Baptisia tinctoria

REMEDIES IN THE BEGINNING OF A CASE

INDICATIONS FOR BRYONIA, GELSEMIUM AND BAPTISIA

Baptisia. Great prostration and soreness as if bruised in whatever position the patient lies; the parts rested upon feel sore and bruised. (Arnica.) Stupor; falls asleep while being spoken to, or in the midst of his answer; face flushed, dusky, dark red, with a stupid, besotted, drunken expression. Tongue coated with a well-defined streak down the middle, at first white, but very soon turns brown, with red edges. Sometimes the tongue is large and flabby, with a red dry tip, but not distinctly triangular like Rhus tox. Exhalations and discharges early become fetid, and offensive breath, stool, urine and perspiration. Nervous, cannot get to sleep because she cannot get herself together; feels scattered about, tosses around to get herself together.

This is a picture of a rapidly advancing case of abdominal typhoid. The diarrhœa and decomposition of fluids set in early and progress rapidly, and if not speedily checked by Baptisia will come to the stage of Arsenicum, Carbo veg. or Muriatic acid. We could not do much with such cases, in the way of checking their progress, in their incipiency until Dr. Burt gave us Baptisia. Now we can, and have almost a sure relief in this remedy.

Again this remedy is like Gelsemium, efficacious in either the high, or low, preparations. The judgment of the prescriber must decide in each case. So far as my own experience in regard to dose is concerned, if I were obliged to discard all but one I would reserve the old Hahnemannian 30th potency; and I oftener prescribe it here than the higher or lower, and very seldom have to change. I think that mistakes are oftener made in the direction of too low, oft repeated, and long continued dosage than from the other extreme. The great majority of cases of typhus will in the beginning come within the range of these three remedies.

REMEDIES FOLLOWING THE FIRST OR PRODROMAL STAGE OF TYPHOID FEVER

BAPTISIA AND GELSEMIUM

I have seen the whole aspect of a very serious case changed to a favorable one on the ninth or tenth day by Baptisia 30th, being guided to its selection by its characteristic mind symptom, and the same with Gelsemium 200th after Bryonia had done all it could, the guiding symptom being the trembling so characteristic of this drug. So it would be a great mistake to lose sight of these remedies, because as a general thing they are most useful in the beginning.

PREMONITORY SYMPTOMS AND CONVALESCENCE

If, with a feeling of prostration, there is a coated tongue, which is flabby, with a dry red tip, not so distinctly triangular as that of Rhus toxicodendron, but approaching it, and a sore, bruised feeling all over, which makes the patient complain of the hardness of everything lain upon, and hard aching pain in head, back, and limbs, there is no remedy like Baptisia tinctoria.

I generally give it in the 30th in frequently repeated doses until I get an effect, then stop it or lengthen the intervals between doses.