I got a big phial full of water and put in it Blatta orientalis 1x trit. a few grains and tried two or three times to give him a spoonful of it, but in vain; the jaws were locked and I could not make him swallow any of that medicine; then I put some powder dry in the hollow of his lips and asked the attendants to try to give him the medicine I left in the bottle. I was asked whether there was any hope of his recovery, of course my answer was "no," and I also said he could only live a few hours. I left the patient's house with the idea of not visiting it again, but at 9 p.m. a messenger came with the report that the patient was slightly better, he could swallow medicine and two doses of it had been given. I was asked to see the patient again. I could hardly believe what he said, however, I went to see the patient again. I noticed there was a slight change for the better, the pulse was steady, the jaws were unlocked, there was mobility of the limbs, he could swallow liquid with ease and was expectorating freely, the breathing though still difficult was slightly improved. There was the winking of the eyelids. On the whole he was looking less lifeless, but still I entertained no hope of his recovery. I left instructions to repeat the same medicine once or twice during the night, if required, at the same time to give milk repeatedly, one or two spoonfuls at a time, and to inform me next morning if he had survived the night. Next morning I really grew anxious to know what had become of my patient who had shown symptoms slightly better with this new remedy. A messenger came with the report that the patient passed a good night. I was requested to see him again. When I arrived at his place at 8 a.m. I was surprised to see him so much better, he had not only regained his consciousness, but was sitting quietly in his bed, could speak slowly, the difficulty of breathing was completely gone, but the cough occasionally troubled him and a good deal of expectoration of frothy white or sometimes of big yellowish lumps of mucus came up. He was given three doses of the same medicine 2x trit. during the day. He passed a fair day, but at night his difficulty of breathing again appeared in somewhat milder form. He had to take two doses of the medicine. Thus the medicine was continued for a week and his trouble daily became less and less until after the expiration of a week he was able to sleep at night for the first time in the last six or seven years. I treated him over a month, and his health improved so rapidly that he not only got rid of the asthmatic trouble, but was soon able to go out and even attend his business. The stooped condition of his neck with slight pain and slight chronic bronchitis did not leave him altogether. Besides Blatta orientalis, I also prescribed for him Arsenicum alb. 6 and 12, Naja tri. 6, Ipecac 3, and Antim. tart. 3, as they were indicated. He continued well for over a year, but in August, 1890, he had slight reappearance of the asthmatic trouble. He again took Blatta orientalis and got well.
Case II. Mrs. Nundy, a thin lady, aged twenty-three, mother of three children, came from a village for the treatment of asthma, from which she had been suffering for the last eight years. For the first two or three years she used to get two or three attacks in the year, but gradually they were repeated more frequently, though the character of the attack remained the same throughout. It would last two days and two nights, whether any medicine was given to her or not. Nothing would alleviate her suffering during an attack—too much interference would increase her sufferings and prolong the duration of the attack, so, practically speaking, almost nothing was given to her during an attack. The great oppression of breathing, restlessness, profuse perspiration, inability to move or lie down and loud wheezing would be the most prominent symptoms in each attack. These would remain almost with equal violence for nearly forty hours, when the spasms would cease with slight cough and expectoration, and she would be perfectly at ease as ever, and there would be no trace of disease left, except slight wheezing sound on auscultation. But latterly these attacks were very frequent, almost every week or ten days. In August, 1890, she was brought here for treatment. It is worth while to mention that she took both allopathic and native drugs during the interval of attacks to prevent their recurrence, but without any effect. I saw her first on the morning of the 5th of August, during an attack. I prescribed Blatta Orientalis IX trit., one grain every two hours. It was to their surprise that this attack subsided unlike all others by the evening; that is, it disappeared within twenty hours. This encouraged the lady and her husband so much that she wanted to have regular course of treatment under me. I put her under tincture of Blatta Orientalis IX, one drop per dose, twice daily. She continued this medicine till the time of the next attack was over; that is, for ten days. After the expiration of this period she began to complain of a sensation of heat all over her body, so I changed it to 3x, one drop morning and evening. She kept well, and after a month she went home thinking she got well. A month after her going home she had an attack of asthma at night and took Blatta Orientalis IX as before, and by the next morning she was well. This was in October, and after two months of the last attack. She had another attack in winter and none since.
