Mon, 27 Apr 2009
Flu Then and Now
The cable news is full of talk about the swine flu outbreak. The news made me curious about the Spanish Flu Pandemic. Sandra Perko has the rundown in her book "The Homeopathic Treatment of Influenza." (I bet that book sells a few copies in the coming weeks.) She made two points that interested me. First, the Spanish Flu did not follow the usual seasonal patern, but continued to grow during the summer. Second, the Sapnish Flu became more deadly as the pandemic went on. Neither point is encouraging in the current situation, but I don't want to spead alarm. My guess is that the swine flu will not be a major threat to the world's health and will wind up no worse than any other new strain of flu.
Back during the Spanish Flu homeopathy was still a significant part of our medical system, so I went looking for information about its effectiveness. Julian Winston writes about the Spanish Flu in his history, "The Faces of Homeopathy." and cites the following statistic:
I looked for reports in the homeopathic journals using Google Book Search and found this letter to the editor:Dean W. A. Pearson of Philadelphia collected 26,795 cases of influenza treated by homeopathic physicians with a mortality rate of 1.05%, while the average old school mortality was 30%
To the Editor:
I have been so busy fighting " Spanish Flu " that I have found time for nothing else for several weeks. I want to tell you my experience with the disease, for I am proud of my record; proud of what homoeopathy was able to do out here in this small city in South Dakota.
In all, I treated 188 cases of Spanish Influenza. Of the above number I treated 169 cases from the initial fever and 19 cases who had been unable to get a physician during the early stage, or who thought they could carry it through alone and called me only when the disease got the best of them. Of the 169 initial cases I lost not one, neither did I have a relapse; but I am sorry to say that one lost his mind, which I hope is only temporary. All of the others recovered without relapse. Of the 19 late cases all but three recovered. All of the three were pneumonic. One lived but eight hours after pneumonia set in; one, two days; the third had endocarditis which ended the scene five days after a relapse.
To recapitulate: I treated 188 cases and had three deaths. Among these 188 cases I had every variety of " Flu " and required a variety of remedies. I commenced every case with Gelsemium and Bryonia, which seemed to rob the case of its tendency toward pneumonia. Other remedies I used in my cases were Phosphorus, Tartar Emetic, Hepar sulphur and Pulsatilla. In not one case did I find it necessary to use any of the old-school remedies. In one or two cases I found it necessary to resort to Passiflora and Cratoegus.
Yours truly,
Arthur B. Hawes, M.D.,
Bridgewater, South Dakota.
