© Centre For Excellence In Homeopathy
CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE IN
HOMEOPATHY
CONTINUING HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL EDUCATION
SERVICES
QUARTERLY HOMEOPATHIC DIGEST
VOL. XXI, 2004
Lead me from Untruth to Truth
Lead me from Darkness to Light
Lead me from Death to Immortality
Adyaya I Brahmana 3 Mantra 28
(This service is only for private circulation. Part I of the journal lists the Current
literature in Homœopathy drawn from the well-known homœopathic journals published
world-over - India, England, Germany, France, Belgium, Brazil, USA, etc., discipline-
wise, with brief abstracts/extracts. Readers may refer to the original articles for detailed
study. The full names and addresses of the journals covered by this compilation are
given at the end.)
Compilation, translation, publication by
Dr.K.S.Srinivasan,
1253, 66th Street,
Korattur,
Chennai - 600 080, India.
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 2 of 216
INDEX
S.No Topic Page. No.
1 QHD Volume XXI, 1, 2004 3
2 QHD Volume XXI, 2, 2004 56
3 QHD Volume XXI, 3 & 4, 2004 111
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 3 of 216
1. QHD, VOL. XXI, 1, 2004
Part I Current Literature Listing
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Part I of the journal lists the current literature in Homœopathy drawn from the well-known homœopathic
journals published world-over – India, England, Germany, France, Brazil, USA, etc., - discipline-wise, with
brief abstracts/extracts. Readers may refer to the original articles for detailed study. The full names and
addresses of the journals covered by this compilation are given at the end of Part I. Part II contains selected
essays/articles/extracts, while Part III carries original articles for this journal, Book Reviews, etc.
______________________________________________________________________________________
I. PHILOSOPHY
1. Anmenkungen zu Hahnemanns reiner
Symptomenlehre (Observations on
Hahnemann’s teaching of purity of symptoms)
HOLZAPFEL, Klaus (ZKH. 47, 1/2003)
With copious references to the source material
– Hahnemann’s Introduction to his Fragmenta,
Organon, Chronic Diseases, Boenninghausen’s
articles as well as Kent’s and Heidegger’s
Philosophy two aspects of Hahnemann’s
evaluation of the purity of symptoms of Provings
vis-a-vis as of disease are examined. It is pointed
out that HAHNEMANN dwelt for a short while
beyond the scope of science. The possibility of
Homeopathy as a science is discussed. Through
examination of BOENNINGHAUSEN and KENT
it is demonstrated that not each of Hahnemann’s
followers were able to comprehend and preserve
the novelty of Homœopathy.
2. Defining a different tradition for Homeopathy
WICHMANN, Jörg (HL. 15, 1/2002)
We are trying to make “Homœopathy” appear
as a ‘Science’ in public. Being ‘Scientific’ seems
to be regarded as a sign of quality.
The point, the author wants to make in this
article is that though there are some characteristics
of Homeopathy that look scientific at first,
Homeopathy really rests on a totally different
tradition, which can only be explained as our Art of
Healing. Only in this context does it makes sense.
This tradition is hermetic, which puts Homœopathy
on the same line as Shamanism and Alchemy.
The author discusses the various advantages of
this approach. The article is quite relevant.
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II. MATERIA MEDICA
1. Differential diagnose der Gemütssymptome
von Magnesic carbonica und Sepia
(Differential diagnosis of the mental symptoms
of Magnesia carbonica and Sepia)
HEE, Hansjörg (ZKH. 47, 1/2003)
The many similarities between states of
Magnesia carbonica and Sepia the anxiety and
irritability, fear and trembling, the bad moods and
excitability as also the extreme tiredness make it
difficult to differentiate. An actual case is
discussed. The emotional symptoms of both
remedies are listed; however, these two remedies
are not given as related in the Therapeutic Pocket
Book. [If it is difficult to differentiate the ‘mental
state’, we should apply the other symptom which
should be helpful. GROSS has given very good
differentials in the ‘Comparative Materia
Medica’ edited by HERING = KSS]
2. Arzneimittelprüfung Carcinosinum (Drug
Proving Carcinosinum).
FRIEDRICH, Uwe & VIERECK, Bianca
(ZKH. 47, 1/2003)
Carcinosinum was not taken into Kent’s
Repertory although the remedy was known by then.
KENT mentions the remedy in his Lectures on
Materia Medica and also Lesser Writing’s’.
CLARKE, BOERICKE, NEBEL and BURNETT
have written about this remedy. FOUBISTER
worked with the clinical symptoms, TEMPLETON
made two small provings with two Provers,
SOLVEY proved upon himself the 30, 200 and
1000. MATTISCH and HASLINGER made a
proving published in the Documenta
Homœopathica, (Vol. 14/1999).
In the present Proving 10 Provers (6 women
and 4 men) took part. It was in 200 potency. 99
symptoms have been recorded and presented here.
[A Proving by Rosario Sánchez LABALLERO
et al from Mexico, was presented in the LIGA
Conference in 1995 in Oaxaca, Mexico. This
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Proving collected many symptoms. A complete
Proving data as also a list of ‘peculiar’, ‘striking’
symptoms were detailed in the Documenta
Homœopathica, Band 20/2000. See QHD 3 &
4/2002 = KSS.]
3. Erschöpfungszustand Selenium (Exhausted
state – Selenium)
WEGENER, Andreas (ZKH. 47, 1/2003)
A 42 year-old man consulted on 24 April 2002.
He suffered from a protracted infection from the
beginning of the year and since then found it
difficult to go to work and ill. He felt very
weakened and powerless. Suffered with an irritable
cough without expectoration.
Carbo vegetabilis 200, then M improved the
cough. The severe exhaustion still remained, and
Selenium M and he improved rapidly from the very
next day.
4. Urtica urens
FULLER, Diane (HT. 22, 4/2002)
The use of this remedy in Burns, Rheumatism,
Gout and Spleen disease are discussed and also its
use as a salad in the Spring cleaning to remove
Winter’s accumulation of toxins.
5. Stimulants Their homœopathic uses and their
Worthy Rivals
OLSEN, Steven (AJHM. 96, 1/2003)
Stimulants Ginseng, Carboneum
sulphuratum, Ferrum, Lac equinum, Chocolate,
Kola, Coffea, Saccharum are discussed.
6. Meningococcinum
Its protective effect against meningococcal
disease
MRONINSKI C.R.L.; ADRIANO E.J. and
MATTOS G. (HL. 15, 1/2002)
Homeopathy, through the use of Nosodes,
presents a proposal to control some
infectious/contagious diseases. This study
demonstrates the power of this therapy by the
Meningococcal Disease Control. The use of
Meningococcinum 30 in people under twenty in the
city of Blumenau-SC, Brazil, during a period where
there were concerns because of the increase of the
number of cases, demonstrated a protective effect,
highly significant in helping those who received the
Nosode. This effect lasted at least one year.
7. Virionum, the Nosode of HIV
As a remedy and as a Vaccine
ZAHEER, Rozina A. (HL. 15, 1/2002)
Details about the proving and the symptoms of
the remedy are presented and illustrated with 8
cases.
The author also recommends the remedy as
prophylactic against AIDS.
8. The Aurum Group.
LOUKAS, George (HL. 15, 2/2002)
The author has presented the characteristic
features of various salts of Aurum, based on the
scientific work of Dr. Rajan SANKARAN.
The Materia Medica of some of the different
‘Natronatums’ are also presented.
9. Cadmium metallicum - Proving
HATHERLY, Patricia A. (HL. 15, 2/2002)
The Proving was conducted in 1998 in the 7, 8
and 30 potencies. There were 5 Provers and
supervisors. Each Prover was instructed to take the
remedy morning and evening for 3 consecutive
days or until symptoms began to arise.
Mind
Impatient; agitated; restless, frustrated,
irritable, quick to anger, worse nightfall; worse 3-8
PM; worse noise. Tendency to swear; wants to
argue; revengeful; confused, angry, wants to be left
alone; indisposed to talk; content with own
company; concentration difficult; mental torpor.
Indifferent; apathetic; detached; unmotivated;
bored; lacks purpose; lazy; indolent; desires rest;
flat; sense of euphoria on waking; centred, calm;
experiencing inner strength, Clear mind; mental
concentration good; organized. Thoughts run
through the head, evening, in bed, prevent sleep.
Anxious; apprehensive (s/if: ‘like butterflies in the
stomach’. Delusion: ‘that there will be something
on the road around the next bend’). Oversensitive
to impressions; senses acute; sensation that there
are no boundaries; that boundaries have been
defined; that boundaries have been invaded;
sensation of anticipatory excitement about the
future; desire to throw out old belongings to make
way for the new. Others seem violent; feels like
time has lengthened, that there are more hours in
the day. Happy, excited, cheerful; feels sorry for
self; feels rejected; desires sympathy; desires
company; cries easily.
Vertigo
Sensation as if intoxicated.
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Head
Congestive headache ‘feels like cotton wool’,
(pain: ‘pressing’: ‘like brain is enlarged’; ‘outward
pressure like a baloon’; ‘vibrating sensation’).
From temple to temple, with exhaustion, nausea;
worse light, warmth facing into the sun, rising,
motion, laughing, mental exertion, being rushed or
hurried, cloudy weather, afternoon. Worse lying
down, rest, eyes closed; dull headache, better
mental and physical activity. Tension headache;
better leaning head back. Occipital headache, with
a sensation that the top of the head feels ‘open’.
Sensation as if goose bumps were on the scalp.
Sensation of tugging around external head. Dull
pain in crown of head becoming ‘booming’ on
coughing. Burning pain in occiput travelling in
eyes. Ache in eyes worse motion, light (glare) and
pressure. Better from sleep, rest and cold. Head
heavy (delusion: ‘cannot lift off pillow’; ‘neck not
strong enough’; ‘head feels heavy, need a stick to
hold it up’;
Symptom as if: ‘feels like my head is going to
drop off’ worse from thinking. Scalp feels tight.
Eyes
Eyes heavy, tired, hot; eye sockets ache
(sensation of pain shooting towards back) better on
shutting eyes, cold compress. Feeling of pressure
behind eyes extending to ears with a sensation of
being pushed out of the sockets (symptom as if:
‘feel like they’re going to fall/pop out’. ‘Feel
pushed out of sockets by the pressure in the head’).
Worse from sun, glare better on closing eyes, cold
compress; photophobia; eyes water; sensation of
grit when closing eyes (symptom as if ‘eyes feel
like they have sand in them’); eyes red, sore,
stinging, burning, agglutinated (inner canthi) on
waking in the morning; discharge: lime green both
hard and soft; eyes blurry (difficulty reading fine
print) worse from reading, rain; sensation that
eyesight has improved with desire not to wear
glasses; bright, silver sparks in field of vision.
Ears
Sensitive to noise (loud, high-pitched);
sensation of pressure inside, as if blocked with
mucous; pulse rushing in ears, voice re-echoes in
head worse blowing nose. Sensation of white
noise’ being played in ears; humming noise; loss of
hearing; impaired hearing; buzzing in ears worse
background noise. Increased wax: gluey, sticky,
slimy wet; yellow; orange. Sensation of inner ear
feeling wet and cold (symptom as if: ‘feels like I’ve
got water in my ears like running wax; a wet, cold
feeling’); external ear feels hot to touch (red); left
then right. (Symptom as if: ‘right ear feels hot and
cold, on and off all day’).
Nose
Coryza worse warm room; bland, watery
discharge, worse right nostril. Sneezing worse air-
conditioning. Dry, hot feeling on waking worse left
nostril; right nostril blocked when lying on left
side; left nostril blocked when lying on right side.
In the morning, yellow discharge, becoming green
and thin then becoming clear. Sensation as if nose
is blocked; feels like hawking mucous from nose;
when nose is blown all is clear; loss of smell;
heightened sense of smell. Thick, green discharge
early morning; crusts, scabs followed by thick,
sticky mucous; congestion worse left side. Blood
clots left nostril on waking; small spots of blood in
mucous; greenish-yellow mucous with brownish
lump blown out of nose; ropy; catarrh; whitish
mucous, but feels dry; dry posterior nares.
Face
Face feels dry; lips feel dry (desire to lick).
Mouth
Breathing through mouth, very conscious of it
and it feels uncomfortable. Stale, musty, offensive
breath. Breath like rotten onions during the night.
Saliva has strong, disagreeable smell; slimy;
diminished sense of taste. Mouth feels gummed
shut when wakes in the morning; palate and tongue
feel scalded. Pimple on tip of tongue (left side of
centre). Gums sore and inflamed left lower jaw
around last molar; gums bleed when cleaning teeth;
rough, sore patch on inside of right cheek.
Teeth
Teeth feel loose; experiences difficulty with
chewing things.
Throat
Throat sore, dry; feels like tonsils are
shrivelling up worse drinking water. Throat
parched, not better by drinking water; tonsils
swollen worse right side worse empty swallowing.
Choking sensation at base of throat; a sensation as
if could vomit; sensation of a mobile piece of wood
in back of throat; yellow-green expectoration; loss
of voice on talking, must cough and clear throat to
retrieve it.
Stomach
Bloated, (after evening meal). Stomach feels
full; sick feeling; burping, dyspepsia; nausea after
coffee; slight burning sensation travelling up
oesophagus into back of throat. Appetite
diminished; appetite increased; desires meat to fill
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stomach. Contractive pain in abdomen when eating
worse swallowing; great thirst alternating with little
thirst; desires milky products after eating; worse
milk; averse to cheese; desires: water and salt;
coffee and sweets; jasmine tea; spicy food; raw
fish; fruit.
Abdomen
Full, upset feeling, better stool; bloated; flatus
while lying in bed on waking; can feel wind
moving through the colon; rumbling in right
hypogastrium. Offensive flatus, worse at night and
after onions. Noisy, copious, uncontrollable flatus,
painful if not expelled. Pain: sudden, darting.
Rectum
Constipation; evacuation: insufficient,
incomplete, unsatisfactory. Small, pale stools after
much straining; waiting a long time to pass stool;
urge disappears half-way through movement; stools
like sheep pellets; small lumps clumped together.
Stool dark, dry; strong urge (with pain) with small,
greasy, clay-like stool; sticky; loose stool; small
amount passed, sinks to bottom of bowl. Long,
thin, greenish stool; floating; ‘fast transit time’;
sudden call to evacuate preceded by sharp pain in
abdomen; frequent motions; three by 10 am; thrice
daily; motion expelled with flatus. Loose stool
sprays out (after dinner; after apple juice); golden-
brown stool.
Urinary
Increased frequency; clear, copious; strong-
smelling, greenish urine; yellow urine passed with a
burning, hot sensation; stings afterwards so dreads
having to urinate; kidneys sore to touch.
Male
Increased desire; or no desire, indifferent.
Almost no sensation with ejaculation; pleasant,
buzzing sensation in genitals without erection.
Female
Vagina sensitive, external genitals feel swollen
during menses worse touch (heavy or light),
walking around, pressure of sanitary napkin; during
menses. Sensation of something falling out’.
Sexual desire increased; sexual desire decreased;
menses: sudden onset (early) painless; flow
profuse, dark, clots; cramping in back and
abdomen.
Respiratory
Occasional unproductive cough; dry with
tightness across chest and lungs; sensation of
pressure on chest with a need to take a deep breath;
shortness of breath worse walking upstairs, or up a
hill, after sex (symptom as if: ‘someone was sitting
on chest’); sensation of chest opening up.
Back/Neck
Pain at nape of neck. Neck feels stiff while
lying in bed. Tense in neck to occiput. Sharp pain
extending from neck to shoulder and from neck to
occiput. Left side of neck feels stiff; desire to
stretch and bend backwards to relieve tension in
upper back. Shoulder and right deltoid feel bruised;
burning, sore pain; pain in left and right deltoid
(aching). Sharp pain extending from neck to
shoulder. Low-grade ache in middle to lower back,
worse sitting. Ache in lumbar region; (dull to
sharp). Symptom as if: ‘feels as if backbone is bent
the wrong way; twisted’ worse lifting, walking,
motion; worse sitting, walking around, bending
backwards.
Sleep
Deep, heavy; wakes unrefreshed, feeling
exhausted; no desire to get out of bed. Sleep
difficult from thoughts; sleep light; disturbed by
headache; restless sleep from pains in limbs;
difficulty finding a comfortable position (wanting
to draw legs up in bed; tendency to clasp hands
between knees in bed), generally sleepy. Dreams
of success in business, of robbers, of someone in the
house, of someone knocking on front door.
(Cannot sleep until house is checked). Of violence,
(someone wants to kill him with a crowbar.
Woman tied down with bricks and drowned in a
yacht. Of future happiness (new house, successful
career, kids happy). Amorous; of haemorrhoids;
animals: (multi-coloured elephant; birdseed; dogs
walking on hind legs; a ginger rat; red crabs with
large nippers); water; sewage; toxic cereal; groups
of people; people speaking in pictures; men
neglecting housework; flying/skimming over the
ground in a wok; inside of the Left breast.
Extremities
Muscles of upper arms and neck sore. Sore
from middle of scapula to neck, worse movement
of shoulders, better pressure. Elbows sore with
headache. Hands cold; pain left wrist, worse
grasping. Hands and feet puffy (morning) with a
sensation of tingling after urination; hands and feet
swollen, hot, worse hot weather, warmth in general.
‘Pads of feet feel like balloons’; tightness right side,
from ribs to above hips. Red, itchy spots erupt over
limbs. Legs feel wobbly; sensation of heaviness,
muscles stiff, painful; tension in hamstrings and
calves. Sudden twitching of legs; sensation of
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‘jumpy legs’ when at rest; wandering pain in lower
limbs from knees to ankles; tearing pain left heel;
desire to draw legs up in bed and clasp hands
between; ankle swollen; ankles give way on going
upstairs.
Skin
Dry on face and hands. Red patch beside nose,
flaking off. Large pimple below right ear lobe.
Face oily; large red pustules (‘like boils’) on sides
of face near hairline better squeezing. (Contains
firm, formed plugs of pus). Blind, red eruptions
worse touch, pressure. Skin on hands and feet feel
‘tight’. Itchy better scratching; skin on hands and
feet hot to touch; skin itchy; back, shoulders, groin
worse morning; better scratching, bathing in warm
water.
Temperature
Chilly when out of bed; desire to wrap up;
sensitive to cold, drafts; night sweats; fever with
nausea; body temperature alternates between hot
and cold according to the weather; odour during the
night from skin; offensive perspiration worse heat,
afternoon.
Generalities
High energy; whole body aches; body feels
sensitive (touch, temperature); physical exertion
worse. Tired on waking; sensation of heaviness;
awkward, clumsy. Symptoms move from left to
right. Symptoms alternate.
Modalities
Worse: left side. Warm room, air-conditioning
and inside. Blowing nose, 3-8 p.m. after nightfall.
Cloudy weather, rain, breakfast, motion, light
pressure, covering, lying, sleeping, laughing, milk,
(empty) swallowing, lying on side of ailment, on
waking, sunlight. Glare, standing, physical
exertion, ascending steps, mental exertion, noise.
Better: Stool, food, hot drink, outside, fresh
air, sleep; rest, lying down; pressure; cold
applications, warm weather, not smoking.
Conclusion
It was ascertained that the action of the remedy
lasted approximately 21 days.
According to a Government Public Health
statement, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea are the
most likely symptoms following acute exposure to
Cadmium. However, long term exposure through
the air or diet may result in kidney damage. This
kidney disease is usually not life threatening, but it
can lead to the formation of kidney stones. Effects
on the skeleton are equally painful and debilitating.
Respiratory effects may include Bronchiolitis and
Alveolitis. Lung damage, such as Emphysema, has
been observed in workers in factories where levels
of Cadmium concentration in the air are high.
Lung Cancer has been shown to occur in animals
exposed for long periods to Cadmium in the air.
Studies in humans also suggest that long-term
inhalation of Cadmium can result in an increased
risk of lung Cancer. High blood pressure has been
observed in animals exposed to Cadmium. Further
research is needed to ascertain whether Cadmium
exposure is implicated in human Hypertension.
Other tissues reported to be injured by
Cadmium exposure in animals or humans include
the liver, the testes, the immune system, the
nervous system and the blood. Reproductive and
developmental effects have been observed in
animals treated with Cadmium, but these have not
been reported in humans. However, pregnant
women exposed to high concentrations of
Cadmium in the workplace gave birth to infants
with below normal birth weights.
These observations are I believe, a reliable
foundation for possible organ and system affinities.
[Compare these data with earlier Provings by
STEPHENSON J., Mc FARLAND, PAHUD,
GUTMAN, MEZGER, BURDACH. = KSS.]
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III. THERAPEUTICS
1. A case of recurrent abdominal pain
ELMORE, Durr (SIM. XVI, 1/2003)
15 year-old female suffering from constant
pain in abdomen for 18 months. In March 1999,
Scabies, treated and within a week Shingles, on left
side and abdomen. The present pain originates
from the location where the Shingles were. The
pain is severe, which compels her to lie on back
with knees bent, holding the abdomen and press it
hard during the attack. The pain shoots to both
breasts.
She was angry with her father because of his
divorce from her mother and she avoided him for a
long time. Her expression of indifference is the
denial or suppression of her feelings of grief and
anger. She has been on allopathic drugs.
The ailment from anger with silent grief and
the neuralgic pains with amelioration from pressure
clearly indicated Colocynthis which was given in
1M potency one dose.
5 weeks later, mild constant pain. Energy is
better. There was a bad rash under the arms. Got a
big lump. Mild rash on chest.
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3 months later attacks came back, not quite
as bad. A month ago boy-friend broke up. Was sad
and then angry and had the attack back. The rash
on abdomen, near the umbilicus, is where the
Scabies was. The Scabies preceded the Herpes,
which preceded the attack. Sac lac. and
Colocynthis 1M to hold.
11 months later, she is doing well. Never
needed the second dose of Colocynthis.
2. An old twist on Post-partum Anxiety and
Depression
Mc CLINTOCK, Liam (SIM. XVI, 1/2003)
The author feels his job is merely to observe
and understand the patient and their symptoms as
an expression of their state. Once he comes to a
reasonable understanding of the state of the patient
and a remedy to match, he stops asking.
He presents two cases of Post-partum Anxiety
and Depression, where the patients’ sense of self is
completely disrupted by having a baby. They feel
totally inadequate in the interior, hiding it with a
rigid exterior. When reality contrasts with this rigid
sense of what ‘should be’, they feel shattered. They
felt lonely and isolated.
With this understanding Thuja occidentalis
cured both cases. Several possibilities in terms of
rubrics are presented at the end.
3. Seven case reports of Alumina including
BOENNINGHAUSEN, WESSELHOEFT,
COOPER, from the Journal of Homeopathic
Practice II, 1/1979 compiled by Randall
NEUSTAEDTER, are given.
(SIM. XVI, 1/2003)
1. BOENNINGHAUSEN describes a cured case
of Tabes dorsalis which gives a good picture of
Alumina. [Aluminium metallicum not Alumina
See Lesser Writings of Boenninghausen
translated by Prof. L.H. TAFEL=KSS] A nineteen
year old girl had been under his care for ten years.
She had a long history of various symptoms”
which he attributes to Psora. From 1848-1858 he
prescribed for a recurrent skin eruption and several
acute illnesses which led him to believe that her
miasmatic tendency had not been cured. Then
while she was away at school he received reports of
new symptoms in the girl. These were
unsuccessfully treated with several different
remedies. The symptoms described in letters to
him were “violent pains in back, which were
increased by every motion, disappeared at night and
had once produced regular Tetanus.” She
complained of pains in the pit of the throat and was
unable to swallow. She had “loss of voice which
appeared most frequently in the morning and
evening, and speaking aloud was impossible ….
speech had become more difficult and more
affected from day to day, as from paralysis of the
tongue, obliging the patient to dRaw a breath at
every word, even speaking a little fatigued her
considerably.” One month later the girl came to his
office and he made a diagnosis of Tabes dorsalis.
“When I saw the patient the loss of voice and
the indistinctness of speech were certainly so great
that I had to bend my head close to her mouth to
understand her whisperings. But all the other
symptoms speak of the true character of the disease
too distinctly to be misunderstood, and the
symptoms just mentioned could only lead to the
supposition that the affection of the spinal cord had
progressed considerably.”
“But I found out at this visit and marked down
carefully and more minutely than usual, the
following: For a long time the patient had
experienced constantly weakness in the lower
extremities, with more or less pain in the back.”
A sensation of burning in the back, as if a hot
rod were pushed from the small of the back up the
spine. At first this had been only a disagreeable
crawling moving upward.
“At the same time her soles felt soft or stuffed,
or as if the feet were resting on a soft woollen
coverlid or bolster. The sensation in the soles had
passed away gradually, so that she no longer felt
the floor under her feet, and would not have known
that she was standing upon them if she had not
convinced herself.”
“As long as she was able to walk, which she
had not done for several weeks, she could do it only
in the day, in the bright light and with her eyes
open. With her eyes closed, or in the dark, she
staggered so much that she was obliged at times to
hold firmly to something to prevent falling. Now
she could not stand even in the dark, and was
obliged even in a clear day to lean against
something.”
“When lying in bed she had no feeling
whatever as regards the position of her legs and
feet, which, unknown to her, were frequently put
into all kinds of positions. When, at the beginning
of her disease, she attempted to walk a few steps in
a dark room known to her, she always unknown to
herself and involuntarily turned to the left and thus
missed her end.
“Very frequently she has a sensation of
constriction in the abdomen, as if tied together by a
band; this sensation, as well as the pain in the back,
has been worse on beginning motion after long rest.
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The loss of voice, which is painless, still exists as
mentioned above. But this is combined with a
remarkable and excessive fatigue caused by
speaking, so that she is obligated to rest
repeatedly.”
“For the rest, I found the patient well
nourished, of blooming complexion, complaining
little, and not the least anxious about her condition.
She was greatly inclined even to consider her
disease far from dangerous or any consequence.
Appetite and digestion good. Stool somewhat hard
and sluggish. Menses return at the usual time, but
rather profusely. Condition less favorable in the
evening than in the morning.”
Feb. 24
th
: Aluminium met. 200 was given
diluted in water three times a day for two days.
Feb. 26
th
: Marked improvement.
March 1
st
: Aluminium met. 200 for two days.
March 5
th
: Same again. “The improvement
continued its regular progress. The patient is
certainly about all day and goes about the whole
house in the clear daylight. Even ascending the
steps was not particularly difficult. Only with
closed eyes she cannot yet walk straight, but still
turns to the left; nor can she walk in the dark
without leaning on something.”
March 10
th
: Again Aluminium met. 200 as
before. “The lower extremities are getting on well,
but there is still loss of voice in the evening with
difficulty and very fatiguing speech.”
During the next month Natrum mur. 200 and
Causticum 200 were given with minimal reaction.
April 11
th
: Aluminium met. 200. “The last
remaining symptoms of the disease now
disappeared almost entirely, and even the voice
again became clear and unimpeded, as in former
days. Only on account of a rarely occurring
crawling, especially towards evening, together with
a kind of transient loss of sensation in the soles…”
“April 20
th
gave a dose of Aluminium met. 200,
28
th
April dose of Pulsatilla 200, and on the 7
th
May a dose of Sulphur 200 whereupon the last trace
of the disease disappeared entirely, and nothing of
the kind occurred again.”
(BOENNINGHAUSEN, C.F. Allgemeine
Homöopathie Zeitung, Vol.57, translated by T.F.
ALLEN, North American Journal of
Homœopathy Vol.8, 1882 p.295. [See Lesser
Writings of Boenninghausen translated by Prof.
L.H. TAFEL.)
2. “G., aged forty, has had catarrh many years.
After getting awake in the morning, he has to hawk
for some time before he can dislodge a quantity of
thick, tenacious mucus. Feels better when he gets
out in the open air. Bowels rather constipated most
of the time. Alumina 200 cured in a short time”
(HOYNE).
3. “Spasmodic constriction of the throat, which
interferes with swallowing; feels the food the whole
length of the esophagus. She was obliged to have
the food liquid or semi-solid. Alumina 200 cured”
(Dr.H.L.CHASE).
4. Sept. 22
nd
, Mary E. age 10. Had Measles six
years ago, followed by lung fever, through which
she passed without treatment. Since then, has
rattling, asthmatic breathing, always aggravated by
coughing, and every morning a long attack of dry
cough, which ends at last with difficult raising of a
little white mucous. Arsenicum did no good. On
Sept. 25
th
prescribed Alumina 200, two doses.
Sept. 27.
Much improvement which
continued, and months afterwards there have been
no return of asthmatic breathing, no paroxysms or
morning cough.” (C. WESSELHOEFT)
5. “Sept. 26. Mr.S.W. age 37, of very spare habit,
dark complexion, very active, animated but amiable
disposition, teacher of singing, and has to exert his
voice much every day, has “constitutional cough”
for more than three years. Had lung fever three
years ago, and another attack a year ago; had to
work while he was sick. Since three weeks his
cough afflicts him exceedingly: sudden, violent,
irresistible, paroxysm while sitting in the evening;
talking and singing makes him cough, but coughs
particularly and habitually about six in the morning.
After severe dry coughing there is a little
expectoration; coughs some in the night; shortness
of breath while walking; tension and pain across
upper part of chest; hoarseness. Appetite, stool and
sleep good. Raised blood several years ago.
Physical exploration of chest, showed great
resonance on percussion; respiratory murmurs well
marked, but mixed with considerable fine cracking
sound; vibration of walls of chest on talking;
respiration not easy; chest was fully inflated with
some difficulty. Alumina 200 two doses.”
“Oct. 8. Patient had to walk about; could not
sing much last week in hot weather; voice hollow,
and more cough in the evening than hitherto.
Alumina one dose.
Oct. 15. Evening paroxysms came later each
evening and now are absent altogether; no more
cough at night. Alumina one dose.”
Oct. 29. There only remains some cough in the
morning, with difficult white expectoration; has
been much exposed to the bad weather, and worked
hard. Bryonia, Drosera and other remedies were
used subsequently, though the violence of the
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disease had abated; he has not had another severe
attack since, though not perfectly well, owing to his
great exertions in a profession which taxes his
delicate respiratory organs too much. Stannum
might seem in many respects to have been better
indicated. Alumina, though indicated by the
morning cough, which was an old symptom, first
removed the more recent one of evening
paroxysms, and night cough.”
(C.WESSELHOEFT)
6. “A lady, aged 40, of very dark complexion,
whom I first saw in September, 1927 sought relief
from constipation. This took the form of such
complete atony of the lower bowel that the morning
attempt at relief occupied half to three-quarters of
an hour. Often nothing would come away but
mucus, in lumps like cotton-wood, the size of a
hazel nut, and sometimes in shreds; at other times
‘terribly hard pieces ‘like stones,’ possibly
followed by a soft action. When straining it would
feel as though there was something there which
could not be expelled, and “as though she could not
use the muscles.” These more or less ineffective
efforts would be followed by considerable rectal
prolapse, which had to be replaced subsequently in
a sitz bath, there being always a feeling of
something having been left behind. The passage of
flatus downwards was described as a practical
impossibility, as there ‘seemed no room for it to
pass, though it ascended freely.’ ”
Additional symptoms were: Attacks of
apparently causeless nausea and vomiting, great
exhaustion and weakness of the lower limbs, and
waking headaches, spreading from the occiput and
nape of the neck over the head, and associated with
dizziness and loss of memory. Burning abdominal
pains, described ‘as though the whole abdomen
were an open wound,’ with great pressure on the
epigastrium. I found marked tenderness over the
pyloric area and caecum, palpation in these areas
inducing eructations of gas. She ‘felt she had to lie
back in order to produce some expulsive force.’
One day, when examining the lower pelvis, I asked
her to bear down. As nothing happened, and
thinking she had not heard me. I repeated my
request, with no better result. It was as though the
whole pelvic floor was bereft of life and completely
inert. Here then was an explanation of her trouble;
there was complete paralysis of this part of the
body.”
She received intermittent doses of varying
potencies of Alumina.
“Being a highly sensitive subject, these caused
aggravation at times, some of them of sufficient
severity to cause irascible opposition in the patient,
and one was under extreme difficulties in judging
the times of repetition and potency, but in as short a
time as two months after commencing this
treatment I was able to record in my notes the fact
that she was able to exert a very downward
movement to the pelvic floor. From this time
onwards this power steadily increased till the last
time I saw her, in January this year, it was
practically normal. At that time there was still
considerable difficulty with regard to the daily
functions, but nothing comparable in severity to
that which she formerly suffered, and her whole
health had greatly improved with no return of her
headaches and vomiting, etc.” (COOPER)
7. Boy, months old. For the first two weeks
of life had normal stools until he was given a bottle
of goat milk while his mother was gone for several
hours. After that he had no spontaneous stools
although he continued to breastfeed as before. His
parents gave him an enema every three days to
relieve his grunting and straining for stool.
Sometimes his stools have a hard plug but
otherwise are soft and unremarkable. X-rays were
negative and his pediatrician suggested an intestinal
biopsy. He is healthy in all other respects. His
head perspires, he has cold hands and feet, and he
stiffens up in the cold.
At two months old he received his first DPT
injection and developed transient fever and green
watery diarrhea. That is the only spontaneous stool
he has had in two months. 11/23/77 given Silicea
1M two doses. No effect.
12.12.77 given Alumina 30 daily for 7 days.
He had one normal stool since the remedy and
then developed upper respiratory symptoms of clear
nasal discharge with sneezing, and collection of
mucus in throat. No treatment. 12.29.77 Normal
stools every 3 days until one week ago. Two
enemas given in the past week resulting in hard
stool. Given Alumina 200, 3 doses. Follow-up:
stools every 3 days since last dose of Alumina.
(R.NEUSTAEDTER)
4. BrackenInto the dark room
RUMBLE, Bill (HOM. 86/2002)
43 year old woman, diagnosed with chronic
fatigue syndrome, since contracting Pneumonia 5
years earlier. Has terror of violence especially in
the dark. Stramonium 1M was given and over the
next 12 months, she improved steadily.
8 years later, she presented with abdominal
pain. Her father died of Cancer five months earlier.
A primary tumour in left fallopian tube and
secondaries in liver, bowel, bladder and uterus were
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found. 16 pints of fluid was drained from
abdomen.
She had a total Hysterectomy and was due to
start Chemotherapy.
She felt her metastasis like a dark, kind of
growth-cloak. “It is as if my abdomen is being
shaded by a dark growth which is going to engulf
it”.
This is the exact signature of the remedy
Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) which was
prescribed in 12, 4 times daily, for about 3 months.
Arsenicum album 200 for 3 days after each session
of Chemotherapy helped her, to overcome its side
effects.
2 months later Bracken 30 was repeated at
infrequent intervals. At the end of a year of
treatment her blood tests were completely normal
and the scan showed no trace of the metastasis.
The emotions and dreams of the patient
indicated that cure was going on according to
Hering’s Rule.
5. It’s in the smell; a case report.
OWEN, Joni (HOM. 86/2002)
A woman consulted over telephone for her 7
year-old son, who was having itching Eczema of
scalp, since 4 months. It looked like a cradle cap,
being dry and flaky, and she strongly emphasized
the bad odor from that area only. After almost 10
hours of sleep, he wakes up irritable. He had a
thick yellow green discharge from his nose, which
then turned to a clear running discharge. Since 2
years he is using inhaler daily for the asthmatic
attacks.
The rubrics: Mind, irritability, morning and
Respiration, asthmatic in children, brought out
Chamomilla, Natrum sulphuricum, Nux vomica,
Psorinum, Stramonium and Sulphur.
Head, eruption, eczema, lead only to Psorinum
and Sulphur.
Psorinum 200 was prescribed as it is capable of
producing a foetid odour in the actual area of skin
eruption.
A month later, his scalp was completely clear.
Four days after the medicine, all the dry stuff came
off like a cradle cap and has not returned. The
smell was gone. Remains healthy.
6. Questioning the innocence of Homœopathy: A
case of serious aggravation.
ZARFATY, Joseph (HOM. 86/2002)
Serious life-threatening situations can occur in
few cases after homœopathic medicine. It is of
great importance to be aware of this possible
outcome, to discuss it freely, and to be prepared
when it happens.
He presents a case to illustrate this.
A case of 42 year-old mentally retarded man
with severe abdominal pain since 4 years. The pain
comes 2-3 times a day, twice a week, lasts for about
10 minutes.
His mother experienced severe fright when she
was seven months pregnant with him. He was born
with cord around neck, had convulsions at 6
months, and was constantly terrorized by
communist soldiers for about 6 months.
Based on this Morphinum LM 1, two drops
daily was advised.
He developed an itchy rash all over body five
minutes after taking the remedy. He was advised to
stop the remedy.
One month later, pain was lesser and appeared
only twice.
3 drops of LM1 under tongue was given. 2-3
minutes later, he complained strong itching in his
body, and the pain became very severe. Terrible
headache in vertex. For 45 minutes complaints
were severe and then he was better.
2 hrs later, similar severe problems along with
strong chest pains and difficulty in breathing and
swelling of left hand. By the time he was admitted
in emergency ward, he was better and then
gradually improved in the subsequent months.
[What was this agg.? Would an LM3 one dose
produce such severe agg. within few
minutes?=KSS]
7. Reflections upon the Ramakrishnan Method.
LONG, Clare (HOM. 86/2002)
The author ponders over the method and finds
it difficult to discriminate, whether the results are
due to the prescription of organ-specific remedy or
because of the Nosode, though impressed with his
results.
The author worries that it may provide excuse
for sloppy thinking, leading to the practice of a
great deal of jiggery pokery and ultimately one may
find that one is not practicing Homœopathy at all.
[We agree entirely. Fixed remedies for all Cancers
fixed doses, alternations, etc.! = KSS]
8. Virale Kopfschmezen - Ipecacuanha
(Viral Headaches – Ipecacuanha)
MUTSCHLER, Claudia & WEGENER,
Andreas (ZKH. 47, 1/2003)
Ipecacuanha was identified as the epidemic
remedy in an episode of very strong attacks of
headaches with fever in a family. While the first
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case was treated with Belladonna and Arsenicum
album and showed delayed healing process,
Ipecacuanha was identified in the second case as
the remedy due to the noticeable symptom of
“spasm in the thigh during the night”. A
characteristic of the remedy was the accompanying
nausea with vomiting, whereas the heavy,
meningeal headache is less common for
Ipecacuanha.
9. Homöopathie bei verzweifeltsten Fällen Eine
klinische Studie (Homœopathy in desperate
cases – a Clinical study)
SCHMIDT, Pierre (ZKH. 47, S1/2003)
[In this ‘Special Jubilee Issue the publisher
Haug Verlag have published few selected articles
from past masters – Pierre SCHMIDT, Elizabeth
WRIGHT-HUBBARD, Jost KÜNZLI, Jacques
BAUR, Will KLUNKER. The last named four
were all pupils of Pierre SCHMIDT. None of these
great homœopaths are in our midst now. The last
among these, Dr.Jacques BAUR passed away last
year. Our gratitude to these stalwarts for leaving a
great legacy = KSS.]
It is loosely spoken by some that Homœopathy
is a “harmless” medicine and that it could help only
“harmless” conditions and therefore it is not for
most serious, life-threatening situations. This is not
true. Pierre SCHMIDT describes successful cures
of two patients who were hovering between life and
death.
10. Die Homöopathische Anamnese in der
Pädiatrie (The Homeopathic Anamnesis in
Paediatrics)
LUCAE, Christian (AHZ. 248, 1/2003)
The principles of homœopathic case taking in
Paediatrics are restated. Case taking charts for use
in hospitals and the practitioners’ offices are
presented to make homœopathic treatment of
children more effective.
It will be of great interest to know that the first
Homeopathic Hospital for children was opened in
Vienna in 1879 under the management of the
‘Compassionate Sisters’. Treatment was free of
charges, allowing even the poor children of the city
to be admitted. This hospital was in operation until
World War I when it was converted into a Military
Hospital.
11. Cerebrales Anfallsleiden Abscencen: Ignatia
Sulfur (Cerebral Convulsions Abscences:
Ignatia – Sulphur)
HADULLA, Michael (AHZ. 248, 1/2003)
A 3 year-old suffering from convulsive
disorders since 18 months age, after the birth of his
brother. Valproic acid did not give sufficient
effect. He was therefore given Ignatia and then
Sulphur. He was also taking Ergomyl solution
which was not stopped. No further convulsions.
His EEG also became normal.
12. Kleinkind mit ausgeprägtem Kariesbefall und
rezidivierenden Infekten unter kontinuerlicher
Antibiotika-Cortison-Behandlung (Small child
with marked caries attacks and recurring
Infections and continued treatment with
Antibiotics-Cortisone)
DOME, Ludmila (AHZ. 248, 1/2003)
4 year-old girl, recurring infections of the
upper respiratory tract, since two years. Has been
on Antibiotics, Cortisone.
Cough < walking; laboratory tests revealed no
pathology. An year ago adenoids found swollen
and adenoidectomy planned.
Sweaty occiput and back, < nights. Bites nails.
She needed antibiotics and cortisone inhalation for
every cold.
Loveable girl; sings, dances, cannot bear to be
laughed at, easily weepy. When playing with other
children, she communicated easily, commandiared.
Poor sleep; wakes up and weeps, saying that she
was being devoured by a lion.
Examination revealed discolored, black
incisors (§153).
Calcium carbonicum 200 given on 29 Jan.
2000. The examination on 29.3.2000, by the ENT
Surgeon revealed that the adenoids were normal
and there was no need for operation; no sweat; no
cough; no nail-biting. The dentist was now
confident that the teeth could be saved.
Although the child was not a Calcium-type, the
repertorisation (§ 7, §18) helped choose the
remedy suitable to the patient.
13. Schwere acute Gastroenteritis mit Exsikkose
(Severe acute Gastro-enteritis with Exsiccosis)
BÜNDNER, Martin (AHZ. 248, 1/2003)
The homœopathic treatment of an 8 year-old
girl hospitalized with serious acute Gastro-enteritis
and Exsiccosis is described. Because of earlier
chemical therapy the symptomatology was blurred.
However, careful interrogation helped and the
repertorization brought up three remedies
Conium, Lachesis muta and Sulphur. Careful study
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of the Materia Medica clinched Sulphur.
Immediate improvement set in after Sulphur 30.
14. Homeopathic help for mental exhaustion
DOOLEY, Timothy R. (HT. 22, 4/2002)
Weakness and fatigue of the brain is caused by
mental overwork. It usually means, that it was time
to take a break, get some rest, and engage in some
restful activity for a while.
Indications of Phosphoric acid, Picric acid,
Zincum metallicum, Anacardium, Silica, Arnica,
Cuprum metallicum, Cocculus indicus, Graphites,
Kali phosphoricum and Aethusa cynapium are
given.
Sometimes a patient’s characteristics when
they are well are related to a remedy that will help
them while ill. e.g. A person who is intolerant of
milk on a regular basis and then develops brain fag
will often respond to Aethusa.
15. Homeopathy for Hay fever and Allergies
FLEISHER, Mitchell A. (HT. 22, 4/2002)
Indications of twenty remedies are given to
treat the Allergies that occur primarily in Spring,
Summer and Fall.
16. Acute and Chronic prescribing: What’s the
difference?
REICHENBERG-ULLMAN, Judyth and
ULLMAN, Robert (HT. 22, 4/2002)
We have to assess whether the acute symptoms
are truly an independent or a rather sharp
worsening of the chronic state.
Either cases will respond to acute remedies that
matches the specific symptoms of the attack.
Repeating constitutional remedies in acute
attacks will not help in all cases.
If there is no change in the mental/emotional
state and other symptoms fall within the scope of
the constitutional remedy, it can be given in an
acute state with confidence.
Sometimes an acute state can be the doorway
to a better constitutional prescription.
When you do prescribe, whether for an acute or
chronic condition, it is important to have your
intention firmly in mind. What is to be cured, and
what does the remedy you have chosen really
address? Do you expect the medicine to cure the
chicken pox or the patient’s chronic eczema? Do
you want to address any mental and emotional
aspects in the case, either chronically or acutely,
and does your chosen remedy match these well?
Have you taken into account the strange, rare, and
peculiar symptoms of the acute case and whether
these are also covered by the constitutional remedy
or are totally new? Answering questions such as
these can help you focus on what you expect from
the medicine as compared with the results that
occur after it is given. When you give a medicine
for an acute condition, know what it is you are
treating, the time frame in which you expect the
response, and what response you expect. In this
way, you can make sense of what happens from
giving the remedy and make the right choices for
resolving the acute illness quickly while preserving
and even enhancing the effects of the constitutional
treatment.
17. Homeopathy helps Pneumonia and …. more
MESSER, Stephen (HT. 22, 4/2002)
Charlie, 28 years, feverish, sweaty and
coughing since a week. He was chilly, felt tight in
his chest. Feels heavy and weak during fever and a
sensation of ball behind sternum. Spontaneously he
started talking about his chronic problem. Sick
from chronic stress, mental exhaustion, poor
memory, feels emotionally depleted and great
physical weakness.
Phosphoric acid 1M once a day.
Next day evening his fever was considerably
higher and X-ray confirmed Pneumonia and he was
given antibiotic in a local emergency room.
Three days later, fever remained high, but
fluctuating. He said he had been crying
uncontrollably at times and felt like he was
cleaning out old emotional baggage. His mind was
amazingly clear. He felt better than he had in a
long time, even though he was physically worse.
Three days later, he was nauseous, had been
theorizing about his illness. He felt heat rising off
his chest. Foul and disgusting odor of sweat; woke
up at 4-5 a.m.
Sulphur 10M twice a day until fever
normalized for 12 hrs.
Three days later, better in all aspects. To
continue Sulphur 10M until his symptoms
completely resolve. Improvement consistent with
§253 of Organon.
Few days later, he presented with return of
gastrointestinal problems which plagued him since
childhood.
Aloe socotrina (complementary to Sulphur)
improved him.
18. Sinusitis
DOOLEY, Timothy R. (HT. 22, 5/2002)
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Indications of Kali bichromicum, Nux vomica,
Pulsatilla, Mercurius, Bryonia, Arsenicum album,
Hepar sulphuris, in the treatment of Sinusitis.
19. Dealing with depression
CASTRO, Miranda (HT. 22, 5/2002)
Tim, 15, suffered a mild Concussion of head
and a lot of bruising, but no fractures. Since then
he was plagued with headaches and depression. He
had lost his motivation for school work. After few
doses of Natrum sulphuricum, he rapidly returned
to his former cheerful, active self.
The various causes of Depression and practical
steps to cope with it are discussed. Indications of
11 homœopathic medicines are given.
20. A drastic personality change follows a fall
SACHETI, Dor (HT. 22, 5/2002)
Rae, fell about 20 feet while climbing and
landed on back. She thought she had hit her tail
bone and back of head. Unlike her usual self, she
became dull and expressed none of her symptoms
strongly. Hypericum 30 was given for the tail bone
injury and 15 minutes later another dose was
repeated.
Within a short time, her dullness disappeared.
The author was surprised to see the rubric,
“Mind, dullness, after injuries of head” in Kent
Repertory with Arnica, Cicuta, Hypericum,
Mercurius and Rhus tox listed.
Hypericum worked on Rae’s physical trauma
as well as her mental symptoms.
21. Depression after laser surgery
LUI, Therasa (HT. 22, 5/2002)
77 year-old male, had a second laser surgery,
for basal cell Carcinoma on the nose. In the months
after his surgery, he lost all interest in his busy
activities. His voice was in monotone.
Homeopathy: A step by step guide by
Cassandra MARKS mentioned severe depression
following injury to nerves under Hypericum.
Hypericum 200 was given and the next day
vitality returned to his voice and his depression was
gone. COWPERTHWAITE mentions Hypericum
for “great nervous depression following wounds.”
LIPPE adds “or after surgical operations”. KENT
mentions “dullness after injuries of head”.
SCHROYENS lists in rubrics, “Mind, sadness from
injury” and “Mind, sadness from injuries of head”.
22. A girl with Chicken Pox
TAYLOR, Will (HT. 22, 5/2002)
10 year-old girl, with mild eruption, but
notably pustules on her eye lids. Agglutination of
lids in the mornings. Highly and
uncharacteristically out of sorts, wanting nothing to
do with anybody. Deep rattling cough and heavily
white coated tongue.
Antimonium crudum 30 in 4 Ounce water,
half-teaspoon after 6 succussions, upto every 3
hours as needed. After 3 doses, all her complaints
reduced markedly.
23. A case of child with learning difficulties
EVANS, Gwyneth (HT. 22, 5/2002)
8 year-old boy was brought as he could neither
focus nor concentrate. Very slow in eating. He
was easily distracted and needed practice with basic
facts in mathematics.
Early in the pregnancy, the mother lost two
cats who were very precious to her. She felt great
shock about this.
On her due date she had fallen down the stairs
and badly sprained her ankle. She was very afraid
that she had hurt the baby, but it was not so. Two
weeks later, while she went to have a bath felt the
baby coming.
The boy had series of ear infections, diaper
rash with teething. Asthma till the age of 5 and had
a couple of bouts of tonsillitis and had a high pain
threshold.
Phosphoric acid 30, one dose given.
Five weeks later, no change. Arnica 200.
Three weeks later not much of a change.
The child had that slowness in catching on to
things; the difficulties at school. The rubric “Mind,
Slowness” with the sub rubric “Slowness while
eating” has only one remedy listedAconite.
Aconite 30, one dose. Three weeks later, the
boy had become so quiet, interested in home work.
The verbal anger was gone.
Two years later, he is finding math easier. He
has lost a lot of anger [A great lesson on the
Materia Medica of Aconitum. In the EN of T.F.
ALLEN are many symptoms of mental slowness,
mental confusion; see Symptom Nos. 84 to 100.
Although we find Acon.’ in most of the rubrics in
the Repertory we rarely use it. = KSS]
24. The exciting cause: A case of nervous tics and
twitching
KEIZER, Willa (HT. 22, 5/2002)
5 year-old JULIE, was healthy, sympathetic
and wanted everything to be fair. One day, was
given five vaccinations. Four days later, bad rash at
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the vaccination site. She became restless and
uncomfortable. She then began having a nervous
tic of constantly clearing her throat and sniffing.
Fear of dark and ghosts, and a sensation of bugs
crawling on the skin. Thuja given earlier helped
somewhat and not enough.
Causticum LM2, daily dose. Within a week,
muscle twitching and throat clearing disappeared.
Three months later, as the symptoms began to
return, although milder, Causticum 1M. Symptom-
free since then.
25. A case of Ferrum metallicum
ROBINSON, Karl (HT. 22, 5/2002)
Nowhere are symptoms more unknowable than
those of the mind. Unless the patient is acting out
one of the mental/emotional states, we really cannot
pretend to know what he or she is feeling.
In a man 52 year-old with urinary
incontinence, it was his individual modalities of
aversion to eggs, even the smell of it flushing face,
morbid urging to urinate, lack of erections – the
peculiar physical symptoms which led to the
remedy; the mentals were confirmation only.
26. Differential Diagnosis: Finding the Trophy in
your Net
HOOVER, Todd A. (AJHM. 96, 1/2003)
Dr. HOOVER presents a powerful
methodology developed by Paul HERSCU, that can
give the average homœopath a significant
advantage in prescribing for difficult case. A
relatively straightforward case is presented for this
example, with a detailed differential diagnosis.
Totality case analysis is contrasted with typical
keynote prescribing.
27. Fear of pain and its effect on childbirth
LEVANON, Dafna (HL. 15, 1/2002)
There are situations where the fear is deeply
entrenched in the soul of a woman and during
pregnancy, they come to the surface.
Past events associated with pain also may
awaken the fear during pregnancy.
A third possibility is an acute state wherein the
fear is generated by the labour itself.
The root of the fear must be found to solve a
case of fear of labour and of labour pains.
Three cases are presented:
Case 1: Fear of suffering.
22 year-old woman, in the ninth month of first
pregnancy, with fear of pain and suffering from the
approaching birth. Also fear of fire and dreams of
fire.
Piper methysticum 30. Felt better for 3 weeks
and then worse. Another dose repeated. She
delivered normally a week later.
After her 3
rd
pregnancy, she was not producing
adequate milk and relapsed back into the fear state.
Reference works gives Piper methysticum for
lactation; milk; too profuse in Boericke Repertory.
Based on the assumption that it would produce
another pole, Piper methysticum 1M given and in 3
hrs milk started flowing.
Case 2: Fear of labour.
36 year-old woman at the beginning of her 3
rd
pregnancy presented with history of difficult
labours.
Disappearance of the labour contractions arose
from such a great fear it paralysed the labour
mechanism and this stemmed from a past memory
of insufferable pain and feeling of helplessness.
Cimicifuga which has an aspect that influences
past painful memory was prescribed in 200.
12 days later, normal delivery.
Case 3: Labour arrested by fear and panic.
A woman in her first pregnancy, approached a
hospital when the labour pains commenced. As she
prepared for the birth her cramps stopped abruptly.
The woman went into a state of fear, closure
and dryness. Flow of contractions stopped. A dose
of Pulsatilla 200 and within a short time began
regular contractions and gave birth.
28. A case of Carcinosinum
VAN DER ZEE, Harry (HL. 15, 1/2002)
16 year-old girl with extreme weakness due to
post-viral syndrome. More than an year before, she
sustained a Brain Concussion and Whiplash after
running into a door. This was only diagnosed after
months of complaints. In that same period
Mononeucleosis infections started. For an year
now, the weakness has not improved, and the
Mononeucleosis markers remain increased.
Carcinosinum 200 restored “within a few
weeks”. The author discusses the ‘anamnesis’
when the patient was in the womb and during her
birth. ‘Miasms in Labour’ a Theory of the author
is justified in this case.
[A simple straight case is made tortuous. I am
reminded of FN to §1, Organon = KSS]
29. Homeopathy in the New born ICU
STORM, Wolfgang (HL. 15, 1/2002)
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 16 of 216
In the St. Vincenz Hospital, Germany,
Homeopathy is used as an additional and
supplementary in their Neonatal Intensive Care
Unit.
Their experience in six cases is presented.
Case 1: Five-day-old, mature, newborn baby, birth
weight 3420g.
Clinical findings: Cardiac arrest with group B
Streptococcal Septicaemia. Cardiac massage,
Ventilation and Epinephrine without any result.
Homeopathic remedy: Camphora 30. Within
ten seconds (!!) there was pink skin colour, sinus
function in the ECG, beginning of spontaneous
breathing and spontaneous movements.
Rubrics:
Skin; coldness
Skin; bluish.
Generals; pulse slow.
Materia Medica: For a state of collapse,
subnormal temperature, and low blood pressure,
one of the main remedies for shock.
Case 2: Premature baby: 26 weeks of gestation,
birth weight 890g.
Clinical problem after one week: Strangulated
inguinal hernia on the right side. Unsuccessful
measures to reduce the hernia (manual, bathing in
warm water, Phenobarbital).
Homeopathic remedy: Nux vomica 30.
Spontaneous reduction within ten seconds!!
Rubrics:
Abdomen; hernia, inguinal, strangulated, right
side.
Case 3: Twin premature baby: 27 weeks of
gestation, birth weight 1050g.
Clinical findings five days after birth:
Tympanitic distension of the abdomen, apnoea
attacks with oxygen desaturation. Environmental
circumstances: Twin brother had to be transferred
for surgery to another hospital which led to less
maternal visits. Since this time the above
mentioned deterioration started.
Homeopathic remedy: Unsuccessful trials with
Carbo vegetabilis 30 and Lycopodium 30. After
Stramonium 30 (forsaken feeling?) immediate lack
of apnoea attacks with oxygen desaturation,
improvement of the abdominal symptoms.
Rubrics:
Abdomen; distension, tympanitic
Respiration; arrested
Mind; forsaken feeling (by intuition!)
Case 4: Twin premature baby: 26 weeks of
gestation, birth weight 1000g.
Clinical findings (second day of life): Cold
skin, Respiratory Distress Syndrome, artificial
ventilation (FiO2 1,0), and urine retention, low
blood pressure.
Homeopathic remedy: Camphora 30. Within
10 minutes the FiO2 dropped to 0, 4, urine flow
increased, skin colour became pink, blood pressure
increased (without any further allopathic measures).
Rubrics:
Skin; coldness
Respiration; difficult
Bladder; retention.
Materia Medica: low blood pressure.
Case 5: Mature newborn baby, birth weight 3210g.
Caesarean section, with Abruptio placentae and
pathological cardiotocogram. Apgar 5/6/6;
umbilical artery pH 7,09.
Clinical problem eight hours after birth: Focal
tonic-clonic Convulsions with Cyanosis, no
improvement after Phenobarbital and Phenytoin.
Homeopathic remedy: Cuprum metallicum
200. Immediate inhibition of the convulsions and
no further ones.
Rubrics:
Generals; convulsions clonic
Generals; convulsions tonic
Generals; convulsions infants
Generals; convulsions cyanosis
Case 6: Mature newborn baby, birth weight 3630g.
Clinical problems on the first day of life:
Vomiting, moaning respiration, distended abdomen,
with large amounts of Ascites (sonographic
finding).
Homeopathic remedy: Apocynum 30 (3 x 3
globules/day). About twenty hours later there was
almost no Ascites detectable any more (without
abdominal paracentesis or any other medication),
no vomiting, stable respiration.
Rubrics:
Abdomen; distension
Abdomen; dropsy, ascites
Respiration; sighing
Materia Medica: One of our most efficient
remedies in Dropsy, Ascites and excessive
vomiting.
[I am sure these six cases should be sufficient to
shut the doubters and debunkers. The author of the
article has sought contact with like-minded
colleagues all over the world. Please respond =
KSS]
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30. The Post-Vaccination Syndrome (PVS)
Evaluation of a method and results of a
prospective study
SMITS, Tinus (HL. 15, 1/2002)
The efficiency of the treatment of Post
Vaccination Syndrome (PVS) with potentised
vaccines in homœopathic doses are discussed and
illustrated with 8 cases. The author stresses that
when a generally well child develops symptoms,
one should rule out vaccination as a cause. If it is
due to or after vaccinations potentised vaccines
have to be given.
The research study conducted is also presented,
with eight cases.
31. Migraine since MMR vaccination
VAN DER ZEE, Harry (HL. 15, 1/2002)
11 year-old boy, presented with recurrent
Migraine which started after MMR vaccination.
Intense headache, with a feeling as if eyes are
knocked out with a hammer. It can be triggered
when he does not eat much.
In the past Mumps twice, Scarlet fever five
times.
MMR 200 one dose. A week after the remedy
had high fever and headache was worse than ever
before and lasted 3 days. After that Migraine never
returned.
32. The treatment of Vaccinosis
GAUBLOMME, Kris (HL. 15, 1/2002)
The constitution determines whether or not that
particular person will be prone to vaccine damage,
and if so, what system will be affected, in which
way and to what degree.
This necessitates an individual approach, based
upon patient’s reaction.
The author condemns the routine use of
potentised vaccines either as a prophylactic or as a
treatment, as this is a basic violation of the laws and
principles of Homœopathy. He adopts a logical,
effective, three layer approach.
The acute symptomatology, after vaccination
will lead to the primary remedy. In chronic cases
of vaccine damage, the constitutional remedy
brings about the best results. Ultimately when no
remedy can be figured out based upon the present
symptoms, vaccinal Nosodes may be used.
[Tinus SMITS says that “it is a big mistake “to
give” constitutional treatment right away without
considering the cause of the problem. In my case I
saw so many children treated for years with
constitutional remedies without any success that
could have been easily cured with this causal
therapy of potentised vaccines.” While Dr. Kris
GAUBLOMME argues to stick to the logics of
Homeopathy. He presents two cases to drive home
his point! Whom should we follow? = KSS]
33. Homeopathic approach to vaccination in Israel
ROSENTHAL, Chaim (HL. 15, 1/2002)
Introduction
As a result of many efforts during the last
fifteen years, the awareness in Israeli society of the
possibility of vaccine damage has increased a lot.
Therefore we have instituted alternative clinics to
the conservative clinics that monitor and
vaccinate infants.
We call them A Drop of Nature’ in contrast to
‘A Drop of Milk’ which is the name of the
conservative one.
Purposes and organization
The purposes of ‘A Drop of Nature’ are:
Guidance and explanation concerning
vaccination.
Guidance and explanation of how to raise
children in a homœopathic and natural way.
Treatment for vaccine damage.
General homœopathic treatment when
necessary.
The team in each clinic consists of a
paediatrician (who has also been trained as a
Homeopath) and a homœopathic practitioner.
Instructions and guidance are given by the
paediatrician. Homeopathic treatment, if
necessary, is given by the homœopath.
Infants are invited for monitoring seven times
during the first year of life (which is similar to the
conservative clinic).
In general we recommend no vaccination
during the first year of life.
We have learned that compliance is much
better if we recommend postponing the vaccines,
than if we tell the parents not to vaccinate at all.
If the parents insist on administrating specific
vaccines, the child receives them but only under
certain conditions.
Principles and recommendations
Here are our general principles and
recommendations regarding the vaccination of
children in ‘A Drop of Nature’.
One should consider not vaccinating the child
indiscriminately.
For most children we recommend avoiding
vaccination during the first year of life. We
see the child again at the age of one year and
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 18 of 216
then decide upon whether to give him any
vaccines or not. It depends on the general
health of the child, his hereditary state,
environmental conditions, etc.
We consider the possible harm that may be
caused by the vaccines vs. their benefits.
Every case should be considered individually.
If the parents express extreme anxiety
regarding Meningitis caused by Hemophilus
Influenza B, we are willing to administer the
vaccine during the first year of life.
Vaccines that should be delayed until an older
age (5-6 years old), and may even not be
necessary (every case individually) are:
Hepatitis-B, Hepatitis-A, Tetanus, Pertussis,
Measles, Mumps, Rubella (M.M.R.), Chicken
pox. [Here in India almost all these are given
to all children be the child puny, chronically
sick, retarded physically/mentally etc. Parents
‘well-indicated’ are the most ignorant=KSS]
Vaccination should only be carried out when
the child is in perfect health. The child should
be healthy for at least three months prior to any
vaccination. Vaccination in the summer
months (May to September) is to be preferred.
Vaccination should not be carried out close to
the time of weaning, or learning to walk or
leaving the home for the first time (nursery or
kindergarten), dentition, etc.
The child should not receive several vaccines
at a time (they should be split up).
If there is a reason to suspect that the child
suffered from vaccine damage in the past, or
reacted strongly to a vaccine, the next vaccine
scheduled should be postponed to an older age.
Many cases of vaccine damage could have
been prevented if the vaccine had been avoided
after a bad reaction to the previous one. In
many severe cases we could detect a bad
reaction to the previous vaccine.
In children with any suspected neurological
damage (hypotonia, slow development,
difficult delivery, etc.), postponing vaccination
is important. The possibility of forgoing them
completely should also be considered.
When one child in the family has suffered
some vaccine damage, greater care must be
taken with the other children. We try to
postpone vaccinating them as long as possible.
If the child seems to be suffering from vaccine
damage, homœopathic help should be sought
immediately.
In any case of disease developing during the
first year of life, especially if the child is still
nursing, the possibility of vaccine damage
should be checked carefully.
We do not recommend new vaccines like
Hepatitis-A and Vermicelli.
If there is an outbreak of a local epidemic and
the child has not been vaccinated, the child
should be taken to the attending homœopath
and given a homœopathic vaccine.
34. I have to be empty – A case of Vanadium
COLLINS, Deborah (HL. 15, 2/2002)
This is a case where a new remedy of
SCHOLTEN helped where different well known
remedies according to the author failed.
Mrs. D, 37, consulted for Anorexia. She
stopped working with handicapped children, which
she loved, after her marriage. Restless, if not busy,
very sensitive, gets lump in throat from any tension,
and can’t swallow at all. Can’t stand anything in
belly, so likes to be empty. No real menstruation
for seventeen years, so adopted children.
Indecisive and nervous.
Ignatia, Anacardium did not help. At this
point the author gave a remedy of which she
almost knew nothing Vanadium, - simply
because it had been written by Jan SCHOLTEN in
some instances of Anorexia.
3 months later, she gained 2 kilos and her
menses started again.
Ten weeks later, no problem. 7 weeks later,
nauseated by smells of food. Colchicum 200.
2 weeks later, no periods, losing weight.
Pregnancy Test Positive. Vanadium 200. Started
putting on weight and had a healthy child.
[It is distressing to read Deborrah COLLINS say, “I
gave a remedy of which I knew almost nothing ..
simply because it had been written up by Jan
SCHOLTEN in some instances of Anorexia.” Can
one prescribe Vanadium in most cases of Anorexia
because SCHOLTEN has succeeded and Deborrah
COLLINS has a case of success? Is this
‘teaching’? Don’t we din into the mind of the
young homœopaths that merely because someone
gave a particular remedy successfully, we are not to
follow it blindly? = KSS]
35. A cured case of Anorexia Nervosa
A case of Vanadium
HARDY, Jonathan (HL. 15,2/2002)
31 year-old woman, with post natal depression
and Anorexia Nervosa for about 15 years. Low self
esteem. Dreams of falling, of teeth falling out and
her father dying. Everything has got to be just right
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 19 of 216
and in its place. Very critical of everything. Self-
loathing; has Raynaud’s disease since her teens.
Niccolum. Slight improvement. Medicine
continued for nine months, and then stopped acting.
Several other remedies without effect. Finally
Vanadium 1M, based on SCHOLTEN’s description
of Anorexia, Raynaud’s disease, strong feelings of
self-loathing, low self-esteem.
Five weeks later, much happier and had put on
4 kilos. Sleep much better. Depression has lifted
and able to relax.
A year later, regained weight, depression is
completely better. Only slight problem of
Raynaud’s.
36. Honouring HAHNEMANN
LM Potencies
CAMPUZANO PIÑA, Gabriel
(HL. 15, 2/2002)
In HL. 14, 4/2001 Andre SAINE has stated
that he stayed away from LM potencies, citing
some reasons.
The author felt that if the readers hear these
ideas from a teacher (who had not used it), they
would never try them and proceed to judge LMs for
themselves.
So the author discusses his 15 years’
experience with the LM potencies in detail. He
concludes that LMs are not to replace other
potencies but LMs have a unique place in handling
patients in the manner HAHNEMANN desired-
rapidly and gently.
37. It is not safe to stand on your own feet
A case of Onosmodium
AVEDISSIAN, Keith (HL. 15, 2/2002)
Mrs. R., 46, presenting with headache since 15
years. Neuralgic left sided headache, shooting into
eye socket. Tiredness with headache.
Hysterectomy because of Endometriosis. Recurrent
benign lumps in breast removed. Ruptured discs in
low back and Sciatica especially left sided since
then.
Very scared while walking, as though she will
fall. Feeling as though hearing footsteps behind.
Mental confusion and difficulty in thinking. Fear
of being alone and depressed.
Onosmodium 200 once per day for upto 3 days.
2 year follow-up: Improved gradually.
Medicine was repeated during relapse, in 200 and
later 1M.
-------------------------------------------------------------
IV. REPERTORY
1. Kindliche Entwicklungsverzögerung (Retarded
development in children)
BLEUL, Gerhard (AHZ. 248, 1/2003)
The seventh section of this series lists all
rubrics of the repertory dealing with arrested
development in children. The main remedies
Bar-c., Calc., Calc-p., Nat-m., Sil., Tub., -are
briefly described.
-------------------------------------------------------------
V. PHARMACOLOGY
1. Iris germanica
RAJ J.; TIWARI A.K. & SINGH K.P.
(CCRH. 22, 3 &4/2000)
The botanical, chemical and pharmacological
properties are given briefly. Nice color pictures are
given.
--------------------------------------------------------------
VI. VETERINARY
1. Homeopathic treatment for an anxious cat
HYDE, Rosemary C. (HT. 22, 4/2002)
The cat, Shaman, often would stop doing what
she had been involved in and stare upwards into
space, seeing some apparition we could not
perceive. She was ferocious, growling loudly when
taken to the Vet. To get shots or to be examined,
she had to receive general anaesthesia. She became
ill after an 8-month-long noisy demolition project.
She was panic stricken. She either hid constantly
or desperately tried to run away and biting.
Sedatives did not help. She had not eaten virtually
anything since the demolition had begun.
Belladonna 6 in aqueous solution was put into
Shaman’s water. Each time I changed the water 10
succussions were given and 5 drops added.
Shaman calmed down noticeably. In about 6
weeks, potency was changed to 12. Stramonium 6
in aqueous solution was given after observation of
eye, pupils dilated at reproaches.
Now she is calm.
2. A big homœopathic practice
BORNEMAN J.P. (HT. 22, 5/2002)
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 20 of 216
Carol BUCKLEY has opened an Elephant
Sanctuary in 1995. The objective is to create as
natural an environment as possible. Dr.Lori TAPP
homœopathic veterinarian treats the elephants
there.
Dr.TAPP notes that the elephants all have
specific personalities, routines and habits that they
exhibit when they are well and happy. She
observes deviations from these as symptoms.
Typical cases among the herd include colics
that have been treated with Colchicum and
Chamomilla, as well as emotional traumas that
have responded to Pulsatilla, Ignatia, Aconite and
Stramonium. Elephants prone to abscesses have
been successfully treated with Silicea.
Behaviour changes were observed after
administration of properly prescribed homœopathic
medicines.
The “strangest organism she has ever treated?
“A Spider! Have you ever tried to take a spider’s
case?” [Homeopathy - be it a Spider or Elephant!
Wah!! = KSS]
3. Veterinary Homœopathy experiences
resurgence Academy of Veterinary
Homeopathy
BOCHENSKI, Diana & EPSTEIN, Shelly
(HT. 22, 5/2002)
Academy of Veterinary Homœopathy
(AVH) began as the brainchild of Richard
PITCAIRN in 1990.
Inspite of unique challenges faced by the
Veterinary Homœopath, Dr. PITCAIRN sought to
set strict standards, according to Hahnemann’s
teachings in the Organon and other writings.
The AVH has 170 members. It holds an
annual conference in locations throughout the U.S.
and Canada. The AVH oversees the specifications
for post-doctoral education and training for
veterinarians who wish to achieve certification
status.
--------------------------------------------------------------
VII. RESEARCH
1. Influence of the diluent on the effect of highly
diluted histamine on basophil activation
LORENZ I.; SCHNEIDER E.M.; STOLZ P.;
BRACK A. & STRUBE J.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003)
Background: In modern pharmaceutical
practice, it is common to use purified ethanol and
purified water for the preparation of homœopathic
dilutions. HAHNEMANN in 1827 recommended
good brandy as a diluent. Brandy contains a lot of
accompanying substances in addition to ethanol.
Purpose of the study: The research question
was whether different diluents influence the
effectiveness of high dilutions, especially above
Avogadro’s number. We compared two dilution
media to investigate the diluent’s influence. Within
the limitations of the test-system, the dilution media
were as similar to good brandy as possible and like
purified ethanol. Dilutions of histamine were
prepared with both media. As test-system, we used
modified basophil activation in an in vitro cell
system. Basophils are activated by anti-
immunoglobulin E (anti-IgE). The activation of
basophils is inhibited by prior incubation with
histamine. The reduction in activation was
measured with different dilutions of histamine. The
test system used a 3-colour flow cytometric
method. The interleukin-3 (IL-3) receptor CD123
was used to identify basophils in the leukocyte
mixture. The CD63 surface marker was used for
quantification of activated basophils.
Results: With higher concentrations of
histamine, we observed inhibition on optimally
anti-IgE-stimulated basophil activation with a clear
concentration dependency. With low
concentrations of histamine (up to 10
-31
), we also
observed inhibition of IgE-mediated basophil
activation. Differences were observed between the
dilution media.
Conclusion: The preliminary results support
the hypothesis that the dilution medium may
influence the effects of high dilutions. This could
be of importance for homœopathic pharmaceutical
practice as well as for ultra-high dilution
experiments. The refined basophil test system
proved to be highly sensitive and reliable. Further
studies are needed.
2. A kinetic approach to Caffeine–Coffea cruda
interaction
RUIZ-VEGA G.; PÉREZ-ORDAZ L.;
CORTÉS-GALVÁN L. & JUÁREZ-G F.M.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003)
The biological effect of Coffea cruda 30 was
investigated in rats pre and post treated with
Caffeine. The experimental subjects were male
Wistar rats. Caffeine was administered
intraperitoneally at the beginning of a sleep period.
Coffea cruda 30 (0.1 ml) was administered orally, a
contemporaneous control group was tested. The
Electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in the
parietal region during the following sleep cycle.
The effect was evaluated by three EEG parameters:
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 21 of 216
the spectral power in delta (0.5-2.5 Hz) and slow
0.32-0.48Hz bands and the slow/delta power ratio.
These markers were analyzed vs time for control
and homœopathic groups, blind. In the pretreated
set, a similar pattern was identified for control and
Verum groups up to the 4
th
hour. From the 5
th
hour
on, power in the delta band was statistically higher
in the Verum. Spectral power in the slow band and
power ratio for the Verum group was smaller than
the control group from the 6
th
hour on. In the post-
treated set, two Verum sub-groups were identified:
Post v-A: did not exhibit significant differences
from control; Post v-B: displayed an opposite
tendency than pre-treatment Verum. We conclude
that Coffea cruda 30 modifies sleep pattern
increasing sleep intensity with pre-treatment. In a
subset of the post-treated animals Coffea 30
appeared to reinforce the effects of Caffeine.
3. Mutual information and the homœopathic
effect
WALDO R. and TORRES J-L.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003)
The characterization of the homœopathic effect
through physico-chemical concepts and methods is
a fundamental requirement in the quest to bring this
therapy into the scientific mainstream. The authors
explore the feasibility of using mutual information
to characterize the homœopathic effect. This
quantity measures the information gained about a
signal at time (t + τ), from its value at an earlier
time t, it quantifies the predictability of data.
The method is illustrated with an analysis of
the homœopathic effect of Strophanthus hispidus
on the cardiac rhythm of healthy human subjects,
using data from a previous experiment.
The results allow an intuitively clear rendering
and agree with the similitude principle applied to
the case. They also show that the solvent has a
significant effect on the signal; hence it does not act
as an ideal placebo and some therapeutic corollaries
to this observation are discussed.
4. Patient-Practitioner-Remedy (PPR)
entanglement. Part 2: extending the metaphor
for Homœopathy using molecular quantum
theory
MILGROM L.R.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003)
A quantum metaphor developed previously for
Homeopathy, involving triadic patient-practitioner-
remedy (PPR) entanglement, is extended by
importing concepts used in chemistry to describe
the electronic structures of molecules. In particular,
the electronic energy states of triangular tri-atomic
molecules are used metaphorically to predict that
(a) the more a homœopathic medicine is potentised,
the deeper the level of cure is likely to be, and (b)
the practitioner can be included as a beneficiary of
the therapeutic process. The model also predicts
that remedy attenuation and degree of PPR
interaction could (in the quantum theoretical sense)
represent a pair of complementary conjugate
variables.
Part 1 of this was published in Homeopathy,
91, 4/2002.
5. Homeopathic treatment in emergency
medicine: a case series.
OBERBAUM M.; SCHREIBER R.;
ROSENTHAL C. & ITZCHAKI M.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003)
Following a multiple-casualty construction
disaster in Israel, members of The Center of
Integrated Complementary Medicine joined in
the emergency activity of the Shaare Zedek
Medical Center. They administered homœopathic
treatment to injured patients to supplement
conventional orthopaedic treatment. This was to
our knowledge the first time that complementary
medicine had been used officially in conjunction
with conventional medicine in an emergency
situation. Our objective is to report and summarize
the rationale, procedures and outcome of the
complementary medicine intervention.
Fifteen orthopaedic patients were included.
They were treated by Homœopathy in two phases
starting 24 h post-trauma. All patients initially
received Arnica Montana 200 in a single dose.
Anxiety was treated with Aconite 200 in nine
patients, Opium 200 in three, Ignatia 200 in two
and Arsenicum album 200 in one according to type
of anxiety. One day later, most patients reported a
lessening of pain, 58% felt improvement, 89% had
reduced anxiety, and overall 61% felt that
homœopathic treatment was helpful. In the second
phase, 48h post-trauma, specific complaints were
addressed with Classical Homœopathy. At
discharge patients rated the homœopathic treatment
successful in 67% of the specific complaints.
Several issues relating to the use of
Homeopathy in emergency medicine and its
relation to conventional treatment are discussed.
These include compliance, the conduct of rounds,
shortage of time and staff, and the procurement of
medicines.
We could not find any literature to direct our
treatment, or on combined homœopathic and
conventional treatment in the hospital. Therefore,
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 22 of 216
we list some issues and problems that we
encountered, with the hope of improving
homœopathic treatment for similar indications in
the future. These are:
1. The lack of clinical guidelines for
homœopathic emergency medicine and lack
of experience in treating multi-trauma patients
with Homœopathy.
2. Classical homœopathic theory prohibits
administering two or more medicines
simultaneously, and requires medicines that
encompass the ‘totality of the symptoms’. But
it is often difficult to find a medicine, which
covers the ‘totality of the symptoms’ in multi-
trauma cases. This difficulty forced us to
administer more than one medicine at a time.
3. Noncompliance of patients and the
conventional staff. The negative or confused
reaction of either group fuelled that of the
other.
4. Underestimation of the time required for
treatment and insufficient time to find the
correct medicines.
5. Difficulties in finding and mobilizing good
homœopaths in emergencies.
6. Arranging for the supply of medicines in
emergency cases is problematic, especially
since the repertoire of applicable homœopathic
medicines is much more extensive than that of
conventional medicine.
6. Clinical outcomes research: Contributions to
the evidence base for Homœopathy
MATHIE, Robert T.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003)
The design of clinical outcomes studies (like
that of RCTs) involves prospective rather than
retrospective data collection, and typically
characterizes the responses of a single group of
patients to a therapy over a defined period of time.
Five recently published clinical outcome
studies in Homœopathy focus on diverse medical
conditions: Headache, Acute Otitis Media,
Attention-Deficit Hyper-activity Disorder (ADHD)
in children, respiratory tract and ear complaints,
including Allergies, and male Infertility. An
account of the individually prescribed homœopathic
remedies was offered in all five papers. Outcome
measures were patient-centred in three studies and
investigator-assessed in three. The relative
effectiveness or consumption or costs of
conventional medication was also reported in three
of the articles.
The five studies each conclude in favour of the
clinical effectiveness of Homeopathy. They
illustrate:
Post-treatment improvement in quality of life
scores in patients with headache;
Better clinical improvement from Acute Otitis
Media after Homœopathy compared with
subsequent conventional medicine;
Swifter resolution of hyperactivity in children
compared with historical placebo controls;
Homœopathy at least as clinically effective as
conventional medication in a primary care
setting;
Improved sperm count in men with infertility
problems.
7. A vacinasão Na prática Homœpática – Uma
Revisão Bibliográfica (Vaccination in
Homeopathic Practice A Bibliographic
Review)
MOTTA, Tania T.P. and SCHOENMAKER,
Nicholas G.M. (RH. 68, 1-2/2003)
This is a study of the ‘theme’ Vaccination
through a bibliographical review on allopathic and
homœopathic outlook and to present the
understanding of several authors to obtain data so
that the homœopath and his patient can consider
carefully the risks/benefits, costs of each vaccine
and make choice for or against the vaccination.
The study is detailed. BCG, Triple
vaccination, Poliomyelitis, Rubella, Hepatitis-B,
Influenza, are all covered each with its
advantages/disadvantages, costs, etc. 56
bibliographical references are cited.
8. Fundamentação immunológica da teoria
homœpatica das vacinoses (The Homœopathic
Vaccinosis Theory: Immunological Basis)
TEIXEIRA, Marcus Zulian (RH. 68, 1-2/2003)
Seeking to understand the individual in his
symptomatic totality has been the aim of
Homeopathy since its very beginning and even
then there were warnings that inadequate treatment
of acute diseases in childhood may lead to future
chronic diseases. Since this conduct upsets the
organism’s vital reaction, HAHNEMANN
cautioned that by treating acute diseases with
allopathic medicine, with strong doses of heroic
drugs, or suppressing local symptoms of those
diseases, there would be risk of developing future
chronic diseases. At the end of the XIX century,
BURNETT came up with the theory of vaccinosis
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and warned of chronic manifestations subsequent to
small pox vaccinations. In the middle of last
Century, French homœopaths, seeking the physio-
pathological origin of chronic diseases, correlated it
to the abnormal reaction of the reticuloendothelial
system (RES). Through the study of experimental
pathology, MAFFEI attributed every symptomatic
manifestation to the imbalance between the
immunological phenomena of allergy and
immunity. This broadened the view of illness as an
altered reaction of the RES. He placed the
sensitizing and pathogenic effects of medications
and vaccines in the phenomena of metalergy and
paralergy, respectively. With the modern hygiene
hypothesis, there is extensive evidence that the
imbalance of immunological response in childhood,
more specifically among the Th1 and Th2
lymphocyte subpopulations, is responsible for the
development of some allergic and chronic diseases
in the future. The deranging factor for the
prevalence of future allergic response (Th2) is in
the impediment of natural manifestations of
infectious diseases (Th1 response) in pre-school
children. As homœopathic treatment induces an
equilibrated vital reaction, corresponding to an
integrative physiological response (neuro-immuno-
endocrino-metabolic), we believe it acts to regulate
Th1/Th2 imbalance, as is proven by the cure of
innumerable allergic and chronic diseases.
However, clinical trials to support this hypothesis
are lacking.
9. Avaliação de Resultados Terapêuticos da
Homœpatia: Uma proposta para Realidade
Brasileira
(Evaluation of Effectiveness of Homœopathy
and outcomes Research: A programme for
Brazilian Health Settings)
DANTAS, Flávio (RH. 68, 1-2/2003)
In Brazil Homœopathy is officially recognized
as medical speciality since 1980 but is still poorly
used in public health services. Homœopathic
treatments can be prescribed in scarce public
outpatients health departments although federal
rules were established in 1988 for using it on the
national health service. There is a strong need to
assess efficacy, effectiveness, safety and efficiency
of Homœopathy in common and relevant health
problems to know if it is really, as it seems to be, a
medical therapeutics socially appropriate to
Brazilian context. Human beings have to be
considered as a whole, in all their complexity and
individuality, to evaluate effectiveness of
Homeopathy, together with practitioner’s
interpersonal and technical competence.
Randomized controlled trial, quasi-experimental
and observational studies can be used to investigate
Homeopathy in different settings of medical care,
particularly in outpatient units. Valid and useful
knowledge is urgently required to clearly define
clinical indications and limitations of Homœopathy,
in order to get a better and more competent use of
the therapeutics and help to improve health status
of the Brazilian people.
10. Pesquisa Homœpática Na Agricultura:
Premissas Básicas (Homœopathic Research in
Agriculture: Basic Premises)
DETOLEDO, Solange Monteiro; CARNEIRO,
Piza Gomes & TEIXEIRA, Marcus Zulian
(RH. 68, 1-2/2003)
Taking advantage of the global proposal, that
looks for to contemplate on “the degradation of the
environment and their consequences about the
health and the quality of life of the population”, we
are proposing a model of homœopathic research in
the agriculture, in order to systematize a
methodology of homœopathic treatment of the
agricultural diseases, to the curses and the
nutritional lacks of the plants. This project is the
beginning of a study about the viability of the use
of Homeopathy in the control of diseases of plants.
Using the basic premises of the homœopathic
method, we elaborated the research project that
includes from the experimentation in healthy plants,
pre-requisite for the future elaboration of a
“Compendium of Homœopathic Symptoms
Vegetable” (“Homœopathic Materia Medica
Vegetable”), to the prevention and treatment of
disease. In this work in development in the
Agronomic Institute of Paraná (IAPAR) we are
studying critically the countless variables of the
homœopathic application in plants (time of pre and
post-treatment, homœopathic potencies, etc.), in
order to escape from empiricism and to create safe
parameters so that we can indicate the utilization of
Homeopathy in agriculture.
11. Evidence–based Homœopathy: Empirical
Questions and Methodological considerations
for Homœopathic Clinical Research
BELL, Iris R. (AJHM. 96, 1/2003)
This paper presents an argument for
interdisciplinary, evidence-based Homeopathy that
embraces scientific research in its broadest sense.
Methodological issues for improving the quality of
clinical trial studies to evaluate Homeopathy in the
treatment of chronic diseases include: the need for
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more formal qualitative and observational data
from real-world homœopathic practice to guide
optimal study design, greater emphasis on
homœopathic considerations rather than allopathic
pharmaceutical research concepts to construct
intervention protocols and select outcome
measures; evaluation of possible individual
difference traits in modifying treatment response,
and awareness of possible involvement of
anomalous phenomena requiring modifications of
conventional placebo-controlled research designs
for Homœopathy. Homœopathic researchers also
need to perform appropriate statistical power
analysis, use multivariate and/or nonlinear
statistics, and explore novel methodological
approaches such as grade-of-membership analysis
or controlled time series designs from conventional
research that accommodate individualized patterns
of change over time. It is important to address the
identified methodological challenges to set
standards for reporting homœopathic clinical
studies, as was done previously in Acupuncture and
Allopathic clinical research. High quality research
that honors the nature of Homœopathy will advance
the field and benefit patients.
There is a long list of 94 references at the end
of the article.
12. An Investigation into the Utility of Placebo in
Provings
SHALTS, Edward; HOOVER, Todd A. and
HERSCU, Paul (AJHM. 96, 1/2003)
A Pilot study follows seeking to answer the
question of whether trained observers can
accurately assess which individuals in the study
group received an actual homœopathic remedy and
which a placebo. In this double-blind study
Belladonna was given to some study participants
and placebo to a control group. Using some of the
principal known symptoms of Belladonna the
study’s supervisors were able to fairly accurately
determine who received Verum versus Placebo.
When a more broadly defined thematic
representation of Belladonna’s symptoms (via
Herscu’s cycles and Segments analysis strategy)
was employed, selection accuracy increased to
100%. [Please see E. CHAPMAN’s Placebo
Reaction versus Homœopathic Effect: How to
distinguish the Two” AJHM. 95, 2002 pp. 157-
163. QHD. XX, 3 & 4/2003, Chapter III, No.71 =
KSS].
13. Testing a Novel Experimental Approach to
Proving Studies A Prequel to ‘An
Investigation into the Utility of Placebo in
Provings’
HERSCU, Paul and SHALTS, Edward
(AJHM. 96, 1/2003)
This article describes step-by-step a process of
creating a new methodological approach to studies
of provings. Emphasis is given to the method of
selection of the remedy, target symptoms and the
time-frame of the study. The article contains a
detailed account of the first two pre-pilot studies
conducted at Amherst, MA. The discussion
contains important points about the design of the
research protocol that was later used in the pilot
study conducted by this research group in
Alonissos, Greece.
14. The role of Homeopathic Medicines in the
treatment of Schizophrenia an Analytic
report
SHAW R. (CCRH. 22, 3&4/2000)
50 cases of Schizophrenia (37 males, 13
females) spread into 4 sub groups which were
treated in C.R.I. (H), Kottayam during the year
1988-90 have been analysed for their improvement
index. The overall improvement noted in these
cases are (i) Excellent 6 cases, (ii) Moderate 20
cases, (iii) Mild 6 cases. Group-wise improvement
is as (a) simple Schizophrenia (2/3), (b)
Heberphrenic Schizophrenia (8/16), (c) Catatonic
Schizophrenia (13/19) and (d) Paranoid
Schizophrenia (9/12). The improvement is highly
encouraging and it is suggested that further study
including follow-up for a large number of cases
treated in this hospital for so many years may be
analysed.
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VIII. HISTORY
1. Hands Across the Border
ELIZABETH SIKORSKI, Kim
(HT. 22, 5/2002)
Mexico’s culture has incorporated alternative
medicines throughout its history. In 1849,
Homeopathy came from Cuba, and was readily
accepted. Dr. Jaoquin SEGURA Y PESADO
founded the first homœopathic school in the
Mexican Republic, the Politechnic Institute, as
well as Homœopathic Hospital, both in Mexico
city, supported by the government. The Institute
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awards degrees in Medicine and Homœopathy.
Two other private institutions also award degrees.
Apart from Dr. Proceso Sanchez ORTEGA’s
School, none have a standardized curriculum and
teaching.
Mexican Homœopathic Pharmacopoeia was
issued a few years ago to standardize
manufacturing.
2. A chapter in the history of therapeutics
The affinity principle
WAIZEL-BUCAY, José (HL. 15, 1/2002)
Some possible paths followed by man in his
quest for remedies against malady and pain, as well
as a method and therapeutic resources used from
ancient until present times are presented. These are
based on the doctrine of similarity or the affinity
principle. Additionally, various examples are
mentioned of the traditional usage of some plants
and animals, according to their colour, exudates,
shape and/or flavour in correspondence with the
form of animal organs to which they are presumed
to restore to health or heal.
[These are nowhere related to Homœopathy
founded by Samuel HAHNEMANN. That in the
centuries before him and until his days genuine
‘cures’ had taken place only by ‘homœopathic’
application of the medicinal things albeit they did
not realize or recognize the ‘homœopathic’ Law,
has been thoroughly discussed by Samuel
HAHNEMANN himself in his Essay ‘Fingezeige
auf den homöopathischen Gebrauch der
Arzneien in der bisherigen Praxis’ in 1807 in
‘Hufelands Journal’. HAHNEMANN cites, as
was his scholarly nature, a lot of evidence, and
concludes rightly that it was he who for the first
time in History established Healing on Law of
Similars as a therapeutic method complete in itself
= KSS]
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IX. GENERAL
1. Users of homœopaths in Norway in 1998,
compared to previous users and GP Patients –
STEINSBEKK A. and FØNNEBØ V.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003)
This study aims at the characteristics and
complaints of patients who visited Norwegian
homœopaths in 1998, comparing with those who
visited homœopaths in 1985 and GP patients, as
Homeopathy is the most frequently used
complementary medicine in Norway.
A survey of 1097 patients visiting 80
Norwegian homœopaths in 1998 was conducted
and compared them with a similar survey in 1985
(1072 consultations) and a 1989 survey of GP
patients (90, 458 consultations).
Results: One in four of patients visiting
homœopaths in 1998 were children between 0 and
9 years of age, compared to one in ten in 1985 and
in General Practice. Almost half of the patients in
1998 had used prescription drugs provided by a
medical doctor the previous month for the same
complaints they presented to the homœopath. In
1998 patients sought Homœopathy most often
because of respiratory and skin complaints. In
1985 the most common reasons were musculo-
skeletal and digestive problems. Four of the five
commonest reasons for encounter in homœopathic
practice in 1998 were also found among the five
commonest reasons for General Practice
consultations.
Conclusion: Patients currently visiting
homœopaths differ in age and to some extent in
complaints compared to previous users of
Homeopathy and General Practice patients.
Similar studies are recommended every 5 to 10
years, as there is increase in both the number of
homœopaths and patients using Homœopathy.
2. HAHNEMANN on Infections
MORRELL, Peter (HOM. 86/2002)
Though HAHNEMANN had come close to
approaching modern views on Bacteriology in
many of his writings, the author advocates
cautiousness about assuming that HAHNEMANN
was an early and thus far unacknowledged
prophet of Bacteriology. [It is however, a fact that
HAHNEMANN did acknowledge ‘fixed’ diseases
from micro-organisms. Heinz HENNE writes
(Hippokrates Verlag, 1977): “The conviction of
FLENCIZ that diseases are produced by lower
organisms remained with him all his life.” = KSS]
3. New light on childhood infections
WITTWER, Heinz (HL. 15, 1/2002)
Due to increasing evidence, it is generally
accepted in scientific circles today that too hygienic
conditions and the absence of infections in early
childhood plays an important role in the
development of atopic diseases.
A matched control study done by Swiss
anthroposophic General Practitioner ALBONICO
H.U. consistently showed that there was a lower
overall Cancer risk in adulthood for patients with a
history of Febrile Infectious Childhood Diseases.
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4. Establishment of Homœopathic information
and documentation centre (HIDOC)
VERMA O.P. (CCRH. 22, 3&4/2000)
The growing popularity of Homœopathy all
over the world has created a global interest for
development of a Homœopathic Information
System. The paper highlights the state of
development of Homeopathy with particular
reference to India and South East Asia, statistically
reflecting possible information seekers/users and
non-existence of any well equipped Information
Centre catering to such professional informational
needs of Homœopathy in Asia. Attempts have been
made to study and analyse the impact of
Information Technology in the field of Indian
Systems of Medicine and Homœopathy in India and
need for establishment of a Homeopathic
Information and Documentation Centre preferably
by some existing homœopathic organization like
Central Council for Research in Homeopathy
(CCRH) to strengthen bibliographical control of the
country’s own technological output, to develop and
promote the technical and organizational structure
for exchange of data at international level with
particular emphasis on South East Asia Region and
also to create Online Information Services in
Homeopathy. It also describes the contours of
areas to be covered by the proposed Information
Centre. Its success depends much on the active
efforts of the Librarians and Information Scientists
not only in India but also in other countries engaged
in the field of Homœopathy. The existing
Information System created at CCRH which is a
premier organization in India to conduct and assist
research is playing a key role mainly in India.
Suggestions and methods are discussed in this
paper as to how it can be strengthened further to
play a role at global level. The paper also
highlights the realistic financial and administrative
constraints in developing countries like India in
implementing such major schemes and explore and
suggest the possibility of developing HIDOC in
phased manner seeking collaboration from
International agencies involved in Health care and
Human welfare.
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X. BOOKS
1. Prozac-free Homeopathic Alternatives to
Conventional Drug Therapies Judyth
REICHENBERG-ULLMAN and Robert
ULLMAN. North Atlantic Books; Berkeley, USA,
2002. Price: £14.99, ISBN:1556433921 (pbk).
Review by Jonathan DAVIDSON.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003).
“‘Prozac Free’ is organized into five sections, the
first of which discusses depression as a health
problem. Part II offers helpful guidelines about
Homeopathy and its potential role in management
of depression. This is followed by a series of case
descriptions, many of whom must have surely
presented difficult therapeutic challenges. Part IV
takes the case beyond depression and provides
illustrative examples of how homœopathic
treatment has helped individuals with Psychosis,
Trauma, Hormone imbalance and Dissociation.
Finally, the authors offer a brief section on
commonly asked questions about Homeopathy and
its future in Healthcare.”
2. Homœopathic Remedies for the Stages of
Life: Infancy, Childhood, and Beyond. Didier
GRANDGEORGE. North Atlantic Books:
Berkeley, USA. Price: £14.99, ISBN: 155643409X
(pbk). Review by Marysia KRATIMENOS
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003).
“He traces the evolution of Man from an
incarnating spirit to beyond the grave. As such, this
book is thought provoking at the least, and will
induce a love or hate reaction from its readers,
depending on one’s view of the world.
GRANDGEORGE equates the Freudian
developmental phases (Oral, Genital and Oedipal)
with the three Hahnemannian miasms, and then
elaborates on this model. Using the Jungian
concepts of archetypes and the shadow, he
illustrates his philosophy with Greek mythology
and Kabbalistic principles.
GRANDGEORGE shows how normal
development allows for Man to fully comprehend
all these dimensions of love, with the ultimate
achievement of being able and willing to give and
receive pure unconditional love. He also
demonstrates how so many of us fail and get stuck
in one aspect, miasm or developmental stage.
Despite the gravity of the subject matter,
GRANDGEORGE writes in a light and entertaining
fashion. The book is exceptionally easy to read,
and full of puns, entertainment and laughter. At the
same time, there is great wisdom and knowledge.
Suddenly one’s understanding of certain remedy
patterns is more complete and profound. It whets
the appetite to discover more about certain
remedies that are not well understood.
Many of his ideas and concepts are
challenging. He flies in the face of orthodox
medical opinion regarding vaccination. He
condemns the timing of vaccination schedules,
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 27 of 216
denies the efficacy of the BCG vaccine, disputes
the wisdom of mixing three live viruses together in
the MMR and is vitriolic about the genetically
engineered Hepatitis B vaccine. This is enough to
make many physicians apoplectic! Yet there is
evidence that his views are sound. In 1979, the
World Health Organization study of 260,000
individuals in Southern India, with a seven and a
half-year follow-up, demonstrated that there was
‘no evidence of a protective effect of the BCG
vaccine’. Dr. Tinus SMITS in the Netherlands also
supports his view and publishes his well-researched
findings on the Internet. KENT revolutionized the
profession with his constitutional models, based on
his faith in Swedenborg’s teachings. This is a book
for Post-Kentian homœopaths and those who strive
to understand the journey of life.”
3. Prisma the Arcana of Materia Medica
Illuminated by VERMEULEN, Frans. Emryss by
Publishers, Haarlem, The Netherlands 2002; pp
1422, hardback. £47. ISBN 90-76189-07-2.
Review by Nick HEWES. (HOM. 86/2002).
…. This is the third in the series of Materia
Medica in 10 years by the author.”
“Prisma simply returns to those same remedies
that were so expertly summarized in the first
volume, in order to add extra information, the most
obvious of which relates to their Signatures.”
Vermeulen has condensed information from so
many sources, . and at the end of day, it could
even help you find the correct remedy.
4. Remedy Relationships by Thomas BLASIG
and Peter VINT (Translated by Phil EDMONDS &
Hanna WALDBAUM). HAHNEMANN Institut,
Germany, 2001; pp 121. Paperback, £12.00. ISBN
3-929271-26-5. Review by Andrew OVENDEN
(HOM. 86/2002)
“…. This volume is clearly laid out in
alphabetical order, with categories for antidotes,
complementary remedies, remedy cycles, and
inimical remedies. The Bowel Nosodes are also
included. .. Information concerning two related
remedies is given under both remedy headings. …..
this book is a useful advance over previous texts in
this area …..”
5. Little Miracles: - a Comprehensive Guide to
LM Potencies by Carole COOK. Self published,
2001; pp 53. Softback, £4.99. Review by Penny
EDWARDS. (HOM. 86/2002)
“…The history of LMs is dealt with in the first
chapter, ….. comparison of development of potency
use in different parts of the world in the absence of
6
th
edition of Organon in second chapter. …. The
chapter “Technicalities” gives a concise précis of
each of the aphorisms of the Organon which are
related to the prescribing the LMs detailing the use
and recommendations by HAHNEMANN.
…….there is a guidance on how often to give the
remedy, what to look out for in terms of
aggravation, what response is appropriate, and
when to stop, all reinforced by the experiences of
practitioners with years of experience. this is an
invaluable booklet for any one who is interested in
using LM remedies..…”
6. Miasms in labour: A revision of the
homœopathic theory of the miasms, a process
towards health by Harry VAN DER ZEE. 2000.
Stitchting Alonnissos: Utrecht, Netherlands, Soft
bound, 176 pages. ISBN 90-74817-09-2. Review
by COLLINS, Deborah (HT. 22, 5/2002)
“…. In this book Harry VAN DER ZEE
endeavours to bring new insights to the unwieldy
theory of miasms ….”
7. Broken Glass and All by Al D. Squitieri Sr.
Authors Choice Press/iUniverse.com: Lincoln, NE
2001, Soft cover, 152 pages. $15.95 ISBN. 0-595-
17206-7. Review by Abigail MOORE. (HT. 22,
5/2002)
“… Al Squitieri, a patient cured of the
degenerating effects of Dermatomyositis, an auto
immune disease of the connective tissue, wrote the
book, to shout from the mountain tops that
Homeopathy had cured him with God’s blessing.
….”
8. Minerals in plants by Jan SCHOLTEN, ISDN
90-74817-06-8. 160 pages. Published by
Alonnissos, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Review by
Jan BOL (HL. 15,1/2002)
One of the thoughts that came to his mind was
to compare the plant’s mineral spectrum with its
homœopathic picture. A study on this theme is
now published by SCHOLTEN, showing the results
of an analysis done some years ago on the mineral
contents in plants.
It’s an experimental study with only 22
minerals analysed in 100 mostly not well-known
plants (like for instance Marrubium, Lespedeza,
Eugenia, Carica papaya and Ballota foetida). To
be honest, in 150 pages of lists and charts full of
test results, you’ll find more questions than
answers.
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XI. NEWS & NOTES
I. EDITORIAL. TESSLER, Neil (SIM. XVI,
1/2003). Great and ancient tales teach us that
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 28 of 216
imperfection and error are part of human condition
and when rightly apprehended become valuable
aids in our positive development. In our attempts
to achieve the very high ideal of cure, under one
circumstance or another, mistakes are made, which
sometimes become habits and eventually systems.
Conscientious practitioners will reflect on errors in
order to understand where and why they occurred
and learn to avoid them in future. In this issue the
author has offered his mistake to the examination of
his colleagues, mainly for broader discussion. It is
a nice beginning.
II. Incurable cases. DRAIMAN M. Review by
BLASS, Gabriel. Briefly discusses the concept of
incurability in relation to terminal illness. Three
terminal cases are discussed. Adeno carcinoma of
bladder treated with Conium, Carcinoma colon with
Arsenicum album and Alumina. A 70 year-old man
with advanced Arteriosclerosis with marked
Cerebral Atrophy, Pyelonephritis with Renal
failure, Cardiac failure, Diabetes, Dehydration and
Paralytic ileus and was constantly pulling at the
sheets. Starting with Hyoscyamus 30 he made an
amazing recovery and lived active life for 14 more
years.
The author’s conclusions are:
even if a condition itself appears not to be
reversible, much can be done for the well-
being of the person by administering the
simillimum, or palliation by prescribing a
remedy which covers the most troublesome
symptoms;
the effects of homœopathic treatment are
unpredictable and therefore incurability can
only be concluded in retrospect. Do not write
off a case because it appears difficult or
incurable;
use Homœopathy alongside suppressive
treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy
or surgery if they are unavoidable, it helps
decrease side effects, and may improve
prognosis;
surgery is acceptable in cases of Cancer in situ
or Cancers which are localized (without
metastasis, except to resolve mechanical
problems) but should be accompanied by
homœopathic treatment;
excising a Cancer in situ only removes the
lesion, the underlying state remains;
prescribe the constitutional remedy, alternating
with the current remedy and the miasmatic
remedy if necessary.
(Homeopatia 2001; 66: in HOMEOPATHY, 92,
1/2003)
III. Acute treatment of Haemorrhoids.
CASALE J.A. Review by Gabriel BLASS. He
deals with emergency treatment of Haemorrhoids
and suggests the following classification.
1. Congestion
a. Portal: (plethora in the lower half of the body)
Aesc., Aloe, Sep.
b. Pelvic: (congestion related to menses and
pregnancy) Am-c, Am-m, Coll
c. General: (tubercular miasm) Coll, Puls, Paeon
2. Venous tone
a. Atony: Aloe, Calc, Caust, Mur-ac, Sil
b. Spasm: Rat, Caps, Nit-ac
3. Alterations to anal wall: Ham, Nit-ac, Paen,
Phos, Rat, Sil
4. Digestive problems and autointoxication:
Caps, Nux-v, Sulph
The leading remedies in each category are
described in greater detail. (Homeopatia 2002; 67:
in HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003)
IV. Mother and child. FAINGOLD R. Review by
Gabriel BLASS. 15 day-old girl with generalized
rash, annular and vesicles on the margins, with
ravenous appetite. Mother had gestational Pruritus,
followed by Asthma after treatment. These
symptoms then began to alternate.
The mother-baby dynamic was considered as
single entity and Psorinum 30 in repeated doses
was given with significant improvement after 10
days. (Homeopatia 2002; 67: in
HOMŒOPATHY, 92, 1/2003)
V. Chronic veterinary case. FROMENT P. A
herd of goats had suffered recurrent abortions
between 4 and 5 months of pregnancy for 10 years.