Case III. A young man, aged thirty-four, had been suffering from asthma for some years. He was invariably worse during the rains and the winter, and a chronic bronchitis was almost a constant accompaniment. He tried allopathic and lots of patent drugs, with only temporary amelioration of the trouble. At last, in November, 1888, he came to my office. On examination of his chest I found there was a chronic bronchitis. He said that slight difficulty of breathing with hacking cough used to trouble him every night, besides a cold would be followed by a severe attack of asthma, so its periodicity of recurrence was irregular. I treated him with Ipecac, Arsenicum alb., etc. The first-named medicine did him the most good, but he never got entirely well. So in July, 1889, I put him under tincture Blatta orientalis 3x, drop doses, three or four times daily. Under its use he began to improve steadily, and had only two or three attacks of asthmatic fits since he used this drug, which were promptly relieved by the same drug in 1x potency. Euphrasia off. was prescribed for his cold whenever he had it. He is free from all trouble for the last year and a half. His general condition is so much changed that there is no apprehension of the recurrence of his former illness.
Case IV. Baln Bose, an old, corpulent gentleman, aged sixty-two, has been suffering from asthmatic attacks for some years. He never took any allopathic medicine, but had always been under treatment of native kabiraj (medical men), under whose treatment he was sometimes better and worse at others. Latterly he became very bad and passed several sleepless nights. He used to pass his days comparatively better, and it was at night and in the morning he used to be worse. On the 24th of July, 1890, at 9 a.m. I saw him first—there was a slight touch of asthma even then. I made him try to lie down in bed; this he could not do, owing to the coughing fit it excited while in that posture. On examination the chest revealed chronic bronchial catarrh, and there was also a harassing cough, with very little expectoration after repeated exertion. I prescribed Blatta orientalis IX trit., one grain every two hours. He passed the night without an attack, and the next morning when I saw him he complained that only the cough was troublesome last night and no fit of asthma. The cough was somewhat troublesome even when I saw him in the morning. I gave him tincture Blatta ori. 3x, one drop dose every two hours. He passed the day and night well. He continued the treatment for a fortnight and then went home, where he has been keeping good health, with the exception of an occasional bronchial catarrh.
Case V. A shoemaker, aged forty-two, robust constitution, has been suffering with asthma for three or four years. He came to my office on the 6th of November, 1890. He had been getting asthmatic fits almost every night since October last. During the day troublesome cough, with slight expectoration and hurried breathing made him unable to attend his business. Tincture Blatta orientalis IX, one drop doses, six times daily, was given. The very first day he perceived the good effect of the medicine and continued the same for a month, when he got well and discontinued the medicine. He has been keeping well ever since.
Case VI. Mr. G., aged forty, healthy constitution, had an asthmatic fit on the 4th of August, 1890, preceded by a violent attack of cold, from which he frequently used to suffer. He had this severe cold in the morning, and in the afternoon he began to experience a great difficulty of breathing and slight oppression and lightness of the chest—this, by 9 p.m., developed into a regular fit of asthma. I was sent for. On my arrival, at 10 p.m., I found he was sitting before a pile of pillows with elbows supported on them, and struggling for breath. There was also a great tightness in the chest, occasional cough, and inability to speak. I at once put him under Blatta orientalis IX trit., one grain every fifteen minutes, and less frequently afterwards if he felt better. On my visit next morning I found him much better, but he said his trouble at night continued, more or less, till 2 a.m., after which he got some rest. Now, there was a troublesome cough, slight oppression of the chest and great apprehension of a second attack in the night. The same medicine, 3x trit., was given to him during the day, and a few powders of 1x were left with him in case he was to get an attack at night. There was a slight aggravation of those symptoms at night, and he had occasion to take only two powders of 1x. The next morning he was every way better, except the cough, for which four powders of 3x were given daily. In four or five days he got entirely well and had no relapse.
