1900: Prophylaxis of Grippe

A data point to mark the emergence of "preventative medicine" and the early days of epidemic "influenza"

Belated Merry Christmas to you good Substack folk.

I want to share this little article and insight from The Homeopathic Recorder of 1900 titled Prophylaxis of Grippe by Dr Edward Smith.

Read for yourself at Internet Archive HERE

This author alludes to the emerging field of preventative medicine, spurred on by the study of “bacteriology and pathology”, but also that influenza is also a relatively new, recurring ailment, based on its frequency of epidemics in his past 12 or so years, since 1889. As a collector of timeline data points, I find this comment and date quite curious, and reinforces what is shown in the early days of the graph below.

History marks this time as the inflexion point for more and more frequent and intense spikes in deaths attributed to “influenza”, in Wales and England, no doubt for the USA as well. As medicine allegedly got better, deaths attributed to influenza increased significantly.

Influenza deaths per million from 1850-1940 (England and Wales) - MORE INFO and source

Below is the article for your convenience. Or you can read it HERE on internet archives.

Highlights and links are mine for emphasis

Prophylaxis of Grippe

By Edward S. Smith M.D.

While it is at present true that the office of the physician is to cure rather than to prevent disease, it may be questioned whether this will continue to be the case. Students of bacteriology and pathology have so enlarged our views of the etiology of disease that we are doing much more than our predecessors in the field of prophylaxis. It is possible that in this progress of events we shall arrive at the point described by Bellamy and other prophets, where the chief business of the physician shall be to keep his clients in health instead of curing their ailments. It is also possible that patients themselves may then be more willing to pay the physician for saving them from the discomforts of illness than they are now to be recovered by his aid.

The subject to which I beg to direct your attention at this time is the prophylaxis of grippe. To some of you it may seem an idle tale, and I readily grant the difficulty of the task when we consider the wide spread limits of the epidemics of this disorder, its infectious and contagious character, and the peculiar idiosyncrasy to infection which occurs in some persons.

However the small contribution which I make to the system of preventive medicine is the result of personal experience and direct observation, and hence is, at least, from doubt regarding its practicality as far as it has been applied.

I have suffered from attacks of grippe with a frequency not observed in any of my patients. In every epidemic of the disease which has occurred in this vicinity since the coming of the series of epidemics which began in the winter of 1889/90, I have escaped infection but twice. The first of these respites was achieved without any special attempt at avoidance, while the second forms the subject of this paper.

My attacks have varied in length from three days to two weeks; sometimes occurring as many as three or four times in a year. A friend who has kept tally says that I have had eighteen attacks. Some of these may, doubtless, be classed as influenza without the peculiar symptoms of grippe, but most of the seizures were unmistakable in respect to diagnosis. The usual painful and depressing conditions, both mental and physical, with which we are now so familiar, were much in evidence, and they were followed by the prolonged convalescence so characteristic of the malady.

I searched for a prophylactic, but, till recently, without success. I adopted the suggestion of Althaus, of London, and vaccinated myself again with the virus of cow pox, but the vaccination did not "take," nor was the grippe prevented. I thought it possible that one of these attacks would prove fatal, and owing to my tendency to infection I had about decided that I would never attend another case.

Wow…it was actually suggested that vaccinating for smallpox, with cow pox, could help prevent grippe!

During the past winter I suffered from two attacks of the disorder. The third epidemic appearing, I was led to think seriously of the suggestion of Dr. John H. Clarke, of London, who, in his work on "Catarrh, Colds and Grippe," says that "Arsenicum is the best prophylactic medicine" he knows, and advises the use of the third centesimal dilution.

Note, this mention of “Arsenicum” is a homeopathic preparation at “third centesimal dilution”. Though they refer to it as a “drug”, don’t confuse it with a synthesised pharmaceutical drug.

I took the drug in the third decimal potency. Being sensitive to drugs, and over-earnest in my desire, I soon developed the pathogenetic symptom of burning of the skin of the face. I then turned to the sixth decimal dilution, which I used for some days, meanwhile visiting cases of grippe without any ill effects. I then took the thirtieth centesimal dilution. This preparation seemed quite as effective as the lower forms, and was continued throughout the epidemic.

If you are curious about the homeopathic preparations using dilution and succussion, you could start with this article here.

After the early days of this test were passed, finding that I was not affected as usual, I went about among the cases as fearless as a warrior clad in a coat of mail. My delight can be understood only by those who have suffered severely from this terrible scourge.

During this epidemic two cases of grippe developed among the members of the household, one of them being so severe as to require the attendance of a nurse. With this excellent opportunity for infection I yet exhibited no symptoms of the dreaded disease.

At this time I thought of another person on whom the test might be made. She was a lady of seventy-nine years of age, who was exceedingly susceptible, having had many attacks, some of great severity. I gave her the third decimal preparation of the drug. Already the grippe had attacked members of her household, and the suggestion was gladly received. In the course of this epidemic four cases occurred in the family of this lady, one of them being her husband whom she nursed through his illness. Following the third decimal potency she received the thirtieth dilution, and passed through the ordeal without a symptom of the disease.

It has been questioned whether the potencies above the third decimal had any part in effecting the prophylaxis, following, as they did, so free a use of the lower potency.

A colleague doubts if Arsenicum would be the prophylactic in every epidemic, holding the opinion that epidemics differ in their nature and the prophylactic must be suited to each.

To these criticisms I can but say that I am quite aware that even two swallows do not make a summer, and that the test was, in my experience, tentative and of very limited application. But I offer these instances for the consideration of my confreres, hoping that as opportunity occurs they will make the test for themselves. Any who may be led by my words to adopt this suggestion will confer a great favor if they will give me the results of their observations.

Bridgeport, Conn.

Were both these case studies coincidental in preventing symptoms in the individuals treated, two who were typically were hyper-susceptible to succumbing to “infection,” especially while spending time around those sick and considered contagious? Or did their remedy act as a prophylactic treatment, and prevent them from developing symptoms? Clearly we can’t draw conclusions from this article, and I will not attempt to expand on this as I am not broadly informed enough on this topic or in what has happened in the succeeding 124 years since this writing in the arena of preventative medicine, homeopathy, homeoprophylaxis, influenza, electromagnetic effects on health, and so much more that should be considered.

I simply place this article here for your information and as already mentioned, to use to reinforce the data point for this inflection point in our history, which marks the the ever increasing incidence of the state of ill-at-ease-ness (i.e. disease), that has been historically captured, diagnostically, under the name of “influenza”.

This time frame also marks a significant focuse for both homeopathic and allopathic medicine in being inspired to focus more on preventative medicine, over just treatment of disease.

No matter what. The graph certainly indicates that influenza deaths have increased during the modern age!

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