By C. Schaefer, M. D., South Bend, Ind.

Dysentery has always been considered one of the diseases Homoeopathy has perfect control over; at least I could never have supposed that such remedies as Merc. corr., Colocynth, Nux. v., Ars., Carbo veg., etc., could leave anything to be desired by reasonable patients and intelligent practitioners; yet inflammatory dysentery is anything but easily combated by the usual treatment.

Of a family of seven, four were attacked simultaneously and presented the following symptoms: after frontal headache, aching in back and extremities, disagreeable feeling with nausea about the stomach had continued several days, the patient was suddenly taken with violent, cutting, griping pains in the umbilical and epigastric regions, extending finally over the abdomen, with small discharges of bloody mucus in some and large quantities of a frothy, pitch-like substance; alternating with small discharges of bloody mucus; in others offensive at times only, taking place every five, ten, fifteen minutes; tenesmus and, in one case, a young man of twenty, bilious temperament, prolapsus ani with severe pain in the rectum, tenderness of the abdomen to the slightest touch-coated tongue, dry and red on the edges, in two cases brownish dirty-looking, bitter taste, great thirst with aggravation from drinking, craving for acids; pulse small, hard, frequent in the forepart of the day - full, hard, increased frequency in the afternoon and night; increased pain and frequency of discharges in the afternoon and forepart of the night. All the symptoms were variable but the pulse (120-140), and tenderness of the abdomen, remained throughout. Belladonna and the above named remedies produced no effect; especially was I disagreeably surprised to find Colocynth of so little benefit against the agonizing pains. To look for other means appeared urgent, as one of my patients, a little girl of 7-8 was sinking - the young man of twenty delirious at night and frantic for fear of being left alone.

I had studied Dr. Hering's provings of Aloes, and it was Aloes that came to my rescue. Not having the remedy in my possession, I obtained some from a drug store and made a tincture in proportion of 1-10, and dropped from two to three drops into a tumbler of water, a teaspoonful to be taken from one to two hours. The third dilution, a few pellets in water, is preferable, as experience taught me. There is no remedy I know of to remove the distressing pains as promptly as Aloes. One of these cases, a girl of fourteen, menstruating at the time, was brought to a close by Sulph. ³ I have treated cases from report only, and they recovered in a remarkably short time under these agents.