BY L. M. KENTON, M. D., BUFFALO, N. Y.

During the past fall we have had a very severe form of Influenza as an epidemic, in many cases resisting all treatment for some days. During this time, I was called upon to prescribe for a lady, who had been very much exhausted with watching over a sick-bed, for great pain through left chest, as from a strain, with stitching pains in the region of the heart and considerable palpitation. I gave her alternate doses of the sixth and thirtieth attenuation of Kalmia lat., and directed her to take a dose every three hours until she was relieved. The next morning I found her, as I supposed, with a very severe attack of Influenza, which she said came on the evening previous. The chest symptoms were all relieved, the eyes were red and suffused, the throat dry and sore, the nose dry, but constant disposition to blow it; quite hoarse, pain in head and bones generally, but not much fever or thirst; these were the prominent points of the epidemic prevailing. I prescribed for her, and in two days the symptoms were nearly all gone. About two weeks later, another attack of the chest symptoms recurred, for which I made the same prescription of Kalmia, and in about ten hours was sent for and found her again suffering with the same condition as formerly, with the addition of considerable fever, the heat and chilliness coming and going every few moments.

I could but refer the condition to the Kalmia, and began using the remedy mostly in the thirtieth attenuation in the cases of influenza, which I had then on hand, where the symptoms in any degree conformed to those in this case, with good success, and afterward in a majority of cases where I gave it at the first appearance of trouble, succeeded in breaking it up in a few hours. I found invariably that the redness and watery appearance of the eyes, the dry coryza, the sore throat, and pains in the bones, particularly the extremities were promptly relieved; the head-ache, cough and hoarseness, generally, although not always had to be relieved by some other remedy.

I have not been able by the provings of the drug, as published in Jahr's Manual, to find the symptoms that would lead me to select this remedy for that combination of symptoms.