Furthermore, I am of opinion that the three splenics of which I have made mention are curative of three different morbid states of the spleen, and I know well from my own experience that acorns are indicated in the most common spleen affections; and, finally, I am not acquainted with any positive signs whereby those three separate morbid states of spleen can with certainty be differentiated from one another.
(In a later work, Gout and its Cure, by Burnett, the remedy is again brought up as follows:)
For some years past I have been acquainted with a remedy that antidotes the effect of alcohol very prettily, as I will show. I enter upon the subject in this place, because it deserves to be widely known, and also because in the treatment of gout, the alcoholism not infrequently bars the way. The remedy I refer to is the distilled spirit of acorns—Spiritus glandium quercus. My first account will be found in my "Diseases of the Spleen," where Spiritus glandium quercus is dealt with as a spleen medicine. I speak of set purpose of the homœopathic antidote, because alcoholism is a disease, and as such must be met by specific medication.
Some of Rademacher's patients complained to him that while taking his acorn medicine they felt in their heads somewhat as if they were drunk; but as Rademacher did not believe in the law of similars—indeed, knew but little about it—their complaint had no ulterior significance to him, but still it struck him as worthy of record. "A few, but not many, of those who take it immediately feel a peculiar sensation in the head, which they say is like they feel when they are drunk, the sensation lasting only a minute or two." Now, in the light of the homœopathic law, this symptom is eminently suggestive, but whether any one beside myself has ever noticed this symptom I am not aware. Rademacher had previously related the following brilliant cure. * * * He says that in order to get a clear idea of the action of the remedy he caused to be prepared a tincture of acorns, of which he gave a teaspoonful in water five times a day to an almost moribund brandy toper, who had long been suffering from a spleen affection that at times caused him a good deal of pain, and who, at the time in question, had severe ascites and whose lower extremities were dropsical up as far as the knees. Our author was of opinion that the affection was a primary disease of the spleen, and reasoned that if the tincture of acorns cured the spleen the kidneys would duly resume work and the ascitic and anasarcous state would disappear. He soon found he was right; patient at once began to pass more urine, but he complained that every time he took a dose of the medicine he got a constriction about the chest, and this Rademacher ascribed to the astringent quality of the acorns, and to avoid this he had the tincture of acorns distilled. The administration of this distilled preparation was not followed by any unpleasant symptom, and the quantity of urine passed increased still more, the tension on the præcordia slowly lessened and this inveterate drunkard got quite well, much to the amazement of everybody, Rademacher included, for he did not at all expect him to recover.
Now, it must be admitted that a remedy that can cure an old drunkard of general dropsy and restore him to health deserves closer acquaintance, and when we first regard it from the pathogenetic side as producing, of course, contingently, a cephalic state, resembling alcoholic intoxication, and then from the clinical side as having cured an abandoned drunkard, it looks very much as if we had a remedy homœopathic to alcoholism. I may add that Rademacher nowhere hints that the Spiritus glandium quercus stands in any relation to alcoholism; he regards it merely as a spleen medicine, specially indicated in dropsy due to a primary spleen affection. At first I regarded it merely in the same light, but when I really gripped the significance of the pathogenetic symptoms just quoted I thought we might find in our common acorns a notable homœopathic anti-alcoholic.
(It is not fair to quote further from Burnett, but we may add that in his book, Gout and Its Cure, there are given a number of clinical cases in which the remedy acted brilliantly in those addicted to tippling, or drinking hard. It is not so much that the remedy extirpates the habit, but it enables those afflicted to easily control their appetite and drink "like other people," without that insatiable craving. The dose is about ten drops in water three to four times a day.)
SOLIDAGO VIRGA-AUREA.
Nat. Ord., Compositæ.
Common Name, Golden Rod
Preparation.—The fresh blossoms are macerated in twice their weight of alcohol.
(The following is to be found on p. 131 of Dr. Gallavardin's "Homœopathic Treatment of Alcoholism:")