©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 1

CONTINUING HOMŒOPATHIC MEDICAL EDUCATION SERVICES

QUARTERLY HOMŒOPATHIC DIGEST

VOL. XXIX, 1 & 2, 2012

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. Homœopathic Medicine:

The Science of pattern Recognition

SHORE, Jonathan (AJHM. 103, 1/2010)

This paper discusses the way in which the world

view of Homœopathy differs from that of current

thought and explores the implications of this difference

with regard to the processes of case taking and choice of

remedy. Referencing aphorisms 5, 9 and 11 of The

Organon, the author postulates that Homœopathy being

a ‘cause irrelevant’ system demands of the practitioner a

completely different way of looking at the world than

the one ingrained by contemporary education. This way

requires not only a careful study of surrounding nature

but also an inner study relating to the integration of

thought and feeling. Indications are given as to the

practices which might facilitate the perception of the

totality of the patient’s story simply as a pattern without

the need to have recourse to either physiological or

psychological explanations.

[The article deserves to be read in full and contemplated

upon. The article is given in full in Part II of this QHD].

2. Will to Get Well:

The deciding factor for the choice of Patient

SHUKLA, Chetna (HL. 21, 3/2008)

Over the years I have realized that we have to

accept and treat patients irrespective of caste,

community, creed, nationality, religion, region, status,

sex etc., in other words, without prejudice. But I have

always asked myself: are we to accept and treat all

patients who enter our clinics (if making a living is

secondary)? Can we not select our patients? I realized

we do have a right to choose a patient in very much the

same measure as the patient has the right to choose her

homœopath! But having exercised this right we are

duty bound to stay with the patient until she gets well or

decides to leave us. If you also believe that: Disease has

a purpose that needs to be enjoyed by the sick, and that:

All restorations of health and all sickness that you are

able to heal was only because the sick had a Will to get

well (and are not your intellectual exploits solely) then

this article may appeal to you. All the beautiful cures in

our consulting rooms are only possible because the

patient had a strong Will to get well.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 2

3. Potentization and the Law of Similars

A Healing Resonance in Alchemy and

Homœopathy

GALEGO, Carol-Ann (HL. 21, 4/2008)

As continually testified in the practice of

Homœopathy, there is an inextricable relationship

between the Law of Similars and Potentization. When

administered in an untreated state, toxic substances will

have a toxic affect on patients, regardless of whether

their symptom complex corresponds with that of the

particular poison. Similarly, after potentization, the

denatured substance retains its healing properties only

when administered according to the Law of Similars.

When the simile principle is disregarded, the altered

substance is completely ineffective. This paper draws

on the alchemical notion of sickness and healing for a

theoretical framework with which to understand the

relationship between the Law of Similars and the

process of potentization. Demonstrating the way in

which the alchemical insights that PARACELSUS

carried into his medical practice illuminate the efficacy

of Homœopathy, this paper exposes the hermetic

influences of HAHNEMANN’s “discovery” of

potentization.

4. Steps to an Ecology of Self

Iplications for Homœopathy

SILVESTRI, Kenneth (HL. 21, 4/2008)

In the framework of a dialogue, patterns and

barriers towards self-development are discussed in

relation to understanding how communication,

perceptions, psychological aspects and temperaments

can enhance homœopathic case-taking and remedy

selection.

5. The recovery of man in medicine

TWENTYMAN, L.R. (HOM. 100, 1-2/2011)

In the discussion of auto immune phenomena of

diseases, the author says it is simply the weakness of the

self and its failure to impose unity on the multiplicity of

the organism. Through Homœopathy a patient is

transformed from being a man who has disease into a

whole human person and the physician should be

transformed from a calculating machine who gives a

prescription for a disease into a whole man who can

help to heal another with his whole being, mediated by a

remedy. A separation of man and his disease is no

longer possible; the disease is a metamorphosis of the

man and in the healing process the whole man must

undergo a metamorphosis. For these reasons also it

shows a way to a recovery of man within our

civilization and a renewal of our endangered life and

culture.

