Chapter VI. Special Remedies for the Liver, Spleen, Gall Bladder and Malaria.

Hepatitis. In the first stage of hepatitis, ferri phos., third decimal, is the remedy. Dose, add ten grains to a goblet of hot water and give a teaspoonful every hour. If the pulse is hard and tense give veratrum viride. Add ten drops tincture veratrum to a cup of water and give teaspoonful doses hourly. If there is vomiting of bile, bitter taste in the mouth, tongue coated dirty yellow, soreness and sharp sticking pains in the liver, natrum sulph., sixth decimal, is the remedy. Place ten grains in a cup of hot water and give a teaspoonful of this mixture every hour. If there is a white tongue, burning and stitching pain, worse from motion, bloating of the stomach and abdomen, constipation, great thirst, you should give bryonia. Dose, add ten drops tincture bryonia to four ounces of water and give in teaspoonful doses every hour. If symptoms of abscess of the liver appear with beating and throbbing give hepar sulph., third decimal trituration, three tablets every two hours. A mustard paste applied over the region of the liver will give great relief from the pain.

Cirrhosis of the Liver. In cirrhosis of the liver when this organ is hard like leather euonymin is the remedy. Dose, one grain night and morning. If there is pain in right side, cramp-like pains in the abdomen, constipation, clay colored stools, tincture chionanthus is the indicated remedy. Dose, ten drops tincture chionanthus virg. three times a day. If indigestion is a prominent symptom, give tincture nux vomica, third decimal dilution, five drop doses three times a day before meals. If there is obstinate constipation, with white tongue, and dry, hard stools give tincture bryonia, five drops, three times a day.

Enlargement of the Liver. In enlargement of the liver when the enlargement is in the transverse measurement, and when there is uneasiness, nausea, stitching pains in the left lobe of the liver, with inflation of the abdomen, tincture carduus marianus is the remedy. Dose, five drops three times a day. If the enlargement of the liver is perpendicular, reaching towards the nipple of the right side, with a constant pain under the lower and inner angle of the right scapula, constipation—the feces being hard, round balls, like sheep's dung, yellow gray color of the skin, if there is diarrhea it is of a yellowish color and worse at night. With the above symptoms chelidonium is the remedy. Dose, tincture chelidonium ten drops three times a day. When indicated this remedy will reduce the size of the liver.

When in the enlargement of the liver there is aching and heaviness in the liver, worse when lying on the left side Ptelea trifoliata is indicated. Dose, tincture ptelea ten drops in a half glass of water; of this mixture give a teaspoonful every two hours. In enlargement of the liver when the tumor seems to lie between the liver and the navel, showing that the left lobe is affected chelone glabra is needed. Dose, tincture chelone five drops every four hours.

Splenitis. In splenitis when there is pain in the whole left side, enlargement of the spleen, extreme dyspnea at times, must fight for air, tincture ceanothus americanus is the remedy. Dose, five drops once in three hours.

Enlargement of the Spleen. In enlargement of the spleen when there is a brown eruption on the sternal portion of the thorax, with palpitation of the heart, with nausea, uneasiness in and distention of the abdomen tincture carduus marianus is the remedy. Dose, tincture carduus five drops once in three hours. When given as indicated it will reduce the size of the spleen.

Enlarged spleen with enfeebled circulation, the parts non-elastic, sodden, doughy, tincture polymnia uvedalia is the remedy. Dose, ten drops of the tincture three times a day. It may be used locally with good effect. The polymnia ungent (Lloyd's) rubbed well into the swelling and apply heat at the same time. Do this night and morning.

Gallstone Colic. In gallstone colic I like the tincture hydrastis, giving ten drops every half hour in a wineglass of hot water. It has relieved these patients when other remedies failed. To get rid of the gall stones, take one grain of podophyllin at night, and in the morning take three ounces of olive oil. It will generally bring them away.

When with the gall stones there is a yellow skin, constipated bowels, liver enlarged, bad taste in the mouth, dark spots before the eyes, give euonymin, third decimal trituration, five grains once in two hours. It will bring away the gall stones. In gall stones where there is pain of an acute or dull character in the hepatic region with tenderness of the liver, yellowish skin, bile in the urine, stools bright yellow or clay colored, and pain under the right shoulder blade, tincture chelidonium majus is the indicated drug. Dose, ten drops every half hour until relieved.

To prevent the formation of gall stones, I like the Syrup juglans cinerea (green bark). Dose, one teaspoonful three times a day; give enough of it to keep the bowels loose. The above syrup is prepared by C. T. Bedford, Indianapolis, Ind., and I believe it is the best remedy we have to cure the gall stone habit.

Jaundice. In jaundice with severe right-sided pain, yellow skin, stools clay colored, urine loaded with bile, chelidonium is the remedy. Dose, tincture chelidonium ten drops three times a day. When there is distress in the right side of the abdomen, cramp-like pains in the abdomen, constipation, stools clay-colored, urine dark, chionanthus virg. is the remedy, given in ten drop doses three times a day. In jaundice, with pain in the right hypochondria, liver feels enlarged, hard and sensitive to the touch, skin and sclerotic coat of the eye yellow, stools light, urine dark, you can give with good results, the second decimal trituration of china, prescribing three tablets once in three hours. In the condition known as catarrhal jaundice, with yellow skin and itching sensation, fullness in the stomach and abdomen, scanty yellow frothy urine, loose, mushy clay-colored stools, especially in new-born babies, myrica cerifera, third decimal trituration is the remedy. Dose, two grains on the baby's tongue twice a day.

Malaria. When I came to New Jersey twenty-seven years ago from Massachusetts, I lived in the State about two years before I got saturated with the "Jersey malaria." Then I went to sleep over my meals, my legs felt stiff like blocks of wood, I had a bad taste in my mouth, I had "that tired feeling" all the time. I prepared a remedy that just "Hit the bull's eye." It was the following :

Rx Fluid Hydrastis (Lloyd's), ℥iii.
Fowler's Solution Arsenic, ʒii.
Elixir Calisaya q. s., ℥viii.
Mix. Sig. Half teaspoonful after each meal.

I have prescribed the above remedy in hundreds of cases of malaria and it has never failed to cure. I have sent the remedy to patients in several States in the Union and always with good results.

In ague (intermittent fever) in the "cold stage" I like the action of the following prescription:

Rx Tr. prickly ash berries.
Tr. Serpentaria, a. a. gtts. xx.
Tr. Capsicum, gtts. v.
Mix. Sig. Give this as one dose in a wine-glass of hot water every half hour until warm.

Place the feet in hot water. In the hot stage I put twenty drops of tincture gelsemium into six ounces of water and give a teaspoonful of the mixture every hour. As an anti-periodic I like the "blue powder" of the old Eclectics, the formula for one powder being, sulph. quinine, two grains, prussiate iron three grains, capsicum one-fourth grain. Give one of these powders every hour between the chills. For children I like the arsenate quinia, third decimal trituration, and give two grains three times a day. In some cases quinine will fail or the patient cannot take it in any form. Then we may use boletus laricis second decimal, giving two grains once in two hours to break up the chills. Many cases where quinine has been tried and failed to break up the chills, may be cured by grindelia squarrosa. When there is a heavy dull headache, obstinate constipation, pain in region of the liver, burning pain under right scapula, tongue dirty brown, skin yellow, cough with frothy sputa, and scanty high colored urine, grindelia squarrosa is the remedy. Add one ounce of Fl. Ext. grindelia to five ounces of Syr. of orange and give a teaspoonful of this mixture four times a day. It is the remedy to be thought of when other remedies fail.

Definite Medication, 1911, was written by Eli G. Jones, M.D.