Kalium iodatum 10M cured the tendency to
abortion throughout the flock. Some symptoms of
Kali iodatum were found in the herd’s owner.(Les
Echos du centre Liégeois d’Homéopathie 2002;
90: in HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003)
VI. Psychology of the allergic child: what
consequences for homœopathic treatment.
Review by COLIN P. The allergic child suffers
from two main psychic troubles: it cannot
distinguish between its self and others and has
problems either with mother or father (or both).
Problems between child and mother:
Pulsatilla, Lycopodium, Natrum muriaticum or
Magnesia muriatica.
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Problems between child and father: Magnesia
carbonica, Ammonium carbonicum, Arsenicum
album, Sepia, Ferrum metallicum or Lycopodium.
Children with too demanding parents may
correspond to Alumina, Argentum metallicum,
Calcarea silicata or Silicea.
L’Homéopathie Européene 2002; 4: in
HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003.)
VII. Translating a nonlinear systems theory
model for Homœopathy into empirical tests.
Review by BELL; BALDWIN and SCHWARTZ
G. In this lengthy and complex paper the authors
apply nonlinear systems theory (Chaos and
Complexity theory) to classical Homœopathy and
outline an empirical approach for testing their
resultant hypotheses. Nonlinearity means that the
output (patient response) is disproportionate to the
input (remedy ingested). It also refers to the patient
as being a nonlinear complex system.
The authors discuss Hering’s Law, propose
three empirical approaches, offer methodological
considerations, nonlinear analyses, and discuss
patterning of change, citing 103 references.
‘In conclusion, examining nonlinear analyses
of concomitant behavioral patterns, mood, and
physiological signals from specific subsystems of
the body (brain, heart, muscles, skin) over repeated
daily or monthly measurements may accurately
track the process and the sequence of healing that
homœopathic patients reportedly exhibit in the
course of treatment. Such research will require
multidisciplinary collaborations among
homœopathic clinicians, psychophysiologists, and
nonlinear complex systems researchers. This type
of research is now feasible and promises to open
valuable new directions for the scientific study of
Homeopathy and other energy medicine systems.’
(Alternatives Therapies in Health and Medicine
2002; 8(3) in HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003).
VIII. Cypripedium by PRAT J. Besides the well-
known symptoms, the main characteristics of
Cypripedium are: Hysteria in women suffering
from genito-urinary disorders or from drinking too
much coffee or tea, mild delirium tremens, chorea
and epilepsy, headaches of elderly people and
during the menopause climacteric, gout, the skin
symptoms resemble those of Rhus toxicodendron.
(Cahiers du Groupement Hahnemannien 2002; 3
in HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003).
IX. Nitricum acidum by BROUSSALIAN E.
An interesting comparative Materia Medica is set
out by the author. Like Hepar sulph, Nitricum
acidum is violent, sensitive to cold and has pains as
from splinters; Nitricum acidum has more warts and
cracks and less suppuration than Hepar sulph.
Nitricum acidum also has a lot of psychic features
in common with Natrum muriaticum: both are
irritable, sad, aggravated by consolation, constantly
think about the past. But Nitricum acidum is not
sensitive to music and is not ameliorated by
physical effort like Natrum muriaticum. Like
Lachesis, Kalium carbonicum, Arsenicum album or
Kalium arsenicosum, Nitricum acidum comes with
a very long and detailed list of his symptoms; but
Lachesis is more talkative, Kalium carbonicum is
more intellectual and wants above all to be precise;
Kalium arsenicosum is afraid of disease and
Arsenicum album is afraid of death.
In a last part, the well-known physical
symptoms of this medicine are recapitulated.
(Cahiers du Groupement Hahnemannien 2002; 2
in HOMEOPATHY, 92, 1/2003)
X. Lilium tigrinum by COQUILLARD G. In
the first section, a clinical case of a young man is
described: he had cephalalgias with palpitation and
lipothymia and felt very guilty about his sexual life.
After a description of the flower which is the
source of the medicine, there is a complete Materia
Medica. The main psychic symptoms are: hurry,
desire to do several things at once, undertakes many
things but perseveres in nothing; aversion to
company; foolish delusions about religion and
health; numerous fears; depression; religious
melancholia; aggravation by consolation. The
pains are characterized by their radiation (from
heart to back and right arm for example) and by
their alternations (alternation between mental and
physical symptoms, alternation between heart pains
and uterine and ovarian pains). Also the feeling of
bearing-down and the feeling as if heart were
grasped in a vice.
This medicine should be compared with
Staphysagria, which is less religious, and Sepia,
which has less sexual excitement. (Revue Belge
d’Homœopathie 2002; 3 in HOMEOPATHY, 92,
1/2003).
XI. Seminar Review: Using Homœopathy in
cases of Homelessness and Addiction; Seminar
of Maggie WHITTLE. Report by MANOGUE,
Annie (HOM. 86/2002). The two day course in
Manchester focussed especially on the treatment
and care of people who are addicted to drugs and/or
alcohol, many of whom are homeless.
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 30 of 216
The possible root causes of these addictions
such as pain and trauma at earlier stages in lives of
people were explored.
The overall sense of powerlessness is often
compensated for by exhibitions of
obsessive/compulsive behaviour and also by anger.
Emphasis was made on treating the top layer
first and dealing the cause at a later stage when the
relationship has been built.
The remedies used successfully for
drug/alcohol withdrawal are:
Arsenicum 1M repeated nightly, if the fear and
anxiety experienced is very strong.
Nux vomica and Sulphur to assist in the early
stage of withdrawal.
Alteration of Morphinum and Sulphur in
Heroin withdrawal.
Avena sativa can reduce the cravings for drugs
and alcohol and also help ease nervousness,
exhaustion and sleeplessness.
Quercus tends to create a distaste for alcohol
and reduces cravings.
Gelsemium is a useful remedy in the tired,
floppy phase of withdrawal.
Better results when homœopaths and
counsellors work together in certain cases.
XII. A meeting with Eileen NAUMAN– by David
WITKO (HOM. 86/2002) “NAUMAN explains the
concept of Metaphysics and its involvement with
Homeopathy. According to her, provings are often
incomplete and inaccurate.” [Which provings?
Hahnemann’s? Hering’s? Swan’s? This is a rash
statement =KSS]. “Observing the natural world
helps you gain a deeper understanding of the full
picture of a flower or plant.” [Would William
Wordsworth’s and my own, observations agree? =
KSS]
She pointed out the potential for difficulty if
the remedy we are prescribing (based on proving
symptoms) is not actually the remedy our
pharmacies are supplying to us.
Eileen NAUMAN was raised as an Eastern
Cherokee American Indian, exposed to
‘Metaphysical thinking as a normal way of life.
The use of herbs, gems, flowers and the laying-on-
of hands in order to heal is natural for her. [But
these are not Homœopathy=KSS]
XIII. Oncology Role of Oestrogen and
Insulin. Breast Cancer risk – size does matter.
(THE HINDU, 15 April 2004). Correlation of
Obesity and Breast Cancer is found only in Post-
menopause women.
Obese women experience an extended life long
exposure to Oestrogen’s effects as the fat tissue
continues to produce low levels of harmone.
The latest study of this positive link is
published in the Journal of the National Cancer
Institute. Confirmation comes from Harmone
Replacement studies where, Oestrogen given to
post menopausal women increased the incidence of
Breast Cancer.
Insulin and Cancer: Obese people tend to
release higher levels of Insulin and other harmones
into the bloodstream. This encourage cells to
divide more rapidly, which increases the chances of
random mutation and hence the risk of Cancer.
XIV. The President, National Center for
Homœopathy, USA. Todd ROWE writes: (HT. 22,
4/2002) How do I find a good homœopath? is one
of the most frequently asked questions at
homœopathic introductory talks. The time-honored
method is word of mouth. The recommendation
should be from someone you trust. If you are
seeking a practitioner, it is important to ask
questions. Important issues to consider include
fees, style of practice, years in practice, background
and training. The quality of relationship between
you and your homœopathic practitioner is essential.
Take the time to find the right homœopathic
practitioner for you.
XV. Julian WINSTON Editor of Homœopathy
Today refers to HL. 15, 1/2002 - the articles of
Jorg WICHMAN and José WAIZEL-BUCAY
where they discuss Hermetics and Signatures and
assigning Homœopathy to these. Much has been
written already that these are not Homeopathy. It
would do well for homœopaths to become well-
acquainted with the principles of Homœopathy
first, and then if they wish to explore the edges of
the homœopathic envelope, they do so with care,
understanding and caution and with recognition that
they were stepping outside the bounds of the
system. We should not take these new ideas as the
“whole” which displaces almost 200 years of
historical use of a great system of cure. (HT. 22,
4/2002)
XVI. A possible warning. ZKH Jan. 2002,
documents a case with supposed lethal
consequences following an uncontrolled repeated
ingestion of Arsenicum 6.
A 32 year-old female patient had taken
Arsenicum 6 tds for months till her death. Post-
mortem examination found high levels of arsenic in
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 31 of 216
blood and urine, although Liver and Kidney levels
were normal.
The article poses as many questions as it
answers. Those interested may see lightforce
Homeopathy’ email list (Editorial, HT. 22,
5/2002).
XVII Dr. Jeniffer JACOBS President, American
Institute of Homœopathy writes (AJHM. 96,
1/2003): ‘Reflections after Twentyfive Years of
Practice Dr. Jennifer studied with Dr. Frederic
SCHMIDT. The San Francisco Bay Area was alive
with Homeopathy. George VITHOULKAS also
taught a core group in the mid eighties, which
helped Jennifer to develop as a homœopath. “Since
that time Homœopathy has grown but not
flourished”. inspite of the many dedicated
people working hard for more than twenty years, it
seems at times that there has been little progress.
…. While other modalities of CAM
(Complementary and Alternative Medicine) have
become increasingly popular, Homeopathy seems
in danger of falling off the radar screen. In
spite of a growing body of evidence of
Homeopathy’s effectiveness, including the 1997
Lancet article that definitively showed a positive
treatment effect of Homœopathy over placebo, the
scientific mainstream continues to see
Homeopathy as “biologically implausible”. I
consider that Homœopathy is so revolutionary in its
concept that it cannot fit into the commercial and
popular notion of Complementary and
Alternative” or even worse “integrative” medicine.
Its time has not yet come. Homœopathy is not
something to be used as an adjunct to conventional
medicine,…. It cannot be marketed as a panacea for
a particular illness. It cannot be easily integrated
into the Conventional Health Care to be used
alongwith antibiotics, anti-hypertensives, etc.
Homeopathy by definition is diametrically opposed
to the concept of Allopathy. Modern medicine is
spiralling out of control and soon the system will
collapse upon itself.
Public awareness that the body and mind are
inseparable and that the body is not just a sum of its
parts, is increasing. Perhaps it will take much
longer time for Homœopathy to come fully on its
own. We, the homœopaths must be fully equipped
and ready when the call comes.
[One reason at the bottom of all the opposition
to Homeopathy is that it is not industry
promoting’ and not promote ‘consumerism’, not a
‘money spinner’. We need not work for
Homeopathy’s domination. We should, every one
of us, learn and practise better and better pure,
genuine Homeopathy and be vigilant that in the
garb of ‘innovations’, ‘insights’, etc. ideas which
are opposed to the basic principles do not take hold,
as they seem to have. “Success at all costs” is not
our motto. When it is said that the physician’s high
and only calling is to ‘cure’, HAHNEMANN did
not mean, as will be evident by the succeeding
aphorisms, “cure somehow, by any or all means”,
but only in the manner elucidated in the Organon.
= KSS]
XVIII. The Editor of Homœopathic Heritage,
Dr. Farokh J. MASTER writes (HH. 28, 1/2003)
lamenting the corrupt state of homœopathic
teaching in our Colleges, the conduct of the faculty
members, etc. [The Aegean stables must be cleaned
= KSS]
XIX. Interview with Jeremy SHERR by
Homœopathic Heritage. (HH. 28, 1-5/2003). This
is a lengthy Interview and covers all aspects of
Homeopathy. Some Extracts: Jeremy Sherr’s
father was a doctor. He went to England in 1980 to
study Homœopathy week end courses. He also
studied Acupuncture. He made hard determination
to study thoroughly. Although he completed his
Acupuncture course, he never practiced it. He
began his Practice in 1981, then studied with
George VITHOULKAS; Vassilis GHEGAS and
Roger MORRISON. He worked in
VITHOULKAS’s clinic for four days in a week.
Then went to Alonissos (Greece) a ‘Couple of
times’. In 1985 another teacher Joseph REEVES
from Israel taught him. “It took me to a new level
of understanding …..”
JEREMY then took to teaching. His Dynamic
School came in 1986. What I’m trying to do is
take the Philosophy, go deeper, take the remedies,
go deeper, take the cases, go deeper – rather than go
broader and acquire lots of knowledge on lot of
subjects.” Dynamis means Vital Force, but the
broader meaning is flexibility, the ability to change
[for the better = KSS]. There are much cross-over
points between Taoism and Homœopathy. When
you read Tao te Ching or Chuang Tsu, it’s like a
practical manual of Homœopathy [I agree. I too
have found it so. Repeated readings of Zen masters
enables deeper understanding of Homeopathy =
KSS.]
Basing prescriptions on the mind is not right
especially for the inexperienced. While ‘Mind’ is
the most fascinating it is also the ‘trickiest’. KENT
started his Materia Medica lectures mostly with
the ‘generals’ when you start with the ‘generals’
you are on firm footing. BOENNINGHAUSEN,
KENT methodologies were firm. KNERR, for
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 32 of 216
instance is good if the symptom exactly matches in
combination i.e. with the time and other modalities,
action, etc.
In case taking you have to get the big picture.
The totality must be full size. It also depends
whether you have a chronic case before you or an
urgent, acute one.
The basic books that are most often consulted
are the Organon, Chronic Diseases and all the
writings of KENT, and as for Materia Medica it is
ALLEN, BOERICKE, PHATAK. There are other
books too of course, CLARKE, TYLER etc. each
book has to be used for what it is good for.
There is lot of toxicological information rather
than ‘provings’ and we should know the difference
between ‘toxicological and ‘provings’. The way
additions are made rubrics, remedies needs to be
discussed. It is a mess. There are six, seven
different repertories and they’ve all been added to.
Everybody adds in a different way, everybody adds
with a different philosophy, with a different scoring
of what is black type, italics, low type; all mish-
mash. The perfect addition is of a symptom that
aggravated, ameliorated and then vanished for a
long time. We are adding too easily and loosely.
The rubrics are not thought about deeply enough;
remedies get added in ‘sense of isolation’ when
they may be they should be added in ‘estranged
from family’. Clinical information should be added
in low type. There is a big confusion whether we
are adding by frequency or intensity.
Remedy provings in a Seminar is worth only to
the extent that everybody get to experience the
remedy. But it is incomplete because it is
disregarding the stage of treatment the people are
in, the stage of their health, the proving
management. Refer §141: you should do a proving
“with all caution and care here enjoined”. One
thorough proving is worth 10 shallow provings.
Jeremy SHERR hopes to put on the Website
soon all his and other provings.
Jeremy SHERR discusses his provings of
Chocolate, Scorpion, Hydrogen, etc. However, he
feels that his main efforts were in post-graduate
education in Homœopathy. Homeopathy is a
lifelong study.
While the whole concept of Homœopathy is
based on provings it is strange that some
‘Homœopaths’ contest it. The ‘proof’ of the
‘Provings’ is in the application of it at the
‘bedside’. By for the best way of studying Materia
Medica is by study of the Provings which contain
the exact symptoms. ‘Provings are a gateway to
wisdom’ says HAHNEMANN.
Hahnemann’s discovery of treating epidemics
is totally radical and a stroke of pure genius. In this
both the individual and the collective, both are
brought into account; whether epidemic, endemic
or sporadic it becomes a whole entity. In this way
Homeopathy can take a whole company and
prescribe to the management and the individual.
XX. Hahnemann College of Homœopathy Video
Series. (HL. 15, 1/2002). Hahnemann College
Phone: 510-232-2079 fax: 510-339-7870. email:
hahnemann@igc.org
website: www.hahnemanncollege.com
Foundations of Homœopathic Theory Vol. I’
$395.00 US$ - 8 tapes. Foundations of Acute
Prescribing $395.00 US$ - 8 tapes, including
Dr.Morrison’s book. ‘The Desktop Companion to
Physical Pathology’ ‘Foundations of
Homœopathic Materia Medica Vol.I’ $595.00
US$ -12 tapes, including Dr. Morrison’s book
‘Desktop Guide to Keynotes and Confirmatory
Symptoms’. Review by David RILEY.
The HCH has become the gold standard for
Homeopathic education in the United States, if not
the world.
Under the editorial leadership of Jonathan
SHORE and with support from Roger
MORRISON; Nancy HERRICK; Deborrah
GORDON; Todd ROWE; Ana D’SHORE and
Robert and Judith REICHENBERG-ULLMAN,
they have put together a video training program
divided into three sections. The first section
consists of eight video tapes covering the theory of
Homeopathy.
The second section builds on the first with an
overview of acute conditions, in eight videotapes
ranging from injuries to pneumonia to disorders of
the gastrointestinal system.
The third section covers the Materia Medica
in twelve video tapes covering the major polycrests,
in the elegant and precise manner that has become
the trademark of the HCH.
This program is ideally suited for those with a
serious interest in understanding the practice of
Homeopathy.
--------------------------------------------------------------
LIST OF JOURNALS
Full addresses of the Journals covered by this
Quarterly Homœopathic Digest are given below:
-------------------------------------------------------------
1. AHZ: Allgemeine Homöopathische Zeitung,
Karl F. Haug Verlag, Hüthig GmbH, im
Weiher 10, 69121, HEIDELBERG,
GERMANY.
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 33 of 216
3. AJHM: American Journal of Homœopathic
Medicine formerly Journal of the American
Institute of Homœopathy (JAIH)
4. HH: The Homœopathic Heritage, B.Jain
Publishers, 1921 Chuna Mandi, Paharganj,
NEW DELHI – 110 055.
5. HL: Homeopathic Links, Homœopathic
Research and Charities, “Dinar”, 20 Station
Road, Santa Cruz(W), MUMBAI – 400 054.
6. HOM: The Homœopath, Journal of the
Society of Homœopaths, 2, Artizan Road,
BORTHAMPTON,N, 4HU, U.
7. HOMEOPATHY: Formerly British
Homeopathic Journal (BHJ), 2, Powis Place,
Great Ormond Street, LONDON, WC1N, 3HT,
U.K.
8. HT: Homœopathy Today, National Center for
Homeopathy, 801, North Fairfax Street, Suite
306, ALEXANDRIA, VA. 22314, USA.
9. RH: Revista De Homœpatia, Rua Estado de
Israel, 639 Cep 04022-001 SÃO Paulo
Brazil
10. SIM: Simillimum, The Journal of the
Homeopathic Academy of Naturopathic
Physicians, 11231 SE Market Street,
PORTLAND, OR 97216, USA.
11. THE HINDU: Newspaper , Chennai-600 002
12. ZKH: Zeitschrift für Klassische Homöopathie,
Karl F. Haug Verlag, HEIDELBERG,
GERMANY
.
--------------------------------------------------------------
“ . . . . There is no royal road to a perfect
understanding of the Materia Medica. It is tedious
and drudgery at best, but no more so than any great
science. Because of its greatness, many will fail to
undertake it even when it is for the saving of life
and lessening of suffering, yet many will not
decline to offer their services to the people knowing
full well and confessing ignorance openly that the
methods they offer are inadequate, useless, and
often destructive. Some profess not to believe in
this careful way of analyzing the symptomatology,
but if some easy method is offered for a pretended
mastery of it they wildly embrace it only to return
to their primitive repulsive mental aversion crying
out “sour grapes.”
The Materia Medica can be learned by careful
study and by using it. It can be understood but not
memorized. All who would memorize the Materia
Medica must ignominiously fail. To be constantly
at hand, it must be constantly and correctly used.
The continuous study of the Materia Medica by
the aid of a full repertory for comparison is the only
means of continuing in a good working knowledge.
To learn the Materia Medica, one must master
Hahnemann’s Organon, after which the
symptomatology and the Organon go “hand in
hand.” The Organon, the symptomatology, and a
full repertory must be the constant reference books,
if careful homœopathic prescribing is to be attained
and maintained.
All who wish to make a more extensive
examination of the reason for the methods used in
the work are referred to the chapter on VALUE OF
SYMPTOMS in the Lectures on HOMŒOPATHIC
PHILOSOPHY.”
Oct. 29, 1904 JAMES TYLER KENT
(From the ‘Preface to the First Edition’ of
‘LECTURES ON HOMŒOPATHIC
MATERIA MEDICA’)
--------------------------------------------------------------
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 34 of 216
PART II
(This section contains abstracts/extracts from selected articles; even the entire article in some cases)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Hering’s Law: Law, Rule or Dogma?
SAINE, Andre (SIM. VI, 4/1993)
Presented at the Second Annual Session of the Homœopathic Academy of Naturopathic Physicians in
Seattle, Washington, April 16-17, 1988.
INTRODUCTION
In Homeopathy today, Hering’s Law is widely recognized as the second Law of Cure, the first Law of
Cure being similia similibus curantur, or like cures like. Hering’s Law pertains to the direction in which
the symptoms of the patient will disappear during a cure under homœopathic treatment.
In his second lecture on homœopathic philosophy given in 1900 to the Post-Graduate School of
Homeopathics, KENT said:
The cure must proceed from centre to circumference. From centre to circumference is from above
downward, from within outwards, from more important to less important organs, from the head to the
hands and feet.
Every homœopathic practitioner who understands the art of healing, knows that the symptoms which
go off in these directions remain away permanently. Moreover, he knows that symptoms which disappear
in the reverse order of their coming are removed permanently. It is thus he knows that the patient did not
merely get well in spite of the treatment, but that he was cured by the action of the remedy. If a
homœopathic physician goes to the bedside of a patient and, upon observing the onset of the symptoms and
the course of the disease, sees that the symptoms do not follow this order after his remedy, he knows that
he has had but little to do with the course of things
1
.
Here KENT does not differentiate between acute and chronic disease in the application of the law. It is
reasonable to assume that, because of the lack of precision, he meant that all diseases, acute and chronic,
of venereal and non-venereal origin, would disappear in the direction described above.
When first studying Homœopathy, I listened to the teachers and read the “classic” modern works, and
assumed, like my fellow colleagues, that Hering’s Law had been an irrefutable fact recognized by HERING
and the many succeeding generations of homœopaths, and that all patients, acute and chronic, without an
exception, would, at
all times, be cured in the afore-mentioned directions under careful homœopathic treatment.
Later, as a practitioner, I carefully applied myself to putting the general homœopathic training I had
received to the test. Since then, I have been able to substantiate most but not all of the rules, principles and
laws contained in the homœopathic theory promulgated by several generations of homœopaths. [To the
extent one is able to substantiate the ‘Law of direction of Cure’ to that extent only one has mastered
homœopathic therapeutics. If one has been able to substantiate only in 30-40% of the cases, then one is
only 30-40% homœopath=KSS]
So far, however, I have been unable to substantiate Hering’s Law. Indeed, very rarely do I see, for
instance, in a patient with chronic Polyarthritis, the symptoms disappearing from the head first and then to
the hands and feet. More often, the pain and other joint symptoms disappear in the reverse order of their
appearance, even if it is from below upwards. In other words, if the arthritis manifested itself, as may
happen at times, first in the knees and then in the ankles, the ankles would get better before the knees.
Or in a patient affected by a complex of essentially functional complaints such as fatigue, anxiety,
irritability, difficult digestion, joint pain and acne, rarely would I see the disappearance of the emotional
disturbance first, then the poor digestion, followed by the joint pain and, lastly, the acne. With the
simillimum most symptoms begin to improve simultaneously and disappear in the reverse order of their
appearance, and not necessarily from above downwards and from inside outwards. In fact it is not
uncommon that in such cases the acne, the last to have appeared will disappear readily and the emotional
state (the oldest symptom) will be the last to completely disappear.
While treating a patient with an acute febrile disease that had progressed in the first stage from chills to
fever, then to perspiration and lastly to weakness, I would observe a rapid and gentle recovery but without
the patient re-experiencing the perspiration, then the fever and lastly the chills. While recovering from
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 35 of 216
acute diseases under homœopathic treatment, the patient does not re-experience the original symptoms one
by one in the reverse order of their appearance. Many more troublesome exceptions, similar to the above,
could be cited.
What was wrong with Hering’s Law as quoted above from Kent’s Lectures on Homœopathic
philosophy? Had I misunderstood the law? According to Webster’s dictionary, a law is defined as a
sequence of events that occurs with unvarying uniformity, whereas a rule permits exceptions, and a dogma
rests on opinion. Was this lack of confirmation of the said law due to “suppressive” Homœopathic
treatment as suggested by a number of theoretical, and perhaps dogmatic, Homœopaths? If so, why had
these so called “purists” not stood up and proven that all their cured cases followed the said law? To my
knowledge this proof had not been forthcoming. Was I the only practitioner in this position?
I questioned teachers and colleagues, some with many years of experience. Few could answer my
questions and none were able to substantiate from their own experience that, without the shadow of a
doubt, Hering’s Law was a true law of nature. It seemed as if most were in the same situation as me; even
the supposed “purists” would, in private, discuss the matter. It seemed that we had all experienced classic
cases of cure from above downwards, from within outwards, from more to less important organs and in the
reverse order of appearance of symptoms, but that these absolutely “perfect” cases were only occasional.
The majority of cured cases did not fulfill all four criteria cited. [which means these were not ‘cures’=KSS]
I decided to go back to the sources.
On the one hand, neither KENT, in his Lectures on Homœopathic Philosophy of 1900, nor STUART
CLOSE in The Genius of Homœopathy of 1924, nor HERBERT ROBERTS in The Principles and Art
of Cure by Homœopathy of 1936, refer to it, while discussing the above law, as Hering’s Law
1-3
. None of
these three authors makes any reference to HERING in their lectures on the Law of Direction of Cure. On
the other hand, GARTH BOERICKE, in A Compend of the Principles of Homœopathy of 1929, refers to
it as Hering’s rule but not as a law
4
.
Confusing, isn’t it? Did HERING ever formulate a law on the direction of cure? If he did so, was it a
law or a rule, and why was his name not clearly associated with it? Why was the literature so ambiguous?
At this point, I realized that the sources had to be explored further. The answers would all have to be
within the literature of the nineteenth century. After a thorough examination of this literature I have so far
been unable to find any of Hering’s famous contemporaries and close colleagues discussing or making any
reference to a law of direction of cure. Writings of BOENNINGHAUSEN, JAHR, JOSLIN, P.P. WELLS,
LIPPE, H.N. GUERNSEY, DUNHAM, E.A.FARRINGTON, H.C.ALLEN, NASH, etc., were all silent.
When HERING died in 1880, colleagues all over the world assembled to pay tribute to the great
Homeopath. His many accomplishments were recalled. Strangely, none made any mention of a law of
direction of cure promulgated by HERING
5
. ARTHUR EASTMAN, a student who was close to HERING
during the venerable Homœopath’s last three years, published in 1917 a Life and Reminiscences of Dr.
Constantine Hering also without mention of a law pertaining to direction of cure
6
. CALVIN KNERR,
Hering’s son-in-law, published in 1940, sixty years after Hering’s death, the Life of Hering, a compilation
of biographical notes
7
. Again no mention is made of the famous law.
Not only confusing, but also puzzling. Obviously, the sources had to be explored further. Here are the
fruits of this exploration.
THE HISTORY RELATING TO THE FORMULATION OF HERING’S LAW
A:HAHNEMANN – 1811
With the first publication of his Materia Medica in 1811, HAHNEMANN inaugurated a new
arrangement of the symptoms: from above downwards, from inside outwards, but also from the parts to the
generals.
B:HAHNEMANN – 1828
In 1828, HAHNEMANN published his first observations and theories on chronic diseases
8
. I
summarize here the points most pertinent to the present discussion:
All diseases, acute and chronic of non-venereal origin, come from the original malady, called Psora.
(page 7)
A skin eruption is the first manifestation of Psora. (page 38)
The skin eruption acts as a substitute for the internal Psora (page 11) and prevents the breaking out of
the internal disease. (page13)
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The more the skin eruption spreads the more it keeps the internal manifestations of Psora latent. (page
40)
But when the skin eruption is suppressed with an external application or by other influences the latent
Psora goes unnoticed and its internal manifestation increases. Then (page 12) “it originates a legion of
chronic diseases.” Incidentally, for HAHNEMANN, a suppressed skin eruption is not driven into the body,
as it was popularly thought in his time, and even today by most homœopaths; it is rather that the Vital
Force is compelled “to effect a transference of a worse form of morbid action to other and more important
parts.” (Introduction to the Organon of Medicine, p. 62)
9
Latent Psora, an abnormal susceptibility to disease, will manifest itself as severe diseases after
exposure to stress (or, as he calls it, unfavorable conditions of life), acute infections, trauma and injuries,
exhaustion from overworking, lack of fresh air or exercise, frustration, grief, poor nutrition, etc., and by
“incorrect and weakening allopathic treatment.” (page 48)
During the treatment of chronic diseases of non-venereal origin with antipsoric remedies, the last
symptoms are always the first to disappear, “but the oldest ailments and those which have been most
constant and unchanged, among which are the local ailments, are the last to give way.” (page 135)
If old symptoms return during an antipsoric treatment, it means that the remedy is affecting Psora at its
roots and will do much for its thorough cure. If a skin eruption appears during the treatment while all other
symptoms have so far improved, the end of the treatment is close (page 135).
C: HAHNEMANN – 1833 - 43
In paragraphs 161 and 248 of the fifth and sixth edition of the Organon of Medicine, of 1833 and
1842 respectively, HAHNEMANN says that in the treatment of old and very old chronic disease,
aggravation of the original disease does not appear if the remedy is accurately chosen and given in the
appropriate small doses, which are only gradually increased. “When this is done, these exacerbations of the
original symptoms of the chronic disease can appear only at the end of the treatment, when the cure is
complete or nearly complete.” The original symptoms of a chronic disease should be the last to aggravate
or become more prominent before disappearing
10
.
In paragraph 253 of the same work, the author states that in all diseases, especially in quickly arising
(acute) ones, of all the signs that indicate a small beginning of improvement (or aggravation) that are not
visible to everyone, the psychic condition of the patient and his general demeanor are the most certain and
revealing.
In paragraph 225, HAHNEMANN states that some psychic diseases are not the extension of physical
disease but, “instead, with only slight physical illness, they arise and proceed from the psyche, from
persistent grief, resentment, anger, humiliation and repeated exposure to fear and fright. In time such
psychic diseases often greatly harm the physical health.” In other words, HAHNEMANN had recognized
the existence of psychosomatic diseases, those diseases which progress from within outwards and from
above downwards.
This is the background that now leads us to HERING, who, among all Hahnemann’s students, was
most similar to him. Like HAHNEMANN, HERING was a true scientist who rigorously adopted the
inductive method in his scientific pursuits.
D: Hering – 1845
In 1845, HERING published, in the preface to the first American edition of Hahnemann’s Chronic
Diseases, an extract of an essay which was never subsequently published elsewhere, entitled “Guide to the
Progressive Development of Homœopathy.” In this essay, HERING writes:
Every homœopathic physician must have observed that the improvement in pain takes place from
above downward; and in diseases, from within outward. This is the reason why chronic diseases, if they are
thoroughly cured, always terminate in some cutaneous eruption, which differs according to the different
constitutions of the patients.
The thorough cure of a widely ramified chronic disease in the organism is indicated by the most
important organs being first relieved; the affection passes off in the order in which the organs had been
affected, the more important being relieved first, the less important next, and the skin last. (page 7)
Even the superficial observer will not fail in recognizing this law of order.
This law of order which we have pointed out above, accounts for numerous cutaneous eruptions
consequent upon homœopathic treatment, even where they never had been seen before; it accounts for the
obstinacy with which many kinds of Herpes and Ulcers remain upon the skin, whereas others are dissipated
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like snow. Those which remain, do remain because the internal disease is yet existing. …It lastly accounts
for one cutaneous affection being substituted for another
11
. (page 8)
Here HERING assumes that all chronic diseases (it is likely that he is referring here to diseases of
psoric origin, i.e., non-venereal) progress from less to more important organs and disappear in the reverse
order. This is compatible with Hahnemann’s theory that all chronic diseases of non-venereal origin
manifest themselves first on the skin then internally.
E: Hering – 1865
It seems that HERING did not further elaborate on this subject, at least in the American literature, until
twenty years later. In 1865, he published an article in the first volume of The Hahnemannian Monthly
entitled “Hahnemann’s three rules concerning the rank of symptoms.” HERING states in this article that:
The quintessence of Hahnemann’s doctrine is, to give in all chronic diseases, i.e., such as progress
from without inwardly, from the less essential parts of our body to the more essential, from the periphery to
the central organs, generally from below upwards to give in all such cases, by preference, such drugs as
are opposite in their direction, or way of action, such as act from within outward, from up downward, from
the most essential organs to the less essential, from the brain and the nerves outward and down to the most
outward and the lowest of all organs, to the skin. …All the antipsoric drugs of HAHNEMANN have this
peculiarity as the most characteristic; the evolution of their effects from within towards without. (page 6-7)
HAHNEMANN states, in his treatise on Chronic Diseases, American translation p.171: Symptoms
recently developed are the first to yield. Older symptoms disappear last. Here we have one of
Hahnemann’s general observations, which like all of them, is of endless value, a plain, practical rule and
of immense importance.
The above rule might also be expressed in the following words: In diseases of long standing, where
the symptoms or groups of symptoms have befallen the sick in a certain order, succeeding each other, more
and more being added from time to time to those already existing, in such cases this order should be
reversed during the cure; the last ought to disappear first and the first last. (page 7-8)
13
It is very clear here that HERING makes no mention of a law but rather of a rule, that the symptoms
ought to disappear in the reverse order of their appearance during the homœopathic treatment of patients
with chronic disease of psoric origin, the ones that progress from without inwardly, from less important to
more important organs and generally from below upwards.
F: Hering – 1875
In 1875, HERING published the first volume of Analytical Therapeutics of the Mind in which he
stated that (page 24) only such patients remain well and are really cured, who have been rid of their
symptoms in the reverse order of their development.”
14
Here HERING makes no mention of the three other
propositions regarding the direction of cure: from above downwards, from within outwards and from the
more important to the less important organs. Why? Were they considered now not to be just as important
in evaluating the direction of cure, as had been stated in previous years? [No. Diseases travel without
within, less important to more important…. Reverse order means, within without, etc. These need not be
repeatd in full every time=KSS]
In the same work, HERING also explains that he adopted Hahnemann’s arrangement of the Materia
Medica (p.21): “First inner symptoms, then outer ones. This order we have now uniformly preserved
throughout the whole work.” In explaining why he adopted this arrangement he says: “The arrangement as
well as the style of printing, has the one object especially in view, viz.: to make it as easy as possible for the
eye, and through the eye, for the mind to find what is looked for.” He makes no mention of this
arrangement corresponding to a direction of cure, as has been suggested by some homœopaths. [Should he
keep repeating the ‘direction of Cure again and again ad nauseum?]
G: The origin of the term “Hering’s law
As it seems never to have been mentioned in the literature during Hering’s time, where does the term
“Hering’s Law” come from? The earliest mention I have been able to find in the homœopathic literature
dates from 1911, in an article published by KENT in the first volume of the Transactions of the Society of
Homœopathicians called “Correspondence of Organs, and the Direction of Cure.” KENT writes:
HERING first introduced the law of direction of symptoms: from within out, from above downward, in
reverse order of their appearance. It does not occur in Hahnemann’s writings. It is spoken of as Hering’s
Law. There is scarcely anything of this law in the literature of Homœopathy, except the observation of
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symptoms going from above to the extremities, eruptions appearing on the skin and discharges from the
mucous membranes or ulcers appearing upon the legs as internal symptoms disappear.
There is non-specific assertion in the literature except as given in the lectures on philosophy at the
Post-Graduate School.
15
It is reasonable to assume that KENT was the one that officialized the term “Hering’s Law” and so
inadvertently popularized the concept of an already existing, clear and precise law of direction of cure. By
using the name of HERING it is reasonable to say that KENT thus created false and misleading historical
assumptions. Since H.C. ALLEN had died two years previously (1909), the profession, at least in North
America, had no other leaders able to refute KENT and defend the classic Hahnemannian tradition.
In this same article, KENT says that in the course of treatment of a patient suffering with a psychic
disease of the Will (problems of affections, grief, anger, jealousy, etc.), the heart or liver will be affected as
the treatment progresses. While in a patient suffering from a mental disease (problems of the intellect), the
stomach or the kidney will be affected during appropriate homœopathic treatment. Were these comments
on the direction of cure and correspondence of organs based on Kent’s impeccable and meticulous
observations or, rather, was he formulating hypotheses? He does not explain further; however he does
mention, later in the same paper, that “through familiarity with SWEDENBORG, I have found the
correspondences wrought out from the Word of God harmonious with all I have learned in the past thirty
years. Familiarity with them aids in determining the effect of prescriptions.”
15
Nowhere was I able to find in the writings of KENT, including a collection of not yet republished
lesser writings, any other mention of Hering’s Law as to the direction of cure.
Discussion and Conclusion
First let us briefly review the highlights of what has so far been demonstrated:
- Between 1828 and 1843, HAHNEMANN enunciated his theories of chronic diseases and described
his observations and rules about the progression and resolution of these chronic diseases. One key point of
his theory is that a skin eruption is the first manifestation of Psora, which is the source of all chronic
diseases of non-venereal origin. In chronic disease the presenting symptoms of the patient (“those ailments
which have been most constant and unchanged”) may aggravate and will disappear in the reverse order of
their appearance with the correct antipsoric remedies in the correct posology. Possibly, old symptoms may
return during an antipsoric treatment. In all diseases, if after a homœopathic remedy the psychic symptoms
are the first to improve or aggravate, it is a most certain sign of curative change. For HAHNEMANN this
improvement from the inside to the outside was not a law but rather a most certain sign of curative change.
Finally, not all diseases progress from outside in, and certain diseases (psychosomatic diseases) can
progress from inside out.
- In 1845, in a work never to be published, HERING enunciated the original observations of
HAHNEMANN as a law of order. In this law he mentions essentially four points, - that “the improvement
in pain takes place from above downward; and in diseases, from within outward. Chronic diseases if
thoroughly cured, always terminate in some cutaneous eruption ,” and, lastly, that “the thorough cure of a
widely ramified chronic disease in the organism is indicated by the most important organs being first
relieved; the affection passes off in the order in which the organs had been affected, the most important
being relieved first, the less important next, and the skin last.” As a reader I do not clearly sense that
HERING is officially proclaiming the original observations of HAHNEMANN as an absolute law but
rather is stating that there is a “law of order” during a curative process. I was unable, also, to find HERING
or any of his contemporaries make any further reference to Hering’s unpublished work or to a law of
direction of cure.
- In 1865, HERING described these observations not as a law but as Hahnemann’s general
observations or as plain practical rules. Essentially he emphasizes the proposition that the symptoms
should disappear in the reverse order of their appearance during the treatment of patients with chronic
psoric diseases.
- In 1875, HERING now discussed only one proposition - that the symptoms will disappear in the
reverse order of their appearance. The three other propositions are now not mentioned at all.
- All the illustrious contemporaries of HERING seem to remain silent on this point, at least according
to my review of the literature.
- In 1911, KENT, almost arbitrarily, calls the original observations of HAHNEMANN, “Hering’s
Law.”
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- Subsequently, with Kent’s powerful influence, most modern works and presentations on
Homeopathy begin to declare Hering’s Law as an established fact and seem to assume that it has been
thoroughly verified, although no author from then until now, to my knowledge, has so far been able to
substantiate what each is repeating from the other. Here is one clear sign which indicates how profoundly
the Homœopathic profession of today has been cut off from its original and most essential sources. During
the years of its decline in the U.S.A., the profession gradually slid into discontinuity with its original
foundations and started to rely more and more on a neo-foundation dating back to the turn of the present
century. Each new generation of homœopaths has readily accepted Hering’s Law as a perfect law of cure
and so unintentionally perpetuated a misleading assumption. For students it is an attractive concept but we
clinicians must stand up and report our observations even if they are contrary to the teachings we have
received.
From a review of the literature, it seems unlikely that the law formulated by KENT in 1911 is a fair
representation of Hering’s overall understanding of the direction of cure, and that neither KENT nor
anyone else has been able thus far to demonstrate clinically that the original observations of
HAHNEMANN in fact constituted a perfect law of nature. But if we assume, for a moment, that the law
formulated by KENT is true, would all symptoms then have to disappear, not only in the reverse order of
their appearance, but also from above downwards, from within outwards and from more important to less
important organs?
Compliance with this law would require that all diseases, to be curable, must proceed from outside
inwards, from below upwards and from less important to more important organs. Many acute diseases and
a whole list of chronic diseases, such as psychosomatic diseases and others that develop from within
outwards (for example, cases of Arthritis followed by Psoriasis), or diseases that develop from above
downwards (as in certain cases of Polyarthritis), would then theoretically be incurable. Or (since we know
this not to be the case) they are curable, but represent notable exceptions to Kent’s formulation of a law of
direction of cure.
In many cases of chronic disease the direction of disappearance of symptoms will contradict at least
one of the four propositions. I assume we are all agreed that the enunciation of a law must be based on
impeccable observations. A law, if it is to be called a law, must explain all observable phenomena with
regard to the direction of cure. The use of limited, or even selected, clinical phenomena to confirm a
supposed law is unacceptable. This, however, appears to be the approach taken by certain homœopaths
who, in their attempts to defend pure” Homœopathy, subscribe to the position that if what is observed is
contrary to Hering’s law, as formulated by KENT, then this can only be due to poor prescribing, and that
such courses of treatment are suppressive at times, palliative at best, and surely never curative. For them
what is wrong is not the law but, rather, the prescription: “the simillimum was not given.” [It is not a sine-
qua-non that in every disease all the four directions’ must be gone through. That there are many disease
processes which develop from above downwards is well known. The direction of cure is from within to
without first healing the more important or vital organs. This understanding would settle the issue=KSS]
Personally, I use, and can daily confirm, the original observations of HAHNEMANN concerning the
direction of cure and have found them extremely helpful in evaluating the evolution both of diseases and of
cure, but I have not been able to substantiate the status of these observations as law, and have not yet found
a colleague with such substantiation. I use them as plain, practical rules. I would resent it if, at the end of
my career, probably at a time when Homœopathy had achieved a broad degree of acceptance, a group of
objective scientists clinically investigated the validity of Hering’s Law and later reported to the
homœopathic community that there were numerous exceptions not abiding to our idealistic conception or
dogma. The supposed law would then become only “a plain, practical rule.” Similarly, I would resent
having a group of scientists say that, for the last hundred or more years, the Homœopathic profession had
been blindly erring in assuming that Hering’s law was an irrefutable fact.
Three of the plagues that have hindered the growth of Homœopathy are dogmatism, idolatry and
diversion from the inductive method. In his last address to the profession, in an article published in the
August 1880 issue of the North American Journal of Homeopathy, HERING warned us that “if our school
ever gives up the strict inductive method of HAHNEMANN we are lost, and deserve to be mentioned only
as a caricature in the history of medicine.”
19
The tendency within medicine to rationalize medical practice
has also constantly threatened Homeopathy. HAHNEMANN, who had a thorough understanding of the
history of medicine, knew that the only sure way was based upon the experimental method. HERING
demonstrated the same rigor. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same of KENT.
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Let us then begin carefully observing and reporting any facts that would help to perfect Hahnemann’s
original observations. If a direction of cure can be expressed in that most rigorous of forms, a law, then so
be it. In the absence of any such demonstration, it should remain “a plain, practical rule.” The law, that we
suspect, still needs to be correctly formulated.
At present, it seems appropriate to refer to these observations as rules for the direction of cure.
[HERING called it ‘Rule’. In a subsequent essay he wrote the Rule of the sides=KSS] To refer to these as
Hahnemann’s or Hering’s rules may further prolong the confusion. From my personal experience, it
appears that the four rules are not applicable to all cases and also that there is a hierarchy among them, i.e.,
that they do not have equal value. The first indication that a disease is being cured under homœopathic
treatment is that the presenting and reversible symptoms of the disease will disappear in the reverse order
of their appearance.
This confirms the observations pointed out originally and plainly by HAHNEMANN in The Chronic
Diseases, and later by HERING in 1865 and 1875. This means that during the treatment of patients
suffering with chronic diseases of non-venereal origin, and at times also with acute diseases, the presenting
symptoms of the patient’s chronic disease (as opposed to those symptoms resulting essentially from gross
errors of living) will disappear in the reverse order of their appearance. Thus, presenting symptoms that
have developed in the order, A B C D E, seem consistently to disappear in the order, E D C B A. This rule
seems to have supremacy over the other three rules, that is, from more important to less important organs,
from within outwards and from above downwards.
The word “presenting” is here emphasized in order to state perfectly clearly that the symptoms that
will disappear in the reverse order of their appearance are only the presenting symptoms , and that it is not
at all to be expected that every ailment experienced by the patient in his past will again be re-experienced
under homœopathic treatment. In fact only a few of these old symptoms and conditions will reappear
during any homœopathic treatment, and these are usually the ones that have unmistakably, by whatever
influence, been suppressed. Beside antipathic treatments that suppress both symptoms and the normal
functions of the organism (for example, perspiration or menses), there are other measures that cause
suppression of symptoms: firstly, dissimilar diseases, either natural or artificial; secondly, external
influences like the cold, (e.g., suppressed menses from getting the feet wet); and thirdly, internal influences
that cause the person to suppress emotions such as anger or grief.
This rule concerning cure in the reverse order of appearance of the presenting and reversible symptoms
of the disease is the most important of the four as it is observable in almost all cases. The importance of
this rule is well emphasized by HERING in 1865 when he mentions that:
This rule enables the Hahnemannian artist not only to cure the most obstinate chronic diseases, but also
to make a certain prognosis when discharging a case, whether the patient will remain cured or whether the
disease will return, like a half-paid creditor, at the first opportunity.
13
The second most important (applicable) rule in the hierarchy is that cure will proceed from more
important to less important organs. Third in importance is the rule that cure will proceed from within
outwards. The fourth rule, least important and least often observable, is that the cure will proceed from
above downwards. Hahnemann’s observation that, of all the signs that indicate any small beginning of
improvement, the psychic condition of the patient and his general demeanor are the most certain and
revealing, is to be seen as the source of the last three rules. The very beginning of improvement is
indicated by a sense of greater ease, composure, mental freedom, higher spirits, and returning
naturalness.”
10
This original observation by HAHNEMANN (paragraph 253), which still holds, does not
contradict the first rule because the first sign of improvement can be, and often is, different from the
symptom that may first disappear.
Consequent upon Hahnemann’s theory that all diseases, acute and chronic, of non-venereal origin,
come from the original malady called Psora and that its first manifestation is a skin eruption, it would
follow that all cases of chronic disease must, to be completely cured, develop a skin eruption. As it appears
impossible to prove this, it should be used at best as a working hypotheses and not as a law. For a law to
maintain its status as law it must be demonstrable without exception. In the preface to the fourth volume of
The Chronic Diseases HAHNEMANN puts forward a clear opinion concerning the role of the physician
as theorist when he writes:
I furnished, indeed, a conjecture about it (on how the cure of diseases is effected), but I did not desire
to call it an explanation, i.e., a definite explanation of the modus operandi. Nor was this at all necessary,
for it is only incumbent upon us to cure similar symptoms correctly and successfully, according to a law of
nature (similia similibus curantur)[In his Preface HAHNEMANN does not mention ‘similia similibus
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curantur’ but just mentions law of nature=KSS] which is being constantly confirmed; but not to boast with
abstract explanations, while we leave the patients uncured; for that is all which so-called physicians have
hitherto accomplished.
8
I would like to end this thesis with some pertinent sentences form Constantine HERING. In 1879, in
the last two paragraphs to the preface of his last work, The Guiding Symptoms of our Materia Medica,
he writes:
It has been my rule through life never to accept anything as true, unless it came as near mathematical
proof as possible in its domain of science; and, on the other hand, never to reject anything as false, unless
there was stronger proof of its falsity.
Some will say, “but so many things – a majority of all observations – will thus remain between the two
undecided.” So they will; and can it be helped? It can, but only by accumulating most careful observations
and contributing them to the general fund of knowledge.
20
And finally HERING wrote in 1845, in the preface to Hahnemann’s Chronic Diseases (page 9):
It is the duty of all of us to go farther in the theory and practice of Homœopathy than HAHNEMANN
has done. We ought to seek the truth which is before us and forsake the errors of the past.
11
REFERENCES
1. KENT J.T. Lectures of Homœopathic Philosophy. 2
nd
edition. Chicago: Ehrhart & Karl, 1929.
2. CLOSE S. The Genius of Homœopathy. Philadelphia: Boericke & Tafel, 1924.
3. ROBERTS H.A. The Principles and Art of Cure by Homœopathy. 2
nd
revised edition. Rustington:
Health Science Press, 1942.
4. BOERICKE G. A Compendium of the Principles of Homeopathy for Students in Medicine.
Philadelphia: Boericke & Tafel, 1929.
5. RAUE C.G., KNERR C.B., MOHR C, editors. A memorial of Constantine Hering. Philadelphia:
Press of Globe Printing House, 1884.
6. EASTMAN A.M. Life and Reminiscences of Dr. Constantine Hering. Philadelphia: Published by
the family for private circulation, 1917.
7. KNERR C.B. Life of Hering. Philadelphia: The Magee Press, 1940.
8. HAHNEMANN S.C. The Chronic Diseases. Translated by LH Tafel. Philadelphia: Boericke & Tafel,
1896.
9. HAHNEMANN S.C. Organon of Medicine. Translated by W. Boericke. Philadelphia: Boericke &
Tafel, 1922.
10.HAHNEMANN S.C. Organon of Medicine. Translated by J. Künzli. Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher,
1982.
11.HERING C. Preface: HAHNEMANN S.C. The Chronic Diseases. Translated by C.J.Hempel. New
York: William Radde, 1845.
12.HERING C. Preface: the first American edition, Organon of Homœopathic Medicine. New York:
William Radde, 1836.
13.HERING C. Hahnemann’s Three Rules Concerning the Rank of Symptoms. Hahnemannian
Monthly 1865; 1:5-12.
14. HERING C. Analytical Therapeutics of the Mind. Volume 1. Philadelphia: Boericke & Tafel, 1875.
15. KENT J.T. Correspondence of Organs, and Direction of Cure. Trans. Soc. Homeopathicians
1911;1:31-33.
16. MASTIN J.M. Editorial. Critique 1908; 15: 277-278.
17. MASTIN J.M. Editorial. Critique 1907; 14: 228-229.
18. ALLEN H.C. Timely and Valuable. Medical Advance 1888; 21: 184.
19. HERING C. Apis. North American Journal of Homœopathy 1880; 29:29-35.
20. HERING C. The Guiding Symptoms of our Materia Medica. Volume 1. Philadelphia: The
American Publishing Society, 1879.
----------------------------------------------------
2. Hering’s Law revisited
CURRIM, Ahmed (SIM. XVI, 1/2003)
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In the Winter’ 1993 issue of Simillimum, Andre Saine wrote an article: Hering’s Law: Law, Rule or
Dogma? He quotes JAMES TYLER KENT: paragraph 7, Lecture II, Lectures on Homœopathic
philosophy wherein KENT makes a statement about Hering’s Law.
KENT writes: “The first of man is his voluntary and the second of man is his understanding, the last of
man is his outermost; from his center to his circumference, to his organs, his skin, hair, nails, etc. This
being true, the cure must proceed from center to circumference. From center to circumference is from
above downward, from within outwards, from more important to less important organs, from the head to
the hands and feet. Every homœopathic practitioner who understands the art of healing knows that the
symptoms which go off in these directions remain away permanently. Moreover, he knows that symptoms
which disappear in the reverse order of their coming are removed permanently. It is thus he knows that the
patient did not merely get well in spite of the treatment, but that he was cured by the action of the remedy.”
Hering’s Law is a guide that demonstrates to the homœopathic physician whether or not his patient is
getting better under the chosen treatment. SAINE says, “So far I have been unable to substantiate Hering’s
Law.” He gives an example of chronic Poly-arthritis wherein he rarely sees symptoms disappearing from
the head and then to the hands and feet. More often, the pain and other joint symptoms disappear in the
reverse order of their appearance, even if it is from below upwards.
According to elementary logic, one would apply the quantifier “or” which stands for “and/or
wherever there are commas. Thus Hering’s Law is to be read:
“Diseases get well:
1. from within outwards and/or
2. above downwards and/or
3. in the reverse order of the appearance of symptoms.”
In the language of logic these are “sufficient conditions”, namely that whenever either one or more of
the three conditions stated after the words “Diseases get well” are fulfilled then the statement becomes true.
The English language often leads to paradoxes in mathematics and is unsuitable to logic as was shown by
several mathematicians (for example RUSSELL, GOEDEL). In this second way of stating Hering’s Law
there is no discord with the law. Hering’s Law does not say that the disease is not getting well if the
negation of even one of the conditions is true. In the language of mathematical logic the three conditions
are not “necessary conditions when the statement “Diseases get well” is true. What this means is that
diseases getting well does not imply that any one of the three conditions is a true statement. In fact the
patient may feel internally better, namely more relaxed mentally etc. and yet the ankles got better first. In
which case Hering’s Law is verified again, namely the sufficient condition of the internal improvement
holds and the patient is better.
SAINE and perhaps most practitioners not familiar with mathematical logic make this very common
mistake in which they get confused and think that “sufficient conditions” are also “necessary conditions”.
Once we clarify the difference between “necessary” conditions and “sufficient conditions” we will be better
able to read and understand statements in the English language.
Furthermore in disease we are dealing with biological phenomena. In this context, the word “law” is not
necessarily of the sharp exactness of mathematical theorems and equations or the laws of physics.
Looking upon Hering’s Law as a lamp in the darkness to show us the way is far more useful than hair-
splitting over the use of words such as law, rule or dogma. In the case of Poly-arthritis cited the patient that
is getting better is in more cheerful spirits, hence he is better in his Will. In the second case that SAINE
gives of a complex of functional complaints wherein the simillimum improves most of the complaints, is
again a verification of Hering’s Law, recognizing that the three conditions of Hering’s Law are sufficient
conditions with the quantifier and/or.
In the third case of recovery from acute febrile disease and the patient not re-experiencing the original
symptoms there is still no violation of Hering’s Law. The disease got well and the patient did not have to
fulfill any of the three conditions posed after the words “Diseases get well”. Thus we can be sure that if
any of the three conditions hold then the patient will get well. If the patient gets well he does not have to
pass through any of the conditions of the statement.
SAINE further says that he has extensively researched the homœopathic literature. “Writings of
BOENNINGHAUSEN, JAHR, JOSLIN, P.P.WELLS, LIPPE, H.N.GUERNSEY, DUNHAM,
E.A.FARRINGTON, H.C.ALLEN, NASH etc. were all silent.” This is false as the article of LIPPE
reproduced below shows that LIPPE was well aware of this law. SAINE further attacks Kent’s reputation
on several points, and accuses KENT of being non-scientific. I wish further to prove conclusively that
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KENT, in fact, gave due credit to HERING whom KENT greatly admired and named this law as Hering’s
Law.
First though let us see what HAHNEMANN himself writes on page 119 of The Chronic Diseases:
“For if the symptoms occurring during the action of the remedy have also occurred, if not in the last
few weeks, at least now and then some weeks before, or some months before in a similar manner, then such
occurrences are merely a homœopathic excitation, through the medicine, of some symptom not quite
unusual to this disease, of something which had perhaps been more frequently troublesome before, and they
are a sign that this medicine acts deeply into the very essence of this disease, and that consequently it will
be more effective in the future. The medicine, therefore, should be allowed to continue and exhaust its
action undisturbed, without giving the least medicinal substance between its doses.”
This speaks very directly and plainly to the same principle later developed into one aspect of the modern
formulation of Hering’s Law: “In the reverse order of the appearance of symptoms.”
The prince of prescribers, Adolph LIPPE himself referred to this law of cure. In the journal The
Organon” volume I, page 39 LIPPE has written an article “Clinical Reflections”, the entire case is
reproduced here. (Bold face are my emphasis.)
CLINICAL REFLECTIONS.
By Ad. LIPPE, PHILADELPHIA.
The clinical experiment is our ultimate test. If we violate any (even the least well-known) rules which
should always guide us in our therapeutics, we have no right to expect that favorable success which is
promised us if we strictly apply these rules; and if this is true, then it is also obvious that want of success
generally depends upon a violation of these rules, and not, as is generally claimed, on the unreliability of
them. We propose to relate here a case in which some of the strict rules for the proper application of our
Law of cure were inadvertently violated, and how the discovery of this mistake led to a stricter application
of them, with the usual good results which must necessarily follow the strictest homœopathic practice. We
shall first give a plain relation of the case, and follow it with our comments.
Mrs.B. ……..age 45, had for many years suffered from a very delicate and irritable stomach, from
cankrous sore mouth (cured by Phytolacca), all in consequence of what is mis-termed scientific treatment;
she also had suffered from Hay-fever, regularly returning- every year on the 16
th
of September. Mrs. B.
returned from Europe, after an absence of several years, on the 26
th
July last; the voyage had been a very
unpleasant one; she had been very sea-sick all the time. From the time she left Liverpool till she was
visited by me, on the 27
th
July, she had taken literally no nourishment; broken ice was the only thing that
had passed her lips. I found her sitting up, occasionally straining to vomit, very weak, pulse 110 per
minute; she complained of a violent pain in occiput, with great heat, which she had tried to relieve by
applications of broken ice; urinary secretions suppressed; mouth dry and hot; she had not slept for a
fortnight, and could not lie down on account of a great nervousness, as she expressed it, which compelled
her to change her position and her chair so very often; she wandered about all night from chair to chair;
taste very disagreeable perfect loathing of food, and for a few days had a watery, very offensive, and black-
looking diarrhea.
The choice of the remedy was easy enough; I gave her one dose of Arsenicum album 50M (Fincke) on
her tongue of July 27
th
, 10 a.m.
July 28
th
: slept in her bed from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., then became nervous and restless, but says that she
feels better. No medicine.
July 29
th
: Has been in bed all night, slept, and no return of the diarrhea; urinary secretions, re-
established; the hot water applications to her head have very much relieved the pain; has taken some milk-
toast, and relished it; pulse below 90; is cheerful and hopeful.
July 31
st
: Had a still better night, better in every respect, but complains of severe pains in a bunion on
the left foot; it is much inflamed and stings (footnote 1). I gave her now one dose of Nitric acid CM
(Fincke).
August 1
st
: The bunion is less painful, otherwise there is not much change perceptible.
August 2
nd
: Bunion, still improving, and August 3
rd
no more pain or inflammation in it. On the evening
of August 3
rd
, I was again summoned to see her; found her (7 p.m.) quite ill; the diarrhea and vomiting had
returned with great violence; pulse over 110; the same headache as on the 27
th
also returned as well as the
great restlessness (footnote 2). Gave her one dose of Arsenicum album CM (Fincke) dry on her tongue.
Found her better next day, and the improvement continued; on the 6
th
of August (footnote 3) her bunion
began to pain her again as on July 31
st
. Gave no medicine (footnote 4). The improvement continued
satisfactorily; when the 16
th
of September came she had that night, about 1 a.m., some oppression of
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breathing, which reminded her of the terrible asthmatic attacks she had years ago; she had to sit up for half-
an-hour. No medicine. She fully recovered, and travelled for some weeks; had no Hay-fever; really has
had nothing to complain of since; enjoys better health than she had for years.
Footnotes:
1) When the bunion appeared, no medicine should
have been given, because all the other symptoms
for which Arsenicum was clearly indicated improved under its salutary action, clearly showing that the
effects of the dose administered was not yet exhausted, and because this new symptom appearing on a
less vital part of the body; also showing a moving downward of the disease did not indicate a
progress, but a descending diminution of the disorder. Here were two important rules violated. The
remedy must be allowed to exhaust its effects before another dose of the same remedy, or a new remedy,
shall be administered. If the appearance of the painful bunion had demonstrated a progress of the disorder,
a new remedy indicated by this last appearing symptom would have been in order; and, above all, do we
know that if a less vital organ becomes affected, and if the symptoms move from the center to the
extremities, or from above downwards, such symptoms do not indicate a progress of the disorder,
and therefore no new remedy should be given and especially not if the general or previous more serious
condition of the patient improves.
2) Nitric acid had removed the symptoms for which it was given, viz., stinging pain in a bunion on the
left foot, but as soon as this symptom had disappeared the first symptoms for which Arsenicum had been
beneficially administered returned with great severity; this fact was a convincing evidence that the bunion
should have been left alone, and that the improvement of the first symptoms would have most likely
continued if there had been no interference.
As a rule, the last appearing symptoms are of most importance, and must guide us in the selection of the
next remedy, but it is obvious that we must first determine whether such a new symptom or symptoms
require a new remedy. Our knowledge of Pathology comes here to the rescue as well as other well-known
rules. If, for instance, in a case of Encephalitis, a profuse secretion of pale urine appears, we know well
that we have a dangerous symptom added to the other symptoms and that it must guide us in the selection
of a new remedy and must be promptly attended to; if the same increased discharge of pale urine appears in
a case of Rheumatic fever, we would, look for a diminution of all the former symptoms without giving a
new remedy.
If the symptoms of a patient begin on the extremities, and if they improve, but symptoms appear in
internal organs, then it becomes necessary to be guided by them in the prompt change of the remedy; if the
reverse occurs, no new remedy should be administered. If the symptoms descend we may safely wait
and give no medicine, but if they ascend every progress upwards shows us that we have not yet
conquered the disorder and reminds us of the necessity of re-examining the sick and choose the more
similar remedy. In the case related the symptoms left the internal organs, went to the extremities
and descended; it was therefore wrong to interfere with the beneficial action of the former remedy.
3) The previous symptoms returned, and the same remedy in a higher potency again controlled them.
A higher potency was given following one of Hahnemann’s important injunctions, given in his Chronic
Diseases, that the potency must be changed if the same remedy has to be repeated in a given case. Now
again, after this remedy had acted very beneficially for three days, there returned exactly the same
symptoms. There is still another lesson to be learned from this case and that is that we should again pay as
much, nay more attention to the critical days than did HIPPOCRATES of Cos.
There is open to progressive Homœopathy a very large field. We must continue to develop the Healing
Art guided by the well-established fundamental principles (the science) and the established rules (the art)
left us as a legacy by Samuel HAHNEMANN. Forms of diseases have had their critical days, and as
HIPPOCRATES points it out very clearly, days for medication and days for non-medication; the
Materialists of the common School of Medicine could no more see the critical days and set them aside as
useless; they could of course not see them because they so violently and blindly interfered with the natural
course of disease that these days could no longer be observed.
When the sick were treated homœopathically and this blind and violent interference gave way to a mild
and humane treatment, these old long-forgotten critical days were again observed and whereby the true
Healer utilized. And when proving drugs for the purpose of learning their sick-making and therefore
curative virtues, we again find this same periodicity of the critical days. A well person exposed to a
contagion shows the infection after a certain lapse of time; for three days generally the organism remains
undisturbed; then, or later, but invariably on an uneven day, the disease develops itself.
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A well person taking a single dose of a medicinal substance (and why should he take more if he expects
a satisfactory proving?) will with rare exceptions, depending on the character of a few sudden-acting
substance, like Glonoin, Camphora, etc., not feel any disturbances in the organism before the third day
when the effect of this health-disturbing medicinal substance begins, develops progressive symptoms, and
shows all its sick-making powers for a certain length of time.
In the case here related we find an illustration of these propositions; Arsenicum
so clearly indicated in
the case caused, after three days, twice, the same new symptom not known to belong to Arsenicum
.
When
it appeared the second time it was not interfered with and disappeared with all the other symptoms
belonging to the case. To the thoughtful Healer these observations present a number of questions. Shall
we add this new symptom (inflamed and stinging bunion) to the pathogenesis of Arsenicum
?
Shall we
wait in each individual case for the exhaustive action of the single dose? And if a single dose, as it is
illustrated in this case, can fully restore health, why should we give repeated doses to the sick till we have
ascertained it to be necessary because the action of the single dose is very soon exhausted? How can we
bring the critical days to guide us in our therapeutics?
4) The greatest and most important question arising in a given case is whether a new remedy should be
administered, or the former one repeated, or no medicine should be given and we should wait. This is
surely very often a perplexing question. In the case here stated an error was committed, and we have
already dwelt on it; but in a great majority of cases such an error is not so easily remedied. It will very
frequently happen that the disturbance created by this erroneously-administered remedy interfering with the
action of a health-restoring and truly homœopathic medicine, will be followed by a new combination of
symptoms not having any similarity with the first symptoms observed and we then generally find a grave
case before us. This being so, the importance of the question of medicine or no medicine becomes
apparent. When we are not quite certain whether the dose before administered has exhausted its effects or
whether new symptoms presenting themselves and not known to belong to the medicine then acting, are
indicating an improvement or a progress of the disorder, then we should give the benefit to our doubt and
decide on no medicine. If the new symptoms belong to the remedy administered, then it is evidently acting
beneficially, and we decide on no medicine.
In an epidemic of croup here, many years ago, the children who always gave a hoarse barking cough in
the early morning hours, were comparatively well during the day, but were attacked during the following
night with malignant membranous croup. When a single dose of Belladonna was administered in the
morning they fully recovered; but at 4 p.m., a violent fever, with headache and drowsiness, would set in.
When no medicine was given for these symptoms characteristic of Belladonna, this fever would end by 6
or 7 p.m. in a perspiration and without any more medicine the child would recover; when medicine was
given, and especially when Aconite was administered, which from the absence of its characteristic
restlessness was unsuitable, then the child became very ill, the membranous croup became fully developed,
and presented a very grave case. Such cases were hard to manage. No medicine in this case was the proper
decision. Today, October 22
nd
, Mrs. B., above referred to, reported herself unusually well. She has not
taken any medicine since the evening of the 3
rd
of August.
It is completely clear that LIPPE uses words almost identical to KENT: “If the symptoms move from
the center to the extremities, or from above downwards, such symptoms do not indicate a progress of the
disorder, and therefore no new remedy should be given, and especially not if the general or previous more
serious condition of the patient improves”.
Homœopaths have considered Hering’s Law as a guide to point the way in helping to take their patients
to health when they are in rough and stormy seas. It is only intellectual hair splitting to argue when a law
should be called a law in medicine. Perhaps the word “law” in Hering’s Law was not a good choice; but it
is there now and many healers, even non-homœopathic ones, use this as a guide to judge whether their
patients are getting better.
Eugene B. NASH (author of the famous Leaders of Homœopathic Therapeutics) has quoted the same
case of LIPPE in his book, The Testimony of the Clinic pages 144 to 148. On page 147, Nash says:
“HERING used to say that when a disease has travelled from within outward it was all right, but from
without inward was wrong. We all know this is eminently true in regard to eruptions on the skin. In other
words, if a disease moves from vital organs or centers outward or downwards to the extremities it is
favorable. Let the remedy that has caused this act.” So we have here a very experienced prescriber who
also tells us of his experience of the content of what KENT calls “Hering’s law” which NASH has verified
as true.
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Now KENT was really a scrupulously honest man and examined his motivations. Since KENT had
learned so much from LIPPE it is very probable that LIPPE often spoke of Hering’s teaching and that
LIPPE told his students of these observations that HERING passed on to his students; but did not write or
publish them. KENT, in turn, used this teaching in his work and decided to give honor to HERING by
naming these observations “Hering’s Law”.
It should be clear that the concepts of “hypothesis”, “rule”, “law” were really well defined when man
dealt with the physical science such as classical Physics: Newtonian Mechanics, Optics, Electricity,
Magnetism, etc. For example Newton’s Law of Gravitation is unchangeable when applied to large masses
and large distances; but fails at the atomic and subatomic levels. Shall we now change the name of this law
and refer to it as a “rule”? The point is, that even in the strictest of scientific disciplines, there are no
absolutes. Man has to keep in mind the context of reference.
Homœopaths should give up the ill-founded antipathy towards homœopathic colleagues, past and
present. Such an attitude only prevents the acquisition of knowledge. Attacking KENT will not advance
the cause of Homœopathy or the skill of practitioners and students.
Similarly, harsh criticisms have been levelled by some at Kent’s use of Swedenborg’s ideas in
homœopathic medicine. This is reminiscent of the battles that existed between mathematicians in various
branches of mathematics. The pure logical mathematicians bitterly criticized those mathematicians who
solved differential equations in a “non-logical” way, for example by using analogies from other branches of
Mathematics or Physics. Yet these very practical mathematicians arrived at solutions solved the equations
that the purely logical ones had utterly failed to resolve.
Similarly if KENT used Swedenborg’s ideas to arrive at a remedy and then verified that the remedy fit
the patient’s clinical condition and satisfied the Law of Similars and cured the patient, then that method, as
unconventional as it may be and as unfamiliar as it may be to some other homœopath’s way of reasoning,
has served a useful purpose, namely that of opening the mind of the homœopathic prescriber to helping his
patient.
It may not satisfy the strict criteria of a rigid rule or law. Man is perhaps too complex to always be
fitted under rigid laws. Undoubtedly we as prescribers feel greatly elated to use the laws of Homœopathy in
their original formulations and establish cures. By being open-minded we will find solutions to our
patient’s illnesses at strange times, for example after a good night’s sleep or sometimes in a dream or
sometimes after meditating. Needless to say this is not a rule or law. All we need is to have sincerity in
our hearts and a love to verify the Materia Medica handed down to us by those who have been our honest
colleagues.
References:
1. Clinical Reflections, by Ad. LIPPE, MD The Organon A Quarterly Anglo-American Journal of
Homeopathic Medicine and Progressive Collateral Science, Vol. I; Liverpool, Adam Holden, 48
Church Street, January 1878, pages 39 to 44.
2. NASH, E.B., MD: The Testimony of the Clinic pages 144 to 149, Boericke and Tafel,
Philadelphia, 1911.
--------------------------------------------------------------
3. The Refining of a paradigm
LITTLE, David (SIM. XVI,1/2003)
The Aphorisms of the 4
th
, 5
th
and 6
th
Organon
The 4
th
, 5
th
and 6
th
editions of Organon represent the development of Homœopathy over a critical
fourteen-year period in which HAHNEMANN perfected his healing art. It is very important to study the
historical progression of Homœopathy to understand the methods of the 6
th
Organon. Some of the most
important passages deal with administering the first dose and following the case to cure. The 4
th
Organon
(1829) and the 1
st
Chronic Diseases (1828) established the method that most contemporary homœopaths
still use. This was a decisive moment in homœopathic history as HAHNEMANN introduced the Vital
Force, Chronic Miasms, very small doses and the 30 potency.
In these works, the Founder suggests the use of a single unit dose of one poppy seed size pill, olfaction
and the early liquid solution of the 30 potency. This method is called the single dose, wait and watch
philosophy.
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As long, therefore, as the progressive improvement continues from the medicine last
administered, so long we can take for granted does the duration of the action of the helpful
medicine, in this case at least, continue, and hence all repetition of any dose of medicine is
forbidden.
Organon of Medicine, 5th & 6
th
Edition, HAHNEMANN, Dudgeon & Boericke Editions,
Appendix, 4
th
Organon, Aphorism 242, page 212.
The first single unit dose of a homœopathic remedy is a test to see if the remedy, dose and potency are
appropriate for the patient. If there is a strikingly progressive improvement from the single test dose the
remedy should not be repeated. Sometimes the single dose performs a complete cure. More commonly
there will come a time when the action of the remedy slows down and a relapse of symptoms appears. At
this time, a second dose of the remedy is indicated. The repetition of the dry dose is only allowed when
there is a definite relapse of the symptoms. This warning was introduced to prevent the relapse of the
symptoms that often accompanies the premature repetition of the dry pellets.
In the 5
th
Organon (1833) Samuel HAHNEMANN completely revises his system of administering the C
potency remedies. In Aphorisms 286, 287 and 288, he introduces a new delivery system, the medicinal
solution. He also emphasized the effectiveness of olfaction for similar purposes. With these improved
delivery systems comes a new case management procedure. In Aphorism 245 of the 5
th
edition
HAHNEMANN reviews the ideas raised in aphorism 242 of the 4
th
edition.
Every perceptibly progressive and strikingly increasing amelioration in a transient (acute) or
persistent (chronic) disease, is a condition which, as long as it lasts, completely precludes every
repetition of the administration of any medicine whatsoever, because all the good the medicine
taken continues to effect is now hastening towards its completion. Every new dose of any
medicine whatsoever, even of the one last administered, that has hitherto shown itself to be
salutary would in this case disturb the work of amelioration.
Organon of Medicine, 5
th
& 6
th
Edition. HAHNEMANN, Dudgeon & Boericke Editions, 5
th
Organon, Aorrosim 245.
Whenever there is a dramatic increasing response to the first dose of a homœopathic remedy it is best to
leave well enough alone! Unfortunately, many cases only demonstrate a slow progressive amelioration
over a period of weeks to months and then there is a relapse. In the 1820s HAHNEMANN had no special
strategy to speed the cure in these slow or moderately improving cases. For this reason, the Founder started
to experiment with the medicinal solution and olfaction and repeating the dose to reduce the time it takes to
cure.
On the other hand, the slowly progressive amelioration consequent on a very minute dose, whose
selection has been accurately homœopathic, when it has met with no hindrance to the duration of
its action, sometimes accomplishes all the good the remedy in question is capable from its nature
of performing in a given case, in periods of forty, fifty or a hundred days. This is, however, but
rarely the case; and besides, it must be a matter of great importance to the physician as well as to
the patient that were it possible, this period should be diminished to one-half, one-quarter, and
even still less, so that a much more rapid cure might be obtained. And this may be very happily
effected, as recent and oft-repeated observations have shown, under three conditions.
Organon of Medicine, 5
th
& 6
th
Edition, HAHNEMANN, Dudgeon & Boericke Editions, 5
th
Organon, Aphorism 246.
A strikingly progressive increasing amelioration is the best possible response to a homœopathic remedy.
What do we do with slow moving cases? In the Footnote to this Aphorism the Founder suggested that one
could repeat the dose at suitable intervals in slow moving cases rather than waiting for a complete relapse
of symptoms. HAHNEMANN called his new posology the “middle path” because it stands half way
between the single doses wait and watch method and the mechanical repetition of the medicines. In the
Footnote to Aphorism 246 he suggested that a 30 should not be repeated more often than every seven days
in robust patients and every nine, twelve to fourteen days in those more weak and excitable. This shows
that HAHNEMANN was already using the medicinal solution of the C potency and developing his new
posology system long before he discovered the LM potency.
Aphorism 246 of the 6
th
Organon
Aphorism 246 of the 6
th
edition is based on a synthesis of the ideas introduced in Aphorisms 245 and
246 of the 5
th
edition with the addition of five new conditions to speeding the cure. It represents the entire
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6
th
Organon method in a nutshell. The first topic taken up is when a single dose of the LM potency
produces a strikingly progressive improvement in the patient’s symptoms.
During treatment, every noticeably progressing and conspicuously increasing improvement is a
state which, as long as it persists, generally excludes any repetition of the medicine being used
because all the good being produced by the medicine is still hastening towards completion. This
is not seldom the case in acute diseases.
Organon of the Medical Art, HAHNEMANN, O’Reilly 6
th
Edition, Aphorism 246.
When a single dose of the LM potency produces an obvious progressively increasing amelioration the
remedy should not be repeated. This is because the simillimum is already hastening toward cure at the
fastest possible rate. A strikingly increasing amelioration is one in which the patient feels better day by day
as the symptoms are rapidly reduced and the vitality increases. The repetition of the LM potency under this
condition can cause aggravations and relapse of the symptoms or just slow down the cure. Single dose
cures are more common in acute diseases but there are also chronic patients that only need a single dose or
very infrequent repetitions. For the above reasons, I usually give my patients a single test dose of the
chosen remedy at the start of the treatment. On rare occasions, I may give a patient a series of three test
doses with the instructions to stop the remedy immediately if there is any aggravation or striking
amelioration. I only use this triple-split dose on those patients that appear hyposensitive when they cannot
return for a quick follow up assessment.
On the other hand, with somewhat chronic diseases, there are, to be sure, some cases that have
slow, continuous improvement based on one dose of an aptly selected homœopathic medicine
(taking 40, 50, 60, 100 days to complete the cure, depending on the nature of the medicine) but
this is very seldom the case. Also, it must be a matter of great importance, to the physician as
well as to the patient, to foreshorten this period, if possible, by half, three-quarters, indeed even
more, in order that a far more rapid cure might be attained. The most recent and frequently
repeated experiences have taught me that such rapid cures can be favorably carried out under
the following conditions:
Organon of the Medical Art, HAHNEMANN, O’Reilly 6
th
Edition, Aphorism 246.
Many individuals read the above paragraph but fail to note that HAHNEMANN makes a grand
differentiation between two fundamental types of remedy reactions. In the first part of Aphorism 246 the
Founder describes the reaction as a “noticeably progressing and conspicuously increasing
improvement”. This strikingly progressive increasing amelioration is a reaction that is enhanced day by
day. Under such conditions the repetition of the LM potency is normally “excluded” because the first
single dose is already moving the patient toward cure at the fastest possible rate. In the second section of
Aphorism 246 the Founder uses the words “slow, continuous improvement”. There is a vast difference
between a rapid improvement where the patient feels much better every day and a slow improvement where
the patient barely notices any changes! It is only in these slow moving cases that Aphorism 246 permits the
repetition of the LM potency at suitable intervals to speed the cure.
When Necessary!
All of the statements about repeating the dose to speed the cure relate only to those cases that
demonstrate only a slow amelioration that may take 50, 60 or 100 days to show any significant
improvement. These circumstances condition all the following statements made about the use of daily and
alternate day doses in Aphorism 248. If the patient is doing very well on a single dose or infrequent
repetitions, more rapid repetitions do not apply. There are homœopaths that mechanically administer the
LM potency daily for days, weeks and months on end with every patient. They have not yet understood the
fine print in the Footnote to Aphorism 246. Every case must be individualized and the repetition adjusted
accordingly. In this Footnote the Founder explains some of the changes he made in the 6
th
Organon and
when the daily dose is applicable.
What I said in a long Footnote to this paragraph in the fifth edition of The Organon of the
Medical Art was all that my experience allowed me to say at the time. It was written with the
purpose of preventing these adverse reactions of the life principle. However, during the last four
to five years, all such difficulties have been fully lifted through the modifications I have made
since then, resulting in my new, perfected procedure [for fifty-millesimal potency medicines].
The same well-chosen medicine can now be given daily, even for months when necessary (bold
by DL) In the treatment of chronic diseases, after the lowest degree of potency has been used up
(in one or two weeks) one proceeds in the same way to higher degrees of potency (for in the new
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[fifty-millesimal] manner of dynamization, use begins with the lowest degrees, as is taught in the
following paragraphs).
Organon of the Medical Art, HAHNEMANN, O’Reilly 6
th
Edition, Footnote, Aphorism 246.
In the Footnote to Aphorism 246 HAHNEMANN suggests that a well chosen remedy (not a poorly
chosen one) may be given daily when necessary in slow improving cases. When repetition of the remedy
is not necessary the LM potency will cause strong aggravations, unproductive accessory symptoms, and
slow down the cure. Unneeded repetition can make a patient more hypersensitive or make them non
reactive due to over exposure. Hahnemann’s new posology method spans the single unit dose in striking
responses and the repetition of remedies at suitable intervals to speed the cure in slower moving cases when
necessary. In this way, the posology strategy can be tailored to a great variety of patients and conditions.
BOENNINGHAUSEN sought detailed information about how HAHNEMANN administered his
medicines in his last years from Dr. CROSERIO, a close colleague of the Founder. In Boenninghausen’s
Lesser Writings CROSERIO said that HAHNEMANN would reduce the dose or stop the repetition of
his remedies as soon as he observed definite medicinal reactions. He also noted that HAHNEMANN
often gave a single dose of olfaction with placebo and usually did not repeat the dose for at least one week.
In my review of the microfiches of the Hahnemann’s Paris casebooks I found that in most cases the
Founder often stopped his medicines, gave placebo, and waited and watched for long periods.
HAHNEMANN did not mechanically give the LM potency daily for weeks, months and years on end!
It was more common for him to use a series of doses followed by, or interspersed with, series of placebos.
In his later years he sometimes gave a LM potency and placebo at the same time but he did not note down
the schedules. This means that some of the prescriptions could be a single dose and others could be the
interpolation of placebo with the medicine at various intervals. HAHNEMANN only recommends the
daily dose when it was necessary.
Speeding the Cure
Simple acute diseases are often removed by a single dose of the C or LM potency. This phenomena,
however, is not as common in long term chronic diseases. Many times, a single dose only produces a slow
or moderate improvement that take 50, 60 and 100 days to produce any significant improvement in the state
of health. This is a very difficult situation for the 4
th
Organon homœopath because they cannot intervene
to speed the cure. They must wait until there is a clear relapse of the symptoms before a second dry dose
can be given. HAHNEMANN found this aspect of his homœopathic posology very frustrating and worked
for several years to find a more efficient method.
Once HAHNEMANN found the methods of adjusting the dose of the medicinal solution he claimed he
could speed the cure of slow moving cases by one half, one third, or less than the time it takes with his old
method. This is a statement well worth testing in clinical trials. This goal can only be attained when all
five following conditions are met in full. Vide the secondary part of Aphorism 246 in five parts.
1. Select with all circumspection, the aptly homœopathic medicine.
Organon of the Medical Art, HAHNEMANN, O’Reilly 6
th
Edition, Aphorism 246.
The first condition for speeding the cure is the selection of a true simillimum. A preliminary testing
phase allows the homœopath to confirm the suitability of the remedy, potency, and the size of the dose. A
remedy may only be repeated to speed the cure if the medicine is a good simillimum. If the remedy is
incorrect it may cause a dissimilar aggravation and new symptoms. If such a medicine is given at rapid
intervals for too long it may damage the Vital Force of the patient. If the prescription is of questionable
value it does not pass the first of Hahnemann’s conditions. So the first point for speeding the cure is that
the remedy must be perfectly homœopathic.
I and my colleagues have witnessed several single dose LM cures of acute and chronic diseases. Such
things will not be witnessed by those who mechanically repeat the LM potency because they spoil their
cases by over medication. We have also witnessed many cases that only needed very infrequent repetitions
of the LM potency. For example, one single dose of Ferrum 0/1 removed the symptoms of severe Arthritis
of five years. When there was a relapse of a few of the symptoms the single dose was given again. The
more perfect the simillimum, the potency, and the adjustments of the medicinal solution, the more chance
it has of producing progressively increasing amelioration over a longer period of time.
When there is a marked, progressive amelioration of the symptoms on the single test dose, I do not
repeat the remedy. I very carefully observe the number of days that this increasing amelioration lasts. This
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offers the homœopath insights into the duration of the remedy and reveals what a suitable interval might be
for the patient. If the striking response lasts forever one does not need to repeat the remedy at all! If the
markedly progressive improvement lasts for 1,2,3,4,5 or 6 days, the remedy is only given every 1,2,3,4,5,
or 6 days respectively. If the increasing amelioration lasts 1, 2 or 3 weeks, the remedy may be repeated
every 1, 2, or 3 weeks. If the increasing amelioration lasts 1, 2 or 3 months, the remedy may be repeated
every 1, 2 or 3 months. If it lasts 1, 2, or 3 years, give the remedy every 1, 2 or 3 years, etc.
2. Use a highly potentized [fifty-millesimal]
dose, dissolved in water.
Organon of the Medical Art, HAHNEMANN, O’Reilly 6
th
Edition, Aphorism 246.
In the O’Reilly edition the author put in brackets “[fifty-millesimal]” but it is not in the original German
publication. The Paris casebooks show that from 1840 to 1843 HAHNEMANN was using both the C and
LM potency in a similar manner. What he wrote in Aphorism 246 also applies to the C potencies.
Contrary to what some modern commentators believe, HAHNEMANN frequently used the 200 and had
tested the LM potency. He continued to use the C potency along side of the LM potency for his last three
years.
The second condition for speeding the cure is the use of a highly potentized remedy only in medicinal
solution or by olfaction. The change from the static dry dose to the dynamic liquid solution is the
foundation of Hahnemann’s advanced method. The remedy solution is not only more flexible than the dry
dose but also more powerful.
3. Administer a properly small dose of this to the patient.
Organon of the Medical Art, HAHNEMANN, O’Reilly 6
th
Edition, Aphorism 246.
The third condition is that the remedy must be given in a properly small dose. That is why
HAHNEMANN only used 1 or 2 poppy seed size pills in a minimum of a 7 tablespoons solution. This
Aphorism shows that the potency factor and the size of the dose are two different aspects of homœopathic
posology. There are many who still believe that the small dose refers to the immaterial amount of the
original substance found in the homœopathic potency. They are still following Kent’s mistaken idea that
the size of the dose does not matter. This is a grand mistake that leads to many aggravations and makes it
very hard to repeat the remedy to speed the cure. The size of the dose includes three factors; the number of
pills used to make a medicinal solution; the number of teaspoons taken from the medicinal solution and
placed in the dilution glass; and the number of teaspoonfuls given to the patient as the dose. In all three
aspects of preparing the medicine, the size of the dose should be kept at a minimum. The smallest dose
produces the most gentle primary action and a long enduring secondary curative action.
4. Give a dose of the solution at intervals that experience has shown to be the most distinctly
appropriate for the best possible acceleration of the treatment.
Organon of the Medical Art, HAHNEMANN, O’Reilly 6
th
Edition, Aphorism 246.
The fourth aspect of speeding the cure is the repetition of the remedy at suitable intervals according to
one’s experience. This statement is more important than the examples that speak of using the daily and
alternate day dose in slow moving cases. One must use one’s clinical experience to find out what are the
most appropriate intervals between doses for each and every patient. When the first test dose produces
little or no improvement then the time has come to test a series of split-doses. I call this a test series.
This judgment is based on the sensitivity of patient, the nature and stage of the disease’s state, and the
condition of their Vital Force and vitality. The most common intervals for those who need rapidly repeated
doses of the 0/1 potency are the alternate day, every third day, every fourth day, etc.
The use of the daily dose is rather rare. If the patient begins to improve on the test series then the remedy
may be continued at these suitable intervals to speed the cure. As the patient improves I slow down the
intervals between doses to prevent aggravation in the middle of treatment. This allows the Homœopath to
personalize the remedy schedule to the reaction of the patient avoiding the use of mechanistic prescriptions
that may prove negative in the long run.
The fifth aspect of the complete dose is the succussions of the remedy solution just prior to the ingestion
of the medicine. This is the fifth condition for speeding the cure.
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5. Prior to each administration of a dose of the solution, alter the degree of potency of the dose.
It is very important that the degree of potency of each dose deviate somewhat from the
previous and subsequent ones. This is so that the life principle, whose tunement is to be
altered to that of the similar medicinal disease, may never feel itself agitated to adverse
counter-actions and enraged, as happens when repeated, unmodified doses are given,
especially when such doses are rapidly repeated one after another.
Organon of the Medical Art, HAHNEMANN, O’Reilly 6
th
Edition, Aphorism 246.
The succussion of the medicinal solution just prior to administration changes the potency slightly so that
the Vital Force never receives the exact same potency twice in succession. This helps prevent the relapse
of symptoms that appear from the repetition of an unadjusted dry dose before signs of a full relapse. The
medicinal solution of the C and LM potency may only be repeated to speed the cure when all five of
Hahnemann’s conditions are met in full. This is the secret of success.
Administering the Remedy
A homœopathic medicine must be prepared correctly, and administered properly at the right time, to
produce a rapid, gentle and permanent cure. In the second part of Aphorism 248, HAHNEMANN offers
some examples of how to apply the medicinal solution in slow moving protracted cases.
2. In protracted diseases, give the medicine daily or every second day. In acute diseases,
give the medicine every six, four, three or two hours. In the most urgent cases, give the
medicine every hour or even more frequently. In chronic diseases, every correctly chosen
Homeopathic medicine, even one whose action is of long duration, may be repeated daily for
months with ever-increasing success [when fifty-millesimal potencies are used]
Organon of the Medical Art, HAHNEMANN, O’Reilly 6
th
Edition, Aphorism 248.
In paragraph 248 HAHNEMANN says in protracted diseases (those that improve very slowly on a
single dose) the patient may” receive the remedy daily. He does not say that the LM potency; must be
repeated daily in every case. Some read this sentence without acknowledging that the first part of aphorism
246 says whenever there is strikingly progressive amelioration on a single dose, or anytime during the
treatment, the remedy should not be repeated. They also ignore the fine print in the Footnote to Aphorism
246 that emphasizes that the daily repetition is only used when necessary. In the beginning of Aphorism
246 HAHNEMANN says that LM single dose cures of acute diseases were not uncommon. If one
ignores all these conditioning factors, and only follows the above suggestions, they will over medicate
many of their patients. All the statements concerning the rapid repetitions in Aphorism 248 relate only to
those patients that slowly improve on a single dose or infrequent repetitions. In any case, the remedy must
be stopped as soon as there is any aggravation, new symptoms, or a marked increasing amelioration. I have
not found one case in the Paris casebooks where HAHNEMANN gave a daily dose for months on end
without stopping the remedy and interspersing placebos with equally long periods of observation.
Changes of Symptoms and the Second Prescription
One of the most satisfying experiences for a homœopath is when one remedy completes the cure of a
chronic patient. If a chronic remedy is a true simillimum it will be beneficial in a number of potencies
without unnatural changes of the symptoms. When a remedy is a distant partial simillimum it will remove
a few symptoms but then produce new medicinal signs in other areas changing the natural symptom
pattern. Many who are inexperience in this area think that these changes are new diseases or deeper layers
coming to the surface. If one is not careful one may continue to give more partial simillimums until the
natural symptom pattern is totally disrupted. One must be very careful when new symptoms appear to give
a better remedy that is a more perfect simillimum. I can always tell how well I understand a case by how
many remedies I have given over a period of 1 or 2 years. If I have to give more than 1, 2, or 3 remedies
for the chronic symptoms something is usually wrong with my approach. There are exceptions to this rule,
but in general a good remedy should act over long periods of time in higher and higher potencies without
major changes of symptoms.
Every homœopath must learn to recognize when it is time for a change of prescription. When the
patient experiences new ailments and the rest of the symptoms take on an altered pattern, the time has come
to retake the case and give a better remedy. HAHNEMANN offers an example of a change of symptoms in
point 4 of aphorism 248.
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4. If the patient undergoes one or another important ailment that he never had before in his life,
and the rest of the disease appears in a group of altered symptoms, then another medicine,
more homœopathically appropriate, must now be selected in place of the one that was used.
The new medicine should be administered in just such repeated doses. Again, each dose of
the solution should be modified with the proper vigorous succussions in order to somewhat
alter and heighten its degree of potency.
Organon of the Medical Art, HAHNEMANN, O’Reilly 6
th
Edition, Aphorism 248.
A definite change in symptoms is an indication to retake the case and give a new remedy. The new
prescription should be started in the lowest degrees (LM 0/1-0/7) and the potency is raised in a serial
fashion to the higher degrees. It does not matter if the previous remedy reached an ultra high potency like
the 0/20. One always starts a new remedy with the lower potencies and works upward through the scale
stage by stage. In Aphorism 171 HAHNEMANN notes that a new remedy is often chosen by the
remaining symptoms after the previous remedy has accomplished all it can.
In chronic diseases that are not venereal (therefore those most usually arising from psora) one
often needs to employ several antipsoric remedies in succession to bring about a cure, each to be
homœopathically selected in accordance with the result of an examination of the group of
symptoms that remain after the previous means has completed its action.
Organon of the Medical Art, HAHNEMANN, O’Reilly 6
th
Edition, Aphorism 171.
Sometimes certain symptoms remain or old symptoms appear that are not well suited to the present
remedy. This is a different situation than the appearance of new symptoms caused by new factors affecting
the case or the use of partial simillimums. As long as a remedy causes the old symptoms to reduce in
number and decline in strength, one can rest assured that the case is progressing in the right direction.
Sometimes one remedy is not sufficient to cure a protracted degenerative disorder, especially those based
on layers and complex miasms. Under these circumstances one must determine the proper time to change
the remedy. James KENT wrote:
When the demonstration is clear that the present remedy has done all it is capable of doing and
this demonstration cannot be made until much higher potencies than usually made have been tried
– then the time is present for the next prescription.
To change to the next remedy becomes a ponderous problem, and what shall it be?
Kent’s Lesser Writings, James KENT, The Second Prescription, p. 418-419.
What should we do when there is a change of symptoms not affected by a previous remedy? At this
time, the homœopath should ask themselves the following questions. What is the cause of the change in
symptoms? Are they produced by a new exciting or fundamental causes? Is the patient doing anything
different that could be causing these new symptoms? Is this a dissimilar layer of symptoms coming to the
surface after the removal of a previous layer? How do we know the difference?
There are three major reasons for a change in symptoms, i.e., an artificial change caused by an
inappropriate medicine, the appearance of new exciting and fundamental causes, and the arousal of deeper
dissimilar layers of illness during the process of cure. A wrong remedy or a partial simillimum may
artificially change the nature of the symptom pattern. At this time, the symptoms produced by the remedy
and the remaining natural symptoms must be combined and a better medicine prescribed. This should
regularize the Vital Force and move the case toward cure. If the patient receives two, three or four
inappropriate remedies in a row the natural symptom pattern may be seriously altered. Such a muddled
case can only be restored to health by an experienced homœopath. For this reason the greatest care must be
applied to each and every prescription.
Sometimes, the patient comes in contact with new causes that may change the symptom pattern.
Perhaps, the patient suffers from a virulent acute disease that produces a sequel. Maybe the patient
becomes infected with a chronic miasm (Psora, Sycosis, etc.) that they previously did not suffer. There
may be a new befallment like a physical or mental trauma that changes the nature of the symptoms. The
nature of the new phenomena must be investigated, the case retaken, and a new remedy chosen. These
unhappy situations are conditions where the disease state has actually become more complex.
The third reason for a change in the symptom pattern is the appearance of old dissimilar disease layers
as the reversal of symptoms takes place under a curative treatment. These deeper layers may represent old
unresolved disorders, suppressions, and the activation of latent states. Deeper layers also appear when one
sided disease states begin to resolve. If the new symptoms are found in the Materia Medica under the
same remedy, there is no need to change the prescription. When these symptoms are not similar to the
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remedy under employment, the case must be retaken and a new simillimum administered. In order to
comprehend this process one must have some understanding of how layers and complex disorders develop.
How to Complete a Cure
A properly adjusted LM remedy should not produce an aggravation at the start of the treatment as is
often witnessed after the administration of a centesimal potency, especially when given dry. Even the C
potency in medicinal solution tends toward aggravation more quickly. An aggravation caused by the LM
potency should only appear at the end of the treatment when the patient is feeling better and their vitality
has returned. This is a sign that the cure is almost attained and the repetitions of the LM potency should be
slowed down or stopped.
5. If so-called homœopathic aggravations (§161) appear towards the end of treatment of a
chronic disease, after almost daily repetition of the fully homœopathically fitting medicine
(i.e. so that the remaining disease symptoms seem to be somewhat heightened) then this is an
indication that the medicinal disease, which is so similar to the original disease, is now
audible almost all by itself. Therefore, the doses must be reduced still more and repeated at
longer intervals, or even entirely suspended for several days in order to see whether or not
any more medicine is needed for recovery. If no more medicine is needed, these apparent
symptoms (stemming merely from the overflow of the homœopathic medicine) will soon
disappear by themselves, leaving behind unclouded health.
Organon of the Medical Art, HAHNEMANN, O’Reilly 6
th
Edition, Aphorism 248.
There is a great difference in an aggravation at the beginning of treatment when the patient is ill and
weak and an aggravation at the end of the treatment when the patient is healthy and strong. The
aggravation at the start of treatment is much more uncomfortable and dangerous because the patient is still
sick. The LM aggravation comes at the end of treatment when the patient is healthier. This is a sign that
the cure is nearing completion. It indicates that the patient now suffers mostly, if not entirely, from a
medicinal disease alone.
As one moves upward through the potencies (0/1 to 0/30) it is often wise to gradually slow down the
repetition of the remedy so that the patient is not overmedicated. If the 0/1 was given daily, the 0/2 might
be given every other day, and the 0/3 every third day, etc. In this way, aggravations can be prevented in the
beginning, middle and the end. If an aggravation is produced at the end of the treatment it is a sign that the
patient may not need any more medicine. How to complete the cure is discussed in more detail in aphorism
280 and 281.
The aggravation at the end of treatment should be light rather than heavy as seen with overmedication
during treatment. Most of the time there is only an increase of a few general symptoms or a general
malaise as if one is going to get sick. At this time, the repetition of the remedy is stopped so the Vital
Force can remove the remains of the medicinal disease and return to health and full vitality. If this is not
done the signs of over-medication will get stronger and stronger.
The remedy should now be stopped to test if there is any more need for medicinal aid. The patient is left
without medicine for eight, ten, or fifteen days so that the true situation can be assessed. If the aggravation
is only due to remedial excess it will disappear in a matter of a few hours or days. When there is no relapse
of symptoms after the signs of aggravation cease, the patient is truly well. If there is a relapse of the
symptoms during the waiting period, the patient still needs more of the medicine in increasing potencies.
When there is a relapse of symptoms during the waiting period traces of the original disease still remain.
This is a sign that the remedy should be continued until there are no signs of the original disease. At this
time, the homœopath must be careful not to overmedicate the patient by giving overly rapid repetitions.
The 7
th
Organon
HAHNEMANN only used the LM potency for 3 years before leaving for his Heavenly Abode. If he
had lived another four or five years he would have written the 7
th
edition of the Organon. I am not
qualified to write the 7
th
Organon but over the last 18 years I have gathered a large volume of clinical
experience. It would appear from my studies, and those of my colleagues, that today’s patients are more
sensitive than Hahnemann’s patients in Germany in the 1840s. For this reason, I have made certain
adjustments to the way in which I practice and teach the use of the LM potency.
First of all I would like to say that I, and my colleagues, have not found it necessary to give the daily
dose very often, especially with well chosen remedies. The daily dose has proved itself useful only in those
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patients who were quite hyposensitive or on heavy allopathic medications that were reducing the effect of
the remedy. Even the alternate day dose is not all that common, especially over a longer period of time.
The most common rapid repetitions are those that are given every 3 or 4 days. We have also noticed that
the daily and alternative day dose must be reduced as soon as there are signs of improvement to prevent
aggravations. The more sensitive the patient is, the less often they will need a dose of the remedy. I have
many patients that only take the LM potency once every 4, 5, 6 or 7 days. Some only need the remedy
every one or two weeks, while others only need it once a month, etc. As HAHNEMANN said, it is most
important to use your own experience to figure out what is best for each and every patient. All mechanistic
schedules and mechanical repetitions should be avoided.
In part 1 of Aphorism 248 HAHNEMANN spoke of using between 8 and 12 succussions of the
medicinal solution prior to administration. We have found that a minimum of 8 succussions is far too many
for today’s hypersensitive patients. Therefore, I have suggested that the potential range of succussions
should be between 1 and 12 depending on the sensitivity of the patient. A modern hypersensitive patient
can only tolerate between 1 to 3 succussions, and a moderately sensitive patient may only need 4 to 7. We
have found that succussions should not be overly hard or they may “shake up the Vital Force”. I was once
asked by an experienced homœopath new to the LM method why he was seeing a strange pattern of
accessory symptoms in some of his cases. I asked him how he was succussing his doses. He was giving
the medicinal solution very hard slams on a book. I advised him not to use such hard succussions and the
problem never reoccurred.
In part 1 of aphorism 248, HAHNEMANN suggests that the patient should be given 1, or ascendingly,
several teaspoons of the medicinal solution from the remedy bottle. In his example in footnote 248 he
speaks of stirring one tablespoon of the medicinal solution into a dilution glass containing 8 to 10
tablespoons of water. This has caused some practitioners to always start out with a tablespoon instead of
using 1, or increasing more teaspoons as needed, as suggested in the main Aphorism.
Doctor Croserio’s letter, however, points out that HAHNEMANN used both large and small spoons
depending on the case. It has been our experience that 1 tablespoon is too large a dose from the remedy
bottle for the very sensitive and moderately sensitive modern patient. Therefore, we suggest that the
instruction in the Aphorism take precedent over the example in the Footnote. We recommend 1 teaspoon
as the average starting point for most patients, and that this amount is increased to 2, 3, or even more
teaspoons, if and when needed.
In part 3 of Aphorism 248 HAHNEMANN suggests changing the potency every 7-8 to 14-15 days. The
Paris casebooks show that this suggestion was not a rigid rule because he often gave long periods of
placebo and raised his potencies much more slowly. It has been our experience that such rapid changes in
potency are not necessary or even beneficial in many cases. Those who are very sensitive do not take to
such rapid changes of potency without aggravations, and in some cases, relapses. We have found that a
certain percentage of individuals do better if they are left on the same potency for a longer period of time.
This, however, is not always easy to tell in advance. Sometimes a change to a higher potency does not suit
the patient and one has to return to the previous potency to correct the case. It seems that certain patients
need to stay on a particular potency for a longer period than HAHNEMANN suggested. Once again, trial
and error is the greatest teacher.
HERING said in his preface to the American edition of The Chronic Diseases (1845) that it is
important for all of us to go further in the practice of Homeopathy than HAHNEMANN and correct the
errors of the past while remaining true to our principles. In this spirit I have done my best to share my
many years of experience with the LM potency. For this reason, I have made certain modifications to some
suggestions given by the Founder while staying true to the philosophy he introduced. I have repeated some
statements several times in this discourse because I feel that certain essential ideas must be repeated from a
number of different vantage points. The most important maxims of homœopathic posology and case
management are individualization and the words “if and when necessary”. For the sake of easy
reference I will offer a brief review of my posology methods.
1. I begin my cases with a single test dose (C or LM) of a well chosen remedy, potency, and dose
adjustments. Under rare circumstances I may give a short series of three test doses at the most suitable
intervals (daily, alternate day, every three days, every four days, etc.). In this case, I tell the patient to stop
the medicine immediately if there is any aggravation, new symptoms or a strikingly progressive
improvement. I only do this with relatively hyposensitive patients with stable vitality who live too far
away for me to observe the case more closely in the beginning. In India most people do not have a phone.
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2. When there is a strikingly progressive amelioration from a single test dose, or a short series of test
doses, the remedy is not repeated. This is because there is no need to speed the cure. My colleagues and
I have witnessed many cases cured by a single dose and infrequent repetitions.
A. Once the strikingly progressive amelioration slows down the remedy may be repeated at
similar intervals to continue the rapid cure. If the strikingly progressive amelioration last for 3,
4, 5, or 6 days, I repeat the remedy every 3, 4, 5, or 6 days. If the progressive improvement last
for 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks, I give the remedy every 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks. If the progressive
improvement lasts for 1, 2, 3, 4 months, I give the remedy every 1, 2, 3, or 4 months, etc. If it
lasts for 1, 2, 3 or 4 years I give the remedy every 1, 2, 3 or 4 years, etc.
3. When there is little or no amelioration or only a slow improvement in response to the single test
dose, or short series of test doses, the remedy is repeated at more rapid intervals. These suitable
intervals are (as HAHNEMANN said) what “experience has shown to be the most suitably appropriate for
the best possible acceleration of the cure”.