6. The concept of constitution in Homœopathy

CAMPBELL, Anthony (HOM. 100, 1-2/2011)

The author discusses about constitution in

Homœopathy and feels it is a confused residue of ideas,

part mystical, part philosophical, part pathological and

part pharmacological. It certainly has no foundation in

the similimum principle, and any justification it has

must therefore be empirical and clinical. There is

nothing improbable in the suggestion that certain types

of persons may respond particularly well to certain

medicines.

This however is a far cry from the doctrine that in

every case of chronic disease there lurks a constitutional

remedy waiting to be unearthed by the astute prescriber,

to effect a miraculous cure if only it can be discovered.

In this semi-magical sense, the constitutional remedy is

an utter chimera. [Those who have read Anthony

CAMPBELL know that he is a ‘half-homœopath’. This

is a ‘reprint’ from 1981 = KSS]

--------------------------------------------------------------------

II. MATERIA MEDICA

1. Cactus grandiflora

NOSSAMAN, Nicholas (AJHM. 103, 2/2010)

Cactus grandiflorus, also known as the Night

blooming Cereus, is a remedy with some distinctive and

dramatic symptoms. A list of keynotes and

characteristic symptoms is given, along with a short

description of the unique and striking behavior of the

plant.

Case 1: 65-year-old woman with fracture of T12

Vertebra. Developed Pneumonia in Hospital and then

diagnosed with interstitial lung disease requiring

continuous Oxygen Therapy and was on Steroids since a

year. Most striking symptom was a feeling of

constriction around chest. Had Atrial fibrillation a year

before. Cactus, five doses over a period of ten months.

Each dose followed by general response of increased

vitality and less requirement of Oxygen.

Case 2: 35 year-old man, diagnosed with non cardiac

chest pain, extending to left arm, restless lower limbs,

sensitiveness of external throat, chilliness, worse at 10-

11 p.m. and pain in left arm as if squeezed by a cord

around it. Cactus 200. In the ensuing 4-5 months, his

chest pain disappeared entirely. Overall vitality

improved. He described his feelings as being more in

consciousness and less in his body.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 3

2. Alumina

POTDAR, Swapna (HCCR. 1, 2010)

This write up is a study done to demonstrate the

relationship between the source substance of a

homœopathic drug and the medicine prepared from it.

Attempt to link up the themes in the symptomatology of

Alumina, with the naturally occurring substances –

corundum, sapphires, and rubies and their close

relatives, the alumino-silicates-clay.

3. Das Studium der Materia Medica Homöopathica

(MMH) – Erfahrungen nach 1. Jahr MMH –

Schulung in der Schweiz.

(The Study of Homœopathic Materia Medica –

Experience after one year of study of MMH School

in Switzerland)

MINDER, Peter (ZKH. 54, 1/2010)

The late Dr. Georg von KELLER has said that

many of our patients do not get the correct

homœopathic remedy because of our lack of sufficient

knowledge of Materia Medica. This became very clear

to the author when he began working with Dr.K.-

H.GYPSER in the Glees Academy for revision of the

Materia Medica. All the old, reliable sources were

carefully gone through and a properly structured

Materia Medica was drawn for a thorough study.

The article explains the steps being gone through in

respect of each medicine. The various steps are:

Step I. List out the Medicinal Proving Symptoms

Step II. Verifications of the Proving symptom by

clinical confirmation.

Step III Characteristic:

i. What is “Characteristic?” in regard to the

‘genius’ of the remedy? The ‘genius’ contains the

individual action and signs like a red string running

through the remedy. ‘Genius’ symptoms are those that

they came up oftener in the proving in respect of

different parts of the body. For example if there is

‘burning’ in the top of head, in the nose, on the tongue,

in stomach, urine and in the feet in the proving, then

burning is its ‘genius’.

ii. ‘Characteristic’: with regard to ‘gold’:

“Gold grains: is a term coined by

BOENNINGHAUSEN to indications which are in one

or a very small number of remedies. The expression for

their later was ‘Key Note’: BOENNINGHAUSEN has

explained this in the FN to Aphorism 4 of Book VIII of

“Aphorisms of Hippokrates” – p.559: The ‘hole’ in the

tooth and of course the hole through the side of the

tooth and not by the crown of the tooth is a very

important ‘gold grain’ of Thuja; there are such ‘gold

grains’ scattered in HAHNEMANN’s proving which are

carelessly swept off.

iii. Singular Symptoms: Though it cannot by

itself be sufficient to indicate a remedy, it can still point

to the characteristic like Key Note.