Case VII. Mrs. D., aged twenty, a healthy, stout lady, mother of one child, had been always enjoying good health, was suddenly attacked with a violent fit of asthma on the 8th of August, 1890. This was the first occasion she had a fit of asthma, the result of a severe cold. At about 2 a.m. she was suddenly seized with difficulty of breathing and a great oppression in the chest. She could not lie down any longer in bed and had to sit up, being supported on a pile of pillows. In the morning at 8 a.m. I saw her first. I noticed she was in great agony and almost speechless. On examination I could not detect much loud wheezing—the characteristic of an asthmatic attack—though the rapid movements of the walls of the chest were even quite visible to the bystanders. The patient was feeling almost choked up, and could not express what was going on. She only pointed out a point, a little over the pit of the stomach most painful. There was no cough—perspiration was pouring over her body. I could not at once make out whether it was a case of pure asthma, especially as she never had it before. However, I made up my mind to give her Blatta orientalis IX trit., a grain dose every fifteen minutes, and watch the effect myself. Three doses of it were given without much change for the better. I left a few more doses to be repeated half hourly and promised to see her again within a couple of hours. On my return I found her in a much better condition, and she had taken only one of those powders I had left, and they were not repeated, as she felt better. Now I thought it must have been an attack of asthma, and I continued the medicine unhesitatingly. There was no aggravation at night, but on the next morning she was better, and the usual asthmatic cough began with slight expectoration. There was pain in the chest and head with each coughing fit. Blatta orientalis 3x trit., four to six doses, was continued for a few days, when she got well. Again in November she had a slight tendency to an asthmatic fit, took two or three doses of the same medicine and got well. Since then she had not been troubled again.
Case VIII. A gentleman, the keeper of a common shop, aged forty-four, belonging to a village, had been suffering from asthma for the last eight years and had always been under treatment of native kabiraj (medical men). In June, he came to the city, and I was called to see him on the 14th of June, to treat him for his asthma. The day previous he had an attack, for which he took no medicine. Each of his attacks usually lasted four or five days. I gave him Blatta orientalis IX trit., one grain every two hours, and left him six such powders to be taken during the day. He took them and felt better the next day. He stayed here two or three days more, and when well he wanted to proceed home, which was some couple of hundred miles. He took with him two two-drachm phials of Blatta orientalis, one of IX and the other of 3x trit. He continued the 3x, one grain doses, two or three times daily, for a month, and discontinued afterward. He had no more asthmatic fits. In January last, 1891, I had a letter from him, thanking me for his recovery and asking for some of the same medicine for a friend of his, who had been suffering from asthma. The friend of his who used the same drug, Blatta orientalis, was equally benefited.
Case IX. Mrs. Dalta, a thin lady, aged thirty-eight, mother of several children, had been exposed to cold, which brought on an attack of bronchitis with fever. This, in the course of a fortnight, developed into a regular fit of asthma. She was all this time treated by an old-school physician, but when the husband of the lady saw that she was daily getting worse, and a new disease crept in, he made up his mind to change the treatment. I was called to see her in the morning of the 8th of June, 1890. She became very much emaciated, could not take any food, had fever with acute bronchitis, hurried respiration, difficulty of breathing; this she was complaining of bitterly, owing to which she could not lie down in bed, but had to sit up day and night. There was a prolonged fit of spasmodic cough at short intervals, with slight expectoration, but these coughing fits would make her almost breathless. This was the first time I prescribed Blatta orientalis IX in a case of asthma with fever and acute bronchitis. It answered my purpose well. She had only ten powders during the day and passed a comparatively better night. Next morning when I saw her she was better, except the coughing fits, which were continuing as before. The same medicine was repeated. On the 10th of June she had no asthmatic trouble at night, but there was not much improvement in her cough—Anti. tart. and Bryonia were needed to complete the cure.