A. I judge the appropriate intervals in accordance with the sensitivity of the patient, the nature and
stage of the disease state, the age of the patient, and the state of their vitality. Those that seem
hyposensitive yet have relatively stable vitality may receive the remedy daily. Those that seem a
little less hyposensitive may receive the remedy on alternate days. Those that are a little more
sensitive may receive the remedy every three or four days, etc. At this time the patient is given a
series of three to seven doses to see if the sensitivity and disease condition have been judged
correctly. I tell the patient to stop the remedy immediately if there is any aggravation, new
symptoms, or strikingly progressive amelioration.
B. If the chosen interval produces a satisfactory improvement the remedy is continued at this
rhythm to speed the cure. When the patient experiences a significant improvement these
intervals are slowed because the patient no longer needs as much medicinal stimulation. In
this way aggravations in the middle of treatment can be avoided.
C. When the patient reaches the point where they no longer show any symptoms, and the
vitality has completely returned, the medicine is stopped to test the cure. If there is no
relapse of symptoms after waiting and watching for a reasonable amount of time they are cured.
If some of the symptoms return the remedy is again repeated at slightly longer intervals to
complete the cure.
D. If there is an aggravation toward the end of treatment the medicine is stopped and a period of
waiting and watching is begun. If the symptoms pass off quickly, and the patient does not
relapse, the cure is complete. When there is a return of symptoms the remedy is again administered
but at slightly longer intervals in order to prevent any reoccurrence of the aggravation and complete
the cure. After carrying out this procedure the methods described in point 3C or point 3D are
repeated if necessary.
There are many more adjustments of the medicinal solution and potency that may be needed during the
process of cure but this offers the basic methodology in relationship to the single dose, infrequent
repetitions and repeating the dose at more rapid intervals to speed the cure.
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2. QHD, VOL. XXI, 2, 2004
Part I Current Literature Listing
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Part I of the journal lists the current literature in Homœopathy drawn from the well-known homœopathic
journals published world-over – India, England, Germany, France, Brazil, USA, etc., - discipline-wise, with
brief abstracts/extracts. Readers may refer to the original articles for detailed study. The full names and
addresses of the journals covered by this compilation are given at the end of Part I. Part II contains selected
essays/articles/extracts, while Part III carries original articles for this journal, Book Reviews, etc.
______________________________________________________________________________________
I. PHILOSOPHY
1. Lactuca virosa Was ist das zu Heilende?
(Lactuca virosa What is to be cured?)
NEUHOLD, Willi (DH. 22/2002)
What in the disease is to be cured is
central to homœopathic therapy. The exposition of
this question makes clear the homœopathic
principle which is diametrically opposite to the
reductionistic thoughts of the established medicine.
The ailments are related like smoke to fire.
Like the rising smoke leads one to the source of the
fire, the complaints of the patient points to the
singular disease. Diagnosis, symptoms and the
ailments are the perceptible crystalization
point of the dynamic happenings which penetrates
through all the planes of the individual. That
means that the disease is not an isolated event but a
dynamic process of the life.
HAHNEMANN saw that the disease is
more than a passing event since he saw the chronic
disease in it. The polymorphic nature of the
singular disease phenomenon was recognised by
him as the impress of a single basic disturbance of
the Life Force. This disturbance or affection is, as
HAHNEMANN called it, the dynamic source,
Origin (ref.§72). With this insight of
HAHNEMANN which went far beyond the
conventional thinking which rested upon a microbe,
an infection, one would understand that it is beyond
substance.
It all seems so simple – disease arises from
dynamic plane and has to be healed on a dynamic
plane; at the same it is not so easy. The difficulty is
because one has not yet internalized this new,
revolutionary idea. The microbes are related to the
diseases like flies to dungheaps: The flies do not
produce the dungheap, they are attracted. When the
right homœopathic remedy suitable to the
fundamental cause is administered and its action is
watched one will clearly understand what
HAHNEMANN knew already - disease is a
dynamic process and hence demands a dynamic
response. Since the potentised remedy is free from
the material plane and is a free dynamis it meets the
dynamic disease.
With a case of 53 year-old patient with
urological ailment the author analyses a Rajan
SANKARAN’s teachings including SANKARAN’s
‘Lepra’ miasm; and justifies the choice of the
curative remedy-Lactuca virosa.
2. Homöopathie oder nicht Homöopathie wo
ziehen wir die trennlinie? (Homœopathy or not
Homeopathy Where do we draw the
differentiating Line?)
SAINE, André (AHZ. 248, 2/2003)
This is the German version of André
SAINE’s article “Drawing a Line in the Sand:
Homeopathy or not Homœopathy?” which
appeared in the AJHM. 95, 2/2002 and before that
in the SIM. XV, 1/2002. This is in response to 21
signatories to an article lead by Dr. Roger
MORRISON defending “innovations” “new trends”
in Homœopathy which include Dr. Rajan
SANKARAN’s ‘Delusions’, ‘Kingdoms’, ‘new
Miasms’ ‘Signatures’, ‘Dream Provings’,
SCHOLTEN’s ‘Periodic Table’, etc., etc.
This has been mentioned in the earlier QHD
also.
3. Magic oder Wissenschaft? Eine Debate um die
Grundlagen der Homöopathie. (Magic or
Science? A Debate on the foundations of
Homeopathy)
HABICH, Klaus; KÖSTERS, Curt and
ROHWER, Jochen (AHZ. 248, 2/2003)
As mentioned in the article cited above,
this article is a criticism of the ‘Doctrine of
Signatures’ etc. and the purity of the sources of the
homœopathic Materia Medica.
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There are nearly 45 signatories to a ‘Manifesto’
document which calls for “Consciousness of the
basic principles of Homœopathy”. [I am a
signatory to this ‘Manifesto’. = KSS.]
4. Jeder verlässt HAHNEMANN auf seine Weise:
Über homöopathische Pietismus und
Erkenntniss theorie für freie Menschen
(Everyone figures HAHNEMANN in his own
way: On homœopathic Pietism and
epistemology for free persons)
APPELL, Rainer G. (AHZ. 248, 2/2003)
This is with regard to the current debate on
the purity of sources of the homœopathic Materia
Medica and the conception of science in
Homeopathy. The author argues against that those
who oppose the new ideas (Signatures, dreams,
themes, other ‘speculations’) fossilize Homœopathy
and is not in the interest of Homœopathy. “Each
person understands Homœopathy in his way”. [Yet
should there not be agreement with the basics of
Homeopathy? Because every person understands
Homeopathy in his own way, can there be as many
ways as there are persons who study it? Where will
Homeopathy ultimately be if allowed such
“freedom”. In calling for such freedom to interpret
as any and everyone feels like – and everyone of
them can call in support eminent Philosophers,
Scientists, etc. – will not Homœopathy become a
caricature? The argument against the so-called
‘purists’, or ‘fundamentalists’ that their attempts
will scotomize and fossilize Homœopathy should
be carefully considered and debated against the
endless freedom to everyone to play as one feels
like will make it a shapeless, featureless and
spiritless ball of clay. Already we read of ‘paper’
medicines (homœopathic medicine!). In this one
simply writes Bryonia 30’ on a piece of paper and
give it to be chewed by a patient who needs
Bryonia – the homœopathic medicine prepared
according to the homœopathic pharmacological
methods, and lo! the patient gets well. This ‘paper
medicine’ homœopath claims success in over many
years of similar practice! The claim may be true,
but will we encourage such practices in the name of
development? Then we have heard of
‘homœopaths’ who simply transmit the energy of
‘the homœopathic medicine’ to a patient by simply
muttering the name of the medicine! There are
persons to swear of their ‘cure’ by this process.
Would the ‘freedom fighters’ include these? Come,
debate it. = KSS]
5. Entwicklung ist nötig Antwort auf ein
Manifest (Development is required Answer
to a Manifesto)
NAUMANN, Johannes and WALACH, Harold
(AHZ. 248, 2/2003)
In this the authors call for ‘open minded’
approach to new developments, like
HAHNEMANN who revised his opinions many
times, acquired new understanding and integrated
them, and he acted different from the theory he
propagated. [True, HAHNEMANN revised as any
great thinker did. But the “basis” remained
unchanged:
Proving of drugs, similar medicine, the
minimum dose, etc. were not changed by him.
Whereas he fought against speculation’ with
regard to the medicinal substance’s potentialities,
and insisted on ‘proving’ on healthy human, the
“new-trend” do not want ‘proving’. The new
trend” says that we will know about a medicine’s
potentiality by its ‘signature’, the periodic table,
etc. So calling in evidence HAHNEMANN is not
correct. We are to follow only the teachings as in
Organon and Chronic Diseases. = KSS].
6. Homöopathie - Wissenschaft und Magie
(Homœopathy - Science and Magic)
WICHMANN, Jörg (AHZ. 248, 2/2003)
Five propositions regarding the current
discussion about the foundations of Homœopathy:
1. There are two different ways of argumentation:
interpreting texts within a closed world-view or
developing Homœopathy as an Art and Science?
2. Theories do belong to the methodological
development of Homœopathy.
3. We will have to extend our view above the
mere phenomenon towards an insight into the
deeper nature of remedies and human condition.
[How deep can one go? When we are digging
further and further and the patient goes on further,
is it really deep or just wide and meandering? =
KSS]
4. An intuitive approach to understanding
remedies or cases can be as valuable and helpful as
an analytical one.
5. Homœopathy is well-explainable within the
paradigmatic frame of Hermeticism and follows
laws also working in the non-medical world.
7. Understanding Suppression
CROCE, Ann Jerome (HT. 22, 7/2002)
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In discussions among students of
Homeopathy, we often hear the word
“suppression,” usually used derisively to label the
action of one allopathic treatment or another. For
some of us, the results of suppression by allopathic
treatment were the reason we came to Homœopathy
in the first place. We may be tempted to renounce
the therapies that we feel caused us harm and to
embrace our new domain as its opposite. But
avoiding suppression is much more complicated
than simply using Homœopathy instead of
Allopathy. As much as we would rather not admit
it, Homœopathy also can suppress.
What is suppression?
Understanding suppression depends on
understanding the role of symptoms in the
processes of health and disease. As I explained in
an earlier column [January 2001], symptoms are the
organism’s expression of its inner imbalance; they
are like the images we see in a periscope, a
reflection of the object but not the object itself.
Therefore targeting a treatment simply toward the
elimination of symptoms is like trying to eliminate
your reflection in a mirror: you can turn the lights
out, drape the mirror with cloth, or turn it toward
the wall, but you yourself, the source of the
reflection, are still standing there unchanged.
Suppressive treatments are targeted at the
elimination of symptoms rather than at their source
at the deepest level of the Vital Force. In the
glossary of her recent edition of Samuel
HAHNEMANN’s Organon of the Medical Art,
Wenda Brewster O’Reilly defines his word for
suppression as forcible concealment, masking, or
forcing under. She adds, “The suppression of
symptoms refers to the concealment of perceptible
manifestations of a disease condition without the
cure of the disease.”
In common parlance, suppression is often
defined by its results. Jay YASGUR writes in
Yasgur’s Homœopathic Dictionary that
suppression is “the act of driving a disease deeper
inward, against Hering’s Law.” Generally we tend
to think of suppression as an elimination of
symptoms that forces the organism to express its
inner conflict in another, deeper and more serious
set of symptoms.
Allopathic suppression and homœopathic
suppression
Allopathic treatment is commonly suppressive
because in its philosophy, each ailment (each set of
symptoms) is separate from every other one and
from the organism itself. Eliminating a set of
symptoms, then, is called “cure” of that “disease,”
and the emergence of another set of symptoms is
deemed evidence of a new disease. A child with
recurrent ear infections is “cured” of them by the
insertion of tubes in his ears; his later Asthma or
recurrent Tonsillitis is considered unrelated.
In homœopathic philosophy, suppression is
understood as a common result of treatments that
remove one set of symptoms without reference to
the whole person. Here that same child’s “disease”
would be considered to include the ear infections
and the Asthma or Tonsillitis, because all of these
symptoms are expressions of the same imbalanced
Vital Force. His Asthma would be understood as a
deeper ailment that emerged because of the
suppression of his ear infections by the insertion of
the tubes.
Homeopathy, too, can remove symptoms
without addressing the person as a whole. While
the notion of suppression by Homœopathy is
disputed among the homœopaths, evidence of it
exists, and homœopaths from a variety of schools
agree that the homœopath must be watchful of it.
Henny Heudens-Mast, who practices in Belgium
and teaches all over the world, notes that cases of
suppression by Homœopathy are more difficult to
unravel than those with a history of allopathic
suppression. Jeremy Sherr, British homœopath,
Director of provings, and international teacher, says
that in a very theoretical sense every prescription is
suppressive, because the absolute perfect
simillimum is all but impossible and the extent to
which a remedy fails to cover the totality of the
case is the extent to which it can suppress.”
Of course, in actual practice, Homœopathy is
far less often responsible for suppression than
allopathy has been because of the philosophical
difference in its understanding of symptoms. By
taking the whole person into account and by using
the Law of Similars, Homeopathy does not
commonly suppress. However, it is important for
those who employ Homeopathy to know that
suppression is possible, so that we can interpret
what is happening in those relatively rare cases in
which it becomes a significant problem.
Results of suppression
Recognizing suppression in a homœopathic
case is the same as recognizing it in an allopathic
one, because the organism responds the same way
no matter what is causing the suppression.
Suppression is evident when an ailment disappears
and is replaced by a lower level of health. This
weaker state may mean a new and worse ailment,
or it may be more vague, as in a greater
susceptibility or a deterioration in energy.
There are some particular measures of whether
a case is moving toward or away from health.
“Hering’s Law” specifies the direction of cure:
from within outward, from most important to least
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important, from top down. While not all cures
proceed in this orderly way, we can suspect
suppression when the treatment produces an
opposite reaction. George VITHOULKAS
diagrams a hierarchy of symptoms in The Science
of Homeopathy, another useful guide to the
direction of cure.
Generally, suppression is most evident in
the long run. It may be a factor when a person’s list
of complaints over the course of treatment becomes
longer or begins to include more serious ailments.
For instance, suppression could be an issue if
Eczema clears up after treatment and soon the
person develops Asthma or joint problems for the
first time; or if a mild and occasional daytime
anxiety is replaced by a stubborn inability to sleep;
or if a flea allergy is healed but the dog becomes
aggressive and fearful.
Avoiding suppression
In homœopathic philosophy, health involves,
among other things, the ability to respond
appropriately to environmental stimuli. Sometimes
the appropriate response to a virus, for instance, is
to develop the symptoms associated with it; even
conventional medicine acknowledges this as part of
the process of developing antibodies. Therefore, in
homœopathic terms, health does not necessarily
mean total freedom from illness, but the ability to
bounce back from health problems without lasting
damage.
Similarly, in the case of an injury, it is
healthy to bleed when the skin is punctured and to
feel pain when tissue is damaged. These
discomforts are part of the body’s healing
mechanism, to alert the organism to slow down,
stop the injurious activity, or take whatever action
is needed so that the organism’s energy can be
directed to healing.
The first step in avoiding suppression,
therefore, is making intelligent choices about when
and when not to treat. The healthy organism needs
freedom to express its healthy processes, however
messy or inconvenient these may sometimes be.
Treatment is necessary only when these healthy
processes fail and the organism cannot recover on
its own.
A very important principle is that if the
problem being treated is a true acute, then acute
homœopathic treatment will not suppress.
Suppression involves the partial elimination of the
symptoms of chronic disease without the resolution
of the disease itself; removing a true acute will not
result in the production of further symptoms
because it is unconnected to the chronic state that
would produce those symptoms. As I explained in
a previous article [February 2001], however, true
acutes are much rarer than we think. Often what
appears to be acute is actually an acute
manifestation of the chronic state, so that the
treatment for an apparent acute needs to take the
entire chronic state into account. Therefore a
second step in avoiding suppression is learning to
distinguish between the acute and the chronic.
Finally, simply knowing how to recognize
suppression when it occurs is a step toward healing
it. Many times, suppressive reactions will reverse
themselves when treatment is stopped, simply
through the action of the unhindered Vital Force
toward health.
Reversing suppression
If the organism does not recover
spontaneously, correct homœopathic treatment can
overcome the results of suppression. Suppression
does not involve the introduction of a new disease
into the organism, but rather the fuller expression of
the disease that already existed. The new and more
serious condition, in each case, existed in the
organism in potential even before the suppression
and might have surfaced eventually on its own.
Many prescribers, then, consider the original case
and the new picture simply to be part of the newly
articulated totality, and often suppression is
resolved through correct treatment without being
identified as such.
When treating a case that has involved
suppression, we can expect, as in the usual course
of events, that the latest-appearing, more serious
ailment will resolve first. For instance, in the case
of the newly aggressive dog, first the fear and
aggression will disappear, at which point the flea
allergy will return. This gives us the opportunity to
treat the flea allergy correctly, using the
information we have gleaned from our knowledge
of how the suppression occurred.
The dynamics of suppression, because it is an
expression of the Vital Force, reflect the usual
dynamics of health and disease. Some people are
more susceptible to suppression than others, just as
some are more susceptible to certain kinds of
illnesses. Similarly, suppression can be reversed by
homœopathic treatment that covers the totality of
the case adequately. While suppression can be
serious, it is nothing to fear when we understand it.
8. Homeopathic philosophy and the Seven
Hermetic principles
STRUIK, Nel (HOM. 87/2002)
While investigating for a deeper explanation
for Homœopathy, the author unearthed the ‘Seven
hermetic principles’ which date back to 1900 B.C.
They are
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i. The principle of mentalism
ii. The principle of correlation
iii. The principle of vibration
iv. The principle of polarity
v. The principle of rhythm
vi. The principle of cause and effect
vii. The principle of gender
The correspondences between the principles of
Homeopathy and those of Hermetic philosophy are
discussed.
9. Controversy in Homœopathy: Continued
Magic or Science?
HABICH, Klaus; KÖSTERS, Curt and
ROHWER, Jochen (AJHM. 96, 2/2003)
The object of this article is the current debate
about the doctrine of Signatures and the purity of
the sources of homœopathic Materia Medica. Is
Homeopathy a Science, and what are the reasons
for speculative tendencies within this method?
The authors feel that if the healed symptoms
are attributed without criticism to the Materia
Medica of the remedy applied, this can lead to an
increasing haziness in the image of the remedy.
…Clinical experience is included in the selection of
a remedy, but it should not be the starting point of
analysis, and it should be kept clearly separate from
the real proving symptoms.
The article is followed by aDeclaration to
which a large number of homœopaths from all parts
of the world are signatories These have been
discussed and abstract given in the QHD during
2003.
10. Compositae family portrait and the Mappa
Mundi
LITTLE, David (AH. 9/2003)
Mappa Mundi is based on the five elements,
earth, water, fire, air and ether and on the bilious,
phlegmatic, sanguine and nervous-melancholic
humours.
Choleric temperament:
Irritable, angry and impatient. Liver
complaints, digestive and intestinal disorders and
skin eruptions.
Phlegmatic temperament:
Tearfulness, timidity and indecision. Weight
gain, edema, lymphatic stagnation and
genitourinary problem.
Sanguine temperament:
Pride, optimism, violence. High blood
pressure, blood disorders, strokes and heart
diseases.
Nervous-melancholic temperament:
Pensiveness, depression and nervousness.
Hypochondria, brain, nervous and respiratory
complaints.
The views of HAHNEMANN, WHITMONT
and J.H. ALLEN on temperaments are given.
The Compositae family characteristics are
discussed in relation to the temperaments.
[David LITTLE has been strongly arguing
against speculations etc. in almost all his articles
which have appeared in the journals. However in
this article he is talking of the Compositae family’s
characteristics over 60 remedies in this family!
He says that the large compositae flowers have
difficulty in holding their flower heads, just as the
patient feels dizzy and must lie down with
weakness. Signature!! = KSS.]
11. Integral Health
PANDEY, Alok (NAMAH. 10, 1/2002)
This article takes the reader from health and
illness through life and death to the root question:
what does health really mean and can we grow into
it without any doctor. [Health is the normal state of
Man. How is it that ‘Medicine’ which comes into
play only when a person catches illness, is with the
Department of Health? When the ‘doctor’ removes
the symptoms complained by the patient, has the
patient become ‘healthy’? = KSS.]
12. A Programme for Integral Health
BASU, Soumitra (NAMAH. 10, 1/2002)
The author is “an unconventional Psychiatrist
who has integrated the universal concepts of soul
and its evolution in practice.”
Dr. BASU says that Integral Health’ is a
“dynamic equilibrium between the different planes
of consciousness”. [How relevant is Samuel
HAHNEMANN in this! The homœopath should
mind HAHNEMANN’s ideas and beware of falling
into the allopathic ways = KSS.]
13. A New Psychology
JOHNSTON, David (NAMAH. 10, 2/2002)
In this very interesting essay the author, a
clinical Psychologist, argues that Psychology must
follow the lead of the new Physics and Biology in
adapting a quantum and relativity-based conceptual
approach in order to sustain its relevance for the
future. Although C.G. JUNG realized this in his
approach to Psychology many years ago, mainline
Psychology has not followed suit and continues to
follow a Newtonian and Cartesian formula. He also
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argues that the development of a new and Integral
Psychology could profitably be based on the ground
that has already been laid by JUNG and his School
of Psychology and enrich itself by insights from the
works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
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II. MATERIA MEDICA
1. Strontium carbonicum
OWEN, Jonice (HT. 22, 6/2002)
The origin of the remedy, its provers, salient
features, a contemporary understanding by various
authors and its recent proving are discussed.
2. A remedy to take seriously
HYDE, Rosemary (AH. 9/2003)
The history of the Dandelions
(Taraxacum), its herbal benefits and its notable and
unusual nutritional and medicinal compounds are
discussed.
Details of its homœopathic provings, its
general and particular symptoms and the rubrics
describing Taraxacum are given. Very interesting
article.
3. The Bowel Nosodes
BICKLEY, Anthony (AH. 9/2003)
The background information, General
indications and instructions for use and principal
characteristics of the Bowel Nosodes Morgan
Pure, Morgan Gaertner, Proteus, Dysentery-co,
Gaertner are given.
4. A comparison: Anacardium, Tarentula and
Agaricus
PARTHASARATHY, Vishpala
(NJH. 3, 4/2001)
Three cases have been reported of Anacardium,
Tarentula and Agaricus. Dr. PARTHASARATHY
has correctly concluded, “Parents have lost the art
of loving and caring let alone disciplining children.
So this is the outcome. Homœopathy alone can set
them right.”
5. Ferrum An overview
PARTHASARATHY, Vishpala
(NJH. 4, 1/2002)
Ferrum, it is claimed is the iron man/lady and a
lot has been discussed with points to ponder.
Ferrum has been covered here from the traits
of iron as a metal, e.g. the blackness signifies the
ability to give that strength to the blood and the
rusting represents the staying power. It is a mark
for life therein lies its strength. [Speculative
attributes Signature = KSS]
6. Viola odorata – Bestätigung eines
charakteristikums (Viola odorata
confirmation of a characteristic)
BAHEMANN, Alois (ZKH. 47, 2/2003)
Dr. BAHEMANN had already published
two cases of Viola odorata in the ZKH. 46, 2/2002.
The deciding symptoms in those two cases were:
“emotions predominated by the intellect” in the
Repertory. Now he narrates another case in which
too the same “characteristic” was decisive in
selecting Viola odorata which succeeded in healing
the patient.
The source of this entry into the Repertory
is not clear. The exact symptoms is not to be found
in the Materia Medicas extant.
[In this as well as earlier cases this
symptom is the ‘characteristic’ of the patient even
in that patient’s healthy state, not an altered
symptom Where does ‘natural’ quality of a person
come into consideration for selecting a remedy in
the sick state? Aren’t we - the homœopaths – as
well as the physician of the orthodox school – to
bother about the ‘sick’ state alone? = KSS]
7. 1. Acid butyricum
2. Arsenicum bromatum
3. Chromium Kali sulphuratum
4. Euphorbia lathyris
5. Ocimum canum
6. Oxytropis lamberti
7. Rauwolfia serpentina
8. Ricinus communis
9. Staphylococcinum
10. Tribulus terrestris
(CCRH. 24, 3&4/2002)
The Central Council for Research in
Homeopathy of the Government of India, New
Delhi has several Research Centres in different
states for carrying out drug researches.
In this issue of the Quarterly Bulletin of
the CCRH., the clinical data obtained from
Provings of the medicines listed above have been
given.
No attempt has been made in these articles
to compare the symptoms already available in the
Materia Medica.
However, a quick comparison with James
STEPHENSON’s Materia Medica confirmed few
symptoms of Rauwolfia serpentina.
8. 1. Boeerhaavia diffusa
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2. Casalpinia bonducella
3. Carica papaya
4. Hydrocotyle asiatica
5. Jaborandi
6. Nyctanthes arbor-tristis
7. Saraca indica
8. Sarsaparilla
9. Terminalia Chebula
10. Viscum album
(CCRH. 25, 1 & 2/2003)
The CCRH undertook clinical verification
of the symptoms already available in the
homœopathic Materia Medica – CLARKE,
HERING, ALLEN, GHOSE, BOERICKE and
provings made by the CCRH itself, of the ten
remedies mentioned above in use in Practice. The
results of the clinical verifications are offered in
this article. It is now for the Profession at large to
confirm further.
9. Nosode: Chlamydia
KENYON, Lynda & BOIADJIEV, Mario
(HL. 15, 3/2002)
The authors present some of the key
symptoms of the remedy and illustrates with a case.
[See QHD. XX, 3 & 4/2003 in Materia Medica
section, No.12, P.no.105].
10. A proving of Sequoiadendron giganteum
PAWLITA, Benedikt (HL. 15, 3/2002)
The proving was conducted in 200 potency
with 14 provers. The first thing that struck them
was symptoms of smell. Some of the provers
experienced ‘clairvoyance’ and thought–reading, as
well as intuition, presentiment, spontaneous
knowledge. An immediate understanding also
occurred in communication with plants and
animals. The Provers were confronted with true
values and make it clear where they are focussing
on the wrong things. Some Provers had kept a vial
of the medicine under their pillows! They reported
only dreams!
Only a part of ‘Proving’ has been given
and that consisting only emotions, dreams and
some ‘signature’.
11. A proving of Asterias rubens
SCHULZ, Elisabeth (HL. 15, 3/2002)
Homeopathic remedy triturations within a
group setting create a direct inner connection
between the homœopath and the remedy’s essence.
19 of the 20 participants were female.
After the 2C trituration the themes were of
– farewell, death, creating order, fear of Breast
Cancer, fear of Stroke, lightning.
12. Three new provings of Heracleum
sphondylium
BRUNNTHALER-TSCHERTEU, Rosemarie
(HL. 15, 3/2002)
This plant belongs to the family of
Umbelliferae. The only known proving was in
1838, by ROSENBERG, on 4 provers and only
with mother tincture.
In 1986, Günter MATTITSCH proved
Heracleum D3 for 14 days, D12 for another 14
days and then D 30 on 13 homœopaths and their
family members.
In 1987 and 1997 the other two provings
were conducted.
The symptoms are given and is concluded
that it is a sycotic remedy.
--------------------------------------------------------------
III. THERAPEUTICS
1. Behandlung psychischen Erkrankungen
Grundsätzliches und zwei Krankengeschichten
(Treatment of Psychic Diseases
Fundamentals and two case histories)
ROHRER, Anton (DH. 22/2002)
HAHNEMANN was concerned with
mentally ill patients even before his ‘homœopathic’
days. As early as in 1792, before his famous Essay
“On a new principle for ascertaining the curative
power of Drugs” (1796), he had treated
KLOCKENBRING Privy Secretary of the
Chancery, for a full-blown ‘Insanity’.
KLOCKENBRING was cured in 1793 after an
year’s treatment in the Georgenthal palace. While
Philippe PINEL (France) had the mentally insane
released from their chains and dungeons during the
year 1793 – 1795. With the treatment
KLOCKENBRING the chaining and corporeal
punishment, some of them very cruel, of the insane
persons was ended and the era of medicinal
treatment dawned. Unfortunately history books of
medicine do not credit HAHNEMANN with this
great revolution.
Attention is drawn to §198, 173, 210 230, of
the Organon and Vol. I of Chronic Diseases.
The differentiation between acute and chronic
mental disease must be borne in mind. The author
cites Gerhard RISCH from his book (“Die
Entwicklungsgeschichte der Lehre von den
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Chronischen Krankheiten”): “In the Provings we
get acute symptoms which are to be used for acute
diseases. These are the symptoms that come after
some hours, days or weeks as the case may be. A
chronic patient will throw up later symptoms for
example Lues III or Sycosis III which would mean
that these symptoms arise after years or decades.
Remedies chosen must bear relationship to this fact.
A symptom that came in the proving after a few
hours/days cannot be homœopathic to a Chronic
disease that manifests over years or even
generations.
For example a schizophrenic patient is standing
in a place and announces that he was Christ. The
symptom thinks himself as Christ’ and in our
Materia Medica and Repertory we find Cannabis
indica has produced this symptom. The
Schizophrenia is in end-stage or with other Miasms
while the Cannabis symptom is a primary
symptom. Therefore homœopathically considered
it is not ‘similar’ and attempt to cure Schizophrenia
with Cannabis indica is deplorable. It may palliate
this symptom but the Schizophrenia will remain.
Since no proving has gone on for many years,
we have to take recourse to the clinical experience.
And since we have a two hundred years experience
there is a large material which can be applied.
There is always the question: To which
symptoms is the remedy similar? It is a question of
evaluation of symptoms. This depends upon the
Anamnesis.
BOENNINGHAUSEN writes (“The
Aphorisms of Hippocrates with Annotations of a
Homœopath”, Aphorism 5, Book V.): “What the
founder of our school has taught through his much
misunderstood work ‘on the Nature and Cure of
the Chronic Diseasesis not of less merit. Really
speaking there can be nothing more unjust as the
bitter and excessive blame which has been poured
over the venerable Founder of Homœopathy on the
so-called Psora theory’. What is this other than a
strong homœopathic application of the nowhere
doubtful and so important teaching of the
anamnesis of the Chronic diseases. Thus in
Chronic diseases the ‘right’ symptoms should be
picked up. BOENNINGHAUSEN proceeds to
point out that in Vol. I of the Chronic Diseases
HAHNEMANN has classified the signs of the
slumbering - (latent) and also the awakened
Psora, sharply and thoroughly deposes for the
application intended by HAHNEMANN”. One
should inquire for these in the patient. Since
Mental and emotional diseases belong to Psora
according to HAHNEMANN, the great antipsoric
remedies would come into the picture for cure.
Two Case Reports are given with the above
principles and teaching in the back ground.
2. Angst, Zwang und Depression (Anxiety,
Compulsion and Depression)
FLICK, Reinhard (DH. 22/2002)
HAHNEMANN indicates psychic diseases
as one-sided diseases. He goes to such an extent to
compare it with local diseases (those discussed in §
174, 185 – 205 forms of one-sided diseases)
wherein “local symptoms” arise in the mental
instead of the body parts. In §214 he discusses
about the treatment of mental diseases wherein he
advises that besides the prominent mental
symptoms, the physical symptoms that were there
prior to the mental disease and which had gone
away after the mental symptoms came on, should
be taken up for choice of the medicine. Much
strong symptoms that are thrown up during an acute
attack of Psychosis are helpful only in finding an
acute remedy for that state, and they don’t go deep.
Only when the physical symptoms also are
considered, can the curative remedy be found.
Three cases are given in detail.
In the first case of generalized anxiety
syndrome, the symptoms before the outbreak of
anxiety symptoms which were striking with regard
to the physical state were helpful to pick up the
curative remedy.
The second case was of an anxiety period with
psychosomatic components (lymphnodes swelling).
There was no symptom of the pre-out break of the
mental disease but it was possible only with actual
symptoms to find the remedy.
The third case is of Chronic Depression. There
was much up-and-down in this case.
Different disturbing factors and different kinds
of ailments have to be reckoned with to treat
successfully.
3. Des Rätsels Lösung? Eine
Krankengeschichte
zu Multiple Sklerose (The Solution to the
Riddle? A Case History of Multiple
Sclerosis)
KOZEL, Gloria (DH. 22/2002)
25 year-old female, a medical student with
Multiple Sclerosis was treated over a period of 5
years (1997-2002): Natrum muriaticum,
Phosphorus and then Mercurius solubilis. After the
last dose (Mercurius solubilis XM), patient remains
free from complaints.
A syphilitic origin disease was solved by a
remedy which best suited the Miasm.
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4. Carcinosinum bei Kindern:
Nosode und konstitutionelle Arznei
(Carcinosinum in Children: Nosode and
constitutional medicine)
LESIGANG, Helga (DH.
22/2002)
Very interesting article. Detailed. An abstract
is given below.
While HAHNEMANN classified the many
serious Chronic Diseases suffered by the Europeans
into three Miasms the Psora, the Syphilis and the
Sycosis his followers have introduced
Tuberculosis and Cancer as Miasms.
Carcinosinum is the Nosode of Cancer Miasm.
The remedy cannot be found in the classical
homœopathic literature and is included here and
there in the modern day repertories. FOUBISTER
introduced it into the Materia Medica in 1952. The
remedy has become significant since then a
Nosode for our times.
The main motive of the remedy is suppression.
Suppression in psychic region thanks to the
blessings of the modern medicine which hinder the
organism from reacting to diseases in its own way –
but also many suppressions in the mental region.
Carcinosinum will be called for frequently on the
basis of its mental symptoms.
Oncologists deny that there may be a Cancer
personality”. One must be well versed with these
signs. Cancer is not caused from mental causes
alone. There are persons with peculiar
relationships in response to claims made from Life
and Society.
The material from which Carcinosinum is
prepared comes from the tissues from Breast
Cancer. There is a notable correspondence between
the mental symptoms of Carcinosinum and women
with Breast Cancer.
Some well-known symptoms of Carcinosinum:
Highly talented
Suppresses own needs
Adapts to others wishes
Behaves himself “rightly”, as expected of him
Correct, orderly, follows the rules
Children ask for permission before they do
something
Conscientious, irritated from trifles
Yielding, lacks self-reliance and self-value.
Feels the feelings of others
Sympathetic, even for animals
Loves animals, also has fear of animals
Loves storm or fear of storm
Loves music, dance.
Carcinosin patients grow up in rigid family
system, in family without conflicts. There will be
severe penalties for disobedience. The child’s spirit
is broken. Does not develop its own will, but
behaves so that will be liked by all. The
punishments need not be physical.
And in infants what would make us think of
Carcinosinum. Say from first moment of its birth it
keeps crying as if born unwillingly. The infant
cannot be quietened in anyway, - feeding it,
carrying it around, holding, caresses; wakes up at
nights, cries for hours, full of anxiety, and one does
not know why. Diseases like Tuberculosis,
Diabetes, Mental diseases, Alcoholism and above
all Cancer are all mentioned as progenitors. The
child itself may suffer, in its first year, severe
diseases and may nearly die. Or the normal
childhood diseases may not occur at all.
Carcinosinum is frequently required in
Mononucleosis if the child does not recover well.
When the mother comes a little late the
Carcinosin child thinks that something terrible has
happened. It grasps the mother in despair, not like
Pulsatilla who wants her mother to herself or like
Calcarea who is fully dependant on the mother, but
because of the dreadful feeling that something very
bad will happen. Clairvoyance is a symptom of
Carcinosin.
Another unusual symptom is love of
orderliness. Even small children themselves would
clean the room.
Suppression of feelings
A child cannot weep when sad
The child is never angry when someone takes
away its plaything
When reproached or criticized it does not
object
It is not jealous of sibling
Although the child has great fear of animals,
especially spiders and insects, it loves animals and
would even handle a spider to save it.
There are contradictory symptoms.
Early maturity - but Enuresis, thumb sucking,
bites the skin around fingernails
Fear of thunderstorm feels itself well during
thunderstorm
Fear of animals great love of animals, over
all love of nature
Consolation aggravates – however, longs for
sympathy
No childhood diseases but serious diseases in
early childhood
The local and general symptoms:
Blue sclera (FOUBISTER)
Café-au-lait flecks, many birthmarks
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Very hairy scalp
Itching blisters on palms and soles
Warts on soles
Cracks in the fingertips and around the nail
The skin around the nails have been peeled off
Blisters in mouth
Constipation
Ticks, Grimaces
Desire for spicy food
Desire for chocolate
Desire for butter
In general better from movement, music,
dancing and residing at seashore
Sleep problems
Sleep position on knees and elbows (in older
children)
Carcinosinum compared with Tuberculinum:
Carcinosinum Tuberculinum
Shy, reserved, lives alone, Extrovert, open,
withdraws into loves company
Obstinate, fixed ideas Many interests,
curious, inquisitive
Adapts, worries about Egoistic,strong-willed
others
Family is the most Many friends
important
Feels comfortable Desires to travel,
at home, but has wander
fear of going out
Reads with enthusiasm Reading difficulties
Sad Cheerful
Loves to dance Moves happily
Cheerful in thunderstorm Desires fresh air, cool
wind
Desire for spicy food, Desires smoked,
chocolate dainties, delicacies
Children weep without Children cry at nights,
cause, cannot be angrily, cannot be
consoled, calm them- comforted
selves.
Thumb sucking in older Grind teeth during
children, they bite off nights
the skin around the
nail
Consequences of Consequences of
suppression recurrent
infections, children
do not recover.
Unusual-for-the-age “Normal” diseases
diseases
Does not show feelings Rapid change of
moods.
5. Treating fire with fire
Homeopathy for burns
DOOLEY, Timothy R. (HT. 22, 6/2002)
You can use substances that can cause burns,
including fire itself to help ‘burns’ patients.
By bringing the flame close to a burn but not
touching it, they rarely blistered and often seemed
to just disappear.
Cantharis is the main remedy used in first-aid
for burns.
Urtica urens Superficial burns (such as
sunburn)
Causticum More serious burns and for the ill
effects of old burns.
Topical application of Aloe vera or Calendula.
6. Motion sickness
CASTRO, Miranda (HT. 22, 6/2002)
Motion sickness arises when the inner ear does
not adjust to the motions of a car, plane or boat.
Indications of Borax, Cocculus, Nux vomica,
Petroleum, Staphysagria and Tabacum are given.
Practical solutions like Ginger in any form,
fresh air, eating lightly, wearing comfortable
clothing, sitting as close to the front as possible are
given.
7. Travel stress
CASTRO, Miranda (HT. 22, 6/2002)
Indications of Aconite, Argentum nitricum,
Arnica, Gelsemium and Rescue remedy are given to
overcome the stress of travel.
8. Adventure in the Bahamas
BORNEMAN J.P. (HT. 22, 6/2002)
The author while trying to catch a spider,
impaled his right forearm over a knife. Calendula,
Arnica and ice used as first aid. On removing the
knife bleeding started profusely. Blood was bright
red, persistent. Phosphorus 30, one dose and
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complete cessation of bleeding. The bleeding did
not taper off or slow down “it went from vesuvial
flow to complete cessation - stopped, finished,
ended.” [What an instantaneous haemostat
potentised Phosphorus is! = KSS]
9. Keeping travel troubles at bay
HOOVER, Todd A. (HT. 22, 6/2002)
Symptoms of “Stomach flu”, Traveler’s
Diarrhoea and Food poisoning are discussed and
indications of Chamomilla, Veratrum album,
Arsenicum album, Mercurius solubilis, Antimonium
crudum, Sulphur, Podophyllum peltatum, China
and Aloe socotrina are discussed.
10. Lesser known remedies for Traveler’s
Diarrhoea
WARKENTIN, David Kent (HT. 22, 6/2002)
Indications of Trombidium, Argentum nitricum,
Colocynthis, Croton tiglium, Dulcamara and
Colibacillinum are given.
A grand keynote of Colibacillinum is that
tongue is coated yellowish-white, with a red clear
stripe down the centre.
11. African funk
MOSS, Dale C. (HT. 22, 6/2002)
The author’s son had sores in feet after
returning from Africa. They were yellow and red,
with a bluish tinge and mottled areola, inflamed,
painful and better from external heat. With
Arsenicum 6 t.d.s. and hot activated charcoal
compresses he felt better but his sores were only
marginally improved.
Found positive for infection with
Staphylococcus aureus and Beta haemolytic
Streptococcus.
Streptococcinum 200. Next day sore in left
heel had blown up and was limping and chilly.
Fishy smelling serum. Red streaks radiated from
sore, revealing the onset of blood poisoning.
Pyrogenium 30 and then 200 and the heel no
longer painful.
After few days Staphylococcinum 10M and
few more doses in the ensuing few weeks and
couple of doses of Pyrogenium 200. The healing
was in reverse order and a lengthy process. After
this healed he was given a dose of Silicea M to
expel whatever that may still be lurking in him.
Within two months another ulcer opened and
oozed. This was allowed to heal on its own.
12. How one little symptom can
solve the whole case
REICHENBERG-ULLMAN,
Judyth
(HT. 22, 6/2002)
48 year-old woman, Harpist, presented with
stiffness of fingers since 3 years, precipitated by a
fall on icy snow. Lately there is numbness and pain
as well as right shoulder pain while she played the
Harp. She also had generalized sharp pain in joints
and stiffness aggravated by exercising or exposure
to cold water or chilly, damp weather. Loves
animals especially cats. Heights and high speeds
frighten her. Sensitive to loud noises. Calcarea
carbonica 30 provided some relief. A dose of 1M
produced significant amelioration but not lasting.
Positive results from 10M also was short lived.
Rhus tox, Calcarea flourica and Sulphur for good
reasons, without success.
At this juncture, she mentioned her craving for
ash since childhood. This decided Tarentula
hispanica.
Six weeks later, eighty percent improvement in
stiffness as well as a diminishing of her craving for
ash.
[While the stiffness, joint pains as well as craving
for ash have all been relieved to a great extent after
Tarentula hispanica, the question arises whether
Tarentula has any symptoms of stiffness, joint
pains, etc. of arthritic nature. The Guiding
Symptoms has no such symptoms particular of the
upper extremities. In the Encyclopædia there are
some symptoms regarding the upper extremities
(Hands, Fingers) mentioning rheumatic pain. It is
not mentioned for trauma, either. Encyclopædia of
Remedy Relationships in Homœopathy by Abdur
REHMAN does not list any of the remedies used in
this case – Calc., Calc fl, Rhus t. Sulph. – as related
to Tarentula in any way either before, or after,
collateral, inimical etc. Further while Tarentula is
restless, active, etc. this patient was calm and
wanted quiet. How then could Tarentula cure the
arthritic pains? Or is it that the Sulphur given last
before Tarentula, produced delayed curative action,
while Tarentula removed ash craving? What can
one learn from Case report like this? And how to
learn? = KSS.]
13. Food poisoning
DOOLEY, Timothy R. (HT. 22,
7/2002)
The author discusses about food poisoning
which usually occurs in summer and the indications
of Arsenicum album, Podophyllum, China, Carbo
vegetabilis, Pulsatilla, Nux vomica, Urtica urens
and Ipecacuanha.
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14. How to beat the heat
LAMPE, Kristy (HT. 22, 7/2002)
Complaints common during the summer,
indications of remedies and general management
are discussed.
Sun burn: Calendula or Hypericum
tincture
Urtica urens, Cantharis and
Causticum.
Heat exhaustion: Veratrum album, Cuprum
metallicum and Magnesia
phosphorica
Heat stroke: Belladonna and Glonoine.
Some of the relevant rubrics from Kent
Repertory are given.
15. Heat exhaustion threatens a vacation
HYDE, Rosemary C. (HT. 22, 7/2002)
After exposure to heat, the author’s travel
companion felt weak, tired, face turned a strange
dark red, felt chilly and muscles were tense at the
back of head and nape of neck. Better by lying
down. An important aspect of the trip had involved
going quickly from a cool environment into an
extremely hot and muggy one.
A detailed process of analysis and
repertorisation is given after which Gelsemium 30
was given and after only about 10 minutes she got
up, apparently feeling well.
16. An August experience
KRAUSE, Karlene (HT. 22, 7/2002)
The author, after working in weeds which were
waist high, on a hot, humid day, had stinging pain
in legs, just like baby bee stings. Became restless
and irritable and was swearing.
Apis 30, and found some relief within 2
minutes.
17. An Intractable Urinary Tract Infection
MOSS, Dale C. (HT. 22, 7/2002)
This is the author’s personal experience in her
recurrent UTI. In an acute episode Cantharis and
Staphysagria did not help, despite Vitamin C,
massive infusions of unsweetened canberry juice.
She had terrible frequency, with pain at the
close of urination and blood and bloody tissue in
the urine. With the urge, urine dribbled down the
legs. Abdomen swollen and sensitive to pressure.
Frantic.
Aconite was taken after referring to Samuel
Lilienthal’s Homœopathic Therapeutics. It
relieved the complaints till next day 3 p.m.
Pulsatilla, Cantharis and Aconite did not help.
At this time, she wanted to go home, to her
books and curl up in bed and interact with no one.
Bryonia did the trick.
18. A head injury
Homeopathy and Super Glue to the rescue
DOOLEY, Timothy R. (HT. 22, 8/2002)
Six year-old boy had fallen from a rope on the
playground and landed on head. No loss of
consciousness. The wound was about one and half
inches long on the top of his head that tended to
gape open.
Arnica and Rescue Remedy had been given by
his mother. Super Glue was applied instead of
sutures with a well-padded dressing and in a few
days became well.
Well known indications of Arnica, Rescue
Remedy and Calendula tincture to use as first aid
remedies are given.
19. A story of survival
SHALTS, Edward (HT. 22, 8/2002)
After the crash of Twin Towers, Gwen, was
overwhelmed by terrible fear of death, anxious,
‘fidgety’, restless and tremendous heat on her face.
Aconite was selected but she decided to go with
conventional Psychiatry, but fears did not go away.
She was having nightmares daily, afraid to go out,
scared of closed places and morbidly afraid of dark.
Stramonium 30, usually indicated in later
stages of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was given.
Three days later, she woke up in a state of panic
and terror. Aconite 200 and in a few hours, the
state of terror was over.
20. Post Traumatic Stress
FLEISHER, Mitchell A. (HT. 22, 8/2002)
JG and MK had the misfortune of witnessing
the disaster on September 11, 2001.
JG became quite afraid of going outdoors,
extremely restless, unrefreshing sleep, lost appetite
and felt much chillier.
Aconitum napellus M, resolved the complaints.
MK became quite lethargic, wanting to sleep
most of the day. Hard to concentrate,
uncomfortable sense of dizziness, trembly
weakness, had to urinate few times every hour even
though he wasn’t thirsty.
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Gelsemium 200, cured.
[That’s Homeopathy, tailor made to suit the
individual fitting like a glove = KSS.]
21. A NYC firefighter finds relief
with Homœopathy
GAHLES, Nancy (HT. 22,
8/2002)
44 year-old captain in New York City Fire
Department had restless sleep, irritability,
depression and fatigue since the events of
September 11, 2001.
Wife said that he felt guilty and had alternating
moods.
Aurum metallicum 200.
Six days later, felt physically relaxed and no
despair and calm. His energy improved and felt
rejuvenated.
At the end of 6 months, mild return of
complaints and another dose and he was back on
track.
22. Firefighters in the wake of 9/11
GAHLES, Nancy (HT. 22, 8/2002)
The author noticed a familiar triad of emotions
among the survivors: guilt, anger and denial. The
remedies which are mostly indicated are Aurum
metallicum, Carcinosinum, Ignatia and
Staphysagria.
23. Healing after loss
CASTRO, Miranda (HT. 22, 8/2002)
The whole range of feelings which can
accompany a loss are given and indications of
Argentum nitricum, Aurum, Causticum, Gelsemium,
Ignatia, Natrum muriaticum, Pulsatilla,
Staphysagria and Veratrum album for the effects of
loss are discussed.
24. Two different “faces” of terror
SHALTS, Edward (HT. 22, 8/2002)
An American Airlines Flight, crashed in the
residential New York neighbourhood on November
12, 2001, in a garage of an 82 year-old woman.
She was terrified and could not sleep without lights
and company, night terrors few times a night.
Stramonium 30 was given 4 weeks after the
incident, when she presented herself.
After a week she became normal.
Her nephew, 23 years, became absent-minded,
anxious in sleep and started thinking about death;
lazy, indifferent to everything, extremely
constipated.
One pill of Opium 200 and he was back to his
original self.
25. Anxiety since 9/11
FASSLER, Kristy (HT. 22, 8/2002)
CASE 1: 9 year-old girl presented with
sleeplessness and anxiety about air travel, fear of
accidents. Likes lemon and to be very clean.
Arsenicum album 200 and a month later much
better.
CASE 2: Mary, 33 years was already fearful about
her health, Cancer and death; then she was
inundated with horrors of 9/11, which caused her to
stop eating and to become even more anxious about
the end of the world and war. Wakes up at 3 a.m.
She has had allergy too. Arsenicum album 30 daily.
5 weeks later, lot better. Continue Arsenicum
album until allergy also cleared.
26. Two cases of Cygnus Cygnus
SHERR, Camilla (HOM. 87/2002)
The feathers of the whooper swan (Cygnus
Cygnus) were proved and two cases cured by this
medicine are presented.
The themes of death, sorrow, water and the
idea of blockage in throat area are central to the
remedy. (The ‘Proving’ of Cygnus Cygnus is
available in the recently published Dynamis
Provings Vol.II, Dynamis Books, VK. ISBN 1-
901147-05-3)
27. Organ remedies; Our Gift from
PARACELSUS and RADEMACHER,
with special focus on the Liver and Spleen
MONK-SCHENK, Maya
(HOM. 87/2002)
The main indication is for serious, long-
term chronic disease, where the totality centres in
particular organ; or secondly, to initiate treatment
in such a case, when symptoms are scarce, except
for localized, physical complaints; or for ‘never
well since’ an organ affection, i.e. Hepatitis.
Constitutional treatment can be unsuccessful
because the organ weakness presents an obstacle to
cure.
The historical roots are traced from
PARACELSUS(1493-1541), J.G.RADEMACHER
(1772-1850), J.C.BURNETT (1840-1900),
Thomas MAUGHAN (1901-1976), Donald
FOUBISTER (1902-1988), to
A.U.RAMAKRISHNAN in the present day.
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BURNETT saw three degrees of similarity:
Pathological similar: The drug matches the
disease process.
Symptomatic simillimum: The
Hahnemannian simillimum
Simple similar: Limited superficial
similarity to a number of symptoms.
The limitations of Organ remedies are
mentioned.
28. The princess who got a cat
JACKSON, Jessica (HOM. 87/2002)
Monique, 6 years, has been receiving
homœopathic treatment since 3 year-old, with
marginal results.
At 6 years, she had redness of eyes, itching,
pronounced puffiness beneath eyes. It seemed to be
the allergic symptoms because of her new cat.
The child has a desire to be attended to, who
feels neglected when she is not the centre of
attention and identifies herself with queens and
princesses. She has embarrassing dreams of being
naked. She likes cats.
Marble 30. She is doing well in all areas after
the prescription. Cats are a big theme in the
proving of Marble.
29. Heredity
GRANDGEORGE, Didier (HOM.
87/2002)
Chromosomes carry our physical heredity. We
also possess psychological heredity, in which
veritable family sagas are played out over several
generations.
Sometimes, one generation of a family is so
strongly affected by a particular trauma that the
memory of it is transmitted to successive
generations. Eventually, the memory is driven so
deep into the unconscious that those who inherit it
are unable to understand the reason for their
suffering.
..Urtica urens relates to the death of the father.
..Probably the worst and frequently the most
hidden kind of suffering occurs after the death of a
child. The remedy is Hura brasiliensis.
..When people fail to break their ties with the
dead, even going so far as to speak to them every
day and tell them their problems and secrets, the
remedy is Calcarea silicata.
...When treating an adopted child, we should
never fail to enquire about its adoptive parents
family history. (This article is excerpted from
GRANDGEORGE’s book Homeopathic
Remedies for the Stages of Life, North Atlantic
Books, California)
30. Homœopathic treatment of
Japanese patients with Intractable Atopic
Dermatitis
ITAMURA R. & HOSOYA R.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 2/2003)
The objective of the study was to evaluate the
efficacy of homœopathic treatment of Intractable
Atopic Dermatitis (IAD). Seventeen IAD patients
were given individualized homœopathic treatment
in addition to conventional dermatological therapy
from 6 months to 2 years and 7 months. Although
all of the patients had previously been treated with
conventional medicine and various psychological
approaches, they had had severe conditions and
shown no significant sign of improvement. The
efficacy of homœopathic treatment was measured
by objective assessments of the skin condition and
the patientsown assessments, using a 9 point scale
similar to the Glasgow Homœopathic Outcome
Scale. Over 50% improvement was reported in
overall impression and in their skin conditions by
all patients, in itchiness by 15 of the patients, in
sleep disturbance by 10 out of 13 patients, in
satisfaction in daily life by nine out of 12, in
fulfillment at work by seven out of 11 and in
satisfaction with human relations by 10 out of 14.
Two detailed case histories are reported.
CASE: K.S. 42, female, has persistent itching of
the whole body all the time, poor sleep, phobia of
insects. Sensitive to noise, smell, to rudeness.
Dislikes being touched. Waking at 4 a.m. from
itching. Car sickness.
Staphysagria 30, 3 doses one daily.
One month later, no fear of insects. 2 months
later, itchiness better. 6 months later, cheerful. The
medicine was changed to Nux vomica and later
Sulphur.
CASE: T.N., 29, female. Severe itching of face
and neck. Changeable mood. At 18, anorexic as
she felt forsaken by her family. Cigarette smoke.
She was crying during the interview. Greasy face,
irritable.
Pulsatilla 30, 3 doses one daily.
One month later, stopped conventional
treatment. 2 months later, less irritable and stopped
scratching. Raised the potency gradually. Six
months later completely recovered from IAD.
31. A case of heartburn
JACKSON, Jessica (SIM. XVI, 2/2003)
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 70 of 216
A man of 40, presented with heartburn. Worse
lying down, worse at neck, feels like choking.
Chewed tobacco for 20 years. Got out of prison
after 14 years. Used lot of narcotics in the past.
Heartburn started after inhaling vapours of
chemicals while cooking Crank; was shot twice.
The burning is in the same spot where he was shot
20 years ago
. Angry at injustice.
Using Reference works in search of a remedy
with “wounds from a gun”, as well as “heart burn”
and poisonings from a variety of substances, 17
remedies were short-listed.
Ammonium-causticum 1M single dose. One
month later, no problem. Two months later,
Heartburn is a thing of the past.
Using Mac Repertory Mind symptoms of
Ammonium salts are analysed. Confirmatory
symptoms from Allen’s Handbook,
Cowperthwaite’s Textbook and Ward’s
Repertory are given. Lot of ‘emotional’ symptoms
are analysed. SCHOLTEN’s ideas are appreciated.
32. Dysmenorrhea and irritability with her family
SOUTH, Lianne (SIM. XVI, 2/2003)
A female of 35 having numbness from right
shoulder to fingers since 3 weeks. Gets angry
sometimes shouts which makes her feel better.
Forsaken by mother. Loves chocolates of any kind.
Stitching pain in right abdomen after any dairy
food. Irritability when organizing everything for
children. Constipation, pain in pubes extending to
sacrum around ovulation. Endometriosis; menses
7-8 days. Dime sized clots. Once in 3-6 weeks.
Chronic low levels of iron. Have to curl up and
hold.
Chocolate 200, 3 doses in 24 hours. One
month later, sad and disappointed. Finger and
thumb still tingle.
One month later: Everything makes her angry.
Two periods 30 days apart. Tightening pain in
abdomen. Shoulder pain less.
Chocolate 200 BID 3 days.
A month later: Had Gall bladder attack.
Emotionally healthier. Tingling in thumb. Menses
normal.
Chocolate 200
4 months later: Iron levels increased. Feels
neglected.
3 months later: Severe pain during last 2-3 periods.
Chocolate 1M
6 months later: No problems.
18 months later: Chocolate 10M
History of Chocolate and some common
themes of Chocolate are given.
33. Case of Polyarthritis
BAKIR, Nadia (SIM. XVI, 2/2003)
55-year-old female presented with remitting
chronic joint pain, one week after returning from a
trip to Ecuadorian jungle. She liked unusual
location. The joints are frozen. This affected her
ability to work and pain while turning in sleep.
Hysterectomy at 42, because of bleeding fibroids.
Recurring nightmare: Sinking in a swamp and
going to die. The feeling was of being stuck.
Cravings: chocolate. Wakes up thirsty at night.
When the pain started, she felt ‘crippled’ and
‘paralysed’.
Chocolate 200
A week later: Pain in shoulders and elbows
increase, but pain in ankles and knees disappeared.
2 weeks later: Itchy skin rash. Pains definitely
better. Wakes up less often.
1 month later: No problems.
3 months later: Feeling great. Taken 2 more doses,
in the beginning of sore joints and it worked like a
charm. Still craves chocolate.
4 months later: All is well.
34. A short case
BUCHELE-MOSEMAN, Marybeth
(SIM. XVI, 2/2003)
Female, age 57, has chronic leg pain which
interferes with sleeping, many activities, since peri-
menopausal period. Pain started during a cruise
where she did lot of dancing and walking. Leg
pains increased when she stopped HRT, and
subsided when she resumed it. Wakes up within 5
minutes of rolling on her side. Libido low, aversion
to sex and children. Heavy periods with very
painful cramps. Craves chocolate. Discussed much
about varieties of chocolate.
Chocolate 200, one dose.
Seven weeks later: Leg pain reduced by 80% at
night. Since a week again eating 5-6 pieces of
chocolate.
Chocolate 200, one dose.
Six weeks later: Leg pain is gone, even while
exercising.
[After change of the Editors of Simillimum an
year ago giving in to pressures of the “neo-trend”
and “innovators”, more cases of application of new
remedies on “mentals” are being published in the
Simillimum. In this issue we have three cases of
Chocolate!=KSS]
35. Conifer family must haves
HERON, Krista (SIM. XVI, 2/2003)
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 71 of 216
The author has several “must haves” to
prescribe a member of the ‘Conifer family’.
1. They long for a relationship, most often a
romantic one that stems from some
inadequate or unfulfilled love relationship
with a parent.
2. They have a feeling of emptiness, and they
feel this emptiness in their stomach or
abdomen (longing centered in the gut)
3. They have some issue with food usually
bulimia, intense hunger or mal-absorption.
4. They experience a profound loneliness. It
is a sense of being alone not necessarily
forsaken; rather their loneliness is deeper
than just circumstantial. They feel they
stand alone; that no one is really
connected to them, despite that there may
be many who love them.
5. They may have mental weakness and
fatigue. They may have difficulty
studying or don’t have capacity for much
activity; they feel drained and tired. They
often have spiritual feelings, more than
religious. They are drawn to a quiet depth
that gives them hope. They may not have
a personal relationship to a figure like
Christ or Buddha, rather they use words
like Spirit, Nature or Soul.
6. When they go into depression they use
words like cut off”, dark and gray”,
“falling”, “without an anchor.”
7. They may have some resentment or
bitterness they still hold towards the
inadequate parent.
36. A case of bloating and constipation
HERON, Krista (SIM. XVI, 2/2003)
26-year-old woman with bloating of stomach
and constipation. Abused by father from the age of
4 till 14. Estranged from family. Alcoholic from
age 9. Feels empty and lonely. Claustrophobic and
afraid to be alone. Dreams of falling into a
bottomless pit.
Natrum carbonicum, Aurum, Alumina and
Stramonium over the course of 18 months did not
help much.
So, themes were summarized. Feels alone,
rejected and cut off from others. Fear to join the
group. Critical of self and others. Easily insulted,
resentful. Grief. May have bulimia or alcoholism.
Pseudotsuga menziesii 30 was prescribed.
A month later 200. 4 months later again 200 as
some symptoms returned. One year later:
Motherhood has been the most rewarding
experience.
Another case of this remedy from An insight
into Plants by Rajan SANKARAN is given.
37. Stress: There is a lot to learn about
ASRANI C.H. (NJH. 4, 2/2002)
Physiological and Psychological stresses are
emerging as a result of growing deficit between
demands and resources. Stress is anything that
stimulates us and increase our level of alertness.
Stress and its effects are discussed.
38. Stress and Sleep
ANITA J. (NJH. 4, 2/2002)
Stress and sleep are very much interrelated.
Sleep recharges your batteries. Therefore, we need
to give adequate priority to a good quality of 8
hours sleep schedule.
39. Love affair with Carcinosin at the bedside
KHAN L.M. (NJH. 4, 3/2002)
Cancer is expressed hieroglyphically as a pain
of spiders. These convey the change in direction of
sun’s movement hitherto in the ascendant but now
in the descendant and represent schematically the
fluctuations in life. The fourth sign of Zodiac falls
immediately after Solstice when the days begin to
grow shorter. This fourth sign may be identified
with Carl Jung’s maternal archetype with all the
qualities which this implies: the large enfolding,
sheltering, preserving, nourishing, protecting and
fostering what is small. In homœopathic sense-it is
unorganized chaotic cells having above qualities.
Mystically speaking, those influenced by this sign
enjoy strong and hidden powers potentially
favourable to future incarnation, but the author says
people having a cancerous diathesis have hidden
powers.
CASE 1: Female, 19 years, Swelling of left neck.
Had a family history of Tuberculosis. No
childhood disease. Carcinosin 30 /9 doses/tds for 3
days. The patient improved with subsidence of
swelling and fever.
CASE 2: Female, 75 years with Fluctuating
Hypertension. Severe constipation. Evacuated 8-10
days. Husband died due to Carcinoma of lung.
Considering obstinate constipation, fluctuating
B.P., husband’s history of Cancer, Carcinosin was
given. She settled completely.
CASE 3: 70 year old male. Chronic Renal Failure
with Diabetes Mellitus. Lost his wife due to ill-
behaviour of his children. Minute care had been
taken to keep things in place at home.
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Carcinosin 30/3 doses/12 hourly. Marked
improvement in sleep. Lethargy reduced. Blood
urea and Blood sugar levels came down.
CASE 4: A man 20 years, travel sickness
especially in mountain region and benign external
appearance with extreme destructiveness inside.
Carcinosin 30/1 dose.
CASE 5: Female aged 23 years: Dysmenorrhoea
since menarche. Numerous brownish moles on
face. Pain in legs from cold air and tendency to
sore throat on taking sour and cold things.
Medicines like Magnesia phosphorica,
Chamomilla, Calcarea carbonica, Viburnum
opulus had no result.
Carcinosin 30/1 dose. Dysmenorrhoea and
constipation were much relieved, so too her other
complaints.
40. A Jaundice case
DIXIT, Dilip (NJH. 3, 3/2001)
Male 46, a Manager in Dubai diagnosed as
Hepatitis B. Constitutional Kali bichromicum 200,
intercurrent Tuberculinum bovinum M.
Gulf countries are very particular about
administering Hepatitis B vaccine. It must have
been done to the patient too. In spite of going
through innumerable check-ups why did he develop
the disease? What is the role of the vaccine?
Homeopathy builds up general immunity which
can withstand not only Hepatitis B but all diseases.
41. Miasmatic Approach saved the day
PATEL, Manoj (NJH. 3, 3/2001)
Mr. D.P., 20 year-old, Hepatitis B complaints
were not improving in spite of being in the nursing
home for 4 days. Was given Tuberculinum
bovinum M to stimulate the susceptibility and give
a clear form. Developed itching and there was rise
in Bilirubin in 12 days.
Tuberculinum bovinum 10M was given.
Total relief in 2 weeks. Infective process with
profound weakness was the keynote.
42. A magical cure?
PARTHASARATHY, Vishpala
(NJH. 3, 3/2001)
1. Jaundice cases from our Heritage by KASI
VISWANATHAN T.K.
2. Efficiency of Homœopathy in
Diabetes Mellitus by DHOLE S.A.
3. Jaundice: Reproves the miasmatic theory,
Vishpala PARTHASARATHY.
4. A magical cure? by PARTHASARATHY V.
5. Sure shot treatment of Jaundice
by TRIVEDI, Smita and late JAIN R.D.
All the 5 articles pertain to treatment of
Jaundice.
43. How to study a Remedy e.g. Kali
PARTHASARATHY, Vishpala
(NJH. 3, 2/2001)
Has taken/referred from Nancy HERRICK and
SCHOLTEN.
44. Perceiving a Remedy Portrait -
Kali bichromicum
TIWARI N.L. (NJH. 3, 2/2001)
Has discussed Aphorism 6 as example with 3
cases.
45. Anaemia – a Rusty Knife
KOTHARI, Manu and MEHTA, Lopa
(NJH. 3, 4/2001)
A simple solution to Indian Anaemia lies in
having kitchen knives that rust which give haem
and chapatti will give the globin; rather than iron
pills, potions or injections.
46. Trauma: Nature’s way
KOTHARI, Manu and MEHTA, Lopa
(NJH. 4, 5/2002)
The net result of a Trauma’s breach of
continuity of a tissue or tissues.
Jagadish Chandra Bose, the Indian pioneer in
the study of the vivacity of plants has shown, that
plants also suffer from trauma.
Any trauma fractures anatomy, disrupts
physiology, threatens life, limb or living and begets
pain and pathology. No pathy can claim superior
knowledge about how mother Nature treats trauma
from within the body of the traumatized.
Homeopathy has made momentous contribution in
the field of alleviating pain and calming
inflammation and associated infection.
Wound healing should be the presiding deity of
all Surgeons who thrive on deliberately
traumatizing the whole body.
French Surgeon Ambroise Para (1510-1590)
stressed minimal interference to declare “I dressed
him and God healed him”. Then arrived so called
modern medicine with its ability to support
physiology approximate tissues, replace fluids,
combat sepsis sterilize fractures by external or
internal fixation, and follow up with prosthesis,
calipers and artificial limbs of amazing lightness
and efficiency. The miracle of seeing a Christopher
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Reeves, paralyzed all beyond the neck, leading a
creative, peripatetic, preacher’s life with a wife to
boot, are gold lettered achievements of caring and
sharing humanity.
The greatest innovation ever was by an
unknown human, who without a degree attempted
at the beginning of humanity, the approximation of
traumatized tissues to bridge the gap and thus cut
down on the body’s efforts. A surgeon can do
without anything except a needle and some suture
material. The subtle body has the blue print of the
entire body, a knowledge that allows it to diagnose
and treat any wound anywhere in the animal’s
body, from the very moment that the trauma is
inflicted to the moment that the healing is complete.
47. The Heart has its own reasons
KOTHARI, Manu and MEHTA, Lopa
(NJH. 4, 4/2002)
Allopathy and all other pathies are
unconscionably ignorant of the cause, course and
cure of Ischaemic Heart Disease. About IHD
medicine knows nothing and yet it is predictably!
able to confuse the bewildered common man: The
celebrated Current Medical Diagnosis and
Treatment, confesses that cholesterol-lowering
“strangely” increases the mortality. Prof.
J.S.BAJAJ of AIMS declared that IHD in India has
shot up after Indians abjured cow-given ghee and
took to man-made cholesterol-lowering poisons?
48. Primäre homöopathische
Krebshbehandlung nach Ramakrishnan
(Primary homœopathic treatment of
Cancer according to Ramakrishnan)
FRIEDRICH, Uwe (ZKH. 47, 2/2003)
The author discusses Ramakrishnan’s
homœopathic method of Cancer treatment. In the
light of the experience of the author and his
colleagues this method is not encouraging. Of the
13 patients with breast tumors treated by the
Ramakrishnan method, only three showed a
complete and permanent remission. Those three
tumors had not been confirmed histologically. The
remaining 10 malignant tumors remained refractory
or were very slowly progressing.
49. A case of Autism
SRINIVASAN K.S. (NAMAH.
10, 1/2002)
This is a case of a girl with features of Autism
treated homœopathically. Follow-up of over three
years, the child is normal.
50. Cameo cases
MISTRY D.E. and CHITALE, Neeta
(CCR. 9, 2/2002)
CASE 1: 14 year old male with repeated boils of
scalp, itching, dandruff, itching neck, back, ears,
stomatitis. Several remedies were given over a
period of nearly two years but lastly it was Viola
tricolor 6 (prepared radionically!) given for
sometime that produced very good improvement.
CASE 2: Male, with Lumbago since 12 years.
After Ignatia, Bacillinum, Bach Flower Remedies
etc. He was given Lachesis and lastly it was
Ammonium carbonicum which gave great relief
although Ammonium carbonicum is said to be
inimical to Lachesis.
CASE 3: 30 year-old man with history of Grand -
mal Epilepsy since 1985, on Gardinal, Mazetol.
Calcarea carbonica M with intercurrent Echinacea
Q for urinary tract infection. Excessive salivation
and Stomatitis. Mercurius solubulis and
Syphilinum as intercurrents. Calcarea carbonica M
repeated at 6 month interval thrice. EEG normal.
Dry cough, sweat chest, past history ear discharge
and ear pain, Silica 200, M and Mazetol and
Gardinal reduced. Mild attacks of Epilepsy but no
convulsion although patient constantly feared that
he would get one. An injury to the big toe caused
great pain and for no reason the big toe of the other
foot also pained. Magnetis polus australis 30, and
toe improved 90%. Silica 6 (ear discharge and mild
convulsion persisted). Gardinal and Mazetol
further reduced. Still on treatment.
Point to note: Sudden acute inflammatory or
infective episodes indicated remedy may be a rare
remedy – and that remedy improves the general
condition and the basic pathology also.
CASE 4: 21 year-old female. Cough, sneezing,
low grade fever since 4 years. History of Cancer of
one parent. Carcinosinum 200. Then Natrum
muriaticum with intercurrent Sulphur, Echinacea Q
for mild urinary tract infection. She then had pain
over right lower erupting 3
rd
molar. Cheiranthus
cheiri 30 (See Boericke p.151) repeated once.
Complete relief of tooth pain.
CASE 5: Female, history of Chyluria due to
intermittent Filariasis. Joint pains. Nux vomica M
relieved her Chyluria but her headaches and dry
cough persisted. Drosera, Pulsatilla and Pertussin,
Natrum muriaticum reduced these. One day she
suddenly started having pain in lower right wisdom
tooth with feverishness and lumbar pain
Cheiranthus cheiri 30, six doses completely
relieved this.
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51. New medicines for the New
Millenium
BAIG, Mirza Anwar (HL. 15,
3/2002)
The author discusses his treatment of HIV
cases. He has cured cases. He concludes that some
Cancer Nosode are match for HIV. He has two
Nosodes, one of HIV-1 and other of HIV-2. He
also has observed that HIV patient with a high viral
load was in better condition than one with lower
viral load.
52. Don’t tell me what to do!
A case of Lac equinum
JOHNSTON, Linda (HL. 15, 3/2002)
Mrs. S.C., 68 years, presented with weakness,
shortness of breath, palpitations, high blood
pressure. She feels dominated, controlled and
powerless. Dream of horse. Lac equinum 200 was
given. A follow-up of 3 years at various intervals
are given. She is feeling better.
53. Obsessive compulsive mania
PETRUCCI, Roberto (HL. 15, 3/2002)
41 year-old woman with tendency to repeat
things in multiples of two, superstitious, always in a
hurry, fear of descending, feels better after exertion,
had Herpes on lips, aversion to milk, indented
tongue and retracted gums. Rhus tox. 10M.
Two months later. Feels relaxed and no
obsession at all.
No problems in the 3-year follow-up.
54. A case of Tarentula hispanica
ROBINSON, Monica (HL. 15, 3/2002)
18 year-old woman, with suicidal disposition,
restlessness, happy with music and dancing which
ameliorates, hates to go out and crouches in the
corner. Tortures self.
Tarentula hispanica 1M was given. One
month after, better. Walking down the street
feeling OK with herself. Everything is less intense.
Tarentula 1M.
15 months follow-up.
55. A case of Theridion.
COLLINS, Deborah (HL. 15, 3/2002)
8 year-old with Asberger’s syndrome is
hyperactive, desire to climb and dance, itchy skin
and hypersensitivity in general and especially to
noise.
Neck stretched during forceps delivery.
Theridion 200 and seven weeks later, not so
wound up, sensitivity to noise less. No itching.
Six months later – maintaining well.
56. A case of Aranea ixobola
COLLINS, Deborah (HL. 15, 3/2002)
Mrs. B. 26 year-old, thin, wiry and short,
looked like an old woman due to her wrinkled skin
and mode of dress (loose). Skin was red, inflamed
and skin covered with scratch marks and scabs.
Has to scratch till it bleeds.
Skin problems since birth. Applied ointments.
Developed Asthma at 7 years of age. Difficult to
sit still. Loves spiders. Loves teasing. Mood
swings.
Aranea ixobola 30. 8 weeks later, better in all
aspects. 2 months later; her skin had cleared even
more.
--------------------------------------------------------------
IV. REPERTORY
1. An introduction to “The
Bönninghausen Repertory
Therapeutic Pocket book” method.
DIMITRIADIS, George (AJHM.
96, 2/2003)
This article outlines the development of
repertory as we know it, demonstrating that even
the most popular modern repertories are modeled
on the first repertory (SRA/SRN) of
BÖNNINGHAUSEN, who himself abandoned this
form in preference to that of his latter
Therapeutisches Taschenbuch (TT)
The re-publication of Bönninghausen’s
Therapeutisches Taschenbuch (TT) as The
Bönninghausen Repertory (TBR, July 2000),
coupled with the very positive response to
subsequent seminars on how to apply this unique
work, have evidenced a striking resurgence of
interest in this method of repertory. Dimitriadis’s
work over the last seven years examining
Bönninghausen’s unique conceptual TT model of
repertory is herein discussed.
An extensive ‘End notes’ to this article is very
interesting.
--------------------------------------------------------------
V. PHARMACOLOGY
1. Pharmacy group tries to
discourage sales of homœopathic products
BORNEMAN J.P. (HT. 22,
6/2002)
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 75 of 216
The American Pharmaceutical Association
(APhA) and American Association of
Homœopathic Pharmacists (AAHP) had rancorus
arguments and arrived at the following policies.
1. APhA supports the demonstration of safety and
efficacy of homœopathic products from adequate,
well-designed scientific studies before pharmacists
advocate or sell homœopathic products.
2. APhA recognizes patient autonomy regarding
the use of homœopathic products. Pharmacists
should educate patients who choose to use
homœopathic products.
3. APhA shall work with Congress to modify the
Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act or enact other
legislation to require that homœopathic
manufacturers provide evidence of efficacy and
safety for all products, including products currently
in the marketplace.
2. An interview with Michael Quinn
LAMMER, Lynn (AH. 9/2003)
Michael QUINN, discusses about his
studies, how he came into contact with
Homeopathy, how he became a homœopathic
pharmacist and about the preparation of remedies at
the Hahnemann Laboratories. He was instrumental
in the preparation of the Quinn Potentizer.
QUINN insists rightly on strict quality
source, bottles, corks, potentisation and storage.
--------------------------------------------------------------
VI. VETERINARY
1. A case of severe eruptions and itching
WARKENTIN, Linda (HT. 22, 6/2002)
A year-old dog having itchy eruption
covering most of his body and also cysts and
abscesses since 3 years.
5 days after second dose vaccination at 10
months, severe Dermatitis, scratching until
bleeding, suppurating badly sloughing off large
pieces. He seemed dejected and did not enjoy
exercise or company. Sour smell, green discharge
from eyes and green stools.
Psorinum LM 1, a single dose was given after
analyzing with Mac Repertory and Reference
works. Materia Medica also verified.
Two months after, he was bouncy, enthusiastic
and skin symptoms had cleared completely. The
result was truly ‘life saving’.
Three months later, another dose was given,
following reappearance of his symptoms. Remains
quite well.
2. Heat exhaustion at a field trial
LAMPE, Kristy (HT. 22, 7/2002)
After a canine race, a young whippet (dog)
which had participated in both the events that
summer without any problem, suddenly collapsed.
When appropriate emergency aid was being
administered, the symptoms observed were
bounding pulse, inside of ears were red, tongue
slightly swollen and dry. Glonoinum 12, 4 doses
were given over the next hour. Full recovery in 24
hours.
3. Mystery of the swollen paw
LAMPE, Kristy (HT. 22, 7/2002)
One of the author’s dogs, was licking her front
left paw after coming in from garden. On
examination, the pad was swollen and she wouldn’t
put weight on it.
The possibility of a wasp sting was thought of
and 3 doses of Ledum 30 were given over a period
of 3 hours and the swelling subsided and she was
running around normally.
4. A dog in mourning
ROTENBERG, Bonnie (HT. 22, 8/2002)
The owner of a 13 year-old dog, died in the
9/11 crash. The widow whom the dog loves most
was in catastrophic mourning.
In the second week, the dog stopped eating,
looked sad and lethargic. 3-4 doses of Ignatia did
not help.
Foam along the margins of tongue was
observed and Natrum muriaticum was given. She
immediately jumped up, trotted to her food dish and
ate it all.
--------------------------------------------------------------
VII. RESEARCH
1. A study of comparative
prescribing costs in General Practice
JAIN, Asha (HOMEOPATHY, 92, 2/2003)
There is little research on cost-effectiveness of
Homeopathy in General Practice. This study
aimed to compare the costs of homœopathic
prescribing with conventional drugs prescribing.
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Data were collected for 4 years on all patients who
were treated homœopathically. Costs of
homœopathic remedies and costs of conventional
drugs which otherwise would be prescribed for
these patients was calculated for the total duration
of treatment. Savings were calculated. One
hundred patients were included in the study.
Average cost savings per patient was £60.40. The
majority of patients had improved and most did not
report any side-effects. The limitations of this
study are that it is based on one GP’s work, with a
small number of patients so definite and
generalisable conclusions cannot be drawn.
Moreover, calculated costs in this study are based
on drugs only, it does not take into account doctor’s
time, special investigations and time off sick.
Future work needs to be carried out to include all of
these points for a comprehensive economic
analysis.
2. Homœopathic remedies as
metaphors in family therapy. A narrative-
based approach to Homœopathy
KONITZER M.; RENÉE A. & DOERING
T. (HOMEOPATHY, 92, 2/2003)
Objective: To examine a metaphorical,
narrative model to explain the outcome of an
homœopathic encounter involving the patient,
practitioner and the homœopathic medicine.
Material and Methods: The transcript of a
videotaped doctor-patient interaction from a
European doctor-patient communication study
(EUROCOM) was analysed using qualitative
methods.
Results: Analysis demonstrates a narrative
relationship between the protagonists in the
therapeutic interaction, with the homœopathic
medicine performing a metaphorical role.
Discussion: The results justify further
investigation of the narrative and metaphorical
properties of the therapeutic encounter in
Homeopathy.
3. The research evidence base for
Homeopathy: a fresh assessment of the
literature
MATHIE R.T. (HOMEOPATHY, 92, 2/2003)
Background: The claims made for the clinical
effects of Homœopathy are controversial. The
results of several meta-analyses of clinical trials are
positive, but they fail in general to highlight
specific medical conditions that respond well to
Homeopathy.
Aims: This review examines the cumulative
research from randomized and/or double-blind
clinical trials (RCTs) in Homœopathy for
individual medical conditions reported since 1975,
and asks the question: What is the weight of the
original evidence from published RCTs that
Homeopathy has an effect that is statistically
significantly different from that in a comparative
group?
Method: Analysis of the 93 substantive RCTs
that compare Homeopathy either with placebo or
another treatment.
Results: 50 papers report a significant benefit
of Homeopathy in at least one clinical outcome
measure, 41 that fail to discern any inter-group
differences, and two that describe an inferior
response with Homeopathy. Considering the
relative number of research articles on the 35
different medical conditions in which such research
has been carried out, the weight of evidence
currently favours a positive treatment effect in
eight: childhood diarrhoea, fibrositis, hayfever,
influenza, pain (miscellaneous), side-effects of
radio- or chemotherapy, sprains and upper
respiratory tract infection. Based on published
research to date, it seems unlikely that
Homeopathy is efficacious for headache, stroke or
warts. Insufficient research prevents conclusions
from being drawn about any other medical
conditions.
Conclusions: The available research evidence
emphasizes the need for much more and better-
directed research in Homœopathy. A fresh agenda
of enquiry should consider beyond (but include) the
placebo-controlled trial. Each study should adopt
research methods and outcome measurements
linked to a question addressing the clinical
significance of Homœopathy’s effects.
4. Homœopathic aggravations: a
systematic review of randomized, placebo-
controlled clinical trials
GRABIA S. & ERNST E.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 2/2003)
Homeopathic aggravations have often been
described anecdotally. However, few attempts have
been made to scientifically verify their existence.
This systematic review aimed at comparing the
frequency of homœopathic aggravations in the
placebo and Verum groups of double-blind,
randomized clinical trials. Eight independent
literature searches were carried out to identify all
such trials mentioning either adverse effects or
aggravations. All studies thus found were validated
and data were extracted by both authors. Twenty-
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four trials could be included. The average number
of aggravations was low. In total, 50 aggravations
were attributed to patients treated with placebo and
63 to patients treated with homœopathically diluted
remedies. We conclude that this systematic review
does not provide clear evidence that the
phenomenon of homœopathic aggravations exists.
5. Antibiotics and the development
of resistant micro-organisms. Can
Homeopathy be an alternative?
VIKSVEEN, Petter
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 2/2003)
Antibiotic resistance is a global public health
problem. Once confined primarily to hospitals it is
now increasingly common in primary care. The
prevalence of resistant bacteria is rising, and
organisms resistant to almost all antibiotics have
been identified. The main causes are indiscriminate
prescribing and the use of antibiotics in animal
feeds and other agricultural applications. Policies
to restrict use of antibiotics have had limited
success. Homœopathy may have a role to play in
combating the development of antibiotic resistance.
Clinical research suggests that Homœopathy is
effective in the treatment of upper respiratory tract
infections in children, a frequent cause of
inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. The EU
recommends the use of Homœopathy in organic
animal husbandry, and it is used by significant
numbers of farmers. At present there is little data
on the effectiveness of Homœopathy in this setting.
Further research should be done.
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IX. HISTORY
1. Die Frühgeschichte der biologischen
Kriegeführung in 18 Jahrhundert:
Nordamerika und Australien in Vergleich (The
Early History of Germ Warfare in the 18
th
Century: North America and Australia in
comparison).
FINZSCH, Norbert (MedGG. 22/2003)
This contribution draws a comparison between
the deployment of biological weapons in the mid-
and late- 18
th
Century by the British army.
Extensive historical research on the use of the
Small-pox against the Native Americans in the
North America during the 1760s is used and
comparisons made between the American Small
Pox epidemics and the Australian outbreak at the
end of the 18
th
Century. The author is unable to
establish a causal link between a genocidal visual
ideology and the actual use of the Small pox virus
to kill off Australian Aborigines. However,
biological warfare, using Small pox infection, was
only useful within a small temporal window; the
effective control of the virus by the Europeans or
Americans after 1721 and the assumed necessity to
assimilate large segments of the indigenous
populations before the onset of large numbers of
settlers. Once a self-sustaining settler imperialism
was firmly established, military operations could be
replaced with small scale “everyday” genocide by
white settlers who tried to deal with Aborigines on
a day today basis.
[Now with ‘terrorism’ in different parts of the
world we have read of the SARS epidemic
appearing suddenly from somewhere, threat of
Anthrax, etc. Who ‘let loose’ these and to decimate
whom/what? Surely, these are not Nature’s fury. =
KSS].
2. “….. die Tuberkulose auszurotten, wie man die
Blättern ausgerottet hat.” Versuche mit
Tuberkulin in Tirol (1913-15) ( “…to
eradicate Tuberculosis like Small Pox has
been” Trials with Tuberculin in Tyro l 913-15)
DIETRICH-DAUM, Elisabeth
(MedGG. 22/2003)
This essay is about the Tuberculin experiments
in Tyrol between 1913-15. The history of
Tuberculin began with Robert KOCH’s
announcement in 1890 that he had found a
therapeutic “serum” against Tuberculosis. This
resulted in a series of extensive experiments which
began at various hospitals in Germany. A few
doctors did not hesitate to use or afraid of using
new-born babies and small children for their ‘tests’,
merely to judge the diagnostic value of, or response
to, the drug. A definite intention of healing
couldn’t always be proven. The intense reactions
of the human guinea-pigs and patients that were
observed, had dented the reputations of both
Tuberculin and its inventor, the therapeutic
effectiveness remained controversial. In 1913
Adolf KUTCHERA-AICHBERGEN, the highest
medical officer of Tyrol, attempted a large scale
organized trial using the percutaneous method of
testing Tuberculin on the “Barmherzigen
Schwesters” (Compassionate Sisters) in Innsbruck
and Zams. Under orders of the Mother Superior,
almost 1000 sisters had to undergo the controversial
medical treatment, among them were both healthy
and Tb-infected persons. Exploiting the isolation
of those concerned and their vow of obedience, the
Medical Officer started the administration of the yet
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insufficiently tested drug, to check its suitability for
a more wide-spread use. The experiment was
ended due to the outbreak of the First World War
and the growing need of medical resources for the
soldiers. According to the sources available, there
is no indication of any ethical controversy within
the test environment or in the public at the time.
[So much unethical, heartless ‘experimentsin the
name of Science! Experiments on the newborn and
babies!! When sadists become Scientists this will
be the result = KSS].
3. Medizinische Forschung an Kindern zur Zeit
des Nationalsozialismus. Die “Kinderfach-
abteilung” der Heil- und Pflege-anstalt
Kaufbeuren-Irsee (Medical Research on
Children during the period National Socialism
and “Children Special Department” of the
Kaufbeuren-Irsee State Hospital)
STEGER, Florian (MedGG. 22/2003)
Medical research on children during the
period of National Socialism has been conducted in
concentration camps, in prison camps, in hospitals
and, especially, in “Kinderfachabteilungen”
(Children’s Special Departments). Experiments
with Tbc-vaccination were carried out on children
in the “Kinderfachabteilung” of the Bavarian State
Hospital Kaufbeuren-Irsee by Georg Wilhelm
Hensel in co-operation with Valentin Faltlhauser,
Director of the Bavarian State Hospital in
Kaufbeuren. HENSEL had been an academic pupil
of BESSAU and at this time, was assistant medical
director of the “Kinderheilstätte” (Paediatric Unit)
of Mittelberg/Oy (Allgaeu). An analysis of the
correspondence between HENSEL and
FALTLHAUSER, a survey of the children’s patient
records and HENSEL’s scientific publications
provide a deep insight into the fate of the children.
Most of the children died because of the
experiments. [If these were ‘scientific’
experiments, it is horrifying, particularly when the
details are told. What we have in this issue of
‘MedGG’ is the BCG and Tuberculin experiments
and the results which made innocent children and
adults suffer terribly, cruelly. What would the
story of the experiments of the many “modern”
medicines be if they are made available! Any
person with a heart would shudder if he/she reads
of the ‘animal experiments’ carried out, in the name
of Science, for saving the humans from ‘life-
threatening’, or disabling diseases brought by the
humans themselves by their wanton life styles; but
many, many experiments have really nothing to do
even indirectly with such disease-cures. How
gentle, how simple, how easy to administer, and
how rapid the happy results, Homœopathy is! How
much more then responsibility rests on us,
homœopaths, to render genuine Homœopathy to the
ailing persons! = KSS].
4. Herrnhuter Apotheker. Pioniere
homöopathischen Arzneimittelherstellung
(Moravian Apothecaries. Pioneer
Homeopathic Pharmaceutical Productions)
PHILIPP, Guntram (MedGG. 22/2003)
This essay depicts a theme which, neither
in medical nor in church historical documents, has
been considered sufficiently thoroughly: the
implication of Moravian apothecaries in the
production and distribution of homœopathic
medicines. It was the wish of Samuel
HAHNEMANN, that homœopathic medicines
should be prepared and dispensed by the doctors
themselves to avoid the understandable worry of
falsification by the apothecaries. This ideal could
not be maintained because of problem such as a ban
on dispensing and the ever-growing number and
usage of homœopathic medicines during the early
decades of the 19
th
Century. Reliable apothecaries
were therefore sought after. The extremely strict
business ethics of the Moravians ensured this
reliability. An important role was played by the
Moravian apothecaries in Neudietendorf, near
Gotha, during the early days of Homœopathy.
Heinrich Gottlieb THRÄN was the first apothecary
who made a wide range of homœopathic medicines
which were dispensed within and outside the
German border. His successor, Chr. Th. LAPPE,
who worked in collaboration with Samuel
HAHNEMANN, made further developments within
the field of Homeopathy. A detailed account is
given in a small business journal from the years
1829-1831.
5. Being ill in the City: Nineteenth-Century
Patients in Ghent and their experience with
Homeopathy .
VAN BAAL, Anne Hilde (MedGG. 22/2003)
The Belgian Homeopathic physician
GUSTAR VAN DEN BERGHE’s Case Records
during the years 1869-1902 form the basis for this
research. In the first part the profiles of the patients
are put forth: social descent, age, sex, family
status, profession and living constituency. Of
particular significance is the treatment of the sick
free-of-charges. The second point of interest is the
personal experience of the sick persons with their
demands from the medical field: disappointed with
the progress of the disease before they came to
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Homeopathy and their experiences with alternative
medicines. VAN DER BERGHE’s visits, his
consultations, give insight of the times. The
descriptions of patient’s previous experiences with
health-care indicate that the patients were actively
trying to improve their physical or emotional
conditions. They tried every remedy they thought
might be helpful orthodox and non-orthodox, self-
administered and administered by others – before
turning to the next remedy when no result had been
obtained. Some patients had experience with
Homeopathy, perhaps they had some faith in it.
While the patients – poor and well-to-do-remained
to be under the care of VAN DER BERGHE for
longer than average period it does not suggest that
they consciously embraced Homœopathy. The
conclusion appears to be that while under the care
of VAN DER BERGHE the patients adapted
themselves to what they thought to be the best, last,
cheapest or closest option for healing.
6. Konfliktquellen in homöopathischer Arzt-
Patient-Beziehung (Conflicts in the
Relationship between Physician and Patient)
FRANK, Robert (MedGG. 22/2003)
Within the last 20 years, heterodox medicine
has become increasingly popular in western
societies. Critics and advocates argue, that the
physician-patient relationship is a key factor to this
success. This study which is based on 20 semi-
structured interviews with homœopathic physicians
in Berlin questions the notion of a purely
consensual interaction. While we can find a certain
degree of partnership between homœopathic
physicians and their patients, there is a significant
amount of negotiation and disagreement as well:
The arenas are the revelation of the prescribed
homœopathic remedy, patient’s expectations, the
physicians fees and differing views on the
appropriate duration of consultation. Consequently,
a rather complex picture of the physician-patient-
interaction emerges which challenges the notion of
a purely harmony and consumer-oriented
consultation in heterodox medicine. It does not
seem possible straightforwardly to apply any of the
existing theoretical models to the physician-patient-
relationship.
7. “…. ein staubiges Spinnennetz am frischen
Baum der mediznischen Wissenschaft”.
Homöopathie in Schweden. (… A Dusty
Spider Web on the Fresh Tree of Medical
Science. Homœopathy in Sweden)
EKLÖF, Motzi (MedGG. 22/2003)
Homeopathy was introduced into Sweden in
1826 through Göran WAHLENBERG (1780-1851),
a plant-geographer, at Uppsala University.
Representatives of the Swedish medical academics
have accused Homœopathy of not being in
accordance with Science and proven experience.
The theories have been thought of as impossible
and absurd, and positive treatment outcomes have
been assigned to suggestion. Only a few medical
doctors have dared to practice Homœopathy in
Sweden during the 19
th
and 20
th
Centuries. Carl
SUNDRERS (1859-1931), Professor Emeritus in
Anatomy and Pathology, was more than criticized
when, as the only prominent representative of the
Medical Society proposed a serious study of
Homeopathy in 1926. He was inspired by the
writings of the German doctor August BIER (1861-
1949). Unauthorized medical practice was
legalized in Sweden, with only few restrictions
under the Authorisation Act of 1915. The
homœopathic movement was most active during
the first four decades of the 20
th
Century.
Homeopathy has been practiced almost exclusively
outside Public Health Care since the end of World
War II.
8. HAHNEMANN - the Real Pioneer of
Psychiatry
MORRELL, Peter (AJHM. 96, 2/2003)
This article explores Hahnemann’s
treatment of mentally ill patients, his Aphorisms in
the Organon on the subject, and the uncomfortable
position ‘mental illness’ occupies within the
conceptual fabric of Homœopathy as a whole.
9. Chronological order of the English
Translations of Hahnemann’s Organon
YASGUR, Jay (AJHM. 96, 2/2003)
As the title says YASGUR lists the several
English editions of the Organon.
[A ‘correct’ list based on the thorough
History of Organon of Dr. Jacques BAUR –Un
livre sans Frontiers’ (French), and a book
EinBuch geht um die Welt’ (German) by W.
SCHWEITZER and J. BAUR, Haug Verlag, is
given below =KSS]
1. 1833: Translation of the Organon IV
edition by Charles H.DEVRIANT a
Layman Homœopath, (Wahnen-Dublin)
from Dublin, with commentaries by
another layman STRATTEN. However,
there is sufficient evidence that there was
an English translation before 1826.
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2. 1836: Translation of the Organon V
edition by DEVRIENT, (published by
Academical Bookstore) based on notes by
HERING C., MATLACK C., RADCLIFT
J. and BAUER A. HERING gave a long
Foreword. Reprints were brought out.
3. 1849: Translation of the Organon V
edition by R.E. DUDGEON (Headland)
4. 1876: Translation of the Organon V
edition by Conrad WESSELHOEFT,
(Boericke and Tafel). Reprinted in 1883,
1887, 1889, 1891-1896, 1900 and 1917.
5. 1893: 2 imprints of DUDGEON’s.
6. 1895: DUDGEON’s V edition again
published. Reprints on 1896, 1901 and
1923. (Boericke and Tafel).
7. 1913: Translation by C.E.WHEELER’s
Organon I edition (Jedermann’s
Bibliothique)
8. 1922: Translation of Organon V edition
by DUDGEON and William
BOERICKE’s translation of the Organon
VI German edition 1921 (Boericke and
Tafel).
9. 1923: Reimpressions.
10. 1977: Translation in modern English,
Organon VI edition by Dr. Kurt
HOCHSTETTER of Chile.
11. 1982: Translation of VI edition by Jost
KUNZLI, Alain NAUDE and Peter
PENDLETON. (without the
Preface/Introduction of HAHNEMANN)
12. 1996: Wenda Brewster O’REILLY
‘adapted’ a linear translation by Steven
DECKER, Wenda’s translation is the latest
one. (Bird cage Books).
10. Testimony of Four 19
th
Century Physician
Converts to Homœopathy
CHASE, Sandra (AJHM. 96, 2/2003)
This article recounts briefly how four well
known homœopaths of 19
th
century, Drs. John F.
GRAY, William CHANNING, Alonzo S. BALL
and Federal VANDERBURGH were introduced to
Homeopathy. In the course of this essay very
interesting information about some great
homœopaths Drs. Federal VANDERBURGH,
Hans Burch GRAM – is also given.
--------------------------------------------------------------
IX. GENERAL
1. Becoming an unbiased observer
ROWE, Todd (HT. 22, 6/2002)
Many patients have lost the capacity to
describe what is going on within them. The
homœopath must educate patients and help them
rediscover the language of their symptoms and
bodies. Homeopaths must develop skills in
unbiased observation so they can accurately
perceive their patients. This includes skills in
observing verbal, nonverbal and emotional cues. It
involves the capacity to perceive what is unique
and individualizing in a case. Homœopaths must
be able to accurately observe themselves. This is
the key to the removal of bias or prejudice.
2. Patient noncompliance and CME credits
WINSTON, Julian (HT. 22, 6/2002)
When a homœopath asks a patient to see a
physician for some serious ailment, the patients’ do
not comply with it as physicians don’t listen to
complaints about drug side effects.
This problem is rising in New Zealand.
One way to solve this is to offer more
Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits for
courses in complementary and alternative medicine
for medical doctors. But the accrediting agency is
making it harder for physicians to gain credits in
such areas of study.
3. Levels of involvement with Homœopathy
ROWE, Todd (HT. 22, 8/2002)
People can get involved in Homœopathy at
many different levels. The author discusses the
stages of the appreciator, Casual practitioner, Acute
practitioner, Integrative practitioner and
homœopathic practitioner.
Some of the dissension in the homœopathic
community today results from a conflict between
practitioners who practice at different levels and
have difficulty communicating with each other.
4. Opening remarks – Conifer seminar
HERON, Krista (SIM. XVI, 2/2003)
The author discusses her working
methodology.
She wants to perceive and understand the
fundamental themes that weave through the lives of
patients, by the mannerisms with which they
present, as well as through the content of their
stories
.
The intention is to deeply understand how each
fragment speaks the patient’s themes and the name
of the patient’s remedy. Then she attempts to find a
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remedy which will help them to free themselves
from their limited views and strategies.
Working with the idea of families has helped
her to organize the relationships between remedies.
The natural history of the substance helps in
understanding how it best survives and adapts to its
environment.
The one reason, she believes, why practitioners
describe remedies in different ways, is all look at
the same room, each from different angles. [So they
are all like the five blind men who saw” an
elephant! = KSS]
5. An interview with Nandita shah
GRIMES, Melanie (AH. 9/2003)
Nandita shah expresses some of her views:
Sickness is due to unhealthy living. The cause
of illness has to be something deeper than just
microbes; it also has to do with the host. She is
impressed by the philosophy of natural farming.
Due to nutrient imbalance, plants grown in
artificially fertilized soil are not as healthy as those
grown naturally. Positive health consists of a state
of well-being of the mind and body, and this
automatically leads to a healthy environment.
She follows a new method of casetaking
developed by Rajan SANKARAN, which questions
the presenting complaint in all its details until it
leads to the emotional sphere. This kind of case
taking brings a clearer connection between mind
and body, increases the certainty of coming to the
right central point without getting lost with the
irrelevant parts of the story. The patient rather than
the practitioner makes the connection. This helps to
eliminate speculation in the case.
6. An interview with Janet Snowdon
GRIMES, Melanie (AH. 9/2003)
While taking the case, the uncompensated state
of the patient is arrived through the patient’s use of
language, dreams, how they lead their lives.
She feels that unless the main complaint that
prompted the patient to come in the first place is
ameliorated, it is not the right remedy.
7. Cancer: It’s homœopathic concept and
treatment
KHAN L.M. (NJH. 4, 4/2002)
Cancer: From latin meaning Crab: From Greek
Karkinos. This very etymological definition
analogically conveys the phenomenological
concept of Cancer. Just as the crab exerts a vice-
like grip, so does the Cancer. Etiologically
speaking, experience has shown that the vice-like
grip over the psyche, resulting in emotional
suppression, has often found a vent in the form of
an outgrowth in the Soma, which we term as
Cancer.
The latest definition: Cancer is a group of
diseases characterised by uncontrolled growth and
spread of abnormal cells causing damage to the
healthy parts.
The key to Cancer is the understanding of the
psycho-neuro-endocrino-immunological axis.
8. Embryogenesis
KRISHNAMURTHY K.H. & BHAT V.V.
(NAMAH. 10, 2/2002)
Indian thought takes into cognizance every
facet of the human being from the individual to
the cosmic and from the body to the soul. To what
minute details, the observation was made is
exemplified in these verses on the development of
an embryo! Ranging from the Vedas through
Upanishads to the Ayurveda one can see the
breadth and detail of the ancient view. The
Oneness is encompassed in the Minute and the
Minute is linked to the one at every step. Despite
centuries the theme remains same in the three texts
– Veda, Upanishad, Ayurveda.
Quotes from all the three texts are given.
9. Mass immunization of children without any
immunity test
BHATTACHARJEE, Uday Chand
(HL. 15, 3/2002)
The author voices against the ruthless mass
immunization especially for the dreaded
Poliomyelitis for every child without testing his/her
natural innate immunity. This includes a series of
natural defence in increasing WBC, creating
antibodies, developing antitoxins to counteract
toxins and poisons produced by the specific micro-
organisms.
The author quotes various immuno reactions
which follow mass immunization.
10. Vine talk. The language of Bryonia alba
NAUMAN, Eileen (HL. 15, 3/2002)
There are different kinds of vines. They
can cling, climb, spread out, take over, strong and
rigid, weak and wimpy, choking, killing.
The author correlates the symptoms of the
remedy with the nature of the plant. [A good
example of ‘Speculative Medicine’=KSS]
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11. Whither Medical Sciences
BURMA D.P. (S& C. 69, 3-4/2003)
(The author of this article was formerly with
the Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu
University, Varanasi). Medical Sciences have
grown as part and parcel of human civilization and
has been responsible to a great extent for its
development as well as its ills. A new chapter has
been opened with the recent sequencing of 23 pairs
of Chromosomes of the human. Ethical and other
debates created originally some problems most of
which have been overruled with the new knowledge
acquired. Life sciences would benefit from these
findings.
12. Atherosclerotic Heart Disease and Free
Radicals – A Hand in Glove Phenomenon
MAITY C.R. and DAS P.S.
(S & C. 69, 3-4/2003)
Pathogenesis of atherosclerotic heart disease is
an outcome of oxidative modification of Low
Density Lipoprotein. It is a free radical driven lipid
peroxidation process. The aldehyde products of
this process, are responsible for the modification of
the LDL apoprotein. Aldehyde modified apo-B
protein has altered affinity, causing it to be
scavenged by macrophages in an uncontrolled
manner with the development of foam cells and the
invitation of the atherosclerotic lesion. Endothelial
dysfunction causes reduction in Nitric oxide
concentration, increased release of endothelin I,
Angiotension ll, increased endothelial cell
permeability and adhesion. Damaged endothelium
is leaky, sticky and unable to relax. This leads to
Atherosclerosis, formation of thrombus causing
occlusion of coronary arteries. A coronary plaque
is clearly an inflammatory granuloma and does not
result only from the accumulation of lipids.
13. Bio-terrorism: Role of Clinical Laboratory in
Meeting the Challenge
NIYOGI, Swapan Kumar
(S&C. 69, 3-4/2003)
In the recent years there have been articles in
the Western Homœopathic journals about bio-
terrorism, in the wake of the Afghan war and the
9/11 New York incidents.
The intentional use of pathogenic organisms to
kill large number of civilian population is a vicious
threat. Those who plan these are the most heinous
megalomaniacs and pretenders of protecting
religion. They are perverted minds.
While it is necessary to device laboratory
techniques that will quickly find out the organism
let loose and the counteraction to contain and
eradicate that organism, the attempt should be to
work for a society which will not produce such
maniacal minds; it is also for the scientific
community not to fall into the hands of such
terrorists and help them to produce lethal organism.
[Homœopathy with its base firmly on symptom
similarity finds out rapidly the therapeutic measures
to combat the organisms let loose = KSS]
--------------------------------------------------------------
X. BOOKS
1. Homœopathic Links Tresorie: The virtual
chest of knowledge. Published by Homœopathic
Links and Hompath. CD-ROM $-100. Review by
Jay YASGUR. (HT. 22, 7/2002)
“This CD-ROM program is a 110-megabyte
compilation of over 800 articles from
Homœopathic Links from 1987 through 2000.
The program allows you to search the material by
topic, subject, author, remedy and volume. The
search can be further refined by clicking on the
Help Topics button and then following some
prompts.”
2. Homöopathische Behandlung bei
Säuglingen und Kindern, (Homœopathic
treatment of infants and children), Henry N.