In the Characteristic’ is ‘general’ characteristics

(Genius) including the ‘sides’ affected – like right/left

the dynamics of development like pains suddenly

rising/falling, etc., the extension of the symptoms and

last the cause: anger, care, Grief etc. then the place,

organs, organ system, the modalities, etc. etc.

‘Specially Characteristic’ is region specific i.e.

specifically acting upon certain locations in the body;

the symptoms must have been observed at least in two

provers and with clinical confirmations preferably.

Specific modalities including extensions, etc.

More or less in this manner the symptoms are given

in bold letters, capitals, Italics, underlines etc. As an

example Cyclamen.

All these are to be drawn in Boger’s Synoptic Key

style.

Example: Cyclamen.

General Characteristics (Genius)

Sides affected: Dynamics/Development:

Direction/Extension: Causation

Changing, alternating complaints.

Location/Organ

Head, Eyes, Digestive tract, female Genitalia

Modalities

EVENING (headache, gnawing and cramping

abdominal pains, rheumatic throat pain, Sciatica

< NIGHTS

< BENDING

< Eating, after

>MOVEMENT, WALKING

(irksomeness/sleepiness, pressing stomach ache,

gnawing intestinal pains, Menorrhagia, sprain,

dislocating pains, general state)

Complaints/Findings/Feelings, sensations

DIZZINESS, EINGENOMMENHEIT, VERTIGO

Special Characteristics

Characteristics according to abdominal region

CHEERLESSNESS TO WORK, OCCUPATION

Aversion to speak

Sinking of voice

AS IF WRONG, AS IF HAD DONE A BAD ACT OR

NOT DONE HIS DUTY.

Delusions: as if large animals would go over her whole

body, as if the room were too small, as if the brain in

head moved, as if the brain were pulled by a towel, as if

air would stream out of the chest through the nipples,

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movement and rumbling in the abdomen as if there was

something alive therein.

Headache half side, Migraine with VERTIGO, with

GLIMMERINGS with ERUCTATIONS, with thirst,

disturbances of vision, DIPLOPIA, DARK,

glimmerings, lightnings, etc., dull.

HEAT RISING UP TO HEAD

LOSS OF APPETITE

Disposed to vomit

Amenorrhoea

ABDOMEN DISTENDED, BEFORE MENSES

MENSES BLACK, CLUMPY

BACK PAIN: > DRAWING THE SHOULDERS

BACK

WRITER’S CRAMP: LAMING PRESSURE IN

UPPER – OR LOWER ARM DRAWING UPTO THE

FINGER AND PREVENTS WRITING

Peculiar localized Modalities

>RISING FROM SITTING (Arms, Legs)

Conflicting Modalities

< MOTION, WALKING (Vertigo, Headache, Cramping

attzcks, Stitches in abdomen, pain in perineum,

Menorrhagia, Palpitation, Contusive pain, Elbows,

Tearing pains Feet. Cutting in wrist joints.

Peculiar localized complaints/sensations/findings

Itching, scratching (Skin, Larynx, Thorax)

Peculiar localized accompanying complaints

Heat: Head

Peculiar Singular Symptom

Stitches in brain when bending forward

Itching of the hairy scalp, on scratching it goes to

another part immediately.

Milk-like flow from the mammae

Shinbone pains, comes when sitting, passes off when

walking and returns again offensive smelling sweat

between the toes of the left foot

Grade marks:

1. Characteristic Materia Medica Proving symptom:

Normal letters.

2. Frequent clinical symptoms (when characteristic or

genius): normal letters

3. Frequent Materia Medica Proving Symptoms:

Cursive

4. Verified Symptoms: CAPITALS

5. Often verified symptom: CAPITAL

Characteristic Picture:

At the end of the course each of the participant is

asked to draw a drug picture to complete his course “a

picture he can take home”. By section wise, model

mode of construction with different cognitive ranges

own work, interactive group work, experience of the

medicine substance by seeing, tasting, smelling, etc.,

through seeing the particular picture as also through

fixation on the Synoptic Key – all these throw good

light from various sides so that it can be in memory.

After this the medicine has to be studied in

comparison with other similar drugs.

