Thuja Occidentalis.

I. N. BUSBY, M. D., BROOKLYN, IOWA

I would like to present some facts concerning my use of thuja occidentalis, which I believe will be of value to other readers of your journal. About twenty years ago I had a case of vaginal warts that I tried to remove with escharotics, but they persisted in coming back after I thought I had them removed. After several failures I applied a preparation of thuja which was manufactured at that time by a New York house. It was called ozonized oil of thuja. With this I saturated a pledget of cotton, applied it to the warts and caused it to be retained in contact with them. The effect was immediate. The warts were removed permanently in twenty-four hours.

A few years later an epidemic of smallpox broke out in my locality. The first case I treated was of the confluent variety and a severe case. It ran its course, however, and made a good recovery.

The second case was in the vesicular stage, was as severe as the first, but at the beginning of this stage I covered the vesicles with the oil of thuja and gave this remedy internally. There was not a pustule formed and the patient made an excellent recovery in a very short time.

In the case of a little girl six years old I was called when the entire surface was covered with vesicles. I saturated these thoroughly with the oil of thuja, and two days later when I visited the patient the vesicles were gone, but the skin where each one had appeared had assumed a peculiar copper color. No fever or further trouble followed.

From my observation of the action of this remedy in smallpox I am convinced that if given at the beginning of the disease internally and applied externally as soon as any vesicles appear, it will abort this disease in a larger number of cases, and it will materially modify them all. la the first case referred to, the vesicles had reached full size and the pustules were beginning to form before I was called. In this case although thuja was used there was not such marked benefit. In all cases where the remedy is used right from the start the disease has plainly been aborted. I am convinced that the drug is to a degree a specific in smallpox.

Ellingwood's Therapeutist, Vol. 3, 1909, was edited by Finley Ellingwood M.D.