GUERNSEY, 277 Seiten, geb., Simillimum Verlag,
Ruppichteroth, 2001. Є 45, (German). Review by
Martin BÜNDNER (ZKH. 47, 2/2003):
“This book contains the second part of the
single volume English original work, and completes
the earlier publication of the same publisher
“Homöopathie in Gynakologie und
Geburtshilfe”…. The work is based on the singular
characteristic symptom known as Keynotes’,
which leads to the curative remedy… The
indications given by GUERNSEY are
supplemented with information from other sources
well known authors and these are given in
brackets … The work is of great value.”
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 83 of 216
3. Samuel HAHNEMANN in Leipzig Die
Entwicklung de Homöopathie zwishen 1811 und
1821: rderer Gegner und Patienten (Samuel
HAHNEMANN in Leipsic The development of
Homœopathy between 1811 and 1821:
Promoters, adversaries and Patients). Quellen
und Studien zur Homöopathie Geschichte, Band
8., Kathrin SCHREIBER, 274 S., geb., Karl F.
Haug Verlag, Stuttgart, 2002. Є 59.95 (German)
Review by Heinz EPPENICH (ZKH. 47,2/2003)
“The main and sub-titles of the dissertation by
Kathrin SCHREIBER to the main divisions of the
book. Between the Introduction and the end the
authoress writes on the scientific as also the
therapeutic works of HAHNEMANN in Leipsic
and then goes on in detail of its promoters,
opponents and patients. The book is the first
thorough monograph on the Leipsic period of the
founder of Homeopathy. Those who do not
overlook the comments of the authoress that in this
work, is to be got “what has been searched for until
now in the Case Register of HAHNEMANN”, must
appreciate the enormous hard work and great
capacity of the authoress. .. she also suggests that
Case Registers entries are not to be considered as
hitherto but orientated biographically according to
relevant life chapters of HAHNEMANN.. In this
book the social historical investigation is made…
The extension of Homœopathy was possible by
personal contacts with Physicians, Patients and
well-wishers…Regarding the dominant Medicine’s
hostility towards homœopaths the authoress comes
to the conclusion that the homœopaths themselves
had found it much worser than what are now put
forth as historical research. Particularly the attacks
of the opponents were more on the
uncompromising HAHNEMANN rather than on
Homeopathy. It was said that the Apothecaries
together with the established doctors might have
attempted to drive HAHNEMANN out of Leipsic
with police threat. There were many reasons for
HAHNEMANN going out of Leipsic: his fight for
his right for self-dispensation, his disappointment
as a teacher and the disastrous results of his
treatment of SCHWARZENBURG’s death and the
deep fall in the number of his patients… With great
exactness the authoress gives, with the help of
appropriate tables, the number of patients and the
consultation for the individual years. Also the sex,
age, home place, and occupation of the patients
We can summarise that Leipsic HAHNEMANN
though was personally frustrated in many ways,
Homeopathy’s movement forward had been well
laid…”
4. Conquering the brain towards the Essence
of the multiversity and the Akhanda paradigm,
by Dr. A.K. Mukhopadhya, Conscious
Publications, New Delhi. 1995. Rs.550/- Review
Dr. D.B. BISHT (NAMAH. 10, 1/2002): “The
book apparently appears to be straightforward, but
as one goes through, it requires a great mental
effort to absorb all the biological, mental, spiritual,
analytical and synthetic expertise. The work is
based on the purpose of the evolution of the brain.
The author feels that this is to establish an identity
of without with within, following which the brain
acts as a ‘transmissive for a purposeful
manifestational scheme of Consciousness. … A
good approach for a hypothesis.”
5. 1.Myths and Reality about AIDS
2.Homo-Immunization AIDS vs Cancer
both by Dr. Mirza Anwar BAIG, Mafkher
Publications, Bombay. Rs.200/-, Rs.250/-. Review
by D.E.MISTRY (CCR. 9, 2/2002): “… Dr. BAIG
has postulated whether the HIV really damages the
immune system or our immune system is prior
damaged due to our behaviour and lifestyle patterns
or frequent ingestion of toxic drugs…”
“... second book has interested me more
because it deals with his own discovery and
research work for AIDS and Cancer. He has
discovered a method called Homo-Immunization by
means of which if one goes to see the record of his
cases, many AIDS patients and Cancer patients
have become healthy… describes Carcinosin, the
Nosode of Cancer, mentioning the writings of
BURNETT and FOUBISTER, which first made
Carcinosin a very important therapeutic tool for
modern day diseases. Dr. BAIG gives 3 or 4 cases
of his, cured by Carcinosin and mentions his cases
of renal failures, hepato-spleenomegaly, respiratory
allergies, various tumors and mainly AIDS case,
including a strange case of white matter disease all
of which were cured totally by Carcinosin This
is a very interesting book whose practical use can
be found out by anybody who utilizes the Notes
prepared by Dr. BAIG in the manner that he has
advocated. The cure that are given in this book are
astonishing and I see no reason why others cannot
follow in their own clinical practice, the beneficial
results that Dr. BAIG has himself experienced…
--------------------------------------------------------------
XI. NEWS & NOTES
I. Flying under Radar. Virginia Gina TYLER
writes (HT. 22, 6/2002) of a three month-old baby,
suffering from a massive brain haemorrhage and
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 84 of 216
having seizures 24 hours a day
and in hospital.
Silica 200 based upon the following symptoms.
Refuses mother’s milk, vomits milk after
nursing, Convulsions due to vaccination, feet cold,
irritable and heat on head, when sleeping.
Within minutes the baby fell asleep and on
awakening no more seizures.
Brain scans at follow up visits were clear.
Follow-up over three years, remains well.
II. Ronald D.WHITMONT (HT. 22, 6/2002)
Referring to an earlier article which depicts the
problems within the homœopathic community, the
author opines that the same laws which govern the
practice of conventional medicine need to be
applied to the training and supervision of
practitioners of alternative healing modalities,
including Homeopathy. It should not be a system
where physicians are regulated to act justly and
ethically while their alternative counterparts are
free to act without respect for the basic ethical
considerations of their clients.
III. Educating homœopathically ROWE, Todd.
(HT. 22, 7/2002) Homœopathic education is
different from education in other fields particularly
of the Medical System. Good educators would
incorporate what they taught into the process of
education itself. Some of the thoughts of the author
are presented.
IV. Homœopaths honored with special service
awards. CHASE, Sandra M. (HT. 22, 7/2002).
The Martha Oelman Community Service Award
was presented to Nancy KELLY and The Henry N.
Williams Professional Service award to Allen
C.NEISWANDER (born Jan. 3, 1914) at NCH
Annual Conference, 2002 at Phoenix. [Henry N.
WILLIAMS born Sept. 24, 1915 passed Nov. 3,
2002 = KSS.]
V. Homeopathic Pharmacopœia’s 22
nd
Annual
meeting. BORNEMAN J.P. (HT. 22, 7/2002).
The members of the Homœopathic Pharmacopoeia
Convention of the United States (HPCUS) met on
May 5, 2002 at Maryland to discuss issues relating
to new drug approvals, pharmacy manufacturing
changes, regulatory issues and general business.
VI. Letters from Kevin MORRIS (HOM. 87/2002)
The author, a student of Homœopathy and a former
terminally ill Cancer patient negates certain points
in the article “Reflections upon the Ramakrishnan
method” by Clare LONG in the previous issue of
HOM. (QHD. XXI, 1/2004, P. 10)
Kevin MORRIS was a former Cancer patient
declared terminally ill several years ago. He says
that Cancer is a complex and multifaceted problem,
which requires a constitutional remedy which may
or may not be a Nosode. Though the general state
of the patient is likely to be greatly improved by the
remedy, the tumour is likely to remain, still
growing uncontrollably. In such a situation, a
remedy that might act directly upon the tumour,
helps to break it down, so that the Vital Force can
more successfully act.
In his own case, his constitutional remedy
Natrum carbonicum improved the general well
being while it was Lobelia erinus that cured his
tumour. (See IV P. 46, QHD. XX, 1&2/2003)
Kathy LETHBRIDGE writes her views on
same article. Upon which version of Organon
does a classical prescriber base his Philosophy?
[Why this question? In all the six editions of his
Organon, HAHNEMANN never changed the
‘basics’, viz. one remedy ‘that is most similar to the
symptoms of this patient, to be given in the
minimum dose = KSS] A remedy is only
homœopathic when an individual patient has
benefited from it. Otherwise it is not homœopathic,
however good the philosophy behind the
prescription. …. If 100% understanding were a
prerequisite of prescribing no patient would ever
receive a homœopathic remedy [That cannot be an
excuse for half-understood applications. The aim is
100% understanding person = KSS]
Clare LONG replies. Our trade is the study of
principles. Our tools are potentised remedies.
Tools can be used, allopathically, isopathically or
homœopathically… The list is endless…. Whether
something is homœopathic or not depends on
whether it is used homœopathically or not. The
fact that something ‘works’ does not make it
homœopathic. [Yes, Yes. The end does not justify.
The means also counts = KSS]
…. The single remedy is a mission statement,
an expression of purity. As soon as you step out of
this unity, you edge inexorably towards the
pluralism of allopathy.
VII. The Editorial of NAMAH. 10, 1/2002: Dr.
Alok PANDEY discusses the need to look for an
alternative to the ‘Modern Medicine’ (Allopathic
medicine). He has briefly put the ills of the
allopathic medicine and has called for a Medicine
which will not consider Man as a machine and will
not fall a prey to the pharmaceutical industry whose
only goal is profit-making. [HAHNEMANN’s
main fight was with the pharmacists, the
‘Apothecaries’. He told in no uncertain terms that
it was the Apothecaries who were the driving force
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 85 of 216
behind the doctors. It is true even today, to a good
extent in Homœopathy too! How sad!! = KSS].
VIII. Repertory Seminar with Roger Van
Zandvoort. SCHRIEBMAN, Judy. (SIM. XVI,
2/2003) An in-depth discussion on the difference
between the philosophies and assumptions
underlying the structures of the primary repertories
of BOGER, BOENNINGHAUSEN, KENT and
KÜNZLI; and Roger van Zandvoort’s new
repertory in making – ‘Repertorium universalis’.
IX. Report of the committee of the AIH Bio-
terrorism Project (AJHM. 96, 2/2003) The
following article discusses in detail the common
symptoms, conventional treatment, homœopathic
treatment and prophylaxis of the diseases most
likely to be employed as bio-weapons Anthrax,
Smallpox, Plague, Tularemia and Botulism.
[However, these Biological weapons, e.g. Anthrax
is a saviour of lives in the hands of a homœopath.
= KSS] It is said that the weapons-grade Anthrax
which was mailed to the CBS Television was
manufactured in the US Army Biological Warfare
Laboratories. [Nemesis come home to roost? =
KSS]
Some relevant rubrics and the remedies from
Synthesis and Complete Repertory and from
Reference works are given. Some cases and
Websites for reference are also given. [This is a 40
pages-long, interesting article with a lot of
information. Using bioweapons is not new in so far
as the Western Colonialists are concerned, e.g. in
America, Australia to mention only two. Please
refer to column VIII in chapter History of this QHD
=KSS]
X. Allopathic Trojan Horse in Classical
Homœopathy (CCR. 9, 2/2002) is an “open letter
by Rudi VERSPOOR to the homœopathic
Community in the light of recent threats of
biological attacks What can we do to help?” In a
detailed essay VERSPOOR cirticises the so-called
“classical Homœopathy” as unhahnemannian. In
the opening paragraphs he lambasts Paul HERSCU
for his recommendation of vaccinations.
VERSPOOR rightly says that HERSCU’s
arguments are only buttressing the very system of
Medicine condemned by HAHNEMANN.
VERSPOOR argues that HERSCU – a ‘classical
homœopath’ has understood HAHNEMANN’s
teachings wrongly, in fact the “Classical
Homeopathy” as it is taught and practiced is
wrong. He refers to his book Homeopathy Re-
examined, 1999 now available in electronic
media, much revised, added etc. and called The
Dynamic Legacy.
Dr. MISTRY comments clearly and sharply
that HERSCU’s recommendation of vaccinations to
newborn is ridiculous. In the light of MISTRY’s
40 years’ experience the vaccination produced
havoc. Unfortunately the teachings in the
homœopathic colleges are flawed and perfunctory.
In a further response VERSPOOR has again
accused “Classical Homœopathy” that it treats the
patient to the exclusion, indeed ignorance, of the
disease diagnosis which is critical to
HAHNEMANN’s system”.
Dr. MISTRY again replies that there are
Practitioners like himself who do consider the
diagnosis and the patient while there are those who
see only the patient, and so on. Each person
practices, “according to his temperament to practice
one or the other system and perhaps unconsciously”
[more often consciously = KSS] berate the
practitioners of other systems”.
[It is strange that after nearly 200 years of
established Homeopathy which grew up on
English translations by WESSELHOEFT,
DUDGEON, KUNZLI, etc. Organon, Materia
Medica Pura, Chronic Diseases Rudi
VERSPOOR comes along and says that he and
Steven DECKER alone have understood
HAHNEMANN’s Homœopathy correctly and all
those before them were mistaken. Suddenly we are
told that the teachings of Stuart CLOSE, Cyrus
BOGER who knew German quite well,
H.A.ROBERTS, Pierre SCHMIDT are all wrong!
How could it be so? Were they all wrong? How did
they obtain such great results? Does it really matter
whether the term Vital Force is wrong, or Dynamis,
or Life Principle are all wrong or are too far
different, in so far as understanding that what is
taking place is ‘spirit-like, dynamic’? Whether you
call it Primary action or Initial action? Are not these
quibbling with words? Although ‘Geist and
‘Gemüt’ are different in German, in almost all
English Translations, they are both mentioned as
‘Mind’ and no one has quarrelled over it so far. A
word has more than one meaning. What the word
means in a particular context and in a subject would
be expressed differently by different perceivers, in
the light of each one’s culture and environment. =
KSS]
XI. There are articles by different homœopaths in
the HL. 2000-2002, about the ‘scientificity’ of
Homeopathy. Some argue that it is scientific and
some that it is ‘hermetic’ or ‘shamanic’ or ‘occult’.
Dr. Samuel HAHNEMANN founded an Art of
Medical Therapeutics. He did not sit under a tree
and meditate and became enlightened. His
conclusions are the result of experiments of drugs
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 86 of 216
upon humans. Moreover there are fixed
methodologies for preparation of medicines. The
‘freedom’ to the individual Practitioner of
Homeopathy is within these basics. Merely
because someone gave to a long, slender-necked
patient a medicine prepared from Swan’s feather
and that in a potency, and it relieved the patient’s
ailment it does not become Homœopathic
Medicine? Someone says that ‘paper remedies’
work! For that matter incantations have been seen
to work. There have been and there still are many
polluters and pretenders. We should beware.
Unfortunately the Pretender believes he is honest.
We cannot accept all these. Remember the source.
Be honest to that and to yourself. Reader’s
attention is drawn to the HL. 15, 3/2002 in this
connection = KSS.
XII. Free Universal Health care: Hall-mark of
a Civilized Society: (S & C. 69, 1-2/2003) The
author of the article Sisir K. MAJUMDAR, has
argued for zonal health care for also the rich and
poor. He says “with the enormous scientific
advancement in the 20
th
century, medical treatment
has become expensive. Costs prohibit the supply of
high-tech medicine universally.” [What kind of
“scientific advancement” is it that can be useful
only to a few rich? Is it really a scientific
advancement? It cannot be. HAHNEMANN’s
Homeopathy is one that is available even to the
poorest of the poor. Governments - and the
homœopathic community- must make it available
to all=KSS]
XIII. The ‘Science & Culture’, Vol.69, 3-4/2003 is
dedicated to ‘Medical Sciences’. The Editorial by
Dr. C.R.MAITY laments “The increased incidence
of non-communicable diseases like Cardio-thoracic
diseases, Diabetes mellitus, Thalassemia, Arsenic
poisoning, etc. are very alarming and thus throw a
new challenge to the medical fraternity…. It will be
shocking to know that 10% of our child population
is mentally retarded to varying degrees.
Diseases which were not heard of some 50 years
back are now in the rise and at such alarming rate in
certain localities that were almost put to a hopeless
situation....” [What does this “confession” if I may
call it so, mean? Whither the Medical Science
which calls itself modern? = KSS]
--------------------------------------------------------------
LIST OF JOURNALS
Full addresses of the Journals covered by this
Quarterly Homœopathic Digest are given below:
--------------------------------------------------------------
1. AH: The Journal of the North American
Society of Homeopaths, 1122 East Pike Street,
#1122, Seattle, WA 98122, USA.
2. AHZ: Allgemeine Homöopathische Zeitung,
Karl F. Haug Verlag, Hüthig GmbH, im
Weiher 10, 69121, HEIDELBERG,
GERMANY.
3. AJHM: American Journal of Homeopathic
Medicine formerly Journal of the American
Institute of Homeopathy (JAIH). 801 N.
Fairfax Street, Suite 306 Alexandria, VA
22314.
4. CCR: Homoeopathic Clinical Case Recorder,
Dr. Subhash Meher, Near Hotel Chanakya,
Anandrishiji Marg, Burudgaon Road,
AHMEDNAGAR-414001.
5. DH: Documenta Homœopathica, Herausgeben;
LudWig-Boltzmann Institute für Homöopathie,
Mariahilferstrasse 110. A-1070, WIEN,
(VIENNA).
6. HL: Homeopathic Links, Homeopathic
Research & Charities, F/s, Saraswat Colony,
Linking Road, Santacruz (W), MUMBAI – 400
054.
7. HOM: The Homeopath, The Society of
Homeopaths, 4a Artizan Road,
NORTHAMPTON.
8. HOMEOPATHY: Formerly British
Homeopathic Journal (BHJ), Homeopathy,
Faculty of Homeopathy, 29 Park Street West,
Luton, Bedfordshire, LU13BE, UK.
9. HT: Homeopathy Today, National Center for
Homeopathy, 801, North Fairfax Street, Suite
306, ALEXANDRIA, VA. 22314, USA.
10. MedGG: Medizin, Gesellschaft und
Geschichte, Institut für Geschichte der Medizin
der Robert Bosch Stiftung Straussweg 17,
70184 STUTTGART, GERMANY.
11. NAMAH: New Approches to Medicine and
Health, Sri Aurobindo Society,
PONDICHERRY – 605 001.
12. NJH: National Journal of Homœopathy, 71B
Saraswati Road, Near Gokul Icecream,,
Santacruz (W), MUMBAI – 400 054.
13. S&C: Science and Culture, Indian Science
News Association, 92, Acharya Prafulla
Chandra Road, KOLKATA – 700 009.
14. SIM: Simillimum, The Journal of the
Homeopathic Academy of Naturopathic
Physicians, P.O. Box 8341, Covington, WA
98042, USA.
15. ZKH: Zeitschrift für Klassische Homöopathie,
Karl F. Haug Verlag, thig GmbH, Im
Weiher 10, D-69121 HEIDELBERG,
GERMANY.
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 87 of 216
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 88 of 216
PART II
(This section contains abstracts/extracts from selected articles; even the entire article in some cases)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
With a paucity of symptoms
PULFORD, Alfred (SIM. XVI, 2/2003)
The appended cases are cited, not to show
any particular skill either in the selection of the
remedy or in the art of prescribing, but to show
what the indicated remedy will do in cases that do
not get well otherwise or of themselves; and to
show that frequent repetition and plussing are not
necessary, that they too frequently spoil the case,
and that a change of potency is only necessary in
most cases because we have spoiled our cases by
too frequent repetitions. We own up to this
ourselves for we are as guilty of it as you are, but
that does not lessen the crime any, and we are more
to blame than you because we know better, and if
you do not, you ought to.
CASE 1: About 3 years ago V. C. H., a real estate
dealer, walked into our office and said he had been
referred to us by one of our patrons. After carefully
taking his case, all that our efforts and questionings
revealed was: for the past seven years he had every
night without exception, a gnawing pain in the
stomach, for which he had tried persistently to get
relief. Numerous stomach specialists had been
consulted but in vain. Money had been no
consideration in the matter, neither had it been of
any benefit up to the time he had found
Homeopathy. We took up Kent’s Repertory, third
edition, and turned to page 520 and there found
tucked away in modest type: “Pain, gnawing,
night: Abrotanum.He was given a 2 dram vial of
the 30x to take one dose and repeat only if
absolutely necessary. To date it has not been
necessary to repeat and the pain has not returned.
He has become a real booster for Homœopathy.
This case fully illustrated the futility of animal
experimentation for medical prescribing. What
animal proving would have furnished us a clue in
this case?
CASE 2: This case from the strictly prohibition
town of Champaign, III., will best be illustrated by
the patient’s series of notes. The patient, a real
estate dealer, about 60 years old, wrote May 15,
1926: “About seventeen years ago you treated a
brother of mine and did him a lot of good. I was
wondering if you could do anything for me. I have
a chronic case of Syphilis. Have taken treatments
of Mercury and Salvarsan but without any benefit
whatsoever. My case is of thirty years’ standing.
Have excruciating pains in hips, at night, no
appetite, restless sleep, forgetful, mind becoming
affected, and working makes me very nervous.
Those are my symptoms. If you have any idea you
can help me I will take treatment.”
He was sent a dose of Hepar sulph 30x on
two counts; first, the symptoms pointed to no
remedy and he could not come to us and could not
afford to have us come to him, and, secondly, as an
antidote to the Mercury and Salvarsan. He had
placebo in the interim.
November 8
th
, 1926, he writes: “Have
been gaining in weight and feel some better, but
still have pains in my hips mornings, however not
so severe, for which I am thankful.” More Placebo.
December 20
th
, 1926: “Have gained in
weight twenty pounds and pain in hips abating. I
used to feel badly everyday, but now I have some
good days.” More Placebo.
February 5
th
, 1927: “No change from last
report.” One dose Hepar 1M.
March 22
nd
, 1927: “I’m happy to report
that I am feeling a great deal better everyday,
thanking you for your interest in me.” Placebo.
July 18th, 1927: “I’m feeling a great deal
better, for which I thank the Lord and yourself, as I
was in awful shape until I began your treatment.
More Placebo.
August 24th, 1927: “Have derived a vast
amount of good from your treatment, but no change
from last report.” One dose Hepar 10M.
November 3
rd
, 1927: I’m feeling real well
and my old self again. My sincere thanks to you,
but think I ought to stay under your observation for
a while yet.” Placebo.
December 6
th
, 1927: “I’m feeling so good
that I hate to quit you.” Patient discharged. To
date he has remained in the best of health and has
needed no more medicine.
To above case is one of many that
confirms these things; first, that the best results are
obtained by a none-too-frequent repetition of the
drug; that the true simillimum will stop the
downward course of any remedially curable disease
in any stage and start the patient on the road to
recovery at once; that if you have to repeat at all, or
at least too often, that you have perhaps a
somewhat similar remedy, but not the true
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 89 of 216
simillimum and, lastly, that the selection of the
potency of the drug is based solely on the law of
dynamics, i.e., the truer the force is directed to the
object to be moved the less the power necessary to
be developed at the source. In short, the nearer to
the true simillimum, the higher the potency
required to do the best work.
CASE 3: About five years ago Miss B., aged 18
years, was brought to us. For about 10 years she
had been the victim of diurnal enuresis, to the
extent that she was unable to go anywhere. The
least excitement or motion would start the urine to
flow and other than this, no symptoms could be
elicited. After three months of bungling treatment
we found ourselves no better doctor than our
predecessors. One day the mother turned to us and
said, “What makes my daughter so thirsty at times?
She will go a long time, then it seems that she
cannot get enough to drink.” Well, excitement
causes motion, naturally, and Bryonia is decidedly
worse from motion, but even that alone is not
sufficient data on which to prescribe Bryonia, but,
when you add to that the great characteristic: “Great
thirst at long intervals,” which is found under no
other known remedy; there is absolutely no other
choice. It is needless to state that single dose of
Bryonia 1M brought untold joy to all concerned, for
now the young lady can go anywhere at any time.
CASE 4: Is that of a special representative of the
U. S. Steel Corporation, a man about 65, who
developed a very choice specimen of Carbuncle
around the occipital region, which measured eight
inches in diameter. A most malignant, foul,
odorous mass of a dark, purplish hue, that stank to
heaven and burned like fire. We started to make a
thorough botch of this job. Nothing that we could
get gave us a clue to the remedy. Anthracinum,
Arsenicum, Lachesis, Rhus and Tarentula cubensis
were given, but for two weeks we got nowhere
excepting a chance to lose our job. In order to keep
down the odor and help us out in our bungling we
had the part fomented with Calendula and then
applied dry charcoal, but this got us nowhere and
we were beginning to despair of being able to do
anything. To add to the complications the nurse
volunteered to the patient that she had nursed
patients with what had been the largest carbuncles
known, but that she had never seen one as large as
this and that all those she had seen died.
Needless to say she lost her job. While
things were going from bad to worse the patient
volunteered this, “Whenever my bowels start to
move the stool will get part way out and then will
slip back and can only be expelled with the greatest
difficulty.” Needless to state he got a single dose of
Silicea 1M and Placebo. His pain was promptly
relieved and a mass almost as large as a child’s
head suppurated out and left a cavern that was
fearful to behold. He received two more doses of
the 1M and one of the 10M and made one of the
most brilliant and record-breaking recoveries we
have ever seen and it is surprising how nearly the
signs of the scar have been obliterated when one
considers the extent and the jagged edges, for there
are parts along the line almost invisible and the
patient feels better than in years.
CASE 5: This gentleman, an ice dealer, about 40
years of age, had about fifteen years ago a case of
Gonorrhea treated by that “ultra scientific method”
– suppression. As soon as the discharge stopped,
his bowels, which had always been regular before,
became constipated, growing gradually worse and
resisting every effort to rectify the condition. He
spent money freely but in vain trying to find relief.
He finally moved from Columbus to Toledo as his
business interests were centered there. He was
referred to us for a condition of his wife, and while
here he volunteered: “I have never had any use for
Homeopathy myself, but since you have done so
much for my wife I am going to let you see what
you can do for me.” His case was carefully taken
but revealed nothing on which to base a
prescription. On the knowledge of his suppressed
Gonorrhea he was given one dose of Medorrhinum
1M. The relief was prompt and to date has needed
no repetition. This is the second case of this kind
that has come to us with the same result.
CASE 6: This young man who had inherited the
tubercular diathesis came to us eight years ago, the
victim of much mishandling, a poor, weak,
scrawny, emaciated lad who was expected to die at
any time. Auscultation revealed bubbling and
crepitation all over the chest. There was thick,
greenish expectoration, no cough, debilitating night
sweats, especially after midnight and no other
symptoms. He was under observation for three
years. During the first three months he received
each month one dose of Tuberculinum bovinum 30x
and Placebo in the interim. From the very first
dose improvement began.
He then received one dose of the 30x each
three months thereafter until discharged. The
potency was never changed. The father was just
recently at our office and tells us that the son has
never had any other treatment than that we gave
him; that he is now in the best of health and weighs
185 pounds and is one of the most promising
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commercial art students at the Ohio State
University.
CASE 7: This gentleman, about 35 years of age, of
French birth and of tubercular inheritance,
developed sinus trouble. Two operations and a
regular attendance at the specialist’s office twice a
week for three years resulted in naught but financial
benefit to the specialist. His tubercular inheritance;
his constant desire to go somewhere; his thick
green discharge; his aggravation from cold and
damp and his debilitating night sweats after
midnight tempted us to give him one dose of
Tuberculinum 30x. The result was almost
miraculous. There was a change within 24 hours.
While he is still under observation there has been
neither change of remedy nor repetition and the
improvement is going on rapidly.
CASE 8: Dr. G. Blase is reported by P. D. and Co.
to show the superiority of vaccines in the treatment
of Whooping cough, to have treated fifty-two cases
by the seral method and two hundred fifty cases by
other methods. The cases received eight injections
and recovered in eight to sixteen days, while those
treated by other methods lasted three to five
months. Contrast that doubtful method with
Homeopathy, which cures Whooping cough while
you wait. Mr. G., a patient of ours, just fresh from
the ranks of allopathy, spoke of his little boy whom
our allopathic friends had been treating for over
two months for a fully developed case of Whooping
cough. All he could tell us was that “The boy woke
regularly at 3 a.m. and on waking his upper eyelid
puffed out. Could we send a remedy?” We sent a
powder of Kali carb. 1M. The child had a slight
cough that night and no cough since; is now in the
best of health and has been the means of fully
converting the mother to Homœopathy.
CASE 9: We were asked to see a little lad of about
three years of age. Perhaps those who hold such
veneration for allopathic diagnosis will be quite
shocked when we say that we hold his diagnosis in
contempt. This little lad had what we believe to
have been a masked case of Scarlet Fever whose
prodrome was said to be confusing, so much so,
that it baffled the august skill of both the allopathic
fraternity and the health board combined. The rash
failed to show up properly and the allopaths
unfortunately had no Bryonia to bring the rash to
the surface. They started in to cure the rash, with
the little patient going moribund as fast as he could
go.
Here is what we found: A little, helpless,
puny, whimpering, almost lifeless child whose little
limbs were drawn up in a tension, his whole body
was tense; parts ulcerated from head to foot; skin
angry red, tense, and shiny over lower parts of
thighs and knees; skin where not ulcerated looked
like the skin of a ripe tomato that had been scalded
prior to being peeled, desquamating in large sheets,
one desquamation following another rapidly.
Oxide of zinc ointment was used to heal up the
ulcers and the body otherwise dusted with aristol
powder and God alone knows what he had been
given internally. It was one of the most pitiable
cases we have seen in all our forty-three years
practice. We could hardly suppress the tears.
On top of all the suffering he was tortured
with good scrubbings with soap and water. The
nurse was shocked when we stopped the soap and
water for moist cornmeal and the aristol for rice-
flour. The little fellow was given a dose of Sulphur
30x with no result. As we could get no data on
which to base a prescription, but feeling firmly in
our own mind that it was a case of suppressed rash
and that Sulphur was the only logical remedy, he
got a single dose of the CC. The reaction to this
dose was prompt. Within twenty-four hours there
was a change in his disposition and in quick
succession a rapid regaining of strength, a return of
appetite, a more normal pink to the skin, a decrease
in the size of the desquamations and a rapid healing
of the ulcers. In two weeks the lad was almost
normal, and that without change or repetition of the
remedy. At the end of three weeks he was able to
have his wish gratified that “he be allowed to go
outdoors and dig in the dirt.” All of this on a single
dose of a single remedy.
CASE 10: Mr. H. W., age 37, came to us with a
beautifully complicated case of Asthma, cold and
stormy weather only, and a scaly eruption over the
entire body which was extremely red, fingers
cracked and bleeding and covered with vesicles and
scales exuding a watery fluid, itching and burning
intolerably causing him to scratch continually. His
wife said that she got nearly a dustpan full of scales
every morning from the bed before she could make
it up. Aside from the Asthma and what we could
see, he could give no other symptoms. On April
13
th
he received one dose of Arsenicum 1M and has
had no other medicine since. At the present writing
the entire train of symptoms have improved rapidly
and the skin is almost clean.
TOLEDO, OHIO.
DISCUSSION.
Dr. UNDERHILL: I have a very interesting case of
a girl, 12 years old, who came in with Eczema of
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the scalp, all her hair had come out and it was dry
and very scaly and this condition was of a year and
a half standing. Upon the symptoms of the patient I
gave her Pulsatilla 200; that began to work right
away. Inside of six months there wasn’t a vestige
of Eczema on her scalp, her hair came in, today she
is perfectly well and healthy after about a year of
prescribing. She had only had one dose when her
mother came in with her and said: ”Doctor, I am
discouraged.” I said, “Why?” “Well, Eleanore has
the same old catarrh back again.”
I had been negligent in taking the case in
that I didn’t find out about the catarrh, but I found
out now about the catarrh and that she had had for
years a persistent nasal catarrh, thick greenish, and
greenish-yellow mucus. They had taken her to a
specialist who had been very successful in “curing”
the catarrh; in other words, he suppressed it. In
about a month or two after the suppression the
eczema came out. I said, “It is plain to be seen the
eczema came out because the catarrh was
suppressed. Now the eczema has been cured and
the catarrh has come back. We will get after that
and see what we can do.” I repeated the Pulsatilla
200 and I think, since then, I have given her the
1M. She has no catarrh and no Eczema at the
present time.
Dr. WRIGHT: Since we are reminiscing
for a moment on cases of skin diseases, I might tell
of a little boy of three whom I had in the outpatient
department. His mother, who was the patient, said,
“I wish you could do something for this child, his
face has had this horrible Eczema since he was two
years old. I have had him to every doctor and they
have given yellow salve, white salve and black
salve and none of it has done any good.”
I looked at the child. He had no symptoms
of any suppression. Finally the mother remarked,
“Every time he goes near the stove his face gets
burning red” and immediately I thought of
Antimonium crudum. I gave him one dose of the
2C and by the end of five weeks that child was
clear for the first time in a year and a half, and has
stayed so.
Dr. OLDS: In relation to this Kali carb.
case of Whooping cough, I want to confirm that, or
to recall the time several years ago when we had an
epidemic of Whooping cough. A young lady came
into the office. She had been taking care of some
children who had Whooping cough and she had
started in with a very persistent cough that looked
like the beginning of Whooping cough. She had
the identical symptoms as Dr. Pulford’s case. It
was a 2 a.m. aggravation of the cough, and one
dose of Kali carb. I don’t remember what potency
and in twelve hours it completely disappeared.
Another thing that came to my mind, while
these cases, particularly that Abrotanum case, were
recited, was a subject that I think has not been
treated of in this convention, and that is on the
poisoning of our patients with aluminum. I believe
that a great many of our stomach cases at the
present day, as well as others, are due to aluminum
poisoning. I want to refer you to a book by Dr.
Charles Betz of Toledo, Ohio, who has written
quite extensively on this subject, and rather proves
his case. In my own experience I feel that he is
right, that we are bucking up against aluminum
poisoning a great deal of the time. He has
demonstrated that the ordinary individual who has
all of his food cooked in aluminum utensils, his
coffee made in an aluminum percolator, who uses
all aluminum utensils and alum baking powders, is
taking from 13 to 15 grains of aluminum hydroxide
every day. That ought to be enough to poison
anybody.
I have found in certain cases of stomach
ulcer, that where those things are prohibited my
case comes along very much better than it would
otherwise. I think that is something for the
membership to look into.
Dr. PULFORD: Mr. Chairman, I wish to
confirm what the doctor just said. Dr. Betz in
Toledo proved his case through whatever he did on
homœopathic methods and he is right on that.
Dr. OLDS: I might say further, if anyone
wishes to prove this thing out for himself, here is a
very simple proof (as to the aluminum): Take a
quart of water and boil it in an aluminum utensil for
about twenty minutes. Boil it vigorously, pour that
into a clear glass jar, then take some other utensil
like agateware or porcelainware, and boil the same
amount of water and pour it into another jar and let
it stand all night and look at them in the morning.
One will look like milk, the other will be clear.
CHAIRMAN DIXON: Any further
discussion?
Dr. PULFORD: Nothing excepting that in
the present undeveloped state of Homœopathy, we
are having to zigzag a lot of cases around. We are
having to use a lot of physiological remedies which
we wouldn’t if the thing was completed. It is up to
us to go ahead and complete the unfolding of it.
We are standing still, we are dormant, and we
should be getting ahead and curing a lot of cases
that we are zig-zagging from one remedy to
another.
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2. A STUDY OF SOME MEDICINES OF
MINERAL ORIGIN*
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Characteristics according to the age, relation to
endocrines.
DANO G. (HG. Vol. XXIII, 3/1956)
I. RELATING TO CONSTITUTIONAL
TYPE NORMAL AND PATHOLOGIC
We will study here some constitutional
medicines of mineral origin, especially the three
Calcareas and we will broach each of them
according to the different aspects by which they
represent themselves in the course of Human Life.
What do we mean by mineral
constitution?
We will define it thus: A group of
symptoms somatic, morphologic, nervous etc., that
give a character to most of the individuals from the
very birth. Among those symptoms some remain
constant in the course of the development of the
individuals.
The constitutional mineral remedies may
be studied from two angles.
They may be studied in the Static form,
which we call Normal. We have then a patient who
is predisposed only to develop some morbid
symptoms corresponding to the medicine in
question. This interpretation should be compared
with the observations of HAHNEMANN. During
the experiments on healthy bodies it was seen that
there were some individuals who were particularly
sensitive to some medicines, that is to say,
predisposed to the disturbing actions of the
remedies.
The remedies may also be broached under
pathologic form.
In this case we will have to consider a
group of symptoms determined by the affections,
intoxications and perturbations of the glands.
These symptoms characterise different pictures, but
they are all the characteristics of the medicine in
question. These perturbations may attack the
patient before the birth or in the course of his
development.
II. ADVANTAGE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF
CONSTITUTIONAL MINERAL TYPE.
From different points of view the
knowledge of constitutional mineral types has
different advantages.
It allows a certain classification of human
types. It allows often to foresee the defense
reaction of human beings, their affinity to some
medicines or to endocrines, and the diet that will
suit them better.
In long lasting acute stages that are
accompanied by dangerous demineralization, this
knowledge orients the mind of the doctor towards
the constitutional mineral salt that will suit the
patient, especially the Calcareas and Silicea. This
knowledge has a primordial interest to uphold the
failing organism.
Last of all the indicated salt is always a
ground remedy of the individual in question during
the whole course of his existence: It is and will
remain the best remedy of the individual in
question.
Let us add that, taking as the basis this
substratum that represent a mineral constitution, we
may study the important constitutional remedies:
Thuya, Lycopodium etc., with the particular
physiognomy that they develop according to the
mineral type with which they have a special affinity.
III. THE CALCAREA CONSTITUTIONS
The three Calcareas, Calcarea carbonica,
Calcarea phosphorica, and Calcarea fluorica, are
three real chef de fils among the mineral
constitutions.
Generally these three mineral types are
seen from the very birth, particularly the first two.
The other types successively develop in course of
the evolution of the individual, and in old age.
How an individual passes from the static
morphologic type, to the pathologic type? By what
mechanism, the assimilation, the fixation, the
repartition of the salts of Calcium are done in an
abnormal way, and make up the well defined and so
different morbid types?
There is no doubt that Tuberculosis,
Syphilis, and Ethylism attack particularly some
glands and we may find some symptoms relating to
thyroid, parathyroid, and supra-renal glands.
Whatever it may be, there are on the one
hand some common points, a fixed substratum
between the static or normal type and the
pathologic type, and on the other hand we may find
the appearance of some characteristic new
symptoms that are the real image of the deep seated
trouble of which the essence escapes us, but we
may interpret it as the Calcium disturbance.
IV. CALCAREA CARBONICA
NORMAL TYPE
First infancy
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Child has a strong bony framework, rather
short-limbed, vigorous and has a very good
muscular tonus. The head is strong, the forehead is
large. The ends of the fingers are square. It has a
tendency to profuse sweat in the neck; dentition
normal, sometimes early. The teeth are white and
large, regularly planted. The upper lip is
prominent. Soon learns to walk, sometimes earlier.
The belly is large. The child has a tendency to
become fat, very fat.
It grows.
Children headstrong, and yield only to
reasoning.
They are students of medium merit,
serious, do not feel fatigue to work.
Their sleep is regular and deep, with an
easy wake-up in the morning. The tendency to
sweat in the head at night is still seen.
Sulphur is the frequent complementary,
specially when in the very infancy some cutaneous
troubles are seen in children of vigorous Calcarea
carbonica type. In this case we can make a real
treatment of disintoxication in the very beginning
of the life. The individuals treated in this way
become, when they are adults, very strong and
stout.
PATHOLOGICAL TYPE
We find frequently the strong bony
framework but under different influences, the
calcification has undergone deep perturbations and
is markedly late. We may find some exostoses and
curvatures of bones in the same child (troubles of
the parathyroid).
In these children, the fontanelles are
closed late; painful dentition with different
troubles. The child should be taught to walk but it
will be late; its legs have the tendency to become
like bows. The child is very heavy with a
disproportioned belly; it is physically and
intellectually slow; its muscles are soft.
The head is very big, the forehead is very
large, the upper lip protruding.
The appetite is anomalous; bulimia or
anorexia, desire for indigestible articles, e.g., chalk,
charcoal, stones, etc., tendency to hyperchlorhydria
(sour vomiting, cannot digest milk).
The skin is pale and fine, of chalky look.
A sour smell comes out of the skin. The skin
becomes easily yellowish as soon as the patient
becomes ill.
There is a tendency to “Milk crusts”,
Eczema in the scalp that extends to the face;
profuse sweat in the head especially at night; acid
sweat that soddens the pillow.
Chronic dilatations of the pupils and the
child complains of a great sensitiveness to light.
Keratitis may be seen in a Calcarea carbonica
child.
The child is afraid at night (Belladonna,
Stramonium).
These children suffer from gland troubles:
The ganglions are larger but less hard than those of
Silicea. The child is chilly, its body, specially the
feet are cold. The head is often hot.
A tendency to otitis and otorrhoea is seen,
with throbbing and sudden pains (Belladonna). In
fever Belladonna will often be the remedy, (high
temperature, profuse sweat, mydriasis, deep
asthenia, delirium, dreams).
There exists also a type like Phosphorus,
suitable to Calcarea carbonica, having the same
characteristics that we have just related: late
dentition, late walking, localized sweats etc. – this
is a pre-tuberculous type.
Whatever may be the cause of the deep-
seated trouble of metabolism of calcium salts, of
glands or diets, Calcarea carbonica in attenuation
is extremely efficacious.
In these children of Calcarea carbonica
type, a dose of Sulphur (12 or 30), given according
to the symptoms of the remedy that are frequently
noted, will help Calcarea carbonica 12 to 30 to
develop fully its effects. This is true specially
when there is a dilatation of the pupils, which is
already remarked by HAHNEMANN.
In more advanced cases the indications of
Silicea are seen. The chilliness is extreme, the
timidity is extreme, the sweats of the feet have a
bad smell.
Thyroidin in material doses (1 to 10
centigrammes) is very frequently indicated in these
children suffering from Hypothyroidism and
troubles of adenoids. When the troubles of
adenoids are more advanced the Pituitary extract
(anterior lobe) is often indicated on the data
established many years ago by Leopold Lévi whose
observations have a very great value.
Marmoreck 30, and Bacillinum 30 are
Nosodes that are indicated.
ADOLESCENT
NORMAL TYPE
Young man.
Vigorous, rabbit-backed, strongly built
man.
He has an organizing capacity; energetic
and becomes a leader.
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He has a special affinity to learn
mathematics; he is a logician but less imaginative.
Young girl.
The girl has a round figure; the breasts are
tight and big. Good and vigorous health. Dentition
is good and regular.
Her mind is calm, well balanced,
ponderous, but sometimes a bit slow.
Menses are irregular, late and abundant.
PATHOLOGICAL TYPE
Young man.
1. Young man having tendency to Obesity,
blond and blue eyed; pale and incapable of physical
efforts inspite of his robust appearance; have no
self-confidence, slow in work.
Abundant sweat specially in the head.
He is a demineralised type; has less power
of resistance against diseases; Hypothyroidism.
Complementaries: Silicea, Graphites,
Pulsatilla, Natrum sulphuricum.
2. Calcarea carbonica has also an
emaciated oxygenoid type. Has abundant sweats,
specially marked in the head and in the forehead.
Dyspnoea, palpitations, rush of blood in the heart
and in the head.
Physical and mental weakness are also
seen.
Young girl
1. Young girl sometimes emaciated, but often
round and soft of the aspect called “lymphatic” and
“Chlorotic”.
All the tissues are soft.
The face is pale, but becomes easily red by
the least congestion. The hands and the feet are
always cold, and often humid; tendency to catch
cold but there is a longing for cold air (Pulsatilla,
Arsenicum).
Frequent palpitations.
Menses are abundant, early, preceded by
painful swelling of the breasts; menses appear by
the least cause: an emotion, anger, a bit of exercise
(cf Trillium pendulum 6); Late menstruation in
young, plethoric, and soft girls; Calcarea carbonica
is the best suited remedy of these girls.
Complementaries: Graphites, Pulsatilla, Kali
carbonicum, Natrum muriaticum, Marmoreck.
With Belladonna it is also a good remedy
when there is suppression of menses accompanied
by hyperemia and palpitations.
The young girls of Calcarea carbonica are
often sad and preoccupied with religious ideas and
may become abnormally religious (Pulsatilla,
Arsenicum). Physical and mental weakness. The
sleep is troubled by dreams.
2. Young girl, emaciated, oxygenoid, tuberculinic
or tuberculous.
Menses are replaced by leucorrhoea.
ADULT TYPE
NORMAL TYPE
Vigorous, physically and mentally
resisting, broad shoulders, broad forehead, and big
jaws, with large teeth normally planted.
A person, shortlimbed, globulous muscles
having a strong tonus. The hands are short, and
strong; the tips of the fingers are square. He is a
realiser, organiser, with a strong will power. He is
authoritative, becomes angry for a short time, but
he is violent when angry, ‘Jupiter type’.
He becomes tyrannical when there is
complete absence of resistance (Lycopodium, Nux
vomica).
He is a good student of mathematics: most
of the mathematicians and accountants are of
Calcarea carbonica type.
Frequent loss of imagination, difficulty
and slowness for adaptability. But they may
become very great specialists (easily adapting,
Calcarea phosphorica).
Can make intellectual and physical works.
Last of all, his genital organs are also very
powerful.
In a word: hypercrinic type having
tendency to Hypertension and Obesity. Its
symptoms are comparable to Sulphur, Lycopodium,
Nux vomica and later on to Causticum (Mussolini
type).
PATHOLOGICAL TYPE
1. Plethoric.
Vigorous, florid but slow individual.
Physical and intellectual resistance is very poor.
We may see a very particular type of
Calcarea carbonica, especially a psychic type, who
has undergone an intense nervous over-work, and
an excessive activity. KENT has remarked that
these persons have a sensation of weakness, a
mental weakness, so much so that they think they
are losing the power of reasoning. They are
absorbed and try to distract themselves by futile
occupations. When they are in company they can
control themselves.
Tendency to abundant sweats, specially in
the head and forehead. They suffer from rheumatic
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pains, especially in humidity. These pains are
ameliorated by continual movement (Rhus. tox.)
Deep seated abscess (KENT).
If they are sedentary, they will show some
symptoms of Lycopodium and Nux vomica, with
nervousness, plethora, and digestive and hepatic
troubles.
When there are gonococcic antecedents,
they will show symptoms of Natrum sulphuricum;
hydrogenoid type, with tendency to neoformations
(Thuya).
2.Emaciated.
It is a pretuberculous or tuberculous type
(right lobe), emaciated, asthenic, always fatigued.
He has sweats at night. Tendency to congestion of
the heart and of the face. The heart is painful, and
sensitive to touch with a congestive sensation.
Tickling cough, dry cough at night, humid
in the morning. The dyspnoea is worst towards the
evening.
Chilly person having a tendency to catch
cold easily. He is very discouraged and has no self-
confidence.
The sleep is not restful, it is agitated and
full of dreams.
Cannot bear fatty foods and meat.
ADULT WOMAN
NORMAL TYPE
A fleshy woman, vigorous, whose breasts
are not excessively big but very largely implanted,
with abundant glandular tissues.
She has a good mental and physical
equilibrium. She is a good housewife. She is
energetic and ponderous but sometimes has a very
difficult character (Juno type).
Menses are regular, abundant, preceded by
swelling of breasts.
During menses she has some symptoms of
hyperfunction of the suprarenal and pituitary.
PATHOLOGICAL TYPE.
Inspite of the plethoric aspect, these
women are asthenic, and weak, have no mental or
physical resistance. They have no self-confidence,
have many psychic troubles, fixed ideas (Thuya).
Sometimes they are very angry with redness of the
face (Belladonna), and on the contrary they are sad
and they weep easily (Pulsatilla).
They are chilly, and have cold
perspirations of hands and feet.
The menses are early of long duration,
often of a hemorrhagic character with clots. The
least mental excitation causes the appearance of
menstruation. The breasts are swollen before
menses.
Tendency to polypi, to swelling of glands,
to malignant tumors of the breast etc. (Thuya).
Thuya, Conium (neoformations),
Graphites, are often its complementaries.
OLD
NORMAL TYPE
Vigorous, still energetic and authoritative.
Teeth are all right. The genital power lasts for a
long time.
Can still work hard and the longivity is
sometimes abnormal (Example: Victor Hugo,
Clemenceau, HAHNEMANN, Rabindranath).
PATHOLOGICAL TYPE.
Old man, suffering from Hypertension,
having a tendency to hemorrhage towards the age
of 60. Aortic ectasis.
Tendency to polypi, and to malignant
tumors.
Vigorous but weak old man whose
symptoms are complicated with those of Causticum
and Baryta carbonica.
V. CALCAREA PHOSPHORICA
Although in Calcarea phosphorica,
neutral phosphate of Calcium, the element
phosphorous is strongly masked, yet some
symptoms of this element is seen throughout the
pathogenesis of Calcarea phosphorica, e.g., a
tendency to erethism, hyperfunction of the tissues of
glands and consequent weakness.
On the other hand, the element calcium
explains the affinity of this medicine to the osseous
tissues and to spasmophile temperament as well.
Like Calcarea carbonica, we will study
the static type or normal type and the pathological
type.
THE CHILD
NORMAL TYPE
Longlimbed child, dolichocephalic (long
headed), brown coloured, with delicate skin, fine
hairs, and long eye brows.
Its intelligence is precocious and the
development is early; it already manifests high
sentiments; it is very affectionate. It is extremely
fragile to all sorts of tuberculous affections.
(Saratchandra type).
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PATHOLOGICAL TYPE
If the child is born with the symptoms of
Calcarea phosphorica, we almost find a history of
Tuberculosis in his family. But the pathological
symptoms may manifest themselves ulteriorly, in a
predisposed constitution, after a prolonged disease
or alimentary disorder. It is specially in the last
case the longlimbed type flourishes very well. We
may suppose that because of the insufficiency of
Calcium phosphate and some concomitant
endocrine troubles, there is a persistency of the
conjugation of the cartilage, as the child does not
normally stop its growth. When after a long
continuous disease, or after a long convalescence,
an excessive growth is seen with some symptoms
of asthenia, Calcarea is one of the most precious
remedies. Inversely we may note in some children
needing Calcarea carbonica, a cessation of the
functions of the cartilages, with exostosis. In that
case, we will have some dwarf children of Calcarea
phosphorica type called rickety.
The bony development has different
troubles. The fontanelles remain open for a long
time, especially the posterior fontanelle. Dentition
is painful and the child learns to walk late.
The neck is very thin. The child is lean,
emaciated. The abdomen is shallow and flask like.
It asks for eating but vomits easily. It has
green diarrhoea with flatulence and splashing
diarrhoea.
It is nervous, agitated, always complains
of heat. It has spasms: According to Schussler,
Calcarea phosphorica is the best remedy for chorea
of puberty.
It is predisposed to different affections of
glands.
Calcarea phosphorica and Arsenicum
iodatum in lower attenuations are complementary
to each other, and Marmoreck 30 as well.
In less acute cases: Calcarea phosphorica
6 or 30 once to thrice a week. Thyroid may be
given but with caution.
ADOLESCENT AND ADULT
NORMAL TYPE.
The Calcarea phosphorica adult has a tall
figure. Its forehead is elevated and very prominent;
the hairs are thrown backwards. A strong nose.
The colour is dull, the hairs are black,
contracted jaw, irregular implantation of the teeth
(uneven). The contraction of the jaw causes the
superior incisors to become larger and very long
that cover up the lower incisors. This type of
dentition is often seen in the Anglo Saxons. The
palate, because of the contraction of the jaw, is
slightly oviform.
The limbs are long, but the articulations
are sufficiently strong. The thorax is narrow, the
back is stooping. The hands, especially the fingers,
are very long and thin (hand of an artist).
The general aspect gives an impression of
distinctions, and natural easiness (Apollo type).
Good taste, a born artist, very high mentality, very
good imagination, ideas come very rapidly.
Adaptation is easy. This is a characteristic
of Calcarea phosphorica (Opposite: Calcarea
carbonica)
Marked activity in the evening; in the
morning the individual is very lazy, he must sleep
late in order to restore his balance (inverse:
Calcarea carbonica). From the ethnic point of
view, some normal types of Calcarea phosphorica
are seen in persons living in mountains in
easterners, and very frequently in the Anglo-
saxons.
Let us note on the contrary that the
Germans are often Calcarea carbonica type.
The sexual desire is very strong, but
cannot bear sexual excess (asthenia, headaches).
Appetite is generally very great;
sometimes it is excessive. In fact the Calcarea
phosphorica adult is a oxygenoid type who eats
much and must have good nourishing food to keep
up his weight. Calcarea carbonica is the opposite.
It takes weight easily.
This very simple remark leads us to
criticise the regimen according to the age of the
patient, without taking into account their
constitution.
PATHOLOGICAL TYPE.
The individual is more fragile than
Calcarea carbonica and Calcarea fluorica. Easily
he loses phosphate and demineralises himself.
Very easily the symptoms of Calcarea phosphorica
develop.
The persons of this type cannot bear the
loss of vital fluids: long continued diarrhoea, night
sweat, repeated pregnancy, very frequent
menstruation, pollutions, chronic bronchitis etc.
To give the constitutional calcium to these
demineralised persons is to give “the marvellous
tonic” according to the expression of Schussler. It
augments the tissue resistance of the patient.
With these causes of demineralisation, we
may compare the very rapid growth, which often
causes weakness. In these persons Calcarea
phosphorica
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is the best suited remedy. Because of the rapid
growth the resistance of the tissues are not
sufficiently strong; the patient defends himself
badly in acute diseases, and his convalescence is
very slow.
When we study the symptoms of the
pathological Calcarea we will note that the radical
phosphorus, predominates by its symptoms such as:
erethism, sexual excitation, hyperemic tendency,
easy perspiration, fatiguability and amelioration by
sleep. Hyperthyroidism is also seen with
palpitations, tachycardia, cerebral excitation,
agitation and nervousness. It is for this reason the
application of thyroid should be manipulated with
the greatest prudence.
On the other hand we may equally see,
depression with mental weakness and asthenia with
very painful headache specially after even very
slight intellectual work (Complementary Natrum
muriaticum).
In Calcarea phosphorica type the appetite
is very irregular: frequent anorexia, very much
hungry towards 4 O’clock in the evening.
The desire for salted and smoked meat is a
characteristic. In this type all sorts of tuberculous
affections are seen (Calcarea phosphorica 2x or
3x).
The most frequent complementaries in this
case are: Arsenicum iodatum, Sulphur iodatum
and T.K.
OLD
NORMAL TYPE.
An old man of high and lean stature
without any tendency to Obesity (opposite:
Calcarea carbonica). He wears always choice
suit, and the natural distinction is seen even inspite
of advanced age.
Cerebral predominance is still marked.
PATHOLOGICAL TYPE.
Power of resistance is much less here, than
in Calcarea carbonica, because there is an easy
demineralisation which causes the insufficiency of
tissue resistance. The bones become weak; he has
easy fractures.
* * *
Between Calcarea carbonica and
Calcarea phosphorica some intermediary types are
seen, but generally the one type predominates over
the other. We will speak of them later.
But they may be complicated with another
constitution, the fluoric constitution, when Syphilis
steps in and modifies more or less the initial
constitution. We are now going to study that
Fluoric constitution.
VI. CALCAREA FLUORICA
In a few words Calcarea fluorica is the
heredosyphilitic type, with dystrophia of bones,
nervous incoordination.
There is no doubt that there exists a purely
Calcarea fluorica type, but very often it is
complicated with the types of the two other
Calcareas. For this reason the morphology is
various which makes the study very difficult.
We may see some Calcarea fluorica
aspects of normal type, but the nervous and mental
incoordinations are characteristics.
On the contrary we may see that the bones
are attacked with dystrophia with a perfect mental
equilibrium.
Most of the glands are attacked in
Calcarea fluorica type.
The anterior lobe of hypophysis cerebri is
responsible for the attack of the glands.
CHILD
It is often difficult to distinguish the
Calcarea fluorica type at birth. Most of the
characteristics will appear only in the course of its
development. Its weakness of glands will become
apparent gradually.
However a close examination will show
that the skeleton is less developed; some slight
anomaly of the cranial box is seen, a protrusion will
be already visible, especially of the upper maxilla;
an abnormal transparence of the skin through which
the veins are seen.
As the child grows, the anomalies become
precise, some new anomalies develop and when it
attains puberty the anomalies become tangible.
A boy
The ligamentary laxity is seen at first.
These boys have an abnormal flexibility of the
body. Their mental symptoms are to be noted:
unstable, paradoxal, there being no harmony in
their gestures.
They are very intelligent students, but they
are difficult, because they are unstable,
incoordinate, superficial and they adapt themselves
to their task with difficulty. They have a weak
character, egoists. They are masters of their
reactions.
They may become vulgar, sometimes
filthy.
The anomalies regarding the bones are
already apparent: anomalies of the cranial box, with
a tendency to exostosis. It is generally small with a
tiny protubated forehead; there exists a facial
asymmetry, and prognathism of the upper maxilla.
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The teeth are bluish white, that crumble
down at the edges; they are sometimes very small
and thin set. Sometimes the teeth are abnormally
implanted, in an up-and-down manner.
The lips are flat; The upper gum is largely
exposed when laughing. The hairs are hard, brittle
and planted high upon a protruded forehead.
Scoliosis and Lordosis are seen.
Last of all, the hands and the feet are
abnormally small.
ADULT
Man
The mental characteristics that we have
seen in the Calcarea phosphorica type are seen
inspite of the good education that checks them
down.
The loss of control of the nervous system is
a very important characteristic: cannot control the
gestures that are stupid and disgraceful; the
attitudes are disharmonious and exaggerated.
The spontaneity of resolutions takes a
different form: He cannot control his answers, thus
he makes irreparable mistakes.
The loss of adaptation is the result of the
nervous disequilibrium. He cannot perfect himself,
and do his works regularly.
The head is generally small with a
protruded forehead.
The troubles of the sense organs are
frequent: Myopia, Astigmatism, tendency to
Cataract, and Deafness because of Otosclerosis.
The tongue is small and pointed, the lips
are thin and flat; thick lips are also seen that expose
the gum (upper) while laughing.
The teeth are irregularly implanted, they
are planted in an up-and-down way.
The enamel is transparent, bluish white,
visible on the sides where there is an opal-like
colour. The teeth are small, and widely; we may
also find an abnormally small incisor, by the side of
a normal one. They are brittle.
Alimentation of Calcarea fluorica is
paradoxal, sometimes a very weak food is sufficient
to give a balance.
The kidneys are fragile, and there is
frequent albuminuria (Apis, Lachesis).
The fragility of the elastic tissues causes
different troubles: Visceral ptosis, Bronchial
dilatation, Emphysema, and Hernia etc.
The ectases are rather veinous than arterial
(varices, hemorrhoids).
The limbs have an abnormal laxity.
The Scoliosis and Lordosis are frequent.
The articular pains have the character of
Rhus tox. Crackling sound of the articulations,
because of the insufficiency of the synovial liquid.
All the secretions of Calcarea fluorica are
insufficient. The skin is transparent and fine with
less sweat.
Because of the bad quality of the elastic
tissues, some fissures are easily caused.
Let us note last of all the tendency to
exostosis, ankylosis, and sclerous formations.
Glands become stone hard.
Woman.
We will find here most of the principal
characteristics that we have already seen.
Disharmony of gestures and of attitudes.
The loss of control changes into an
impatient character often paradoxal, talkative and
indiscreet. She cannot check herself from what she
wants to speak.
Regarding dress she is a coquette. She
puts on dresses of very high colour that attract
others.
The head is small, fine and irregular. In
low dresses she is very beautiful, because of her
falling shoulders and voluminous breasts, but the
breasts are never tight, and so almost always a
brassiere is required.
Lactation is poor. Even menses are not
sufficient.
All the secretions of Calcarea fluorica are
not sufficient: less milk, less saliva, less sweat, less
synovial juice, less menstruation.
Many women suffer from uterine ptosis
but the number of sterile women is also high.
The limbs are abnormally supple; the hips
are very voluminous, the upper portions of the
hands are well formed. The extremities are very
small.
During menopause, the mental symptoms
may aggravate with concomitant Thyroid reaction.
Fatigability
Calcarea carbonica. It can resist fatigue
for a long time. It feels it very less.
Calcarea phosphorica. Has less
resistance. Cannot work for a long time. It is an
oxygenoid type. Can do brilliant performances
(Can run very easily 100 metres).
Calcarea fluorica. It is paradoxal.
Sometimes we may note very good resistance, so
much so that it seems to be abnormal in a fragile
constitution.
Dress.
Calcarea carbonica. It dresses always in a
simple way, in a classic manner. It has not always
good taste.
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Calcarea phosphorica. Dresses very
elegantly, has very good taste, colour of the dress is
always mild, does very good toilet.
Calcarea fluorica. Very coquettish, very
stylish, has always the latest mode, likes bright
colours.
In circus
Calcarea carbonica. It is an athlete.
Calcarea phosphorica. A juggler, and
prestidigitator.
Calcarea fluorica. It is a clown.
VIII. CONSTITUTIONAL MEDICINES AND
MINERAL CONSTITUTIONS
SOME EXAMPLES
When we study the constitutional
medicines like Sulphur, Thuya, Lycopodium, many
different types are seen according to the calcium
constitutions into which the medicines have
evolved.
In a Materia Medica these types are not yet
distinguished. They are expressed in a very
disorderly way, but it is necessary to distinguish the
different physiognomies. Because, in the flow of
the symptomatology that we have before our eyes,
with symptoms very often contradictory, we do not
note that we have a juxtaposition of syndromes that
are manifested on some mineral constitutions that
are in reality very different.
(Let us note here that we have not
undertaken the study of Silicea and Baryta
carbonica, which we consider as two medicines of
primordial mineral constitution).
Sulphur.
Compared with Calcarea carbonica, it has
a very vigorous type, which defends well, has
different cutaneous eruptions.
Compared with Calcarea phosphorica, it
is very oxygenoid, tendency to Tuberculosis
(Sulphur iodatum).
Compared with Calcarea fluorica, it is
puny, pale, has a tendency to Hypertension.
Congestive troubles, circulatory troubles, sclerosis,
cerebral hemorrhage before the age.
Lycopodium
Compared with Calcarea carbonica, the
type develops very late: strong type, with
prominent belly towards the 50
th
year, with a big
liver. Very authoritative. Tendency to become
violent (Napoleon, Mussolini type).
Cannot bear the sedentary habit which
intoxicates him and aggravates the tendency to
hypertension. Besides, the aorta is always the weak
point.
Compared with Calcarea phosphorica, it
is Lycopodium which is much more oxygenoid, and
has less troubles than the former because its
oxygenation is good and intoxication is less. It may
be lean. He has nervous and digestive troubles.
Compared with Calcarea fluorica: the
lean type of Lycopodium has a small liver, and
hepatic insufficiency. Its characteristics are seen
very early: lean child, with a protruding belly,
nervous, the development is bad, anorexia.
(Lycopodium 200).
Thuya.
Compared with Calcarea carbonica:
strong, large, highly coloured type. Hydrogenoid.
Complementaries: Sulphur, Natrum sulphuricum,
T.K.
Compared with Calcarea phosphorica:
Tall type, with strong nose. Oxygenoid.
Compared with Calcarea fluorica: Small
type, with black eyes. Complementary is Silicea.
In order to understand these three types of
Thuya, we must take into account the mineral
constitution and not the hydrogenoid type of Thuya
which is very current.
Lachesis and Sepia have always a fluoric
touch. Evidently we may find them in a mixed
constitution, with some varied aspects, but it will be
remarked that the Calcarea fluorica type is always
present and often predominant.
Lachesis.
Very developed fluoric type, especially so
far as the nervous and circulatory systems are
concerned; Hyperthyroidism with hypoovaria is
seen (palpitations, tachycardia, tremblings, etc.).
Loss of reasoning, violence, logorrhea and
vanity make it an exaggerated Calcarea fluorica; it
is above all a luetic.
As a fluoric type, Lachesis has diminished
secretions, insufficient elimination, and because of
its bad function of the glands its secretions are
particularly toxic; amelioration by an elimination is
its very important characteristic.
Many times we have seen that Calcarea
fluorica 30 is a precious complementary of
Lachesis especially when there is nervous
incoordination.
Sepia.
From the somatic point of view, the fluoric
type is more marked. Some symptoms of
intoxications are seen: tuberculous and luetic.
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The elastic tissue is very deficient;
different ptoses, bad veinous circulation,
ligamentary laxity.
Lean type.
Calcarea fluorica 30 gives here very good
service.
********
*Translated and edited by Dr. RAJKUMAR
MUKERJI, M.A. (FRENCH), DIP.LIB., L.H.M.S.
(Homœopath), Chandernagor, from l’homœopathie
Moderne No.10, 1937.
--------------------------------------------------------------
3. Sycosis
ALLEN, J. Henry
(The Homœopathic Bulletin, Vol. XXVII,
1-2/1954)
The frequency in which this most to be
dreaded of all miasms makes its appearance in
practice to-day, and the dreadful stasis it forms
when suppressed and coming into a union with
Psora, should give it a foremost place in
Homeopathics. It seems deplorable to me when I
learn how little the profession know about it, and
how unable they are to see the relationship it bears
to so many chronic maladies, of a nature so
distressing, and so difficult to cure. A careful study
of it, however, has brought many of its phenomena
to light, such articles as have been written by
Frederik S. Keith, M. D., of Waltham, Mass., and
others of a briefer nature, together with the proving
of the Nosode, Medorrhinum, has done a great deal
to increase our knowledge of its action upon the
organism. It is not my intention to review the
subject, but to give a few thoughts relative to my
experience in its treatment, and its presence in the
organism. Simple Gonorrhoea generally subsides
into a gleety discharge after a usually marked acute
inflammatory urethral inflammation, showing,
except in the psoric, very little pus, no marked odor
and very little constitutional disturbance, with no
very distinct secondary symptoms following, unless
suddenly suppressed by the crude tinctures, or low
potencies, or local injections. Not so is it with the
sycotic form. There is usually much hardness and
turgidity of the penis, much soreness in a line with
the urethra, and profuse pus. The fishy or herring
brine odor of course is very positive, but many
times it is not present. The mental symptoms are
not very definite until the disease is suppressed,
then they become very marked. An over anxiety is
then manifested; especially about the general
health, with a doubt and hopelessness of a cure.
They have a feeling as if something dreadful was
the matter with them, and are impatient for relief;
they are usually irritable, changeable or very
nervous, partaking of an irritable nature, impatient
with desire to scold in women. They make every
effort to impress upon their physician the
importance of their case, especially their sufferings,
which are usually spasmodic, no matter what the
nature of these may be. The pains are usually
sharp, acute, spasmodic, colicky, extending
downward or from above downwards, the
rheumatic pains especially, also ovarian and
uterine.
All these symptoms are at once either very
much modified or entirely relieved by re-
establishing the discharges. I have had cases where
the pains, that were almost past endurance, were
relieved by its appearance, or by a crop of warts
which are usually very numerous and quite small,
appearing more on exposed parts as we find in the
proving of most anti-sycotics. Yet this is not
always the case, many splendid cures were made in
women when the inflammatory processes had
extended to the broad ligaments, ovaries and tubes,
when menses became very dark, clotted (small
clots), accompanied with an odor that was simply
unbearable to the patients themselves, lasting for
days even after the flow had ceased. Chronic
ovarian troubles are usually sycotic in origin, and if
not primary or secondary, they are hereditary. The
red, mole-like wart, also the spider spot, the former
found on the body at any place, and the latter on the
face, usually under the eye or on the upper portion
of the face - I have noticed a number on the bridge
of the nose - these come at any period of childhood,
when the parents are sycotic of course, but not
infrequently are they born with them. I have traced
many nævi to a history of Sycosis, especially those
of a cardinal color, or of a red, velvety appearance.
These with the numerous warty growths, together
with one or two forms of acne, constitute the skin
lesions that have come under my observation. The
other secondary symptoms are inflammations and
indurations of internal organs, especially those of
the sexual sphere, also rectum and bladder, which
by no means are free from the dreadful inroads of
this disease.
In men a long history of an irritable
prostate, bladder or rectum and in women uterine or
ovarian troubles, not relieved by any previous
medical treatment, but usually made worse, calls
my attention the most frequently to Sycosis. Again
it may be by the persistency with which they stick
to medicines, hoping to find relief. The history of
the suppression of a gonorrheal or what was only
thought to be a common leucorrhoeal discharge,
and watching the development from that time
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forward, is usually positive proof, especially if
there is a history of good health before this
occurred. Often the history of their ailments will be
found to center around some positive period, and
the whole truth dawns upon us that we have
suppressed Sycosis to deal with. One of the most
common, as well as the most difficult forms of
stasis from suppression, is a chronic inflammation
of the ovarian membranes and tubes, usually much
aggravated during the menstrual nisis, and then
gradually subsiding, only to be renewed with all its
usual suffering at the appearance of the next period,
showing the periodicity of its attack. I have met
many cases of Endometritis and Subinvolution
traceable solely to it, often accompanied with more
pain during the period of ovulation than during the
menstrual flow. These patients take cold easily,
which usually settles in the bronchi or head and
nose. The discharge is either watery or thick, and
greenish yellow. The cough is most apt to be
laryngeal. Indurations, hypertrophies, abnormal
growths, tumors, malignant or non-malignant,
Haemorrhoids, catarrhal thickenings and
hypertrophies of mucous surfaces, are some of the
symptoms of the tertiary stage,
I have yet to see a case of Polypus or
Diabetes mellitus where Sycosis was not directly,
or indirectly, at the bottom of it. Psora will never
do it alone, Syphilis may, however, but I have not
observed it closely enough to be positive. Last
month I cured a case of Diabetes, in which the urine
presented nearly a half test-tubeful of sugar, by re-
establishing a discharge that had been suppressed
ten years ago, a radical cure, as far as can be judged
at present.
The mental symptoms, verging on mania,
are suddenly relieved by a leucorrhœal or gleety
discharge. Even snuffles and catarrhal headaches
are relieved, never to return, by a single powder of
the proper remedy. I recall to mind now a
liveryman who was suffering with a constant
frontal headache, preventing him from doing any
work whatever, cured by a single dose of Nux
vomica CM, based upon the mental symptoms and
the history of drugging with copaiva and cubebs.
The gonorrhœal discharge was re-established in a
severer form than in the first place, although it had
been suppressed for years. No cures have yet been
made unless the discharge has returned, or a crop of
warts appeared on the skin. Much may be known
of the action of this most venereal of all venereal
diseases, whose action is so general throughout the
whole organism, from which the only salvation for
the patient is to let the discharges continue, until the
disease is entirely eradicated from the system.
DISCUSSION
Dr. James: I would like to take the
opportunity to say that some years ago I had a
patient, who had been long under Dr. Lippe’s
treatment, and was said to have Gout. He had been
sick many years. Dr. Lippe did not specially tell
me when asking me to take charge of the case, what
ailed the patient. In a general way he said Gout,
and he smiled rather significantly when he gave me
the case. I treated the man for some months, and
with very little success, until finally I established a
gonorrhœal discharge, and then went to Dr. Lippe
and told him about it. He laughed and said “you
have it; that is what ails the man, and not Gout at
all.” After that the man got a great deal better for
some time, but after awhile the discharge ceased,
and then came back the old symptoms, and it
seemingly was a case of Gout. That continued for
some time, and again was the discharge re-
established, but he never was permanently cured,
because he had been ill so many years, I think thirty
years before I saw him.
Dr. Baylies: This disease is so difficult, so
chronic, that it is most interesting to those who
have only a moderate number of cases to treat, to
know by what means to assure the patient of the
possibility of a final cure, and to secure his patience
and confidence, for a sufficient length of time. I
should like to have advice on that subject from
those who treat it more than I do.
Dr. Campbell: Does Dr. James think that a
patient having had that disease thirty years
prevented a cure?
Dr. James: Not at all; I had only failed to
find the similimum.
Dr. J.H.Allen: The way I instruct my
patients is this: I say to them, you have had a long
course of treatment for many years, and the whole
thing has been a failure; you are less capable of
work now than in the first place. The history of this
disease is that it goes on from bad to worse,
gradually worse from day to day, until finally it
produces death in some way. I practice a system of
medicine that can cure those cases, if you will only
have patience and stay by me. It takes a long time,
because there is a great deal to do. If I had had
your case in the first place, I could have cured you
probably in thirty to ninety days. Now we have to
go over the ground that you traveled, as it were.
In that way they get an idea of what is to
do. The treatment, if properly applied, will give
them a gradual improvement, a constant
improvement, and while the symptom that they
want removed at once, the important symptom, that
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is, important to them, does not disappear at once,
the general health gradually improves, their
strength comes back, their mental symptoms
disappear and they become more encouraged, more
satisfied, more content to stick to the medicine.
With reference to Gout; you probably all
know that Gout is based upon Sycosis. They will
tell you that the use of strong alcoholic liquors and
wines, rich foods and hearty eating, all that sort of
thing will produce it. But I say that it is a
secondary cause, an exciting cause. The primary
cause is always Sycosis; never can be anything else,
never will be anything else.
Dr.H.C. Allen: The doctor speaks of
curing Gout in thirty to ninety days. What do you
do with the coffee drinkers and tea drinkers, the
cigarette and cigar smokers?
Dr.J.H. Allen: I stop everything, or else do
not take the case.
Dr. Dillingham: In treating such cases I
must confess that I have just as good success when
I do not interfere at all with the diet. I am not quite
sure that I make a good homœopathic cure when I
do interfere with their habits. I let them drink tea,
coffee, whiskey, anything they like, and I do not
notice any difference in the time that it takes to
cure.
Dr. H.C. Allen: After a patient has had
several “doses” of Gonorrhoea, each dose “cured by
injections”, and then he is using whiskey and
tobacco and everything else, I am not quite
prepared to dispute Dr. Dillingham in that
particular, but my experience is, it takes not only
months but years to eradicate the disease.
Dr.J.H.Allen: I have cured simple cases of
Gonorrhoea in thirty days. I think that can be done
rapidly by any physician. But to cure a case that
has been interfered with, I will admit, as Dr. Allen
says, takes a great deal of time, sometimes years.
One case cured in ninety days I know was Sycosis,
because during that period the warts made their
appearance. The old school physicians prohibit all
use of stimulants, because they cannot cure, or
cannot suppress a case of gonorrheal disease by old
school treatment, during the use of stimulants. That
is why they are so particular in having a patient
leave those things out entirely. I have noticed
myself that the use of a single glass of beer would
start up the fever and reestablish the discharge. Of
course it won’t do it after a while, but in the early
history of the treatment it will disturb the Life
Force so that it will stop the curative process, and
you will have to go over it again in a certain degree.
Dr.Baylies: Would not some of those
cases, if kept on proper regimen for a sufficient
period of time, get well without medicine, or
without a repetition of the medicine? In many of
those cases there are no symptoms, no expression
of disease beyond the local.
Dr.H.C.Allen: Does it ever get well,
Doctor?
Dr.McLaren: No it is simply latent.
Dr.Baylies: I do not know whether it ever
gets well.
Dr.James: In the case I have spoken of,
that I had from Dr.Lippe, the patient himself gave
me a list of the kinds of pains that he had; I think he
enumerated some fifteen or sixteen varieties of pain
in his joints and different parts of his body.
Dr.Bell: I recall a case enforcing some of
Dr. Allen’s points as regards the general character
of this poison, and its extreme intensity and
destructiveness. A young lady in the hospital this
year came with a history of rheumatism, resulting
in complete anchylosis of the right knee at a very
sharp angle to the thigh, so that she was thoroughly
disabled. I had no reason to question the diagnosis
from her history. She looked like a very nice girl,
and was about nineteen years of age. I suspected
nothing but simply the rheumatism. The only thing
to do was to resect the knee, which I did. I was
obliged also to make tenotomy of all the tendons to
straighten the knee at all. She made a perfect
recovery and got a very nice leg. After the case
was done and she was getting well, her doctor came
to me (he had not known her long, and he had just
gotten the history), telling me that she really had
had Gonorrhoea. I went to the young woman and
told her, and she confessed the history of her
betrayal by a Harvard student. The marvel was that
in such a short time she got such a tremendous
arthritis; the knee was dislocated and there was
complete adhesion of the ends of the tibia with the
posterior surface of the femur! It had thoroughly
destroyed the joint in that brief time.
Dr.J.H.Allen-After infection with Sycosis
in inflammatory rheumatism often seen in ninety
days after they are exposed, especially if it is
suppressed. I find the worst forms of inflammatory
rheumatism depend upon it. In its acute stages
Ferrum phos. is frequently the indicated remedy. I
have found in my limited experience that it is not
easy to cure. You can get the discharge down to
the thin gleety stage, but to get rid of that final drop
is the difficulty.
Dr.H.C.Allen-I want to say a word on that
point. After you have treated the case to that stage
you will find it has combined with Psora - when
you find that gleety discharge Sycosis has
combined with Psora, because it combines with
Psora more readily than any other except it be
chancroid. You find Psorinum, Sulphur and some
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of the anti-psorics will come in and eradicate the
whole thing. I have had no trouble in curing
Gonorrhoea in the last few years. You must
remember that you should select the remedy from
that basis.
Dr.Campbell: I would like to ask
Dr.Dillingham how he disposes of
HAHNEMANN’s prescriptions regarding diet in
these specific cases, and why it does not apply to
those as well as to general diseases.
Dr.Dillingham: I will tell you, doctor. I
think HAHNEMANN lived in a country where
there they did not have as good things to eat as we
do in this country. I do not blame him at all for
restricting diet in Germany. I certainly can cure a
case just as quickly without paying any attention to
the diet as I can by attending to it. If you diet a
patient, if you change his diet, he gets better
anyway, to a certain extent, and you are likely to
attribute that to the remedy. I prefer to let them
alone and cure them right where they are. The
average person knows what he can eat and drink. I
say “I have no interest at all in your diet. You
know what looks good, smells good and tastes
good, and whatever you crave, to a reasonable
extent, ought to be good for you, and if anything
hurts you, let it alone.” Then I prescribe to the best
of my ability, and I get on fairly well. I really pay
no attention to diet, coffee, stimulants, pepper,
mustard, and all that sort of thing. I think
HAHNEMANN lived in a country where they had
a great deal of bologna sausage, sauer kraut, strong
mustard, and lots of stuff which no one knows what
it is; he had to restrict diet.
Dr.Campbell: Did not you say they would
get better if they changed their habits of diet?
Dr.Dillingham: They would improve in a
general way.
Dr.Campbell: You do not want that done?
Dr.Dillingham: I do not want that done
and think the medicine did it when it did not.
Dr.Campbell: I always apologize for these
restrictions, by saying I want all the help I can get.
Dr.Boger: The history of a case that I
treated may perhaps emphasize one point in these
sometimes difficult cases. A young man came to
me with sycotic warts all over the glans penis, it
looked more like the genuine fircone than anything
else, and HAHNEMANN prescriptions of Thuja
and Nitric acid quickly cured the case. But he got a
new infection, he was in Los Angeles then, and
wrote me saying that the warts had all disappeared,
but that he had got a new infection. He remained
for one year in California, went up to San Francisco
and was treated by several allopathic specialists
there. He finally returned home, at the end of the
year. I first prescibed Sulphur CM on the general
symptoms. He came to me afterwards, and for the
first time I looked at that patient’s tongue. Strange
to say I had not looked at his tongue before, but it
was the clearest case of Syphilis I ever saw. He is
now under antisyphilitic treatment.
Dr.Dillingham: I want to ask Dr.Campbell
if she ever cured case of hay fever by sending to the
mountains.
Dr.Stow: It is getting to be notorious that
allopathic physicians themselves are dictating as to
the diet, that patients shall receive while
undergoing treatment for gonorrhoea or syphilitic
disease. Why is it? I think a liberal diet, that is, a
wide range of food, not to be made up of sausages,
mince pies, or anything that is too heavy for the
average stomach to digest, is a good thing for those
patients; and perhaps the man who has been
accustomed to drink may as well keep on
moderately. But as for dosing himself every day, as
many of these patients do, it seems to me that is out
of the question. This very thing is being recognized
by our brethren of the allopathic school, and
certainly ought to be cautious as they are in the
treatment of this malady, with all their caustic and
heroic medicines. I apprehend that one great reason
why we find such difficulty - I say we, I don’t
know but my case is exceptional - in holding these
cases, is that they will go to some physician and get
a recipe, and get it filled at a drug store, and go on
from week to week, and month to month treating
themselves in that way. I have when I have
changed diet of the patient. I have said to him:
select first-class food, take it regularly, avoid
stimulants, particularly alcoholic stimulants; if you
are an excessive smoker do not smoke much,
smoke less; if you are accustomed to take rich food,
make that food plainer, and that is all. I find with
these patients, the young sinners, and some of the
old ones, too, that if you attempt to be too
restrictive, they will dodge you within twenty-four
hours. I agree, that to a certain extent, a liberal diet
should be allowed, but rich foods ought to be
restricted.
Dr.Pierson: HAHNEMANN says: First,
remove the exciting cause in the treatment of all
kinds of disease, and then prescribe on the totality
of the remaining symptoms. I believe, as Dr.
Dillingham has said, that when we send our patients
to a climate that is very beneficial for their
condition, that we are simply enabling many of the
characteristics of the individual to become dormant;
and when we restrict their diet beyond a reasonable
limit, that is beyond the limit that a healthy man
should be restricted, that many of the symptoms are
simply being hidden for the time being, and we get
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but a one-sided picture of the case. I do believe
that the characteristic indications of diseases in
general show themselves in their best light, when
the patient comes to the physician under the same
circumstances with which he is surrounded from
day to day in his natural environment, and that we
can do better work, and can make a more perfect
picture of the conditions to be treated, or the
characteristics of the individual, without these
restrictions. Then, after you have picture of your
case, after you have seen the unfavourable results
of certain peculiar habits, you may possibly, with
justice and with wisdom, make restrictions; but we
should wait until we have clear indications for the
curative remedy.
Dr,Campbell: That is all very well,
Mr.President, if humanity in general was
accustomed to think, but they come to you and pay
for doing their thinking, and you have got to do
some of it. If I have a case of chronic headache I
say, now oblige me by leaving off tea, and let me
see what it will do, and the leaving off of the tea
often cures the headache. That person has not done
any thinking. We are, in a measure, missionaries.
Of course we do not do as much thinking for
ourselves as we do for other people. Perhaps Dr.
Dillingham does it, but that is according to my
notion. I think you have got to set people thinking.
Observation on the part of people in general does
not prevail.
Dr, H.C. Allen: A great many times that is
the only trouble.
Dr. James: In as much as coffee and tea
can produce symptoms, and wine, beer and tobacco
also produce symptoms, they are therefore drugs.
If an individual takes any ordinary drug for the first
time, it produces symptoms. If he acquires the
habit of that drugs, the symptomatology gradually
disappears and only re-appears again if he suspends
his dose, consequently, in the treatment of such
cases, if we suspend the dose that they usually take,
either tobacco, coffee, or tea, we immediately have
symptoms arising, and those are drug symptoms,
and they help to mask the case and make the
selection of the remedy more difficult. We have
two classes of symptoms intermingled, the
symptoms of the drug, and symptoms of the poison,
and it makes it much more difficult to find a
suitable remedy. Hence it may be well, as Dr.
Dillingham suggests, not to interfere with this beer,
or wine, or tobacco, tea, coffee or mustard, because
in that way we are liable to produce a
symptomatology that will mask the
symptomatology that we are seeking to overcome.
Dr. Pierson: That was just the point I
wanted to bring out. Another point that we as
Hahnemannians must consider, is that the drug does
not produce the symptoms; that the indiscretions we
may be guilty of from day to day are not the things
that produce the symptoms. They act as exciting
causes in all probability, but it is the characteristics,
the personality of the individual receiving these
things, that is brought out in the individual cases. It
is because of this that we have such a variety of
reports from different provers, and I think it cannot
be too strongly emphasized, that when we stop the
indiscretions or irregularities that have become
fixed habits, another picture enters into the case that
is liable to turn us from the one condition that we
are seeking to remove entirely.
******
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[An Extract from John STEINBECK’s Travels with Charley, The
Curtis Publishing Co. Inc. 1961]
The Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens or Sequoia gigantia), once
seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one
has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The
feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and
awe. It’s not only their unbelievable stature, nor the color which seems to
shift and vary under your eyes, no they are not like any trees we know,
they are ambassadors from another time. They have the mystery of ferns
that disappeared a million years ago into the coal of the coniferous era.
They carry their own light and shade. The vainest, most slap-happy and
irreverent of men, in the presence of redwoods, goes under a spell of
wonder and respect. Respect that’s the word. One feels the need to
bow to unquestioned sovereigns. I have known these great ones since my
earliest childhood, have lived among them, camped and slept against their
warm monster bodies, and no amount of association has bred contempt in
me. And the feeling is not limited to me.
A number of years ago, a newcomer, a stranger, moved to
my country near Monterey. His senses must have been blunted and
atrophied with money and the getting of it. He bought a grove of
sempervirens in a deep valley near the coast, and then, as was his right by
ownership, he cut them down and sold the lumber, and left on the ground
the wreckage of his slaughter. Shock and numb outrage filled the town.
This was not only murder but sacrilege. We looked on that man with
loathing, and he was marked to the day of his death.
Of course, many of the ancient groves have been lumbered
off, but many of the stately monuments remain and will remain, for a
good and interesting reason. States and governments could not by and
protect these holy trees. This being so, clubs, organizations, even
individuals, bought them and dedicated them to the future. I don’t know
any other similar case. Such is the impact of the sequoias on the human
mind. But what would it be on Charley?
I passed several groves and let them go as not quite adequate
– and then on a level meadow by a stream we saw the grandfather,
standing alone three hundred feet high and with the girth of a small
apartment house. The branches with their flat, bright green leaves did not
start below a hundred and fifty feet up. Under that was the straight,
slightly tapering column with its red to purple to blue. Its top was noble
and lightning-riven by some ancient storm. I coasted off the road and
pulled to within fifty feet of the godlike thing, so close that I had to throw
back my head and raise my eyes to vertical to see its branches. This was
the time I had waited for.
There’s a cathedral hush here. Perhaps the thick soft bark absorbs
sound and creates a silence. The trees rise straight up to zenith; there is
no horizon. The dawn comes early and remains dawn until the sun is
high. Then the green fernlike foliage so far up strains the sunlight to a
green-gold and distributes it in shafts or rather in stripes of light and
shade. After the sun passes zenith it is afternoon and quickly evening
with a whispering dusk as long as there was the morning.
Thus time and the ordinary divisions of the day are changed. To
me dawn and dusk are quiet times, and here in the redwoods nearly the
whole of daylight is a quiet time. Birds move in the dim light or flash like
sparks through the stripes of sun, but they make little sound. Underfoot in
a mattress of needles deposited for over two thousand years. No sound of
footsteps can be heard on this thick blanket. To me there’s a remote and
cloistered feeling here. One holds back speech for fear of disturbing
something. What? From my earliest childhood I’ve felt that something
was going on in the groves, something of which I was not a part.
At night, the darkness is black – only straight up a patch of gray and
an occasional star. And there’s a breathing in the back, for these huge
things that control the day and inhabit the night are living things and have
presence and perhaps, feeling, and, somewhere in deep-down perception,
perhaps communication. I have had a lifelong association with these
things. (Odd that the word “trees” does not apply). I can accept them
and their power and their age because I was early exposed to them. On
the other hand, people lacking such experience began to have a feeling of
uneasiness here, of danger, of being shut in, enclosed and overwhelmed.
It is not only the size of these redwoods but their strangeness that
frightens them. And why not? For these are the last remaining members
of a race that flourished over four continents as far back in geologic time
as the upper Jurassic period. Fossils of these ancients have been found
dating from the Creataceous era while in the Eocene and Miocene they
were spread over England and Europe and America. And then the
glaciers moved down and wiped the titans out beyond recovery. And only
these few are left – a stunning memory of what the world was like once
long ago. Can it be that we do not love to be reminded that we are very
young and callow in a world that was old when we came into it? And
could there be a strong resistance to the certainty that a living world will
continue its stately way when we no longer inhabit it?
* * * * * *
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 106 of 216
PART III
(While Part II features articles from other journals, Part III contains the editor’s own contributions and
other original articles.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOOK SHELF:
1. Homœopathy for Sports, Exercise and
Dance By THOMAS, Emlyn. Published by
Beaconsfield Publishers Ltd. 2000. ISBN
0-906584-48-5.
This is a book of over 320 pages where the
author who is a physiotherapist and a homœopath
has done extensive work on rehabilitating atheletes
games players and other active people after injury.
His own injury led him to discover homœopathic
medicine when his own G.P’s receptionist
suggested Arnica and Ruta which would help. His
injury cleared up wonderfully and as the author
states, “I have blessed that anonymous receptionist
ever since.”
The book is divided into 2 parts basically
and has 13 chapters and 3 important additional
appendix plus an extensive remedy and general
index. The author states that the book can be
consulted and profitably utilized by
1. A sport medicine professional or trainer
2. A club manager, coach or dance director
3. A sports performer, dancer, walker, fitness
seeker or any ordinary person to relieve
the effects of injuries and over strain in
day to day life.
Chapters 1 to 5 provide an introduction to
the homœopathic medicine, how the remedies are
produced and tested and there is guidance on
managing the treatment.
Chapter 6 offers suggestions or what is
called as first contact treatment for injuries and
Chapter 7 gives similar guidelines for treatment of
overuse injuries. Chapter 8 is a large chapter of
over 100 pages which deals with the most common
injuries to foot, ankle, leg, knee, thigh, hip and
groin, genital injuries, shoulder, arm, wrist and
hand injuries, back and neck injuries, cervical spine
injuries and head injuries. The most appropriate
homœopathic remedies suited to the symptoms
manifested in each type of injuries are suggested.
Chapter 9 deals with common conditions which
afflict sports-men and women, exercise devote and
dancers. Here you will find common conditions
like colds, flu, stomach upsets, diarrhoea, cramps,
food poisoning, piles, sleeplessness, tummy upsets,
warts and wounds and a host of other conditions,
encountered by physically active people.
Athletes and dancers tend to be more susceptible to
these complaints than those with less active life
styles. Chapter 10 roughly about 60 pages is a
description of remedies given in this book together
with some indications of their sources. Here the
Materia Medica of these remedies is considered
only from the point of view of the most appropriate
uses of the remedies for sports, exercise and dance
performance. The other detail aspect of the drug
pictures is not given.
Chapters 11 and 12 looks at the
psychological effects of injuries and the remedies
that could effectively deal with them, the later
chapter that is 12 suggests homœopathic means for
improving performance, an aspect in today’s
modern world of highly competitive field of sports
and athletics offers exciting possibilities.
Chapter 13 suggests other complementary
therapies and techniques like Acupressure and
Acupuncture, Osteopathy, Chiropractice, Healing,
Qi-Gong, Reflexology, Alexander technique,
Hypnotherapy.
In the three appendices that are given in
this book we have list of homœopathic suppliers
and organizations, homœopathic First Aid kit, and
references for further reading. A useful remedy and
general index completes this book.
Excellently published by Beaconsfield
with no printing errors, moderately priced and easy
to read print. This is a valuable book for sports
persons, sports physicians, trainers,
physiotherapists and even lay persons.
D.E. MISTRY
--------------------------------------------------------------
2. Weeding out the Tears by Jeanne
WHITE, with Susan DWORKIN, Pub. Avon
Books, condensed in the Readers Digest
Condensed books. 1977.
“Every book is a key to a New World”.
Nothing else can give joy and happiness, stimulate
thinking and in many cases lead to self-
improvement. There are authors who write from
the heart and those who write from their head. We
can savour both.
Ten years ago I had the good fortune to
read Dr. Abraham VERGHES’ ‘National Best
seller’ ‘My Own Country’- a medical journey . . .
a book about the effect of AIDS epidemic in a
deeply traditional, non-urban, ‘country’ setting in
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 107 of 216
the USA. The book made a tremendous impact. It
was written from the heart.
The condensed book ‘Weeding out the
Tears’ is about a boy - a born haemophiliac - who
suffered from AIDS and died at 18 year age. How
did this boy contact AIDS? He got the disease
from the Factor VIII that was being given then
(1970s) for Haemophilia. A haemophiliac needs
the Factor periodically for survival. If the Factor
comes from contaminated blood it then takes the
infection into the haemophiliac. Thus a drug that
was supposed to help haemophiliac to live
normal lives itself sometimes gives another
more serious disease that will surely kill him!
How serious was this – the Factor
contaminated with AIDS virus making the
haemophiliacs victims of AIDS? “When, in 1985,
the ‘Clinics’ started testing haemophiliacs, they
found that more than 80 percent of them had
AIDS!”
The book written by Jeanne WHITE, the
mother of RYAN the haemophiliac who got AIDS
from his Factor, is from the heart, full of
information about the disease, it narrates the
ostracization the family had to suffer because
RYAN had AIDS, the spite and malice in the
community, the school’s refusal to let RYAN in,
the legal cases fought by WHITE, the courage with
which RYAN withstood many sufferings as the
disease raged through him, the many good people
in the Society, some of them great celebrities - like
Elton JOHN or Michael JACKSON who gifted to
RYAN a Mustang car – who all helped Mrs.
WHITE to organize and educate people to know
details of AIDS. RYAN and his mother spread the
AIDS Awareness programme all over. After it was
known that Rock HUDSON, the famous film star,
had AIDS, the interest in AIDS awareness grew.
RYAN brought awareness to the haemophiliacs that
they could get AIDS from the Factor they had to
have regularly. All the while RYAN became
worser and worser, but braver in facing his
ailment. His spirit was strong.
On 27
th
May 1996 President Bill CLINTON
signed the re-authorization of the Ryan White
CARE Act. President CLINTON said “It’s hard
to believe but AIDS has now been with us for
nearly two decades. In that time, more than half
a million Americans have been diagnosed; more
than three hundred thousand of our fellow
citizens have died” [stress mine = KSS] He
continued: “Today there is hope for a cure. But
until there is a cure, we cannot and must not rest.
RYAN WHITE taught a Nation to care instead of
hate, to embrace people living with AIDS as a part
of an American family, to extend always the hand
of hope,”
About 50-60 years ago the famous John
GUNTHER, Journalist known as the ‘Insides man’
because he wrote series of famous books on his
journeys into several countries including the ‘Iron
Curtain’ ones like Russia, which were not ‘open’, -
wrote a true story about his son GUNTHER Jr. who
was a very brilliant boy, was diagnosed with brain
tumour with only a short span of life left for him.
This boy with hardly half of his brain functioning
continued to astonish everyone with his brilliance
and facing life bravely knowing that he was dying.
This book was titled ‘Death be not Proud’. This
book which I read so many years ago is still
impressed in my mind.
The story of RYAN WHITE written by his
mother Jeanne WHITE will also remain impressed
for long.
-
K.S.SRINIVASAN
--------------------------------------------------------------
3. Seminar on Death, Dying and Beyond
(6-8 December 2002), - A Report. Sri Aurobindo
International Institute for Integral Health and
Research, 2003.
This is a Report (in a Book Form 276
pages) of a Seminar convened on December 6-8,
2002 by the Sri Aurobindo International
Institute for Integral Health and Research
(SAIIIHR).
The Seminar received not less than 16
papers from all over. Although I saw names of at
least three homœopaths out of 56 participants, none
of them have presented any paper. All the
contributions are very interesting and stimulate
thinking.
In the Mahabharata, Aranya Parva,
Ch.315, Yaksha Prasna, Dharmaputra answers that
death is the nature of men (‘maranam mānusho
bhāva’); he also answers that “although every day
living beings die yet the remaining living beings
wish to stay on permanently in this world and
nothing is more surprising than this.”
In the Kathopanishad, Yama, the lord of
Death tells Nachiketa who requested Yama to teach
him the secret of death (and birth), that this secret
haunted even the Gods. Of all, Nachiketa alone,
returned from Death. Death refused to take him!
Death accompanies every creature from
the moment it is conceived in the womb. It
accompanies the creature throughout. Hence it is
not something that comes suddenly. It is a process.
Everything in this world goes through this process,
for everything in this universe is living.
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 108 of 216
Acharya Jagadish Chandra BOSE one of
India’s greatest Scientists, a Nationalist also, was
“amazed to find boundary lines vanishing and
points of contact emerging between the realm of
Living and the Non-living. Metals, he found
responding to stimulus; they were subject to
fatigue, stimulated by certain drugs and killed by
poisons. Matter had thus the promise and potency
of life. This most astonishing discovery announced
before the International Science Congress in Paris
in 1900, created a great sensation among the
assembled scientists of the world.”
Thus everything in this universe is
destined to die. Death is not something that
surprises; it is a process.
What is saddening is not death itself but
the efforts taken by everyone to evade death, to
‘prolong’ life, even if such a ‘prolongation’ is
painful. They keep repeating “God should take me
away soon, death is preferable to this suffering in
the hospitals with operations, tablets, injections and
so much of drudgery all round”, yet they are not
giving up, they hold on to!
The sages and saints also have spoken of
“death the terrible.” They say “Who will save you
in your death bed? Not your money, not your
children, not your friends, only the name of God
will save you” – Purandaradasa, Thyagaraja,
Pattinathar, Arunagirinathar and many more. Thus
a ‘terrible’ fear of death has been put into our mind.
The Lord of Death, Yama, has always been
picturised as a powerful, muscular, big moustached,
unsympathetic eyes and riding a big buffalo! The
fear of death is strongly put forth.
It is incumbent upon those living to
perform rituals to pacify the spirit of the dead,
otherwise, woe unto your family!
On the other hand, there are those who
braved it all. Subramanya Bharathi challenged
Death to dare to approach him. He proclaimed that
while all – Sankara, Ramanuja, Rama, Krishna,
Jesus, Buddha died, he shall not die! In our own
times the great Tamil poet Kannadasan also
proclaimed “I am permanent, not destructible. No
death for me”!
The Seminar paper and discussions cover
all the aspects of dying and death.
Few years ago a friend in his early 70s was
ill and dragging on in the hospital. His wife and
children were sad to see him suffering endlessly.
He was more or less comatose. When his daughter
told me of this, I told her that they should willingly
let him go and he too should do so. I told her to
whisper into the ear of her father when he comes to
from the coma for brief moments, that all his family
were well and happy and he need not be anxious
about them and he can go peacefully. She did it, he
smiled and in few hours passed away.
In the case of RYAN WHITE the
haemophiliac boy with AIDS (book review above)
when he was lingering and the doctors put him on
support systems which they said will not in any
case bring him back but was just extending his
misery and his mother could ask for their removal if
she chose to do so. The lady whispered in the ear
of RYAN “it is alright son, you can now let go” and
asked the support systems to be withdrawn and the
boy dies peacefully.
So, there we are. It’s something to do
more with the Will, the Will to Live or to Die. We
should know when to choose to - will to live on –
for what purpose – or to will to pass away, vacate
the place to give room to some one else. Holding
on to Life stubbornly and purposelessly as a burden
to one and all is the mark of a social parasite.
Homeopathic philosophy is clear in this:
we should “use our body and mind for the higher
purposes of life.” Zen says “higher purpose means
higher good”. So simple, yet so profound.
I enjoyed reading the contributions of all
the authors.
- K.S. SRINIVASAN
--------------------------------------------------------------
4. Samuel HAHNEMANN,
Krankenjournal DF2 (1836-1842), Band 40.
Transkription und Übersetzung von Arnold
Michalouski. Herausgegeben von Robert Jütte,
Institut für Geschichte der Medizen der Robert
Bosch Stiftung, Stuttgart. Karl F. Haug Verlag,
Stuttgart. 2003.
This is the eighth in the series of
transcriptions of Samuel HAHNEMANN’s Case
Registers, carefully preserved in the Institute for
History of Medicine, Robert Bosch Foundation.
These volumes are faithful reproductions
of the Case Registers and a study of these are more
of historical importance and indicate the
development of HAHNEMANN’s continuous
experiments in the application of homœopathic
therapeutics, his development up to his last years.
The present volume – DF.2 – (DF
indicating the Case Registers pertaining to the Paris
Period; ‘D’ volumes pertain to German period
1800-1835. While the D series are verbatim
transcription of the German manuscript into print,
the DF are transcribed from French and translated
into German; HAHNEMANN Case Registers
during the ‘Paris period’ are in French and for the
facility of the German-speaking the transcription is
translated into German and put. The page on the
left is in French while on the right is the German.
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 109 of 216
The homœopathic world has been eagerly
waiting to get to know HAHNEMANN’s own
practice especially with reference to the 50
millesimal-scale potencies. Until some years ago
there was debate whether the §§ 270 - 273 in the
Organon VI edition were indeed HAHNEMANN’s
or they were an interference by MELANIE
HAHNEMANN or someone else. This was settled
once and for all as they were found in the original
manuscript in HAHNEMANN’s hand, when a text-
critical edition was published by Dr. Josef M.
SCHMIDT (1983) after an year-long careful study
of the manuscripts in the School for Medicine, San
Francisco, USA.
Similarly with the publication of these text
critical editions of the Case Registers the Practice
of HAHNEMANN during his Paris period could be
known.
Until he left Koethen for Paris,
HAHNEMANN entered in his Register Cases in
chronological order. While in the Paris Period he
followed each case in continuous pages; he left few
pages blank after the first consultation so that
subsequent consultations were continued without
break.
HAHNEMANN dispensed his medicines
in liquid doses. It should be pointed out that in the
Organon V edition (1833) HAHNEMANN had
already recommended liquid doses. It is therefore
quite surprising that although the V edition was the
one in use for decades and referred to by such
stalwarts as von BOENNINGHAUSEN, LIPPE,
KENT, BOGER, NASH, FARRINGTON and latter
day ROBERTS, Elizabeth WRIGHT-HUBBARD,
PULFORD, et al up to Pierre SCHMIDT all used
the dry doses only. Nowhere any one of these
stalwarts has said why he/she chose to ignore
HAHNEMANN in this aspect. This ‘dry doses’
methodology persists until today except with those
who use the 50-millesimal Scale (LM, Q)
potencies. However, even in this potency scale
many use the dry dose! One reason is said to be
that the liquid dose is cumbersome and difficult to
be followed by the patient as well as the physician.
We also see in this Case Register, that
sometimes the remedy was administered by
olfaction. This method also has not been at any
time to the best of our knowledge attempted by any
of the followers from HERING todate.
There are two different hands in the
Register – HAHNEMANN’s and MELANIE’s.
We see that in almost all cases much is in
HAHNEMANN’s hand. However, as we progress
towards 1842, more of MELANIE’s hand with the
Master making additions and prescription.
Unlike the Case Reports of the modern
homœopaths in which we find nearly 90% ‘mental’
part and hardly 10% ‘physical’, in the
HAHNEMANN Case Register we see 90%
physical complaints and 10% of associated
‘mental’ symptoms. Sulphur is the most often
prescribed remedy in this period.
The original Case Register DF2 is in
format 16.5cm x 21 cm x 2.5 cm containing 281
very closely written pages tannex of 18 pages. The
printed transcription covers 956 pages (one side
French and opposite side German version).
The reader has to be thorough with
Organon and Chronic Diseases to appreciate
HAHNEMANN’s Practice. Shallow reading as
such would teach nothing.
The Case Registers are treasures. The
homœopathic world is deeply indebted to the
Institute of History of Medicine of the Robert
Bosch Foundation, Stuttgart, Prof. Dr. Robert
JÜTTE, the editor of the whole Project, Dr.Arnold
MICHALOWSKI who has done the onerous job
of transcription and translation, and the publisher
Karl F. Haug Verlag, Stuttgart.