This way our knowledge of the remedy gets

imprinted. “This is the sense in which we must learn to

know our remedies, just as we do our friends, by their

air or personality; an ever changing, composite effect,

but always reflecting the same motive”.

– BOGER, in Foreword to Synoptic Key.

Now, how, in what way is this method of study of

the Materia Medica better?

Surely it gives more clearer knowledge of the

particular drug so that when a remedy does not get us

the result expected, we may be able to know where we

faulted and correct ourselves. We will be able to

identify the proved and clinically verified symptom

from the mere clinical symptom. In short knowledge of

Materia Medica will be far better, which is the basic for

our practice. This has been the personal experience of

the Working Group of the Glees Academy.

4. Rein oder nicht rein? Zur Qullenlage von

Hahnemanns Arzneimittellehre

(Pure or not pure? On the Source of Hahnemann’s

Materia Medica)

LUCAE, Christian and WISCHNEN, Matthias

(ZKH. 54, 1/2010)

Several questions are raised and answered with

reference to the literature.

Does Hahnemann’s Materia Medica contain only

proving symptoms? What other sources and how

reliable are they?

The authors have carefully gone through the

‘Fragmenta…’, the Materia Medica Pura, the Chronic

Diseases, and other works of HAHNEMANN and

concluded that Hahnemann’s Materia Medica contain

information from various sources – the Proving,

Toxicological Reports, Symptoms that came up in

patients during treatment, Provings on patients as well

as clinical symptoms.

There is a strong case for much sifting. [How to

‘sift’ may be adoption of the study material delineated

in Peter Minder’s article above = KSS]

5. Do we need New Provings?

Illustrated with a case of Lac Lupinum

ALEX, Peter (HL. 21, 4/2008)

A case is made for the need to carry out new

provings, despite the fact that many colleagues find it

hard enough studying the ones that we have already.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 5

Research is one of the qualities of true science. Some of

Hahnemann’s statements that back up this opinion are

quoted. To justify this point of view, a case of Lac

lupinum, a newly proved remedy, is presented.

6. Lac lupinum, the Milk of the Wolf

TROTTER, Susan (HL. 21, 4/2008)

The wolf is often outcast, feared and hated and we

see this demonstrated in the patient requiring milk of the

wolf. This case also demonstrates how some of the

ideas and dreams of the proving can appear in the

patient requiring the remedy.

7. The healing powers of tree roots

Triturated with Silicon

CREVELD, Marijke (HL. 21, 4/2008)

During 1999 I started preparing homœopathic

remedies using a new method. This method is based on

homœopathic, shamanic and alchemic procedures. This

different approach led to remedies made of tree roots:

Radix remedies. These contain healing energies. These

remedies are connected to the problem of the earth;

humanity and life on earth are under enormous pressure

at the start of the twenty-first century. At the start I

collected roots of trees in their natural biological places.

They have been growing there for ages. Later on I used

roots of trees that grew on power spots as well. In the

preparation of Radix remedies the ethereal, healing

energy of tree roots is transferred to silicon. This

information carrier is new to Homœopathy. Dream

proving were conducted using nineteen Radix remedies.

The common theme is ‘above and below’. This is an

emblem of contact between heaven and earth. The

themes of cleaning, repair and moving house often

occur as well. They are emblems of change,

transformation and letting go. Three of the remedies are

discussed in this paper.

8. Ambergris, Crocus and Tiger lily

WHEELER, Charles E. (HOM. 100, 1-2/2012)

This article gives a comparitive study of the three

remedies. Nervous hypersensitiveness both psychical

and physical is common to all the three.

Ambra shows it psychically in the form of intense

shyness and sensitivity to music.

Music < the unstable nervous state of Crocus.

Visual sense is disturbed in Lilium with impulses of

anger.

Physical sensitiveness is most marked in relation to

the genital organs.

In the pelvic symptoms, haemorrhage of Crocus is

profuse with black viscid clots. In Ambra period is an

increased one, the Lilium period often lessened.

9. A proving of Hydrophis cyanocinctus

RAESIDE, J.K. (HOM. 100, 1-2/2011)

Proving was conducted from Jan. – June 1958, with

14 people, 10 of whom took the drug and 4 who were

controls taking lactose. 8 were men, two women.

