Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/2138

This page has been validated.
1928
HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT

such as Messrs. Epps and Co., of 48, Threadneedle Street, E.C.; those usually sold by allopathic chemists are quite unreliable.

Advantages of Homœopathy.—Apart from the fact that homœopathic medicines are much more easily taken, which is a great advantage, especially in the case of children, the homœopath has always a safe guide in the selection of a medicine for any patient in the law similia similibus curantur, whereas the allopath has in most cases no such guide, and can only guess, since most symptoms have no opposite, but all can have a similar produced by drugs.

Medicines used in Homœopathy.—For home treatment medicine chests are supplied by all homœopathic chemists. The following is the list of medicines most useful in home practice, and the potencies in which they should be used:—


Aconitum napellus, 3 or 6.
Antimonium tartaricum, 3x.
Arnica montana, 3.
Arsenicum album, 6.
Belladonna, 3.
Bryonia, 3x.
Chamomilla, 1x or 12.
China, φ, 1x.
Cina, 1x, 6.
Coffea cruda, 6.
Cuprum, 6.
Drosera, 12.
Dulcamara, 3.
Hepar Sulphuris, 6.
Ignatia, 6.
Ipecacuanha, 3.
Mercurius, 3.
Nux vomica, 6 or 30.
Opium, 30.
Pulsatilla, 3x or 30.
Rhus toxicodendron, 3x.
Spongia, 3x.
Sulphur, 6 or 30.

Arnica φ, Calendula φ, and Rhus φ are often used for external application.

HOMŒOPATHIC TREATMENT OF DISEASES

In so brief a notice of the principles and practice of homœopathy, we can only deal with a few of the more common diseases, and indicate the medicines most often needed in their treatment.

In the following sections the dose, unless otherwise stated, should be two drops of tincture in a dessertspoonful of water, or 2 pilules or one tablet.

Appetite, Failure of.—For loss of appetite, accompanied by constipation of the bowels, pain in the stomach, especially a feeling of fulness at the pit of the stomach after eating, with broken and unrefreshing sleep, Nux vomica is needed, which may be taken in alternation with Sulphur every three hours.

For simple loss of appetite, China φ 2 or 3 drops before meals is useful.

Abscess and Boils.—In the early stage Bell. 1x, a drop every hour sometimes cuts it short. If it fails Silica 6, 3 times a day, especially useful for abscess near the anus.

For recurrent boils or abscesses Hepar 30 a drop once a day, or Silica 30 in the same way.

Asthma.—For the asthmatic paroxysm the medicines most often required are Arsenicum Ipecacuanha or Antimonium Tart. With Arsenicum there is great anguish and restlessness, and the attacks are