Many more volumes will follow over the
years, we hope, sooner.
- K.S. SRINIVASAN
--------------------------------------------------------------
5. Cardiovascular Diseases and Homœopathic
Treatment, by E.BALAKRISHNAN, B.Jain
Publishers (P) Ltd., New Delhi 110055.
paperback. 387 pages. 2004. Rs.145/-. This
book is most welcome for more than one reason.
As I had said in my Preface, homœopathic book on
Cardiac diseases is very rare. It is generally
thought that heart diseases are surgeon’s area, since
great strides have been made in Surgery. Also
heart diseases are more common in the upper
economic strata of the society who are willing to
spend large amounts for surgery and other such
care. It is not so with the common man; if he gets a
heart disease he cannot afford the surgery; he
therefore looks for alternate therapy. Homoeopathy
is the most suited for this. It is asked whether heart
‘emergencies’ can be handled by Homœopathy? It
can. In fact there are several emergencies handled
successfully. We can read them scattered here and
there in the old journals. If surgeons come forward
to co-operate we can do better – costwise, post-
operative recoupmentwise, etc. Homeopaths
should come out of their self-made inhibitions and
come forward.
BALAKRISHNAN’s book contains a treasure
of ideas and information. I warmly recommend
the book to all practitioners. The book should be
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 110 of 216
read, discussed among themselves by the
homœopaths.
- K.S.
SRINIVASAN
--------------------------------------------------------------
S.M. GUNAWANTE (1915–2004)
Shantaram M. GUNAWANTE (19 January 1915 – 16 August 2004) is from the village
Gunawante, Honavar, Dist. North Kanara.
I came to know late Dr. GUNAWANTE over two decades ago from my frequent visits to Bombay
– at least twice a year if not more, particularly to attend the wonderful Seminars which is responsible for
the spread of high quality Homœopathic Practice not only in Bombay but all over the country. Bombay
became the hub of Homœopathic activity. Many young, ardently devoted Homœopathy practitioners led
by Dr. Rajan SANKARAN, gathered together and took up deep study. One of their main activity in this
regard was to organize periodical Seminars under the Homœopathic Convention Committee. The one man
who had genial temper and love of Homœopathy was Dr. S.M. GUNAWANTE who commanded the
respect and affection of all these homœopaths and he was at the Centre of this group.
GUNAWANTE was unassuming. He was introduced to Homœopathy in 1950 when he came into
contact with the late Dr.G.L. KOPPIKAR under whose guidance he studied extensively, and in due course
of time he immersed himself in it.
He was associated with the late Dr. Bhanu Desai, MBBS an ardent Homœopath. Under Dr. Bhanu
Desai’s instruction he wrote a very good
book on Paediatrics (I do not recall the title) which was published by The Hahnemann Publishing Co. (P)
Ltd., Calcutta, which was issued out in the name of Dr. Bhanu Desai. To the best of my knowledge this
very good book has not been reprinted.
Dr. GUNAWANTE was a very important part of the Subodh Mehta Medical Centre, Bombay
where many budding homœopaths received their training. GUNAWANTE’s own knowledge of
Homeopathy grew further and out of these and his own daily practice came books which were very well
received by the profession. These books are: ‘Introduction to Homœopathic Prescribing’, ‘Genius of
Homœopathic Remedies’, ‘Probing the Mind’, ‘The Amazing Power of Homœopathy’, ‘How to
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 109 of 216
become a Homœopathic Healer’. Dr. GUNAWANTE sent manuscripts of two of these books – ‘Genius
of Homœopathic Remedies’, ‘How to become a Homœopathic Healer’ to me before their publication.
His article of Repertorial Exercise appeared in the Journal of the American Institute of Homœopathy,
Vol.89,2/1989. His book was well reviewed in the British Journal of Homœopathy also. One book of his
has been translated into German in 1999 with the title ‘Theory and Practice of Homœopathy’ and had a
good review (AHZ. 247, 5/2002).
Dr. GUNAWANTE suffered from Diabetes. He lost his wife (she was also diabetic) and later his
two daughters. He bore these bereavements stoically with intense faith in God.
He became seriously ill and after a few weeks in hospital passed on 16 August 2004.
Homeopathy in India has suffered an irreparable loss.
Personally I have not fully come out of the passing away of my good friends of many years, Dr.
Will KLUNKER and Dr. Jacques BAUR (in 2002 and 2003 respectively) and Sri S.M. GUNAWANTE’s
passing away now has added to the grief. GUNAWANTE called me his brother.
He will not be forgotten. May his soul rest in peace.
- K.S. SRINIVASAN.
--------------------------------------------------------------
COMING EVENTS: Improving the success of Homeopathy 5 A Global Persoective – London A two
day International Conference, 19-20 May 2005. Main purposes of the Conference:
To examine the implications for research and development of globalisation
Consider how the diverse and geographically widespread elements can be connected
Review possible applications of homœopathy in agriculture and elsewhere
Establish where the pitfalls lie and how they can be avoided
Mapping the way for the healthy development of homœopathy by harnessing synergies while
respecting regional particularities.
General Information: Date: 19-20 May 2005
Fee: £250 [concessions may apply] £195 for ‘early birds’ who register before 15.02.2005
Venue: Institute of Child Health, 30 Guildford Street, London WC1N 1EH
Further details from
Mrs Amy Bowrin MBE – academic Unit
The Royal London Homœopathic Hospital
Greenwell Street, London W1W 5BP United Kingdom, Tel.: +44[0]20 7391 8823
Fax: +44 [0] 20 7391 8812
E-mail: rlhhconference@uclh.org
* * * * * * *
[An Extract from John STEINBECK’s Travels with Charley, The Curtis Publishing
Co. Inc. 1961]
I went back to my clean little room. I don’t ever drink alone. It’s not much fun. And
I don’t think I will until I am an alcoholic. But this night I got a bottle of vodka from my
stores and took it to my cell. In the bathroom two water tumblers were sealed in
cellophane sacks with the words: “These glasses are sterilized for your protection”.
Across the toilet seat a strip of paper bore the message: “This seat has been sterilized with
ultraviolet light for your protection.” Everyone was protecting me and it was horrible. I
tore the glass from their cover. I violated the toilet-seat seal with my foot. I poured half
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 110 of 216
a tumbler of vodka and drank it and then another. Then I lay deep in hot water in the tub
and I was utterly miserable, and nothing was good anywhere.
I remember an old Arab in North Africa, a man whose hands had never felt water.
He gave me mint tea in a glass so coated with use that it was opaque, but he handed me
companionship, and the tea was wonderful because of it. And without any protection my
teeth didn’t fall out, nor did running sore develop. I began to formulate a new law
describing the relationship of protection to despondency. A sad soul can kill you quicker,
far quicker, than a germ.
* * * * * *
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 111 of 216
3. QHD, VOL. XXI, 3 & 4, 2004
Part I Current Literature Listing
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Part I of the journal lists the current literature in Homœopathy drawn from the well-known homœopathic
journals published world-over – India, England, Germany, France, Brazil, USA, etc., - discipline-wise, with
brief abstracts/extracts. Readers may refer to the original articles for detailed study. The full names and
addresses of the journals covered by this compilation are given at the end of Part I. Part II contains selected
essays/articles/extracts, while Part III carries original articles for this journal, Book Reviews, etc.
______________________________________________________________________________________
I. PHILOSOPHY
1. Think it over
GUPTA, Nolini Kanta (NAMAH. 10, 2/2002)
What is the aim of all medicine? To relieve
suffering? All the drugs, surgeries, medical care
and medical research are ultimately geared to that
end. Yet surprisingly no one asks why do we
suffer? How does one really cure it? Is there
another way?
It is the human way of dealing with things and
must naturally be very limited in its scope and
efficacy.
Happiness is a quality that depends upon
something else and comes from elsewhere. It is not
directly proportional to material well-being.
Unhappiness too is a psychological entity and
consists in a special vibration of mind and vitality
and consequently of the physical being due to a
warp in the consciousness itself, in the core of the
inner personality. The spiritual healers always refer
to the bliss of Spirit as the sole remedy for physical
ills even, for disease, misery and death.
True charity is in the sole possession of him
alone who has found the bliss of the Spirit and
dwells in it always. He may even appear to be
aloof and indifferent. But his presence itself is a
healing power: the patient feels it and wonders at
ease and happiness that comes into him as if from
nowhere. Many physicians have this kind of
healing power; indeed without that, a mere medical
man, with his pharmacopoeia, is no physician. It
may not be well known and recognized, but it is a
fact that a good part of the efficacy of medicine lies
in the subtle influence, the vital health, that the
doctor puts into his medicine or even directly into
the body of his patient. And in the case of a
spiritual Bhishak, the power can be raised to the n
th
degree. The healer need not even be present at all
physically near the patient; his influence can act
very well from any distance. The healing power is
in the spiritual consciousness, the inalienable bliss
of one’s status in the Spirit.
Vanity and ambition are the motive powers that
lie behind the philanthropical spirit born out of
sympathy. Sympathy leads to philanthropy,
empathy is the origin of charity, the spiritual
compassion of a Buddha or a Christ.
2. Loi de Similitude: § 26 (Law of Similitude:
§26)
LONG, Bernard (RBH. 32, 1/2002)
The 26
th
aphorism of the 6
th
edition of the
Organon is discussed The natural law of
Homeopathy.
It is a law of communication between concrete
systems. It assumes that the man and the world
form two poles of a single system. Homœopathy is
an imitative therapeutics.
3. Notions de Miasme “Souillure” = Contagion et
de Maladie Chronique.
(Ideas on Miasm = Stain” = Contagion and
Chronic Disease)
VANDEN EYNDE, Eric (RBH. 32, 2/2002)
Trying to understand the miasms – Psora as the
inherited ‘stain’ the primary problem of all
individuals a lack in each person which is
inherent, inform, unquestionable and is called the
Psoric factor.
In face of a real life experience when a person
opposes in defence or attacks the external world or
revolts is the Sycosis or égotrophy – a spontaneous
reactionary attitude.
Another spontaneous reactionary attitude is
Syphilis or egolysis the submission, or flight or
abandon which one easily adopts when one refuses
to fight. It is also certainty of personal incapacity
or the negation of one self.
The Primary Latent Psora is the simple
acceptance of the fact that one is vulnerable and has
a mortal soul and of a spirit which is eternal and
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 112 of 216
immortal. It is accepting the mystery – the question
without response.
The Secondary awakened Psora is the
existential anguish, profound suffering with no
justification, a problem from the interior of the man
in response to an external experience. It is upto the
individual endowed with reason and an intellect and
liberty to understand this stain, this lack and to
reflect conscientiously and return to his stage of
primary latent Psora and not progress with
secondary Psora.
The Secondary Psora is reactionary it could
be justification, reaction, opposition, objectivisation
of real life experiences. The Secondary Psora tries
to find an external cause for its justification. It can
have two opposite attitudes Sycosis or Syphilis.
4. Homœopathy: The therapy that dare not
speak its Name?
MILGROM, Lionel (CCR. 10, 1/2003)
This article recalls the history of Homœopathy.
[Like the majority of persons who attempt to
explain the origin of Homœopathy, MILGROM
also says that “the idea of ‘like cures like’ was well
known to PARACELSUS and to the ancient
Greeks” centuries before HAHNEMANN and
HAHNEMANN only ‘rediscovered’ it. The
‘similar’ which was the idea before
HAHNEMANN was different. For example even
during the Vedic periods there was treatment by the
‘similar’. But the similar’ was like ‘yellow juice’
of the plant or the blood of the yellow bird is
medicine for Jaundice. In the ‘Preface to the
Organon I ed. HAHNEMANN has clearly said that
no one before him made the inquiries in the
manner he did and that he was the first person to
discover the Law of Similars. = KSS]
MILGROM’s article is interesting and thought-
provoking.
5. The Terminally Ill
PANDEY, Alok (NAMAH. 11, 3/2003)
The Sri Aurobindo International Institute
for Integral Health (SAIIIHR) held in 2003 a
conference on the topic of death. One of the most
practical difficulties raised during the session by
Counsellors was: how do we interact with and bring
solace to those who are terminally ill without
feeling a deep sense conflict and sorrow inside us?
How do we face death day after day without
sinking into depression ourselves? Death is a
difficult path we all have to tread, yet refuse to look
at.
This article touches some of these core issues.
[We can help with our medicines to minimize pain
in the terminally ill patients. Until the end we
cannot give up because we cannot say that the
patient is indeed in “terminal” state; we have seen
apparently well improving patient, suddenly turn
“terminal” within an hour! All these experiences
must make us humble and realize that we are
neither “life-givers” nor “life-takers”. I would draw
your kind attention to what HAHNEMANN has
said in regard to the quality, character of a
physician. “…. Knowest thou the man that has just
passed us clad in a coarse woollen garment? In his
venerable aged form beams universal philanthropy.
That is Eumenes, the physician. The many
thousands that he yearly makes by the practice of
his Art, he does not spend on fine country houses
and on the other vain trifles of the luxurious. His
happiness consists in doing good! About the tenth
part of his large income he uses for his limited
wants, the rest he puts out to interest in the State.
And how? Thou askest me. To the poor he gives
his aid, his medical skill. With his stores he
supports the convalescent families until they are
able to help themselves and with the costliest of his
wines he revives the dying. He seeks out miserable
in their dirty hovels and appears to them as a
beneficient divinity; yes, when the all-vivifying
sun, the image of the unknown God, refrains from
showing the dying its life-bestowing face, and even
at midnight he appears in the huts of the miserable
to assist them, and lavishes on them consolation,
advice and aid. They worship him as our ancestors
worshipped the beneficient demi-gods, Osisis,
Ceres and Aesculapius. Will thou soon commence
to envy him? …. ..”
(‘Socrates and Physon’ – 1795).
Also refer to Hahnemann’s treatment of Prince
SCHWARZENBERG in 1817. The Prince died
months after he left Hahnemann’s treatment;
however, the Palace Physicians blamed
HAHNEMANN. For himself HAHNEMANN
was confident of having tried and done all for
the best. It was therefore with a calm conscience
and without any fear that he walked along in his
mourning crepe immediately behind the hearse
in the pompous funeral procession….” (See
Haehl, Vol. I P.111) = KSS]
6. What on earth is Homœopathy? Esotericism,
Shamanism, Alchemy, an Art or a motor for a
science of tomorrow?
SCHLINGENSIEPEN-BRYSCH, Irene
(HL. 16, 1/2003)
The following article deals with four questions:
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I. Shamanism, Alchemy, Science? all being
steps in the cultural evolution of mankind,
Homeopathy cannot be seen as a method of
healing compatible with the experience of
Shamanism or a mythological understanding of the
world. A person trained to see and understand the
world in such a way may perceive a context that a
homœopath cannot be aware of or fully assess.
Good doctors can always use some of the healing
mechanisms developed by these allied arts of
Healing.
II. Could science play a clarifying role in the
actual debate among different homœopathic
schools?
Homeopathy is a mixture of classic techniques
of simple repertorisation and study of Materia
Medica, and the new approaches towards viewing
disease and health advocated by the various modern
gurus. The author says that so far no real quality
criteriae have been developed and agreed upon, to
serve as landmarks in homœopathic education and
practice. Thus it becomes difficult to estimate the
value or significance of an old or new method. The
need of the hour is therefore a scientific approach
towards these different methods. We need to turn
to controlled studies of these different approaches
as objectively as possible.
III. Can modern Physics provide the missing link
in explaining the effects of Homeopathy
Homeopathy: a trigger for a Science of tomorrow?
Homeopathy has already set standards for a
Science of tomorrow. One of its biggest scientific
assets is its refinement of the observation of illness
as well as the process of healing. None of the
allopathic medical disciplines has yet developed
observation and perception of the patient as a
whole, to such an exactness and depth as
Homeopathy. Scientific experiments in
Biophysics are now able to explain various
homœopathic concepts of similimum, by dilution
and potentisation etc.
IV. Meet your own prejudice: Alchemy and
Homeopathy.
Alchemy is a millennia-old attempt to discover
the relationship of man to the cosmos and to exploit
this relationship to his benefit. In Homœopathy,
the empirical observations of Provings, Disease and
of Healing conclude that a specific state in a
living organism has a correspondence that is
preserved or expressed in a characteristic pattern in
another materialized structure like plants,
animals, elements etc.
7. Dynamis and libido - Hahnemann S. and Jung
C.G., or what morbidly affects the Vital Force
WEILAND, Jürgen (HL. 16, 1/2003)
According to HAHNEMANN It is the
morbidly affected Vital Force alone that produces
disease” (§12) and again according to him it
would be of no practical utility to know how it
produces disease…. The quest to know more about
the how and why of health and disease leads one
into a training in Analytical Psychology of C.G.
JUNG.
There is a great similarity between the libido of
JUNG and Hahnemann’s definition of the Vital
Force. Jung’s definition of libido encompasses -
the desires (animal eating and drinking, sexual etc.)
The Mental Power (affects and emotions) The
Instincts (archetypal material like the hero or the
great mother – Magna Mater).
Libido is the force which energises a symptom
and during our daily work with patients we must
look for these dynamic symptoms charged with
libido.
Each person has a personal and collective part
of the Unconscious. In the personal complex –
personal experiences are stored in a specific manner
depending on what kind of experiences was made.
These complexes can have an influence on the
general constitution of the individual. It helps to be
aware of these influences when personal
experiences have been bad. These complexes when
they are negative can get stuck and the libido reacts
with dynamic signs and symptoms. With our
Materia Medica we can give a specific answer to
this libidinous language. The Similimum can
release a lot of energy that has been stuck. Most of
the material of the personal and Collective
Unconscious is represented in our Materia Medica.
The author concludes by saying that being
aware of “What can morbidly affect the harmonious
flow of the dynamis” can give us a bit more of
happiness and self-contentedness.
8. Misunderstanding On some
misunderstandings in the historical
interpretation of Hahnemann’s work
APPELL, Rainer G. (HL. 16, 1/2003)
Hahnemann’s postulate: ‘Imitate me, but
imitate exactly’ is examined critically, as is his
demand of the impartial observer.
The author says that HAHNEMANN is silent
over what is to be copied exactly and carefully. He
was well aware of the burden that he was super-
imposing on his followers with his command.
Is true objectivity possible with the subjectivity
that each obserever brings into his studies?
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 114 of 216
A symptom may have an objective character
but the therapist as an interpreter and translator of
this symptom cannot eliminate his subjectivity.
The fiction of objectivity, the unprejudiced
observer the mathematical precision all this
conjures up an impartiality, which is not free of
hardness and self-righteousness. The author asks
“how can you perceive someone if you do not
perceive yourself?”
Subjectivity is a part of objective observation.
He concludes – ‘Copy it, but everybody in their
own fashion please!” [What an advice! It is clear
from carefully reading HAHNEMANN (not just the
Organon alone) that his admonition was only to
follow him (meaning, his teachings) and follow
exactly, not according each person’s personal
‘understanding’, but as much objectivity as
possible. One cannot bring in one’s own pet
aversions and likes in the practical application of
Homeopathy which would lead to failure making
them say that Homœopathy failed = KSS]
9. Homeopathy: Classical, Baroque and Hip-hop
STEWART, Robert (AH. 9/2003)
This is a very interesting study of
homœopathic philosophy, methodologies of
Practice.
The author argues rightly that the homœopathic
Law of Cure is a datum of experience, it should be
universally valid but the methodology for
determining the similitude, however, is not so
inexorable, is not fixed by the Law: a law is not a
method. Hence Similitude is an Art and Science.
STEWART says that in many ways
PARACELSUS was a direct antecedent to
HAHNEMANN. Paracelsus’ Archaeus was the
progenitor of Hahnemann’s geistartige
Lebenskraft; his so-called Doctrine of signatures, a
kind of similia similibus. While only 300 years
separate the two, a vast psychological chasm
divides their clinical approaches. [The ‘similarity’
approach has been there even before
PARACELSUS, in other parts of the World. In the
‘Vedic Period “yellow Birds are used to carry
away the yellowness (jaundice) of a patient” (“…
the frog whose nature is cool and wet, served as the
receptacle for the hot fever. Bloomfield and Henry
consider that such a practice is an example of
allopathic, as opposed to homœopathic medicine
which is exemplified at KauśS 26, 14-21 (AVŚ
1.22), where yellow birds are used to carry away
the yellowness (jaundice) of a patient. This is
indeed, one explanation. FILLIOZAT, has
proposed a different, equally valid, interpretation:
….. In this way FILLIOZAT understands both the
yellow birds and the frog to be used
homœopathically p. 38 of Medicine in the
Veda Vol. I by Kenneth G. ZYSK, Motilal
Banaridas Publishers, Delhi, 1996. The reference
quoted in the above passage is from the Atharva
Veda Samhita (the word Homœopathy is used by
the annotators themselves in the passage itself). It
will be evident similarity’ in application of
medicine is as old as the Veda - and to
HIPPOCRATES in the West many centuries
before PARACELSUS. However, all these
‘similars’ are different from Hahnemann’s Law of
Similars. None of these including PARACELSUS
seem to have influenced HAHNEMANN when he
experimented with the Peruvian Bark infusion.
HAHNEMANN himself says that the idea
‘dawned’ on him and he cut his own path. His
admonition, “imitate me, but imitate me exactly”
was directed at those who did not understand what
he meant by similarand criticised him wrongly.
It is not a ‘fiat’ and it is not a mark of rigidity. The
context in which he gave this admonition must be
understood. One cannot lift this admonition from
its context and quote it to besmear HAHNEMANN
= KSS]
STEWART discusses the use of metaphor in
homœopathic prescribing. This is thought-
provoking. Further on, he discusses extensively
DESCARTES, COPERNICUS, VESALIUS,
BACON, ARISTOTLE.
Towards the end of the article STEWART
refers to the Spanish Philosopher/Physician P.Lain
ENTRALGO. Dr. ENTRALGO identifies a four-
fold motivation for the Practice of Medicine:
i) ‘ego adiuvans’, which is the sincere
desire to help;
ii) ‘ego sapiens’, which is an appeal to
cognition, where the patient is the
object of rational understanding’;
iii) ‘ego fungens’ which is the
attainment of an official position,
where the patient is viewed as a part
of social machine;
iv) ‘ego cupiens’ which is defined as a
“more or less dissimulated appetite for
money and fame,” where the patient
represents a source of gain.
While two or more motives perhaps intertwine
in every practitioner, usually one predominates.
STEWART says that because of the present
political/legal situation, no homœopath today has
the luxury of ‘ego fungens’. The State does not
require our services to keep the wheels of Society
spinning. It is therefore doubly shameful to see so
many homœopaths falling under the rubric of ego
cupiens’ actually more accurately called aude
cupere. [We agree that many whose ‘profession’ is
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‘Homœopathic Physician’ holding university
degree fall under the category ‘ego cupiens’ = KSS]
10. Homeopathy and Enneagrams Using the
Enneagram to Diagnose Miasms and
Kingdoms
SCHMITT, Frédéric (AH. 9/2003)
Extracts: The concept of the Vital Force is the
fundamental, as it underpins the entire doctrinal
edifice from the understanding of health and
disease to the actions of potentized medicines.
Disease is an energetic imbalance. The nature
of Natural Disease is miasmatic (Chronic Disease
and Organon, Aphorism 78). For HAHNEMANN
the “dynamic influence” of an agent that disturbs
the Vital Force is not “in any way material”. He
places contagious infection such as measles, the
action of mineral magnetism, and that of potentized
remedies on the same level: “These medicines act
upon our well-being wholly without
communication of material parts of the medicinal
substances, thus dynamically as if through
infection”. (FN. Aph. 11). Clearly in
HAHNEMANN’s mind, a contagious is a dynamic
and immaterial notion. Using HAHNEMANN’s
language, we could replace the word “infectious”
with the word “dynamic”. A Miasm is therefore an
agent that exercises a deleterious dynamic or
energetic action on the organism. According to
Aph.81 heredity is the main source of miasmatic
transmission, thus a Miasm is a fundamental innate
imbalance of the Vital Force. The energetic
imbalance is also specific to a Miasm. Each Miasm
has its own symptomatic characteristics. The three
Miasms Psora, Syphilis and Sycosis could also be
interlinked. However, as said by J.H. ALLEN
always one Miasm is active and predominant.
Knowing a patient’s Miasm enables us to
predict quite accurately which remedies are
appropriate and which remedies should be avoided.
Since there is vagueness in understanding the
diagnotic criteriae for the Miasm according to the
different authors – J.H. ALLEN, P.S. ORTEGA,
A.E. MASI, D. GRANDGEORGE, Max TÉTAU,
Rajan SANKARAN a methodology has to be
innovated to study the Miasm.
The French Homœopath Dr.Georges
BROUSSALIAN wrote, in connection with the
treatment of winter illnesses of children, that a
remedy adapted to the child’s miasmatic state
should be given along with the Simillimum.
There is an analogy between the three Miasms
and three groups of “Enneagram”. The Enneagram
is a symbol prescribed by PYTHAGORAS,
depicting a star with nine branches. The
Enneagram is a very powerful tool for personal and
spiritual development.
The components of human beings are three.
Cognitive, Emotion, Drive. The predominance of
the imbalance of a component determines the
constitution. Thus there are three basic
constitutions. A component’s imbalance can be
manifested by a ‘deficiency’ (hypofunction), ‘an
excess’ (hyperfunction), ‘disturbance’
(dysfunction). Thus three types of imbalances may
be there for each component, thus nine types or
enneatypes.
Applying the ‘Kingdoms to the ‘instinctive’
subtypes (Self-preservation, Sexual, Social) Self-
preservation = Mineral, Sexual = Animal, Social =
Vegetable we work out the classification of the
Miasm applying the Enneagram and arrive at the
remedy.
The author Dr. Frédéric SCHMITT has
differentiated 100 remedies in this manner. Five
cases are given in brief.
[All about Enneagram must be first learnt and
applied for Personality Development. One can
apply the Enneagram to ascertain better the
homœopathic Miasm after that. You can access for
the Ennegram Institute in the Internet. Also the
Web site: www.homeopathic-enneagram.com =
KSS].
11. Homeopathy and the search for meaning
ZARFATY, Joseph (HL. 15, 4/2002)
The meaning of the word ‘meaning’ is
explained through the work of David BOHM and
its value in the practice of Homœopathy.
According to the author healing is actually a
process of understanding the meaning of disease
rather than actively fighting it.
The practitioner’s job is to shed light on
the disease, to understand its causes and what it
means to the patient. Once it is understood and
recognized, it can be coped with by the patient
himself even if the homœopath says nothing.
[What has Homœopathy got to do in such cases?
Homeopathic therapy is application of a Medicine
similar to the disease state; surely application is
governed by certain rule peculiar to
Homeopathy=KSS]
12. A map of Miasms
KANTOR, Alexander (HL. 15, 4/2002)
The author has integrated the views on miasms
of Rajan SANKARAN and P.S. ORTEGA and
presented in a map form which helped him in his
understanding of the subject.
13. What is it that cures the patient?
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SERBAN, Gabrielle (HL. 15, 4/2002)
The different approaches in prescribing can be
understood, if we believe Homœopathy is an Art
more than a Science.
To cure, a homœopath should understand
which remedies are in resonance with him and use
them instead of trying to know every new remedy
in the world.
The author quotes a German-Swiss philosopher
with the Pseudonym Bo Yin Ra that cure depends
on the person; not on the method. Either the patient
himself is able to mobilize himself to a cure, or
somebody else is able to help him do that [Mostly
spiritual talk and nothing relevant to Similia
Similibus = KSS]
--------------------------------------------------------------
II. MATERIA MEDICA
1. Anthracinum dans le charbon (Anthracinum
for Anthrax presented at the International
Homeopathic Congress – London 1911)
VAN DEN BERGHE, Sam (RBH. 32, 2/2002)
This article is very significant because even
today homœopaths are treating the malignant
pustules according to the law of similars using
more frequently among others Arsenicum album,
Lachesis and Nitric acid. In this article the role of
Anthracinum in Anthrax is discussed. Anthracinum
is faster and more efficient than Arsenicum and
Lachesis in the cure of the malignant pustule.
2. Calcarea phosphorica
ALAERTS, Jean (RBH. 32, 2/2002)
A repertorial study of Calcarea phosphorica
with a small summary of the views on this remedy
by three contemporary homœopaths.
According to Marc BRUNSON it is
importance of good relations. In order to perfect its
fragility Calcarea phos. encloses itself in an
imaginary world with idealistic good relations. It
tries to avoid all conflicts and hides anger against
injustice.
According to Rajan SANKARAN, the bone
provides security and stability to the body and at
the same time assures its movement. The need to
be stable and secure comes from Calcium and the
capacity to establish new connections from
Phosphorus.
The central theme in Jan SCHOLTEN’s
analysis is the illusion that others will think him
incapable of studying or making friends.
- Inability to study intensively
- Cutting one-self from the world
- Love failure
Repertorial Study
-Theme of Voyage
- His desire to travel, showing his curiosity
which is relevant to Phosphorus and his
search for security relevant to Calcium.
-Theme of Mental Work
- Inability to concentrate
- Incapacity for mental work
- Mistakes in writing and speaking
- Weakness of memory
-Theme of Fears
Calcarea phos is excessively fearful
- Child fears being lifted from cradle
- Home-sickness - desire to go home
- Desire to be held
- Startling in convulsions, sleep during
- Ailments from bad news
-Theme of Chagrin
- Sadness, silent grief, weeping, consolation
aggravates
-Theme of Anger
- Anger, contradiction from
- Injustice, cannot tolerate
- Violence on being reproached
3. Ferrum phosphoricum: Still vague after all
these years
CASTRO, Miranda (HT. 22, 10/2002)
The author after going through many books
sums up the indications of the remedy.
- First stage inflammations with sudden
onset and a paucity of symptoms.
If Aconite doesn’t work for an acute
inflammation after one to two hours, then Ferrum
phosphoricum should be given next if there are still
no strong symptoms.
4. Gelsemium sempervirens
CASTRO, Miranda (HT. 22, 11/2002)
The medical history of this plant and its
characteristic symptoms are discussed in brief.
5. Helodrilus caliginosus - Earthworm
KLEIN, Louis (SIM. XVI, 3/2003)
Earthworm is proved for the first time and
some of the proving symptoms are given.
MIND AND DISPOSITION
(FOCUS HERNIATION)
Vulnerability mentally/emotionally
Pudgy fragility, like jelly
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Slow and thick
POOR IMPULSE CONTROL
‘Weakness of will’
Elastic emotions and reactions
INTERNALIZATION
Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome
Delusion possessed by psychic forces, negative
entity
Deep loneliness
Walking in circles by oneself while thinking
Slow and dull looking
Repulsive
CONFLICT BETWEEN MORALITY VERSUS
DESIRE
Sexual dreams – waking with remorse
Duty-bound
Conscientious
Depression, sadness, despair
Impulsive negative behavior followed by remorse
High sexuality – incest followed by remorse
Enjoyment, relaxation
Relaxed about morality followed by intense anxiety
of conscience
Indifference followed by remorse (cf. Lac
humanum)
CRIMINALITY
Internal feeling of being a criminal
Falsely accused, take on guilt
Impulsive criminality, such as stealing followed by
remorse
SYCOPHANT
Insidious
JINXED
Things go wrong around them
CARTOONS
Half man, half animals
Dreams cartoon-like characters of animals, half
animal, half human
Cartoon-like reality, goofy
CASTLES, MEDIEVAL
Dreams castles, medieval settings
Dreams rubble, buildings
Medieval fantasies
DREAMS INJURED BABIES
DREAMS WATER
NOSTALGIA
Dream of old friend, old situation
HAND/ARM FLAPPING
Looks like a penguin
WIND AGGRAVATES
WORSE 4 P.M.
HERNIATION
SPINAL INJURIES
Herniation of disc
Nerve damage
Injuries, accidents, car accidents – whiplash
HAEMATOMA
Easy bruising
On brain
TINGLING SENSATION
Throughout extremities and face
UNUSUAL EXTREMITIES SENSATIONS
Heaviness of extremities
Floating and lightness of arms and legs
Legs enlarged, swelling in hands and feet (2)
NUMBNESS
Especially arms, back, face
Particularly lower lips to chin
NEURALGIC PAINS
Face
SCIATICA
As a result of a slipped or ruptured disc
Fever with convulsions
Recurring fever
FOOD
Increase/Loss Appetite
Craves ice cream, junk food
Anorexia
Over-eating, Bulimia
HEAD
Sharp pains in various areas of head: temple, right
or left
NOSE
Sneezing after eating, clear discharge
SORE THROAT
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Swollen glands, Tonsils feel swollen one-sided,
right or left side with sensation of tightness in
throat and neck or feeling of fullness in throat
Swelling abscess of the gums
FILLINGS FALLING OUT
WEAKNESS IN CHEST WITH COUGH
Severe bronchitis with a tickling in her throat and
feeling as if couldn’t get enough oxygen.
Long-standing chest problems: weakness, Asthma
ECZEMA
Worse winter (cf. Petr.)
SENSITIVE TO COLD
WOUNDS SWELL
Bulging
MELANOMA
(The full remedy proving can be found under new
provings at http://www. homeopathycourses.com.)
6. Falcon peregrinus disciplinatus
SHEVIN, William (AJHM. 96, 4/2003)
In the proving of this remedy by Misha
NORLAND, a strong sense of being trapped,
feelings of shame, humiliation and guilt seem to
figure.
Two cases of students with problems with
sensation of being trapped in adverse circumstances
responded well to this remedy.
7. Nicotiana tabacum
WILKENS, Johannes (AHZ. 248, 6/2003)
Nicotiana tabacum has been mostly used
only in acute cases. Numerous possibilities of
application are opened by the experiences of
modern toxicology. Personality distortions,
suicidal dispositions, and their treatment in the
experience of the author are demonstrated.
8. A Study of Lesser known drug
Anthrakokali
RAY R.K. and RAI, Yogendra
(CCRH. 25, 3&4/2003)
This study was undertaken with an
objective to verify the symptoms available in the
literature, to complete the drug picture and to
explore the full potential of a lesser known partially
proved drug – Anthrakokali. The study covers
1704 patients registered during the period from
April 1985 to March 1999 of which 944 were male
and 760 female. One thousand nineteen patients
(59%) improved, 281 (16.49%) showed no
improvement while 404 (23.4%) did not report.
Trial was conducted in 6c and 30c potencies and
both have been found equally effective in acute as
well as chronic affections. Although the drug has
shown its action in all the affections, it has special
affinity to skin manifestations and has emerged as
an antipsoric drug. Study confirms that the
symptoms available in the literature are reliable
indications of the drug, a number of new symptoms
have also been observed during trial which have
been mentioned as additional symptoms.
9. The Bowel Nosodes
BICKLEY, Anthony (AH. 9/2003)
The work of Edward BACH, WHEELER
and DISHINGTON formed the basis for the view
that the non-lactose fermenting bacilli normally
present in the bowel and considered harmless,
might in accumulation be the root cause of Chronic
disease.
Over the years the autogenous Nosodes
made from these bowel organisms have been found
to be quite useful and curative. It is felt that these
remedies have not been made good use of by the
Profession currently.
BICKLEY has presented in this article the
indications for 5 out of the 10 Bowel Nosodes.
Full symptomatology can be studied and
applied by referring to JULIAN, or Elizabeth
PATERSON. However, some Keynote like
indications from this article:
Once you think of disease, you can’t stop
thinking of it is a typical example of Morgan. They
are claustrophobic. May also be of use in
congestive headaches with raised Blood Pressure.
Have to go for a stool upon eating – is a real
keynote for Morgan.
The Keynote of Proteus is suddenness.
Dysentry co. has a tubercular desire to
travel, may be a way to escape creditors and
challenges. They are hypersensitive to all
criticisms. “Can’t cope with any challenges or
changes.” A very good remedy for post-natal
depression.
Gaertner is a major remedy for food
allergies. In Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), it is
a good remedy. Antibiotic poisoning.
10. Vines: Healing Entanglements
CICCHETTI, Jane (AH. 9/2003)
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The author discusses remedies made from
Vines, in general (Archetype, Signature!) and in
particular Alcoholus (Spirits of Wine, Ethyl
alcohol), and Bryonia alba.
11. A Case of Hura Through and Through
REICHENBERG-ULLMAN, Judyth
(AH. 9/2003)
The author says that of all the
methodologies in Case Taking which she has used
over a period of 20 years, the most recent method
of Rajan SANKARAN in which he trusts that the
in-depth examination of the chief complaint will
reveal all that is necessary about the patient – to be
the most helpful yet. The sensation of the chief
complaint can bring out the entire case, is the
‘recent method’ of Rajan SANKARAN.
This is a case of 42-year-old woman with
bad, itchy skin. The patient’s symptoms reminded
the Euphorbiaceae [What does it mean? = KSS] but
that the leprosy miasm would be Hura brasiliensis.
Hura brasiliensis 200. Seven and half
month follow-up.
12. Archetypes of the Homœopathic Materia
Medica: Sulphur
LILLEY, David John (AH. 9/2003)
Study of the Archetype is one way of
studying the remedy. In this article the great
antipsoric Sulphur is studied in this manner.
13. The Life Cycle of a Salmon:
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
SHERR, Jeremy and QUIRK, Tina
(AH. 9/2003)
This again is according to the current method
of ‘themes’.
A 40-year-old woman who did not get pregnant
for six years; she has already done two in-vitro
fertilizations without success.
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha 200 two doses 4
hours apart. [Why repeat a 200 within 4 hours?
What is the emergency? = KSS] Two months later
she told that she was pregnant and delivered a
healthy baby.
There was a hormone shift after this. The
remedy was repeated twice later for the patient’s
emotional problems.
[The author ‘knew’ the proving data as she
associated with Jeremy SHERR who did the
proving (the ‘Proving’ details are available in
Jeremy SHERR’s book Dynamic Provings;
wherefrom do we, the ordinary homœopath get the
Remedy?) = KSS]
14. Longing to Go Home
WALDSTEIN, Steve (AH. 9/2003)
This again is a case of Onchorynchus
tschawytscha.
35 year-old Russian, married; skin problems.
He was very nostalgic about his ‘home’ in
Russia and his past farm life there.
Onchor.
15. Hippocampus kuda: A Proving of Sea Horse
SONZ, Susan; KUSHNER, Sonam and
STEWART, Robert (AH. 9/2003)
The sea horse is called Hippocampus, a Greek
word meaning, “horse monster”. The sea horse is
an amusing amalgam of incommensurable parts a
horse’s head, dragon’s scales, the free-roving eyes
and changeable colors of a chameleon, tail of a
monkey, a kangaroo’s pouch, the armor of an
insect, and the wings of a hummingbird yet the
fact remains that it is simply a fish.
This Proving was done in 2001. The Proving
is interesting. A long list of ‘Rubrics for
Repertory is given.
[As we have been seeing in the ‘modern
Provings in which the data is nearly 80% (if not all)
‘Mind’ and Dreams’, here too we find lot of
‘Mind’, ‘Dreams’ and ‘themes’ that were spun out
of the data. Is it so that during the days of
HAHNEMANN, HERING, LIPPE, the provers
experienced only very few ‘Mind’ and ‘Dreams’
symptoms, whereas the modern provers are ‘all
mind’?
New remedy can be added to the Repertory
only after much clinical verification. Without this
how does the group deem it fit to suggest the
addition to the Rubrics?=KSS]
16. Awakening and Metamorphosis:
Enallagma carunculatum
GRIMES, Melanie (AH. 9/2003)
The proving creature is a small Dragon Fly-
actually called a damselfly, about an inch long and
lives along lakes.
Dragonflies form an important part of Wetland
Wildlife and they play a significant roll in its
Ecology. They are also among the most ancient of
living creatures. Dragonflies have populated the
earth for 325 million years. They predate
Dinosaurs by 100 million years.
There are over 5000 species of Dragonfly the
worldover. They cause no harm to agriculture,
industry, humans or animals, in fact most are
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 120 of 216
regarded as beneficial because they feed on small
flying insects such as mosquitoes. The compound
eyes of some dragonflies may have upto 28,000
facets.
Proving was done in 2002 with 25 participants,
in three continents.
The ‘Mind’ symptoms are divided into
‘themes’.
17. The Lascivious Accidental Killer
– A Homœopathic Proving of Chironex
fleckeri, Box-Jellyfish
GRAY, Alastair (AH. 9/2003)
Box-Jellyfish are very difficult to see in ocean
waters as they are pale blue and transparent. They
are shaped like a bell or cuboid with four distinct
sides, measuring upto 20 cm. along each side.
Pedaliums project from each of the four corners of
the cube or bell; they may contain upto 15 tentacles
each and be three meters in length. The Box-
jellyfish has eight eyes. There is no central nervous
system. The Box-jelly fish is the most venomous
animal on earth; no other animal’s venom can kill a
human in four minutes or less.
The Box-jellyfish has many symptoms, like
sneezing, stinging pain, urticaria, burning
sensations common with other sea-remedies like
Astacus fluviatilis, Limulus, Homarus gammarus,
Asterias rubens, Medusa etc.; and female
symptoms Sepia, Oncorhyncus tshawytscha.
Themes are listed as also the symptomatology.
[The author of this article Alastair GRAY is
said to have published provings of Kauri, and has
completed a manual on the Provings of White-
Tailed Spider, Box-jellyfish, Moreton Bay Fig, Tea
tree, Blatta orientalis and Mosquito (Culex).
18. Ulcers, Agitation and an
Australian Spider The Homeopathic
Proving of Lampona cylindrata, White-
Tailed Spider
GRAY, Alastair (AH. 9/2003)
This again is a Proving. The degree of
similarity of symptoms between this remedy and
the other spider remedies we use in homœopathic
medicine is striking.
Three cases are given, followed by the
symptoms and of course the ‘themes’.
19. Atropa Belladonna Plants with
relevance to medicine
WAIZEL-BUCAY, José (HL. 16,
1/2003)
Historical, phytochemical, pharmacological
and toxicological aspects of Atropa Belladonna L.
are presented, including its medicinal usage.
--------------------------------------------------------------
III. THERAPEUTICS
1. Farbe als Hilfe zum Finden des
simillimum (Colour as help for finding the
simillimum)
PTOK, Michael (AHZ. 248, 3/2003)
It was the idea of the late Dr.H.V.
MÜLLER (who passed away in October 2000) who
comprehended the idea that the favourite colour and
later the handwriting could help for finding the
simillimum.
According to MÜLLER the favorite colour
is the characteristic of each person; so also the
handwriting.
In his lifetime he was able to identify 250
remedies and relate them to their respective colors.
A list of 32 colours and their related remedies are
listed.
2. Die Farbe in der Homöopathie
(The Colours in Homœopathy)
WILBERT, Christoph (AHZ. 248, 3/2003)
This article describes the historical
background and the different content of ‘colour
symptoms in Homœopathy. Which aspects
correspond with homœopathic principles is worked
out.
3. Zwei Fallbeispiele zur Differenzialdiagnose
von Causticum (Two cases as examples for
differential diagnosis of Causticum)
FOERSTER, Gisela (AHZ. 248, 3/2003)
Two cases reported and discussed with
reference to differential diagnosis of Causticum
with Arsenicum album, Natrum muriaticum and
Sepia.
One is a girl child 5-year-old with
Neurodermatitis from 5-month age. The other is a
lady 40-year age, with chronic teeth pain.
4. Homöopathie am Mont Royal –
Ein Besuch bei Dr. And SAINE
(Homœopathy in Mont Royal A visit to
Dr. André SAINE)
KARIN, Von and VIGOUREUX,
Ralf
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(AHZ. 248, 4/2003)
The authors visited Dr. André SAINE in Mont
Royal, Canada, for a fortnight and observed the
actual practice of André SAINE. Cases observed:
Multiple sclerosis, Epilepsy, Cancers,
Schizophrenia, Muscular dystrophy, Chronic renal
diseases, Ataxia, difficult behavioral disorders,
Myasthenia gravis, Chronic Mastoiditis,
Hyperthyrosis, Scleroderma, Chronic lymphatic
Leukaemia, acute Anxiety states, Depressions with
suicidal tendencies, manic depressive Psychosis;
also allergies, chronic fatigue, etc.
A woman with Polymyositis: whose therapy with
Dr. SAINE began in 2001 improved steadily
(Sepia) and her Methylprednisolon could be
reduced and ultimately stopped. The patient could
move about much better, and work.
Metastisation: A woman with metastasis of
Follicular Thyroid Carcinoma and ductal mamma
Carcinoma. She was brought to SAINE in a bed-
ridden state two weeks ago. Her physicians had
given her only few months life. Grade IV heart
disease and Tricuspid insufficiency. Had in the
meanwhile lung oedema, twice, which was treated
homœopathically. Under Calcium carbonicum CM
she had a severe relationship crisis, separated from
her husband who was an alcoholic. Her back pain
became better 90%, the shoulder pain, possibly due
to metastasis also became better by 85%. She
could undertake a flight to Pakistan. At this
moment she is in her best energy, never was so
good as now. The heart is now Grade II disease.
Everyone tells her that she looked very well.
Kidney Stones: 41 year-old woman with Kidney
Stones, diagnosed first 15 years ago. On painkiller.
Sepia was of no relief. Back pain “as if the back
was stiff and lame”. Better from exertion, playing
Tennis, rubbing and pressing, massaging. Worse in
morning, and in cold weather. The description of
the pain by the patient is very important for SAINE.
He found the symptom in Kalium carbonicum in
exact words in The Chronic Diseases”:
“Stiffness and lameness in the Back and hip”.
After a high potency, the next day the pains were
better without Painkiller, better 70-80%. After a
short duration she was free from pains.
Interestingly her libido which was very low also
increased.
Suicidal thoughts: A female patient with suicidal
thoughts called, weeping and sobbing. She injured
herself. There was sexual abuse in the past. She
has to go to work in the next week but she was not
confident that she would be able to. Arsenicum
album in high potency and next day was 80% better
emotionally but physically slightly unwell but she
was looking forward to work.
Young lady with metastising Mamma
Carcinoma: She was on Chemotherapy but
became pregnant and the Chemotherapy was
discontinued. Bone metastasis was diagnosed. The
pains were much less under Arsenicum album,
Sepia and Sulphur. Dr. SAINE and the patient
meet often twice per week.
Woman, anamnesis in early 60: Since 30 years
has a bad chronic cough, often with pussy mucous
or haemoptysis. Bronchiectasis was confirmed.
Early history of recurrent lung inflammation. Dr.
SAINE took the case as he was interested to know
whether he could influence the decades old cough.
Detailed history of the cough was taken. Personal
life history revealed two marriages both suppressed
her emotionally very much. The suitable medicine
was not clear for a long time. Ultimately Calcarea
phosphorica was prescribed because of certain
impressive constitutional attributes. After 5 months
of steadily increasing potencies 30 to 1000 and in
March 2002 the state was: The cough became better
every month by 10-15% and totally 70%. She has
energy to work and readjust her life and was no
more the “sacrificial” state.
Psychology with animal allergy: Severe sneezing
was most bothersome. The patient passed stool
involuntarily while sneezing. (Sulphur the only
remedy in the Repertory). Sees stars when
sneezing, mornings worse. Stopped nose during
nights, desires sweets. Loves heat, and so she was
given Ammonium carbonicum. Complete and
permanent cure.
Many difficult and serious cases were handled
by Dr. SAINE. There were complex cases. He was
very patient with his case taking and in difficult
cases he was not nervous. No one had the feeling
that he may not be able to handle the situation. He
is known as a strict follower of HAHNEMANN.
The anamnesis was total and exact. When a patient
said that only 10-20% improvement was observed
SAINE knew that he had not found the correct
remedy. He collected the symptoms on the
Computer. But the remedy was based on a few
peculiar symptoms. He used particularly
HAHNEMANN’s Materia Medica Pura, the
Organon, rarely other literature like T.F. ALLEN’s
Handbook. He had excellent Materia Medica
knowledge. Many paragraphs of the Organon
could be seen come alive in Dr. Saine’s practice.
Dr. SAINE practiced exactly what he taught in his
Seminars and Books. A more comprehensive
Interview would be published in the next number of
the AHZ.
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5. Phosphorus et Nux vomicaCas
Cliniques (Phosphorus and Nux vomica
Clinical cases)
De MEYER, Jacqueline (RBH.
32, 1/2002)
Case 1: A workaholic under a
tyrant of a boss,
with complaints of constipation with constant
ineffectual desire for stool and severe elbow pains.
Homeopathic consultation after numerous
allopathic drugs without any success. An
excessively irritable, aggressive and hypersensitive
type. Never content, never satisfied. Skin
hypersensitive to touch, full of aches and pains.
A dose of Nux vomica 30 and then two months
later Nux vomica 200 with very good improvement
both mentally and physically.
Case 2: 54-year old lady working in Public
Relations in a big company. Since three years
suffered from frequent (every 3
rd
week) intolerable
throat pains, with high fever, inability to talk.
She is an extrovert and very sympathetic. A
divorcee with sad memories of an alcoholic
husband and silent grief with anger. Intestinal
problems since childhood.
All the above pointed to Phosphorus which
was given with a good result.
Case 3: 45-year old woman with a list of
problems: frequent pharyngitis, depressive
tendency with anxiety, functional colopathy, hyper
thyroidism, hypertension etc. She was on extensive
allopathic medication. An extrovert, desires
company, averse and aggravated when alone. A lot
of back pain symptoms and of the nape of the neck
corresponded to Phosphorus which helped her.
6. Calcarea phosphorica
ALAERTS, Jean (RBH. 32, 2/2002)
Case 1: Boy of 12 years with stammering,
talking very fast and very anxious, inability to
concentrate for long, dreamer, inability to express
what he knows, disturbed sleep with
somnambulism.
An initial prescription of Carcinosinum which
ameliorated a little. Then Phosphorus with very
good improvement but not complete. Calcarea
phosphorica completed the cure.
Case 2: Young girl with chronic Sinusitis,
who has undergone drainage and curettage of the
maxillary sinuses. Polypus growth in her sinus
which has recurred twice.
Calcarea phosphorica was prescribed based on
a striking fear – Fear of being looked down by
others because “I need to be loved” with very
good results.
Case 3: Man with recurrent nasal Polyps and
Chronic Sinusitis and resisting all allopathic
treatment. Lot of his symptoms corresponded to
Phosphorus but it was not enough for him. His
failure in his studies, his subsequent humiliation by
his parents and his desire for approbation was very
strong. He also had a desire for travelling. He had
contradictory symptom of desire to talk and also at
times desire for solitude. He was curious, feared
poverty. Calcarea phosphorica was prescribed
thrice with a good improvement lasting longer and
longer each time.
7. The Fifth Missing Element of the
Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia LMK-Scale
KUZMIN, Alexei (RBH. 32, 2/2002)
The author speaks in favour of the utility
in producing 50 millesimal dynamisations in liquid
form. The different dynamisations being
The decimal – D
The Hahnemannian centesimal – CH
The Korsakovian centesimal – K
The 50 millesimal – LM
He adds to it the 50 millesimal in liquid form
LMK
The LMK being in relation to the LM like the
K is in relation to CH.
The author evokes mathematical and
philosophical consideration to justify his 5 pillars of
Homeopathic Therapeutics. He also describes the
technique of production of the LMK comparing it
with that of the LM.
He assesses that the LMK dynamisations have
a deeper action in chronic states and shows a case
in which Natrum muriaticum LMK 33 had led to
the cure of a post-traumatic epileptiform syndrome.
8. The West Nile Virus
NAUMAN, Eileen (HT. 22, 9/2002)
West Nile fever is transmitted by insects
mosquitoes and presents with fever, headache,
bodyache, skin rash (chest and arms), diarrhoea,
abdominal pain, loss of appetite and swollen lymph
glands. In severe cases Encephalitis or Meningitis
may occur.
This fever can be confirmed only by blood test.
Preventive measures like no standing water,
wearing long sleeved clothing, long pants are
necessary.
Some relevant rubrics from Mac Repertory
and a group of remedies are given.
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9. Chicken Pox
DOOLEY, Timothy R. (HT. 22, 9/2002)
The author feels the immunizations for
Chicken Pox and Hepatitis-B are not necessary. He
suggests that those who choose to immunize should
delay if possible until the immune, nervous and
glandular systems are more developed.
Indications of Aconite, Antimonium crudum,
Antimonium tartaricum, Belladonna, Pulsatilla and
Rhus toxicodendron are given.
He associates the increase in Attention Deficit
Disorder, Autism and Asthma with increase in
immunizations.
10. Babies that go scream in the night
HOOVER, Todd A. (HT. 22, 9/2002)
One-month-old baby, having worst of colic
between 4 p.m. and 4 a.m., screaming and
shrieking. Forceps delivery; look of fright in eyes.
Shrieking worse in dark room. Stramonium 30 and
the child slept throughout the night and the colic
was totally resolved.
‘Colic’ is a term typically used to describe
trapped gas in the large intestine that causes a sharp
pain. The infant will scream until the gas moves
along the colon or is eliminated.
Typical symptoms to look for in irritable
babies include vomiting, stool abnormalities, skin
problems, nursing habits, preferred position,
perspiration patterns, drooling. Any external
environmental change that affects the behaviour is
of particular importance.
Indications of Chamomilla, Nux vomica, Borax
veneta, Lycopodium, Calcarea phosphorica and
Aethusa cynapium are given.
The author refers craniosacral therapy for
children where forceps have been used or where
there was a prolonged second/third stage of labour
with any bruising or significant shaping of head.
Only by carefully tracking the nursing
mother’s diet can most offending foods be found.
11. Severe behavioral and emotional problems in
children
CHIMES, Melanie (HT. 22, 9/2002)
Homeopathy can fundamentally alter the roots
of violence and relieve a patient from suffering.
Case 1: A young girl with a history of extreme
violence, who attempts to drown her brother,
extreme restlessness, biting, avoids eye contact,
violent nightmares, fear of spiders, calmed down by
music and craving for lemons. Tarentula M. She
improved socially and academically. Over a period
of two years, she received two doses of 1M and two
of 10M.
Case 2: 5-year-old child with intense anxiety,
panic attacks and phobic disorders. Wanted to be
held from the time he was born. No drive towards
independence. Wetting himself several times a day.
Baryta carbonica 200 followed by 1M. 2
months later no panic attacks, taking care of
personal hygiene and stopped wetting.
Children with Post-Traumatic Stress since birth:
Children who have problems from the moment
they are born, have two main causes for their “dis-
ease”: inherited miasms or an intense emotional
state or trauma in the mother during the pregnancy.
The remedy state that was imprinted during
pregnancy persists into childhood and sometimes
into adulthood. The information about the in-utero
environment, labor and newborn period, when
available in adults, have produced effective results.
Case 3: An infant of 10 months, suffering from
persistent projectile vomiting, colic and sleep
problem since birth. He could sleep only when
vigorously jogged up and down. Colic > by
arching backwards. Dioscorea was thought of. But
in the second trimester of pregnancy, the mother
was trapped in a car for a long time. Her feeling at
the time was sudden violent attack from behind and
would die.
Using Mac Repertory Belladonna 200 was
given for 3 days, daily once. Follow up. No
problems at all.
12. Homeopathy changes our children’s lives
SHALTS, Edward (HT. 22, 9/2002)
The author’s child was ill and weak with fever
for a week inspite of medicines. No striking
symptoms. Ferrum phosphoricum 200 and she was
well next day.
A 7 year-old boy was restless, intrusive,
jealous and interrupting teacher constantly. The
school refused to have him because of this. As
conventional medicines failed they tried
Homeopathy.
He cried easily and was afraid of water, dogs
and dark. He tries to kiss and has some facial tics.
Hyoscyamus 200. Few weeks later remarkable
changes in his behaviour. Another dose was given
two months later as there was relapse. After two
weeks he was aggressive for few hours and nice for
few hours. Anacardium 200, his behaviour
changed dramatically. 3 months later, antibiotics
for sore throat, brought back his behavioural
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problem. After another dose of Anacardium 200,
he has been well for more than a year now.
13. First Aid Homœopathic Tricks Bag
GRILL, Yolande (HT. 22, 9/2002)
The author advises to have Arnica montana 30,
Arnica ointment, gel, cream or massage oil,
Calendula tincture and Rescue Remedy, in the First
Aid Bag.
14. A case of Bronchitis
PANESAR, Pardeep (HT. 22, 9/2002)
11 year-old son of the author became ill while
playing outside on a windy Saturday afternoon. He
had nausea, no appetite, slight cough and weakness
Nux vomica 30. Next day no nausea, but he would
not get out of bed or eat. Medicine was repeated
twice and no improvement by Monday morning.
So Aconite was given. No improvement. One of
the homœopathic friends suggested Lycopodium 30.
Immediately after this he sat up and started
ordering drinks. For several hours, no change. On
sixth day it was diagnosed as Bronchitis and he was
ordered antibiotics, which the patient refused to
take. The present symptoms were weakness, thirst
for small sips of cold water, cough with inability to
bring up phlegm, anxious and despondent.
Antimonium tartaricum 30 was given. After
two hours he asked for something to eat for the first
time in a week. Medicine was given 3 times a day
for 2 days. Bronchitis resolved.
15. Asthma on the rise
DOOLEY, Timothy R. (HT. 22, 10/2002)
Homeopathic treatment of patients with
Asthma has two goals. One is relief of acute
episodes and other is curing of the underlying
disease so that acute episodes no longer occur.
Indications of Ipecacuanha, Lobelia,
Arsenicum album, Spongia, Pulsatilla and
Phosphorus are given.
16. That barking cough
HOOVER, Todd A. (HT. 22, 10/2002)
The barking cough of Croup, Pertussis,
Epiglottitis and viral Croup are differentiated and
indications of Aconite, Belladonna, Hepar sulph,
Phosphorus, Spongia, Kali bichromicum, Bromium
and Iodium are given.
17. A child’s nighttime cough keeps mom wide
awake
PANESAR, Pardeep (HT. 22, 10/2002)
Two year-old Kim having cough since few
days. Eating and drinking was less than usual.
Within minutes of her head touching the pillow and
while asleep, would start to cough loudly. She did
not want to be left alone. Drosera 30 was given
and within about 10 minutes, cough subsided.
18. Perseverance furthers
CASTRO, Miranda (HT. 22, 10/2002)
The author narrates the experience of her one-
year-old son treated homœopathically for an
intractable whooping cough (23 years ago) and how
she turned a homœopath.
19. Caleb and the Christmas letter
LUI, Therasa (HT. 22, 10/2002)
10 month-old child, fell down and landed on
his head in the grass. Mother started giving a dose
of Arnica every 10-15 minutes. CAT scan showed
fracture of skull in 2 places and swelling of brain.
The following morning he was allowed to
leave the hospital as the swelling was going down.
After this Calcarea phosphorica and Symphytum
were given.
CAT scan taken at three weeks, showed the
fracture has completely healed.
20. The challenges of using Homœopathy in an
allopathic clinic
GRASSFLOWER (HT. 22, 10/2002)
The author has been successfully using
homœopathic medicines in an allopathic clinic in
the short time allotted. He presents a case of
itching, with red rash, irregular in shape with joint
pains. Urtica urens 30X relieved his itching and
pain.
21. Oh fluey!
CASTRO, Miranda (HT. 22, 11/2002)
For prevention of Flu: Oscillococcinum,
Influenzinum.
Within first few hours: Aconite.
After few hours with no clear symptoms
Ferrum phosphoricum.
Flu remedies: Ars., Bapt., Bry., Eupat. perf.,
Gels., Merc.sol., Nux vom., Pyrog. and Rhus tox.
Convalescence:
China More of a physical weakness with lot
of sweating.
Kali phos. - Mildly depressed after a flu.
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Gelsemium Weakness after a flu with
heaviness that won’t go away.
Influenzinum Never been well since flu.
22. Never well since the flu
ROTHENBERG, Amy (HT. 22, 11/2002)
Elaine, had the worst flu in 1985 and a terrible
constipation since then. Mucus in the stool,
calluses in the feet, nails broke with little
provocation, hair thin, fell out freely. She was
chilly, sweat easily, especially on her feet. Feels
insecure and inferior and apologize constantly, even
if it is not her fault.
Chronic sinusitis, with thick mucus difficult to
dislodge and better with warm applications and
drinks.
Silicea was prescribed and after 6 weeks she
was improving and was only repeated after 8
months, when there was a relapse.
23. Justin’s story – An unexplained weakness
GAHLES, Nancy (HT. 22, 11/2002)
14 month-old Justin had fever and vomiting in
the middle of a family vacation to Ireland. He was
given antibiotic and pain reliever. 5 days later back
in New York. Few hours later, his gait was clumsy,
veering from side-to-side, and falling. He was seen
by ten different physicians, all possible
investigations and unable to diagnose the problem.
Then the family Chiropractor, who is also a
homœopath, prescribed Gelsemium 30, based on
loss of muscular control, weak knees and
complaints from sudden change from hot to damp
air.
From next morning noticed improvement and 3
more doses were repeated.
A week later, there was a relapse and another
dose was given and he was fine.
24. Pityriasis Rosacea
TESSLER, Neil (SIM. XVI, 3/2003)
Female, 33 years with Pityriasis Rosacea all
over. Itchy. Sexual abuse. Lot of anger and rage.
Bulemic for 12 years. Hysterical. Kleptomania.
Fear of abandonment. Afraid of dark,
claustrophobic. Depressed before menses.
Stramonium 1M. Three weeks later, she reported
tremendous improvement.
Six months later, relapse and another dose was
given. In the next one year follow-up no need of
any medicine.
25. Irritable Bowel Syndrome and learning
disorder
KREEMER, Barbara (SIM. XVI, 3/2003)
23-year-old-woman, with chronic diarrhoea,
fatigue, weak memory for words and names and
concentration problems. Desires warmth and
sweets. Feels she is criticized. Baryta carbonicum
200. Next 6 months improving and 1M because of
a relapse. Memory did not improve. Baryta phos
1M (Scholten’s method). 4 months later after a TB
test relapse. Baryta phos 1M. Over the next 4
years few more doses were given. She was
impatient, dyslexic, feeling helpless, wanting to be
more independent. The author could elicit the
theme of perseverance, Osmium 200. In the next 9
months, her memory improved, diarrhoea stopped.
Not angry and concentration has improved.
The author quotes that Baryta phos and
Osmium could not have been arrived in
repertorisation but for Scholten’s method.
[Nevertheless IBS is handled successfully by many
homœopaths with time tested methodologies=KSS]
26. Pruritis in Pregnancy
McCLINTOOK, Liam (SIM. XVI, 3/2003)
39-year-old female with Obstetric Cholestasis.
General pruritus. Pruritis < by nursing. Stress
makes it worse. <8-12 p.m.
Dolichos pruriens 200, 1M relieved her in a
span of 35 days. A follow up of 17 months is
given.
The rubrics covered by this remedy are given
and is differentiated with Chamomilla and Cina.
27. Some discoveries of a naturopathic homœopath
DAVIES, Rich (SIM. XVI, 3/2003)
The author has begun to explore Homœopathy
in a much deeper way. Considering smaller
remedies with distinct remedy pictures often seems
to lead to more accurate prescribing. A case is
presented.
5 year-old boy with Bilateral Cryptorchidism,
late in learning to talk. Shrieking in anger. Fear of
dark. Grinding of teeth during sleep. Very hot yet
doesn’t like the cold.
Repertorisation did not suit the case.
In the specific rubric of undescended testis in
children, only 4 remedies are given, which are
Bufo, Lycopodium, Morgan and Thyroidinum.
Bufo 200/3 o.d. was given. Next day after the
first dose, one testicle dropped and within an hour
after the second dose, the other testicle dropped.
[Then why was the third dose given? When the
first testis dropped should we not wait? = KSS]
4 months after: Improving in all aspects.
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28. The child who would not sleep
MEISSNER, Julek (SIM. XVI, 3/2003)
2 year-old-boy with Insomnia and frequent ear
infections. As evening approached, he’d become
more and more active with desire to play. Slow
learning to talk and tendency to strike his head
against the wall.
Within three days of Medorrhinum 1M, he
slept through the night and had come up with his
first five words. By five weeks, his vocabulary had
evolved dramatically.
In the next 3 years of follow up, the sleep
continued to be good.
29. Cycles and Segments Analysis: A case
example
ROTHENBERG, Amy (SIM. XVI, 4/2003)
The cycle is made up of 5-6 segments which
are defined as grouping of symptoms that represent
similar ideas.
Marina, 15 years, suffering from severe night
time anxiety, leading to sleeplessness. She has
extreme fear that she will vomit from anxiety
though she never has. During that time she needed
constant support and attention. Worries about
everything. Afraid of high places, dark, spiders
and insects.
RADAR Herscu Module was used and
Pulsatilla 200 one dose. Two months later felt
more relaxed and carefree. In the next 3 years only
two more doses were given, once during a time of
family disturbance and once at a transition to new
school.
30. Nightshade in the shadows: A case of Datura
arborea
SHANNON, Tim (SIM. XVI, 4/2003)
41 year-old female previously treated with
Hyoscyamus for several years with good success,
presents with Paranoid jealousy and rage. Dreams
of demons, feels possessed, forsaken, shameless,
averse water and fear of dogs. Rage rises from
liver and feels the heat there.
Datura arborea 200. Follow up of 18 months,
in which it was repeated once in LM1 also and she
is doing well.
31. A case of Depression
NYLAND, Cari (SIM. XVI, 4/2003)
36 year-old woman, had nervous breakdown
after death of her mother. Lack of self-esteem.
Blames herself. Wakes around midnight, unable to
breathe and eating >. Loves smoked foods and
meat. Loves storms and oceans. Sympathy for
others. Carcinosin 200. Several weeks later initial
decrease in anxiety. Suffocation persists.
Carcinosin LM 1 daily and 4 months later,
Carcinosin 200.
13 months later: Fear of suffocation, dyspnoea
from anxiety, fear of heart disease, left sided
headache. Spongia tosta 30x in water. 4 gtt once a
week. 3 weeks later improved. 4 gtt every other
week. Over the next 18 months, Spongia tosta was
given in 200, LM1 and 50C potencies and the
patient is doing well.
32. Assessing likelihood ratio of clinical
symptoms: handling vagueness
RUTTEN A.L.B., STOLPER C.F., LUGTEN
R.F.G., & BARTHELS R.W.J.M.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003)
Clinical symptoms including homœopathic
symptoms are often vague. There is reluctance to
assess clinical symptoms as diagnostic instruments
because they are hard to define. Still, clinical
symptoms appear effective in daily practice.
Expert systems and neural networks handle vague
data successfully.
Theoretical considerations predict the kind of
problems we may expect. There is a difference
between quantitative and qualitative vagueness.
Vague data cause problems if we try to prove a
hypothesis because of expectation bias. We assess
likelihood ratio of homœopathic symptoms only to
improve the method.
33. Jealousy in a child
GUESS, George (AJHM. 96, 3/2003)
3½-year-old boy was behaving unreasonably
with his mother after the birth of his sibling. He
had become destructive and defiant and
intentionally tore up his new brother’s toys and
especially his mother’s magazines.
Sepia was given as was explained by George
VITHOULKAS and he became dramatically
normal in two weeks.
34. Case studies using The nninghausen
Repertory Therapeutic Pocketbook Method
DIMITRIADIS, George (AJHM. 96, 3/2003)
The author has briefly written about the
method of using the Repertory and has presented 7
cases worked out in this method.
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35. Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)
SINGHAL, Pratap (AJHM. 96, 3/2003)
Case 1: 28 year-old female presented with ITP
since September 1999 after she had an episode of
poison-ivy on the right arm. Shingles in January
2001. She had an itching rash > by hot bathing.
Rhus venenata was given and she began
improving in every aspect. Platelet count rose from
33,000 to 1,00,000. Being followed up for 2 years.
Case 2: year old child with ITP. Platelet
count 2,000. The symptoms started after she got
her scheduled MMR shot. 3 weeks later started
developing petechial rash. Desires yogurt and milk,
desire for music. Silica 200, 3 weeks later count
3,000. Carcinosin 200. From then on platelet
count gradually increased and 2 years later 200,000.
Brief description of the disease is given.
36. Sanicula aqua
OLSEN, Steven (AJHM. 96, 3/2003)
Sanicula aqua is found to be an excellent
remedy for children who display a fear of having
bowel movement, on account of constipation and
pain.
Three cases from his practice and two cases
from old journals are given.
The Materia Medica of the remedy is reviewed
and a brief description of 14 other mineral water
remedies are given.
A case of diarrhoea treated by Sanicula is
presented from another journal (IJHM)
37. Balanitis Xerotica Obliterans
KRUZEL, Thomas A. (AJHM. 96, 4/2003)
Sequential treatment entailed the prescriptions
of Thuja, Silica and Lycopodium, each of which
was effective. The prescription of Thuja was based
upon, among other factors, the patient’s fixed
ideation, detached reserve, mental suppression,
vagueness in describing symptoms, genitourinary
pathology; Silica prescription was based primarily
upon the phenomenon of depletion from sweating;
and Lycopodium upon the occurrence of intestinal
gas in a thin, wiry individual, also it being
complementary to Thuja.
38. Bipolar Disorders: A presentation of 3 cases
MERIZALDE, Bernardo (AJHM. 96, 4/2003)
The diagnostic criteria of bipolar disorders are
described in detail. Additionally, 3 clinical cases
are presented which were ameliorated by long
sequences of homœopathic remedies, given
simultaneously with allopathic medication in two of
the cases.
39. Melanoma
MASIELLO, Domenick J. (AJHM. 96, 4/2003)
A friend of the author had malignant
Melanoma which was excised with axillary node
involvement. In the first few months, Staphysagria
200 given for several days after biopsy and Arnica
200 t.i.d. after lymph node dissection. Silicea to aid
in the reduction of axillary scar tissue which was
causing edema of his right upper extremity.
Argentum nitricum for left shoulder sprain and
Staphysagria 1M for a lumbar strain.
When all other aids failed him, he agreed to try
some topical Fowler’s solution. In 2 months
tumour shrunk by 25%. Then he consented for
homœopathic treatment.
Carcinosin and Kali arsenicosum in alternation
at varied intervals and in increasing potencies over
a period of one year. Clean bill of health by his
Oncologist.
The author has used modified form from Dr.
Ramakrishnan’s protocol for treating Cancer.
40. A case of Ileus
HOLE, Linda Chiu (AJHM. 96, 4/2003)
43 year-old woman with ileus on the 2
nd
post
operation day. No desire to eat, defecate.
Abnormal painlessness, face red, eyes bloodshot.
Vivid imagination; exaltation of mind, with mental
clarity. Sleepiness, but unable to sleep. Acuteness
of hearing. The symptoms followed the loss of
consciousness and the stupor of anesthesia. Opium
30 and next day regular stools resumed.
41. Some experience with Mercury
KOPPIKAR, S.P. (NJH. 5, 1/2003)
Mercury worked along with few other drugs
either as supplementary or complimentary or in
combination with other metals, especially Gold. In
1938 and 1945 in Chennai, both adults and children
used to suffer from summer boils and abscesses. I
became well known because of two of our greatest
pus-absorbers, Merc.sol., and Gun powder. Gun
powder is our sheet anchor but Mercury the sole
support.
Next maximum use was in tooth-trouble.
Some years back interesting article in a weekly
journal of Japan. Government sent a team of
doctors and specialist in biochemistry to find the
reason for no pregnancy for some years. The
women were normal but the men suffered from
Azoospermia/Oligospermia. The few sperms found
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were also not active. A thorough check up of their
diet revealed that they all were daily eating some
fish peculiar to that region. Examination revealed
Mercury in their bodies. A large factory using
Mercury had grown-up on the main land opposite
the island and throwing unwanted waste chemicals
into the sea. The government ordered closure of
the company and slowly the men became normal.
A drug that can produce a disease can cure it.
42. Homeopathy handles a difficult Pregnancy
PARTHASARATHY, Vishpala
(NJH. 5, 2/2003)
Mrs. K.M. 31 years with a problem of
secondary infertility. Laparoscopy showed Right
Fallopian tube block. But HSG showed no block.
She chose a husband against her parents wish. He
was not the right person for her. She was treated by
Sepia, Phosphorus, Berberis vulgaris, Magnesium
phosphoricum and Tuberculinum. Delivered a boy
after 6 months. In this case Homœopathy, helped at
every step, bleeding, high B.P.
43. Amoebiasis
KRISHNAMURTHY P.S. (HH. 28, 9/2003)
Certain conclusions can be drawn from the
theory of Chronic Diseases. While
HAHNEMANN gave only three miasms J.H.
ALLEN added Tuberculosis to the list. Similarly,
Malaria, Filariasis and Amoebiasis deserve the
same status as chronic miasms. A close study of
the course of the amoebic infection in man helps us
to understand the clinical course of the dysenteric
miasm which is the main guide for a homœopath
and so we are adopting the name Amoebiasis as
synonymous with dysenteric miasm.
When the patients become debilitated by stress
and strain or by some acute infection the dormant
dysenteric miasm will take the upper hand and
invade the organism. Dejection or depression is
frequent. Frontal head-aches, sleepless or
sleepiness after noon meals. Pulse frequent and at
times intermittent aggravated by physical or mental
exertion. Sensitive to certain articles of diet. Pain
with inflammation in the right iliac fossa may be of
appendicular origin. In such patients removal of
appendix is reported to be dangerous as it is often
fatal. Treatment should be continued in these cases
until all the secondary symptoms mentioned above
disappear, carefully following the instructions from
Organon and Chronic Diseases.
Three cases are reported. Mercurius is a major
remedy in Amoebiasis.
44. Bönninghausens Methode der Arzneifindung
(Bœnninghausen’s Method of remedy
selection)
GOLDMANN, Robert (AHZ. 248, 5/2003)
The writings of Clemens von
BŒNNINGHAUSEN (1785-1864) demands
careful reading. In his publications in journals and
his Case Registers we find the curative course of
Chronic Diseases and the rapid cure surprises us.
(for e.g. Breast Cancer, Seizures, Chronic
Headaches and Rheumatic ailments). We are
compelled to look into his working methods.
His Therapeutic Pocket Book (1846) was
used by Herbert A. ROBERTS (1868-1950) who
used it particularly in chronic and “obscure” cases
and took KENT’s repertory as a second choice.
KENT’s student Julia M. GREEN (1871-1963)
recommended both the repertories. Cyrus M.
BOGER (1861-1935) developed Bœnninghausen’s
method further and formed his Synoptic Key with
this accent for working out cases and selection of
the remedy.
At first sight Bœnninghausen’s Repertory
fascinates us with its easy handling; the
thoroughness of the rubrics with their concise
conception makes the beginners who were
accustomed with the KENT or the latter ones,
wonder.
The sources for BŒNNINGHAUSEN were the
available Materia Medica: The Pure Materia
Medica and The Chronic Diseases, the Provings
in STAPF’s Archiv as also the clinical
confirmations.
The original unit of a symptom will be split
into its singular element and this can be freely
combined with each other.
While a complete symptom is divided into
parts and find place in the chapters: Organs, the
localization of the pain; another chapter sensation
and kind of pain; next Modalities according to
position and circumstances. These can be
combined. However, the Genius of the curative
remedy must be present in all connections – the
Genius of the Whole disease as expressed in the
‘characteristic’.
The analysis follows in five parts, in the
following criteriae:
1. Causa occasionalis
2. Main symptom (the complaint for which
the patient has come for consultation)
3. Accompanying symptoms
4. Mood (§§ 211-213)
5. Polarities
A model case is presented.
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45. Kommentiertes Literaturverzeichnis zur
Bönninghausen–Methodik (Literature Index for
Bœnninghausen Method)
GOSMANN, Haus-Ulrich (AHZ. 248, 5/2003)
List of homœopathic literature which would
give one thorough knowledge to apply the
BŒNNINGHAUSEN method of case study,
analysis and remedy selection.
The German sources are given and discussed.
Most of these books have been translated into
English since they all belong to ‘source’ literature.
Repertories:
1. Bœnninghausen’s Therapeutic Pocket
Book”, by C.v. BŒNNINGHAUSEN.
2. Symptomen-Lexikon der Materia
Medica” by U. PLATE.
3. Bœnninghausen’s Characteristics,
Materia Medica and Repertory by
C.M. BOGER.
4. Synoptic Key”, Repertory Part by C.M.
BOGER
Materia Medica:
5. Synoptic Key”, Materia Medica, by
C.M.BOGER
6. Handbuch der Hauptanzeigenby
G.H.G. JAHR (1851)
7. BÖNNINGHAUSEN’s Physiognomik
der homöopathischen Arzneimittel und
die Arzneiverwandschaften by R.F.
KÄSTNER, 1995.
8. Eigentümlichkeiten und Hauptwirk-
ungen der Homöopathischen Arzneien
by C.v. BÖNNINGHAUSEN.
Practice:
9. Klinische Anweisungen by G.H.G.
JAHR (40 years Practice) and
Therapeutic Leitfaden by G.H.G.
JAHR.
10. Drei Werke Bönninghausens für den
homöopathischen Praktiker by REIS/
M. TERLINDEN.
Theoritic background:
11. Kleine Schriften zur Homöopathieby
C.v. BÖNNINGHAUSEN (“Lesser
Writings of BŒNNINGHAUSEN)
12. Die Aphorismen des Hippokrates” by
C.v. BŒNNINGHAUSEN
13. Die Lehren und Grundsätze der
Gesammten Theoretischen und
Praktischen Homöopathischen
Heilkunstby G.H.G. JAHR.
46. Die Methode nach C.v.Bönninghausen
(BŒNNINGHAUSEN’s Method)
KUMMER, Ammo (AHZ. 248, 5/2003)
Case analysis and remedy selection according
to BŒNNINGHAUSEN and KENT and BOGER
are illustrated.
The main feature of BŒNNINGHAUSEN
method is the comprehension of the totality of the
symptoms, the division of the symptoms as main
and accompanying symptoms and the decisive rank
of the mental symptoms and taking into
consideration the polarities.
47. Fallanalyse und Repertorisation mit der
Computerversion des Taschenbuches C.v.
BÖNNINGHAUSEN (Case analysis and
Repertorisation with Computerversion of the
Therapeutic Pocket Book of C.v.
BŒNNINGHAUSEN)
FISCHER, Ulrich, D. (AHZ. 248, 5/2003)
Case analysis and repertorization of two
clinical cases are demonstrated by using the
computer version of BŒNNINGHAUSEN’s
Therapeutic Pocket Book (revised version, K-H.
GYPSER, 2000). According to
BŒNNINGHAUSEN the main symptom as well as
the comcomitants of the patient’s symptoms have to
be considered. The polarities are also to be
considered to eliminate contradictions.
48. Erfahrungen mit der Lochkartei nach
Bönninghausan revidierten Taschenbuch
(Experiences with the Punch Cards according
to Bœnninghausen’s revised Pocket Book)
MINDER, Peter (AHZ. 248, 5/2003)
The homœopathic Punch Cards system was
developed as a simple tool for identifying the
homœopathic similia for acute diseases in a rapid
and safe way. This is based on the revised edition
of nninghausen’s Therapeutic Pocket book,
2000. Practical experience has demonstrated its
reliability. Moreover, it is an excellent didactical
instrument for introducing the
BŒNNINGHAUSEN method in an intelligible,
targeted manner. By practically applying the
elements of this method complete symptom,
characteristics of the remedy, weighting of the
symptoms, dissociated repertorisation, polarities -
one gains rapidly confidence and familiarity.
Four acute cases are cited as examples.
49. Der alternde Mensch im lichte der
Homöopathie (The aging person in the light of
Homeopathy)
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SONNENSCHMIDT, Rosina
(AHZ. 248, 6/2003)
A senior citizen has a great amount of time and
is mostly undertaxed and resigned. In this article
homœopathic cases are narrated to illustrate the
possibility to challenge an old patient to take an
active part in his healing process. In this way we
can help the patient to recognize the deeper sense of
aging and age. Even in the process of dying
healing is possible, but it needs wider horizon of
acceptance of the therapists. The homœopathic
personalities of Apis, Bufo, Causticum and
Arsenicum album are administered to the patient in
order of process-oriented Homeopathy and show
interesting process of cure.
50. Bewährte homöopathische Indikationen in der
Geriatrie (Proved homœopathic Indications in
Geriatrics)
GEBHARDT, Karl-Heinz (AHZ. 248, 6/2003)
The reactions of old persons, both
physiological and pathological are discussed
briefly. The well-proved homœopathic remedies
verified clinically in any syndromes and certain
troublesome symptoms are discussed. A thorough
anamnesis has to be drawn up to find the similar
remedy.
Although the reaction of old people is
generally slow, they speak favourably about
Homeopathy.
Calcium carbonicum and Barium carbonicum
are very important remedies.
51. Die homöopathische Behandlung in der
Geriatrie (Homeopathic treatment in Geriatry)
KANT, Heinz (AHZ. 248, 6/2003)
The author writes on the basis of his many
years’ practice in an Old Age Home. He has
discussed Apoplexy, Bronchitis, Joint diseases,
Absences, Urogenital diseases, Psychotic
syndromes, Restlessness, Parkinson’s disease,
Sleep disturbances and Eye ailments.
Although it is not possible to obtain a total
cure, surely much relief could be obtained and the
elders could pass their days with minimum
discomfort and their quality of life improved.
52. To cure or not to cure, what is the answer?
HIWAT, Corrie (CCR. 10, 1/2003)
This is a ‘reprint’ from the teachings of
George VITHOULKAS followed by cases from
practice. The article is from Radar Encyclopedia
Homœopathica Software.
The twelve levels of Health are discussed. It is
pointed out that a statement such as “My child
never gets any complaints” is not a good sign. It
means that the child is going from the C to the D (D
is incurable condition) level. This is exactly the
opposite of how Allopathy sees disease.
53. A case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
JOSHI, Parimal M. (CCR. 10, 1/2003)
36 year-old female, married with two children
(both caesarean deliveries) with complaint of pain
right wrist, fingers, burning as if the hand is on fire;
better from cool air.
All her childhood was in Canada. There was
conflict between herself and her mother. Conflict
with her younger sister who, she felt, was more
loved by her mother.
Married to a businessman who was more
concerned with his business. He was found to be
HIV infected two years earlier. All these affected
her sleep very badly.
Lachesis M.
54. Cases of Chronic Renal Failure
NIKAM, Amar (CCR. 10, 1/2003)
Three cases of ‘Chronic Renal Failure’ of
different ages (19 years to 56 years).
Each patient was given a single dose only
of the medicine based on his symptoms, in the 30
potency. Within few days the patients improved
and need for dialysis/transplantation were not
necessary. [The follow-up is hardly few days.
How long the relief lasted? In these cases, follow-
up should be an year or two. However, it is quite
impressive that a single dose in 30 potency only
gives so much of relief. I learnt that in Dr. Amar
Nikam’s hospital – he has about 15 inpatients, of
Chronic Renal Failure, Diabetes, Cardiac problems
etc. – the cases “begin with the 30 potency and end
with the 30 potency”. Bravo Dr. NIKAM. Great
work. However, if everyone gets cured of such
serious pathologies with 30 potency only, where is
the concept of individual susceptibility? What are
we to say about BŒNNINGHAUSEN’s
experiences with 200 and M potencies and the
‘advantages’ he speaks about? And KENT’s,
BOGER et al? = KSS]
55. Few cases from my clinic
MANGAT, Harpreet K. (CCR. 10, 1/2003)
Case 1: 30 year-old male; recurrent cold and
coryza since childhood; rainy season
breathlessness. Since 15 years flatulence, weak
digestion, pain epigastric region. Frontal headache
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since 5 years. He was a businessman; lots of
business worries; much involved with his business.
Failure in love. Introverted. Suppressed skin
eruptions. Music >>. Aurum muriaticum 30
single dose.
Case 2: 38 year-old female; hypertension since
six years. Headache on vertex < morning.
Breathlessness with pain in chest, heavy feeling on
chest, >open air. Dreams of dead persons, snakes.
Hot patient. Profuse sweat which >>. Intolerance
of tight clothings. Lachesis 30 single dose.
56. Schizophrenia
SHINDE, Prakash (CCR. 10, 2/2003)
28 year-old-male, with lot of anxiety, fears,
that he has an undiagnosed serious ailment, etc.
His complaints began after he was left alone (when
he was a XII std. Student) for a whole day and
night when parents had to rush to see a cousin who
had met with an accident and died.
Veratrum viride 200 one dose set him on road
to recovery; repeated about two months later, and in
1M two more months later.
57. Chronic Headache
SHINDE, Prakash (CCR. 10, 2/2003)
48 year-old female, chronic headache, occipital
and vertex since two years. Also cervical stiffness,
cracking in cervical region, scorbutic gums,
decaying teeth; shoulder pain, itching vulva,
offensive breath since 4 to 5 years.
Grew up under a fastidious, disciplinary father.
Bedwetting in childhood. Abortions, protracted
bleeding after, acrid leucorrhoea.
Kreosotum 200 two doses in months. No
further attacks. [Did all the accompanying ailments
also go? = KSS].
58. Liver Cirrhosis with Ascites
SHINDE, Prakash (CCR. 10, 2/2003)
30 year-old male, married, two children. Poor.
Severe abdominal pain since a month. Heavy
alcoholic and chain smoker. Hospital admission.
Diagnosis Liver Cirrhosis with Ascites. Tapped six
times. Became increasingly restless and sick.
He had tightened the dress at the waist. Could
not sit erect. Tenderness right hypogastrium. Even
touch in the right hypochondria region could not be
borne.
Worse evening. Fat agg. Stools scanty with
lot of mucous and tenesmus before and after stool.
Relieved lying on painful side.
Throbbing feeling (pulsation) at umbilicus
during pain paroxysms. KENT Repertory p.599 for
pulsation at umbilicus: Acon., Aloe., Dulc., Ars.,
Ptel.
Ptelia 30/three doses at “hourly interval
evenings” on 2 Jan. 2003. Alround improvement
came on promptly.
59. Cervical Spondylosis, Cervical Disc Prolapse,
Lumbar Disc Prolapse
SHINDE, Prakash (CCR. 10, 2/2003)
A contractor, politician, with main
complaints of cervical pain since ten months. Pain
extends down the back, between the scapulae, pain
< looking upwards, > turning head to the right.
Sacral pain since eight months, < lying on back,
pain gluteal region since eight months < ascending
stairs, lying on hard surface, lying on sides, > lying
on abdomen. Pain left sacro-iliac joint.
Frightful dreams wakens him, waterbrash
morning, eructation sour fluids rising up the throat,
sensitivity to noise, talking by others agg. though
he desired company.
Argentum nitricum 200 two doses between 22
Feb. 2003 and 15 June 2003. Total improvement.
60. Polymyositis
SHINDE, Prakash (CCR. 10, 2/2003)
16 year-old girl, with Polymyositis diagnosed
four years ago.
Paralysed extremities, laboured respiration,
fever, difficult speech; on six tablets of
Mithotrexate/week with Steroids.
On admission in the Homœopathic Hospital,
allopathic medicines were stopped.
Moon faced, hairs lost, extremely weak. She
was brilliant student both in studies and atheletics.
Suffered high fever two years ago after which
she gradually weakened.
This case was a ‘challenge’ to Homœopathy.
The ‘rubrics’ selected were: Stools watery
green, Abdomen sore, Pain abdomen before stools,
Frequent stools, Fever with chilliness, Continued
fever, Swallowing impeded, Pain behind Sternum
agg. from cough, swallowing, Extremities, paralytic
weakness.
Veratrum album 30, 200 completely restored.
61. A case of Wilson’s Disease
MISTRY D.E. (CCR. 10, 2/2003)
A six year-old boy with Wilson’s Disease
succumbed to the disease in spite of being under
treatment by experienced allopath and homœopath
(both co-operating with each other).
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Dr. MISTRY raises many questions.
62. Migraine, Acidity, Dysmenorrhea, Allergic
Dermatitis, Piles
MANGAT H.P.K (CCR. 10, 2/2003)
Lean, thin female: dark circles around her
eyes. Migraine since 5 years in frontal region;
Acidity since 5 years; Dysmenorrhea since 4 years;
Allergic dermatitis since 2½ years; Piles bleeding
since 2½ years, < summer.
Fear of dark, robbers.
Keeps her feelings to herself; reserved
Consolation <. Sympathetic.
Natrum muriaticum 30 one dose; repeated after
over 2 months.
63. Headache, Acidity and Breathlessness
MANGAT H.P.K. (CCR. 10, 2/2003)
34 year-old female, unmarried. Complaints of
headache since three years. Fever, on and off;
Acidity; breathlessness.
Her troubles began after her mother died; her
father had died earlier. Deep sighing while
narrating her symptoms.
Ignatia 30 one dose; repeated after two
months.
64. Dysmenorrhoea
MANGAT H.P.K. (CCR. 10, 2/2003)
21 year-old girl with Dysmenorrhoea since
three years.
After she had passed her 12
th
standard
examination she was interested to study Fashion
designing but her parents wish prevailed and she
joined Commerce. She was very unhappy with her
studies. Wept alone; irritable when contradicted,
consoled.
Natrum muriaticum 30/one dose, repeated
when there was recurrence of abdominal pain at 1
st
day of menses.
65. Congenital deformity of penis with shrunk
kidneys, elevated blood urea and creatinine,
etc.
NIKAM, Amar (CCR. 10, 2/2003)
Case 1: 15 year-old boy with congenital deformity
of Penis; operated for renal calculus. Scanty urine,
shrunk kidneys, Albuminuria, increased urea
creatinine, low Hb. Short stature. General oedema.
Very timid and shy. Slow of speech and confused.
Does not concentrate on studies; very angry,
obstinate and sensitive; jealous when elder brother
is appreciated. When people visit his house, he
does not mix with them, but hides. Fear of dark,
ghosts. Afraid of being alone. Rough with family
but yielding with outsiders. Disease direction right
to left. Craving for sweets, ice cream, fruits, red
meat occasionally. Timid, bashful and sensitive.
Lycopodium 30 one dose. Kidney started
functioning well, profuse urination and within 5-6
months growth in height.
Case 2: Hypertension with Cardiomegaly and
Cerebral Infarct associated with Polycystic kidneys,
increased urea creatinine and obesity: 58 year-old
ex-Mayor, with Hypertension, Cerebral Infarct with
mild Hypertrophy of heart, Obesity, weight 105 Kg.
Retrosternal burning with sour eructation agg.
Non-vegetarian food. Sleepiness since 4-5 years.
Desires: Pungent, milk, mutton, tea. Frequent
urine. Tobacco. Sleepy, agg. even while sitting. In
the midst of the case taking he slept deeply.
He was admitted in the hospital. Ferrum
metallicum with no change. While taking the
routine round of the in-patients in the hospital, the
patient was seen sitting in his bed with a newspaper
and sleeping, snoring!
Belladonna 30 made him not only aware of his
sleep peculiarities (he would sleep even while
driving his motor cycle!), but his disease state was
also cured alround.
66. Chronic Renal Failure, Chronic Arthritis and
Ankylosing Spondylosis and Hypertension
NIKAM, Amar (CCR. 10, 2/2003)
52 year-old male, with history of Chronic
Renal Failure, Chronic Arthritis, Ankylosing
Spondylosis with Hypertension.
Dialysis done six times and recommended
transplantation.
Puffy face, anaemic. Looked very weak,
painful, swollen joints. Diminished appetite,
tongue white coated and dry, thirsty, dry lips,
sweaty scalp, forehead.
Looked prematurely old, emaciated from above
downwards; his Rheumatoid Arthritis came on
from right to left. Reserved person. Duty
conscious, close and attached to his family
members; contradiction from family members agg.;
bashful in society, gentle and timid at home but
strict and punctual; frugal since he was only low-
paid.
After suppression of Rheumatoid Arthritis, he
developed Ankylosing Spondylosis and then Renal
failure.
Lycopodium 30 one dose; no dialysis. After 5
days he began to show improvement in renal
output, generalized oedema decreased and
gradually disappeared. Ten days later he was
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weeping with the joint pains. Urea creatinine
normal.
A month later discharged.
67. Hypotension with Intestinal obstruction
NIKAM, Amar (CCR. 10, 2/2003)
50 year-old male, with Hypotension and
Intestinal obstruction, coldness of body, vomiting,
swelling all over body, generalized weakness,
drowsiness, loss of appetite with fever, Blood
Pressure 80/50 mm. of Hg.; pulse 36/min.
Veratrum album 30; within 10-15 minutes,
started settling, pulse increased to 43/min. and
Blood Pressure to 80/60 mm. of Hg.
68. Laryngeal Paralysis?
NIKAM, Amar (CCR. 10, 2/2003)
Two-year-old child; acute emergency of
laryngeal stridor and laryngeal paralysis. Was
hospitalized and kept on Ventilator and immediate
tracheostomy. At this stage patient came to
Homeopathy.
Fever on and off since a month, cough while
drinking water or eating. Severe air hunger with
the ribs moving inward deeply with breathing
difficulty.
Desires lemons; aversion sweets. Sleep
overpowering.
Child was helplessly clinging to mother,
intolerant of covering.
Belladonna 30 and within an hour very rapid
recovery. Same day all intubations and ventilators
were removed. On the second day the child
became normal
[Great work, Dr. NIKAM = KSS]
69. A case study on the evolution and strategies of
Leprosy control and elimination
BISHT D.B. (NAMAH. 11, 3/2003)
This article tells the story of a life time’s
commitment of a group of people in Tamil Nadu
against Leprosy. The author has helped this with
commitment. Now the Rawattakuppam Health
Centre is a full-fledged Primary and Community
Health Care Project. It demonstrates how
community participation can make statistics come
alive. [What are the statistics in so far as
Homeopathy is concerned, in treating Leprosy? In
20 years or more at least I have not read an article
on Leprosy therapeutics in any homœopathic
journal, except one by Drs. DIKSHIT D.B.,
KHARKAR A.D. and THAKKAR A.T. in the
Hahnemannian Gleanings, Nov., 1980. However,
I would draw your attention to the fact that the
great pioneer Constantin HERING has, while he
was in Surinam on his expedition to the Dutch
Guiana, has communicated to Dr.Ernst STAPF, in
1830 for publication in his ‘Archiv für
homöopathische Heilkunst’, his treatment of
Leprosy in the Natives of Surinam. In the first
article he delineates the nature of the disease as he
found it in the patients and in a subsequent article
in July 1830, his treatment of the disease.= KSS ]
70. Gallic acid: Case reports
PRAKASH, Anand and VICHITRA, Anil
Kumar (CCRH. 25, 3&4/2003)
Two cases of Pulmonary disease: Pain
lung, right side, coughing, haemoptysis, responded
well to Gallic acid.
71. Nyctanthes and Fever
PRAKASH, Anand and VICHITRA, Anil
Kumar (CCRH. 25, 3&4/2003)
Nyctanthes is useful in Obstinate Fever and is
considered as a surrogate of Eupatorium
perfoliatum. It is very efficacious in all fevers with
chill with predominating biliary symptoms.
Result of trial in 1051 cases is given with the
symptoms which confirm the symptoms in the
Materia Medica.
72. Efficacy of Lesser known Homœopathic Drugs
on Skin Disorder
SINGH J.P. (CCRH. 25, 3&4/2003)
Trial was taken up by the Homœopathic Drug
Research Institute, Lucknow, on the efficacy of
three lesser known medicines Calotropis
gigantea, Hydrocotyle asiatica and Hygrophilla
spinosa in skin diseases. Urticaria, Exfoliative
Dermatitis, Ringworm.
Statistical data are presented. Overall
improvement of 77.52% was observed.
73. Intracranial Shock Blisters Opium as a
remedy to cure cystic tumours of the brain.
ALEX, Peter (HL. 16, 1/2003)
Opium is a well-known remedy for people who
have undergone a mental shock or surgery and
anaesthesia. The following two cases show that
any symptom that has occurred after shock or
anaesthesia and surgery symptoms like even
Eczema, Behavioural problems, Cystic tumors of
the brain can be cured with Opium.
Case 1: 31 year-old woman operated twice for
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- Cystic Craniopharyngioma at the
hypophysis – with a third cyst now
- Prolapse of mitral valve since some years
- Migraines since 2 years
- Rash on the skin from Nickel-containing
foods like chocolates
- Right inguinal hernia
- Backache due to weak muscles
- Eczema on the hands, terribly itchy fluid
containing blisters
- Warts on the face
Opium LM12 five drops in half a glass of water
once a day was prescribed based on the following
repertorised symptoms.
Ailments from being abused
from mental shock
Delusions, vision has horrible
Weeping, cannot weep though sad
Well, says he is well, sick, when very
Narcotics, aggravate
Injuries, operations, from
Hernia, Abdominal, Inguinal
Three months later patient is much better, cyst
was hardly detectable on a recent MRI. Headaches
less by about 50%.
Less frequent pain in the right inguinal area;
allergic rash on the finger disappeared.
Further repetition of Opium, did not bring
about much improvement. Now a state that has to
do with other causal factors than fright and thus
does not respond to Opium any longer. Opium was
first the starting point in this case.
Case 2: 62 year-old bricklayer, now on pension
because of his disability to work.
- Cyst pressing the optical nerve of the left
eye, which has recurred after a surgery
- Vision is limited laterally on both eyes
- Loss of sense of taste
- Ever since the brain operation cold
hands and cold feet
- Underwent surgery for benign Tumor of
the mastoid (note the close proximity to
the site of the later Brain Cyst it was
located at the chiasma opticum, a typical
case of iatrogenic suppression)
- Pediculated Condyloma on left upper arm
- Headaches, heartburn
- Tension at home because of a quarrel
between mother and aunt
- Became sick as soon as he learned that he
was about to be dismissed from work
Repertorisation:
- Well, says he is well, sick, when very
- Ailments fright from (at the news that he
was dismissed from work)
- Cowardice (he did not dare to interfere
with the old ladies’ quarrel at home)
- Smiling
- Hemiopia – vertical
- Injuries – operations, ailments from
- Snoring
- Face, paralyis
- Stomach, heartburn
Opium LM 6 five drops daily in half a glass of
water. A month later
- Eyesight of left eye remarkably improved
- Heartburn less after initial aggravation
- Less headaches
- Coldness of hands - no change, no change
in hemiopia
After repetition of Opium LM 12
- Feels more relaxed
- No headaches
- MRT shows no Cyst detectable (4 months
after initial dose of Opium)
Patient is still on treatment for the long
term effects of the Cyst and the respective
operations.
74. A beautiful cure with the blood of a Rat A
case of Rattus rattus or Sanguis souris
KITTLER, Monika (HL. 16, 1/2003)
44 year-old woman:
- Psoriatic patches all over the body
- Allergies, hay fever, peri-odon-titis
- Feeling of being attacked coldly from
behind
- Dreams of being persecuted by a man and
consequent frigidity
- Her need for three warm meals a day
- Lack of thirst
- Panic of dying
were to the author a slow unfolding of a picture of
the rat proving done by Jayesh SHAH and Nancy
HERRICK.
Rattus rattus 30 was prescribed. After an
initial aggravation she is fine Has not needed a
repetition of the first dose even after 2½ years.
75. Being in a mist with amputated arms A case
of Haloperidol
SCHLINGENSIEPEN, Irene (HL. 16, 1/2003)
A 25-year-old woman suffered from multiple
infections
- Recurrent infections of the nose and throat
- Patient under high stress
- Felt helpless under pressure
- A sister had died from AIDS
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- Felt lonely, alone, deserted
- Fear of spiders, ghosts
- Feeling of being in a mist, especially,
when in strong conflict
Based on the Materia Medica of JULIAN
- Delusion; legs cut off
- Sensation of continuous ‘stress’ difficult to
ward off by will-power
- Persistent feeling out of his self
- Sensation of unreality, ‘I’ am away from
myself and others, doesn’t know what he
does, everything is gummed gradually
(gummed out – sealed)
- Is in a complete mist (confounds
everything, beings and facts, things and
duration)
- Sensation of constriction on throat and
chest, as if gripped by a vice.
- Difficult respiration
- Great difficulty of intellectual cogitation
- Sensation, as if legs are cut off
- Troubled sleep sleeps better lying on
belly
- Schizophrenia
Haloperidol M was given with good results. It was
repeated 13 months later.
76. “I love reading, but loathe writing”
BROWN, Douglas (AH. 9/2003)
The author claims that this case is illustrative
of the remedy Macaw. This remedy was ‘proved’
by Dr. Jonathan SHORE in 1999, and the proving
data is available through Reference Works.
She had been given Laurocerasus M, 12;
China M, 12; Veratrum album 200; all without
relief of the compulsive behaviour of the patient – a
9 year-old girl. She was relieved of her symptoms
by Macaw 200. (The remedy is made from the
feather of the Macaw [parrot] )
[The discussion is the ‘signature’ of the bird.
Difficult for me to understand the justification. The
cover of the journal The American Homeopath,
Vol.9, carries the picture of Adolph LIPPE. But
cases like the Macaw based on ‘themes’, signatures
etc. are exactly those which LIPPE was against.
Poor LIPPE must be turning in his grave=KSS]
77. What is a Lion in Homœopathy?
MARRS, Iain (AH. 9/2003)
This again is another article which discusses
application of metaphors’ and themes in
understanding Lac leoninum (Lion’s milk)
[This article is a Chapter extracted from a book
which discusses ways of organizing material in the
reading of Materia Medica and in Case taking.
Surely this way is not the way taught by
HAHNEMANN and his followers. Eight pages for
this! = KSS]
78. Thanks to the Heron A case of Kali
phosphoricum
WEGNER, Herta (HL. 16, 1/2003)
A 7-year-old boy came with
- Recurrent infections and Asthma
- After a cold draft, eyes tear, nose drips,
fever of 40
0
, with severe pain in the limbs,
then discharge from nose gets thicker,
viscous, bright yellow and he is asthmatic.
- Family history of Multiple Sclerosis
- Neurodermatitis as a baby
- Adenectomy because of recurrent Otitis
Media
- Perspiration of head
- Twitching while falling asleep
- Painful cramps in his legs
- Recurrent styes
- Great restlessness, desire for gentle motion
The last above symptom directed the doctor to
Kali phosphoricum which fit in with other
symptoms of the boy too. First 200 given and five
months later Kali phos. XM helped the boy.
79. Three cases of Angelica archangelica
PELT, Marguerite and WIRTZ, Anne
(HL. 15, 4/2002)
The biology and phyto-therapeutic use of the
plant and a short (dream) proving done are given to
explain the remedy choice in the three cases.
The essence of Angelica archangelica in
relation to the main themes concerning all
Umbelliferae and also on the biology and phyto-
therapeutic use of the plant is given.
80. An old remedy resurrected – Calculus renalis
LOUGHNAN, Margaret (HL. 15, 4/2002)
Four constitutional cases and four clinical
cases of Renal Stones helped by the remedy are
given and the possible indications of the remedy are
listed.
Possible indications for prescribing Calculus
renalis:
- CONGESTION – particularly congestion
of the kidneys.
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- Frequency of urination at night
particularly in the elderly.
- Frequency of urination in association with
panic, anxiety or past humiliation (e.g. a
memory of wetting one’s pants in public.
These people can become ‘toilet
watchers’).
- Nervous urination.
- Pathology associated with urinary
problems, e.g. a chill in the kidneys.
- Cancer of the bowel with lymphomas.
- Cancer of the bladder.
- Cysts, nodules and tumours.
- Kidney stones and gravel.
- Recurring cystitis or urinary tract
problems.
- Abuse remedy, child abuse where urinary
problems have developed.
- Extreme fear and panic, phobias and
compulsive behaviours.