1st and 2nd Degree Symptoms from Hydrophis

Cyanocinctus 6c and 30c

--------------------------------------------------------------------

MIND DEPRESSION---Cheerful on first day

of powders, “feel better than ever”.

Weeps from depression > alone,

< consolation.

Melancholic (sadness for no reason).

TIREDNESS.

Lethargy.

Forgetful.

Can’t concentrate.

Irritable.

Lack of initiative (no joy in life)

Drowsy.

HEAD Dull headache < L, < frontal, < a.m.,

< heat, > open.

Heavy head.

Throbbing head.

Tight band round head.

Sudden headaches

Itch of scalp.

Vertigo.

Eyes BURNING OF EYES < L.

Tired eyes, heavy eyes.

L. eye blurred vision.

Vision disturbed.

Stye L. eyelid.

Itch L. eyelid.

Pain in L.eye.

EARS pain L. mastoid.

Deaf in L. ear.

Pain in L. ear.

FACE Nasal catarrh (burning) > open.

Pain in L. face.

MOUTH Toothache L. molar.

Dry mouth < a.m.

Pain in L. jaw.

Cannot chew properly.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 6

THROAT SORE THROAT.

DRY THROAT.

Burning in throat

Hot dry pharynx.

Pain in tonsils.

<L. side, < waking, < before M.P., <

talking.

STOMACH Nausea.

Thirst for cold drinks.

Gnawing pain R.

hypochondrium p.c.

Pain in epigastrium p.c.

ABDOMEN Sharp pains.

Shooting pains.

Stitching pains < L.

Colic < L.

Pains < morning.

Tightness round abdomen.

RECTUM Itch in anus.

Pain after stools (burning and

sharp)

Constipation.

Hæmorrhoids, painful and

swollen.

URO-GENITAL M.P. excessive

Heavy M.P.

Red vaginal discharge.

LARYNX Hoarseness < talking

< morning.

COUGH Cough from dry throat.

Tickle in throat.

CHEST Stabs of pain in Heart and L.

Chest < lying down.

Dryness and burning in chest

Palpitation < on waking.

Dyspnoea.

BACK Pain in back < L.

EXTREMITIES Spot pains in thumb and arm

< L.

Stabs of pain in limbs.

Pain in L. hip.

Cold feet (hot feet).

Numbness, weakness,

heaviness in legs and arms.

SLEEP WAKING AT NIGHT

FROM DREAMS, with fear,

feeling ill, hot.

Waking early in a.m., 2.30-

4.30 a.m.

Light sleep.

Insomnia.

Restless sleep

Shouting in sleep.

PERSPIRATION Excessive (without fever).

FEVER During colds and sore

throats.

Skin Dry cracked skin on hands.

Spots on face and neck.

Itch of the skin in various

parts.

GENERALITIES Tiredness.

Heaviness < on waking.

<a.m.

<L.side.

Pains sharp (except head).

Burning.

KEY NOTES Depression, tiredeness, and

heaviness.

Dull frontal headache.

Burning dry throat.

Stabbing pains in Limbs,

Abdomen, Chest and Heart.

Night starts or nightmares.

< L. < a.m especially on

waking.

[Dr. RAESIDE’s untimely death alongwith many other

great names in British Homœopathy, in the Trident

accident in 1972 is so sad = KSS].

--------------------------------------------------------------------

III. THERAPEUTICS

1. The Cancer Diathesis

MUELLER, Manfred

(AH. 16/2010)

The Cancer diathesis may be inherited or acquired.

It has recognizable signs, symptoms and constitutional

characteristics that can be identified long before the

pathology develops. Recognizing the diathesis would

perhaps permit early treatment to prevent progression

into the malignant tumor stage. The cancer diathesis

appears to grow from the terrain of four previously

inherited miasmatic predispositions and contains

elements of these. The characteristics of cancer are

apparent in each of the previous miasms as well as their

hereditary taints. The practitioner must perceive

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 7

whether a disorder arises out of the cancer diathesis or

out of a much older affliction.

