contact with the part to be affected. This must be done through the circulation, when taken internally, or it may be done by direct application of the remedy to the diseased tissue, when that is so situated as to be reached. The difference is greatly in favor of the latter mode when that is practicable, from the greater certainty of its results. This assertion is based, not upon vague hypothesis, but upon actual practice.
Entertaining these views, however heretical they may be pronounced, I shall proceed to mention some of the remedies I have learned to use thus, and the cases for which they are prescribed. I would remark that, in selecting a remedy, it must be done with as much certainty of its homœopathic relation to the local or general symptoms for external as for internal use. I have found, however, that much lower attenuations are requisite and admissible.
Arnica is highly applicable to bruises, and is valuable also when applied to lacerated or mangled surfaces, to the surface of the limb where a bone is fractured, also about the joint when it has been dislocated. It is to be used in the form of Arnicated water, by putting one or two drops to a gill of water for application where the skin is ruptured or the surface raw, and ten to twenty drops to the gill, upon parts where the skin is sound. It is useful also, for boils, and carbuncles in the early stage, the strong tincture to be applied when the surface is sound, and (to boils) when the surface is open, one drop to a gill of water.