- Separations, particularly child separated
from mother. Deep sense of abandonment,
anger and resentment.
- Tartar on the teeth. Riggs disease.
- Arthritis with nodules. Arthritis with fluid
retention in ankles and hands.
- Indigestion with painful distension, similar
to gallstone colic.
- Asperger’s syndrome – with poor social
skills, looking and feeling lost.
- Chronic congested sinuses, nasal polyps.
- Asthma congestive asthma, with tight
chest and nasal congestion.
- Observation the patient may burp
(eructation) within a short time of taking
the remedy in the office.
Rubrics:
MIND
- Fear, phobias – general
- Fear, ailments from
- Fear with panic, consuming
- Fear known or unknown
- Fear with trembling anxiety and sweat
- Fear of child separated from mother
- Fear of urinating in public
- Fear with need to urinate
- Anxiety - general
- Anxiety attacks of
- Anxiety with fear causing vomiting
BLADDER
- Cancer of
- Urging to urinate frequent
- Urinate frequent at night, elderly people
- Urging to urinate when anxious
CHILDREN
- Abuse of, ailments of
- Anxious
- Asthma
- Confidence, lacking of self esteem
- Delicate, puny, sick
- Strangers, presence of aggregate.
- Recurring colds with nasal congestion
DELUSIONS
- Forsaken, being
DREAMS
- Anxious
HEADACHES
- Sinus headache from catarrh
- Worse bending forward
- With sore teeth and sore ears
GENERALS
- Cancer, general
- Intestinal, colon
- Bladder
- Colds, tendency to take
- Constitutions
- Asthmatic
- Nervous
- Melancholic
KIDNEYS
- Aching in
- Brights disease
- Nephritis, inflammation kidneys
- Colic pain of kidneys
- Congestion of kidneys
- Kidney stones
- Pressing pain in kidneys
- Chill in kidneys, ailments from
LUNGS
- Asthma, general
- Asthma alternating with congestion of
kidneys
- Asthma alternating with congestion of the
abdomen
- Asthma in children
- Coughing asthmatic
- Expectoration ameliorate
- Wheezing
NOSE
- Obstruction
- Breathes through mouth
- Children, nasal obstruction
- Chronic obstruction
- While lying
- Morning and night
- Post nasal catarrh
- Chronic sinusitis
- Discharge copious morning
- Discharge greenish yellow
- Discharge thick
- Discharge difficult to dislodge
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STOMACH
- Vomiting from anticipation
- Vomiting from fear
- Distension bloating
- Indigestion
URINE
- Bloody, dark
RECTUM
- Cancer of
- Constipation
- Constipation pain with
Compare:
Anacardium sense of evil. Indigestion,
depression, frequency. Indecision.
Aurum despair.
Benzoic acid – kidney insufficiency and nodules.
Berberis vulgaris – renal colic.
Calcarea carbonica depressed, melancholic,
kidney colic and incontinence. Strong smelling
urine. The nightmares of Calcarea carbonica are
the day mares of Calculus renalis.
Calcarea fluorata – arthritis with hard nodules.
Carcinosinum fears and anxieties, compulsive
disorders.
Cimicifuga nervous urination. Gloomy, black
cloud over everything.
Cubeba – frequent urination of nervous origin.
Ignatia – hysteria and grief.
Staphysagria cystitis, urinary tract problems
associated with suppressed emotions.
Terebinthina dark urine, kidney stones and
painful distension. Asthma.
Vesicaria frequency at night.
81. A case of Natrum silicicum
HARDY, Jonathan, (HL. 15, 4/2002)
36 year-old man with Eczema, after the
separation of his son and the degree of suffering he
experienced as a result of this. Chilly, diarrhoea
from milk.
Following Jan SCHOLTEN’s concepts about
Natrum and Silicatum which has the above feeling
Natrum silicicum 1M.
6 weeks later better and happier. 11 months
later feeling insecure, paralysed by fear. Feeling
lonely. One more dose. 6 weeks later better. One
year later better.
82. Second Prescription
MOHANTY, Namita (HH. 28, 3-4/2003)
We so often impede and pervert the action of a
carefully selected remedy by our impatience to get
results or by our impetuosity in hastening certain
conditions by our changing remedies before the
desired and definite action is obtained.
This creates perplexing problem-uneasy
anxiety, agonizing anguish, tormenting helplessness
and pregnant privation.
Second prescription pre-supposes that first
prescription is correct, it has acted and has been let
alone to exact full time.
I. Repetition
II. Change of remedy
a. antidote
b. change in plan of treatment
c. complementary
d. cognate
e. morbid intercurrent
I. REPETITION
(i) If there is reappearance of older symptoms
which do not disappear inspite of waiting for a
considerable period.
(ii) If improvement remains standstill, but the
original symptoms have not yet returned.
(iii) In acute cases, when followed by a period of
relief, there is increased intensity.
II. CHANGE OF REMEDY
(a) antidote:
(i) If accessory symptoms start appearing.
(ii) If violent medicinal aggravation occurs.
(iii) If disappearance of symptoms do not
follow HERING’s Law of Cure.
(b) change in plan of treatment:
If there is first amelioration and then relapse
without cure.
(c) Complementary:
When residual symptoms persists after first
remedy, to complete the cure.
(d) cognate:
Series of remedies which are closely related to
each other i.e. Nux vomica followed by Sepia;
Ignatia followed by Natrum mur.
(e) Morbid intercurrent:
When there is any outbreak of disastrous
condition which interrupts our chronic treatment.
--------------------------------------------------------------
IV. REPERTORY
1. Regeln der Gradeeinteilung
(Rules for grading the valence of Remedies)
Van ZANDVOORT, Roger
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 138 of 216
(AHZ. 248, 4/2003)
The grading system of the valence of
remedies in Kent’s repertory consists in certain
rules which are not generally known and not
generally applied. Thus a prescription founded on
this system is not always valid.
In the Kent the highest grade (3 marks) is given
to the medicine whose symptom “in all or more
numbers” of Provers has been aroused. These were
confirmed by reprovings and thoroughly verified
clinically by “cures in sick cases”. The second
grade (2 marks) medicine has aroused symptom in
“some” Provers and confirmed by further provings
and occasionally verified clinically through “cures
in sick cases”. The first grade (the low 1 mark)
medicine has aroused symptoms “here and there” in
Provers and these have not been clinically verified
through “cures in sick cases”. Remedies whose
symptoms were not produced in Provers but cured
in patients (clinical confirmation) have also been
included in this.
The correct understanding of this background
should clear the false impression that these grades
represent the intensity of the symptoms.
If we compare these rules with the literature
current, with toxicological data etc., and
reconstruct, it will be confirmed partially and throw
up new questions.
Van ZANDVOORT proposes following new
criteriae:
A. Grade 3 (highest): Provings, in which the same
symptom has been produced in all or in more
number of Provers, are as much rare as
confirmatory Provings. Most of these affirm these
earlier original Provings “extensively verified”.
There are mostly quite a number of them clinical
cases which have to be carefully inquired by the
homœopathic community. (Hopefully
BŒNNINGHAUSEN’s Case Registers after
HAHNEMANN’s will be explored, to obtain
more clinical confirmations). The 3
rd
grade must
be based only on Clinical confirmation.
B. Grade 2: The Grade two must be based only
on clinical confirmation. A clinical confirmation
must be from a second source with a cured
symptom, a proving symptom, a toxicological
symptom or non-homœopathic symptom should be
available to accept a remedy in Grade two.
C. Grade 1 (lowest):
1. documented cured symptom,
2. documented toxicological symptom,
3. documented Proving symptom,
4. documented non-homœopathic, mostly
phytotherapeutic information (see
HAHNEMANN’s Nux vomica example).
2. Akute Enterocolitis – Klinisches Stichwort
(Acute Enterocolitis – Clinical Key word)
BLEUL, Gerhard (AHZ. 248, 4/2003)
The eighth in this series of Repertorial
rubrics for certain disease states, mentions the
Keywords in respect of acute Enterocolitis. A very
useful table.
3. The logic of BÖNNINGHAUSEN
ROBINSON, Karl (AJHM. 96, 4/2003)
The work and idea of BÖNNINGHAUSEN is
discussed. Special focus is given to
Bönninghausen’s “radical” idea of deconstructing
symptoms of a part(s) and making them general
symptoms; then reapplying them to new cases in
creative ways. The Therapeutic Pocketbook,
with its emphasis on Generals, is contrasted with
Kent’s Repertory, where symptom specificity is
employed. The mnemonic “LoCoMoCo” is
introduced as a describer of the qualities of a
complete symptoms-location, complaint,
modalities, concomitants. The working
methodology is illustrated with few cases.
4. Apoplex (Apoplexy) – Repertorial rubrics
BLEUL, Gerhard (AHZ. 248, 6/2003)
So far, Dr.BLEUL has in the earlier numbers
of the ZKH given the rubrics from various
Repertories, in respect of clearly diagnosed states
e.g. Retarded development in children, Anticipatory
anxiety, Acute enterocolitis etc. (see 2 above)
In this number, the ninth in the series, it is on
Apoplexy. The rubrics from the extant repertories
Kent, Synthesis, Complete, Therapeutic Pocket
Book of BŒNNINGHAUSEN (revised edition)
are given. The most important remedies in this
ailment are: Barium carbonicum, Belladonna,
Crotalus horridus, Gelsemium, Lachesis, Nux
vomica, Opium, Phosphorus, Plumbum.
5. New rubrics in Paediatrics with additions from
clinical experience
LAMOTHE, Jacques (HL. 15, 4/2002)
MIND
Accidents, prone, risky (see: audacity,
fearlessness), in children: Agar, androc, Arn,
Aur, bell, Caps, caust, fl-ac, gall-ac, gels, Lyss,
Med, mur-ac, nat-m, Puls, sep, spong, Staph,
stram, sulph, tarent, tub.
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Affectation, affected looking, in children
(See: feigning, deceitful, hypocrisy): alum, Carb-
v, Carc, caust, con, Graph, hyos, Ign, Lyc, mez,
nat-m, Nux-m, petr, Plat, puls, sep, Staph, Stram,
sulph, thuj, Verat.
Comic, childish, child plays the -, foolish
behaviour, the fool, clowns (see: antics plays,
witty) in children: androc, apis, bar-c, Bell, Carb-
v, cic, croc, cupr, Hyos, ign, kali-bi, lach, lyc,
Merc, nux-v, op, Phos, plb, psil, sacc, sil, spong,
stram, tarent, tub, verat.
Change, aversion to; attachment to routine,
traditions, rites, customs: acon, agar, Bar-c, Bry,
Calc, calc-f, Caps, Carb-an, Carb-v, cupr, dulc,
form, germ, Graph, kali-bi, kali-c, medus, nicc,
puls, sol-t-ae, Vip.
Death (of others), ailments from
confrontation with, in children: Acon, ambr, Ars,
calc, calc-sil, caps, carc, caust, gels, Ign, kali-br,
kali-p, Lach, nat-m, nit-ac, nux-m, nux-v, Op, Ph-
ac, Plat, Staph, sulph, verat.
Docility (obedience; see yielding, law
respect), in children: bar-c, bar-m, calc-sil, Carb-
v, Carc, caust, cic, cocc, croc, crot-h, Cupr, fl-ac,
ign, kali-c, Lac-c, Lac-d, lyc, mag-m, nat-c, nat-m,
nux-v, petr, ph-ac, phos, Puls, Sep, sil, staph, Thuj,
Zinc.
Energy, excess of, in children: Agar, Arn,
Aur, Fl-ac, lac-h, Lach, Lyss, Med, nux-v, stram,
tarent, verat.
Excitement, sexual (tendency to frequent
erections or masturbation), in children: aloe,
ambr, Calc-p, Cann-i, canth, carc, Fl-ac, Hyos, lac-
c, Lach, lyss, med, Merc, Mosch, ph-ac, Phos,
staph, stram, tub, Zinc.
Fear of contagion, microbes, in children:
Ars, Calc, Carc, ign, lac-c, lach, Med, psor, sil,
sulph, Syph.
Impressionable, easily upset (see: horrible
things), in children: Ars, Aur, Aur-m, Calc, Cal-p,
Carc, Caust, Chin, Cic, cocc, con, ferr, Gels, hep,
ign, iod, lach, lyc, Nat-c, Nat-m, nit-ac, Nux-v,
Phos, plat, Puls, sep, Sil, Staph, sulph, teucr, Thuj,
Zinc.
Injustice, intolerance to, in children: am-c,
am-m, aur, Cal-p, Caust, chin, Coloc, dros, Ign,
Mag-c, Mag-m, Merc, nat-c, Nat-m, nit-ac, Nux-v,
pall, phos, sep, Staph, tub.
Law, very respectful (see: law, intolerance
to; injustice, cannot support), in children:
androc, Ars, Calc, calc-p, calc-sil, caps, Carc,
caust, Cupr, ign, kali-bi, kali-c, lac-c, lyc, mang,
naja, nat-m, Nit-ac, Nux-v, Sep, Thuj, vip,
Zinc.[see Docility, Law respect = KSS.]
Law, rules, intolerance to (intolerance to
be forced), (see: disobedience), in children: agar,
agn, alum, cact, Caps, Caust, Chin, colch, coloc, fl-
ac, hep, lyc, Med, nit-ac, nux-v, phos, Plb, Sang,
spong, Staph, sulph, Tarent, Tub, verat, vip.
Malingering (see feigning sick, liar), in
children: arg-n, bell, ethyl-a, ign, lac-c, lach, lyc,
Mosch, op, plb, Puls, sabad, sep, sil, syph, tarent,
Verat.
Mischievous, always up to something (stupid
pranks, silly things, damage to personal
property), children (see mischievous,
destructiveness, antics, plays): Agar, anac, apis,
aur, calc, Caps, caust, gall-ac, hyos, lyc, merc, plat,
puls, sacc, sep, Tarent, verat.
Precocity, in children and babies: Acon,
Asar, Aur, bell, calc, calc-f, Calc-p, Carc, Chel,
cina, crot-h, fl-ac, hyos, ign, iod, lac-f, Lach, lyc,
lyss, Med, Merc, Nux-v, orig, petr, Phos, puls, sep,
sil, staph, sulph, syph, tub, verat.
Stylish (coquetry, consciousness of his
appearance), in children: Ambr, bell, calc-f, Lach,
Phos, Plat, Puls, Sulph, Verat.
Touch everything, impulse to, children: all-c,
anac, bell, bism, canth, Carc, cina, graph, hyos,
ign, ip, lyc, lycps, mag-c, merc, rheum, sacc, sulph,
thuj, tub.
Winning ways (seducing), in children:
Ambr, Carb-v, carc, caust, fl-ac, hyos, Lach, lyc,
med, merc, nux-v, pall, Phos, plat, Puls, Sil, Staph,
Sulph, thuj, tub, Verat..
FACE
Discoloration, red, cheeks, without fever, in
children: calc-s, Caps, Ferr, Iod, ol-an, phos,
psor, Sulph.
ABDOMEN
Pain, colics infants, in children: all-c, Arg-n,
bar-c, bov, caust, Carb-v, Cham, chin, Coloc,
Cupr, Ign, jal; Lyc, Mag-c, Mag-m, Mag-p, Nat-s,
Nux-v, Staph, sulph, verat.
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GENITALIA MALE
Cryptorchism, in children: Aur, Bar-c, calc,
calc-f, calc-p, caust, Con, Fl-ac, Syph.
CHEST
Child refuses mother’s milk: ant-c, ant-t,
apis, Bor, bry, calc, Calc-p, cina, kali-c, lach, lyc,
mag-c nat-m, Merc, nat-c, rheum, sec, Sil, stann,
stram.
EXTREMITIES
Pain, legs, growing pains, in children: agar,
ap-g, asaf, Aur, bell, Calc, calc-f, Calc-p, cench,
cimic, dros, eup-p, ferr-ac, fl-ac, Guaj, hep, hipp,
kali-p, mag-aust, mag-p, manc, mang, Merc, morg,
nat-p, nit-ac, ol-I, Ph-ac, Phos, plan, sulph, Syph.
Walk, late learning to, in children: Agar,
Bar-c, bell, Calc, calc-f, Calc-p, Carb-v, Caust,
lyc, merc, Nat-m, ph-ac, phos, sanic, sep, sil, sulph.
SKIN
Eruptions, urticaria, fever during: Apis,
Carb-v, chlor, cop, cub, ign, Rhus-t, Rhus-v,
Sulph.
Hypertrichosis in children: carb-v, carc, nat-
m, puls, Sep, sulph, Thuj.
GENERALITIES
Ailments from never recovered disease, in
children: Ars, Carb-v, calc-p, Carc, Caust, Chin,
Ph-ac, Psor, Tub.
Altitude agg. (mountain agg.), in children:
Acon, Ars, bry, calc, calc-p, carb-v, Coca, Med,
sulph, Tub, verat.
Convulsions, nervous, hysterical babies,
(from anger or pain, or fright), in children: acon,
agar, am-c, ant-c, ars, asaf, aur, Bell, camph, carb-v,
caust, Cham, cina, coff, con, Cupr, Ign, hell, hep,
lach, laur, Lyc, med, Mosch, nat-m, nux-m, Nux-v,
op, ph-ac, Phos, Puls, sec, sep, Sulph, Staph, verat.
Handicapped children: Agar, arn, aur, bar-c,
Bufo, cact, Calc-p, Carb-v, carc, Caust, cic, hell,
Ign, Med, Merc, naja, op, stram, zinc.
Urinary, repeated infections in children:
apis, asaf, bor, canth, caps, Med, lach, lyc, nux-v,
sars, Sep, Staph, tuab.
Violent diseases, in children: Acon, Agar,
Apis, Bell, bry, cic, coloc, crot-h, hecla, Hep, Hyos,
Lach, nux-v, Staph, stram, sulph, Verat.
--------------------------------------------------------------
V. PHARMACOLOGY
1. Pharmacognostic Studies of the seeds of Ulex
europaeus Linn.
GUPTA H.C. (CCRH. 25, 3&4/2003)
The authentication of crude drugs is of prime
importance for the preparation and quality of the
finished products in Homeopathy. This paper
deals with various parameters viz., macroscopic
and organoleptic charaters, qualitative
microscopical studies on transection and
longitudinal sections, power studies and
micrometry for evaluating the seeds of valued
exotic medicinal plant Ulex europaeus Linn. in
view of obtaining the specific diagnostic characters
for quality assurance of the medicine in
Homeopathy.
2. Pharmacognostic studies of stem and leaves of
Mirabilis Jalapa Linn.
GUPTA H.C. (CCRH. 25, 3&4/2003)
Microscopical studies in terms of qualitative
and quantitative characterization of various tissues
organized in stems and leaves of the plant Mirabilis
Jalapa.
3. Q Potenzen und Potenzenakkorde eine
Parallel-entwicklung (Q Potencies and
Potency harmony – a parallel development)
HENNIGER, Christel (AHZ. 248, 3/2003)
Often the choice of the suitable potency is
decisive on the degree of the aggravation and the
success of a homœopathic treatment. There were
and there are empirical attempts to get a rapid, mild
and deep effect and to avoid initial aggravation.
HAHNEMANN found the Q (LM) potencies as a
solution. CAHIS (Emmanuel CAHIS, 1855-1934)
went another way creating his balanced potencies.
A balanced potency is a mixture of several
homœopathic potencies of the same basic material.
The mental formation of both, the LM-potencies
and the balanced potencies, is reconstructed, and
their histories are related to each other.
This is a historical research in the study of
concerned literature.
--------------------------------------------------------------
VI. VETERINARY
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1. When animals reject their young, consider
Homeopathy
WINSTON, Julian (HT. 22, 9/2002)
A dog was rejecting her puppies, Sepia 30 was
added to the water bowl. After a few sips of water,
the mother allowed her puppies to nurse and started
to nuzzle.
2. What to do when your dog gets Kennel cough
LAMPE, Kristy (HT. 22, 10/2002)
Kennel cough is predominantly an upper
respiratory disease highly contagious among dogs,
caused frequently by Bordatella pertussis.
One of the dogs, after attending a dog show
had developed a fever of 103ºF and sneezing. A
dose of Aconite was given. Fever reduced to 10F
but having dry barking cough. Everytime he lied
down coughing spells started. Drosera was given 3
doses at 12 hour intervals and was cured.
Another old dog slowly developed fever,
running nose and a slight cough. A dose of Ferrum
phosphoricum was given. She was walking with
her head low, as though she wanted to bring up
something, but no mucus was coming out. Rales
were heard and Antimonium tartaricum 12 was
given. Within 30 minutes, she started coughing out
mucus and in two days, lungs were clear.
Indications of remedies are given.
Prodromal stage: Aconite, Ferrum phosphoricum,.
Full blown case : Drosera, Bryonia, Spongia,
Rumex, Ipecac.
Worst cases : Ant-t., Carbo- v, Phos.
3. A dog with paralysis of her rear legs
WARKENTIN, Linda (HT. 22, 11/2002)
A 13-year-old dog had a malignant mammary
tumor removed in October 2000. Metastasis to
Liver and prognosis poor. Losing power in her
back legs and could not walk at all.
Conium LM1 to be taken twice daily. 3 weeks
later she could walk. Continued with the remedy.
Three months later, no symptoms of Cancer. There
is still some weakness but steadily improving.
The case analysis with Mac Repertory and
Reference Works is presented.
--------------------------------------------------------------
VII. RESEARCH
1. Molécules endogènes et similitude
(Endogenous molecules & similarity)
JENAER M. and MARICHAL B.
(RBH. 32, 1/2002)
Study on the endogenous molecules and its
connections with the homœopathic specificity and
high dilutions – based on a lecture “Immunologie
and Globality” by Prof. Madeleine BASTIDE in the
‘International Meeting at Monaco’ in 1999.
Whenever we talk about the vital principle
we automatically close all possible communication
with our allopathic colleagues. But now research
on endogenous molecules is showing that the idea
of exchange of information between molecules
within the body is no longer mechanical, but
molecular or molecule-receptor types. Recognition
among immunoglobulins is more of recognizing
similarities and non-similarities in their attachment
to peptides. Most of the essential properties of
Homeopathy finds a mirror image in the entire
organism. This type of explanation of the
effectiveness of homœopathic high dilutions should
be acceptable to our allopathic colleagues with an
idea of immunological concepts.
2. Enquete Sur la Vision de l’homœopathie
aupres des pediatres Belges francophones (An
inquiry into the homœopathic outlook of the
French speaking Belgian Pediatricians)
SIMAR, Jean (RBH. 32, 2/2002)
A poll survey was done by the PPH
Pediatricians Practising Homeopathy in
Belgium. 650 french speaking Pediatricians were
sent a small questionnaire (multiple choice
questions) to be answered and returned. The
questions were aimed at generally differentiating
the Pediatricians into those who opposed
Homeopathy, those who were tolerant towards
Homeopathy and supporters of Homeopathy but
more specifically in finding out the awareness
about Homœopathy among Belgian Pediatricians.
Of the 650 questionnaires sent - 235 responses
were received and among them 43% opposed, 18%
tolerated and 39% supported Homœopathy. An
analysis of the answers and small extra comments
of the Pediatricians showed that:
1. The response of 235 – 36% showed the
bias among those who did not respond.
2. Though among those who did not respond
it cannot be said how many are in favour
or against Homœopathy.
3. Very few of those who opposed
Homeopathy had very harsh words to
write about it.
4. Though there was almost a negligible
number of Pediatricians who were
interested in Homœopathy it is certainly
a great change in the mentality of the
Belgian Pediatricians.
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3. Research… and Rediscovery of a cherished
remedy
MORRISON, Roger (HT. 22, 10/2002)
International Integrative Primary Care
Outcomes Study-(IIPCOS) in 1996-97 took place
in 6 homœopathic centers throughout the US and
Europe and results published in March 2001 in the
Journal of Alternative and Complementary
Medicine (Vol. 7, pp. 149-59).
The pilot project showed excellent results in
many typical primary care conditions. 90% were
benefitted and the evaluators were even more
impressed by the lack of side effects.
Similar results occurred in the subsequent
study (IIPCOS 2).
The difference in the results of IIPCOS 1 & 2
was the frequent use of the remedy Ferrum
phosphoricum by the Europeans.
The prescribing indications of that remedy are
given.
4. Menopause Research: An opportunity for
complementary collaborations
PATERSON G.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003)
The 29 clinical trials involving complementary
therapies published so far lack the potential for
meta-analysis due to diversity in size, populations,
designs, interventions and tools used. A
comprehensive and coherent menopause research
strategy would move towards establishing a
definitive evidence base for practice in this area.
5. Plant models for fundamental research in
Homeopathy
BETTI L.; BORGHINI F. and NANI D.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003)
Since there is no complete theory to provide a
plausible explanation for the action of
homœopathic potencies, it is difficult to deal with
the irreproducibility of the results often observed in
botanical bioassays. It has been suggested that the
variability of the system (defined as a complex
which shows the tendency to remain constant as a
whole towards the external world) is the true target
of homœopathic treatments. This assumption could
provide a key for interpreting the irreproducibility
phenomenon and support a non-reductionistic
phenomenological theory of Homœopathy. Further
development of basic research is highly desirable
and we believe that plant-based bioassays can be
suitable tools for this purpose. [Sir Jagdish Chandra
Bose, has performed pioneering experiments.
Attention is invited to his Lecture in the British
faculty of Homœopathy on June 23, 1926 titled
The Action of Drugs on the Response of
Matter’. He concludes “I have, in the course of my
talk this afternoon, shown that the life-reaction of
the plant is identical with that of the animal. We
have been able to find that it is contractile, that
there is a certain tissue along which general
excitation is transmitted to a distance; we have been
able to record throbbings of its pulsating life. In
these and in many other ways the plant is very
much nearer to us than we ever thought. Thus,
through the experience of the plant, we may
perhaps alleviate the sufferings of mankind.”
=KSS]
6. The Homœopathic Approach to the Treatment
of Symptoms of Oestrogen Withdrawal in
Breast Cancer patients. A prospective
observational study
THOMPSON E.A. and REILLY D.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003)
This paper reports on an investigation of the
homœopathic approach to the management of
symptoms of Oestrogen withdrawal in women with
Breast Cancer. Forty-five patients entered the
study. The most common presenting symptoms
were hot flushes (HF) (n=38), mood disturbance
(n=23), joint pain (n=12), and fatigue (n=16).
Other symptoms included Sleeplessness, reduced
libido, weight gain, Cystitis, Vaginal dryness and
skin eruptions. The active intervention was an
individualized homœopathic medicine. Forty
women (89%) completed the study. Significant
improvements in mean symptom scores were seen
over the study period and for the primary end-point
‘the effect on daily living’ scores. Symptoms other
than the HF such as fatigue and mood disturbance
appear to be helped. Significant improvements in
Anxiety, Depression and quality of life were
demonstrated over the study period. The
homœopathic approach appears to be clinically
useful in the management of Oestrogen withdrawal
symptoms in women with Breast Cancer whether
on or off Tamoxifen and improves mood
disturbance. A Placebo-controlled trial would be
the next stage in this line of inquiry. [These ‘trials’
have been on and seems never ending. If the
Placebo-controlled study also gives favourable
results to Homœopathy then too another trial in
some other disease state would be taken up.
Whatever it may be homœopaths will go on, on
their chosen path of Healing gently, surely, and
rapidly = KSS]
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7. Study of the Practice of Homœopathic General
Practitioners in France
TRICHARD M., LAMURE E. and
CHAUFFERIN, Gilles
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003)
Little is known about the practice of
homœopathic General Practitioners (GPs) in
France. We report a descriptive, cross-sectional
study on this subject. The aim was to acquire a
clearer idea of (1) the type of patients who consult
homœopathic GPs and (2) the type of treatment
provided by such GPs, in terms of diagnoses,
prescriptions and costs. The survey was carried out
on a representative sample of the French
homœopathic GP population and covered three
seasons of the year. The data was collected by
means of a questionnaire which GPs completed for
each consulting patient. It emerged that the type of
patients who consult homœopathic GPs are chiefly
women, between the ages of 20 and 54, living in an
urban environment, not in employment, covered by
National Health Insurance for Salaried Workers,
and belonging to a Mutual Benefit Association.
The most common reasons for consultation were
ENT disorders, stress and anxiety. The
homœopathic GPs mainly used Homœopathy to
treat these disorders. On average, four medicinal
products per patient were prescribed per 2-month
course of treatment, for an average reimbursed cost
of 3.78Є.
8. Homeopathically prepared Gibberellic acid
and Barley seed germination
HAMMAN B., KONING G. & HIM LOK K.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003)
The potentisation process by which
homœopathic preparations are produced raises the
concern that these medicines have Placebo effects
only, since they theoretically no longer contain
active molecules of the diluted substance. Plant
models offer a method of examining the efficacy of
homœopathically prepared solutions. This study
examined the effects of homœopathically prepared
Gibberellic acid (HGA
3
) on the germination
performance of Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seeds.
The effect of HGA
3
(4-200 cH) on seed
germination rate and seedling development was
compared to that of the most commonly used form
of Gibberellic acid (GA
3
), 0.5gl
-1
, and control
(distilled water). The extent and type of response
was dependent on the vigour level of the seedlot.
Treating seeds from three vigour groups in HGA
3
consistently resulted in larger seedlings. High-
vigour seeds treated with HGA
3
4, 30 and 200 cH
germinated faster, and roots of medium-vigour
seedlots treated in HGA
3
15cH were longer.
Biphasic effects of HGA
3
were also demonstrated.
As a plant model, germinating barley seeds
successfully demonstrated the ability of HGA
3
to
produce a biological response.
9. What is the Therapeutically Active Ingredient
of Homœopathic Potencies?
WEINGÄRTNER O.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003)
The nature of the ‘active ingredient’, in
homœopathic high dilutions is investigated. A
model for every degree of dilution is introduced;
within this the active ingredient can be dealt with in
physical terms. In mathematical terms this model
has features which correspond to the axioms of
weak Quantum Theory. Features which are similar
to entanglement in ordinary Quantum Theory are
discussed in particular.
10. Patient-practitioner-remedy (PPR) Entangle-
ment. Part 3. Refining the quantum metaphor
for Homœopathy
MILGROM L.R.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003)
The notion of patient-practitioner-remedy
(PPR) entanglement, previously proposed for
Homeopathy, is refined by adapting concepts
derived from GREENBERGER, HORNE, and
ZEILINGER’s treatment of three-particle
entanglement (GHZ states), and a generalized
version of Quantum Theory, called Weak Quantum
Theory (WQT). These suggest that for maximum
PPR entanglement during the therapeutic
encounter, the practitioner’s awareness needs to be
directed inward as well as outward toward the
patient, and that health and disease are mirror
images of each other, similar to and represented by,
the relationship of complex numbers to their
complex conjugates. [Part 1 and 2 appeared in
HOMEOPATHY, 91, 4/2002 & 92, 1/2003 = KSS]
11. Effects of Homœopathic treatment on Pruritus
of Haemodialysis patients: a randomised
Placebo-controlled double-blind trial
CAVALCANTI A.M.S., ROCHA L.M.,
CARILLO Jr R., LUO, Lima & LUGON J.R.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003)
Pruritus is a frequent and difficult-to-treat
problem in Haemodialysis. This double-blind
Placebo-controlled randomised clinical trial
assessed the role of homœopathic treatment in this
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situation. The code was held by the pharmacist
who dispensed the medications. Pruritus was
evaluated using a previously published scale. Only
patients with initial values above 25% of maximum
Pruritus score were entered. Data were analysed
after partial code break, separating the two groups
of patients, but with no awareness of which one
received Verum or Placebo. Patients were
classified as responders if they had >50% reduction
of Pruritus score.
Twenty-eight patients (16M/12F, 51± 11 years
of age) were entered and 20 (12M/8F, 52± 8 years
of age) remained for final analysis: 11 in the Verum
group, 9 in Placebo. At entry, the mean Pruritus
score was 65±25% for the treated patients and 70 ±
27% for Placebo. After 15, 30, 45 and 60 days of
follow-up, Pruritis score were respectively: 46±29,
41±30, 42±29, and 38±33 for the treated patients
and 61±29, 67±31, 64±35, and 57±39 for Placebo.
Reduction was statistically significant (P<0.05) at
every point of observation. According to patients’
own assessment, at the end of the study period, the
homœopathic treatment reduced the Pruritus score
by ~ 49%. Responders were more frequent in the
treated group with statistical significance at 30 days
(0% vs 45%, P=0.038).
Homeopathic treatment may represent a
worthwhile alternative to relieve Pruritus in patients
undergoing Haemodialysis.
12. Effect of Arnica D30 in Marathon runners.
Pooled results from two double-blind Placebo-
controlled studies
TVEITEN D. & BRUSET S.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003)
Objective: To examine whether the
homœopathic medicine Arnica D30 has an effect on
muscle soreness and cell damage after Marathon
running.
Methods: The subjects were 82 Marathon
runners from two separate randomised double-blind
Placebo-controlled trials participating in the Oslo
Marathon in 1990 and 1995. Five pills of Arnica
D30 or Placebo were given morning and evening.
Treatment started on the evening before the
Marathon and continued on day of the race and the
three following days. The runners assessed
muscular soreness on a visual analogue scale.
Muscle enzymes, Electrolytes and Creatinine were
measured before and after the Marathon.
Results: Muscle soreness immediately after the
Marathon run was lower in the Arnica group than in
the Placebo group (P = 0.04). Cell damage
measured by enzymes was similar in the Arnica and
the Placebo group.
Conclusion: These pooled results suggest that
Arnica D30 has a positive effect on muscle
soreness after Marathon running, but not on cell
damage measured by enzymes.
13. Effects of Homœopathic Arsenic on Tobacco
plant Resistance to Tobacco Mosaic Virus.
Theoretical suggestions about system
variability, based on a large experimental data
set
BETTI L., LAZZARATO L., TREBBI G.,
BRIZZI M., CALZONI G.L., BORGHINI F.
and NANI D. (HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003)
Context: This research aimed at verifying
the efficacy of homœopathic treatments by plant-
based bioassays, which may be suitable for basic
research, because they lack Placebo effects and
provide large datasets for statistical analyses.
Objective: To evaluate the effects of
homœopathic treatments of Arsenic Trioxide
(As
2
O3) on tobacco plants subjected to Tobacco
Mosaic Virus (TMV) inoculation as biotic stress.
Design: Blind, randomized experiment using
tobacco leaf disks.
Materials and Methods: Tobacco plants
(Nicotiana tabacum L. cultivar Samsun) carrying
the TMV resistance Gene N. TMV inoculated leaf
disks were floated for 3 days in the following:
Distilled water (control)
H
2
O 5 and 45 decimal and centesimal
potencies
As
2
O
3
5 and 45 decimal and centesimal
potencies
The main outcome measures is the number of
hypersensitive lesions observed in a leaf disk.
Results: Homœopathic treatments of Arsenic
induce two effects on the plant: (i) increased
resistance to TMV; (ii) decrease variability between
experiments (system variability).
Conclusions: In this experimental model two
actions of homœopathic treatment were detected:
decrease in system variability and enhancement of
the natural tendency of the system towards an
‘equilibrium point’.
14. Complexity science and Homœopathy: a
synthetic overview
BELLAVITE P.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003)
Homeopathy is founded on ‘holistic’ and
‘vitalistic’ paradigms, which may be interpreted –
at least in part – in terms of a framework provided
by the Theory of Dynamic Systems and of
Complexity. The conceptual models and some
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experimental findings from Complexity Science
may support the paradoxical claims of Similia
principle and of dilution/dynamization effects. It is
argued that better appreciation of three main
properties of Complex systems: non-linearity, self-
organization, and dynamicity, will not only add to
our basic understanding of homœopathic
phenomena but also illuminate new directions for
experimental investigations and therapeutic
settings.
15. Is Assessment of Likelihood Ratio of
Homeopathic Symptoms possible? A Pilot
study
RUTTEN A.L.B., STOLPER C.F., LUGTEN
R.F.G. and BARTHELS R.W.J.M.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003)
A Pilot study was performed to investigate the
possibilities and restrictions of likelihood ratio (LR)
investigation using three symptoms. Qualitative
vagueness and expectation bias is inherent in our
method, but is, in part avoidable. It appears that
experienced observers assess common
homœopathic symptoms quite similarly. Clinical
judgement is an essential part of our work and
should be preserved during assessment of LR. The
assessment does not influence clinical practice and
can be maintained for a long period, provided the
appropriate software is used. A limited range of
symptoms seems most suitable for LR
investigation.
16. The benefits of Arnica: 16 case reports
ERNST E. (HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003)
Following the publication of a randomised
controlled trial of Arnica in hand surgery, a number
of reports of apparently beneficial effects of Arnica
came to the author’s attention. Many of these
apparent responses could have been due to other
factors including the use of herbal (non-diluted)
Arnica, Placebo response and natural course of
disease.
17. A strategy for research
IVES, Galen (HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003)
Galen IVES, a ‘relative outsider’ to
Homeopathy, attempted to outline what he saw as
important current research issues for Homœopathy.
He commented that there had been no large-scale,
multidisciplinary investigation of Homœopathy
designed to clarify some of the many unknowns.
Most of the research had been inept and piecemeal,
with a few notable exceptions. The relative
absence of good research, based on sound scientific
principles, had resulted in an inability to
communicate with the mainstream; while the lack
of fundamental research, especially into the nature
of potency, further compounded the communication
problem. The author stressed that certain
experiments needed repeating, such as the finding
of altered dielectric properties in potentized
solutions. He suggested a co-ordinated research
programme, which should contain the following
elements: clinical research, conceptual research,
and fundamental research.
The difficulties faced by researchers in the
clinical field were acknowledged. A parallel could
be drawn with research in Psychotherapy, a subject
which had developed considerably over the last
decade. Homœopathy, with fewer methodological
problems than Psychology, could benefit from the
application of some of the techniques developed
over recent years to cope with the complexities of
the latter field. It is vital that inappropriate research
methods are not applied to Homœopathy in a
Procrustean fashion’. In clinical trials of chronic
conditions, the author saw an appropriate design as
involving three groups, randomly allocated: (1)
homœopathic treatment, involving the use of
several remedies (‘any temptation to simplify this
process or to reduce it to a single remedy for the
sake of methodological simplicity or scientific
clarity must be resisted’); (2) homœopathic
treatment with Placebo substituted for all remedies
(must be all or nothing); and (3) allopathic
treatment. He also advocated the use of single case
studies: ‘A method which has proved useful in
Psychotherapy research is the intensive single case
study using multiple baseline assessment. A
modification of the technique to include Placebo
control might well yield valid and interesting
results’. In certain acute conditions, a traditional
double-blind trial would be more feasible. The
author suggested an approach which might
strengthen the scientific validity of such studies.
This involved a pilot study to identify different
drug pictures; a questionnaire based on the
characteristic indications to differentiate the
remedies; and assessment by statistical cluster
analysis. A further suggestion is the use of
experimental models to achieve standardization of
both the pathological condition and the remedy.
One promising line would be the testing of the
isopathic principle, which had already given quite
convincing results.
Conceptual research was dealt with next.
Constitutional prescribing would be amenable to
scientific testing. Cluster analysis again would
identify groups showing certain characteristics. A
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 146 of 216
pilot study by the author had yielded positive
results. Likewise, the principle of similia could be
studied. The hypothesis that the more closely a
patient’s symptoms resembled the drug picture, the
better the response, could be investigated
statistically. This kind of study could be built into
any clinical trial which used a questionnaire to
identify groups.
Fundamental research is a crucial area: potency
assay and the physical characteristics of the
potency. The author considered the lack of a
reliable experimental method as seriously hindering
study of the former; and that sensitive measuring
techniques would be needed for the latter. He made
several suggestions. In conclusion, he hoped that
the Blackie Research Fund would rectify the
serious lack of funding in the past. (BHJ. 4/1983, in
HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003)
18. The memory of water regained
MILGROM L.R.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003)
Prof. Louis REY, has shown ultra-high
dilutions of Lithium chloride or Sodium chloride to
be reproducibly different from pure water diluted
with itself using a technique called
Thermoluminescence. If confirmed, it will lend
credibility to our highly diluted remedies.
Jacques BENVENISTE is not totally
convinced by REY.
19. The toxic effects of the African Pitocine
Leucas capensis in relation to the Law of
Similars
MOILOA M.R.A. (AJHM. 96, 3/2003)
This article represents a toxicological study of
the effects of Leucas capensis, a botanical agent in
common use as a folk remedy in South Africa with
pronounced effects upon the female reproductive
system, especially as related to pregnancy. At the
end of article the symptoms of Leucas capensis are
compared with the homœopathic remedies
Caulophyllum, Secale, Sabina and Cimicifuga.
20. A Review of Scope of Animal
Experimentations in Homœopathy
SINGH K.P. (CCRH. 25, 3&4/2003)
The title is self-explanatory of the article.
This review discusses ‘preliminary acute and
subacute toxicity studies’ in Albino Mice and Rats
and Albino Rabbits. This study is of drugs in very
low potencies, mother tinctures, to ascertain their
toxicity. This study is done because some drugs are
used in Homœopathy in such very low potencies
and mother tinctures.
Another experiment is on Cardiovascular
effects of Homœopathic Medicines’ on the animals
Frogs, Albino Mice.
Another experiment is on ‘Effect of
Homeopathic Medicines on Blood Glucose and
Blood Cholesterol level’ on Albino Rabbits.
The next is on ‘Antiulcerogenic and
Ulcerogenic effects of Homœopathic Medicines’
and then on ‘Antifertility effect (Population
control) of Homœopathic Medicine’; next is on
‘Alcohol Mortality’ and lastly ‘Wound Healing
Effect of Homœopathic Medicines in Albino Rats’.
[The first homœopath who made ‘animal
experiments’ was von BŒNNINGHAUSEN. His
experiments, however, did not involve injuring
lesser creatures or torture them but in clinical
application of the homœopathic remedies to
ailments of animals and he was quite successful in
that. Homœopathy finds itself as ‘gentle’, ‘least
injurious’ mode of therapeutics. Then where is the
need for animal experimentation? When Linn
BOYD boasted of ‘animal experimentation’
‘sacrificing’ hundreds of cats, John CLARKE who
was a well known anti-vivisectionist, strongly
condemned it and wrote that BOYD was not
welcome to England. Merely to satisfy the
dominant school and to be accepted by them
Homeopathy need not take to these cruel
experiments = KSS]
--------------------------------------------------------------
VIII. HISTORY
1. A Historical Review
WINSTON, Julian (AJHM. 96, 3/2003)
In this article Julian WINSTON summarises
some of the gems in our homœopathic literature
heritage, some of which, he fears, have been too
often overlooked.
2. Playing in the Boneyard or the Development of
and some thought about a Database of US
Homeopaths
WINSTON, Julian (AJHM. 96, 3/2003)
The author has assembled a remarkable
database (from sources available to him) of
homœopaths who were practicising in the USA
from 1825 until 1963. The database contains over
25,000 names. This is a discussion of the process of
the construction of the database, some of the
difficulties encountered, and some of his personal
observations.
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IX. EDUCATION
1. Evaluation eines Modellprojekts zur
Weiterbildung Homöopathie, A-F-Kunsse
(Evaluation of a model Project for
development of Homœopathy, A-F course)
LÜDTKE, Rainer, ELIES, Michael;
BRAKEMEIER, Susanne and KAISER, Daniel
(AHZ. 248, 3/2003)
The quality of a new type of so-called A-F
Courses (which specializes physicians in
Homeopathy), was systematically evaluated.
These courses were designed for participants who
had already gained skills in Homœopathy as
medical students. They can be characterised by a
high starting level and a high degree of autonomy.
Our evaluation shows that the quality of the
Courses is excellent, moreover it is continuously
improving. This probably is due to the
homogeneity of the course group and its constancy
over time. It is therefore concluded that each future
A-F Course should specifically address the
demands of its participants. Groups should be as
homogenous as possible and any switch-over of
participants should be avoided. A continuous and
systematic evaluation seems to be the key to
guarantee high quality and participants’
satisfaction.
2. Empowering students of Homœopathy
MALAIKKANI S. (HH. 28, 5/2003)
Motivated students learn better. Motivation
may be defined as “getting power to work hard”. It
is like petrol and diesel to an Engineer. Motivation
is the greatest wealth in the world.
The students of Homœopathy should take
inspiration from dedicated leaders like Dr.
JOHNSON who read 18 hours a day. Dr.
AMBEDKAR who read books continuously,
SOCRATES died sipping the poison hemlock, after
memorizing new song. Dr. FAUSTUS was ready to
sell his soul to Satan to learn something new. Dr.
S. HAHNEMANN learnt 5 languages besides being
a doctor and conducted experimenting
homœopathic medicines, wrote books and revised
his earlier editions.
Self-learning techniques It is learning how to
learn. There is no royal road to learning. But
students try to lay a royal road to learning. They
may resort to speed learning, find out a suitable
learning style, simplify materials, comprehend it,
make notes and store in their long term memory.
The author has given a small note how to read and
store in memory. Study skills - Maximum learning
in minimum time.
--------------------------------------------------------------
X. GENERAL
1. Evidenzbasierte Homöopathie
Irrglaube aus der Schulmedizin oder Gebot
der Stunde?
(Evidence based Homœopathy – Heresy from
the Allopathic Medicine or Order of the Hour?)
SCHÜPPEL, Reinhart (AHZ. 248, 4/2003)
This subject has been engaging the minds of
many great homœopaths for decades. There is no
“Gold standard” for Homœopathy and it is
meaningless to search for such a “Gold standard”.
There have been so called randomized controlled
studies, there have been “blind” and “double blind”
studies.
As a result of all these a small number of the
Allopathic School and the Scientist homœopaths’
have shown half-hearted acceptance of
Homeopathy.
In this article the author discusses the concept
of evidence-based medicine and how it could be
transferred to Homœopathy and how it could
improve the acceptance of Homœopathy in
Medicine. He proposes a programme to implement
evidence-based Homœopathy.
The author gives a long impressive list of
references.
2. Developing a love for all life
ROWE, Todd (HT. 22, 9/2002)
The capacity to love all life can be fostered
and it is the responsibility of good homœopathic
educators to do so. Being a homœopath often
requires total immersion and absorption in the field
– stalking with mind, heart and spirit. Stalking
helps homœopaths be open to a deeper
understanding of their patients and of the world
around them.
Enjoying our work opens our hearts and allows
love to flow into our work and lives and that is
when we are at our greatest potential as healers.
3. Saving Holistic Homœopathic Medicine from
Mechanistic Scientism – an urgent need
LEDERMANN E.K.
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 148 of 216
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003)
Without in any way denying the enormous
benefits of scientific medicine, it is the wrong place
to look for the basis of homœopathic medicine.
The right place is indicated in two fundamental
works of HAHNEMANN: The Organon” and
‘Chronic Diseases’. In addition the right place’
which explains the efficacy of the High Potencies
can be found in the Philosophy of Science.
4. Exploring General Practitioners’ attitudes to
Homeopathy in Dumfries and Galloway
HAMILTON E.
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003)
This comparative quantitative study explored
General Practitioners (GPs) attitudes to
Homeopathy in Dumfries and Galloway, a
predominantly rural area in South-West Scotland
where there is a local British Homeopathic
Association funded Homœopathic Clinic. It aimed
to determine whether there was an association
between expressed attitudes to Homeopathy and a
number of variables. Issues arising from the House
of Lords Report on CAM were also explored. A
self-administered questionnaire was addressed to all
135 GPs within Dumfries and Galloway.
Descriptive statistics were used in the data analysis.
The response rate was 75%. The NHS GP
clinic accounted for 47% of total referrals for
Homeopathy. A total of 86.1% of GPs within
Dumfries and Galloway were in favour of a local
NHS Homœopathic Specialist Clinic. Forms of
evidence most influential to GPs regarding
Homeopathy were: randomized controlled trials;
audit data on patient outcomes; safety and patient
satisfaction.
5. The language of Chaos theory and Complexity
applied to Homeopathy
SHEPPERD, Joel (AJHM. 96, 3/2003)
Homeopathic authors have used the
concepts of Chaos theory and complex systems to
explain Homœopathy in modern language and to
develop experimental models to show how
Homeopathy works. The author gives his
interpretation of these efforts.
6. Modern Myths Which Haunt Us
POPLI S.P. (NAMAH. 11, 2/2003)
The biggest paradox of the modern era is
the progressive decline of morality and values in
life and as a consequence, happiness and
contentment inspite of general physical prosperity.
The present social, psychological and ecological
environment has direct links with our health
although we may have difficulties in establishing
laboratory proofs for this.
A view that the more efficient the
economy, the happier the society, has been the
foundation on which consumerism, continuous
growth and expansion have been built.
The biggest disservice that Science has
rendered to humanity is its theory of ‘survival of
the fittest’. Absence of war was defined as peace.
It was no concern of the authorities if there was
simmering violence in man’s inner psyche found
expression within certain defined limits. (e.g.
family)
A radical paradigm shift has to be made.
We talk of various aetiological factors for diseases
just because we find their association in a diseased
person. In any epidemic while hordes of people
contract infection, it is the microcosm which falls
ill. Why this occurs only in some persons? The
selectiveness of various etiological factors and
diseases points towards a deeper malady – a Crisis
of Characterwith unethical pursuits in the field of
scientific and technological developments.
We missed seeing an association between
Character and Health because our great scientists
could not fathom the relationship between
something subtle as Character and gross as Health.
Another misconception under which we are
labouring is that Allopathy is scientific and rational
and will provide us with the answers to all diseases.
Allopathy has misplaced perceptions when it wages
an all-out war against bacteria and viruses by
developing newer and newer drugs as it can never
win this war. The need is to transform and reform
our habits, thoughts and attitudes.
7. An Interview with Janet SNOWDON
GRIMES, Melanie (AH. 9/2003)
Janet SNOWDON came into Homœopathy
via personal experience of the benefit it gave to her
children. She studied with Dr. MAUGHAN a very
senior homœopathic physician who inspired her;
then with George VITHOULKAS and then Rajan
SANKARAN. She stays with Rajan
SANKARAN’s methodology.
8. An Interview with Joe LILLARD
YASGUR, Jay (AH. 9/2003)
What was Washington Homœopathy
Pharmacy, (Bethesda, M.D.) was purchased by Joe
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 149 of 216
LILLARD in 1991. The Pharmacy is in a small
town and thus it was possible to educate the local
people with Homœopathy. LILLARD was the
former President of the National Center for
Homeopathy. Before he came to Homœopathy
LILLARD worked in the Federal Government as
administrator in various branches of the Federal
Government.
How did Joe LILLARD come to
Homeopathy? He had animals – sheep, chickens, -
on his farm and when his dog mauled a chicken he
gave it Arnica and applied a large glob of
Calendula ointment and that chicken became quite
well. He had many experiences like that. He has
had many experiences of healing wounds on his
own person. Later he became a member of the
National Center for Homœopathy (NCH) and
attended all their classes and Seminars and later
studied with Robin MURPHY. He was the first
non-medical President of the NCH. He had taken
active part in the CCH (Certification in Classical
Homœopathy).
9. Systemic Psychotherapy for homœopaths
IVANOVAS, Georg (HL. 16, 1/2003)
Systemic Psychotherapy offers a lot of
modern concepts that correspond to homœopathic
principles. The biggest similarity is the use of the
therapeutic paradox, which is also called
‘prescribing the symptom’. The strategy of the
treatment is to instruct the system (usually a family,
but sometimes a single person) to do the same as
before but in a slightly different manner.
It is a treatment with a similie, without
giving a medicine. Every family is told to continue
just as they do but in a refined way.
The pioneers of this kind of treatment
were successful – but the strict approach was more
and more abandoned by the systemic
psychotherapists. Reasons were:
- There was a shift in theory
- It is difficult to prescribe a good paradox
- Therapists did not individualize
sufficiently
- Mechanical prescription of the paradox
was not so effective and quite boring for
the therapists.
10. Bioterrorism: Role of Clinical Laboratory in
Meeting the Challenge
NIYOGI, Swapan Kumar (S&C. 69, 3-
4/2003)
Intentional use of pathogenic
microorganisms to kill large number of people and
undermine political and social institutions has
become one of the most vicious threats to civilized
society in recent times. The clinical laboratory
plays a pivotal role in responding to an act of
bioterrorism. Laboratory should be prepared to
respond rapidly by providing diagnostic kits for the
detection and identification of specific agents, so
that specific therapy and victim management can be
initiated in a timely manner. Clinical laboratories
should identify their current resources and extent of
support they can provide and inform the authorities
of their state of readiness. Knowledge of the
current biosafety level within the laboratory and
adequate training of the laboratory personnel are
very much essential. A greater capacity for
surveillance at the national, state and local levels is
much needed in protecting against biological
warfare. [The “White man” used intentionally
pathogenic micro-organisms to annihilate large
sections of “natives” during the colonisation – in
the North America and Australia in the 18
th
century
and even as late as during the last century’s
historical Vietnam war. No scientist worth the
name should cause such atrocities. Nemesis would
certainly come home to roost. = KSS].
11. Bilirubin metabolism: Molecular and metabolic
considerations
CHOWDHURY, Abhijit (S&C. 69, 3-
4/2003)
Improvements in Molecular Biology has
resulted in significant improvements in our
understanding of Bilirubin metabolism and basis of
the inherited disorders thereof. Bilirubin is a
metabolic degradation product of heme moiety of
senescent red blood cells. It is carried in the blood
in an unconjugated state, bound to Albumin in a
reversible, non-covalent bond, to the liver where it
is conjugated with glucoronic acid primarily to
make it water-soluble and excreted in the bile
canaliculi. Excretion is the rate limiting step in
Bilirubin metabolism, hence conjugated
Hyperbilirubinemia occurs commonly in liver
diseases. A number of conditions, however, are
characterized by unconjugated Hyperbilirubinemia
caused by defective enzymatic conjugation of
Bilirubin. These are due to mutations in the uridine
glucoronyl transferase 1 gene. Commonest of these
is Gilberts’ syndrome, which is due to insertion of
an additional TA sequence in the promoter region
of UGTI A1 gene, reducing expression of the
relevant gene. Graded increase in severity of
Hyperbilirubinemia is produced by mutations
involving the exons in crigler najjar syndromes 2
and 1. Excretion of Bilirubin from the hepatocyte
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 150 of 216
to the lumen of the bile canaliculi is dependent
upon membrane bound exporters. Genetic defect in
them produces familial cholestatic disorders, like
Dubin Johnson syndrome.
12. Role of Chromium in Human Metabolism,
with special reference to type 2 Diabetes
CHOWDHURY, Subhankar and
BHATTACHARYA, Basudev
(S&C. 69, 3-4/2003)
Chromium exists in three main forms: metallic
state, trivalent and hexavalent forms. While
hexavalent Chromium is recognized as an industrial
toxin linked to lung Cancer, trivalent Chromium is
acknowledged as an essential nutrient. The latter is
known to improve Insulin sensitivity and, therefore,
to influence carbohydrate, fat and protein
metabolism. Hence, it has been tried in type 2
Diabetes, where Insulin resistance plays a crucial
role in pathogenesis. Supplementation with
trivalent Chromium often causes a modest
improvement of glycaemic control. The expected
improvement in lipid profile is not seen
consistently. Despite the lack of adverse effects in
in vivo studies of trivalent Chromium
supplementation, routine use in Diabetes is not
indicated. The patients suffering from type 2
Diabetes who are likely to benefit are those who are
elderly, on severely restricted diet and with gross
hyperglycaemia and profuse Polyuria.
13. Molecular Medicine and Medical Education
BURMA D.P. (S&C. 69, 3-4/2003)
Debate is going on under ‘Continued Medical
Education (CME) Program whether the newly
emerging discipline of ‘Molecular Medicine’
should be part of regular medical teaching program.
It has been argued here that time has not yet come
to treat it as an isolated discipline at the
undergraduate level. It is better to introduce the
knowledge in Molecular Medicine at pre, para and
clinical levels of undergraduate education.
However, emphasis has to be laid on Molecular
Medicine under postgraduate program, as a separate
discipline linked to Biochemistry on the one hand,
and Medicine on the other. It is, however, ‘must
under CME program at this stage.
--------------------------------------------------------------
XI. BOOKS
1. SCHMIDT, Josef M., Die
Thyreoidinum-Studie am KranKenhaus für
Naturheilwesen Kontrollierte klinische Studie (A
controlled clinical Study of Thyroidinum in the
Hospital for Natural treatment) 446, S., Books
on Demand GmbH, Norderstadt 2000, Є. 40-
(German) Review by G. BLUEL (AHZ. 248,
3/2003): “So far not noticed, but noticeable during
his 4 year study in the München-Harlaching
Hospital, Josef SCHMIDT has applied
Thyroidinum C30 against Placebo to 208 patients
who had suffered from a so-called Fastenkrise
which was defined by stagnating or increasing of
body weight after at least 3 days with at least 100g.
weight. … This homœopathic Organ preparation
was already there in the 19
th
Century and in 1918
GILLINGHAM proved it. …. SCHMIDT has with
this study carried out an astonishing work. With an
extreme precision and appropriately required
accuracy of details he has fulfilled all required
demands of a “good clinical practice …..”.
2. HADULLA, Michael M. and RICHTER,
Olaf., Die Homöopathischen Arzneien Wesen
und Essenz: Band II (The nature and Essence of
Homœopathic Remedies) 242 S., Medizinische
Literarische Verlagsgesellschaft, 2002, Є 36.80.
(German) Review by G. BLEUL (AHZ. 248,
3/2003): “Eight medicines were discussed in the
Volume I and the remaining follow in this: Ars.,
Calc., Lyc., Ep., Sep., Sil., Staph., Sulph. ….
Decide for yourself.”
3. FALTIN, Thomas. Homöopathie in der
Klinik. Die Geschichte der Homöopathic am
Stuttgarter Robert-Bosch-Krankenhaus von
1940-1973 (Homeopathy in the Clinic. The
History of Homœopathy in the Robert-Bosch
Hospital in Stuttgart, during 1940-1973) 453 S.,
geb., Haug Verlag, Stuttgart, 2002. Є. 59.95
(German) Review by GEBHARDT K.-H. (AHZ.
248, 5/2003): “After a brief review of the
homœopathic hospital in Germany from 1833 to
todate FALTIN comes to discuss the Robert Bosch
Hospital beginning from STIEGELE’s outpatient
hospital to the newly built Hospital in the periphery
of the present Hospital. Those who came after
STIEGELE did not pursue Clinical Homœopathy
further so that spectacular results were rare and
more of allopathic Medicine became predominant.
….. careful study of the sources and with historical
facts. The book fills an important historic gap …”
4. SCHÜSTER, Bernd: Cola in der Praxis.
Fallbeispielen, Analysen, das Wesen einer Neuen
Homöopathischen Arznei (Cola in Practice.
Cases, Analysis, the Nature of a New
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 151 of 216
Homœopathic medicine) 180 S., Verlag für
Homöopathie, Weilburg 2002, Є. 19.90
(German) Review by G. BLEUL (AHZ. 248,
6/2003): “After the author had published the new
proving of Cola nitida in 1997 he now presents its
application in practice. In 16 cases of his own, one
from Karl-Josef MÜLLER and 6 “Case-episodes”
in which Cola was given as intervening medicine,
SCHUSTER presents a graphic picture of the
medicine. In most of the cases Cola was given for
1-3 years. Mostly the choice is on proving
symptoms. Positive forms of hyperactivity with
over self-over-estimation, nightly restlessness and
voracious hunger appear particularly good response
with Cola.
5. KELLER, Georg von. Gesammelte Aufsätze
und Vorträge zur Homöopathie (Collected
articles and lectures on Homœopathy) 640 S.,
Hahnemann-Institut, Greifenberg. 2002, Є. 59,-
(German) Review by M. BÜNDNER (AHZ. 248,
6/2003): “Georg von KELLER, one of the “great,
old homœopaths” has published all his articles and
lectures chronologically. Also his Prefaces to the
14 Monographs of the “small” homoeopathic
remedies have also been appended. This singular
treasure chest of experience shows the untiring
lectures and publication activities of the author.
from every article practical information or
background could be picked up which will be
interesting to the experienced homœopaths.
…There are few homœopathic speciality books
which holds from beginning to end a fastidious
quality – this is one such book.”
6. EICHLER, Roland; FRANK, Horst: Die
homöopathische Behandlung der Neurodermitis
bei Kindern und Jugendlichen (Homœopathic
treatment of Neurodermatitis in Children and
Young) 353 S., geb. Haug Verlag, Stuttgart
2002. Є 69.95 (German) Review by W. EICHLER
(AHZ. 248, 6/2003): “This book is addressed to the
practicing homœopaths. In the Introduction the
basics of Neurodermatitis are explained from the
allopathic science of Dermatology. …. the
homœopathic theory is set out essentially and the
peculiarities of Neurodermatitis-treatment is only
briefly said. The cases, which makes the main head
in the title, is self-explanatory. They are well-
documented, mostly with CD or pictures before and
after the therapy. The repertorisations are clear and
followable. …..The author is “classic” homœopath
in the tradition of KENT in the best sense (he
practices Homœopathy in second generation).
Those who belong to the “speculative” discipline of
Homeopathy, which is modern at present,
expecting rare remedies will be disappointed.
Mainly only antipsoric polychrests have been used,
small remedies like Viola tricolor or a very
beautiful Mancinella - disease history make up the
exceptions. Homœopathy appears quite simple
often here – as it always is in the hands of a master.
7. MINDER, Peter; Gesamtregister zu
Hahnemanns Werk (A Complete Index to
Hahnemann’s work), 223 S., geb., Haug Verlag,
Stuttgart, 2002. Є 39.95 (German) Review by
Thomas GENNEPER (ZKH. 47, 4/2003): “If
homœopaths upto now had access to only
rudimentary register, or maintain one’s own
references or depend upon one’s own memory and
for literary researches, for example if one would
like to know what views HAHNEMANN had about
the theme “Isopathy” one has now MINDER’s
Index of over 200 pages to indicate the exact pages.
A big help for actual practice too as also for
scientific works. The book contains medicines,
persons as also subject register and covers
Hahnemann’s important works viz. the Organon
of Medicine’, “The Chronic Diseases”, “The
Pure Materia Medica”, “Lesser Writings” as
also the latest “Collected Lesser Writings”…….”
8. FOERSTER, Gisela; HEÉ, Hausjörg,
Vergleichende Arzneimittellehre homöo-
pathischer Polychreste (Comparative Materia
Medica of homœopathic Polychrests), 606 S.,
geb,. Haug-Verlag, Stuttgart, 2002, Є.79.95
(German) Review by Marco RIGHETTI (ZKH. 47,
4/2003): “In the face of the flood of new
publications it is surprising that few authors attempt
at Comparative Materia Medica although this
question plays an important role in the daily
practice. In the book before us eight big remedies
are compared in pain….
In Mind’ Part the different facets of the
medicine with regard to themes like anxiety,
threats, aggression, guilt, shame, etc. are discussed
and compared…. In part two the hitherto not well
clarified aspects of stages of development:
Pregnancy, Birth, Infancy, Childhood, Puberty,
Climacteric and Old age are discussed. The theme
of Physical symptoms are the next, wherein the
specific ‘region’ (ref. BURNETT), is the next. In
this way the pathological developments are
differentiated…. Those interested in Miasms would
find ideas on Calcarea, Tuberculinum,
Medorrhinum, Thuja, Mercurius, Nitric acidum...
The book could enrich the homœopathic work”.
9. JUS, Mohinder Singh; Praktische Materia
Medica (Practical Materia Medica) 3 Bände,
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 152 of 216
2896 S. kart. Homöosana Verlag, Zug, 2003. Є
245. (German), Review by Uwe FRIEDRICH
(ZKH. 47, 4/2003): “According to his own
declaration, JUS has written this book in the
footsteps of his master B.K. BOSE, who said: “my
students are my books and when they have
sufficiently ripe knowledge of Homeopathy they
will out of their own experience write a Materia
Medica”. The Materia Medica of JUS contains 302
medicines. These are written in line with the
lectures of BOSE and also appending his own
personal experience. JUS explains that his work
may have consulted KENT, HERING, LIPPE,
CLARKE and BOGER. …. In the section
“CharacteristicJUS gives the main features of the
remedy. According to him “physiognomonic”
indications and the state of the person” have a high
value in the homœopathic case report. ….. Every
volume has a Repertory of 178 pages added at the
end. The repertory of the volumes 1-3 are therefore
identical. ….. Sum up: a good, Materia Medica that
has come from good experience with the major
disadvantages mentioned above. …”.
10. Georg von KELLER: Gesamelte Aufsätze
und Vorträge zur Homöopathie (Collected
writings and Lectures on Homœopathy)
(herausgegeben von Peter VINT), 624S.,
Hahnemann Institut, Greifenberg. 2002. E.59-
(German) Review by Andreas GRIMM (ZKH. 47,
3/2003): Georg von KELLER who expired this
year was often requested to publish his collected
articles, lectures, etc. which has now happily come
about from the Hahnemann Institut…. The Book
before us has 156 contributions of KELLER.
….including 5 hitherto unpublished articles and 5
lectures.. there is a detailed Index at the end
containing subjects and persons…. The articles are
chronologically arranged….. The work shows the
excellent knowledge of Homœopathy literature and
the enormous Materia Medica Knowledge… His
work connects theory and practice and is as much
useful for the Practitioner as for historic and
scientifically interested… By studying the primary
sources he could point out that in the repertories
and the (secondary and tertian) Materia Medicas
many important symptoms are not available…
A peculiar and particular style of the author
was that he handled different themes and problems
in one article, as for example Causticum and
following remedies” he discusses:
1. Complementary and following remedies
and his own personal experiences on it.
2. The prescription of a remedy on the basis
of a single symptom and
3. The difference between the Practice of the
earlier homœopaths and the current
Practice
..We are very much thankful to the
publisher for this valuable collection.”
11. Ma Practique Homoeopathique aw
Quotidien (My daily homœopathic practice) by
Jacques KERSTEN Editions, Liegeoises
d’Homœopathie, rue Vignoble, 1à 4130
ESNEUX, Review by Jèan ALAERTS (RBH. 32,
2/2002) ….a book with 101 everyday cases the
description of the case and solution given
separately! The author describes it as an
educational aid for students which will help them
find the remedy on their own and then increase
their knowledge of Materia Medica. This is not a
book that one must sit down and read end to end,
but something to hold on to and read during
moments of relaxation and in the process learn a
remedy in its everyday context.
12. La Medecine du Bouddisme Theravada au
Laos (Theravada Buddist Medicine of Laos) by
P. SOUK-ALDUN. Editions: L’HARMATTAN,
5-7, rue de L’Ecole Polytechnique, 75005 PARIS
Review by J. ALAERTS (RBH. 32, 2/2002) ..
The Theravada Buddism or The Way of the
Ancients” is the principal religion of the inhabitants
of Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma. More
closer to the original Buddism than the Mahayana
this school has a codified medicine less known in
the west but very much used in south-east Asia
except in China and Vietnam. This medicine is
very similar to Ayurveda as it has its origin in
India. It has an astonishingly modern aspect with
its representation of the body, disease and
therapeutics. Its description of mental phenomena
is worthy of modern Psychology manuals. It has a
universal and humanist character and can treat
without violence all suffering beings of all
affections from malaria to stress in over worked
city-dwellers. One is astonished on reading this
book that embryology was not unknown to the
Ancients.”
13. What your Doctor may not tell you about
Children’s Vaccinations by CAVE, Stephanie
and MITCHELL, Deborah. Warner books,
2001, paperback, 315 pages. 13.95. ISBN-
0446677078 Review by Sharon SCHNALL.
(HT. 22, 9/2002) “…. The book offers an in-depth,
informative and thoroughly accessible approach to
addressing vaccination choices and risks from an
allopathic practitioner’s point of view.
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 153 of 216
Parents are urged to become knowledgeable
about vaccines and what measures minimize risk
including thoroughly evaluating the family history
of auto immune disease and other relevant allergic
and adverse vaccine reactions, and weighing that
profile against the benefits and risks of each
vaccine.
While vaccines may confer benefits, they also
present risks, in part, because of the toxic materials
used in their manufacture.
For some vaccinated populations, childhood
illnesses are being displaced into adulthood with
the threat of even greater complications.
Readers are encouraged to become informed
consumers. This is a useful resource for reviewing
immunization protocols and evaluating their safety
and necessity. ….”
14. The homœopathic conversation: The Art of
Taking the Case by Dr. Brian KAPLAN.
Natural Medicine Press: London, paperback,
206 pages, 2001. ISBN 1-903952-00-X $29.99
Review by Marg GLAISYER. (HT. 22, 11/2002)
“… This book is an attempt to draw attention to
what actually happens in the homœopathic clinic.
To do this it is necessary to examine what is going
on in the mind of the patient, the mind of the
homœopath and in the space between them.”
The information on case taking is especially
useful to the beginning prescriber. …”
15. Proving and cases of Cola nitida by Bernd
SCHUSTER Review by Terje WULFSBERG.
(SIM. XVI, 3/2003) “…The book gives a detailed
description of the procedure of the proving of Cola
nitida (Kola in repertory), a comparison, the
proving information in Materia Medica format, a
listing of rubrics and a description of 5 cured cases.
Several of the provers developed an enormous
craving for food and a never-satisfied feeling.
This may be a possible remedy for individuals
addicted to drugs, food etc.
Another sphere of indication is in ADD. More
information, excerpts from the proving, reviews
etc: http://www.verlag-fuer-homoeopathie.de/
Two cases are presented: one with the theme of
insatiability and another of hyperactive child.
16. The Hand that Heals, A Life-sketch written
by Michael TREMBATH, Savitadidi and
Santokba Nanji, Kalidas Mehta Research
Foundation, 22, B.G. Kher Marg, Malabar Hill,
Mumbai-400 006. Rs.250/- Review by D.E.
MISTRY (CCR. 10,1/2003) “Dr. Ram Bhosle’s
life has been an unparalleled phenomenon the like
of which has not been heard or written anywhere in
the world. Throughout his life he has travelled
all over the world 160 times at the invitation of
various heads of States and distinguished
celebrities…” [The life and work of Dr. RAM
BHOSLE is so adventurous, inspiring and elevating
and we can enjoy it only by reading the book full.
The book is available from the publishers only and
not through the book shops = KSS]
17. Aphorisms and Precepts from
Extemporaneous Lectures by James Tyler
KENT, edited by Leonard FOX, with an
Introduction by Jose PACHECO, Arcana Books,
2002. The Swedenborgion Association. ISBN 1-
883270-21-9. 76 pages. $7.95 Review by Melanie
GRIMES (AH. 9/2003): “This small book comes to
us from a Swedenborgian press. The Introduction
by PACHECO discusses the influence of
SWEDENBORG on homœopathic philosophy.
The book itself lists 452 small paragraphs, or
aphorisms. Some are specific to Homeopathy,
some are to more general…. This small volume
contributes a great deal to our understanding of one
of our foremost American homœopaths. It lends
insights to his medicine and beliefs. KENT himself
sums up this book best in Aphorism # 3: “You
cannot divorce Medicine and Theology. Man exists
all the way down, from his innermost spiritual to
our outermost natural.”
18. The Materia Medica of Milk: A Collection
of Articles from Homeopathic Links. Edited by
Hiwat and van der Zee, Homeolinks Publishers,
Netherlands, 2002. ISBN 90-8071-032-6. 264
pages. $41.50 Review by Melanie GRIMES (AH.
9/2003): “this book contains 27 articles about 14
remedies made from milks. Some of the cases and
articles have been published in previous issues of
Links and some are printed here for the first time.
This is the first English translation of a book that
was first published in 2002 in German. Remedies
include: Lac asinum, Lac caninum, Lac caprinum,
Lac defloratum, Lac delphinum, Lac equinum, Lac
felinum, Lac humanum, Lac leoninum, Lac
lupinum, Lac maternum, Lac ovis, Lac owleum,
and Lac suis…. Viewing the articles in their
entirety provides a complete and thorough review
of a series of remedies close to the heart of all
mammals.”
19. Dynamic Materia Medica: Syphilis, Jeremy
Yaakov Sherr, Published by Dynamis Books,
2002, England. 279 Pages, Hardbound. ISBN 1-
90114704-5. $56.00 Review by Melanie J.
GRIMES. (AH. 9/2003): “Bravo to SHERR, for a
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 154 of 216
poetic and non-linear approach to the Materia
Medica, to boldly take himself and us on an inner
journey towards deeper homœopathic
understanding. This beautiful hardbound book is a
wonderful addition to Materia Medica. …The book
is basically a Materia Medica of selected remedies,
those in the syphilitic miasm. The book
contains what he calls “multidimensional remedy
pictures”… The second part of the book is
synthesis, both of the remedies presented and the
view that this gives us of the Miasm. The
remedies covered are: Androctonus, Aurum,
Haliaeetus, Guaiacum, Hepar sulphuricum,
Mercurius, Phytolacca, Platina, Stillingia,
Syphilinum, Thallium, and the “zone” of Iridium to
Plumbum….”
20. Dynamic Provings, Vol.2, Jeremy Yaakov
Sherr and Students of the Dynamis School,
Published by Dynamis Books, 2002, England;
ISBN 1-901147-05-3. $60.00 Review by Melanie J.
GRIMES (AH. 9/2003) “In the course of a lifetime,
HAHNEMANN proved over 90 remedies. In the
course of six years, SHERR, his editors, and the
students of the Dynamis school have published
more than 14. Dynamic Provings Vol.2, is 841
pages of pure proving data, which will long enrich
the homœopathic Materia Medica. The provings
this volume contains are:
Brassica napus: Rape seed
Cygnus columbianus bewicki: Bewick Swan
Cygnus Cygnus: Whooper Swan
Olea europaea: Olive
Onchorynchus tshawytscha: Pacific Salmon
Salix fragilis: Crack Willow
Taxus baccata: English Yew Tree
Taxus brevifolia: Pacific Yew Tree
The book itself is easy to read, and well
bound…”
21. Back to the Basics: A review of Provings
with a Proving of Alcoholus by Paul HERSCU.
Amherst, The New England School of
Homœopathy Press. 2002. 351 pages. Soft cover.
ISBN 0-9654994-4-1. $24 plus shipping. Review
by Peter WRIGHT. (AH. 9/2003)
“…HAHNEMANN’s project was, above all, about
bringing a new certainty and reliability into
medicine. The key to his success in this mission
was his development of the innovative method for
assaying drug action that we call proving… By
distinguishing between proving symptoms that can
be reliably attributed to a remedy, and preexisting
symptoms or random concurrent symptoms that
simply do not belong in the literature, HERSCU
provides the key to rectifying a homœopathic
database whose signal-to-noise ratio has become
alarmingly attenuated in recent years. By
emphasizing the homœopathic origin of clinical
drug trials and the use of marked studies and
Placebo groups in homœopathic provings 45
years prior to their introduction into allopathic
research protocols! he invites us to recover from
the sense of inferiority that often plagues our
profession when we compare our work to “real
science”… Homœopathy is not well these days,
but fortunately Dr. HERSCU has sound medicine
for what’s ailing it. This reviewer enthusiastically
recommends Provings with a Proving of
Alcoholus for every homœopathic student,
practitioner and teacher.”
22. Patients in the History of Homœopathy,
edited by Martin DINGES, EAHMH
Publications, Strasbourg. 2002. Hardbound, 434
pages ISBN 0953652246. $75 (includes
shipping) Review by Jay YASGUR. (AH. 9/2003)
“This volume is the latest offering by the European
Association for the History of Medicine and Health
(EAHMH), a publisher of ‘high-level’ academic
publications in four distinct series within the
History and Sociology of the Medicine: History of
Medicine, Health and Disease Series, and the
Evening Lecture Series. ….There are twenty
essays in this book… Most of the essays in this
durable sewn hardback can be read in one sitting.
The print is clear and dark, the font readable… The
reading is fascinating and the scholarship
exemplary…”
23. An Insight into Plants Vol I and Vol II,
Rajan SANKARAN, Homeopathic Medical
Publishers, Dinar 2
nd
Floor, Room No.1, 20,
Station Road, Santa cruz (W), 400 054 Mumbai,
India ISBN-81-901103-3-0; Review by Corrie
HIWAT (HL. 16, 1/2003) “… in his sixth book,
SANKARAN shares his development as a
homœopathic doctor with the professional world.
...although this latest book is in sequence to the
earlier work, it is also unique in its own way. The
983 pages book is divided into 3 parts.
Part I is an introduction to Plant Kingdom-
with a new approach to case taking, a simple list of
questions and concept of miasms.
Part II is a description of the plant families in
alphabetical order starting with Anacardiaceae and
ending with Violales. We find the remedies
belonging to a particular family, their common
names, the connection between members of the
family, description of the remedies, their active or
passive reactions, their compensations, their
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sensations, the miasm they belong to and relevant
cases.
Part III- Table of sensation and the periodic
tables of miasms and remedies.”
24. Prisma The Arcana of Materia Medica
Illuminated by Frans VERMEULEN, Emryss by
Publishers, Haarlem, The Netherlands, 2002,
1441 pp price: 69 Euro. Review by Guido
MORTELMANS (HL. 16, 1/2003) “…. 195
homœopathic remedies are studied in this new
book. The main symptoms are enlarged and
revised for eg. under Ambra grisea to quote from
KENT – ‘Asks many questions, never waits for an
answer’ – is added more information “Especially is
it indicated in those persons who manifest a
momentary, fleeting inquisitiveness, jumping from
one subject to another.”
“Also additions from modern authors are
present. Also information from journals is present.
You have information from all the great
homœopaths ALLEN, HERING and
HAHNEMANN and also from LIPPE, ROYAL,
DUNHAM, DEWEY and HUGHES. Some
mistakes in the Materia Medica are corrected.
Inaccurate repertory symptoms are corrected.
English homœopaths like TYLER, BLACKIE,
WRIGHT-HUBBARD, FOUBISTER, BORLAND
are quoted. The German-speaking homœopaths are
also present: LEESER, MEZGER, STÜBLER,
VOEGELI, DORSCI, GAWLIK and so on. Also
the French homœopaths like JULIAN, VOISIN,
VANNIER, LATHOUD, HORVILLEUR,
CHARETTE and others. The source of all the
symptoms are mentioned so you can decide for
yourself to use it or not. The contemporary
homœopaths and their contributions are not
forgotten – VITHOULKAS, GEUKENS, SHORE,
MORRISON, GHEGAS etc. VERMEULEN has
made an interesting Materia Medica with quotes
from many good homœopaths but also with clinical
symptoms, exact phrasings of proving symptoms,
fragments of cases, contemporary concepts and
correlations. Dream provings or meditative
provings are not found in the Prisma. This book
contains information from many disciplines, which
is then expanded and refracted into a vibrant
spectrum of information. The known old and new
proving of the remedy are mentioned exactly.
VERMEULEN is good in giving rational
information, but if the information is not scientific
enough it is not given.
VERMEULEN has ordered a lot of
homœopathic literature at our disposal in a very
good manner.”
25. Re-exploring our Magnificient Plants
and our Magnificent Plants by Rupal DESAI,
Published and Distributed by Rupal Desai, 19,
Sai Aradhana, Phirozshah Street, Santacruz (w)
Mumbai – 400 054. Email:
drrupaldesai@yahoo.com Review by Jan
SCHOLTEN (HL. 16, 1/2003) “… Rupal DESAI
uses information from many sources such as
botany, herbal and flower remedy books,
mythology, history, biochemistry, toxicology and
medicine. But the base of the information is
provings and Materia Medica. From the pictures of
the members, family pictures have been created.
And the family pictures have been applied to the
different members of the family. The books will
give the readers new insights and ideas to ponder.”
26. Wörterbuch für Homöopathen,
Englisch-Deutsch, Deutsch-Englisch, by Günter
Joachim NEUMANN, Karl Haug Verlag,
Heidelberg 1997, Hardback, 320 pages, ISBN
37760 15713. 329.95: Review by Francis
TREUHERZ (HL. 16, 1/2003): “… there is no
doubt that this book is a scholarly edition, that the
author and compiler put some thirteen years of
loving care into the work, that it is beautifully
produced, and will last for years. And it will
undoubtedly help to read some German
Homeopathy books. But it also creates needless
difficulties.”
--------------------------------------------------------------
XII. NEWS & NOTES
I. The Simillimum, XVI, 4/2003 has published
‘Interviews’ with Dr. Rajan SANKARAN (‘There
is no Two’), and with Dr. Roger MORRISON (‘An
ever Deepening Path’) separately. The ‘Interviews’
have not been dated anywhere probably sometime
during late 2003. A gist.
Rajan reminisces about the state of
Homeopathy during the third quarter of the 20
th
century stagnation. Then there began a
renaissance and from different countries different
homœopaths came up in Europe, North America,
Argentina and Brazil and India of course.
The leaders of these renaissance carried
out their inquiries, experiments and then teaching
separately, each highlighting a particular
methodology. But the leader of this renaissance in
the west and consequently in other parts of the
World is George VITHOULKAS.
Although these leaders’ of the renaissance had
their own developed methodologies and perception
of the Provings, Materia medica and therapeutics,
they were all going towards a deeper understanding
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of the remedies and the sick patients, as Rajan
SANKARAN says.
Apart from VITHOULKAS, PASCHERO,
CANDEGABE, ORTEGA, Jeremy SHERR,
VASILIS GHEGAS who taught classical
Homeopathy, there was MASI ELIZALDE (who
expired on 23.7.2003) there was Rajan
SANKARAN who came up with his theory of
‘Delusion’ and then with ‘Miasms’ and ‘Kingdom’,
and Juergen BECKER who interpreted the
homœopathic Materia Medica with Fairy Tales and
Myths, Jan SCHOLTEN who brought in the
application of the Periodic Table, Joseph REEVES
of Israel who looked at the Organon in his own
way, Massimo MINGIALIAVORI who studied the
groups Spiders, Sea remedies, etc and included
‘signatures’, M.L. SEHGAL of India who taught
prescription by converting the common statements
of the patients into ‘Mindsymptoms and selected
the remedies from the ‘Mind’ Section of the
Repertory.
Rajan SANKARAN says ‘it seems like the
earlier generation wanted to reach the core of the
human and the next generation wanted to reach the
core of the substance themselves. The development
grew exponentially. The homœopathic software
kept up with the developments. He feels that the
idea of going to the deepest levels and to the
kingdom is now increasingly accepted and
practiced, and that this is renaissance. Rajan
SANKARAN finds his working with the repertory
very rewarding. He and his colleagues found that
the mind state is not merely a set of unconnected
attributes like jealousy, grief, etc, but is an
adaptation to a certain perceived situation. This
lead to the idea that the mind state is a reaction to a
delusion. Classification of delusions into types of
adaptive behaviours based on type of situation
perceived was equated to Miasms. Then came the
idea of kingdoms. He understood that there were
deeper levels than delusions, namely sensation and
energy. He felt that his success rates grew with the
ideas that developed over the years.
SANKARAN says that we treat the “states
of being”, the state of being within, the turmoil
within which is expressed in the mind, the body and
in each and every expression of the patient. You
may be having the pathology of Cancer but you
could be sycotic in your state. The way you
perceive reality might be completely sycotic. If
you feel fixed or stuck in a situation and you need
to cover up for that, your pathology could be
anything and you would still need a sycotic remedy.
SANKARAN refers to BŒNNINGHAUSEN
according to whom there is no local symptom at all,
everything is general. The symptom that is found
locally, expressed vividly, expressed with energy,
expressed with gestures of hands, is not local
anymore. You find that that which is expressed
locally, the sensation, will be the ruling sensation of
the whole case, through his emotions, through his
delusions, through his dreams, through his interests
and hobbies, through his relationships, through his
fears. When you go to the depth of all, you come to
the very same sensation. The very same pattern
pervades the entire story of the person from his
childhood until now and then you know you are
absolutely in the centre point because everything
leads over there.
SANKARAN does not subscribe to the ‘layer’
concept. [But then read Canon Upcher’s case in the
Introduction chapter of CLARKE’s Prescriber
where he gives ‘layer’ remedies and cures rapidly.
= KSS]. If there are five different expressions in a
given moment, the whole thing is the expression of
one, there is no two. The totality of symptoms, the
complete expression of the disease in the moment,
is an expression of one disturbance.
If you go to the depth of the person, you see
the main switch, which in one flick makes all the
individual bulbs light up.
There is no distinction of ‘fundamentalist’
vs ‘innovators’ since the motives of all are the same
fundamentally – a remedy that will heal the patient.
We need not separate ourselves into islands. There
is an innovator in a fundamentalist and there is a
fundamentalist in an innovator. They are two
essential parts of the human being. You need to
have your house and go out too. If we deny one
part of us, then there is division. When you fight
something outside of you, you actually fight
something inside of you.
The Interview with Dr. Roger MORRISON is also
quite interesting:
Roger explains how he came into
Homeopathy, about his study with George
VITHOULKAS in Greece during 1982-84. He
learnt Greek before he went to study with
VITHOULKAS.
He says that in Greece he saw Homœopathy at
a much higher trend than what he had been
practicing; the consistency of results in
VITHOULKAS’ hands was astonishing and he
hadn’t that consistency of results with anybody
else. “It was totally mind blowing to be there and
see that.” The clinic of VITHOULKAS was very
large, 30 doctors working full time it was a huge
operation. They were seeing anywhere from 30 to
50 new patients a day, six days a week. In two
years Roger was well trained in VITHOULKAS’
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METHODOLOGY. The prescription was very
analytical. It was based on very detailed and
elaborate repertorization of all the key
characteristics that the person presented. Then the
analysis was done with strong emphasis on the
peculiar symptoms, just as HAHNEMANN teaches
and the results were just wonderful.
VITHOULKAS was a wonderful teacher;
extremely patient, extremely generous to all the
doctors at the clinic. VITHOULKAS was available
24 hours a day, seven days a week. He was always
there to help even at the middle of the night.
VITHOULKAS and others lectured extensively. It
was all a very rich experience.
Regarding the ‘Essences’ prescribing, it was
not actually the teaching of VITHOULKAS. It was
Bill GRAY who came back from Greece and spoke
about essences which was one of the concepts of
VITHOULKAS which he explained to Bill GRAY
Essence was never VITHOULKAS’ exclusive
focus. That was just the ways it was interpreted by
some like Bill GRAY, Roger MORRISON, etc.
VITHOULKAS would coach on reading all the
classic Materia Medicas KENT, LIPPE,
FARRINGTON, BOERICKE et al. At least ten
different authors. The training was thorough.
On return to California in USA, MORRISON
found that whereas while in Greece seventy percent
of the cases he got did remarkably well, it was not
in the USA; it was a much lower percentage than in
Greece. It seems to be due to a different population
in California. Probably the American patients
through suppression by allopathic medication,
through vaccination, through being over-
mentalized, were just more difficult to be treated
than the patients he had in Greece.
The next thing in his life Roger MORRISON
says was his introduction to Dr. Rajan
SANKARAN. He has studied with SANKARAN
for some years 8 or 9 years and he says that
SANKARAN was not theorizing not speculating
etc. but is one of the most rigorous persons he has
known. SANKARAN asked insistently for the
exact experience that the patient has, letting the
patients bring out their story through these
strategies allowing the patients to tell their exact
experience.
MORRISON says that while SANKARAN
was responsible for misinterpretation of
VITHOULKAS, VITHOULKAS was responsible
for misinterpreting SANKARAN. In the large
number of cases in practice where the usual tools
are not sufficient SANKARAN added another tool
in the kit for finding the simillimum through very
careful eliciting of the exact experience that the
patient has on an inner dimension.
As example MORRISON mentions a Thea
case. Using the methodology learned from
SANKARAN has added a significant number of
cures, real cures in his patient population.
SANKARAN is a person of high integrity. He is
not telling these things in order to get famous. It is
hard to argue with results. There are those who
make many theoretical objections rather than have
enough humility to just look and see what are the
results that he is getting with this methodology.
Regarding Jan SCHOLTEN’s work
MORRISON argues in favour. MORRISON says
that we don’t want to base prescriptions on
speculation, there are times when we may be forced
into that. [His apology for using remedies not
proven is very weak. Using a not proven remedy
may be exceptionbut not regular. We cannot let
in medicine after medicine synthetically
conceptualized in the mind of someone howsoever
intelligent he may be. Then these non-proven
remedies would become the rule and the old proved
and proven remedies would vanish. Would we still
call it Homœopathy? = KSS.]
II. Meeting: Homeopathy in the view of Dental
Doctors not only for Dental Physicians, in
Koethen, 23-25, May 2003: (AHZ. 248, 4/2003):
About 40 participants gathered on a Friday evening
in sunshine. Dr. Heiner KUHN spoke on
“Knowledge of the Disease through
Homœopathic Thinking”. He explained
Immanuel KANT’s concept of Science, many
Aphorisms of the Organon and clarified that the
unknown Sickness which we with our search for
symptoms and signs in the anamnesis approach in
analogy/similarity with wellknown medicine and
through the analogy reach to a good healing.
Next day: Dr. KLAUS-ROMAN HÖR
(Formation of teeth and Miasms, Tongue diagnosis,
Aphthae) and Dr. Heinz-Werner FELDHAUS
(Carbo vegetabilis and Carbo animalis in
comparison, Calcium carbonicum and children-
constitution-medicine).
In the noon interval many visited the
Hahnemann house. The restoration work was
going on.
On Sunday “Introduction in the method of
BŒNNINGHAUSEN” by Hans-Ulrich
GOSMANN rounded up the Meeting.
Earlier in the morning there was a lecture by
Dr. Heiner KUHN and Claudia HESSE in the
Lutze Clinic.
III. Neue Stratigien in der Krebs-Behandlung”
von A.U. Ramakrishnan. Ein kommentierter
Seminarbericht. (“New Strategies in Cancer
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treatment” by A.U.Ramakrishnan, A seminar
Report with Comments) Ingrid RESCH and Uwe
FRIEDRICH (ZKH. 47, 3/2003) On 14/15 June
2003 there was a Seminar in Berne with
A.U.RAMAKRISHNAN. His earlier seminar with
D. SPINEDI and his book a Homœopathic
Approach to Cancer created the curiosity
whether the fascinating results mentioned in these
places could be followed. The enormous
experience of RAMAKRISHNAN (over 7000
patients treated) the often cured cases reported
stimulated in attending the Seminar.
The questions and answers as is usual in
Seminars were also there.
He began with introduction to Indian
Philosophy; the importance of inner values were
stressed. Meditation helps cure of every sickness.
Important is self-realisation “Who am I?” before
the physician begins his treatment. “Homeopathy
comes only next”.
RAMAKRISHNAN’s sister and brother both
homœopathic physicians died of Cancer in spite of
homœopathic treatment.
In treating Cancer patients he had better results
with the Organ related” remedies rather than the
“Simillimum”. In 1994, he began the “Plussing
method”. And also alternating the medicines. He
used Nosodes, alternating with the indicated
medicine. He used mainly Medorrhinum,
Tuberculinum, Syphilinum, the Cancer Nosode
Carcinosinum and Scirrhinum. With Carcinosin
and Scirrhinum the actions of the chosen remedy
worked better.
In the first week he gave in “Plussing Method”
the indicated medicine and in the second week
alternated with the Cancer Nosode, in the third
week again repeat the first week’s, then again the
Cancer Nosode. The medicines were given mostly
in the 200 Potency.
RAMAKRISHNAN mentioned his most often
used remedies as also the “Organ specific”
remedies in Cancer treatment.
Further careful study of these remedies in
the Materia Medica is necessary.
Arsenicum album: In acute and chronic cases.
Fever, Pain, Vomiting, Diarrhoea, Asthma, Skin
eruptions, Weakness, End states.
Arsenicum bromatum: Cancer and Diabetes. Great
action on Glands. In acne. Skin and glands are
affected. Pancreas, Parotis, Morbus Hodgkins,
Indurated glands. Ill effects of radiation, also in
post-operative lymphatic swellings.
Aurum muriaticum: Reccuring Stomatitis,
hardened Ulcers on tongue or cheeks. Cancer of
tongue, Leucoplakia. Lichen of the oral cavity.
Baryta iodata: Another specific for glands,
Morbus Hodgkin. Glands in throat, Tonsils,
Adenoids, Salivary glands. Children with Tonsil
problems. Very burning remedy like Sulphur.
Cadmium sulphuratum: Extreme weakness,
exhaustion, lies quietly (opposite of Arsenicum).
Tiredness, vomiting, very chilly.
Cadmium bromatum: Cancer of stomach with
blackish vomit.
Cadmium iodatum: Tenesmus, distended
abdomen, Morbus Hodgkin.
Carcinosinum: This remedy should not be used at
the initial state of Cancer. RAMAKRISHNAN
gives it in the latter states. He presented a case of
Carcinoma of the Oesophagus in which nothing
helped and he gave Carcinosinum. The patient
recovered and lived for nine more months. This
encouraged him to experiment further. He said that
he has not at all seen a negative result of
Carcinosinum-dose.
In the Materia Medica we find blue sclera,
plenty of Moles (birth marks, raised pigmented
naevi). Sleeplessness, blinking eyes.
RAMAKRISHNAN prescribes it often in children
between 3 and 19 years, with Tics (e.g. twitching of
the shoulders or throat), blinking of eyes. Is a
fantastic medicine for Tics.
Whooping cough, Pneumonia. For children
whose parents are very demanding. e.g. Jehovah’s
witness, very ethical, dogmatic parents. Takes
much effort to satisfy others, fights to be a
perfectionist. Sufferer from long ill-luck.
Children very sensitive, register everything,
disturbed sleep, fear of being punished, sexually
abused, fear of being wrecked. The expectation of
the parents are too high.
Sensitive to reproofs. Quickly offended.
Aversion to consolation. Harshness. Masturbation
early. Responsibility early. Thumbsucking,
Enuresis. The child is tossed hither and thither
between two values.
Workaholic. Much responsibility. Progressive
and impatient.
Anticipatory stress. Anxiety about the
illnesses of family members.
Critical. Difficult to be satisfied. Vain and
exacting. Can also be disorderly.
Washes the hands often. Furniture perfect.
Love of nature. Artistic. Children are unmindful,
very quarrelsome.
Relationship to music and rhythm. Dances
happily. Recalls Sepia, Natrum muriaticum and
Tuberculinum. Alopecia circinata. Has the
maximum similarity to Argentum nitricum.
Condurango: Fissures, Ulcers, Stricture of
Oesophagus, Cancer of Stomach.
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Conium maculatum: Chest (Breast), Liver,
Prostate, all glands. When a Tumor is hard like a
stone. Nodes in the breast. Fibro-adenoma,
Chronic Mastitis (like Phytolacca). Chronic
remedy of Aconitum. Deeper action on the Nervous
system.
Euphorbium officinarum: Burning pains like
Sulphur and Arsenicum. Severe bone pains, Cancer
pains, better from cold applications. Cannot be
cured, can only palliate.
Hecla lava: (contains Silicea, Alumina,
Magnesium): Very impressive action on the jaw
bone, in Exostosis, Heel Spur, Osteosarcoma.
Stimulates the bone marrow in Leukaemia.
Hippozaenium: Nosode of Glanders disease.
RAMAKRISHNAN uses it since the last two years
in AIDS, Epithelioma, Skin inflammation,
Abscesses, Furuncles, large skin lesions.
Hydrastis Canadensis: Acts particularly on the
mucous membranes, produces thick, yellowish,
stringy discharges, Alcoholism, Jaundice, Lip
Cancer, precancerous state. Dyspepsia, swelled
large tongue, impressions of tongue. Sinking
hungry feeling without appetite, empty feeling.
Kali salts (Kali sulphuricum, iodatum,
muriaticum, bromatum): Mucous membranes
affected, Epilepsy. Glands infection, Irritability,
aggravation from 2 to 5 hours. Ear-nose-throat-
region. Greeny discharge from ears (Kali
muriaticum)
Magnesium phosphoricum: Colics, Neuralgias,
Spasms. Babies which keep on crying, In hot water
solution.
Opium: Pain overcome by stupor, suppressed state
of anxiety. Other anxiety remedies, Aconite
(sudden anxiety, e.g. in a road accident mental
shock), Phosphorus.
Ornithogalum umbellatum: Stomach Cancer,
narrowing of the Pylorus, coffee-ground-like vomit,
reflex-like, complete prostration.
Phytolacca decandra: Affinity to the glands,
mammary glands, Lymphadinitis, Mastitis from
nursing (Case from TYLER: a growth in the
Antrum of the Highmore was cured by Phytolacca).
Plumbum metallicum: Cramps and Constipation,
progressive muscle atrophy, contrary states, all
worse from mental exertion.
Plumbum iodatum: Consequences of lesions on
head, Astrocytoma, Glioblastoma, Tumors of Nerve
cells, also with loss of Myelin, Cerebral Atrophy,
Morbus Alzheimer, Multiple Sclerosis.
Radium bromatum: Bad effects of radiation,
arthritic pains, dry skin, necrosis.
Sabal serrulata: Specific Prostate remedy. Reduces
the PSA-antigen, Prostate Cancer.
Scirrhinum: is close to Phosphorus, desires cold
drinks, much anxiety, Haemorrhoids. Glands and
Nodes are stone hard (Conium). Necrotic masses,
very hard. Ringworms. Thread worms.
Scrophularia nodosa: (contains Magnesium and
Silicea) Fantastic gland remedy, Morbus Hodgkins,
Eczema, Dermatitis, Mastitis, Asthma,
Haemorrhoids, Vertigo, feels always sleepy like
Nux moschata. Deeply acting medicine, Tubular
Adenitis, Glands are like Gummy not stonehard.
Strontium carbonicum: Bone medicine, primary
and secondary bone tumors. Osteomalacia,
Osteoblastoma.
Symphytum officinale: Fracture of bones which do
not heal, old and recent fractures. Acts on the
Periosteum (Ruta in inflammatory bones).
Osteosarcoma, Osteoporosis. Also useful in
Leukaemia.
Terebinthiniae oleum: useful in Albuminuria,
Cystitis, Urethritis, Dysuria, Chronic Cystitis,
involuntary urination.
Thuja occidentalis: Warts, Condyloma, Malignant
Neoplasms, Moles. Asthma, which has been
treated for long with Cortison. Colitis ulcerosa.
Some hints:
In Leukoplakia in the vaginal wall or ano-rectal
Aurum muriaticum given in 8 of 10 cases
produced good reactions.
Aurum muriaticum natronatum is a fantastic
medicine for the uterine tract, in particular Pap
smear as also Ovary Cancer.
Preventive is given in C200 after the “Split
dose method”, i.e. 3 dry globules morning,
midday, evening and night. Repetition after
a week for 8 weeks, the control study of the
result.
Arsenicum iodatum is a “homœopathic
antibiotic” in the D3 or D6 thrice or four times
daily 2 tablets. In Gangrene, Ulcers,
Infections.
RAMAKRISHNAN gives Cina mother
tincture for 15 days 6 drops daily in worm
cases.
In dry cough he gave Spongia C30. Gave it
often to children, nightly aggravation with
throat ailments.
Iodum and Spongia are complementary, can
work together in thyroid gland.
In alternating complaints Oophorinum C30
(from healthy ovarian extract) 3 pills daily for
3 months, should act on the heat waves, dry
vagina, Osteoporosis.
Polyps on vocal chords: good reaction from
Argentum nitricum. Expectoration greenish.
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Sanguinaria: Flatulence, Pains right shoulder,
right elbows, right-sided headaches, Anti-
inflammatory medicine, Cellulitis
Osteoarthritis, Polyarthritis, Mammary
inflammations. Cough, much mucous
expelled. Bronchial Carcinoma, bright red
blood like Phosphorus fresh blood flakes when
coughing. A very useful medicine for different
states.
In Precancerous preventive work, only
homœopathic, “split dose method”.
When the Cancer has been detected quite
early only few weeks old, then only
Homeopathy.
In the treatment bear in mind the secondary
focus, not the primary.
In lesions in the Liver, not much time more, the
prognosis is bad.
In small nodes when the patients are persuaded
to undergo operation, then Homœopathy.
Good results were observed by him in the
following tumours: Cheek, Tongue,
Oesophagus, head of Pancreas, Rectum,
Ovaries, Cervix of the uterus, Bladder,
Prostate, Mammae.
Less good even the results in Stomach
tumours, intestine, uterus (the Tumor develop
long in a cavity) Kidney Carcinoma,
Leukaemia.
He used the “plussing method” for 6-8 months.
He saw no proving symptoms and
aggravations.
Prostate Cancer: In men the frequent Cancer.
RAMAKRISHNAN recommends, in increased
PSA (Prostate-specific Antigen) to give
preventively and able to stop further growth with
Sabal serrulata, with developing tumour Thuja
occidentalis, Conium remains a very specific
remedy for Cancer of Prostate, which brings down
the PSA. Frequently used remedies: Sabal
serrulata, Thuja, Carcinosin, Barium carbonicum,
Staphisagria, Pulsatilla, Lycopodium, Solidago.
Urinary incontinence after Prostatectomy:
Verbascum thapsus: for use continuously in
drops.
Causticum: Paralysis of the sphincter muscles.
Argentum nitricum: Pain at the end of the
urination.
Rhus aromatica: Pain in the beginning of
urination.
Gelsemium: a funny sensation at the end of
urination.
Hepar sulphuricum: Very severe pain.
Solidago: Blood in urine.
Staphisagria: In Prostate operations, when the
sphincter was dilated.
Sarsaparilla: Cannot hold urine while standing, but
in sitting (opposite Zincum: Urine flows when
sitting).
In severe inflammatory states of the bladder,
Terebinthena to be given.
When there is growth, Thuja. Conium are seldom
in Bladder problems.
Breast Cancer: Frequent tumour of the woman,
RAMAKRISHNAN said that he always
recommended first operation, and then
homœopathic treatment. He does not recommend
Chemotherapy and radiation. “When a node is
taken out, one should let it so.”
The risk is very high, that in State I which was
being treated and develops to State III when being
treated and a metastasis develops. One could be
given then the SCHÜSSLER-salts, at the same
time. Or give it in D6 to suit state. Calcium
fluoratum D6 is very helpful in pains, Silicea D6, in
Sciatica, Natrum muriaticum D6 in skin problems.
In Liver metastasis he prescribes Chelidonium
mother tincture morning and evening.
In bone pains Aurum metallicum D6.
His main remedies: Conium, Pulsatilla,
Phosphorus, Natrum muriaticum, Sepia,
Staphisagria, Thuja, Barium iodatum, Sanguinaria,
Arsenicum album.
Some cases:
A young girl with a stony hard node in the
breast, refused an operation. She received
Conium and Scirrhinum C200 in alternation
according to the plussing method.” Later she
received in “Plussing method” Sepia. The
patient did well.
Man with Astrocytoma, received Plumbum
iodatum with Carcinosinum C200 and
Schirrhinum in alternation in “Plussing
method”. Good progress.
Youngster 10 year-age. Astrocytoma. High
aggravation from milk. Received Aethusa
C200 in alternation with Carcinosinum C200.
The youth became free from symptoms and
remained healthy. (Aethusa: the eyes roll
downward, very important medicine in brain
tumor, uncontrolled vomiting without nausea:
Sign of suppression of brain).
Summary:
RAMAKRISHNAN impressed in two days
Seminar not only homœopathic knowledge,
but with his philosophic attitudes on life and
disease. His lecture was lively; he invited
questions more often and took part with the
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participants in the intervals. He invited
them to his Practice where about 300
ambulant patients are treated per day.
Many patients given up by Hospitals attend
his clinic.
Whether RAMAKRISHNAN’s success
can be used by us here (Germany) is an open
question.
