Influenza: A Favourable Mortality and Publicity - A Discussion

(Reference: Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy Dec 1919, Vol X1I, No 6)

Dr Carleton Harkness, MD, Chicago
At Camp Lee, we had at the time an epidemic of 60,000 men. In the first 4-6 weeks it was not known what it was. Of 15,000 cases 700-800 deaths reported. Dr Harkness looked after 4 huts with 22 patients in each for 6 weeks with very few empty beds. He had 13 deaths over the 6 weeks, seen as the lowest death rate in the hospital. He had a few homeopathic medicines which he used, including tincture of Gelsemium. He attributes his low death rate to the non-use of Aspirin. Later this was introduced to the whole camp with better results over all.

Interestingly during the epidemic all cases of measles disappeared from the camp indicating the two diseases could not co-exist.

Dr George H. Wright, MD, Forest Glen, Maryland
Dr Wright was in charge of a boarding school with 360 girls, 100 cases developed without a single loss.

Dr C.J. Loizeaux, MD, Des Moines, Iowa
Had previously buried two of his own daughters in an epidemic before he knew about homeopathy. During the 1918 epidemic treated patients and not one developed pneumonia. He commented “The German aspirin has killed more people than the German bullets have.”

Dr H.A.Roberts, MD, Derby, Connecticut
Thirty physicians responded to my request for data. They reported 6,602 cases with 55 deaths, which is less than 1%.

In Oct 1918 Dr Roberts was sent on a transport ship with 2000 men. On the way over the influenza epidemic started with 81 cases. All recovered. This ship was the only one in convoy of 9 to have this record. “I was the only homeopathic surgeon on those 9 ships. One ship…which carried 4000 troops, lost 31 on the way over” he wrote.

Dr E.B. Allen, MD, Trenton New Jersey
“In two days I figured that I prescribed for 500 patients. I was too busy to differentiate. I was too busy to take the temperature. I gave Gelsemium. I had three cases of pneumonia in my practice which died.” These three were a baby that died after exposure to a draft during convalescence; a mother that didn’t rest as she had to nurse her other family members, and a man who also was affected by a draft in convalescence.

Dr W.H. Hanchette, MD, Sioux City, Iowa
“During the days that the epidemic raged most severely I gave more Aconite than I had given in the two to three years previously…Why Aconite? Many of the patients feared they were going to die; they expectorated mucus full of blood; they had all the symptoms, high temperature and characteristic pulse of Aconite, also the mental symptom of great fear.”

Dr Frieda Weiss, MD, Cleveland, Oregan
Attended a hospital with 83 beds which were continuously full over a two week period. Dr Weiss attended to the patients admitted at night and an allopathic doctor did the day admitted patients.

“I attended the death beds of one or two every day of those who were under the care of the old school physician. Not one of my patients died. Why? Because I used the indicated homeopathic remedies,” wrote Dr Weiss.

Dr G.B. Stearns, MD, New York City
Through the International Hahnemannian Association statistics on 17,000 influenza patients were collected with a mortality rate of 0.25 percent including the number of cases of pneumonia.

Dr H.H. Crum, Ithaca, MD, New York
Dr Crum reports 300 cases with one death. Another homeopathic doctor had 275 cases and no deaths.

“I am health officer in Ithaca and had all cases reported to me. In October/November 1918, 2400 cases of influenza were reported. 75 died. Of the 2400, 900-1000 were Cornell students, 800 belonging to the army, cared for by army doctors, entirely allopathic. Students of the army class were healthy yet 45 of the 75 deaths had occurred among those 800 students” wrote Dr Crum.

Comparing the homeopath to the allopath in the same area, the homeopath had one death per 294 cases versus fifteen per 294 cases.

Dr T.G. Barnhill, MD, Findlay, Ohio
Dr Barnhill saw 455 cases and 26 pneumonias. Not one lost. Most common remedies were Euphrasia, Gelsemium, Bryonia, Apis.

Dr William L. Love, MD, Brooklyn
At Cumberland Street Hospital treated naval men with influenza. There results were so good compared to other hospitals the Surgeon General’s office preferred to send men to his hospital.

Dr A.P. Stauffer, MD, Hagerstown, Maryland
During October/November treated 555 cases. During the first three weeks didn’t lose a person. Later in the last week of the month lost 3 people to pneumonia.

Dr Stauffer commented “It makes a man feel that his life is worthwhile when he realizes what he has accomplished in an epidemic of this kind, while the other school of medicine lost case after case.”

Dr J.C. Irvine, Denver, MD, Colorado
One doctor of the old school cured 16 out of 65 cases and thought he was doing well.

Dr Irvine treated numerous patients over a 4 month period and lost 3 cases who were beyond help when seen. Gelsemium was used in many cases, and Spongia where a croupy cough developed.

Dr F.A. Swartwout, MD, Washington DC
11 homeopathic doctors got together in November and reported on 3600 cases with 6 deaths among them. He reports that the National Homeopathic Hospital was full with influenza cases and had no deaths. Gelsemium, Bryonia, Eupatorium were the main remedies.

Another homeopathic doctor, Dr Kingsman was rung to find out why he hadn’t been sending in his death certificates, he had had no deaths. In comparison an old school friend of mine (an allopathic doctor) said he was “tickled to death” to keep his mortality rate down to 50%.

Dr W.F. Edmundson, MD, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Dr Edmoundson observed that “the first epidemic was in 25-40 yrs age group, that phase died down and the next time it started it commenced with older people. That died down and we had to take care of the children.”

Dr Edmundson tells how one physician in a Pittsburgh hospital asked a nurse if she knew anything better than what he was doing, because he was losing so many cases. “Yes, Doctor, stop Aspirin and go down to a homeopathic pharmacy, and get homeopathic remedies.” The Doctor replied: “But that is homeopathy.” “I know it, but the homeopathic doctors for whom I nursed have not lost a single case.”

Dr H.L. Maps, Passaic, MD, New Jersey
The difficult cases were those patients with oedema of the lungs with bloody, frothy expectoration. Autopsy of these lungs showed spots that would undergo necrosis and grow larger until the whole lung was involved. In one lung the spot would not clot. The condition is a haemorrhagic inflammation of the lung with secondary necrosis and almost continuous oozing of the blood which does not coagulate, causing the bubbling.

Lachesis was successfully used in three of these cases when the patient wouldn’t go to sleep for fear of suffocation.

(Editor note : The recommendation by allopathic doctor to take Aspirin in high doses during the influenza, must be considered a causal factor in this and other hemorrhagic symptoms. Aspirin is now known to be useful in “thinning the blood” thus preventing the formation of clots. The use of Aspirin in influenza is no longer recommended by medical practitioners. Please consult your Doctor for more information.)