In this thread I would like to leave aside the psychological, Moral Psychology and educational side of his recommended treatment, and focus on the drugs and concoctions, and the physical and surgical procedures he proposed. I have no medical knowledge and would appreciated it if someone with mainstream medical and pharmacological knowledge could evaluate his methods especially in light of medical knowledge at the time.
Excerpts from , Medical Record April 21, 1937
"To relieve the pressure in the brain and spinal cord (unless spinal puncture is contemplated), dehydration must begun at once. Unless contraindicated, we begin with a large dose of physic, preferably a cathartic to be followed by a saline purgative. The chief contraindication is enlargement of the liver. If abdominal distention is present, catharsis must be discarded and high colonic irrigations of warm saline should be substituted. On the next day, if the abdomen is no longer distended, the cathartic can be administered advantageously. In patients who are obtreperous and uncooperative, these warm saline irrigations have a somewhat sedative action. The dehydration is continued for from three to four days, depending on the strength of the patient."
and
Case III (Hospital No. 981). ¨C A young man of twenty-eight had suffered severe attacks of migraine since the age of 14. He had been said to be allergic to many forms of food and had eliminated most type of food as a consequence. He had for some time been using morphine and hyocine for relief of the attacks of pain. For the last few months, he had been living in a room from which all light had been eliminated, believing that was of further benefit to him. His weight was eighty pounds. His mental attitude was one of despair and he had practically lost all interest in the general affairs of life. Following our detoxicating treatment, we decided, along with our usual procedure in such cases9 to try the special colloidal iodine complex and colloidal gold preparation (previously referred to as being appropriate with alcoholics). The result was that in the next two weeks he had gained fourteen pounds, was able to endure his attacks of migraine, which were much milder in character, was eating a mixed diet, moving about daily, and is talking of resuming his studies.
There is much more information in the article which I would love to see evaluated. But I chose to include these two excerpts because the first seems to indicate that the doctor believed in the spinal pressure theory of alcoholism (and the possibility of relief of the condition by puncture). This hypothesis is referred to by Hank Parkhurst in "To Employers". I included the second because in it he refers to the use of colloidal gold which has a long association with medical quackery.
I am not trying to tear down the good doctor. His insight saved countless millions of men and women. I would like to put the non-psychological side of his suggested treatment in perspective however.