Annotations:
1. In the University Womens clinic,
Heidelberg we hold Seminars for Cancer
patients for the reasons that it would open
up for them for the first time a perspective
with the possibilities of Meditation and
other exercises to remove the anxiety to as
much as possible. According to our
observations the homœopathically treated
patients were more free and their psychic
and spiritual development were good.
2. It cannot be concluded that in many
women Breast Cancer patients there was
marietal problems. Equally senseless and
unhomœopathic are the instructions to
give Carcinosinum as indicated medicine.
3. Regarding the “Plussing method” and the
“Split dose method”: In “Plussing
Method” three globules of a medicine is
dissolved in 11 coffee-spoonful or
tablespoonful water. The patient, after
stirring, takes every 10-20 minutes one
spoonful, 10 times. The remaining
solution is next day filled with ten spoons
of water. Again taking ten times, and so
on. This lasts one week, then alternate
with the other medicine. In between the
10 doses taken in a day should not take
coffee, tea, alcohol or cola. In regard to
the “Split dose method”
RAMAKRISHNAN gives the selected
medicine 4 times a day, e.g. morning, mid-
day, evening and night, three globules
everytime, dry on the tongue, thus 12
globules per day. After 1 or 2 weeks or
monthly alternate with the Nosode. For
example, on day 1 and 30 Thuja, day 15
and 45 Carcinosinum, so on.
4. Since a general classification of all
malignancies in the tumour state 1-4, has
not been defined, this classification by
RAMAKRISHNAN may be on the
allopathic ideas.
5. It is the great merit of RAMAKRISHNAN
to have brought out so many often
incompletely depicted medicines, Cancer
specific medicines for homœopathic
treatment which are of great value.
6. RAMAKRISHNAN gives Scirrhinum
before Carcinosinum when the tumour is
very hard or Liver is involved.
7. This is an example for the limitation of
much assertions about the effectiveness of
homœopathic treatment in the under-35
year-age. In these patients spontaneous
normalization of striking PAP-finding
occurs in over 70%. To attribute the
effects following this to homœopathic
treatment a comparison of hundreds of
patients treated must be made.
8. With stricter observation of
RAMAKRISHNAN’s prescription, we
have repeatedly seen clearly the worsening
of the patients, particularly if the Cancer
complaint had advanced and the patient’s
energy was low. In these cases we may
“plus” only for 2, 3 or 4 days and pass the
other days of the week, then start the
alternation next week. And the tolerance
of one medicine to the other could be
compared, for which one remedy is taken
for only two days and the alternating
medicine however for seven days.
Another problem comes forth in many
patients with regard to compliance. To
keep in mind that one should take the
medicine every day every 1-2 hours is
often not possible. To solve this problem
“plussing” our patients have been taking
since many years one spoon every ten
minutes, ten doses within an hour and half.
RAMAKRISHNAN is not dogmatic in
this.
9. That the SCHÜSSLER salts act only at
physical levels is a theory whose
significance for Cancer treatment is
unclear. Many homœopathic Cancer
therapists like BURNETT, SCHLEGEL,
STOCKEBRAND and others have
successfully treated Cancer with low
potencies. Naturally at physical level
because the dissolution of the tumour can
be seen only at that, i.e. physical. The
SCHÜSSLER salts may be such
medicines. It is problematic to accept that
a favourable influence of Cancer can be
obtained by the alternating method
explained above, e.g. the chronic medicine
with Carcinosinum, when simultaneously
SCHÜSSLER salts were also given. In
1987 a working group from
VITHOULKAS teaching claimed that they
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had treated successfully intestinal and lung
Cancer with homœopathic medicines
chosen on “essence” of the case. Cancer
Nosode were not given practically. All the
patients however took SCHÜSSLER salts.
[Each practitioner follows his/her own method
and claim satisfactory results. How do these help
other Practitioners? It is believed that case reports
presented in Seminars and in Journals would help
the readers. How much of the teachings in
Organon’, Chronic Diseasesaccord with these
methodologies? Or are Organon’, Chronic
Diseases irrelevant and do not apply to Cancer?
Baffling! = KSS]
IV. They want to mould me: Inula
helenium. Review by C. CHEMLA By way of
introduction, the case of a woman is described: she
suffered from Osteomyelitis and itching of lower
limbs before her menses. She was a nun who did
not accept all the rules of her superior, she did not
want to go into the mould of her community. Inula
helenium 15 CH, then 30CH, was prescribed
because of the symptom ‘extremities, itching, lower
limbs, before menses’, and cured the case.
The Materia Medica of this medicine is then
described: pains as if a finger was driven in various
parts of the body; feeling of something alive in
abdomen, bearing-down sensation in genitals and
rectum, dry cough with constant tickling in throat
pit or chronic bronchitis, chattering of teeth from
cold during menses. Two other clinical cases
conclude this article, with the same mind symptom:
both patients had the feeling they were locked in a
mould. (CGH. 2003; 3: 101-110 in
HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003).
V. Timothy Fior thanks the Editor for raising the
issue of CME credits to Complementary and
Alternative Medicine courses. Only by constantly
reminding these accrediting organizations of the
scientific validity and safety of Homœopathy will
more licensed practitioners have access to
homœopathic education. (HT. 22, 9/2002)
VI. New Zealand Council of Homeopaths
Conference. Reported by Julian WINSTON.
(HT. 22, 9/2002).
The two day conference was held on June 15-
16, 2002, in Napier. Alastair GRAY, focussed on
the difficulties of getting men into homœopathic
treatment and then getting them to be compliant.
Graham McLAUCHLAN, discussed about the use
of LM potencies, the beauty of being able to let the
patient moderate the dose.
Angela HAIR, discussed a case of Crotalus
cascavella for stomach cramps arrived through
dreams of hairy spiders and a desire to withdraw to
a place of safety within the self.
Leila JOFFE, discussed about her busy
children’s clinic, where she got good insights by
asking them, “what dreams would you not like to
have?” Margaret LOUGHNAN, discussed the use
of Calculus renalis in chronic conditions and acute
flare-ups of kidney stone colic.
Joseph ROZENCWAJG, presented a case of 62
year-old male with “intermittent claudication” of
few years duration. What was missed by GP’s and
vascular surgeon was vitamin B deficiency
leading to peripheral neuropathy. The B
12
level
measurement proved to close to zero and improved
immediately after substitution. He questions how
this case could have been helped by Homœopathy
and quotes §77, in support.
Nicki WALKER discussed the treatment of
whooping cough.
VII. Report on a presentation by Anne
SCHADDE. QUIRK, Tina. (HT. 22, 9/2002).
German homœopath Anne SCHADDE
reviewed cases of Prunus spinosa, Zingiber,
Beryllium, and Stannum using Jungian philosophy
and Hellinger’s family theory.
A man suffering from eye pain following an
injury, in addition to neuralgic headache which
caused him to tighten up his face, was cured by
Prunus spinosa. The key was his dreams of black
thorn plums.
A case of Sciatica, unable to rise from sitting
because of lack of muscle tone, was helped by
Zingiber by using the rubrics “back pain, drawing,
lumbar, sitting erect < and standing < ”.
A woman whose tonsils were so swollen
causing her to tilt her head to the side to breathe,
who had Tuberculosis of bone as a child, tinnitus
was relieved by Beryllium, using Scholten’s
method.
VIII. Treating serious neurological conditions
with Homœopathy – Report on a presentation by
Dr.A.U. RAMAKRISHNAN. IHRIG, Sybil. (HT.
22, 10/2002). Dr. RAMAKRISHNAN stresses
the integrated approach of obtaining biomedical
diagnosis and monitoring the patient’s progress
with confirmatory testing methods whenever
feasible, to prevent the mismanagement of cases
with serious pathology, and give a realistic
prognosis as a complete cure is not possible at all
stages.
He stressed that he is not teaching strictly
‘physical’ or ‘pathological’, method of prescribing.
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A handful of remedies yield good results in a
majority of cases of a specific condition because
those remedies have a historically proven affinity
for certain tissues or biological processes, or
because they strongly correspond to mental or
general symptoms experienced by patients with that
disease.
Multiple sclerosis
Acon. and Bell. early stage of Multiple
sclerosis and acute exacerbations.
Caust., Con., Plb. and Plb-i. - later stages.
Carc. – intercurrent.
Myasthenia gravis
Gels. and Dig. – acute crisis stage.
Caust., Con., Cupr., Phys., Plb. Chronic
manifestations.
Parkinson’s disease
Agar., Lach., Mang. acet., Hyos., Stram.,
Verat., Op., Phos., Con., Gels., and Lyc.
IX. Why are so many doctors resistant to
change? ROWE, Todd. (HT. 22, 11/2002). The
author feels that shame is one of the major factors
preventing the greater acceptance of Homœopathy
in the world today. Shame is a basic emotion that
is directly related to embarrassment, humiliation,
chagrin and guilt, which all represent an injury or
insult to ego.
The key to deal the problem of shame in health
care is to recognize it, confront it and embrace the
antidote to shame – wonder.
X. The Bali tragedy. (HT. 22, 11/2002) The
deadly bombings in the Indonesian island of Bali
on 12.10.02, left 200 dead and 300 injured. Roger
MORRISON and Nancy HERRICK who were
there tended the victims with remedies, Arnica and
Aconite 200 for trauma and shock.
XI. Hazards of antibiotic overuse by DOOLEY,
Timothy R.(HT. 22, 11/2002) Homeopathic
treatment offers healthy alternative. Antibiotic
overuse causes immune dysfunction in many cases.
Their immune systems appear to have a blunted
ability to deal with challenges resulting in recurrent
illness.
He presents case of a child who was
constantly ill inspite of antibiotics. After
homœopathic treatment, he is gradually getting
stronger, having less frequent illnesses, and
recovering from those he does contract more
quickly.
Indications of Belladonna in acute viral
and bacterial illnesses associated with high fever
and of Pulsatilla in middle ear infection are given.
XII. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) cites antibiotic overuse as
one of the world’s most pressing public health
problems. Virtually all bacterial infections are
becoming resistant. (HT. 22, 11/2002).
XIII. NCH Annual Conference Report. April
2002. Phoenix – Sybil IHRIG. (HT. 22, 11/2002).
Will Taylor’s understanding of Miasms, the roots
of chronic disease is discussed here.
XIV. Ninth Annual Irish Homœopathic
Conference, Galway, Ireland. June 28 30, 2002.
Report by Jonice OWEN. (HT. 22, 11/2002) Nuala
EISING presented the proving of Mobile phone
emission (! = KSS). Janet SNOWDON presented
Heroin, Rebecca PRESTON and Susan PIHL
presented Amethyst, and Declan HAMMOND
presented Tabernanthe iboga Emlyn THOMAS,
discussed his treatment of mountain climbing and
sports injuries.
XV. Editorial by Neil TESSLER. (SIM. XVI,
3/2003). The editor feels we must find a new way
to discuss and actually address differences in the
Profession, appreciating the sincere efforts of so
many individuals walking essentially the same path.
He has given few suggestions.
XVI. Rajan Sankaran at ESALEN-2003.
MILLER, John. (SIM. XVI, 4/2003) The Seminar
focused on the ‘seven levels’ of how patients
experience and express their disease state. A very
useful and practical insight into the hand gestures
of patients was illuminating. Understanding and
utilizing the levels assists the practitioner in
determining not only the remedy but also the
potency and it helps in establishing prognosis and
evaluation during follow up.
I level Patients experience their disease only
as a name.
II level Patients experience their condition in
terms of symptoms and sensations.
III level Patients predominately express how
it feels. Emotional component is clear.
IV level Delusion. Patients experience their
conditions ‘as if’.
V level Vital sensation. Speaks directly to
Miasm, Kingdom and Family and the exact source
of remedy. Hand gestures.
VI level Level of Energy and is beyond
individual Kingdom or Families.
VII level Beyond human comprehension;
necessary to complete the model.
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XVII. Aspects of chest pain (HOMEOPATHY,
92, 3/2003) Dr. W. Thomson WALKER writes
about the possible sources of origin of pain in the
chest and suggests the key to the solution lies in
knowledge of pain pathways of the viscera. He
quotes Sir James Mackenzie, who taught that the
Theory of Disturbed Reflexes was the foundation of
the symptom in the disease. (BHJ. July, 1983 in
HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003). [This article is given
in full in Part II = KSS]
XVIII. You said greedy? Or the ravages of
Artemis COQUEREL G.V.
A clinical case of a greedy newborn child
suffering from colic leads to the description of
Artemisia abrotanum which is also a medicine for
chilblains and for gluten intolerance like Silicea.
(L’Homeopathie Europeenne 2003: in
HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003)
XIX. Cinnabaris: Clinical case and reminder of
Materia Medica COLIN P.
A woman with insomnia, who suspected her
husband of infidelity was prescribed Cinnabaris on
the basis of Scholten’s book. Cinnabaris is
appropriate when a partner fears to losing his
position in the society or losing his partner.
(L’Homéopathie Européenne 2003: in
HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003)
XX. Repertories: How far can you trust them?
B. BARWELL . The author feels that “… the actual
source of a repertory entry must be checkable..” He
gives few examples. (Homoeopathica 2002; 22:
11-15, in HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003)
XXI. Bitter Melon holds hope for treating
Diabetes.
A dramatic hypoglycaemic response was noted
by the use of Momordica charantia probably due to
the existence of Insulin like molecules in it.
(Homoeopathica 2002; 22: 16-21, in
HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003).
XXII. Veterinary chronic case.
SALVODELLI M.
A 5-year-old horse would become suddenly
wild and aggressive. He would rear up and try to
trample the rider and no one could ride him.
Hyoscyamus was (7, 9, 12, 15 and 30) every 10
days. Two years later, no problem. In the second
part, main symptoms of the remedy are recalled:
never forgets a betrayal, but often deceive others.
(Les Echos du Center Liegeois d’Homeopathie
2002; in HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003).
XXIII. The Challenges of Clinical Case
Reporting. Delphi Project Conference, London,
2 April 2003. Report by Cees BAAS,
(HOMEOPATHY, 92, 4/2003)
Five main challenges in Clinical Case Research
encountered by the Delphi Project are discussed.
1. How to communicate a case
2. What criteria to observe
3. How to meta analyse cases
4. Ethical aspects of homœopathic clinical case
research
5. Peer review of homœopathic cases
XXIV. Survey on homœopathic doctors’ the
treatment of warts JOUSSET C.
The survey showed 60% of 66 doctors use one
or several of the six most frequently prescribed
medicines (Antimonium crudum, Dulcamara,
Natrum sulfuricum, Silicea, Staphysagria, Thuja).
In all 30 medicines are mentioned, including
Ferrum picricum, Anacardium, Ruta and Spigelia.
(L’Homeopathie Europenne 2003: in
HOMEOPATHY, 92, 3/2003).
XXV. 58
th
Liga Congress: Dr. Richard
HILTNER, National vice-president to LIGA
offers a thorough report of the proceedings of
the 58
th
congress of LIGA in Austria. Principle
topics covered were: Families of Homeopathic
remedies, The Homœopathic Family Doctor,
Lectures for Pharmacists and Veterinary Surgeons,
Integration of Homœopathy into Public Health
Service, Research, Provings.
XXVI. Corallium rubrum, RAMANATHAN A.N.
For some years now, prescribers rarely see
Whooping cough cases and naturally Coral rub
fade out of their minds. Yet scores of grown-ups
cough and move about with a perpetual cold,
hemming and hawking, cursing the polluted city air
and the acrid odour of mosquito repellents. Day in
and day out, the post nasal spaces are irritated and
they react with a non-stop post-nasal drip.
Fortunately they can find relief from a few doses of
Coral rub 6 and an occasional dose of Merc-iod-
rub for the sore throat.
The pleasing red colour of Coral interested
HAHNEMANN. He leached the colouring matter
by boiling with etheric oils which left the corals
white and etheric oil red. HAHNEMANN thought
that the red organic matter contributed nothing to
the proving of Coral rub.
A heap of corals remind a medical man of a
bunch of RBC under the microscope and yet the
thought did not arise in homœopathic circles that
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they might be witnessing an example of ‘Nature’s
signature’. On the other hand, Gem therapists
believe that Corals worn next to the skin offered
protection against disease.
In 1993 Doctors SUDHAKEAR and others
(Antiseptic, Nov 1993) tied a string of corals
weighing 15 grams around the bare arm of three
patients who had gross elevation of RBC and
platelets counts. After 6 months of continual wear,
all the counts got normalized. These three cases of
Polycythaemia Rubra Vera were properly
documented. In this disease, symptoms are
produced in all the systems of the body because of
increased viscosity of the blood, sludging of the
cells and general lowering of blood supply to the
parts.
Inert substances worn next to the skin are
known to act curatively when their potencies are
homœopathic to the case. E.W.HUBBARD
remarked that the few cases which got relief from
cramps and spasms after wearing copper bangles
needed copper potencies even at start. As for
Coral-rub. the findings of Drs. SUDHAKEAR and
others would suggest exploration of fresh fields for
the clinical application of Coral-rub., some of
which are listed below:
Full blooded arteriosclerotic hypertensives
with well-controlled B.P. may have a better sense
of well being if a mild drop in their RBC and
platelet count is gently brought about to secure a
better cerebral perfusion. Such a measure may also
help in preventing recurrences of Transient
Ischaemic Attacks (T.I.As.) Persons with low BP
later developing cerebral arteriosclerosis may have
fewer blackouts and feel steadier on their feet after
Coral-rub. potencies reduce blood viscosity. These
are indeed great expectations and there is hope this
will be fulfilled.
XXVII. On 20 August 2003 a memorial Plaque
for HAHNEMANN was opened in Brunswick.
The Plaque was sculpted by Magnus KLEINE-
TEBBE. A Fest-meeting was arranged in the
Town Museum. Mrs. LODHOFF the Chairperson
of the Homœopathic Association of Salzgitter and
the Mayor spoke; also Fest-speech by Dr.ZELL on
“Hahnemann’s-similie Principle” was there. The
Plaque was funded by Dr.Wigand BOHLMANN
and the Homœopathic Association of Salzgilter.
HAHNEMANN was in Braunschweig from
1795 to 1796. (AHZ. 248, 6/2003)
[HAHNEMANN wrote the Essay ‘Description of
Klockenbring during his insanity’ while at
Braunschweig.=KSS]
XXVIII. In the Editorial, CCR. 10, 2/2003 Dr.
MISTRY discusses certain important ideas. What
baffles is the methodologies adopted by some of
our colleagues who get very impressive results
indeed. Dr. MISTRY rightly says that some are
drawn, perhaps unconsciously to the glamour,
personality and charisma of these “senior renowned
practitioners.” Does anybody really understand?
“see” and “know” how a patient gets healed? he
asks. Since homœopathic remedies transcended the
material molecular world, no one can say, as of
now, how the healing happens. However, with
regard to the methodologies of different
practitioners, it is somewhat akin to different
people agreeing to the principle of one God but
following different paths claiming their own paths
to be the only right one. [SEHGAL’s
‘rediscovered method, as if we had lost
Homeopathy for lack of ‘method’ (and since when
was it lost?) VIJAYAKAR’S ‘Predictive’ method,
SANKARAN’s ‘insights’ and revelation-like ideas
every year it was ‘delusion’ = disease,
‘awareness’ = healthy, then the ‘Kingdoms’, now
the ‘seven levels of mind’ = all fantastic, mind-
boggling ideas, SCHOLTEN’s synthetic remedies
on ‘periodic table’, RAMAKRISHNAN’s
alternating remedies and ‘plussing’ method as the
‘successful’ prescriptions for Cancer, BURNETT’s
Organopathic approaches, Amar NIKAM claiming
success with a single dose of 30 potency (for all
cases!) while another – Isaac CHAN – claiming
‘rapid doses’ method in life-threatening diseases,
RAJENDRAN the exact opposite of Amar
NIKAM prescribing 10M potencies of a remedy
repeatedly he reported some cases of Molluscum
contangiosum treated in this manner without
reasoning why a 10M was repeated so in every
case without evaluating the energy level of the
individual patient (see Homeopathy formerly
British Homeopathic Journal Vol. 91, 4/2002);
some more to confuse the very basic: Tinus SMITS
is reported to have said that “there is no such thing
as ‘simillimum’”! – a word used by every well-
known homœopath whose books have been and still
are our text-books, for nearly two centuries!!
Eileen NAUMAN, a Shamanic healer who says that
the one and same person can be cured by different
remedies depending upon the homœopath who is
treating. “If the homœopath is in resonance with
the remedy, the patient is cured. Every homœopath
has his own energy, his tools are different, his
consultation is different”. Hitherto one thought that
the resonance of the patient’s state and the
remedy’s resonance must meet in this tower of
babel how can anyone ever “understand”, “see”
and “know” how homœopathic remedy works or
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 166 of 216
for that matter what is really a homœopathic
remedy? I have, to spare the colleagues from
further confusion, left out ‘signature’ wallas, the
polypharmacy prescriber, the polypotency
prescribers, the ‘paper remedy’(!) prescribers, those
who simultaneously give SCHUSSLER salts, or
BACH’s Flower remedies.
Is the situation not chaotic? First one should
know what ‘Homeopathy’ is, and see what are the
laws, rules the basic ones and restrict oneself to
these, so that one can know the action of such
prescriptions and correct oneself and progress in
the right direction. Surely, the jet-flying set of
‘teachers’ and their trailer are the guilty persons for
this ridiculous state. Cases are reported without
sufficient follow-up time. There are several
diseases which recur after 2, 3, or more years. A
‘cure’ according to HAHNEMANN (Please see his
China’ in the Materia Medica Pura) is
extermination of the disease entirely, never to recur
in that patient (provided of course the patient ‘lives’
in ‘moderation in everything). Homeopathy is
‘spreading’ of course, but, not in the right
direction; it is spreading only because anyone
can practice in any way. The ‘genuine’
Homeopathy practitioners must wake up. It is not
success at any cost; but at right cost. In writing the
above, I do not have any personal quarrel with
anyone and there is no intention to offend anyone.
= KSS.]
XXIX. A Need of the Times
“Man’s science builds its abstracts cold and brief
And cuts to formulas the living whole.
It is a brain and hand without a soul,
An eye that tests the outward carved relief,
Blind to the depths, the occult roots unshown.
The visible hides its base in the unseen;
The invisible guards the truth its symbols mean
In a yet deeper invisible’s unknown.
(Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, 1972, p. 139)
Sri Aurobindo’s poem beautifully brings out
the need for holism in Science. For what else is
science but a seeking after truth in human ways?
The reach of Science cannot yet grasp the full
extent of human consciousness. The limits are
therefore not outside but within us. True holism
therefore requires that, as human beings and
healers, we enter into a holistic consciousness. We
normally live as mental beings and the mind works
by analysis, comparison and contrast. Holism, on a
mental level, means a summing up of all parts. The
mind understands the whole on the basis of its
constituent parts. However, a holistic
consciousness understands the part on the basis of
the whole! This totality is not normally accessible
to man and requires a methodized effort of self-
discipline or Sadhana.
Thus, to a holistic consciousness, individual
diseases are not isolated entities, but only an
outwardly visible epiphenomenon simultaneously
taking place at many levels in the universe. Organ-
diseases are therefore a spill-over of a larger
pathology existing on a cosmic level with its roots
lying in the Ignorance. To cure Organ-diseases is
therefore only partial cure.
To evolve beyond our limitations and struggles
towards oneness and harmony is the final remedy.
(From ‘Editorial’ by Dr. Alok PANDEY, NAMAH.
11, 1/2003)
XXX. A True Physician: The physician is not
just a person who is responsible for the cure of an
illness. That may be his self-chosen or Nature-
appointed work. He is also a conscious soul
struggling to liberate himself. The patient brings
not only his illness, but also his hopes and fears,
attitudes and beliefs, even his aims, motives and
self-identification. Above all, he carries his own
unique claim to live and enjoy a healthy life. If we
want to know the hidden elements of the
Psychology that supports illness one has to
understand the whole person.
Only in the measure that the physician can
harmonize ‘his integral personality’ can he be
useful for the integral healing of another’s nature.
So each illness serves as an occasion for the growth
of both participants the physician as well as the
patient.
We must not forget that symptoms are only an
outer manifestation or unmasking of a deeper
malady. The possibility and source of suffering is
hidden and latent in all humanity and waits for its
hour. It can spring a surprise on anyone at anytime.
A physician who opens more and more to the inner
life becomes acutely aware of the fact that things
are not what they seem, and that appearances (even
of health) can be very deceptive. It may be
difficult for the physician to demarcate his field of
work. For as his field of experience grows, the
field of work increases too. [True indeed=KSS]
Elimination of all suffering is a falsehood.
Courage and faith as a warrior of Truth, knowledge
and illumination as a disciple of Truth and service
and love for the Supreme Healer of all, the Master-
physician, all these comprise the inner make-up of a
physician. Above all, he needs a love and Will that
is unflinching and patiently persevering, happy to
labour even in the darkest hell of the human state
which gives him the inner capacity to rise to the
heights of his own nature. For only he who has
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 167 of 216
scaled the peaks of glory and bathed in their
splendor can enter into the abyss to release the light
and delight concealed in the dumb, dark depth of
suffering and struggling earth. (From the
‘Editorial’ by Dr. Alok PANDEY, in NAMAH. 11,
3/2003) [All true, but how to reconcile to the
Cancer that kills a girl of hardly 14-years age?
What “hopes and fears, attitudes and beliefs,
thought patterns, aims and motives and self-
identification” within this age? Or a boy hardly
year-age who developed a space-occupying lesion
in Cerebellum, which had to be surgically removed
and to be followed up with Radiation and
Chemotherapy? Probing the parents and the brief
period of 3½ year of the child did not throw up
anything to “understand the ‘inner intricacies’ ”;
We would then attribute this child’s disease to its
‘karma’? = KSS]
XXXI. Lower is Better (The Hindu, Chennai, July
29, 2004): Clinical Guidelines issued recently in
the United States on the management of Cholesterol
levels have been tightened in two broad ways.
- The update of earlier guidelines put out by
the National Cholesterol Education
Program, have set a new norm in the
acceptable levels of LDL (Low Density
Lipoprotein, informally known as “bad”
cholestrol) for those with a high risk of
getting coronary disease.
- Intensive use of cholesterol-lowering
drugs to bring levels down. New
Guidelines, endorsed by the American
Heart Association advise that LDL
cholesterol should be lowered to 70 mg/dl
for those in specific categories: for eg.
smokers with heart disease, those whose
blood pressure is not under control and
those suffering from Diabetes or close to
developing it. Excessive levels of LDL
and triglycerides can build up in the walls
of arteries and lead to atherosclerosis (the
hardening or narrowing of arteries). While
statins, fibrates and related drugs can
effectively control the build up, they
cannot by any means be treated as a one
step cure for cholesterol.
- Induced heart disease. Lifestyle changes
play an important role in lowering
cholesterol levels; among them stopping
smoking, increasing exercise levels,
switching to a diet that reduces the intake
of saturated fats and stays away from
foodstuffs that contain trans fats or
hydrogenated vegetable oils. As we now
know, reducing fat intake alone is not
enough. There is evidence that suggests
that a high carbohydrate diet can lead to
elevated triglycerides levels as well as low
levels of HDL (high density lipoprotein
regarded as good cholesterol as it carries
LDL from the arteries back to the liver
which helps in its removal).
As experts pointed out, dietary habits in India
do not generally suffer from the presence of too
much fat. If anything, the imbalance, a result of the
dependence on rice and wheat comes from the
presence of too much carbohydrate that, when
unutilized, get converted into fat. The dietary
changes required to combat cholesterol must
proceed from existing dietary patterns and work
scientifically to correct the imbalances; they must
not be allowed to become fads.
XXXII. Stop Caffeine, Stop Headaches (The
Hindu, Chennai, August 12, 2004) The Report says
that a common nutritional factor in headache is
caffeine. Caffeine is well-known as a cause for
one-sided headaches, Migraine. Caffeinated soft
drinks like colas may also induce headaches. A
half-litre bottle of Cola contains about 50 mg. of
Caffeine similar to a small coffee or a mug of Tea.
Many over-the-counter headache remedies contain
a fair amount of Caffeine. If Caffeine can induce
headaches its withdrawal also is so. Therefore
weaning from coffee must be slow over some
weeks. Taking headache remedies would cause
headaches oftener. Many individuals prone to
headaches find that they can banish them by taking
more water, until urine is pale yellow [It was in
1803, over 200 years ago, that HAHNEMANN
published his article “On the Effects of Coffee
wherein a much larger number of pathogenetic
symptoms have been given=KSS]
XXXIII. D.P. KHAN, N. DUTTA, D.K.
CHATTORAJ and S.P. MOULIK write in Science
& Culture, Vol. 69, 9-10/2003 about the use of a
‘special kind of Honey’ (Vesaja Madhu) as a drug
in the treatment of Thalassemia. This honey has
been prepared with the help of bees Apis mellifica
by providing them with a special kind of feed
(produced from milk, fruits, vegetables and local
herbs). The prepared honey has been found to be
significantly effective in suppressing the frequency
of blood transfusion in cases of Thalassemia,
and to some extent ß Thalassemia. A trial on 84
patients (50% male or female) of ages between 1
month to 50 years for Eß Thalassemia has been
carried out to arrive at the above inference. The
administration of Vesaja Madhu has shown to
have no side effects in the patients, and has resulted
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 168 of 216
either to reduce the frequency of blood transfusion
or to do away with it.
XXXIV. The Hot Stuff (S & C. Vol. 69, 1 &
2/2003. From DREAM-2047, Vol. 4, 12/2002):
Christopher COLUMBUS chanced upon Chilli
although his voyage was for pepper from India.
Chilli is used for seasoning and as a spice in Indian
Foods. The pungent red chilli has been popular for
thousands of years among native Americans. It is
considered that chilli is a pod, Capsicum is bell
shaped. However, in Botany they both belong to
the same genus - capsicum minimum, Capsicum
frustescens. They are also called Cayenne, Red
pepper. Nonetheless, Capsicum is not related to the
piper genus, which contains Piper nigrum L., the
source of the black and white Pepper.
Capsicum is one of the oldest cultivated
plant in Americas. It is one of the widest cultivated
plant in India.
Long used as a food spice and an aid to
digestion, Red Chillies or Cayenne Pepper were
thought to aggravate stomach ulcers. This fear has
been discounted by researchers, rather it is widely
held that Capsicum could help prevent the
formation of dangerous blood clots. Now new
research is focussing on this spice’s ability as an
anti-inflammatory agent, and aid in controlling
pain. Scientists have now concluded that Capsicum
does indeed possess fibrinolytic activity, meaning
that it is able to break down blood clots. It is highly
nutritious, containing Vitamin C and B-Complex
Vitamin as well as Iron, Calcium, and Phosphorus.
Capsicum is known to be unequalled in promoting
outstanding blood circulation. It revitalizes cells,
arteries, veins and the heart. Some other illnesses
Capsicum has been historically known to help high
blood pressure, more bleeds, varicose veins, too
much mucous insect bites, Heart failure, Asthma,
Arthritis, energy, digestion. [Capsicum annuum-
in Hahnemann’s Materia Medica Pura, Vol.VI,
1827 is a valuable remedy in Homœopathy, perhaps
underused now = KSS].
XXXV. Deadlier in Combination: (The Hindu,
Chennai, 7
th
April, 2004): The sub-editorial in The
Hindu, 7 April, 2004 points out the gravity of the
situation in India. While India has far more number
of Tuberculosis patients than any other country in
the world, India is only second to South Africa in
HIV infected number of persons. “The
combination of TB and HIV makes for a lethal
cocktail”. The dormant TB in a carrier, when the
person is infected with HIV, rises up and becomes
active.
The advent of HIV has also made diagnosis of
Tuberculosis difficult, observes the Government’s
National AIDS Control Organisation! With over
half of India’s adult population infected with
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, there have been
warnings that the spread of HIV could lead to ‘a
potentially explosive increase’ in Tuberculosis.
“HIV infection is on the rise among TB patients in
Tamil Nadu.” [What is the role of Homeopathy in
this ‘Community Medicine’?=KSS]
--------------------------------------------------------------
LIST OF JOURNALS
Full addresses of the Journals covered by this Quarterly Homœopathic
Digest are given below:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. AH: The Journal of the North American Society of Homeopaths,
1122 East Pike Street, #1122, Seattle, WA 98122, USA.
2. AHZ: Allgemeine Homöopathische Zeitung, Karl F. Haug Verlag,
Hüthig GmbH, im Weiher 10, 69121, HEIDELBERG,
GERMANY.
3. AJHM: American Journal of Homeopathic Medicine formerly
Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy (JAIH). 801 N.
Fairfax Street, Suite 306 Alexandria, VA 22314.
4. CCR: Homoeopathic Clinical Case Recorder, Dr. Subhash Meher,
Near Hotel Chanakya, Anandrishiji Marg, Burudgaon Road,
AHMEDNAGAR-414001.
5. CCRH: Central Council for Research in Homœopathy, JLN
Bhartiya Chikitsa avum Homeopathic Anusandhan Bhawan, 61-
65, Institutional Area, Opp. D-Block, Janakpuri, New Delhi 110
058.
6. THE HINDU: Newspaper, Chennai–600 002.
7. HH: Homœopathic Heritage, B. Jain Publishers Overseas, 1920,
Street No.10, Chuna Mandi, Paharganj, Post Box 5775, New Delhi
- 110 055.
8. HL: Homœopathic Links, Homœopathic Research & Charities, F/s,
Saraswat Colony, Linking Road, Santacruz (W), MUMBAI 400
054.
9. HOMEOPATHY: Formerly British Homeopathic Journal (BHJ),
Homeopathy, Faculty of Homeopathy, 29 Park Street West, Luton,
Bedfordshire, LU13BE, UK.
10. HT: Homeopathy Today, National Center for Homeopathy, 801,
North Fairfax Street, Suite 306, ALEXANDRIA, VA. 22314, USA.
11. NAMAH: New Approches to Medicine and Health, Sri Aurobindo
Society, PONDICHERRY – 605 001.
12. NJH: National Journal of Homœopathy, 71B Saraswati Road, Near
Gokul Icecream,, Santacruz (W), MUMBAI – 400 054.
13. RBH: Revue Belge D’Homœopathie, Avenue Cardinal Micara, 7,
B-1160, Bruxelles, BELGIUM.
14. S&C: Science and Culture, Indian Science News Association, 92,
Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road, KOLKATA – 700 009.
15. SIM: Simillimum, The Journal of the Homeopathic Academy of
Naturopathic Physicians, P.O. Box 8341, Covington, WA 98042,
USA.
16. ZKH: Zeitschrift für Klassische Homöopathie, Karl F. Haug
Verlag, Hüthig GmbH, Im Weiher 10, D-69121 HEIDELBERG,
GERMANY.
----------------------------------------------------
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 169 of 216
PART II
(This section contains abstracts/extracts from selected articles; even the entire article in some cases)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. THE EXCITING CAUSE AS A GUIDE TO
HOMŒOPATHIC TREATMENT
LESIGANG, Helga (42 LIGA; ARLINGTON,
WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 29 March 2 April
1987)
HAHNEMANN has given us very close
instructions on how to examine our patients. The
physician is advised to listen and watch carefully,
not to interrupt the patient and to write down all
that the patient says using the same expressions as
the patient did. He shall not interpret the
circumstances which are described by the patient.
Only when the patient has finished, the physician
may ask for further details. The symptoms as they
were related may not be very particular and our
questions aim to differentiate, to let appear the
individual unique aspect also in a common
symptom when distinguished by certain
characteristic features. One of the most important
questions on this behalf is the question: Since
when are you suffering from this special disease or
symptoms? Can you remember when it appeared
for the first time? What happened to you before
that?
Quite often the patient himself can trace back
his chronic affection to an event in his life, for
example the loss of a dear person or of his home,
the experience of injustice, the experience of having
done wrong himself all these examples meaning
injury, harm to the soul. Physical harm may also be
the cause of long lasting illness, like an operation or
an accident. Sometimes the patient is not aware of
a connection between events as described and the
start of a disease. If there is a coincidence in time
the physician should nevertheless closely keep in
mind what has happened as the possible exciting
cause. If the patient himself points out a special
event this should be regarded as a very important
information.
The way an individual reacts to a certain event
is something very characteristic of this singular
person. In Austria, as well as in whole Europe, we
have many patients who share one experience that
is World War II. Most of them have suffered, either
being soldiers or prisoners, being wounded during
the war or bombed, hungry, fearing for friends and
relatives. I do not believe that there are people of
that age who have not been affected by their
experiences, a whole generation has been marked
by this war. Nevertheless you will find individuals
who are content with their lives, who have been
able to readjust, who have not become sick by the
experience of war though they have suffered a lot.
And there are other individuals, who will tell you
that they have been broken by the war, although
they may lead a normal life and things seem to be
allright when you do not investigate further. They
seem to be infected by their experiences. They
have lost confidence, they cannot trust, not even
hope, that anything good might happen, that human
beings do not behave like cruel animals, that there
may be peace and justice for everybody. The
chronic infection of their soul subsequently also
leads to physical illness, and you cannot truly cure
them, if you do not pay attention to the exciting
cause. Not every individual has been affected by
the war to this extent, but this singular person has
been, according to his own and special possibility
of reacting to fate.
You have the individual person with his
physical and mental abilities partly inborn, partly
gained by life and which appear to us as his
constitution and temperament these enable him to
answer to the many influences he encounters and
you have his individual fate which strikes him in a
certain moment, overwhelming his reactive
possibilities deeply deranging his vital capacity,
thus acting as an infecting agent. This will show its
effects one by one as time goes on - a process as
described by HAHNEMANN in his Chronic
Diseases. To deal with these effects, that is to
really cure the patient, we have to consider both
the individual constitution and the individual fate.
HAHNEMANN says in paragraph 5: “In addition
it will help the physician to bring about a cure if he
can determine the most probable exciting cause in
an acute disease and the most significant phases in
the evolution of a chronic, long-lasting disease,
enabling him to discover its underlying cause,
usually a chronic miasm” and I suggest that the
word miasm should include everything which
destroys the physical and primarily the mental
capability of a human being “and also the
physical constitution of the patient (especially when
he has been ill for a long time) his moral and
intellectual character, his occupation, mode of
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 170 of 216
living and habits, his social and domestic relations,
his age, sexual function …. are to be taken into
consideration.” Here you have the aspect of the
individual constitution.
HAHNEMANN mentions very different causes
in paragraph 93 of the Organon such as
attempted suicide, grief, jealousy, unfortunate love,
injured pride, superstitious fear, but also excesses in
alcohol, coffee or tea, or in the amount of food in
general, also hunger or an infection with a venereal
disease or itch. The fact, that the latter is cited
together with all the other causes in this paragraph
shows clearly that HAHNEMANN realized the
destroying power in all of them. Thus he may be
regarded as one of the forerunners of the
psychosomatic medicine of our modern time. But
HAHNEMANN was not only aware of the
connection between emotion and body, between the
mental and physical suffering, he also attempted to
heal, to really cure, by the homœopathic drug
influencing both, body and mind.
NASH describes the case of a man, who had
been suffering from what had been called digestive
problems for several years. He had become weak
because he was not able to eat enough and had lost
his profession therefore. His doctors had told him,
that he would never recover and he himself had lost
all hope. He had been sick since he was hit by a
horse in the stomach. A few doses of Arnica
D200
cured him in short time and he was able to go back
to work. You see Arnica cured him in body and
soul, as he had not been sick physically and
mentally before having been wounded. This is one
of the guiding symptoms for Arnica and it is a
symptom which must be looked for in the history of
the suffering person.
In Vienna, we pay great attention to the
etiology of a disease. Our teacher, M. DORCSI,
says that about 40% of our patients can be cured by
using the exciting cause as a guide to the
homœopathic remedy. In our teaching program, the
second course is devoted mostly to etiology,
including not only the exciting cause as the very
beginning of the chronic disease, but also the
eventualities, which provoke the outburst of the
acute symptoms and the various influences causing
amelioration or aggravation. This second course
also includes information about constitution and
diathesis. As I have told before, an exciting cause
must strike an individual having a certain tendency
in his constitution in order to produce a longer
lasting affection. The result will be that the
physical and mental abilities of this individual will
not be the same as before his reactive abilities
will be different.
We have to learn to look at our patients in two
different ways: First we have to be aware of the
symptoms at the very present. These symptoms
give us an understanding of the momentary state of
health. But they are also the result of a process, and
it is necessary to pay attention to this process as
well.
HAHNEMANN has taught us both ways. We
can choose the homœopathic remedy whose
symptoms most nearly resemble totality of
symptoms we have experienced in our patient as
HAHNEMANN has done until he was puzzled by
unexpected failures or we can try to see the process
of a chronic disease by finding out the most
significant points in its history. Usually we will
consider both there is no necessity to divide
something artificially which appears as an entity.
The exciting cause as well as the ameliorating or
aggravating influences can be seen in the totality of
symptoms. Any of these symptoms may be
important for the choice of the remedy. Sometimes
the exciting cause will be so very striking, so very
characteristic for the patient, that it must be
considered as one of the most important symptom.
I will now present several histories of patients
of mine where this aspect may become clear. It
was not as easy as I had thought, for, in most of the
cases there are also other signs which influenced
me in the choice of the remedy. You will see that
there is a congruity between constitutional aspects,
physical complaints and the exciting cause.
I have cited NASH describing a case of Arnica.
Let me contribute some case histories where I used
Arnica.
The first was a woman, 43 years old, who is
married. The first child was dead when born, then
she had a Caesarean section for the second birth.
Two years before the first consultation she was
injured severely in a traffic accident fracture of
the skull with traumatic aneurysm of the arteria
carotis interna. She was operated and the aneurysm
was closed by a balloon. She had a Horner
syndrome on the right eye, a sensation of ants
running on the right side of the skull, on the tongue
and the lips and a neuralgia of the trigeminus on the
right side. She could not smell and the ability of
taste was reduced to sweet, sour and salt. The first
prescription was Arnica LM VI. At first the
menstruation, which had been irregular and very
strong, went back to normal. The pains and
sensations were better. After 4 months of Arnica
we changed to Hypericum. As you know
Hypericum is used for the results of injuries
involving sentient nerves. My patient took
Hypericum D4 three times a day. Two months
afterwards she had no paraesthesia and no pain
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© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 171 of 216
from the trigeminus. She had regained her ability
to taste and she could distinguish the smell of roses,
of perfume or of smoke.
She was still sensitive to the change of
weather, the Horner syndrome was not gone. One
could not expect a complete restitution, since
nerves had been irreversibly damaged. The result
we had achieved was more than anybody had
expected.
Another patient who had received Arnica was a
62-year-old man. The year before he first saw me
he had a minor insult, two years before an
embolism of the left arteria brachialis. He suffered
from cardiac arrhythmias since he had lost his job.
This, he quoted himself, was the real reason for his
disease. The pulse on his right foot could not be
felt and he had pains in his lower legs after a short
distance walk. He got Arnica D200 viewing the
loss of his job as an injury of his soul which had
badly influenced his heart and arterial system and
Secale D4 as the remedy for the organic process.
Four months later his walking ability had increased
to 2 km, the pulse on the foot had come back and he
planned a vacation abroad.
Another Arnica story is the baby, born on
October 84 who was paralysed completely after
birth by a so-called spinal shock. After 2 months
she could move her whole body except the arms.
She had physiotherapeutic treatment. I gave her
Arnica first (D4) and then Hypericum D4 as nerves
had been injured. Half a year later when she was
10 months old she could grasp with both hands and
she pulled herself up with her arms like all children
do at this age.
I want to mention another prescription of
Arnica which had become very common in our
hospitals. Also doctors who are not trained in
Homeopathy, have had good experiences with it
and give Arnica to women in child-bed. There are
less complications, less pain and a normal recovery.
Now I want to tell about a patient who suffered
from the effects of narcosis. A 73-year-old patient
had an operation of the prostate gland in January
1983. Afterwards he felt a numbness around the
mouth and sometimes on his feet or hands. The
exciting cause led to Hyoscyamus. He was given
Hyoscyamus D30 once, which removed the
numbness completely.
In women we experience quite often that the
hormonal situation provokes various diseases.
Headache is often said to have started with the first
menstruation and is in temporal connection with the
monthly period. In this case Pulsatilla may be the
healing remedy. A patient of mine, 26 years old,
two children, suffered from a monthly headache.
Only during pregnancy she had been free of it.
Nothing peculiar could be found in her history
otherwise. Pulsatilla D4 for 6 months cured her
from her headache.
Another patient, the wife of a colleague,
consulted me 2 months after her fourth childbirth.
She was nursing her child and had become deeply
depressed, very sensitive and anxious. The same
had happened after the third child. She had ceased
to nurse therefore after 7 months. Lachesis D 30
helped her very soon.
Another example where Lachesis helped is the
case of a 28 year old woman, who had taken birth-
control pills for 10 years. When she stopped it, she
did not have an ovulation. The menstruation was
irregular and scanty. I started with Aristolochia,
then Pulsatilla, with no effect. When I gave her
Lachesis D200, I did not see her again, but she sent
a patient to me two months afterwards who told me,
that she was pregnant.
Sometimes we are told, that there had been a
grief, something which the patient cannot forget. A
48-year-old lady, who suffered from headaches
since early childhood, remarked that there had been
a severe aggravation since she had seen one of her
children being killed in a car accident 15 years ago.
A grief which cannot be forgotten makes you think
of Natrium muriaticum. In this case Natrium
muriaticum was also indicated by several other
symptoms for example the amelioration at the sea
(Nat-mur. had both aggravation and amelioration
at the sea), the tendency to fever blisters, the
sensations which were described with the headache
(throbbing and stitching). I gave her Nat-mur.
D200 once a month. The pains were reduced, but
after a year there was a reversal acute headache
different from before, with vertigo. These pains
had begun after a fall while skiing. This time
Arnica D200 and Hypericum D4 helped her in two
weeks. We continued with Nat-mur. D 200 once a
month. She still suffers from headaches about
twice a week but she does not need analgesic drugs
as she used before the homœopathic treatment.
Another patient, where the constitutional
aspect corresponds to the aggravating
circumstances, is a 29-year old actress. She had
been a teacher before, but had decided to quit the
security of her job one year before. She is a very
earnest person who demands the utmost from
herself (which is a very common character with
Nat-mur.). During the last year she had developed
eruptions on the skin. Again there is a tendency to
fever blisters with oedema of the upper lip. She
had heart troubles when depressed. I gave her Nat-
mur. LM VI once a day. When she came to see me
6 weeks later, she had stomach troubles. She had
pain in the stomach, she vomited and she could not
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eat. She had been very hurt by her friend. Ignatia
is the remedy for the acute grief, so it was
prescribed to her and it helped her in the crisis.
Afterwards she continued with Nat-mur. Half a
year later there was no occurrence of fever blisters
since homœopathic treatment. The skin was not
completely free of eruptions. She had gone back to
teaching. Nat-mur. LM XVIII was prescribed to be
taken only when needed. When I saw her again one
year later she was pregnant. The skin had become
worse during pregnancy but there had been no fever
blisters. She was in a melancholy state, but not
ovewhelmed by grief as the year before. Her friend
did not want the child, but she decided to bear it
and she knew that she would have to be responsible
for it alone. I advised her to take Nat-mur. LM
XVIII once a week during pregnancy. One month
after birth she was given LM XXX once because
she felt exhausted and the child refused the milk.
She lives alone with her child now and is a
thoughtful and conscious mother as she had been a
very thoughtful and conscious actress and a very
thoughtful and conscious teacher. Her
temperament is not easy-going. But she seems to
be content and in her way happy now.
I have mentioned Ignatia as a remedy for the
affects of present grief. Let me tell you another
example: A boy of 9 years is suffering from a
chronic Eczema. He was treated with Sulphur and
all went well until his beloved cat was killed by a
car. Ignatia D30 was given once and helped.
A 42-year-old woman suffers from a chronic
bladder catarrh since her childhood. Cold weather
brings forth the trouble. She told me that this
sensitiveness to cold had become especially bad
after sitting on a cold stone bench this is one of
the main features of Dulcamara, which helped her
to stay without bladder catarrh through the last
winter. She was advised to use it again this year if
she needed it. Until now there was no necessity.
The last of my cases fits into the second part of
our program. It is a case of Staphysagria. One
November afternoon this fall the mother of a small
patient of mine telephoned. Something was wrong
with the boy. He wanted to urinate every quarter of
an hour and she did not know what to do. I
examined the genitals and the urine – there was
nothing pathological. The boy is six years old, very
attached to his mother, very jealous. He is the only
child. The parents are divorced and the mother has
to stay at home with her child because of frequent
diseases. Once when she had gone away for a week
and he was with his grand-mother he had an
outburst of his chronic Eczema. He had been to a
kindergarten, but not very often, and he refused to
go there any longer. In November he was in an
alternative children’s group. At this time he was
rather bad-tempered at home and had fits of self
pity when he said “nobody loves me” (which was
not true at all.). KENT describes Staphysagria as
suitable in cases where complaints come from
suppressed feelings. The boy had not talked about
a troubling situation, nor had his mother heard
about one, but he behaved as if there had been
something very irritating. I gave him Staphysagria
D30 once in the evening the mother called me
and said that the frequent urging to urinate had
gone. This was just an episode in the homœopathic
treatment of my little patient, but it shows rather
clearly the healing effects of a homœopathic
remedy chosen as suitable according to the exciting
cause, which could be imagined in this case. I have
tried to exemplify the importance of the exciting
cause as a valuable guide to homœopathic treatment
in some cases. Naturally there will be others when
we have to use other guides but we should be
very attentive, when a patient tells about a major
event in his life, especially when he himself stresses
the importance of it.
--------------------------------------------------------------
2. Some aspects of chest pain
THOMSON, Walker W. (BHJ. 72, 3/1983)
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In every field of medicine the complaint which
most commonly causes the patient to seek the
advice of a physician is pain. The timing of the
patient’s visit will be governed by his personal
sensitivity or pain threshold, and by the degree of
his fear of this symptom.
In the course of our clinical work we have all
been puzzled at times how we may evaluate rightly
the main forms of pain arising in the chest. So
common is this symptom that in barely three
months since I decided on this subject I have
treated 70 cases of chest pain.
On looking at the subject of chest pain more
closely I soon realized that its scope is vast,
comprising as it does most of medicine, for there
are few bodily structures which have no link direct
or indirect with the chest. Certain aspects only can
be considered, so I shall concentrate mainly on the
less usual extra-thoracic causes.
The subject is important, for hardly a day
passes in which we as physicians do not have to
make a decision as to the import of a pain
complained of in the chest
Because of the element of fear and the
common knowledge that “anginal pain” is
associated with sudden death, we have to make our
assessment as carefully as possible, giving strong
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reassurance where this is reasonable, and firmly
giving the alternative diagnosis, which will do more
than anything else to allay fear by giving a reason
for this dreaded symptom. The slightest hesitation
on the part of the doctor is interpreted as
unwillingness to tell the patient the worst.
Frequently he will say, “it is just wind.
Doctor”, and look at you hopefully to confirm his
suggestion. In many cases it is just this, and how
astonishing and severe a discomfort this trivial
ailment can produce; but how is it possible to
confuse this cause of chest pain with others so
much more serious? Unfortunately it must be
added at once that flatulence is a common
accompaniment of other causes of chest pain.
The key to the solution of many problems of
diagnosis in diseases of the chest lies in a
knowledge of the pain pathways of the viscera.
This subject was first seriously studied by
Henry Head whose centenary was celebrated last
year. His findings were first accepted, later
rejected, but now once again are the basis of
present day thought on the subject. Sir James
Mackenzie also taught that the Theory of Disturbed
Reflexes was the foundation of the symptom of
disease. Expressed as simply as possible, and
leaving neuro-physiological details to the text
books (e.g. Pottenger) the salient facts are as
follows:
Chest pain may be transmitted by the
voluntary, the sympathetic or the para-sympathetic
nervous systems: by each one, or all three systems.
Through afferent links in the sympathetic
ganglia the viscera are interconnected. These
ganglia in turn are connected with the sympathetic
chain, and grey communicating fibres link up nodes
in this chain to the corresponding segments of the
spinal cord, i.e. linking up with several segments of
the voluntary nervous system – from D1 to L3.
From the cord pass back in the white
communicating fibres motor impulses to the
sympathetic ganglia and on to the viscera, mainly
inhibitory of sphincters.
The parasympathetic nervous system subserves
much the same function. The cranio-bulbo-sacral
outflow is mainly in the vagus and pelvic nerves
and the ganglia in this case are in or near the organs
concerned.
The organs supplied by vagus include for
practical purposes all the viscera (Table A et seq.)
(Samson Wright and Pottenger).
Table A shows the sensory and motor
distribution of vagus (X). The sensory and motor
nuclei of the vagus (X) are closely bound by
connecting fibres which cause reflex action to be
very readily transmitted from the afferent fibres of
one viscus to the efferent fibres of another.
Similarly for the cranio-bulbar connections with the
sensory division of the V
th
cranial nerve. E.g.
pressure on the eye-ball reflexly slows the heart. In
the chest the vagus (X) forms connections with the
sympathetics through the inferior cervical ganglion,
forming with them the oesophageal, cardiac and
pulmonary complexes.
The area of reference may involve several
spinal segments since, according to the strength of
the stimulus, few or many neurones may be
involved, spreading by the three neurone response
system up and down the cord. E.g. the spread of
the anginal pain over the areas supplied by cervical
3, 4 and 5, and dorsal 1, 2 and 3, to arm, neck, jaw,
shoulder, elbow and fingers, and the area of
reference may vary from day to day.
It will be seen, therefore, that there are three
possible pathways for pain through the voluntary,
the sympathetic and the parasympathetic parts of
the autonomic nervous system, with the possibility
of a spill-over from one to another and at higher
and lower levels in the cord. All this makes for
difficulty in locating the cause of a chest pain. The
viscera have a high latent pain sensitivity which is
provoked by inflammation or distention. The
superficial type of pain may be abolished by a local
anaesthetic or cooling spray and this is effective
even in angina pectoris. Deep pain on pressure
follows the muscle groups (myotomes) rather than
the dermatomes and therefore is often at a lower
segmental level than nerve root emergence. It
should be mentioned also that in the case of chest
disease there is commonly atrophy of the
superficial integument over the area of reference,
usually the infra-clavicular and collar region
supplied by C3, 4, 5, this even when the disease is
remote from this area.
This segment of the spinal cord C3-5 is of
greatest importance since it represents phrenic
nerve root distribution, the pleural and peritoneal
surfaces of central diaphragm, so linking it with
upper abdominal conditions.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Vagus (X) C.N. Vagus (X) C.N.
Sensory Supply Motor Supply
--------------------------------------------------------------
1. Base of tongue, palate, Large intestine to
pharynx, oesophagus, descending colon,
stomach, duodenum, bronchi, liver, spleen
jejunum, ileum,
ascending colon
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2. Entire respiratory tract, Soft palate, pharynx,
epiglottis down upper oesophagus
3. Heart Larynx, stomach,
small intestine
4. Biliary tract Suprarenals and
kidneys
5. Auricles and
external auditory
meati
--------------------------------------------------------------
It is, moreover, commonly affected by lesions
of the spine, spinal cord and roots at this level. By
remembering that its somatic dermatome is the
collar and infraclavicular regions, and that it is
immediately contiguous below with dermatomes
D2 in the pectoral region (the intervening roots
going to the arms), many errors will be avoided.
Before returning to the clinical aspect, it is
interesting to note that a similar phenomenon
known as translocated injury has recently been
discovered in other realms of nature. (C.E.
Yarwood in Nature, Vol. 192, p. 887). Leaves of
the Pinto bean, cowpea and National pickling
cucumber have been shown to respond in pairs to
heating.
If one of a matching pair of leaves is heated
and killed, the matching member of the pair
sustains substantial injury although the connecting
parts of the plant are apparently unaffected. If the
heated leaf is cut off within four hours, the damage
to the second leaf does not occur. The mechanism
here is chemical.
As has been said, pain may appear at an area
quite remote from the organ responsible and this
gives rise to some of our clinical difficulties in
diagnosis. Perhaps the best known example is gall
bladder disease expressing itself by pain at the tip
of the right shoulder. In this case, as in others to be
mentioned, the explanation is that in the embryo the
structures were close together and in course of
development the organ has migrated away from its
area of reference.
The possible sources of origin of pain in the
chest are legion, since it may arise from any tissue
in the thorax, from several structures outside, and,
to make matters more difficult, it is not uncommon
to have pain from several sources simultaneously.
Lesions of the skin need only to be mentioned
to be dismissed since they are visible and obvious
causes.
A neurological cause which has painful
cutaneous manifestations affecting the chest wall,
herpes zoster, arises insidiously but usually declares
itself within 10 days and the burning persistent pain
is characteristic of some form of acute neuritis, so
should seldom occasion difficulty. Herpes forms
the link which reminds us that it may be the
harbinger of acute myelitis with corresponding root
pains. This in turn reminds us of the many
possibilities of spinal cord tumour with similar root
pains which may well be referred to the chest.
Fibrositis, fibromyositis and the drooping
shoulder syndrome with trigger points locally or at
the superior medial angle of the scapula and with
distribution to chest by the intercostal nerves, again
give rise to confusion quite occasionally, by
producing praecordial or left arm pain.
Various forms of myalgia of the pectorals and
intercostals can cause difficulty. In epidemic form
it is known as Bornholm’s disease, but there is
usually some constitutional disturbance by which to
identify this.
Tenderness and soreness over any of the
costochondral junctions (the costo-chondral
syndrome), may give rise to much anxiety, being ill
defined, recurrent and subject to the same radiation
as anginal pain. The 2
nd
to 4
th
ribs are most
commonly involved. Location of the tender
bulbous junctions give the diagnosis and a similar
syndrome may be found related to the xiphoid
process.
These possibilities have only to be remembered
to be recognized at once.
It is seldom that diseases of the breast, being
relatively superficial, will give rise to difficulty.
Unless where a tiny undetected primary growth
gives rise to secondaries within the chest or spine,
when root or referred symptoms appear.
A very important group of causes of chest pain
are those arising from cervical and dorsal spine,
where osteoarthritis, spondylitis, rheumatoid
arthritis, vertebral epiphysitis, herniated discs,
tuberculosis and metastatic neoplastic deposits may
all produce impingement upon nerve roots, the
sensory distribution of which is upper chest and
may give rise to pain difficult to distinguish from
angina pectoris. The pain is often sharp or tearing
and it may be precordial and associated with a
sense of tightness. In so far as some of these are
degenerative diseases they are common
accompaniments of degenerative heart disease.
Among these the rheumatoid form of spondylitis is
quite frequently associated with valvular heart
disease, still further complicating diagnosis.
In osteoarthritis of this region, by narrowing of
the foramina through which the nerves emerge,
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there is a dull ache over the shoulder or pectoral
region simulating anginal distribution. Or there
may be burning or stabbing over the praecordium
from D2-4. Pain in this case is much affected by
activity. Osteoarthritis in the neck is commonly
initiated by a cervical disc lesion which is usually
the result of trauma, especially “whiplash” injury as
in car accidents. The onset can be gradual with
neck pain later extending into pectoral region, arm,
hand and fingers. X-ray and investigation of the
electrical reaction of muscles involved will
establish diagnosis in these cases. Finally in this
group is straight-back” syndrome where the
normal curve of the upper dorsal spine is
Straightened. This causes confusion because of
apparent heart enlargement on X-ray and systolic
murmurs, basal in position, produced by
compression of the great vessels.
Marked kyphoscoliosis and compression
fractures of vertebral bodies are obvious causes of
referred pain if only remembered. Usually the
difference made to the pain by changes of position
will serve to distinguish these. Osteoporotic
collapse produces similar effects.
To complete this outline of the extra-thoracic
causes of chest pain it is necessary to consider
briefly disorders of the liver, biliary tract, pancreas
and upper gastro-intestinal tract. The pain
pathways for stomach, liver, biliary tracts and
pancreas are the same (Table A) hence the
difficulty in sorting out epigastric pain.
Biliary tract pain in its acute form has often
been mistaken for coronary pain and vice versa, and
diseases of gall-bladder and heart are often co-
existent.
Unfortunately electrocardiographic changes
occur in many functional and organic abdominal
disorders, as in spasm and distension of biliary
ducts or hiatus hernia. It may be that reflex
changes in coronary blood flow are produced by
mechanical irritation of vagal fibres. Cardiac
discomfort and serious arrhythmias are readily
produced in the damaged heart. Where gall bladder
disease and coronary disease co-exist, the latter is
helped by removal of the gall bladder. (Strangely
enough the risk is relatively low, 10-15 per cent,
and even Stokes-Adams attacks generally respond.)
(Reich and Fremont).
Again acute pancreatitis is often confused with
acute myocardial infarction. Both have high
epigastric pain, shock and collapse.
Pancreatic pain is usually constant and boring.
Posterior radiation and relief on sitting up are
characteristic with guarding of the left side of the
epigastrium. The serum amylase and lipase levels
may be elevated and are of great assistance in
diagnosis.
Amylase well above 200 units/100 ml
(Somogyi).
Lipase well above 150 units/ 100 ml
(Somogyi).
Electrocardiographic changes are marked due
to coronary spasm and electrolyte changes may
alter the ST segment and T waves to resemble
occlusion. The exact position of the pain depends
on the part of the gland affected.
A condition which is being diagnosed with
ever greater frequency is diaphragmatic hernia,
which gives heartburn, belching, regurgitation and
sharp stabbing pain which may in the first instance
simulate coronary occlusion. Careful dieting and
upright posture relieve the pain. Acute precordial
pain radiating to neck and left arm may be present
especially after eating (through the phrenic N,
entering the cord in C3-5). There is an
accompanying oesophagitis with constant burning
sensation through to back, neck, shoulders and jaw.
In the acute phase the pain may respond to trinitrin
and so be confusing. Similar pain can be produced
by balloon distension of the oesophagus, and many
anginal patients cannot distinguish this artificially
produced pain from their anginal pain (Reich).
From the above it is clear that different kinds of
stimuli pass by the same nerve pathways and the
pain response evoked is identical.
The peripheral parts of the pleural and
peritoneal surfaces of the diaphragm are supplied
by the somatic afferent fibres of the intercostal
nerves from 6-12
th
dorsal. Thus pain arising from
this area may be referred below the diaphragm with
rigidity in this area, so that diaphragmatic spasm
may simulate either a coronary occlusion or an
abdominal catastrophe.
Flatulence frequently gives rise of pain in the
chest. A gastric “bubble” may or may not be
demonstrable radiologically, pushing up the
diaphragm on the left side, mechanically interfering
a little with the heart action, giving rise to
arrhythmias, local discomfort and, by referred
pathways, giving pain over a wide region in the
chest at the left shoulder and between the shoulders
in the general distribution of D6 and 7 (this pain is
of course relieved by belching). Aerophagy is often
the cause and this excessive air swallowing is
usually produced by emotional disturbances,
though it is occasionally an accompaniment of
nausea or hyperventilation. As has been said, any
given episode may be indistinguishable from true
anginal pain and unfortunately quite commonly the
conditions are co-existent.
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A similar mechanism may blow up the hepatic
or splenic flexures of the colon, giving pain in right
and left shoulder respectively accompanied by
tympanitic distension. These are the commonest
causes of pseudoangina.
The pain of peptic ulcer is occasionally
interscapular or in the chest wall and may be
exclusively so. If the ulcer is high up on the lesser
curvature it is quite likely to give chest pain. The
temporal relationship of pain to eating is helpful in
differentiating this from other forms of chest pain.
There may be a further double relationship in that
peptic ulcer may occur following a coronary
occlusion as a stress effect, and coronary infarction
or acute coronary insufficiency may accompany
haemorrhage from a peptic ulcer. Other diseases
and disorders of the stomach may produce very
similar effects, notably carcinoid tumours, and
other more definite malignancies, also cardiospasm
and pylorospasm.
For comparison with all these extra-thoracic
causes we must consider one of the main serious
intra-thoracic causes, angina pectoris, resulting
from myocardial ischaemia, usually accompanying
coronary artery disease.
The mechanism of this pain is thought to be
like that of intermittent claudication a common
accompanying symptom due to metabolites
formed in ischaemic muscles while functioning
(Paul Wood).
Classically the pain is retrosternal, radiating to
left shoulder, arm, hand and fingers (see charts).
Occasionally the radiation is in the opposite
direction. It may also be through to the back, to the
left, right side or back of the neck; throat, teeth, jaw
or epigastrium. Occasionally the pain is located in
the medial aspect of the left elbow or in any one of
the above locations only. The forty cases of angina
seen recently have among them examples of all
these areas of reference.
Analysis of anginal pain (see Table B).
Of the forty cases of anginal pain considered in
this series, 29 described the pain as constricting,
squeezing, vice-like or strangling, all rather similar
feelings, 10 as dull aching, and of these three were
milder cases.
In almost every case, the pain was said to last
from 2-10 minutes. Almost all said that the pain
was brought on by effort or anxiety or both. Cold
precipitated an attack in 9 and walking into the
wind in 15. Belching gave relief in 11 cases.
In this series there were 18 men and 22
women, but it should be added that the women
were in a distinctly higher age group than the men.
Anginal pain is not shooting or stabbing.
When this occurs it is probably left inframammary
pain, and innocent. While it lasts it is steady
though it may wax and wane from 2-10 minutes.
Anginal pain is not affected by position, as other
types of chest pain frequently are. Blood pressure
is raised during attacks, the head throbs and face is
flushed. Relief from trinitrin may help
diagnostically, but it should be remembered that it
also may relieve muscle spasm of the biliary ducts,
oesophagus and diaphragm.
It may be accompanied by intercostal spasm,
localized sweating, blanching of fingers like
Raynaud’s syndrome, and nocturnal paroxysmal
dyspnoea.
A family history of coronary artery disease,
hypertension, Diabetes and gout are important, also
signs of premature ageing. On examination 25 per
cent of cases are completely normal. There is a
tendency to diminution of the first heart sound and
the presence of a third sound.
The classical description of angina pectoris
first given by Heberden is well borne out by the
analysis in Table B of the 70 cases of chest pain
whom I have seen within the past three months.
There were 40 cases of angina pectoris among them
(showing the effect of selection). Of these 22 were
severe and 18 mild to moderate cases. From
history alone the severe cases could easily be
picked out from description and from the diagrams
of pain distribution sketched in by the patients. The
questions were selected from Kent’s Repertory to
assist in the selection of a remedy.
Inevitably, sooner or later, chronic coronary
insufficiency leads to occlusion and myocardial
infarction (though there can be an infarction
without thrombosis or occlusion).
There is now good evidence that coronary
occlusion may follow strenuous exertion and this is
now forming the basis of many highly expensive, if
slightly dubious, medico-legal claims.
The retrosternal pain may vary from a mild
discomfort to an agony lasting for some hours and
accompanied by circulatory collapse, nausea,
vomiting, and epigastric pain.
In such a case the usual cause of death is
ventricular fibrillation, but many other arrhythmias
may appear, including ventricular tachycardia.
In hospital practice resuscitation is now being
attempted for these cases by defibrillator and closed
or open chest compression of the heart.
It will be readily seen that an acute
myocardial infarction can resemble closely an acute
pancreatitis, having similar early ECG changes of
the T wave and ST segment due to electrolytic
changes and coronary spasm.
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Diagnostic Tests. The SGOT is diagnostic
above 40 units. The LAD, a new test, lactic acid
dehydrogenase (normal 200-680 units), remains
raised for a longer period and so may prove useful.
The ESR is raised and usually the white count is
raised. Blood cholesterol values are consistently
raised to values above 250 mg per cent.
It will be obvious also that any case of chest
pain may require a whole battery of tests for its
elucidation. X-ray of cervico-dorsal spine, thoracic
cage, heart, great vessels and lungs, also possibly
gall bladder, stomach and colon are needed to cover
the possibilities. An electrocardiogram is also
essential in most cases.
From the homœopathic point of view,
considering anginal pain symptomatically and for
the moment ignoring the patients’ constitutional
remedy, the anginal pattern is usually as follows
(Table C):
As you can see, the most commonly used and
most useful remedies in ischaemic heart disease
come through in this repertorizing: Aconite, Aurum,
Arsenicum album, Cactus, Kalmia, Latrodectus,
Lachesis, Lilium tig., Naja, Spongia and Spigelia,
all of which come through but most strongly
Cactus, Latrodectus and Kalmia. These were infact
the remedies most commonly used in this series of
40 cases.
To these I would add Arnica, most helpful in
the weary heart which has become irregular in rate
and volume, whether as the result of an infarction
or not, and Oxalic acid, for the rather more unusual
case where the pain is of a lancinating character
through the left lung and radiating into the neck and
left arm (often when pericardium is involved).
Many anginal cases are desperately anxious as
well as being physically distressed and for these
Aconite is the obvious remedy.
KENT says of Aconite: “Sits up straight and
can hardly breathe: Pulse fluttering, weak, full and
bounding: Grasps the throat, wants everything
thrown off: Hot skin, great thirst, great fear.
Worse at night.”
Perhaps the most frequently indicated of all the
remedies for angina is Latrodectus mactans, with
its violent praecordial pain extending into axilla,
left arm, forearm and fingers with numbness, quick
and thready pulse, and this was so in this series.
Although there are many other remedies likely
to be indicated I shall only mention one more lest I
weary you:
Lachesis. So commonly does one find that the
anginal case wakes up in the night or early morning
with a cramp-like feeling in the praecoridum,
accompanied often by palpitation and not a little
anxiety, a trace of cyanosis and a feeling that he
wants to unloose any wrappings round the neck.
Such a case Lachesis fits perfectly.
Of orthodox palliatives the only one which can
be relied upon in most cases is the time-honoured
trinitrin. One patient in hospital at present was
taking no less than 100 tablets (1/300 gr.-0.45 mg.)
perweek, on admission.
Finally, in the next Table, D, I have attempted
to present a rough table of differential diagnosis of
a number of common causes of chest pain, mainly
in relation to angina. Unfortunately the exceptions
are almost as frequent as the rule.
So from this brief survey it would appear that
usually the pattern of chest pain is readily
diagnosed. There are many cases, however, where
because of multiple pathology, psychological
overlay, or because it is possible for different
diseases to use the identical pain pathways, there
may be simulation of serious disease. This requires
painstaking elucidation, but finally there are only a
few cases where the solution remains obscure.
REFERENCES:
Henry Head, Brain. Vol. 84. Pt. IV., 1961
Sir James Mackenzie, B.M.J., 1, 147, 1921.
Pottenger, Francis, Symptoms of Visceral Disease
(USA).
Samson Wright, Applied Physiology (Oxford Med.
Pub.)
C.E.Yarwood, Nature, 192, p.887
N.E. Reich and R.E. Fremont, Chest Pain
(Macmillan Co. NY), 1961.
Paul Wood, Diseases of Heart and Circulation
(Eyre & Spottiswoode)
(See Tables B, C, D in the following pages 175-
177 = KSS).
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TABLE B. Chest pain. Analysis of 40 cases of anginal pain
Intensity or Severity
Slight 6 Severe 15
Moderate 14 Agonizing 5
Quality of Pain
Dull Aching 10 Tearing 1
Burning 2 Constricting 20
Cutting 1 Choking 5
Drawing 3 Vice-like 2
Stitching 5 Strangling 3
Pressing 5 Squeezing 5
Soreness 4 Crushing 0
(Some gave more than one descriptive term)
Radiation to
Side of neck right 5 Right jaw 2
Side of neck left 15 Left jaw 6
Shoulder right 7 Opposite side of chest 4
Shoulder left 20 Back 8
Right arm 6 Upper abdomen 5
Left arm 26
Duration of Attack
Seconds 2 Hours 5
Minutes 27 Continuous 6
Frequency
Times daily; about daily 6 Afternoon 4
Weekly 0 Night 8
Occasionally 22 Evening 1
Morning 5
Pain Brought on by
Effort 23 Colds 9
Walking 21 Walking into wind 16
Climbing 10 Lying down 7
Excitement 12 In night 13
Anxiety 16 Bending forward 6
After meals 9
Relieved by
Cold 1 Belching 12
Heat 4 Movement 3
Pressure 0 Rest 30
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TABLE C. (Black type in Kent’s Repertory only) Praecordial pain
Constrictive Acon., Arsen., Aurum, Cactus, Kalmia, Latro.m., Lil.tg., Lach., Naja, Spong.
Radiating to
left axilla Latro.m.
left side neck Naja
left shoulder and hand Acon., Aurum, Cactus, Cimi., Kalmia, Latro.m., Naja, Spig.
back Cench., Kali carb., Lil.t., Naja, Spig., Sulph., Ars.io.
Worse from
lying down on back Aurum, Spongia
left side Cact., Crot., Lach., Naja, Spigelia
head low Spongia
eating Kali bich.
at night Arg. nit., Naja
evening Puls.
Relieved by
belching Kali bic., Kali carb., Lyc.
bending forward Puls.
TABLE D. Comparison of Angina pectoris with some other causes of chest pain
PAIN Angina Root Pain Joint Disease Hiatus LIMP
(cervical) (cervico-dorsal) hernia
Type constrictive burning tightness heartburns sharp
aching pricking tearing dysphagia stabbing
burning
______________________________________________________________________________________
Radiation shoulder girdle according to upwards and praecordial
arm, hand shoulder level to back inwards
neck, jaw hand, chest
______________________________________________________________________________________
Duration of 2-10mins fairly induced by episodic frequent
Attack constant movement 1-2 hours episodic
______________________________________________________________________________________
Eating aggravates none none aggravates none
Effect of
______________________________________________________________________________________
Cold aggravates indefinite aggravates none none
Effect of
______________________________________________________________________________________
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Belching may relieve none none may relieve none
Effect of
______________________________________________________________________________________
Trinitrin may relieve none none may relieve none
Effect of
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Accompani- rise in weakness wasting positional neurotic
ments BP wasting heartburn
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
PAIN Angina Flatulence Pulmonary Gall-bladder Pancreatic
aerophagy disease disease disease
______________________________________________________________________________________
Type constrictiv colic dull colic boring
aching constrictive sharp dull ache burning
aching
______________________________________________________________________________________
Radiation shoulder all over local or R.costal L.costal
arm, hand chest phrenic R. shoulder L. shoulder
neck, jaw C 3, 4
______________________________________________________________________________________
Duration 2-10mins intermittent intermittent intermittent prolonged
or constant colic and many hours
steady ache
______________________________________________________________________________________
Eating aggravates may relieve none aggravates no appetite
______________________________________________________________________________________
Belching may relieve relieves none relieves none
Effect of
______________________________________________________________________________________
Trinitrin relieves none none may relieve none
Effect of
3. A Chapter of Reminiscences
Address of the President of the International
Hahnemannian Association, 1928.
McLAREN D.C. (SIM. XVI, 3/2003)
(The Homœopathic Recorder, Vol. XLIII
Derby, Conn., August 15, 1928. No.8.)
These reminiscences go back to the Civil War
when Grant’s army was surrounding Vicksburg. A
young Army Surgeon was present one evening with
a group of officers in the General’s tent when the
big black cigars for which U.S. Grant was famed,
were passed around, and the young man tried his
luck with one of them. It required neither long nor
vigorous smoking to produce a prompt though
involuntary proving of Tabacum, and he was forced
to seek relief elsewhere.
The young surgeon was the late Dr. H.C.
ALLEN, and this account was given to me by
himself. He may have proved other remedies later,
but never any quite so quickly and effectually as
this one. I fancy he was strictly a non-smoker all
his life after. Following the war he lived for some
time in Brantford, Ontario and married there. My
first acquaintance with him occurred in 1866 and
came about as follows:
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Homeopathy had only been known in America
for about thirty years, but already had created such
a wave of popular enthusiasm that no less than two
life insurance companies were launched on the
basis of insuring strictly homœopathic lives at
lower premium rates than others a quixotic
project foredoomed to failure, for one very
important reason, viz: - the scarcity of
homœopathic physicians at that time. To illustrate,
when old Dr. FISHER of Montreal, an eccentric
character who used to attend the I.H.A. meetings
pretty regularly in the last century, but without
offering to become a member, retired from active
practice, the homœopathic adherents in Montreal,
feeling the need of a qualified homœopathic
physician, actually called,” as it were, the late Dr.
WANLESS from London, Ont., and guaranteed
him an income of three thousand a year to settle in
Montreal.
Dr. H.C. ALLEN in those early days was
representing the Albany Homeopathic Life
Insurance Co. and in that capacity called upon and
insured my father, then living in Guelph, Ont.
Father was greatly interested and became a life-
long lay homœopath, and this virtually determined
the choice of a profession of his son. From that
time on we were more or less in touch with
H.C.ALLEN as long as he lived. I recall visiting
with him at Detroit in 1878 and again at Ann Arbor
in 1886, besides meeting him frequently at the
annual meetings of the I.H.A.
It was therefore quite natural that after
graduating in Medicine at McGill in the Spring of
1880, and betaking myself to old HAHNEMANN
in Philadelphia the fall of that year, to be provided
by Dr. H.C. ALLEN with a letter of introduction to
Dr. Ad. LIPPE, the last prominent survivor of the
original Germans who brought Homœopathy to
America.
To my great regret, Constantine HERING had
passed away not long before my arrival in
Philadelphia, and the best I could do was to borrow
notes of his lectures taken by an older man, and
copy them.
Someone in Montreal also gave me a letter to
John WANAMAKER which I soon presented.
While waiting in his outer office the clerk said,
“Here is a gentleman you ought to know,” and
forthwith introduced me to Dr. Walter M. JAMES,
and we became fast friends. His first question was
significant, “What kind of a homœopath are you
going to be?” And then in the course of our
conversation as we walked down Chestnut Street he
gave me enlightenment on the subject.
Later in the winter I spent several evenings in
his office while he filled a pocket case of me with
Jenichen’s potencies, which remains in good order
to this day. Doing so, he explained he was only
passing on the good work begun by Ad. LIPPE,
who, years before, when teaching Materia Medica
in the college, used to tell the graduating class to
come around to his office, and he would give them
enough remedies to make them “independent of the
shops.”
It was not long before I had occasion to present
my letter to Adolph LIPPE and get his treatment for
a severe attack of Bronchitis. After it was over he
told me the remedies used and thus the indications
became indelibly impressed on my memory.
On one occasion LIPPE related to me how he
discovered the now classic symptom of
Phosphorus, “Water is vomited as soon as it
becomes warm in the stomach.” It was a case of
Typhoid fever in which the other symptoms pointed
to Phosphorus, but this new and unknown symptom
was perplexing; however, there was nothing for it
but to use the remedy best indicated and a dose of
Phosphorus 19M was given. The attending priest
upbraided LIPPE for taking such chances with
human life! But the remedy turned the tide, cured
the case and firmly established the symptom where
it belongs, as many have verified in practice.
I once asked LIPPE’s advice about a case of
morning diarrhoea. “Oh,” he said, “you have come
across one of those cases; there is an epidemic of
them in Philadelphia, and the remedy is Natrum
sulphuricum. He gave me a graft of the CM
potency which cured the case, and the potency is
still in my pocket case.
Later in the spring I took a troublesome case to
LIPPE’s office, and for once the old doctor
consulted his books before prescribing and gave
Pulsatilla. That taught me a valuable lesson: not to
be above verifying one’s work as one goes along,
even in the patient’s presence. If so great a
physician and excellent prescriber as Ad. LIPPE
found it necessary to do this much more should the
young prescriber not hesitate to do the same.
The following authentic anecdote about Dr.
Ad. LIPPE is well worth recording. He had made a
remarkable cure of a well-known society lady in
Philadelphia who had been the rounds of the
allopaths before coming to him. Shortly after, at a
social gathering, he was accosted by several of
these allopaths, who in a friendly way wanted to
know how he had cured the lady in question. “Oh,
I just gave her iron,” said LIPPE. “But we had all
given her various iron preparations without result,”
they replied. “Yes,” said LIPPE, “but you gave her
a crowbar and I gave her a cambric needle!”
Here is another bona fide occurrence: LIPPE
was such a strict and unswerving homœopath that
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he had trained most of his families to the same
spirit of exactness. It happened that a case of gall-
stone colic occurred in one of his staunchest
families. The doctor arrived and prescribed
Lycopodium, a single powder. The relief was so
magical and the patient fell into such a sound,
refreshing sleep, that they were convinced, and
nothing could alter their conviction, that he must
have given morphine, and forthwith changed their
doctor!
LIPPE was in poor health that winter and
Walter M. JAMES was in charge of his practice
and doing his work. One frequently met Dr. E.J.
LEE along with Dr. James in LIPPE’s office. Dr.
LEE was busy at that time establishing the
Homœopathic Physician, of which he was editor for
several years until his death, after which
W.M.JAMES took hold of it. As a magazine, it
certainly did splendid work for Homeopathy and
published from time to time such valuable
supplements as LEE’s Cough Repertory;
HERING’s Typhoid Fever, edited by P.P.WELLS;
two repertories by Jefferson GUERNSEY,
Hemorrhoids, and Desires and Aversions.
LIPPE was, himself, an earnest contributor to
its pages in the early years, but no doubt his
fighting spirit and strong convictions made more
enemies than friends. His controversy with Dr.
SWAN of New York, of high potency fame, caused
some stir in the early years of this society. LIPPE
denounced SWAN’s Isopathy, so called, e.g.,
Syphilinum for Syphilis, etc. But one can hardly
suppose SWAN was so very crude in his thinking
as to suggest such procedure as a general rule,
though evidently LIPPE took it that way. Many of
us know by experience that there is a good deal of
truth in SWAN’s ideas.
There is nothing so nearly a specific for the
effects of Poison Ivy as our high potencies of Rhus
tox.; even a good many allopaths are using it in
some form for that purpose. I have also seen some
remarkable results from Variolinum in Smallpox,
sometimes aborting and curing a case overnight,
but more frequently driving the eruption so rapidly
through all its stages that the scales are falling off
in 48 hours, naturally with far less systemic
disturbance than in the ordinary course.
Dr. Constantine LIPPE was practicing in New
York at that time, and I had the pleasure of meeting
him once or twice. His health had been injured in
the Civil War and he predeceased his father by a
few years. He lived long enough, however, to
furnish us with a fairly good repertory, almost
forgotten now when we have so much better ones.
At old Hahnemann College that winter Dr. E.
A. FARRINGTON was the chief tower of strength,
and his lecture room was always full to the doors.
His rich soft mellifluous voice lent a charm to the
great fund of information he continually poured
forth.
Dr. Aug. KORNDOERFER was an able
teacher of clinical medicine and a good prescriber
but he had one fault: when the symptoms of a case
were presented to the class he would say, “Now,
who guesses Nux?” or, “Who guesses China?
This created a wrong impression, as if guess work
could have any place in homœopathic prescribing.
He really meant to say “What remedies have you in
mind for this set of symptoms? It was just a
careless form of speech to encourage the students in
the all important work of taking the case and
finding the remedy.
Dr. Clarence BARTLETT was quiz master to
the class, and needless to say he was exceedingly
efficient.
Dr. R. McCLATHIN, familiarly known as
“Bob,” occupied the Chair of Practice. He was a
bluff, jolly, agreeable fellow and very popular; a
thorough bon vivant and it was enough to make
one’s mouth water to hear him tell of the first shade
of the season! His treatment of Pneumonia was a
gem in its way true, a diamond in the rough that
needed a good deal of cutting “for broncho-
pneumonia give Phosphorus and for pleuro-
pneumonia give Bryonia.”
It remains to speak of James T. KENT, that
giant of American Homœopathy; though known to
many of you better than to the writer. His colossal
works, the repertory and lectures, besides other
writings, have given him well deserved fame. It
was my pleasure to meet him at the Syracuse and
Richfield Springs gatherings of the I.H.A.
About 1894 or 1895 he honored me with an
invitation to come to Philadelphia as his assistant in
establishing a post graduate school there, but as I
had my hands full nursing an infant practice in
Ottawa, nothing came of it. No doubt, had things
been different, a period of association with a man
like KENT would have been of inestimable benefit.
In conclusion, let me record an anecdote of two
Canadian homœopaths, both former members of
this Society. My old Confrere, Dr. A.
QUACKENBUSH, in his young days suffered
greatly from abscesses caused by the itch. Almost
in despair he was directed to Dr. TYRRELL in
Toronto, who cured him so completely that
QUACKENBUSH decided to study Homœopathy.
Years later when QUACKENBUSH was practicing
at Belleville, Ont., he made a remarkable cure of a
sick child back in the country near there. Some
months later Dr. TYRRELL was there on a visit,
and as they were driving along a country road, they
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came to a farm house in front of which were
clustered about a dozen children.
QUACKENBUSH said to TYRRELL, “See if you
can pick out the child I was telling you about.” In a
moment, without hesitation, Dr. TYRRELL pointed
out the right one. “How do you know?” said
QUACKENBUSH. “Oh, easy,” said TYRRELL,
“that’s the only healthy child in the lot.”
--------------------------------------------------------------
4. The Heart of the matter
FORD, Joan M. (BHJ. Vol. LXVI, 2/1977)
We are trained scientifically at Medical School
to think of the human body as a structure of
interrelated organs, held in balance by a chemically
organized metabolic system, and empowered by a
biomagnetically energized system of stimulus
impulses and responses. We are taught to observe
disease according to its externally manifest signs,
visually, radiographically, and biochemically.
Modern techniques have expanded and refined the
number of dimensions of man’s activity which can
be recorded and graphed, compared statistically and
evaluated as within or without the bounds of an
accepted normality. This approach to the dis-ease
of man, through organs weighed, measured and
analysed, focuses its attention on the disease
process at a physical level.
We realize in practice that we ourselves, and
the human beings whom we treat and meet in our
daily lives, do not follow the predictable patterns
that instrumental records suggest. Symptoms and
signs do not always fit readily into one of the
disease patterns which we have learnt, and can
name. Reactions to the chemical medications
which laboratory studies prove to be effective, are
not constant in the human being. How from the
organic point of view are we to account for these
inconstant facts?
Our university prospectus tells us of the
Science and Art of Medicine. We learn much of
the Science but little of the art.
The art of medicine is the mode of usage of the
facts which we have at our disposal. Art” comes
from a word which originally means “mode of use”.
Each of us at medical school is filled with facts.
Each of us in practice has to use the facts at his
disposal in the way which seems most efficient to
him. In the confrontation with our fellow human
beings, we can use nothing except that which we
have incorporated into our own selves. In this way
our acquired factual knowledge is integrated with
our individual temperament and constitution, and
from this standpoint we relate to our patients and
their disease. It is therefore not surprising that
when we discuss disease, we find as many different
approaches to the problem as there are beings
involved in the discussion. It is not surprising that
in homœopathic practice the remedy selected is not
only a function of the patient and his disease, but a
function of the physician in relation to the patient
and his disease.
Our education includes a category of disease
called “psycho-somatic”. In this category we find
diseases whose exact aetiology is not proven, and
whose response to medication is limited. The word
psycho-somatic derives from Greek origins, psyche
is translated as life-force, breath or soul, and soma
as body. The body physical can be weighed,
measured and analysed, quantified in every aspect,
to the limits of available instruments. The life-
force, or breath, can be seen to be present or absent,
and its presence detected by instruments, but it
cannot be measured in quantity. Its significance
lies not in the realm of quantity, but in awareness of
quality.
JUNG in his writing uses the word Psyche to
mean the totality of man’s experience, conscious
and unconscious, and so includes every thought,
every feeling, and every impulse to action in every
situation in which man has involved himself. The
totality of man’s experience here includes not only
the experiences which belong to each man in his
lifetime, but also those experiences which are
common to the racial patterning, and common to
the universal origins of mankind. Psyche therefore
includes both personal experience and
comprehension of the personal in relation to the
universal whole.
JUNG also differentiated between a sign and a
symbol. A sign, he says, is meaningless in itself, it
denotes the object to which it is attached. A
symbol may, but need not be, familiar to us but has
specific connotations in addition to its obvious
meaning. A sign limits our understanding by
focusing the attention on to itself. A symbol
expands our consciousness, and transcends our
immediate situation, leading us to a broader and
deeper field of comprehension.
The science of medicine is the study of
diseased organs and their signs, with focus on
detailed observation and diagnosis. The art of
medicine is the expanded consciousness of the
psyche, which observes the symbology of disease
in its relation to the wholeness and quality of life.
The essence of these different approaches is clearly
shown in a study of diseases of the heart.
Examination of the heart as a physical organ
will tell us a great deal about the heart as a structure
which has a function in health and disease.
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Intensive investigation will even show biological
changes which precede symptoms and clinical signs
of disease. Investigation satisfies our need for
information about the immediate condition. We
may ask ourselves how much we really know about
the cause of heart disease in one man, or of similar
disease in another, and how much we really know
of the heart of man.
Let us consider the heart as a sign and as a
symbol.
The heart as a sign is a physical organ which
lies within the chest cavity. We can detect it with
our eyes, our ears, our finger-tips. We can explore
it by radiography, by electrocardiography, by
examination of the pressure and content of the
blood which is within it. We know its structure and
its function. We may compare analysis of one heart
with analysis of another, and draw conclusions
from our comparison. We may also find our
analysis and its results reassuring to our self-
definition as medical practitioners. We focus on
the heart and its deviation from “normal”. We then
administer chemicals which have previously, in
other hearts, shown themselves to be biologically
active, to correct the demonstrated “abnormality”.
This is the scientific approach to disease, based on
investigation, diagnosis and treatment, and
presuming a logical prognosis.
As a symbol, the heart has been known to poets
and artists throughout time. The heart is the seat of
the emotions, indisputably associated with changes
of feeling. The experience of the feeling life -
emotional changes, love, fear, anxiety - centres
physically in the thoracic zone of the body, and
during an emotional experience variations and
irregularities of heart-beat are often perceived. The
heart somatically focuses our attention. The heart
psychologically expands our consciousness to
include the totality of the immediate situation,
within the universe, and the wholeness of man’s
experience in his universal situation. We find in
using the symbolical or psychological approach to
disease, that we are not studying disease, but
observing wholeness or health. This wholistic
approach which sees the dynamic relation of man in
the environment, and at a point in time, may be able
to fathom logical processes which underlie and
cause disease. A disease process can then be
reanalysed as a healthy reaction of a healthy system
to a situation which is stressful, so that
readjustment of the individual to his environment
can effect lasting relief of symptoms. Prevention of
recurrence of the cause of a disease prevents
recurrence of the disease. Stress in an individual in
relation to his life situation reacts within that
individual and may be perceived as fear, anxiety,
tension or depression. These e-motions are
outward manifestations of a process which prior to
its manifestation was inner tension. We tend in this
civilized society to repress our inner tensions so
efficiently that often we are ourselves unaware of
their presence and significance to us. Fluctuations
in feeling are subtle in relation to the bombardment
of external stimuli which we continually receive.
The outward showing of inner tension which we
call emotion, we tend to avoid. The motion of this
tension is then enclosed or repressed within the
being and continues to operate there, manifesting
itself ultimately at the physical somatic level as
signs and symptoms of disease.
Expanding our consciousness again, we find
behind the emotional associations of the heart, the
use of the word as the “core” of a situation. The
heart of a matter is that which is central to its
significance. As the centre of a wheel is a point of
stillness within the spin, so we find at the core of
man’s consciousness is a point of stillness, silent
harmony. The use of words to describe its stillness
moves us away from the balanced wholeness. The
wholeness is that which is sought by philosophers
and mystics throughout the ages, and is felt in
moments of silent communication.
In the early days of civilization of man, the
healing functions of science, religions and
philosophy were embodied in certain individuals.
The development of thought processes in the
scientific era divided the functions, some men
focusing their attention on science, and others, on
philosophy or religion. The division showed itself
in the difference between Eastern introvert religion
and Western extravert mechanization. Modern
physics has disproved earlier ideas of a materialistic
universe and an intangible psyche. Dualistic
concepts of somatic and psychological disease will
also have to die. Matter can be proved to be a
condensation of energy. The atom is not the
smallest indivisible particle, but a dynamic relation
of positive and negative charges.
If we observe the symbolical as well as the
scientific significance of this fact we realize that we
can no longer separate in our minds the concepts of
one kind of disease which affects the body and
another which affects the mind; nor can we, the
medical profession, allow our specialist functions to
be separated in this way. There is no convergence
of energy in any disease process which can affect a
mind and leave a body unaffected, nor a bodily
process which does not affect the mind. In the
wholeness of life the two are simultaneous.
Chest pain is a common symptom, and the
differentiation of cardiac pain from muscular
tension of other origins can present a diagnostic
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problem. Physical examination and investigations
will demonstrate the efficiency or inefficiency of
cardiac function, and the measurements may be
reassuring to the sufferer and to the practitioner, but
do not necessarily solve the problem. Solution of
the problem to the practitioner is treatment of the
disease, through one or several of the therapeutic
tools available to him. Our scientific training may
lead us to place most reliance on our physical
methods of treatment, particularly the multiple
available medications. Of equal value we may now
see the more subtle weapons, the unwinding of
emotional tension which results from verbalization
of repressed problems to an uncritical ear, the
assessment of the distribution of energies through
the course of the day, the comprehensive awareness
of fundamental principles of life, and the ability of
any living being willingly to affirm and accept, or
positively change, any problematic area of his life.
The problem in the patient is the problem in the
practitioner.
--------------------------------------------------------------
5. An approach to Ischaemic Heart Disease
JENKINS, Michael, D. (BHJ. LXVI, 2/1977)
INTRODUCTION
Ischaemic Heart Disease is becoming an
increasingly common condition, and is now one of
the major causes of death in the civilized world.
Although it is to some extent the inevitable
consequence of ageing, the alarming increase in
coronary events in the younger age groups leads
one to suspect that the revolutions in life styles,
both physical and psychological, which have
occurred in this century, have some bearing on the
matter. Once a diagnosis of Ischaemic Heart
Disease has been made, the physician is faced with
the problem of how best to make use of the
available therapeutic agents. To do this, it is
helpful to have a clear idea of the aims of the
treatment. This implies that the physician needs to
have some understanding of the psyche and of
cardiopulmonary pathophysiology. By approaching
the problem in this way it may be possible to find
groups of remedies which act on the heart and
correspond to the common clinical presentations.
Then, by using mental, peculiar, general and local
symptoms, one may choose the most appropriate
remedy for the situation. This does not imply that
there is no place for constitutional prescribing. On
the contrary, but there is no reason for not trying to
make a sound clinico-pathological diagnosis and
prescribing on that as well. It seems appropriate
therefore, to try to develop rational therapeutic
approaches based on what we know and what we
believe to be true. In this way, we may come to
know a lot more and perhaps justify our beliefs.
When a patient develops coronary artery
disease, the clinical picture is largely determined by
the site and size of the occlusion or occlusions, the
overall state of his cardiopulmonary function, his
temperament and his past experience. If there is to
be a positive approach to the problem, the physician
has to take all of these into consideration. Given
appropriate support for the cardiopulmonary
function and the psyche, and given modification of
unfavourable responses and habits, one may be able
to buy enough time for some healing and the
formation of collateral vessels to take place. If in
addition, one can directly increase the blood supply
to the myocardium and actually stimulate the
formation of collateral vessels, so much the better:
the ultimate objective is of course to find methods
of slowing down or even reversing the
arteriosclerotic process. Myocardial ischaemia
occurs when there is a discrepancy between the
oxygen requirements of the myocardium and its
blood supply. As soon as this occurs, myocardial
function is impaired. If this is severe, the ejection
fraction is reduced, the left ventricle becomes stiff
and the end diastolic pressure rises. The left atrial
pressure must therefore also rise. When this
happens, oedema fluid passes into the interstitial
tissues of the lung and increases the lung water
volume. This results in a disturbance of the
ventilation-perfusion ratio and hypoxaemia
develops. Hypoxaemia, anxiety and sympathetic
overactivity may aggravate the situation further by
increasing the heart rate and ventricular irritability.
Myocardial oxygen consumption is related to the
product of the heart rate and systolic blood
pressure. Thus a marked tachycardia after
myocardial infarction will tend to favour the
extension of the area of damaged muscle. There is
now increasing evidence to suggest that morbidity
and mortality after myocardial infarction are related
to infarct size. It is therefore reasonable in the
acute situation to attempt to reduce sympathetic
overactivity, hypoxaemia, lung water and
tachycardia without further increasing the left
ventricular and diastolic pressure. The initial aims
of treatment in acute myocardial infarction can be
summarized as:
Relief of pain and anxiety
Prevention and treatment of arrhythmias
The maintenance of a low myocardial work
load compatible with adequate perfusion of
vital organs
Adequate oxygenation
Reduction of lung water volume
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However, since one of the basic objectives
must be to minimize the extension of myocardial
damage, the following additional factors should
also be considered:
Prevention of extension of thrombus
Minimization of haemorrhage into the infarcted
areas
Reduction of peri-infarction oedema
Reduction of any spasm in the coronary vessels
If it is possible, by means of therapeutic
intervention, to achieve these aims, then one may
be able to salvage those areas of muscle
immediately adjacent to the area of acute infarction.
APPLICATION OF HOMŒOPATHIC
REMEDIES TO MYOCARDIAL
INFARCTION AND ANGINA PECTORIS
ACUTE PRESCRIBING
Aconite
The outstanding characteristic of the Aconite
state is terror and anxiety. The patient is convinced
he is going to die. The drug picture includes
praecordial pain radiating into the left arm, tingling
in the fingers, a marked tachycardia, palpitations, a
full bounding pulse, dyspnoea, and icy coldness of
the hands and feet. There is also marked physical
and mental restlessness. As with all the Aconite
pictures, the onset is acute, and therefore the
remedy is only likely to be of benefit at the
beginning of the first attack of pain. Aconite is said
not to produce in its provings any tissue change, but
rather to produce functional disturbances. It would
therefore seem to be indicated at the onset of acute
coronary insufficiency where there is marked
anxiety and sympathetic over-activity as shown by
the Tachycardia and raised systolic pressure and
shutting down of the peripheral cutaneous
circulation. This is just the type of situation in
which potentially fatal Arrhythmias are likely to
occur.
Arnica montana
Arnica is usually given routinely in acute
Myocardial Infarction, unless another remedy is
clearly indicated. It has in its provings oppressive
praecordial pain radiating into the left arm, anxiety,
dyspnoea and the sudden horror of instant death.
The pulse is described as feeble and may be
irregular. Arnica has two useful peculiar symptoms
in this context:
(i) The patient says there is nothing wrong with
him when there very clearly is.
(ii) He is restless because the bed feels too hard
and the whole body feels sore.
This remedy is usually given in high potency in
the initial stages on the basis of the general clinical
picture and the possibility that the amount of
haemorrhage into the infarcted area may be
reduced, or the extension of the thrombus may be
prevented. Subsequently, it may be given low to
aid healing of damaged tissue, as a stimulant to the
myocardium and as an anti-anginal agent. In this
latter context the Materia Medica describes
classical Angina pectoris, usually in the more
robust physically well developed patient.
Cactus grandiflora
The chest pain of Cactus is said to be as if a
band were being tightened around the chest. There
is radiation of the pain to the left arm, axilla and
through to the back. Palpitations and dyspnoea
may be marked. The pulse is described as being of
small volume, rapid, sometimes irregular and the
blood pressure low. Cactus is a remedy frequently
used in Angina Pectoris and Myocardial Infarction.
However, it has in addition cardiac decompensation
with an enlarged heart, going on to Congestive
Cardiac Failure associated with the mental
symptoms of Depression and Anxiety about heart
disease. These mental symptoms are more of the
nature of melancholia and general ill humour rather
than a true depression, and the fear of death does
not have the element of terror as found in the
Aconite picture. Cactus then, when used as a heart
remedy, seems to have two aspects: firstly as a
remedy given high in acute chest pain and secondly
as a chronic remedy given low in the burnt-out
heart with recurrent attacks of angina. In this
second picture, Haematoxylin given low is rather
similar in its indications, with the difference that
the pain is described as a heavy weight across the
chest.
Spigelia
The chest pain of Spigelia is described as
tearing, stabbing, or as if the heart were being
compressed by a hand. Anxiety is marked and the
patient may complain of pains everywhere, but
particularly the jaw, the neck and shoulders. There
may be numbness in the left arm. Characteristically
the patient wants to be propped up lying on the
right side. This remedy is said to be most
appropriate in the type of patient with a pallid,
chilly, nervous disposition and in the present
context is recommended in the literature mainly for
inflammatory heart disease and neuralgic pains.
However, there are patients with undoubted
Ischaemic Heart Disease whose pains are not
typically anginal but almost neuralgic in quality. It
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is perhaps in these patients that Spigelia is of most
use in the treatment of acute coronary insufficiency
and angina pectoris. It has the modalities of
aggravation from cold, eating and exercise.
Spongia tosta
This remedy has an application to
inflammatory heart disease but is also used in
patients with Ischaemic Heart Disease when the
symptoms are appropriate. The chest pain is
described as a fullness or bursting, with anxiety,
sweating, chilliness and a marked numbness in the
left arm. The pain gives rise to a choking sensation
and can have the unusual features of being relieved
by lying down and worse lying on the right side or
bent forward. These positional features suggest the
possibility of an element of Pericarditis. Acute
Pericarditis does occur after Myocardial Infarction
but is usually painless. However, the Materia
Medica also describes typical paroxysmal nocturnal
dyspnoea, pain and anxiety. As one would expect
with Spongia, the broncho-constrictive element,
with a sense of suffocation and restlessness, may be
marked. There is a desire for cool air and an
aggravation from a warm room. There is a desire
for warm drinks which may relieve the respiratory
symptoms in particular. As one can see there are
several features which are very similar to
Arsenicum, but the bursting quality of the pain with
numbness is quite different. Both types are agitated
and may want warm drinks and cool air, but
Arsenicum is rather more chilly and Spongia is
likely to have facial congestion rather than the pale
drawn collapsed facies of the Arsenicum patient.
Spongia is also used as a chronic anti-anginal
agent. However, the inner nature of the remedy
seems to be more in the realm of inflammatory
disease, for example Pericarditis, Myocarditis,
perhaps Endocarditis, and right heart strain in
association with Bronchitis and Asthma.
Arsenicum album
Arsenicum also has acute and chronic
applications.
(i) In the acute episode the outstanding features
are extreme prostration, and anxiety with marked
restlessness, pallor, sweating and a desire for sips
of cold water or warm drinks. The chest pain is
described as a constricting or burning oppression in
the chest. The pulse is rapid and of small volume.
The patient is orthopnoeic, in a state of low output
failure, extremely chilly and wants to be kept warm
although he also wants cool fresh air on the face to
ameliorate the air hunger. It is said that it is wise to
follow the first few doses of Arsenicum with
another remedy, usually Sulphur or Phosphorus.
What is in effect being described is a state of low
output heart failure with high sympathetic activity
and anxiety. In this situation the heart to some
extent needs the positive inotropic effect of the
catecholamines in order to maintain any cardiac
output at all. It may well be that while Arsenicum
may help the peripheral circulatory collapse, unless
something else is given to stimulate the heart, the
sudden collapse which is described is likely to
occur. Arsenicum album is used high in these
situations.
(ii) In the more chronic situation, Arsenicum album
may be of use in the rather chilly broken-down
constitution with Angina associated with marked
anxiety and restlessness, particularly if the chest
pain has a burning quality.
Carbo veg.
This remedy has acute and chronic aspects. It
is well known as the so-called corpse reviver, with
the clinical picture of Acute Circulatory Collapse.
