62 



General Principles of Treatment. 



It must have become evident from what has gone before 

 that I combine in my treatment, no matter what the complaint, 

 palliative measures with curative or constitutional methods. 

 I do not content myself with relieving symptoms, without 

 paying any attention to underlying causes ; and on the other 

 hand, I do not believe in methods of procrastination, which 

 ignore urgent symptoms and trust that the Vis medicatrix 

 naturae, once aroused, will ultimately reach them. 



But whether employing palliatives, such as, for instance, 

 the tincture for the threadworm, or directing constitutional 

 treatment, I most scrupulously avoid all therapeutic agents 

 from which the slightest harm could be anticipated. And I 

 base this principle on my conception of the human body as the 

 most delicate and the most sensitive piece of mechanism 

 imaginable, and liable to be permanently injured by careless 

 or rough handling. I, therefore, hold all drastic measures 

 to be, generally speaking, inadmissible, whether the patient 

 be child or adult. The very rare occasions when a medical 

 man is really justified in taking risks do not come within the 

 scope of this work. 



Diet and Regime. 



The diet is changed as little as possible. Only those food- 

 stuffs should be forbidden which are found by experience to 

 cause symptoms of indigestion, such as flatulence, heartburn, 

 and the like. The consumption of alcoholic liquors is reduced 

 to a minimum. Apart from this, no restrictions are necessary. 

 I do not believe in hampering the patient by meaningless, 

 and often faddy, rules and regulations. It is a frequent 

 experience of mine to be consulted by patients upon whom a 

 regime equivalent to slow starvation had been previously 

 imposed quite unnecessarily. In particular, there is no object 

 in depriving children of green vegetables (for fear they may 

 convey fresh infection), since the tincture provides so simple a 

 means 'of getting rid of any fresh worms which may develop. 

 In the earlier stages of the " cure," plenty of rest is advisable. 



Medicines. 



In general treatment for the debility met with concurrently 

 with threadworm disease, I employ the simple homoeopathic 



