ORIGIN.--Lactic acid is obtained from sour milk, resulting from the fermentation of the sugar of milk under the influence of casein.
PREPARATION _for Homoeopathic Use_.--One part by weight of pure lactic acid is dissolved in 99 parts by weight of alcohol.
(A very complete proving of this remedy will be found in Allen's _Encyclopædia of Pure Materia Medica_, but little use seems to have been made of it, though the following by Dr. Tybel-Aschersleben, _Allgemeine Hom. Zeitung_, March 13, 1890, seems to show that it is very efficient in certain forms of rheumatism.)
We are by no means rich in remedies against arthritic rheumatism, and those which we do use lack the reputation of being reliable. A new and a valuable remedy will therefore be a welcome addition to this list. I say reliable, inasmuch as this remedy is truly homoeopathically indicated for, according to Foster, of Leitz, Niemeyer's Pathology, 10th edition, 2d vol., pp. 561: "_Lactic acid in large doses and used for a long time will produce symptoms entirely analogous to arthritic rheumatism_." We also find mention elsewhere that the use of lactic acid occasioned rheumatic pains in the thigh.
1. A young girl æt. 15 was afflicted with acute arthritic rheumatism, she received _Acid Lacticum_ 2x dil., a dose every 2 or 3 hours, and was so much improved in two weeks that the pain had subsided, and for her remaining weakness _China off._ sufficed.
2. A nine-year-old girl was confined to her bed for three weeks with acute arthritic rheumatism. _Acid Lacticum 2_ speedily cured her.
3. A miner, B., had been afflicted over six weeks with acute arthritic rheumatism. The first dose of _Acid Lactic 2_ gave relief and a second dose cured the man.
4. In a case with swollen and very painful joints one dose of _Acidum Lactic 2_ sufficed to overcome the pain and the swelling. Against the remaining weakness _China_ proved efficacious.
5. Arthritic rheumatism of the wrist vanished slowly after using _Acid Lactic 2_ from two to three weeks.
6. A patient afflicted with arthritic rheumatism for four weeks, accompanied by copious perspiration, soon mended under the use of _Acid Lactic 2_ and was entirely cured within two weeks.
7. Even in a case of chronic arthritis with inflation of the Epiphyses of Metacarpal bones and consequent partial displacement of the fingers, _Lactic Acid 2_ produced such a decided amelioration that two months later the report said: all pains are gone even the anchylosis has disappeared.