The skin is cold, sweaty, and pale rather than
cyanosed. There is intense air hunger, the patient
wants cool air blowing on him, and despite the
extreme coldness of the skin, wants to be
uncovered. He cannot stand having the bedclothes
up round his neck. The mental features are of
confusion and dullness rather than the intense
anxiety and restlessness of Arsenicum. In the acute
situation Carbo veg. is generally agreed to be best
used in the highest potencies. Sulphur and Kali
carb. are said to follow it well.
In an article on arteriosclerotic heart disease,
BOERICKE suggests the use of Carbo veg. in what
he describes as the chronic anoxaemic state of the
obese oedematous sluggish patient with chronic
cardiopulmonary decompensation.
The snake venoms: Lachesis and Naja
It would seem reasonable to consider using
Lachesis or Naja in the treatment of Myocardial
Ischaemia, on the basis of the symptoms of
Orthopnoea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea,
constricting pain in the throat and chest and the
bluish congested facies. There is a marked
aggravation from heat, after sleep, a tremor and
marked aversion to any pressure or constriction as
from pyjamas or bedclothes. Naja has more
numbness than Lachesis in its drug picture and is
therefore preferred when numbness in the left arm
is an outstanding feature in a case which otherwise
suggests Lachesis. In addition, both these snake
venoms have in their drug pictures the ability to aid
the resolution of haemorrhagic tissue damage and
on the basis of this it has been suggested that these
remedies may be given after Myocardial Infarction.
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Apis mellifica
Apis has some diuretic action although it is by
no means as effective as the allopathic diuretics. It
also has the feature of reducing local oedema.
These two actions suggest its use in the treatment of
Acute Myocardial Infarction to try to minimize
Peri-infarction and Pulmonary Oedema, particularly
where the general features of a lack of restlessness
and fear with thirstlessness are present. These
general symptoms differentiate it from Arsenicum
as a remedy for Pulmonary Oedema.
SYMPTOMATIC TREATMENT IN ANGINA PECTORIS
Remedies
Arnica Spongia Haematoxylin Cuprum
Cactus Spigelia Arsenicum Latrodectus
Of these remedies all but Latrodectus and
Cuprum have been touched upon in the previous
section and it is perhaps rather arbitrary that these
two were not included.
Latrodectus
The drug picture is of typical Angina
pectoris with retrosternal chest pain radiating into
the shoulders and back or into the axillae and down
the arms and fingers with numbness. The pain has
a cramping quality and is associated with a cold
sweat and gasping respiration. The pulse is rapid
and the skin vasoconstricted. BOERICKE
recommends its use not only in the acute attack but
also given between attacks as a prophylactic.
Cuprum met.
Cuprum met. has as its keynote spasm and
cramp. It belongs to the Proteus group. Its drug
picture includes praecordial anxiety and pain,
palpitation and asthmatic attacks coming on
particularly in the early hours of the morning. It
may be of use in the so-called Prinzmetals angina
which is thought to be due to coronary artery
spasm, usually occurring at rest and causing
transient ST segment elevation rather than
depression.
LOW POTENCY REMEDIES USED TO SUPPORT THE
FAILING HEART
In many patients with Coronary Artery
Disease and a failing heart, it may be necessary to
give a remedy in material dosage to support the
myocardium. Although these remedies are not in
any way homœopathic, they are widely prescribed
by homœopathic physicians and appear to have
very low toxicity. As with most of the drugs used
by homœopathic physicians, the efficacy of these
compounds has not been scientifically fully
evaluated. Nevertheless they do seem, in clinical
practice, to be useful remedies.
Arnica montana (3x-6)
As has been discussed above, this remedy
is used for its supportive effect on the myocardium
and as an anti-anginal agent. It is also helpful in
relieving the sense of general fatigue which so
many patients with heart disease suffer from.
Crataegus Ø
This is commonly used routinely in
patients with Cardiac Enlargement, Hypertension,
Atrial fibrillation, and left-sided chest pain
particularly below the clavicle. It seems to be
helpful in supporting the end-stage heart in which
there is marked exertional dyspnoea with poor
myocardial function and a relatively rapid heart rate
which does not increase markedly on exercise. It is
also useful in managing the irritability,
apprehension and despondency so often associated
with Chronic Heart Disease.
Convallaria Ø
This is recommended in Ischaemic Heart
Disease with a long history of tobacco
consumption, Angina pectoris, dyspnoea and
palpitations from the least exertion, and a rapid
irregular pulse. A Bradycardia is also described.
Peripheral oedema with a poor urinary output and
orthopnoea and ventricular irritability seem to be its
main indications. It has also been recommended in
rheumatic heart disease. The special characteristic
which indicates the use of the remedy is the
sensation as though the heart was starting and
stopping.
Adonis vernalis Ø
This remedy is indicated in Heart Failure
with a low blood pressure and usually a slow pulse,
though a rapid irregular pulse is also described. It
seems to increase myocardial contractibility and to
have some anti-arrhythmic properties.
Prunus virginiana (3-6)
This seems to be indicated mainly in right
ventricular strain and irritability associated with
chest disease. In this context it is very similar to
Spongia tosta used in low potency except that in
Prunus virginiana the nocturnal cough is worse on
lying down. Laurocerasus is another remedy
which may be of use in cor pulmonale.
Apocynum Ø
This remedy is also predominantly a right
heart remedy with some diuretic action. Thirst,
nausea and gastric irritability may be marked.
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Some authors recommend it for alcoholic
cardiomyopathy.
Strophanthus Ø
This increases myocardial contractibility
and slows the heart rate very like Digitalis. It has
some diuretic effect and is less accumulative than
Digitalis. It is recommended as an anti-arrhythmic
in tobacco, coffee and alcohol users.
THE LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT OF THE PATIENT
WITH ISCHAEMIC HEART DISEASE
Some of the foregoing discussion is
relevant to this phase of management. The patient
needs something to control the anginal attacks and
breathlessness, and he may need an inotropic agent,
a diuretic or an anti-arrhythmic. In some cases a
single remedy may suffice. In others, several
different remedies may be required. However, a
great deal more can be done and needs to be done if
the patient is to return to something approaching a
normal life. A lot has been written in the past few
years about the beneficial effects of regular
exercise, weight reduction, giving up smoking, diet
and the control of hypertension. Rather less space
has been devoted to the management of the
psychological aspects of heart disease. In the rather
crude division of people into type A active
aggressive personalities and type B passive
personalities, there is little doubt that Coronary
Artery Disease is more common in the former
group. In order to approach the psychological
aspects of heart disease I feel that one has to
broaden the view, commonly held, that
psychosomatic disease is functional and in some
way unreal. I believe that it is more than likely that
psychological and emotional stress, and
particularly the repression or the gesture of
internalization of feelings, may well result in
humoral, neurological and metabolic changes
which give rise to many forms of degenerative or
sclerotic disease.[Stress mine=KSS] Addiction to
food, tobacco and alcohol may be regarded as
reflections of an unsatisfactory emotional life, and
they certainly increase the rate of the
arteriosclerotic process. I am not convinced,
however, that these factors are in themselves
causal. If there is to be any real amelioration or
actual reversal of the process, I believe that not
only does there have to be a change in the life style
and habits, but also some degree of change in the
psyche. To this end, the encouragement of a
positive approach to his disease and the control of
anxiety and depression should be one of the
mainstays of the management of the patient with
Ischaemic Heart Disease.
From the point of view of Homœopathy,
high potency constitutional prescribing comes into
this aspect of treatment. There are, however, a few
remedies which have been suggested as being
particularly useful and these include Aurum met.,
Aurum mur., Baryta carb. and Plumbum.
Aurum met. and Aurum mur.
Aurum met. is commonly used in patients
with heart disease and associated depression. There
is a tendency to hypertension and the drug picture
covers the symptomatology of Angina Pectoris,
nocturnal dyspnoea, palpitations and peripheral
oedema. It has an aggravation from cold weather,
but a desire for open air while being well wrapped
up. Warm air increases the dyspnoea. The mental
features are important. The characteristics of the
depression are more a loss of the love of life than a
fear of death. In fact, the patient may well feel
suicidal in a positive rather than a negative way.
The feelings of worthlessness and self-reproach
arise from his frustration at being unable to do the
things which in the past were well within his
capabilities. This contrasts with the Stannum type
of depression in which there is marked inertia and a
negative despondency. The patient with the Aurum
type of illness has essentially a driving personality;
a ‘type A’ person in the sense discussed above.
Although it may be part of the reason he developed
heart disease in the first place, a little gold may help
to lift the depressive element and allow him to
channel his energies into an active approach to his
problems.
Aurum mur. has essentially the same
mental indications but with perhaps greater anxiety.
This may be related to the muriatic radical. The
modalities are different: warm air, a warm bed or a
warm room aggravate the symptoms, and cold, wet
weather ameliorates them. Symptoms of
retrosternal oppression and palpitations on exertion,
venous engorgement, and peripheral oedema with a
rapid and irregular pulse are described. It is
grouped with the Proteus bowel nosode on the
grounds of its manifestations of sympathetic
overactivity.
Baryta carb.
This remedy is recommended by
BOERICKE in the treatment of the senile
hypertensive arteriopathy, particularly where there
are features of a co-existing arteriosclerotic
dementia, myocardial irritability and intense
sweating. Chest pain as such is not a marked
feature. It may be helpful in delaying insidiously
progressive arteriosclerosis.
Plumbum met.
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Plumbum met. is also recommended by
BOERICKE in the treatment of the hypertensive
arteriopathy. The pulse is said to be slow and of
small volume. Associated features are melancholia,
slowness of perception and comprehension,
constipation, and urinary frequency particularly at
night.
CONCLUSION
This article is not in any way intended to
be a definitive exposition on the treatment of
Ischaemic Heart Disease. It is simply an attempt to
formulate a more rational approach to homœopathic
prescribing in what is now a very common disease.
There is little value in attempting to do clinical
studies with any group of patients if one does not
have hypotheses on which to design the study.
Then, when the studies have been done, one is in a
much better position critically to evalute the
original hypotheses.
--------------------------------------------------------------
6. Drainage remedies and the Liver
HARLING, Marianne E.
(BHJ. Vol. LXV, 4/1976)
The idea of drainage goes back to
HIPPOCRATES and beyond into medical
prehistory. It is the idea that the body rids itself of
toxic material, first of all through the normal
discharges of urine, sweat and stools, then, if this is
insufficient, through increased discharges from
mucous surfaces and glands, and finally, if all else
fails, by means of abscesses. The laudable function
of the true allopathic physician was to assist nature
in this process; and herbal remedies are classified
as cathartics, diuretics and sudorifics, as well as
tonics and stimulants, to tonify and stimulate the
“organs of elimination”, i.e. kidney, liver, bowels
and skin. This idea was also responsible for the
development of such treatments as cupping,
bleeding and clysters. Abuse of these, as well as of
Mercury and other dangerous drugs, led
HAHNEMANN to seek for gentler alternative,
which he found in Homœopathy.
HAHNEMANN was not unaware of the
need for elimination, but he taught that disease was
due to an imbalance in the Vital Force, and that if
this were corrected the body would take care of its
own eliminatory problems. (It is interesting to note
that this is also the principle underlying
Acupuncture.) However HAHNEMANN also
knew that a patient could become quite ill as a
result of the “crisis of elimination” following
administration of the similimum.
RADEMACHER, a follower of
PARACELSUS and contemporary and pupil of
HAHNEMANN, pointed out that certain remedies
acted upon particular tissues, organs or systems,
and many homœopaths have successfully used
these “pathological” remedies in low potency,
whilst others preferred to develop high-potency
constitutional prescribing.
In England, Compton BURNETT
combined the two approaches by treating Chronic
diseases, in particular Cancer and Tuberculosis,
with high potency constitutional remedies or with
Nosodes, alternating with courses of organ-specific
remedies in low potency or mother tincture, or with
tissue salts. This has remained as a pattern of
prescribing amongst many homœopathic doctors in
this country, and there can be few, even of the
strictest Kentian persuasion, who do not
occasionally treat an intercurrent condition, even if
it may be an aggravation, with Arsenicum, Nux
vomica, or Carbo veg.; and even if the doctor
demurs, the patient will probably take it on his own.
In fact I believe that patients often know best which
are their own drainage remedies. Thus we muddle
through in Britain.
Not so in France! There, as can be
imagined, the approach is much more systematic.
The Grand Old Man of French
Homeopathy, Antoine NEBEL of Lausanne, talked
a great deal more than he wrote (like SOCRATES).
The consequence of this was that his pupils and
their descendants are still divided as to what he
really did teach, whilst the most literate of them,
LEON VANNIER, usurped the title of Grand Old
Man, and his classes at the Centre
Homœopathique Française have left their stamp
on a generation of French homœopaths.
Like Compton BURNETT, NEBEL
favoured a mixed Homœopathy, using
constitutional remedies and Nosodes in high
potency, and organ remedies (remèdes
canalisateurs) and drainage remedies in low
potency or mother tincture. This attempt at
marriage between Hahnemannian and Hippocratic
medicine soon degenerated into polygamy. In a
modern French manual of Homœopathy we find
reference to:
1. The Constitutional Remedy (classically, in
NEBEL’s terms, Calc-carb., Calc-phos. or
Calc-fluor., but according to BERNARD Nat-
mur. and Sulphur too). These cover the
mental, general and morphological aspects of
the case, and are given in high potencies,
which in France are not usually as high as in
this country.
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2. Isopathic Remedies Nosodes, given, again in
high potency, for reasons connected with
family or previous history, as well as for the
symptomatic drug picture.
3. Satellite Remedies given in medium potency.
These are the complementary remedies and/or
antidotes of the constitutional remedy, and are
given to modify the patient’s reaction to the
latter.
4. Organ Remedies - Remèdes Canalisateurs
given to direct the vital healing force to a
particular organ or system.
5. Drainage Remedies, to promote elimination.
The last two, which may well be the same remedy,
are given in the lowest potencies, or mother
tincture.
The various remedies are taken on a strict
time schedule.
A further elaboration may be the
combination of several remedies in a “cock-tail”, an
example of which is Hepagalen.
Such practices were and are anathema to
the Kentist school of the single dose and the single
remedy (of whom there are representatives in
France, although the laws governing Pharmacy
make it difficult for them, and much easier for the
pluralists). I myself would admit that the unicist
approach is much more elegant, possibly more
scientific, and certainly easier to teach; but does it
provide a means of dealing with the patient who
comes in great distress with an aggravation
following a high potency of the well-chosen
similimum, or the person whose mental and general
symptoms point to one remedy, whilst his profusion
of local signs and symptoms suggest one or several
others? Or the one who just does not get better on
his single dose? To return to the comparison with
Acupuncture, it is said that the more skilful an
acupuncturist, the fewer needles he uses, and
perhaps that is also true of the homœopath, though I
should think that compounding a prescription on
the French pluralist formula must require the skill
of a computer.
Of course if you are fortunate enough to
have a patient whose mental, general, regional and
local symptoms all point in the direction of one
polycrest, there should be no problem. In this case,
as one Frenchman put it, “le simillimum c’est son
propre draineur”.
I shall conclude by describing the liver
drainage remedies named by Dr.ROLAND ZISSU
in his Manual of Homeopathic Medicine. Dr.
ZISSU, a convinced Hahnemannian, is careful to
point out that these remedies must be chosen
because of their homœopathic similarity to the
patient’s symptoms, and that, properly speaking,
there are no drainage remedies as such; any
remedy, particularly any polycrest, can be used as a
drainage remedy if the symptoms and signs are
appropriate.
IRIS VERSICOLOR - Blue flag
Herbal use, for alternative properties, purifying
blood and venereal infections.
EFFECTS on pancreas, thyroid, salivary glands,
gastrointestinal system, muscles, membranes.
Frontal sick headache, worse after strain, worse for
rest.
Tinnitus
BURNING OF MOUTH AND WHOLE ALIMENTARY
CANAL. Nausea
Salivation increased
Sore liver, cutting pains; BURNING diarrhoea and
anus
Pain in left hip joint – (Gonorrhoea)
Herpes. Shiny Psoriasis
WORSE evening, night, rest, RIGHT side
BETTER motion.
CHINA - CINCHONA OFFICINALIS –
Peruvian bark (Quinine)
Throbbing headache. Sensitive scalp
Blue circles around eyes. Yellowish sclerotics
Tinnitus
Furred tongue with burning tip. Salty taste
Worse for fruit and milk
FLATULENT COLIC
Gallstone colic. May have jaundice
Frothy yellow stools
WORSE LOSS OF FLUIDS
SENSITIVE TO TOUCH. BETTER FOR HARD PRESSURE
PERIODICITY
Loss of fluids
Liver and Gall-bladder trouble
Flatulence. Anorexia. Bulimia
Malaria.
CHELIDONIUM MAJUS–Greater Celandine
Right-sided headache and face-ache. Icy cold
occiput
Lethargy
Yellow tongue with tooth marks. Bitter taste
Dirty yellow Conjunctivae
PAIN UNDER INFERIOR ANGLE RIGHT SCAPULA
PAIN IN RIGHT LOBE LIVER
OBSTRUCTIVE JAUNDICE. GALLSTONES
Nausea
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Hard round yellow stools. Itching in anus
Foaming golden urine, like Beer
Generalized aches and pains. Muscular soreness.
Icy fingertips
Dry yellow skin
RIGHT-SIDED
Serous effusions. Hydrocele
CARDUUS MARIANUS–St. Mary’s Thistle
Dull, heavy, apathetic
Migraine which may be relieved by Epistaxis
Bitter taste. Furred tongue. Nausea. Aversion to
salt meat
LIVER. PAIN, ESPECIALLY IN LEFT LOBE
TENDER SWOLLEN GALL BLADDER
JAUNDICE. DROPSY
Yellow stools. Alternating constipation and
diarrhoea
Piles, varicose veins, varicose ulcers
Thick turbid yellow urine
CHEST pain in R. ribs and front. Yellow patches
over sternum
Asthma. Liver affections after Influenza
Pain in hips
TRANSVERSE PAINS (cf CHELIDONIUM, vertical
pains)
WORSE lying on LEFT side, after food, after
movement
BETTER seated, bending forward, open air
Migraine
Cholecystitis, Cholelithiasis
Jaundice
Portal congestion
Asthma (in miners) with liver damage
Influenza with liver dysfunction
BERBERIS VULGARIS–Barberry
Frontal headache. Listless
Tongue feels scalded
Nausea before breakfast
Stitches in Gall-bladder. Sticking pains in
abdomen, down to groin
Catarrh of Gall-bladder, with constipation and
yellow complexion
Fistula in ano
Pain in renal angles
Frequency, with pains in loins and bladder.
Burning urine
Red deposit in urine
Backache and lumbago, pain in metacarpals and
metatarsals
Flat warts, itchy skin
SYMPTOMS SHIFT RAPIDLY FROM ONE SYSTEM TO
ANOTHER, ONE AREA TO ANOTHER
Worse motion, STANDING
Better rest
Left-sided
SOLIDAGO–Golden rod
Bitter taste, worse at night and on waking
Coated tongue
Abdominal distension
PAIN ON BOTH SIDES UMBILICUS, WORSE
DEEP PRESSURE
Tender renal angles
Scanty dark urine
Bronchitis
Fibroids
History or family history of Tuberculosis
Renal and hepatic insufficiency
Hay fever
PTELEA–Wafer ash
Bitter taste. Tongue coated white or yellow.
Increased salivation
Stomach: eructation, pain, nausea, vomiting,
burning, emptiness
WEIGHT AND PAIN ON RIGHT SIDE
Liver sore and swollen
Pressure on lungs. Asthma
WORSE LYING ON LEFT SIDE, early morning, heat
BETTER lying on right side, acids, fresh air
BOLDOBOLDOA FRAGRANS
Bitter taste
Loss of appetite
Hypochondriasis
Burning weight in liver and stomach
WORSE after malaria
TARAXACUMDandelion
Mapped tongue. White coat, with red sensitive
areas
Bitter taste and eructations, increased salivation
Enlarged hard liver
Stitches in left side
Diarrhoea with rectal cancer
Tympanitis
Neuralgia of knees, relieved by pressure
Night sweats
WORSE mornings, rest, lying down
BETTER touch
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CONIUM–Hemlock
VERTIGO ON MOVING HEAD, ESPECIALLY TO LEFT
PHOTOPHOBIA
Aching in and around liver. Chronic Jaundice
Better and then worse for eating
Acid eructations
Enlarged hard glands
Hard lumps in breast
Paralysis of lower limbs
Yellow skin and finger nails
INDURATION
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7. Heartwarming kids
McGRAW, Tim (NAMAH. 11, 2/2003)
Children often have a peculiarly effective
way of communication. Here are a few examples.
Perhaps there are a few lessons for us adults as
well! Would love to read your responses.
(1)
Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once
talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The
purpose of the contest was to find the most caring
child.
The winner was a four-year-old child
whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman
who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the
man cry, the little boy went into the old
gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat
there. When his mother asked him what he had
said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I
just helped him cry.”
(2)
Teacher Debbie Moon’s first graders were
discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in
the picture had different coloured hair than the
other family members. Another child suggested
that he was adopted and a little girl said, “I know
all about adoptions because I was adopted.” “What
does it mean to be adopted?” asked another child.
“It means,” said the girl,” that you grew in your
mommy’s heart instead of her tummy.”
(3)
Whenever I’m disappointed with my spot
in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott.
Jamie was trying out for a part in a school play.
His mother told me that he’d set his heart on being
in it, though she feared he would not be chosen.. On
the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to
collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her,
eyes shining with pride and excitement.
“Guess what mom,” he shouted, and then
said those words that will remain a lesson to me:
“I’ve been chosen to clap and cheer.”
(4)
A lesson in ‘heart’ is my little 10 ‘year’
old daughter, Sarah, who was born with a muscle
missing in her foot and wears a brace all the time.
She came home one beautiful spring day to tell me
she had competed in ‘field day’ – that’s where they
have lots of races and other competitive events.
Because of her leg support, my mind raced
as I tried to think of encouragement for my Sarah,
things I could say to her about not letting this get
her down, but before I could get a word out, she
said “Daddy, I won two of the races!” I couldn’t
believe it!
And then Sarah said, “I had an advantage.”
Ah I knew it. I thought she must have been given a
head start … some kind of physical advantage. But
again, before I could say anything she said,
“Daddy, I didn’t get a head start… My advantage
was I had to try harder!”
(5)
An Eye Witness Account from New York
City, on a cold day in December: A little boy about
10 years old was standing before a shoe store on the
roadway, barefooted, peering through the window,
and shivering with cold. A lady approached the
boy and said, “My little fellow, why are you
looking so earnestly in that window?”
“I was asking God to give me a pair of
shoes,” was the boy’s reply. The lady took him by
the hand and went into the store and asked the clerk
to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She
then asked if he could give her a basin of water and
a towel. He quickly brought them to her. She took
the little fellow to the back part of the store and,
removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little
feet, and dried them with a towel. By this time the
clerk had returned with the socks.. Placing a pair
upon the boy’s feet, she purchased him a pair of
shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and
gave them to him. She patted him on the head and
said, “No doubt, my little fellow, you feel more
comfortable now?”
As she turned to go, the astonished lad
caught her by the hand, and looking up in her face,
with tears in his eyes, answered the question with
these words: “Are you God’s Wife?”
We all take different paths in life, but no
matter where we go, we take a little of each other
everywhere.
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8. Bonjour Docteur (Good day Doctor)
LAPY, Benoit (RBH. 32, 1/2002)
(Case presented at the Conference of the
Belgian School of Homœopathy at Ittre on 9 June
2001)
“Good day doctor,” he said, shaking my
hand and entering my consultation room. He
unbuttoned his vest and sat on the chair.
What does he wish to say by that? What
does it signify?
Here is a caricature of the idea that I wish
to make clear in this connection.
Let’s observe that patient, listen to him,
note all that appears particular in him as well as in
the manner in which he expresses them. Let us try
to take the symptoms and find the remedy.
Odile is a charming girl. Born in 1992. I
first treated her in classical medicine; then on the
insistence of her uncle, her parents asked me during
one visit, if it was not possible to treat her with
Homeopathy.
Hence there was no “first consultation” in
the rigorous sense of the term (complete anamnesis,
history …), but my notes had been taken most of
the time during the home visits. I experience more
difficulties during visits to maintain a file, to take
complete notes and to make a thorough search for
the remedy. On the contrary, the patient and in this
case the child, is more at ease and has less tendency
to adopt an attitude of “well-brought-up-child-who-
knows-how-to conduct-herself-at-the-doctor’s”)
It was particularly interesting to me here to
observe well the child and with the help of my
notes to very subtly understand her behaviour.
THE CONSULTATIONS:
The first visit was on 5 November 1996.
The mother reported that Odile suffered from cold
and cough which had been there for a long time,
especially in a warm room or during exertion like
cycling. While the mother was explaining, I noted
that Odile was sitting with her mouth open, tongue
slightly outside like timid and attentive children.
She supported her head against the backrest of the
chair. Her face was red, carotids pulsating.
Often she took part in our conversation to
say: “I am a big girl”. She is very gentle, her
mother told me, and wanted to do everything like
adults. When she is sick, she prefers calm
activities. Her mother has also noticed that she has
become totally indifferent to the cycle which she
loved.
On the idea of indifference (S:
indifference, joyless) (S=Synthesis), her pride (S:
haughty), cough on physical effort (S: cough,
exertion), open mouth (S: mouth, open), her
pulsating carotids and her desire for calm, I
prescribed Belladonna 30.
This remedy was given on 3.01.97, during
a visit to see her younger sister.
The second visit (17.02.97) was for an
Otitis. I was surprised on entering the house to see
Odile hide behind her doll sucking her thumb and
did not want to come and greet me when her
mother asked her to.
The mother told me that the pains were
capricious, aggravated in the open and in the wind.
The pains were shooting accompanied with a
reddening of the face. She shrieked with the pain.
She slept on the painful side.
Odile was described as very grouchy.
On consulting the rubrics: hide, lying on
painful side ameliorates; shrieking with the pain, I
confirmed the remedy Belladonna which I
prescribed in 200K.
On 24.03.97 I again saw Odile.
It was again an ENT problem: cold, no
fever, scratching in the throat, sensation of blocked
ear, ameliorated when she pulls her ears
downwards, dry or productive cough especially in
the morning (Odile could not talk when she
coughed). The nights were calm.
I reread from my file: She was fussy with
everyone in my consultation room and acts like a
clown. She is impatient to be undressed and
examined.
The mother told me that Odile had been
very tired by a fancy-fair. She was in a bad mood
and was grouchy. She grumbled whenever
anything was asked of her. She answered back
when her parents made a remark.
The last prescription had not had a durable
effect and on the idea of playing the clown (S:
antics, plays), nosing around in my consultation
room (S: indiscretion) and answering back (S:
audacity), I prescribed Opium 30K. The remedy
was again given a month later in the 200
th
potency.
I summarize the notes taken during the
two visits of 9.6.97 and 16.6.97.
Again, Odile suffered from an ENT
infection: cold, congested bronchial tubes, dry
cough on rising, productive cough during the day,
cough at night if the child becomes warm, cough
aggravated by physical activity especially in the
open air, sometimes leading to vomiting.
Headache, but the mother told me that it
was “excuse to have the syrup.
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While listening to the mother describe
Odile’s sickness I noted the child play, jumping on
the couch. She was in a very good mood. She then
interrupted her mother demanding syrup, saying she
had pain in the ear. She then returned to the couch.
She then laughed and cuddled against her
mother.
When she talked, she seemed to be
cheerful. At times she truly acted like a clown.
On the contrary, when she is tired, she
must be left in peace.
The first time I gave Opium 200 and when
it failed I prescribed Veratrum album 30K and then
Pulsatilla 30K on the idea of tomfoolery and
feigning sickness.
I again saw her on 2.10.97. I noted that
she entered the consulting room acting like a clown.
She stuck her tongue out and was playing with an
elastic.
It was again an ENT infection, in all
respects comparable to the others.
Odile was described as very changing,
sometimes very active, sometimes very exhausted.
She had a problem in the school but her mother had
not been able to make her talk about it.
She was often distracted, “she dreams”.
I prescribed …….. in 30K and felt I had
found the correct remedy.
A summary:
There was a rapid cure of the affections, a
spacing out of the sickness and of a more benign
character – arguments illustrating the good basis of
the prescription
18.02.98 – ENT infection – I noticed two more
things:
- Odile interrupted us in our consultation
and interfered in matters that did not
concern her,
- Since 6 months, she needed the lights on
while sleeping
- She held herself against her mother and
did not easily change her ideas R/idem
30K.
27.06.98 – pain in the groins – No remedy
13.07.98 – cough R/idem 200
20.11.98 – Gastro enteritis – Intolerant towards
clothing around abdomen. Inactive. No remedy.
12.02.99 – Viral eruption. No remedy.
17.05.99 – Chill after out-door training. R/idem 30
03.11.99 – Wart – No remedy
17.12.99 – First wart disappeared, but another
appeared. No remedy.
No disease after this though I continued to
see others in the family …
ANALYSIS OF THE CASE
These were the rubrics that I based my
prescription on:
- antics, plays.
- timidity, bashful
- rest, desire for
which gave the remedy: Kali bichromicum
Rereading the case and the Synthesis
brought out the other symptoms of 24.03.97.
- sulky
- impatient (to undress)
- cheerful
and of 18.02.98
- obstinate
- fear of dark
Not satisfied with the description in
Allen’s Encyclopaedia, I consulted Hughes and
Dake’s.
I remind you that this work takes the
pathogenesis according to the provers and
chronology of events. Very incomplete, as far as
number of remedies is concerned (Staphysagria
takes only half a page), but for the proving
presented (no symptom of HAHNEMANN is taken
because HUGHES feels it is not upto him to discuss
those provings), this Materia Medica is, all the
same, very rich in its teachings of certain remedies:
the sequence of events – one after the other among
the provers (completely destroyed by Allen’s
presentation), the setting of the complaints and
especially an often more complete description of
the signs help me greatly in the study of certain
remedies. Such was the case of Kalium
bichromicum.
Let us review some aspects of Odile’s behaviour.
1. She says she is a big girl, she is sure of herself,
affirmative.
I read the narrative of NEIDHART (No.
20 in HUGHES): countenance fuller, clearer and
more intellectual.
2. I note that when she is sick, she does not take
much pleasure in her usual games: here it is not a
tiredness that prevents her from playing but rather a
sort of indifference.
For MARENZELLER (26), I read, ‘…
lassitude with a sentiment of general malaise, sullen
and not inclined to attend to one’s avocations;
averse to society and A “taedium vitae”…’ (tired
of living, perhaps the best rubric to express this
idea: loathing of life?)
3. When she is sick, she desires calm, tranquility.
In the same prover, I see... exhaustion, melancholy,
desire for calm and rest; …
4. When I entered during the visit of 17.02.97, she
lay on the couch. Similarly in June, she stretched
herself on the couch and did not wish to see me.
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Her attitude in the face of a problem in her
School is very particular: the mother had noticed
that something had happened but could not succeed
in knowing more.
How to understand this elusive aspect?
I read SCHWARZ (33) express precisely
this same reserve: When he walks in the open air,
an unusual tiredness, legs heavy as if made of lead,
lassitude, bad mood; no inclination for usual
occupations; desire to rest. Sensation of heat and
tiredness as after heavy exercise; exhausted -
incapabe of collecting his thoughts; desire to
remain seated; indifferent, morose; distracted,
desire to cut short all conversation for fear of
exposing himself; desire to be alone; feels better in
the open air.
Eric Vanden EYNDE made a remark that
one used Chrome to hide the metal of the car, a sort
of ornamentation to mask the background. A pretty
image, very interesting.
5. Her attitude during the sickness is also
particular: On one side she has the air of being able
to attend to her work; it must be said that her
general state is little affected; but on the other side
she claims to be strongly ill and demands syrup for
a rapid amelioration of her state. I see here a
contrast between the perception that she has of her
disease, her great desire to be ameliorated and the
actual reality. Initially I had thought that she was
feigning sickness, which was not the case.
In an another place under
MARENZELLER, I can read: … a little better after
having slept for an hour; but again exhausted and
an indescribable sense of malaise and sickness.
For REISINGER (31): … great lassitude
and malaise which prevents him from sleeping for
an hour; sensation as if a real disease would
happen.
And finally under SCHWARZ: … feels
sick, paleness of face, confusion of sense, muscular
weakness and a strong desire to be ameliorated
from this disease to such an extent that he tries to
vomit by putting his fingers into his mouth, and
brings out a large quantity of mucous…
Here then is a series of traits of the
remedy:
- her reliability of self, her indifference to her
hobbies, her desire for calm, her reserve, a
sentiment of disease and demand to be ameliorated.
A remedy of HUGHES also put into
evidence some other symptoms, without doubt very
interesting, but of a very weak discriminative value
and does not guide us in our prescription.
- DRYSDALE and co. (4): langour, distraction,
lazy; less inclined to physical or mental work.
- DUDGEON (19): irritable humour … while
sleeping at night, frequent starting, agitation in
the arms, incoherent talk and finally falls
asleep snoring.
- ARNETH (23): like in sea-sickness, great
prostration and complete indifference .. Sad
mood and grief.
- LACKNER (25): griping dreams in the
morning, different (of accidents, or of
mishaps).
- MARENZELLER (26): sensation of hunger
and disgust for food.
- ZLATAROVICH (34): At 4.00 hrs a sort of
nightmare: I dreamt that someone was sittng
over my chest and pit of the stomach, causing a
sensation of constriction; I groaned loudly and
awoke, I was covered with perspiration and I
had a heat flush.
.. a tickling high up in left nostril, as if a
hair were lodged there, and which actually made
me automatically pick into the nose..
On reading this, it appears legitimate to
make these additions to Synthesis with reference as
HUGHES (HSI):
- confident or firmness (this last rubric also has
Hypericum and is to be added with the same
reference)
- delirium, sleep, on going to (but present in
speech, incoherent, night)
- delusion, disease (with perhaps a connection to
fear disease)
- indifference, to avocations
- moaning in sleep
- secretive or hide
- spoken to, aversion
- medicine, desire to take
- stomach, aversion to food with hunger (perhaps
in relation with – emptiness with hunger)
- nose, picking
- dream, constricted, chest
CONCLUSION
This case according to me shows how a
better approach to the complaints of the patient can
lead to a judicious prescription: listen to the
complaints, attentively observe the behaviour,
understand exactly the problem and translate it into
a repertorial language.
And similarly, an attentive rereading of
our Materia Medica without wishful interpretation
can also bring out strong traits for refining our
knowledge of remedies. Understand better what
the prover has expressed and followingly translate
into the reportorial language in order to help us
later to find the remedy when we come across the
same complaint, such is my intention.
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However, it must be remembered that the
spirit of this work is only an “illustration”, an
“example”.
One cannot draw conclusions, in a hurry,
from this approach:
- On the symptom: limiting the Materia
Medica of a remedy to its symptoms is
incorrect. Performing other provings with
other provers, in double-blind can bring
out other symptoms, other conclusions.
- To give a value to this method over
another method is also incorrect. It would
be good to compare various methods of
work and to study them scientifically.
In one word: an illustration and not a
demonstration.
“Good-bye doctor, and thank you once
again.” He got up, buttonned his vest, held out his
hand to me and turned towards the exit.
What would you like to say by that?
--------------------------------------------------------------
9. A Remedy to Take Seriously
HYDE, Rosemary C. (AH. 9/2003)
Crowparsnip, beddepisbloemser,
doonhead, couronne de moine, fairy clock,
radicchiella, hog snout, odoovanchik, pissabed,
dudhal, wilde cicorie, witch’s milk… What are
these?
These exotic names in a cross-section of
languages – Dutch, French, Italian, Russian, Hindi,
German, and, of course, English – might lead to
that question. A single plant is designated in many
languages worldwide by all of these and about 200
other names.
One beautiful summer day in the French
Alps, I was gazing, wide-eyed, at the most beautiful
hillside expanse of golden flowers I’d ever seen. I
asked the friends I was with the same question,
“What are these?”
I was told they were called “pissenlit,”
meaning, “wet-the-bed” in French. I leaned down
and picked one, and found in my hand the largest,
most glorious Dandelion flower I’d ever seen,
measuring approximately 2.5 inches across.
“Why,” I asked, “would they call a Dandelion
‘pissenlit’?” “Well,” I was told, “if you pick one, it
means you’ll wet the bed that night.” Oh!!
I’d certainly never heard that about
Dandelions. While my friends snickered, I
contemplated the picked Dandelion I was
indisputably holding in my hand. In my experience
until that point, Dandelions were simply a noxious
weed to be eradicated at all costs. This was the
beginning of my education in the many important
uses of Dandelion as a medicinal herb.
In folklore, not only do Dandelions have
the reputation for causing someone to wet the bed,
they also have found fame across the northern
hemisphere as an incredible panacea for a wide
range of human ailments – while also serving as a
thing of beauty and a delicious and nourishing free
food. In fact, their Greek name, Taraxacum, comes
from the words “ailment” (taraxos) and “remedy”
(achos), denoting their broad spectrum of beneficial
effects.
Herbal Benefits
Dandelions have been recognized as
powerful healing herbs during virtually all of
recorded history. A University of Michigan online
database reports that Navajo warriors and shamans
used the plant as a medicinal treatment for
everything from “life medicine” to treating bullet
and arrow wounds. A British herbal online source
(themodernherbal.com) states that the medicinal
properties of Dandelions were listed by Arabian
physicians of the tenth and eleventh centuries, and
also by British and Welsh physicians of the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries. Dandelions are also an
important herb in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine.
Renowned British physician, Dr. Nicholas
CULPEPER, described Dandelion as a medicine in
his Complete Herbal, published in London in
1652. He credits “foreign” doctors with
promulgating its use, and aims a snide jab at his
contemporaries in Britain:
It [taraxacum] is of an opening and
cleansing quality and therefore very
effectual for the Obstructions of the Liver,
Gall, and Spleen and the diseases that
arise from them, as the jaundice and
hypochondrial passion; it wonderfully
openeth the passages of the urine both in
young and old…jaundice, melancholy,
disury, consumption, watching, heat, aug,
pestilence – very effectual. And whoso is
drawing toward a consumption or an ill
disposition of the whole body called
Cachexia by the use hereof for some time
together shall find a wonderful help…
You see here what vertues this common
herb hath… And now if you look a little
further, you may see plainly without a pair
of spectacles that the forraign physicians
are not so selfish as ours are, but more
communicative of the vertues of plants to
people.
In this same piece, CULPEPER talks
about eating the plants in the Spring, which people
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all over the world do, in salads, sandwiches,
potherb stews, and teas.
In my work as a folklorist collecting
ethnobotanical lore in the Missouri Ozarks during
the 1970s I found frequent mentions of Dandelion
as an essential element of “spring greens.” They
were cooked with fatback (bacon) and then
consumed early in spring as a way to “thin the
blood” and dissipate the ill effects of long winter
months passed without consuming any fresh green
vegetables. My informants were Ozark natives in
their 70s and 80s, talking about customs they had
learned and used as children and young adults, in
the early years of the 20
th
century, a period that for
most lasted through the 1950s.
Dandelion also serves as a base for
traditional brews of wine, ale, and beer. Dandelion
roots are reputed to be superior to chicory (to
which Dandelion is closely related) as an additive
to coffee, or indeed as the sole ingredient of a
coffee-like brew. One can even find recipes for
such delicacies as Dandelion and sorrel salad,
Dandelion flower fritters, Dandelion jelly, warm
camembert crusts with Dandelion greens and red
currants, and curried Dandelion with golden onions
and cashews – a panorama of delicacies.
Dandelions contain an amazing range of
nutritional and medicinal compounds. Noted
botanist and Dandelion expert Peter GAIL, Ph.D.,
notes that in Bulletin # 8, “Composition of Foods”,
1984, the USDA ranks Dandelion as fourth among
all green vegetables in overall nutritional value.
He also states that Minnich, in “Gardening for
Better Nutrition”, ranks Dandelion as the 9
th
most
nutritious food among all grains, vegetables, seeds,
and greens. It even far outranks broccoli, which I
had always thought was the undisputed
powerhouse of value among all vegetables.
Among the notable and unusual nutritional and
medicinal compounds in Dandelions:
Very high Vitamin content: A, B
complex, and C particularly, along with a
very high Calcium and Potassium content.
Dandelion is a diuretic almost
indistinguishable in effectiveness from the
commonly used drug Lasix, but in
contrast to pharmaceutical diuretics, it
replaces the Potassium that drains from
the body, avoiding many of the
undesirable side-effects of diuretic drugs.
Inulin: Up to 40% of the root consists of
Inulin, a form of sugar that converts
slowly in the liver to Glycogen, without
requiring Insulin.
Tof-CFr, a glucose polymer similar to
lentinan, which Japanese researchers have
found, in preliminary trials with mice, to
act against Cancer cells and also to raise
resistance against bacterial and protozoan
infections.
Apigenin and luteolin, glycosides that
have proven ability to act as diuretic,
antispasmodic, antioxidant, agents that
also strengthen the heart and blood vessels
and have antibacterial and anti-
hypoglycemic properties.
Gallic acid, an antibacterial and anti-
diarrheal.
Essential fatty acids linoleic and linolenic
acids, necessary for the body to produce
Prostaglandins that reduce inflammation,
prevent platelet aggregation and blood
clots, and regulate blood pressure and
menses.
Choline, a B-vitamin component which
has a proven role in preventing memory
loss.
Sesquiterpene compounds (the bitter
agents in Dandelions) that serve as
digestive tonics, and are also highly anti-
fungal.
The Natural Complimentary Health
Council adds to this list carotenoids such as lutein,
which is proving vital to maintaining ocular health
into old age. They also mention these therapeutic
uses for Dandelion:
Dandelion leaf is a very powerful diuretic, its
action comparable to that of the drug
Frusemide (Lasix). The usual effect of a drug
stimulating the kidney function is a loss of
vital Potassium from the body, which
aggravates any cardiovascular problems
present. With Dandelion, however, we have
one of the best natural sources of potassium. It
thus makes an ideally balanced diuretic that
may be used safely wherever such an action is
needed, including in cases of water retention
due to heart problems. Dandelion root may be
used in inflammation and congestion of liver
and gall bladder. It is specific in cases of
congestive jaundice. As part of a wider
treatment for muscular rheumatism, it can be
most effective. ELLINGWOOD recommends
the root for the following pathologies: chronic
jaundice, autointoxication, rheumatism, blood
disorders, chronic skin eruptions, chronic
gastritis, aphthous ulcers.
Other uses for the herb cited in a number
of herbal and medicinal sources include treating
constipation, Eczema, hepatitis and cirrhosis,
gallstones, hypoglycemia, gout, acne, hypertension
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with edema, Diabetes, PMS, high cholesterol,
heartburn, diarrhea, and even warts.
The alternative health newsletter
“Alternative Nature Online” also notes the
presence in Dandelions, of coumarins that prevent
blood clots. This newsletter describes these further
medicinal uses of Dandelion, besides those we
have already mentioned:
[Dandelions are] traditionally used as a tonic
and blood purifier, for constipation,
inflammatory skin conditions, joint pains,
Eczema…and liver conditions such as
hepatitis and jaundice…gall bladder, kidney,
and urinary disorders,...hypoglycemia,
dyspepsia with constipation, edema associated
with high blood pressure and heart weakness,
chronic joint and skin complaints. Applied
externally, the fresh juice will fight bacteria
and help heal wounds. The plant…inhibits the
growth of staphococcus aureus,
pneumonococci, meningococci, bacillus
dysenteriaie, typhi, diphtheriae, proteus.
The…plant sap can be used to remove corns
and warts. A skin lotion is made from the
appendages at the base of the leaf
blades…effective in fading freckles.
An interesting aspect of the use of
Dandelion herb is that it produces virtually no toxic
effects, other than the slight possibility of a skin
rash from contact with the latex in the stems and
leaves. Thus, herbalists agree that it may be used
with no fear of negative consequences.
Homœopathic Provings
One definition of a “weed” is “an herb
whose virtues have yet to be discovered.”
Obviously, many, many discoveries have been
made of the virtues of Dandelion as an herb and a
food. With this ancient and distinguished history
of medicinal powers, Dandelion or taraxacum
officinale inevitably aroused the interest of Samuel
HAHNEMANN, undoubtedly explaining why it
was one of the substances he proved relatively
early. Just as relatively inert substances like table
salt (Natrum muriaticum) and wood charcoal
(Carbo vegetabilis) proved, when potentized, to be
treasure chests of symptoms and accompanying
benefits across the whole spectrum of possibilities,
Taraxacum must, in contrast, have seemed
relatively disappointing. Its 265 symptoms listed
in Materia Medica Pura seem puny when
compared with the 815 symptoms listed for the
great Polycrest Sulphur, which immediately
precedes Taraxacum in Volume Two of that work.
On the other hand, all the well-documented uses of
the herb, among which occur some common and
severe disturbances of the human economy, also
are cited in the homœopathic provings. The
provings have also generated a relatively clear
mental and emotional picture for Taraxacum and
strong, idiosyncratic general symptoms, meaning
that the remedy can be used with confidence when
the total picture matches. It is not a one-sided or
unclear remedy, by any means.
HAHNEMANN’s proving (Materia
Medica Pura, Vol.2 pp. 638-648) lists symptoms
that encompass all systems with the sole exceptions
of vision, external throat, and expectorations.
JULIAN, in his Materia Medica entry on
Taraxacum, cites subsequent published provings
conducted by PISCHEL (1955) and GUTMAN
(1956). STEPHENSON, in his Materia Medica,
mentions, in addition to provings described in
HAHNEMANN’s Materia Medica Pura and
ALLEN’s Encyclopedia, provings described by
HUGHES (Cyclopedia Vol. IV) and
MACFARLAN (Homeopathic Physician, Vol. 13,
pp. 277 and 435.).
General Symptoms
Taraxacum’s mental symptoms show a
person who is dull when not working, and also
indecisive about starting to work, but who then
becomes productive and effective once the work
has begun. This is also, according to
HAHNEMANN, a person who is cheerful (even
inclined to “merry laughter”) and possibly
religious, someone apparently content with him or
herself and with how life has turned out. In a
Taraxacum state, a person may perhaps become
overly talkative, both to others and to himself or
herself (HERING says “muttering constantly to
himself.”). The indecision about getting to work is
worse in the morning. Carried to a deeper level of
illness, the dullness becomes apathy, depression,
self-isolation, and moroseness, with nervousness
and forgetfulness, and may even lead to fury or, at
the other extreme, unconsciousness (JULIAN).
This mental picture is clear and even endearing. It
resembles the plant, which appears to settle happily
into whatever niche can possibly support any kind
of producing flowers and seeds with no apparent
sensitivity to its outward difficulties, including
poisoning, uprooting, and, often, very meager
sustenance. The Dandelion flower opens with
sunlight in the morning, and closes in the evening
after dusk, when its golden brightness dulls to a
dead looking gray tuft – “dull when not working”
but during the day apparently cheerful and
productive amid the most hostile circumstances.
Many of the general symptoms of
Taraxacum are easy to discern, and several may
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even qualify as rare or peculiar. For one thing, the
person is likely to have a red, hot face and head,
with pervasive chilliness over the rest of the body.
The finger-tips may feel icy cold while the soles of
the feet and the toes are burning hot. Symptoms
are often worse on the upper left and the lower
right sides of the body (CLARKE, Dictionary of
Practical Materia Medica). Pains are typically
shooting or stitching, although other sensations,
such as aching, burning, drawing, and tearing may
also occur. One interesting thing about Taraxacum
pains is that they typically occur at rest (sitting or
standing), and then disappear upon motion, no
matter their level of severity. Twitching and
trembling are common, and even internally, the
patient may feel a sensation of “bubbling,” not only
in the abdomen but even in muscles of the back,
around the scapula. The patient’s chilliness is
likely to be worse in open air or after eating or
drinking. And at night, right after falling to sleep,
the person may perspire all over, with a
perspiration that may irritate the skin. A pervasive
bilious, sick feeling (as from a hangover, or, as
HAHNEMANN says, “as from debauch.”) is
typical of Taraxacum states, as is a tendency to
yawn and fall asleep during the day while reading
or listening to presentations that may be long or
complicated (HAHNEMANN says “listening to
scientific lectures.”). Overall, a person in a
Taraxacum state is definitely worse sitting without
active occupation, and better moving around
actively engaged.
Taraxacum has a marked affinity for the
digestive and urinary systems. Most of its
predominant symptoms and actions relate to these
two processes, from start to finish – from mouth to
rectum and bladder. The causality of many
seemingly unrelated symptoms, such as head and
mouth pain and the many pains in the extremities,
tends to relate somehow to faulty digestion or
elimination. Symptoms may include problems
with regulation of fluids, electrolytes, and
temperature.
Particular Symptoms
In terms of particular symptoms,
Taraxacum affects virtually all systems and
localities.
A patient in a Taraxacum state will quite
possibly have head and mouth pain. The head
will show either dull, pressive pains from the
vertex to the forehead, often with a very tight scalp
over the crown of the head, and tense pain around
the jaw and in the sterno-clydo-mastoid muscle,
from below the ear to the shoulder, worse on the
left. The head pain also extends to the eyeball,
more likely on the left. Years ago, prior to learning
of homœopathic Taraxacum, I experienced
frequent severe combination migraine and tension
headaches that lasted for up to a week and
conformed exactly to this description. No
painkiller or other modality could change these
headaches. However, I then found, heuristically,
that I could dissolve these headaches in an hour or
so, thanks to the diuretic powers of herbal dried
Dandelion leaf. Once the diuretic action took hold
and profuse urination began, the headache would
melt away, indicating that fluid retention (what, in
Hahnemann’s day, was called “dropsy” – a strong
indication for the use of Taraxacum in his proving)
was one crucial component of these headaches.
The Taraxacum headaches are also ascribed to
liver dysfunction (the aforementioned “debauch”),
and also to gastroenteritis, with “dyspepsia” and
frequent soft, pasty stools that are hard to expel
completely. The mouth pain associated with
Taraxacum also has a digestive affinity, with an
exquisitely sensitive and painful tongue showing
what’s probably also going on lower in the
digestive tract. The tongue has a peculiar
appearance, with a white coating from which deep
striations have peeled off, revealing dark red,
extremely painful stripes or patches.
As one might expect with a remedy that
relates so strongly to the digestive process,
Taraxacum patients also experience a variety of
abdominal pains and other symptoms. The liver
may be enlarged, sensitive, heavy, even hardened.
Stools correspondingly may be white or light
colored and the patient may be jaundiced. The
patient may also experience tremors in the
extremities or even in the back or abdominal
muscles. The spleen, pancreas, or gall bladder
may be painful.
Chronic or acute cholecystitis may occur,
with pinching, violent, sharp stitching pains in the
center or on the right side of the abdomen and with
a sense of nausea, the pain and nausea becoming
more severe with ingestion of fats.
HAHNEMANN cites the potential
effectiveness of Taraxacum in combating Diabetes,
with the obvious symptom of frequent painless
urging producing copious pale urine, accompanied
by increased thirst. The patient may also
experience a sour taste upon ingesting roasted
meat or meat gravy (with fat). And a bitter taste
often seems to permeate the mouth upon
awakening. This may accompany stomach
symptoms of repeated bitter eructations and
nausea, with anxiety and chilliness. The chilliness
may worsen after eating or drinking (CLARKE,
Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica).
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BUCK, in his Outlines of Materia Medica, says
that Dr. TODD (no further information given) used
Taraxacum for inflammation of the duodenum and
resulting dyspepsia.
The patient may also experience
symptoms in the lower abdomen and rectum:
Profuse flatulence resulting in tympanitic
distension and with sputtering, bubbling, gurgling
sounds, and frequent soft pasty stools that are
accompanied by flatus and are hard to expel
completely. The stools are ultimately followed by
tenesmus, sometimes with a strong itching around
the anus and on the perineum.
The extremities are an important site for
Taraxacum symptoms, with twitching, painful
muscles, and neuralgic or rheumatic pains. The
knee joint is particularly susceptible to this pain.
Fingers may be icy cold and feel numb, at the same
time toes and the soles of the feet are likely to be
hot with burning pain.
The ear may be affected, with dulled
hearing as well as drawing pain and a noise as of
“chirping grasshoppers.”
Likewise, the eye is likely to show
symptoms, such as burning and pricking pains in
the eyeballs and lids, and agglutination in the
morning.
The throat may feel occluded, with a
need to raise acid phlegm. The nose may bleed
and the patient may sneeze frequently. There is a
sensation of pressure in the chest (CLARKE).
This may also induce dyspnea and be accompanied
by shooting pain in the back, from the thorax down
to the sacrum and loins.
The genitals may be affected in both men
(chronic erection and involuntary emissions) and
women (suppressed menses, also PMS).
The skin may be characterized by pimply,
itchy, stinging eruptions that may occur anyplace
of the face, body, or limbs. This eruption is worse
with perspiration.
There may be a slight vertigo that
produces an unsteady gait when walking outdoors.
The patient is likely to sleep restlessly,
waking often, with vivid but unremembered
dreams. A debilitating perspiration all over the
body may occur immediately upon falling asleep.
(CLARKE).
Comparisons with Other Remedies
The most closely similar homœopathic
remedies, according to BLACKWOOD and to
KNERR, are: Nux vomica, Antimonium crudum,
Pulsatilla, Hydrastis Canadensis and Chelidonium.
Most authors agree that Taraxacum
should be compared with Nux vomica. Obviously,
both remedies show negative effects of substance
abuse, concentrated mainly in the digestive system.
They both show tremors and also flatulence. They
both involve both diarrhea and constipation, and
stools that are difficult to expel, although for
different reasons. (In Nux, the muscle contractions
are disordered, and in Tarax, the consistency of the
stool inhibits complete expulsion.) In contrast,
though, whereas the pains of Tarax improve with
touch or motion and worsen from rest, those of Nux
improve with rest. Also, Tarax has pains worse
crosswise from upper left to lower right, while the
pains of Nux tend to be worse from upper right to
lower left. The Tarax patient gets chilly after
eating or drinking. The Nux patient is chilly, but
feels better generally after eating or drinking.
Another remedy that seems to resemble
Tarax in several ways is Natrum sulphuricum.
Like Tarax, Nat-s. mingles strong elements both of
the psoric and the sycotic miasms. Problems in
regulating fluid balances and also disorders of the
hepato-digestive system are hallmarks of both
remedies. They both show joint pains and skin
eruptions as well, with restless unsatisfying sleep.
The diarrhea of Nat-s., like that of Tarax
accompanied by flatulence and gurgling, tends to
happen at a particular time each day, in the
morning, with stools liquid rather than pasty as in
Tarax. Also, the moroseness of Nat-s. revolves
more around emotional losses and a negative way
of viewing life in general, whereas that of Tarax
focuses specifically on being able to work, or not.
Antimonium crudum resembles
Taraxacum in sensitiveness to pain, as well as in a
tendency to somnolence, although the somnolence
of Tarax relates specifically to daytime and
boredom. They both have bitter gastric
emanations, with Tarax showing mainly
eructations, and Ant-c. mainly vomiting. Like Nux-
v., Ant-c. shows an opposite crosswise pain pattern
from that of Taraxacum – upper right to lower left.
Ant-c., like Tarax, has frequent urination, but that
of Tarax is profuse, and that of Ant-c. more scanty.
Pulsatilla shares with Taraxacum a
tendency to melancholy, veering possibly toward
dullness and unconsciousness. Motion ameliorates
for both remedies, as rest aggravates. Both
remedies share a pattern of pains worse on the
upper left and lower right, but with the emphasis
on the upper left for Tarax and on the lower right
for Puls. Menses tend to be suppressed in Tarax
and too profuse in Puls. Puls tends to show scanty
urine, contrasting with the profuse urination of
Tarax. In contrast with Tarax, Puls improves
when sitting and resting.
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Hydrastis shares with Tarax the
sensations of rawness and burning, as well as
depression and forgetfulness. Most obviously, the
two remedies share a white, painful tongue and a
tendency toward bitter tastes in the mouth. The
Hydrastis tongue, however, tends to be swollen,
without the characteristic sore, deep, red striations
that characterize Tarax. Both remedies share
epistaxis and coryza, as well as liver ailments and
pain in that region, in addition to a tendency to
profuse perspiration. In contrast to Tarax,
Hydrastis is generally worse from motion. The
Hydrastis patient with noises in the ears would
tend to hear roaring rather than the “chirping” of
Tarax. Whereas the eruptions of Tarax may seem
sycotic, the sores of Hydrastis are more syphilitic-
showing destructive ulcers and tumors rather than
warty growths. The patterns of chill are likewise
different, with the Hydrastis patient experiencing
alternating heat and chilliness and the Tarax
patient showing an uneven distribution of both heat
and chilliness at various points of the body.
Finally, Chelidonium shares with Tarax
its focus on the liver and its ailments. The Chel
head pains and obstruction of the ears also
resemble those of Tarax, as do a tendency toward a
bitter taste and excess salivation in the mouth.
Both remedies share a tendency to profuse
urination, but whereas the urine of Tarax is pale,
that of Chel is bright yellow. Both remedies share
similar genital symptoms – prolonged, frequent
involuntary erections for the male and suppressed
menses for the female. Head and neck pain are
similarly present in both remedies, with the pain
extending from ear to shoulder in Tarax, and going
to the temple as well as down the spine in Chel.
Both remedies can show jaundice, and both
experience night sweats with a sensation of heat
over the body. Chel does not show the contrasting
cold feelings in the fingertips and head of Tarax,
although Chel may exhibit a sensation of one foot
being hot and the other cold.
Rubrics Describing Taraxacum
Two ways of creating a picture for this
remedy are to look at the bold (Grade 3)
symptoms, and also to look at small XX rubrics
that contain it – especially in the Mind section.
Bold rubrics include:
Mind: Sitting – inclination to sit
Mind: Cheerful
Mind: Delirium, muttering
Mind: Mirth
Head: Pain – temples
Head: Pain – Pressing while lying
(7 remedies total)
Head: Pain – Pressing occiput, lying down, after
(this is the only remedy in this rubric)
Mouth: Discoloration – tongue, white
Mouth: Discoloration – tongue, white patches
(5 remedies total)
Mouth: Discoloration – tongue, white spots, clean
(4 remedies total)
Mouth: Mapped – tongue (48 remedies)
Mouth: Sensitive – tongue (23 remedies)
Extremities: Coldness – fingers
Extremities: Heat – hand
Extremities: Pain – stitching, joints
Chill: Chilliness
Chill: Eating, after
Fever: Heat
Fever: Heat – comes on after sleep
Perspiration: Night
Perspiration: Sleep – beginning to, on (23 remedies
total)
Generals: Food and drinks – fat agg.
Generals: Lying – agg.
Generals: Motion – amel.
Generals: Pain – jerking, externally
Generals: Pain – stitching, externally
Generals: Pain – stitching, joints, in
Generals: Pain – stitching, muscles, in
Generals: Rest – agg.
Generals: Side – crosswise, left upper and right
lower
Generals: Walking – amel.
The small mental rubrics in which
Taraxacum appears, and which give some idea of
unusual mental symptoms that might indicate the
use of this remedy, include:
Mind: Anxiety – sitting (16 remedies)
Mind: Anxiety – motion amel. (14 remedies)
Mind: Carefree (15 remedies)
Mind: Confusion of – with headache (17 remedies)
Mind: Cheerful – followed by irritability
(7 remedies)
Mind: Delirium – muttering to himself
(5 remedies)
Mind: Irresolution, indecision - laziness, with
(4 remedies)
Mind: Laziness agg. (17 remedies)
Mind: Late – too late; always (82 remedies)
Mind: Laziness – started; but works well after
having (1 remedy)
Mind: Loquacity – perspiration, during (9
symptoms)
Mind: Muttering to himself (2 remedies)
Mind: Reading (9 remedies)
Mind: Sadness – unoccupied, when (2 remedies)
Mind: Sensitive – noise, to, cracking of papers, to
(8 remedies)
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Mind: Sensitive – noise, to, scratching on linen,
silk or strings, to (4 remedies)
Mind: Sadness – unoccupied, when (2 remedies)
Mind: Taciturn – morning (9 remedies)
Mind: Unconsciousness – open air amel. (1
remedy)
Mind: Unconsciousness – semi-consciousness (13
remedies)
Mind: Unconsciousness – sitting, while (10
remedies)
This list clearly shows the picture of a
person who is sad and morose, even unconscious or
semiconscious when inactive, and who gets dull
when reading (physically inactive), who improves
and becomes positively cheerful when physically
active and especially when working. The person is
very self-involved when not working – irritable,
muttering to himself, forgetful, distracted,
hypersensitive to tiny noises, morose, taciturn with
others. Ironically, although work makes the person
feel much better once it’s underway, he has trouble
getting started on work. If he gives in to this
disinclination to get started (defined in the rubric
“laziness”), he feels worse.
Otherwise, in general, as we saw in the
list of bold symptoms, the Tarax patient is
characterized generally by cheerfulness and even
mirth – probably the sort that people may arrive at
after suppressing childhood anger (because
moroseness, sullenness, impatience and even
raging anger are also part of the picture, with
changeable moods). The physical symptoms
include various stitching pains and contrasting heat
and cold sensations in the extremities. It also
includes bubbling or gurgling both in the abdomen
and in back muscles (a peculiar symptom specific
to Tarax), and abdominal discomfort or even
stitching pain in the areas of the liver, spleen, gall
bladder, pancreas, ileum, or colon. If the mouth is
involved, a “mapped” painful tongue is another
specific symptom of this remedy, along with a
bitter taste before eating. The patient is mainly
chilly, with flushes of heat accompanied by
perspiration, and also experiences restless sleep
and vivid dreams. Most importantly, purposeful
physical activity ameliorates all symptoms, as
sitting inactively or resting worsens them – a
hallmark, with mental and emotional symptoms, of
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD). It’s a very
specific picture, not all that common. Certainly,
however, it’s a picture easy to remember when well
indicated.
Therapeutic Accounts
In light of its broad sphere of action and
its potential usefulness in such troublesome clinical
pictures as those posed by Diabetes, gall stones,
liver diseases including cirrhosis, hypertension,
ascites, edema, duodenal ulcer, pancreatitis,
alcoholism, and Cancer of the liver, bladder, and
pancreas – not to mention such minor but common
states as hangovers, migraines, dyspepsia with
headache, PMS, Eczema, acne, certain types of
ADHD, and the common cold – Taraxacum
appears to deserve more attention than it has
received in the homœopathic literature.
A careful search for published cured cases
revealed very few, and shows that the remedy has
received little modern attention. I did find two
cases published in French, which I summarize
below, and HAHNEMANN, in Materia Medica
Pura, recounts a case told to him, which is also
repeated almost verbatim in many of the
subsequent Materia Medica sources.
This very early cured case is repeated by
several authors as hearsay. CLARKE gives the
most complete version:
COOPER gives me the following case:
An old Indian officer, when in India,
suffered much from gall-stones, and
was advised to take Dandelion infusion
every day. This he did, and soon the
symptoms left him and he remained free
from them for over twenty years.
This story was also recounted by
HAHNEMANN in his Taraxacum essay in
Materia Medica Pura, indicating that its
occurrence predated his discovery of potentization.
A more modern case, also using mother
tinctures rather than potentized remedies, is
reported by Doctor MAX TETAU of Paris.
Writing in the October-November 1994 issue of
Cahiers de biotherapie, he demonstrated the use
of Taraxacum to lower dangerously high
cholesterol. He sums up the remedy’s action in
this regard as “magnificent!” (the exclamation
point is his.). Dr. TETAU’s patient was a 59 year-
old male business owner, with 3.20g of cholesterol,
25% HDL. He weighed 92 kg (his height was 1m
75). Dr. TETAU prescribed a daily dose of Tarax
mother tincture for two months alternating with
doses of low potency (1D) Oleander, with a
follow-up every two weeks. The patient wanted no
more allopathic drugs, so he was under no other
treatment. He also had despaired of dieting, which
only made him keep gaining weight, with higher
and higher cholesterol. Apparently the patient had
told doctor TETAU that already he was “eating
nothing.” After two months of treatment, his
cholesterol had lowered to 2.60 g, with the HDL
now at a healthier 37% ratio to LDL. With no
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other measures, the patient also had lost 3 kg, and
now weighed 89 kilos.
In discussing the case, Dr. TETAU refers
to the holistic interrelationship of cholesterol, liver
function, and atherosclerosis as predisposing
factors to heart disease and stroke. He presented
this case as part of an overall argument that
homœopathic treatment can assure a better, more
complete return to circulatory health without the
negative side effects of allopathic medicines. In
the article, he cited several other cardiovascular
cases, using several other remedies for specific
types of circulatory dysfunction: as diuretics,
Pilosella, Solidago, Lespedeza, and Equisetum; as
regulators of the heart and arteries, Crataegus,
Poplar, Oleander, Sorbus, and Castanea: and as
cholestrol lowering agents, Taraxacum, Rosemary,
and Juglans regia. He sums up the action of these
remedies by saying “The results of these drainages
are sometimes rapid and very aggressive.”
The fact that Tarax is little known or
thought of influenced the next case, since the
patient experienced worsening symptoms over a
long period before desperation forced the
reexamination of the case in a search for something
out of the ordinary. A Belgian doctor, Marc
BRUNSON, reports on an interesting Tarax case
with a male Siberian Husky puppy, in an article
published in L’Homeopathie europeenne, 1996.
The puppy had been imported from Canada at the
age of five months. By the time Dr. BRUNSON
was called to see Roscoe, the husky, the dog was
three years old, and was moving around like a very
old dog, with stiff legs, worse on the left side.
From the first Roscoe had shown an “Olympian
calm,” letting the other dogs and puppies rough
him up, and not engaging spontaneously in play.
He also was very oral, always wanting to be
chewing or eating something – “very interested in
eating” (“tres gourmand”). If nothing else was
available, he’d even chew and swallow stones. He
clung to his mistress, and whined and “spoke”
frequently – very vocal. He would start easily
from noises. He had had an episode of great thirst
and profuse urination, with lots of itching all over
his body, but no visible lesions. He preferred to sit
rather than stand, and sought to lean on something
if he were kept in a standing position. He had great
difficulty going up and down stairs – like an old
dog. He always needed to be pushed and cajoled to
get him moving. His step sounded really heavy
when he was walking – the owner could always tell
he was approaching by this unique aspect of his
stride and the way he seemed to be bearing down
on his toe nails, driving them into the floor.
First, based on the puppy’s seemingly
“phlegmatic” temperament, Dr. BRUNSON
prescribed Calc, which did nothing other than stop
the eating of stones. Next, based on loquacity and
jealousy, he prescribed Lachesis, which likewise
did nothing. The next prescription, based on the
itching and on the notion that perhaps Roscoe felt
rootless after having been shipped from Canada to
Belgium, was Mezereum. This produced a few
days’ improvement, then a relapse.
Doctor BRUNSON re-examined the case
at this point, and the owner elaborated on Roscoe’s
frequent vocalizations and his dependency on her
for encouragement. In this interview, the owner
described a new clue that proved crucial. She said
“when we go on a walk, it’s hard to get him started,
but then he goes ahead, and doesn’t want to come
back to us like the others. He waits for us to catch
up, and then by the end of the walk, we can’t walk
fast enough for him.” So he’s hard to rouse into
action, but then he gets totally involved, and totally
focused on the activity, and doesn’t want to go
back or to wait for others.
Doctor BRUNSON still hadn’t made the
connection with Tarax, and the next prescription
was Calc-phos., which, like the preceding
remedies, failed to work. An associate who took
over while Dr. BRUNSON was on vacation then
prescribed Phos.again, nothing happened. By this
time, they were at their wits’ ends, and prescribed
Caust., in desperation, not having any other likely
remedies to suggest. Again, no results.
They then reevaluated the case yet again,
and really researched the rubrics having to do with
being hard to rouse and then hard to restrain.
Based on bold print in two rubrics, “lazy but
effective once started,” and “loquacious,” they then
prescribed Tarax. (All remedies in this case were
given at potency 30K). Positive results were
obvious almost immediately. Within three months,
the case had resolved, and Roscoe was playing,
moving well, and enjoying life.
In his follow-up discussion,
Dr.BRUNSON isolates four strong characteristics
of Taraxacum, the herb:
1. Its affinity for the hepato-digestive
system.
2. The tongue-shaped leaves (also tooth shaped,
as witness its most common name, meaning
“lion’s tooth,” dent de lion).
3. The fact that its seeds need encouragement
from a puff of air to get moving.
4. The fact that the plant withers immediately
upon being severed from its root.
He also comments on the close biological
relationship between Dandelion and Chicory, to
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 205 of 216
discuss the importance of utility in its daily life,
rather than beauty or scent. He sums up Tarax.
thus: “To flourish, to reach its full potential, it
needs to do, to work, but it can’t or won’t start
without difficulty. If it can conquer its own
lethargy, everything works out well.”
Personal Experience with Taraxacum
After researching Tarax. for this article, I
realized that I would probably be susceptible to this
remedy, and decided to experiment with my own
proving. I had previously taken Tarax. 30c for a
sore, mapped tongue, which was reversed
overnight with a single dose. I had experienced a
number of symptoms that fit a Tarax. picture: dull
frontal headaches with a very tense scalp, with a
sharper extension that settled over the left eye -
very similar to my headaches that had responded
many years earlier to herbal Dandelion leaf. In
addition, my left jaw and SCM muscle were
painful. My Chiropractor, upon examination,
described the SCM muscle as “like a cable” – very
tense. A crop of acne pimples had erupted on my
face and upper back. In an acute episode at that
moment, my left nostril was oozing blood, and I
was sneezing frequently with the nasal irritation. I
was sleeping much more restlessly than usual and
waking every 45 minutes or so throughout the
night, with wild, really vivid dreams that were
frightening but also inchoate - difficult to describe
because they contained no objective images or
recognizable time sequences.
Also, my eyes, for several weeks,
consistently had been burning and itching (more
painful than itchy) – the lids, the inner canthi, and
the conjunctiva. I had tried to treat the eye
discomforts first with Rhus tox, then Sulph, then
Puls, then with Lyc, all of which had corresponded
fairly well with various other symptoms of the
case, but none of which had worked for more than
a few days. I was also finding myself moody and
glum for no particular reason, except when I was
able to work on something - a real Keynote for this
remedy. I was also feeling painful pressure over
my sternum, and was experiencing stools of a pasty
consistency, hard to expel.
As I studied Tarax., I began to realize that
over my lifetime I matched the mental picture of
the remedy well – basically cheerful, but with an
undercurrent of impatience, a need to work to feel
satisfied, chronic lateness, a lifelong compulsion to
read leading to social withdrawal in favor of
reading. I also have had difficulty starting work –
whether the work was physical or mental – but
once the task was started, I would be deeply
involved and want to finish it. Just like Roscoe, I’d
be virtually impossible to pull away from the task
in which I was immersed. In addition, I’ve had
painful knees since adolescence (I’m now 62),
which have slowed me down, like Roscoe,
particularly going up and down stairs.
I started taking Taraxacum 12c diluted in
water, once a day. The nose-bleed and nasal
irritation – the most recent symptoms to appear –
disappeared promptly (within 24 hours.) After five
days, it was clear that the remedy was acting. My
stools had become normally solid once again, and
the flatulence and the abdominal pain along with
the pain over the sternum (also a very new
development) had essentially disappeared. My
dreams became less intense, but I was still sleeping
restlessly at that point. My mood lightened up
somewhat and I was able to focus less on work and
respond better to what was going on around me.
The acne started receding, although my facial skin
was still reddened and more shiny than usual. The
neck pain improved, but the head pain was still
about the same, as was the pain in the eyes.
After ten days, positive actions from the
remedy continued. My sleep and dreams had
reverted to a comfortable state. Also the skin on
my face looked much better, and my headache had
disappeared. The itchy, painful eyes were
somewhat better, although that symptom, the first
to appear in this acute exacerbation, still persisted
to a moderate extent. In contrast to these positive
changes, during this period I experienced an
emotional aggravation that came up suddenly,
when I got very irritable, disturbed, depressed, and
actually demonstrably angry – with a prolonged
bout of fury accompanied by the desire to beat
someone or something to a pulp. This was finally
abated by tackling a huge job single-handedly –
cleaning out a messy garage storage area, moving a
whole woodpile, and throwing away a bunch of
stuff – heavy duty work! I hadn’t experienced
clear anger like this since adolescence. My more
common emotional state was gray acceptance.
Arguably, despite the discomfort of this incident, it
was therapeutically a positive and healing
development. Taraxacum appears in the rubric
“Mind: Anger – beside one-self, being” which
describes this unexpected symptom well. It also
occurs in “Mind: Mood – changeable.” Because
re-experiencing suppressed anger is actually a
move back to very old former symptoms, this
uncomfortable occurrence must be interpreted as
part of a strong healing response.
At 15 days, the emotional change was still
apparent, with a lessened need to focus on work
and a greater ability to respond as things came up.
Also, I was noticing that it was easier to move –
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 206 of 216
my knees hurt a lot less than they had in decades.
In the same vein, it was easier to get up and start
doing something, rather than procrastinating to
“later”. The exacerbation that became very
apparent, in exchange for the relief of knee pain
was in renewed Eczema, in places I hadn’t seen it
since adolescence. I’ve had a lifelong history of
Eczema, which had been noted on my feet at birth,
had then become severe in the bends of knees and
elbows during childhood, had also moved to the
fingers during early adolescence, and then had
become much more sporadic around age 15, at
which time severe pain in my knees had started,
along with manifestations of exercise induced
Asthma. The Eczema had been suppressed
successfully for years with Cortisone ointments,
although it still appeared in small patches
sporadically, mainly on the trunk and in the groin.
By the 15
th
day of treatment with Tarax, the
Eczematous spots on my back were fading, and had
become practically indiscernible. On the other
hand, rather severe, crusty, red, itchy, extremely
uncomfortable outbreaks of Eczema had recurred
in the bends of knees and elbows. These became
moist and burning after scratching and with any
perspiration. The discomfort in my eyes was
becoming much more sporadic – short bursts of
sensitivity, which were lasting no more than 20
minutes a couple of times a day, morning and
evening, and then disappearing again. I was also
craving chocolate and sweets much less, and was
feeling substantially less disturbed by slight dips in
blood sugar than had been the case up till now. In
general I was feeling more energetic and lively -
rejuvenated, although I could certainly do without
the severe discomfort of the Eczema.
Finally, the Eczema became so acutely
uncomfortable that I was unable to sleep for
several nights and had to do something. I selected a
very low potency combination remedy, not
wanting to resort to Cortisone. The results were
fascinating. The Eczema disappeared within 24
hours – quite astonishing. At the same time, it was
clear that I had also antidoted the Taraxacum
because all of the psychological symptoms that had
improved returned full force and immediately. In
addition, I noticed another symptom in its return
that I hadn’t noticed had disappeared: a need to
fidget constantly, moving a finger or a foot
whenever I was otherwise still. The headache also
returned, and the nasal congestion. I started taking
Taraxacum again, at a slower pace this time – three
times a week instead of daily. It took hold again,
and the symptoms that had returned again
disappeared. At this pace, the rapid developments
of my first proving activity have not been
noticeable, but the improvements have been
holding without the extreme exacerbation of the
Eczema. The antidoting experience demonstrated
clearly to me that the remedy had in fact been
responsible for the improvements I had been
seeing, as for the emergence of the severe Eczema.
In these cases, Taraxacum has shown an
important sphere of action, demonstrating its
ability to treat patients successfully at a
fundamental constitutional level. Clearly, too, it
presents a broad range of deep symptoms,
throughout the organism. Interestingly, I have
previously experienced a substantial clearing of
constitutional symptoms from other remedies,
especially a course of Nux-v, the remedy that most
closely resembles Tarax in its modalities and
sphere of action. However, the Nux-v had stopped
short of resurrecting the old Eczema, relieving the
painful knees, and addressing those underlying
inclinations to sit rather than move and to
experience depression in place of anger. I find it
fascinating that a little known remedy such as
Taraxacum has addressed these deeper and earlier
constitutional issues more completely than the
well-known polycrest.
Conclusion
The fact that recently cured Taraxacum
cases are so rare in the literature may indicate one
or more of several things:
1. Taraxacum fails to live up to its potential as a
curative remedy in a wide number of frequent,
painful and even dangerous conditions.
2. Cured cases of a wider variety of remedies
need to be published and made available to the
homœopathic community.
3. Taraxacum has not attracted the attention it
probably deserves, based on its extensive
symptom repertoire in the known provings and
on its consistently powerful and broad
medicinal uses across many cultures and
languages.
Based on the evidence I’ve discussed in
this paper, “1” does not appear to be true. Both
“2” and “3” probably are true. If this is so, wider
knowledge and broader use of Taraxacum’s
powers would certainly enrich the range of
homœopathic therapeutics.
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 207 of 216
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QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 208 of 216
PART III
While Part II features articles from other journals, Part III contains the editor’s own contributions and other
original articles.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOOK SHELF
1. The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs, (The
American Botanical Council) by Mark
BLUMENTHAL, I Edition, 2003.
This well-produced book is on Rational
Phytotherapy”, i.e. the concept that scientifically
documented herbs and phytomedicinal products
should be employed in popular self-care and
modern clinical health-care.
The American Botanical Council (ABC) is
the America’s leading non-profit education and
research organization using science-based and
traditional information to promote the responsible
use of herbal medicine.
The book provides a detailed review of
relevant therapeutic and clinical data concerning
some of the most frequently used medicinal herbs
and their preparation that patients are likely to take.
The book can therefore be a reference work in
clinical practice, comprehensive data on the herbs
and phytomedicines.
Good black and white pictures of the herbs
are given and discussed. Overview, Primary uses,
other potential uses, pharmacological actions,
dosage and administration, contra indications,
adverse effects, drug interactions, clinical review
are the headings under which the herbs are
discussed well. Long list of bibliographical
sources come at the end. After this there is a ‘table’
indicating the ‘clinical studies’ of the herb.
Over 30 herbs are covered in this book. There
is a chapter on ‘Proprietary Herbal Product
Monographs’.
The book is A4 size, well-printed, clearly
readable type.
There is a ‘Glossary’ and an ‘Index’ at the end.
The book can be profitably read and used for
reference by all practitioners.
- K.S. SRINIVASAN.
--------------------------------------------------------------
2. High Dilution Effects: Physical and Bio-
chemical Basis. SUKUL, Nirmal C. and
SUKUL, Anirban. Kluwer Academic Publishers,
Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2004. Pp. 130
Hardbound.
The last part of the 20
th
century saw many
experiments of the homœopathic dilutions
(potencies) by non-homœopathic persons as well as
homœopathic. The furore created in the ‘scientific’
world by the results of his experiments by Dr.
Jacques BENVENISTE (12 March 1935 3
October 2004) of France is well-known. The
reason for the rejection of Dr. BENVENISTE’s
results are like the wolf’s accusation of the lamb
that the lamb which was drinking at lower part of
the river was disturbing the water the wolf was
drinking at the upper part of the river and so killed
the lamb!
However, subsequently more experiments by
others have made this ‘scientific’ community to sit
up and take note of instead of refusing to see.
Drs. Nirmal SUKUL and Anirban SUKUL
both of Viswa Bharathi University have for years,
carried out many experiments of high dilution
effects on animals and published in international
journals.
In this book under review SUKUL has 4
chapters (Preparation of high dilution drugs,
Evidences for high dilution effects, Physical basis
of drugs at high dilutions and Mechanism of Action
of Potentized drugs). There is an extensive
bibliography. The author has dedicated the book to
the eminent homœopath Dr. B.N.
CHAKRAVARTY, Kolkata.
Printed on good paper and print, this book can
be recommended without hesitation to one
interested in this subject.
- K.S. SRINIVASAN
--------------------------------------------------------------
3. Homœopathy in Psychiatry by Dr.E.
BALAKRISHNAN, Indian Books & Periodicals
Publishers, New Delhi 110 005. ISBN. 2004
81-7467-136-0. Rs.150/-.
The earlier two books of Dr. E.
BALAKRISHNAN – ‘Homœopathy the Scientific
Medicine’ and ‘Cardio-vascular Disease, and
Homeopathy’ have been well received by the
Profession.
This book on ‘Psychiatry’ comes out as his
third.
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 209 of 216
Psychiatry – “the part of Medicine which
studies mental illness” (Cambridge International
Dictionary of English) – is very vast and deep.
Almost every Homœopathy Practitioner
has, unaware himself, a fairly good knowledge of
Psychiatry because the altered state of Mind of the
ill person, must be taken into consideration for
prescribing the right homœopathic medicine. Of
recent years homœopaths are paying much greater
attention to the mental symptoms. The study of the
Mind is therefore an every day work of a
homœopath.
At a time when the World condemned the
mentally ill to the dungeons and caves, chained,
thrashed and whipped, some of whom had not seen
light for decades, “HAHNEMANN was originating
entirely new methods in the treatment of mental
patients, independently of his famous
contemporaries PINEL and REIL, who were raising
their voices about the same time on behalf of a
humane treatment of mental patients.” (HAEHL,
Vol.I, p.272).
While PINEL, the Frenchman is celebrated as
the father of this humane treatment and release of
those who were until then were in dungeons,
chained and whipped, to breathe fresh, open air as
the normal citizen does, HAHNEMANN who in
fact perhaps slightly predated PINEL in this is not
even mentioned in passing! What a prejudice! In
fact HAHNEMANN merits more than PINEL.
It would be invigorating to read
HAHNEMANN’s Essay of his treatment of
KLOCKENBRING; the observation, the taking in
of the details of the ailment and the compassion of
HAHNEMANN all come through in this Essay.
Homeopathy can do very well in the treatment
of the mentally ill. It is upto the Profession to take
up cases and show to the Public how effective,
rapid, and gentle and of course less cost,
homœopathic therapy is.
The book is in three parts: - Psychiatry,
Materia Medica of 25 homœopathic remedies,
Cases of Mental Diseases.
Dr. BALAKRISHNAN has worked laboriously
through several sources and I am happy that he has
given the bibliographical source from which the
case report/information was taken.
BALAKRISHNAN’s Chapters on the ‘Study
of the language of the Mind’ are brief but quite
instructive.
There is a Chapter on ‘counselling’ which is
very relevant. No less a person than
HAHNEMANN has spoken about the great need
for counselling. This is an Art and one must
cultivate it. One must also be widely-read and
uptodate.
The book is written in easily understandable
style. The print is easily readable, the book is hard
bound.
Perhaps a more careful proof-reading would
have helped avoid errors like Strammonium instead
of Stramonium, Marcus Aurelius instead of
Aurelins, Hyoscyamm instead of Hyosyamus and
few more.
BALAKRISHNAN’s observation that
‘experimental human Pharmacology’ is one of the
‘unique’ contribution of HAHNEMANN to medical
thought and that it is closely linked to Psychiatry
and medicinal application to mental illnesses is
very penetrating.
The book is warmly recommended.
I would like to draw the attention of the
readers to SWAMI ABHEDANANDA’s book Our
Relation to The Absolute A Study in True
Psychology. The Swami says “In the West there is
Psychology without a psyche, which means the
Soul. There is the study of Psychology but the
existence of a Psyche is not admitted . . . . . . the
Yoga system of Patanjali is the True Psychology . .
. . . . There is no system of Psychology in the world
so complete as the Psychology of Patanjali. We
should know what the true nature of the Soul is, and
that we should also discover our relation to the
Absolute. The Psyche is the pure Ego or the
Individuality “which is not a thought, not a function
of the mind, not a function of our intellect, not a
sensation, not a percept or a concept, but which is
the unifying element of all and which makes each
one of them related to us.” So, the soul or psyche is
not the state of mind or the faculty of the brain, but
is the consciousness or the Divine consciousness
itself… or We can only find out the source of a
thing by going beyond it, by transcending it, by
going behind it.
K.S.SRINIVASAN.
--------------------------------------------------------------
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 210 of 216
OBITUARY
1. Georg von KELLER (30 April 1919 – 8 June
2003): On 8
th
June 2003 passed away Dr.Georg
von KELLER in his 85
th
year. An outstanding
Physician and tireless worker for Homœopathy has
left us for ever. His own wish to live and work for
100 years was not fulfilled. Since February 2003
his practice had to be closed due to illness. He
began to comprehend Homeopathy when he
worked in different Naval Hospitals. He learnt
thoroughly from the works of NASH, ROYAL and
TRINKS. He was a war Prisoner during the World
War II; after release he came back to Germany. In
1949 he was invited by the Shah of Persia where he
was for four years. In Persia he was a country
physician in a place 2000 meter high where he had
to attend thrice large number of population who had
never seen a Physician before. Here he treated as
in Hahnemann’s times” such life threatening
diseases like Malaria, Anthrax, Paratyphus and Pox
with 30c potencies of homœopathic medicines from
his Travel case, although modern allopathic
medicines were available at his demand. Within
four months he learnt so much Persian that he could
do practice without an Interpreter.
He came back and settled down in Tübingen
where he practiced till his end.
It is very difficult to speak of his works and
merits for Homœopathy and still more difficult to
speak of its value for future generations. Even in
his early days of Homœopathy he had recognized
the weaknesses in the Instruments of Homœopathy;
the shortcomings of the Repertories, the Materia
Medica and the homœopathic remedies.
After he studied HAHNEMANN’s writings he
decided to apply the Q (50 millesimal Scale)
potencies and with that the weak points in respect
of homœopathic remedies were not there anymore
for him. With regard to the Materia Medica, he had
worked out a plan to begin with the journals like
Stapf’s Archivs, then AHZ. etc. Then he began to
collect the English language journals. He spent
many holidays in the USA in the libraries there
from morning to evening to copy them out and lug
them in boxes home. When he had collected
sufficient material he began to publish separate
monographs. He began with small remedies whose
peculiar symptoms and whose sources were
comprehendable. The first of these monograph was
Kreosote and then Menyanthus. He did not give up
the idea of a Complete Materia Medica. But
financial support was lacking. 14 monographs
were published.
KENT’s Repertory began to become popular in
Germany and so KELLER (and KÜNZLI)
translated it into German. Classical Homœopathy
progressed in Germany with the efforts of
KELLER. With the increasing popularity of the
Repertory KELLER saw the danger of the remedy
selection out of the Repertory alone instead of
using it as a help in search. [The fears of Dr.
KELLER has come true now as the articles in most
of the journals would show = KSS.]. He saw that
the KENT was not complete. He used
Bœnninghausen’s Therapeutic Pocket Book,
Bœnninghausen’s Characteristics and
Repertory, the Repertories of James WARD and
H.A. ROBERTS. According to KELLER an ideal
Repertory must give the grip of the complete words
of the symptoms. He made out a plan in this regard
on which he worked till his end.
KELLER was a productive author since
decades, in the ZKH and the AHZ. He was not
influenced by the new waves in Homœopathy.
He was inspired by LIPPE, whose intuitive
prescriptions baffled him. Modesty and helpfulness
were his personal marks. In old age he had many
new ideas and plans. He had begun a Repertory on
the lines mentioned above and a Lexicon of the
source substances and their monographs, and also
continued to work on verifications. He had a
thorough knowledge of Persian, Turkish and
English and in old age he began to improve his
French.
Georg von KELLER received the Prof. Alfons
Stiegele price officially in 1987.
A great achievement of KELLER was that he
was a very active worker and his great works had
no official financing.
The loss of such a great person cannot be
replaced. We wish him farewell. [Andreas
GRIMM in ZKH. 47, 3/2003.]
--------------------------------------------------------------
2. Dr. Jacques BENVENISTE (12 March 1935
3 October 2004) whose experiments supported
the homœopathic medicinal action, died on 3
October 2004, while undergoing heart surgery.
An internationally well-known scientist of the
INSERM, France, Jacques BENVENISTE became
a controversial personality when his experiments
(1988) proved that human basophil degranulation is
triggered by very dilute antiserum against IgE. In
so far as Homœopathy is concerned the results of
the experiments were in support of the fact that
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 211 of 216
extreme dilute (as in Homœopathy) substances
have a possible effect on the human body.
When BENVENISTE’s article was published
in the ‘prestigious’ journal Nature (Vol. 333, 1988)
the ‘scientific’ world took up cudgels against
BENVENISTE. All efforts were made to be smear
the work of BENVENISTE as ‘fraud’ eventhough
there were similar independent experiments with
results similar to BENVENISTE’s carefully carried
out in other parts of the world.
The ‘all-knowing scientists raised such cry
that BENVENISTE’s researches were smothered,
his budget was progressively cut and finally closing
his laboratory!
We know how HAHNEMANN faced ‘witch
hunt’. We know how GALILEO suffered.
Subsequent to BENVENISTE’s findings there
has been strong rejuvenation of Homeopathy and
during the past decade we see ‘scientific’ papers on
the positive physiological action of high dilutions.
As for BENVENISTE, whom we may consider as
the person indirectly contributing to the present
status of Homœopathy in the scientific world, he
continued to work in his own way. In the ‘Vital
Informer’ April 2004, I saw a call from him seeking
financial support from the homœopathic world. I
do not know the response.
Jacque BENVENISTE is no more. But “Thank
you, brother BENVENISTE, we are grateful for
your pioneering work. Rest your soul in peace in
the knowledge that there are many who remember
you with gratitude”.
-K.S. SRINIVASAN
--------------------------------------------------------------
REPERTORISING
Valuable Hints from Dr.KENT, with warnings As To Abuse of Repertory
Cards.
The following letter from Dr.KENT is printed by kind permission of Dr. Tyler
–(ed. H.W.)
HERING MEDICAL COLLEGE,
August 26
th
, 1912.
“DEAR DR.TYLER,- I am glad to get your letter. I know you want me to be
frank with you or my advice would not be worth much. Your card system is
like ready made shoes that must fit every body, regardless of the misery they
cause. The first and highest thought in Homœopathy is the individual. Our
work is individualization. Your cards will destroy the highest ideal of
HAHNEMANN; and my teaching, as it aims to fit or adjust remedies to the
masses instead of to each one. The card system destroys growth and progress
that must come from working out the case, every case, in the work of every
beginner. Give a beginner such a card system and that is the end of him. He
will not grow. He will not learn or master the Materia Medica I once planned
a similar scheme, but I soon saw that I must work out every case, every patient
on his own merit in each and every case, making use of fullest repertory
accessible, curtailing nothing lest I miss something important, and this meant a
life charged against my conscience.
The methods you use, or have printed, are hard and arduous and differ
decidedly from mine. You do an enormously larger amount of work than I do
in my cases. The student and physician must work to settle the generals,
common symptoms and particulars to the fullest extent if he wants to save
work. When I worked in a clinic I prescribed for twenty five to forty patients in
one and half hours and never neglected anybody. This can be done with
anybody, I think, unless he works uphill with his cases. A doctor should know
generals, common and peculiars, so that he can use them quickly if he has a
large business.
When looking over a list of symptoms, first of all discover 3, 4 or 5, or 6,
or as many as existing symptoms that are “strange, rare and peculiar,” work
these out first. These are the highest generals, because, “strange, rare and
peculiar” must apply to the patient himself. When you have settled upon 3, 4 or
6 remedies that have these first Generals, then find out which one of this list is
most like the rest of the symptoms, common and particular. Your cards will not
suit this plan, so far as I can see in its application. To individualise between
these few remedies you must have the fullest repertory than can be found.
When you have taken a case on paper, you must settle upon the
symptoms that CANNOT be omitted in each individual. If he is worse from
motion, you cannot omit that unless it is common, which means if not due to
inflammation. Every inflamed and swollen knee or ankle is worse from motion,
hence that aggravation from motion is not worth much. Worse from
consolation, she hates her mother, she hates her children she is worse from
music, she is sad before M. period, she is chilly during menses, during stool,
during urination. Eliminate these from she is always too warm, or too cold,
worse in a warm room, craves cool air, all symptoms come on when she is
dressed too warmly, etc. etc.” Then see how many remedies you have, perhaps
only 3 or 4, perhaps only one. Notice whether there is anything in the case that
opposes this one. If there is nothing, then give it. Do not expect that a remedy
that has the generals must have all the little symptoms. It is a waste of time to
run out all the little symptoms if the remedy has the generals. Nothing disturbs
me so much as the long letters I get from doctors who show how they have
wasted time on useless particulars. Learn to omit the useless particulars-the
common particulars. Common particulars are generally worthless.
Get the strong, strange, peculiar symptoms, and then SEE TO IT THAT
THERE ARE NO GENERALS IN THE CASE THAT OPPOSE OR
CONTRADICT.
If you see the keynotes of Arsenicum, next see to it that the patient is
chilly, sensitive to air, fearful, restless, weak, pale, must have the picture on the
wall hung straight, and Ars. will cure.
Or if the keynotes look like Pulsatila, see to it that she is not chilly, that
she likes windows open, wants cool air, wants to walk in open air, better from
motion, thirstless, tearful, gentle.
Learn what constitute the Lycopodium patient, the Sulphur patient.
The great trouble with the keynotes is that they are misused. The
keynotes are often characteristic symptoms; but if the keynotes are taken as
final, and the generals do not conform, then will come the failures.
Your card system will make mediocres out of good men, as it will
prevent advancement, growth, maturity in our pupils. There is no way but to
continue to use the repertory in each case. The doctor who does this will grow
in knowledge of the Materia Medica, taking the case, in characteristics,
generals, common symptoms, particulars etc. If he uses your card system he
ceases to grow, he dwindles. I am now curing cases that were to me incurable
ten years ago. Nothing can take the place of mastering the Materia Medica.
My lectures on Materia Medica give the plan of study for each remedy. The
Guiding symptoms give the plan of study for characteristics and grades as a
reference book. The Encyclopaedia is the book of reference for a full study of
provings. The doctor that dodges any of these will never grow into an artist. I
am an enemy of all short cuts to science and art. Prolonged and deep efforts-
drudgery only can make an artist in healing or music.
You are doing as I used to do, you are hunting for labour-saving
machines.
“The machines are useful in everything but art. They are ruinous to the
art of prescribing as they are to music. I want to see my pupils in your country
become more than mediocre in their old age. I want them to do what I do. I
want them to become masters. Now my dear friend, don’t spoil the good work.
I am saying these things with the fullest love for all of you, for our cause, for
men, for you.
I am not surprised that you feel the need of just what you have produced,
but I also feel that you are wise enough to see the need of developing the genius
of men and women in the art of healing. Some try to shorten the work by the
use of keynotes, but the system is destructive to the art, as it is the cultivation of
the memory instead of the understanding. It is not the man who remembers
much that makes the artist, but the one who knows and understands his art. To
know and use is to become wise; to memorise is to become contracted and
pinched and shriveled in body and mind and face. The artist knows how to
meet every emergency, but the memoriser has forgotten what he has memorized
and never understood.
Now let me say that your cards will, in some instances, cause good
results, but never better than good artistic intelligent work will do. It can never
take the place of knowing the Materia Medica, and knowing how to use the
repertory. If you use repertory right you gain no time with case I might say in
sweeping way that this case system may fit your circumstances, taking into
account the demands of the hospital and clinic and the inexperience of the
young men; yet it seems to me sorrowful that your circumstances are likely to
restrain the intellectual growth of these young men. I know very well that some
of our young men have not the capacity to grow into healing art such might not
be dwarfed by the cards and others have the ability and should be helped in
every way to the highest development. I hope you will try to make use of the
method of working out such cases as obscure by the only individualizing
method known to us, viz. the repertory for the patient. I predict that your card
system will be used for a time by some and give… and that most of these will
go to a.. condition; only a few will go back … Repertory for each case.
I fully appreciate your efforts, and quite willing that you should attribute
failure to approve your cards to old age and stupidity.
Sincerely yours,
“J.T.KENT”
(Contributed by Dr.Charan Singh Sandhu, New Delhi.)
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 212 of 216
Dear Reader,
Dr. Ramanlal P. Patel and his team have been
carrying out a Research Project since 45 years. A
stage has been reached when a ‘Global Study’
could be done after which a ‘Protocol’ for treatment
of Cancer by Homœopathy would be prepared.
The following questionnaire has been sent for
publication so that practising homœopaths will
please respond to him directly and a copy to the
QHD.
Thank you,
K.S. SRINIVASAN.
CANCER AND HOMŒOPATHY
Have you got answers to the following
problems? Please help.*
By
DR. RAMANLAL P. PATEL, D.M.S.; D.F.Hom
(London); L.M. (Dublin) etc. Director
1. What is your experiences in the treatment of
Cancers in various forms by Homœopathy?
No theory, please. We want evidence based
practical experiences.
2. What is your concept of treatment?
3. Do you follow any Protocol?
4. What are the results, you have in your clinic or
Hospital?
5. How do you manage the case of Cancer?
6. What type of potencies you use in dealing
Cancer patient?
7. Do you use Q (Mother Tincture) in Cancer
cases? If yes, when?
8. What is the response you get with high and low
potencies in L.M., Centesimal and Decimal in
Cancer patients?
9. What about auxillary methods of treatment you
follow?
10. What is your method(s) to palliate Cancer
pains?
11. What is your advise for Diet?
12. Do you have certain remedies with potencies
which you prefer to give in certain Cancer
conditions?
13. Do you follow Classical way (?), Constitution
(?) or miasmatic way to deal with Cancer
patient?
14. What if acute condition(s) develop during
treatment in a Cancer patient? Do you give
medicine for acute condition(s) along with
treatment already given?
15. What about pains when your medicine does not
give relief?
16. Do you keep records of patients with terminal
Cancer, five years survival Cancer and 10 yrs.
Curative Cancer?
17. What about Diagnostic Aids X-ray, MRI,
C.T, Sonography?
18. What about Tumour Markers?
19. What about Blood, stool, urine etc.
examinations? Do you keep regular records of
investigations to monitor the patient’s
condition?
20. Do you follow cases? How long?
21. What about Surgery? When? Your opinion,
please!
22. What about radiation treatment? Your opinion
please.
23. What about Chemotherapy? Do you ask to
continue if patient is taking it?
24. What about side effects of Chemotherapy?
How do you deal with it?
25. Do you deal first with side-effects or straight
away give homœopathic treatment?
26. Chemotherapy, what is your experiences?
Results Palliative, Curative? Or no effect in
many cases. Do you get patients who are
allergic to Chemotherapy? Then, what?
27. If patient has Chemotherapy and half way
patient comes because he cannot tolerate.
What is your line of treatment?
28. Do you advise to continue Chemotherapy and
give side by side Homœopathy if patient
wants?
29. If radiation is given, how long you wait to give
homœopathic medicine?
30. Do you advise to complete radiation once
started?
31. What about surgical case? Already operated
and comes to you. How will you approach in
this case? When?
32. Patient comes with Cancer diagnosis but no
treatment. How is your approach? In
VIRGIN CASES what are your results?
33. How are the results with Breast Cancer,
Leukemia, Prostate Cancer, Lung,
Oesophageal, Stomach and Colon cancers?
34. Do you take pathological changes in the body
in selecting medicine?
35. What is your approach Palliative or curative
in Cancer patient?
36. What about terminal Cancer patient?
37. What are the types of terminal Cancer patients
you get?
What is your approach for treating such cases?
38. What do you do if primary Cancer is
unknown?
39. How do you approach if the patient comes with
metastasis?
QUARTERLY HOMOEPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004, Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 213 of 216
40. What about blood transfusion? When do you
advise and in which cases?
41. Do you advise to continue hormone
replacement?
42. What about anti-epilepsy drugs and anti-
inflamatory drugs after brain tumour operation
which are already given and other drugs?
43. What about complicated cases of Cancers with
Trauma, Diabetes, Heart diseases etc. come to
you?
44. What about Cancer cases which are running in
family members?
45. What about the use of multiple medicines –
Miasmatic, Constitutional(?)
Organopathic, pain medicine, Biochemistry
(Tissue Remedies) in Cancer patient(s) when
indicated? If we claim to cure cancers in
patients by Homeopathy we have to have
answers and evidences.
46. If the patient has Surgery, Chemotherapy and
radiation but he comes with reoccurrence and
metastasis?
What is the line of treatment?
47. Any other problem(s), please add and answer.
We are facing these problems at our clinics and
we want also your experiences to put
HOMŒOPATHY on a GLOBAL MAP with
evidences to treat Cancer and Cancer patients.
* 1. CANCER CARE CLINIC –
VADODARA, GUJARAT
2. HOMŒOPATHIC CANCER CLINIC
KOTTAYAM, KERALA.
--------------------------------------------------------------
COMING EVENTS
1. P.G. Students who have taken the subject of
Repertory for M.D. (HOMOEO.) are informed that
a seminar for two days on repertorization is being
arranged on Saturday 29
th
and Sunday 30
th
of
January 2005 at the Institute of Homœopathy,
Hahnemann House Meissen, Atmajyoti Ashram
Road, Subhanpura, Vadodara – 390023, Gujarat.
Dr.D.P. Rastogi, Dr.K.H. Matani, Dr.R.P. Patel
will conduct the Seminar. Please contact Dr.
Jawaharlal R. Patel., Assistant Director, Dr.R.P.
Patel Institute of Homeopathy, Hahnemann House
Meissen, Subhanpura, Vadodara 390023.
Gujarat. Phone: 0265-2390089, 2390091. Mobile:
0265-3126499.
2. Contribution invited Nationally and
Internationally for Dr.HAHNEMANN & Dr.
KENT Galleries at Homœopathy History Museum,
Hahnemann House – Meissen (Replica of
Hahnemann House at Meissen in Germany.)
Subhanpura, Vadodara, India.
Any article, papers, old books, photographs of
historical value in originals which were in the
possession or used or handwritten or printed papers,
books, photographs etc., of Dr. HAHNEMANN
and Dr. KENT are gracefully received and accepted
for exhibition in these permanent Galleries having
space 3,000 sq.ft. and more. All contributions will
be acknowledged with the names of the
contributors at the site of Galleries in the
Homœopathy History Museum. Please send your
contributions by registered post to: The Secretary,
Dr.Hahnemann Homœopathic Service Trust,
Hahnemann House Meissen, Atmajyoti Ashram
Road, Subhanpura, Vadodara 390023.
GUJARAT.
3. 13
th
National Homœopathic Conference
2005 on 22
nd
& 23
rd
Jan. 2005. Venue: SANT
DNYANESHWAR SANSKRUTIK BHAVAN,
AMRAVATI. Organized by Research Society of
Homœopathy. Further details contact: Organising
Office: Dr.S.A. Dhole, (Organising Secretary) C/o
Principal, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial
Institute of Homœopathic Medical Sciences,
Badnera Road, Amravati (M.S.) Pin. 444 601.
4. Improving the success of Homeopathy 5
A Global Perspective – London A two day
International Conference, 19-20 May 2005.
Main purposes of the Conference:
To examine the implications for research and
development of globalisation
Consider how the diverse and geographically
widespread elements can be connected
Review possible applications of homœopathy
in agriculture and elsewhere
Establish where the pitfalls lie and how they
can be avoided
Mapping the way for the healthy development
of homœopathy by harnessing synergies while
respecting regional particularities.
General Information: Date: 19-20 May 2005
Fee: £250 [concessions may apply] £195 for ‘early
birds’ who register before 15.02.2005
Venue: Institute of Child Health, 30 Guildford
Street, London WC1N 1EH
Further details from
Mrs Amy Bowrin MBE – Academic Unit
The Royal London Homœopathic Hospital
Greenwell Street, London W1W 5BP United
Kingdom, Tel.: +44[0]20 7391 8823
Fax: +44 [0] 20 7391 8812
E-mail: rlhhconference@uclh.org
QUARTERLY HOMOEOPATHIC DIGEST Year 2004,Vol.XXI
© Centre For Excellence In Homœopathy Page 214 of 216
Subscription for Quarterly Homœopathic Digest
for the year 2005 is Rs.350/-