Ellen White View: When and How to use Drugs
[Sharing this article to understand Ellen White View on Drugs and When and How to use]
Ellen G. White Question and Answer File, No. 34-B-2, Dr. S.P.S. Edwards letter to F.D. Nichol, November 24, 1957, as quoted in Review and Herald, July 7, 1983
Elder F.D. Nichol
Editor of Review and Herald,
Washington, D.C.
Dear Brother:
I have just read the second article on the "Use of Drugs" as printed in the review of November 21. As I read the statements in regard to the use of QUININE, the following story came to me, and I decided to send it to you as it might help someone.
From 1904 to 1909 I was Medical Superintendent of the Tri-City Sanitarium at Moline, Illinois. Being located on the Mississippi River there were many cases of malaria. Because of Sister White's statement about the use of QUININE, I refuse to use it myself or give it to patients. With physiotherapy we were able to control the symptoms of malaria, But could not cure it. Most of those living along the river took QUININE daily as they ate their breakfast. The QUININE, in the doses usually taken, did no more for the patients than our physiotherapy treatments did. It was palliative only. Several of our doctors discussed the matter and decided that if one or two large doses of QUININE were given so as to saturate the blood, we could destroy the parasites in the blood and cure the disease. I tried it on a severe case of Tirtian Malaria. The Patient was given 20 grains of QUININE the night before his chill was due, and he was put to bed with cold to his head. The next morning, two hours before time for the chill, he was given the same dose and immediately put in a continuous hot bath, and kept there till two hours after time for the chill. He did not have a chill then nor after, and his blood showed no signs of parasites. The hot bath caused him to sweat the QUININE out of the system so he had no bad after symptoms from the QUININE. This was repeated in many cases and never a failure.