List of symptoms to recognize the cancer diathesis

in cancer patients is given below:

Recognizing the Cancer Diathesis in Cancer Patients

To ascertain the characteristics of the Cancer

diathesis we need to look no further than to those in

whom the diathesis have morphed into a confirmed

cancerous pathology. The following collection of

characteristics is taken from almost two decades of

documentation and personality descriptions of cancer

patients in my practice: men, women and children. The

subjects were questioned about their past and present

characteristics during homœopathic consultations. In

addition to the standard questions covered during an

initial consultation they (or their parents) additionally

filled out a detailed health history and self-assessment

questionnaire. I have distilled the characteristics

obtained during the case-taking into the composite

picture of the general and mental characteristics of the

cancer candidate presented below. This extensive list is

still not a complete listing.

Family history:

Cancer, Leukemia, Diabetes, Hypertension, Mental

illness e.g. Schizophrenia, Suicide (especially if the

victim has been diagnosed with Cancer), Alcoholism,

Drug use or abuse, Allergies, Asthma, Tuberculosis,

Pernicious anemia, High Blood Pressure, Auto-Immune

disease.

History:

Excessive crying since birth; developmental delays

and disorders, growth disorders, learning disorders; food

allergies, small appetite, picky eater; adverse reaction to

vaccines; early sexual exploration, early sexual abuse;

multiple partners especially outside of a steady

relationship; prolonged parental control, emotional or

physical abuse victim; bedwetting; nosebleeds in

childhood; ailments at puberty; mononucleosis as teen;

kidney and/or liver disease; constipation; recurrent

infections; tooth decay; auto-immune disorders; arthritic

and rheumatoid conditions; anemia; eczema, especially

of hands; unexplained fevers.

General Symptoms:

Changeable symptoms

Opposite symptoms

Absence of symptoms

Adverse reactions to vaccines

Strongly affected by drugs, chemicals, toxins;

electromagnetic fields, radio frequencies, microwaves,

X-rays, gamma radiation

Sensitive to odors, foods, emotions

Food allergies

Craving for sweets, chocolate, milk, caffeine, salty

foods, crunchy foods, nuts, soups, spicy foods, desires a

large variety of foods and needs constant change;

doesn’t know what he/she is craving

Aversion to runny eggs, especially runny egg white;

slimy foods; certain textures of foods; certain foods;

entire groups of foods, such as green vegetables;

changeable craving alternating with aversion to that

food.

Changeable, capricious appetite; anorexia

Emaciation; obesity

Stunted growth; growth disorders; dwarfism

Early or delayed onset of puberty and menopause

Late or lack of development during puberty

Immaturity; lack of development, late development,

physically and emotionally

Ailments at onset of puberty

Tendency to recurrent infections

Never well since some disease or exposure

>Seaside, loves being near ocean; relaxed, peaceful near

the ocean even if afraid of the water

High libido; or complete absence of libido

Insomnia, can’t turn off mind while trying to sleep

Child sleeps in genupectoral (knee-chest) sleep position

or sleeps on back with arms over head or on left side

Liver and kidney complaints

Essential systemic hypertension

Anemia

Easy bruising; purpura; petechiae

Thrombocytopenia

Multiple moles, birthmarks; warts

Characteristic “flushed” face

Café-au-lait complexion

Bluish sclera

Mind, Personality and Behavior:

Gentle, sensitive, impressionable, affectionate people

High-strung, responsible, industrious, driven people

Responsible; well-behaved children

Obstinate, contrary;disobedient; rebellious children and

teenagers

Desire to conform; desire to rebel

Clumsy, awkward in social situations

Timidity with strangers

Very shy or very out-going and also in-between

Love of music; art; beauty; tasteful decoration

Love of and inclination to dance; vastly improved in

general after dancing

Love of animals; extreme sympathy with animals;

“cannot hurt a fly”; must stop her car and go back to see

if an apparently dead animal may be still alive in order

to provide assistance, etc.

Fear of diseases, incurable diseases; accidents,

disabilities; and especially, cancer

dogs; large; black dogs

insects and spiders

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drowning; suffocation

the dark; of being alone, after sunset; creepy

crawling sensation at night, in dark rooms

thunderstorms, but exhilarated by them; esp.

lightning; rain; “dancing in the rain”

confrontation; of speaking in front of a group

failure

speaking or expressing self

commitment; relationship; opinions; causes; to

stylize themselves

Amorousness, strong desire for affection; or non-

affectionate

Early sexual experimentation; masturbation in toddlers

Promiscuity in adolescence

Restlessness; hyperactivity; desire to touch everything

and everyone

Lack of concentration; inability to study

Frequent change of occupation; can’t stay with one

activity

Repetitive behavior, repeating words; gestures, motions,

thoughts and ideas

Peculiar gestures, behaviors, thoughts and ideas

Grimaces, gestures, peculiar habits: picking, pulling or

twirling hair; picking or ripping cuticles, finger nails,

biting fingers or fingernails, etc.

Lack of sensitivity for other’s feelings, on account of

feeling overwhelmed

Hypersensitivity to other’s feelings, whether or not their

feelings overwhelmed (empathic)

Easily affected by others; feels the emotions of others

Increased concern over the opinion of others; sensitive

to criticism, fear of reproach and confrontation

Perfectionist: fear of failure if he produces anything less

than perfect, which can cause total paralysis and

inability to act

Constant life-long fear of failure, even though delivers

outstanding performances; unduly dissatisfied with self

Sensitive to any sign of imperfection on her part;

embarrassed over imperfection on other’s part

Sympathetic, affectionate, caring, kind, great desire to

please

Lack of self-defense; easily victimized; scapegoat;

permits himself to be punished in an almost masochistic

fashion “Perfect slave”

Continued self-sacrifice for a greater cause

Fastidious or snobbish; extreme concern with order and

organization

Chronically suppressed grief and anger

Worry about health of relatives

Worry about own health; hypochondriasis

Denial of disease

Obsessed with death and dying, anticipation of own

death; planning for their own death, in young persons.

Precociousness: “gifted and talented,” “indigo

children,” “crystal children,” their parents, “idiot

savant”

Procrastination

Tendency to be finished before the assigned time, or

chronic tardiness

Desire to arrive before the appointed time, or chronic

tardiness

Worry about her age; anticipation long before next

birthday

Never celebrates birthday, does not disclose his age

Lack of motivation

Orderly, highly organized

Chaotic, unkempt, dirty, slovenly, untidy

Lack of, or low self-esteem

Neurotic behaviors; inviting reproach from others; self

deprecation

Chaotic persons without goals, drifters

Obsessive-compulsive individuals, from mild to

extreme and disabling

Desire for control

Frequent tendency to switch therapeutic approach or

interrupt treatment

Desire to use multiple therapies or modalities,

practitioners

Disgusted by the sight of the human body; their own or

others

Issues with bodily appearance: anorexia, bulimia,

dieting; tendency towards body modification: self-

mutilation; self alteration; breast reduction/enlargement;

various forms of plastic surgery; trans-sexual

operations; tattoos, piercings, surgery, changing hair

color, name etc.

Desire to dress in black; multiple bright colors or afraid

to use colors

Desire to travel; to redecorate her home; to move from

place to place

Desire for artistic expression

Looking for “true love,” “soul mate,” their “twin,” etc.

Lack of identity; confusion of sexual identity; of objects

of love; bisexuality; homosexuality

Unable to find her life’s “calling”

Irresolution regarding occupation or course of study

Desire to “escape,” into movies, “recreational” drugs,

alcohol, sex, food, music, literature, art, etc.

Immature persons: adult children; boyish men; child-

like women;

Mentally and emotionally immature; “unborn,” they

desire “rebirth,” emotional “release,” emotional

“expression,” emotive therapies, “working on

themselves,” “past-life regression” and interest in past

lives, life after death

Desire to “find oneself,” susceptible to spiritual and

religious influence; tendency to join cults

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 9

Ungratified religious and spiritual longings:

anticipation, desire for, seeking of and sense of

imminent “spiritual breakthrough”

Experience of spiritual or religious “breakthrough” in

mid-life, frequently and tragically just before cancer

diagnosis

“New-age” convictions, strange and bizarre religious

notions

Delusions of being a great teacher

being led

guiding beings

Clairvoyance; “psychic” abilities, precognition, etc.

Channeling of angels, spirits, “higher-beings”

Bizarre, strong and often correct intuitive directives that

they follow in their lives and during treatment

Schizophrenia

A Cancer Prevention Check List

Just for fun, I developed an abbreviated version,

narrowing a diagnosis of the Cancer diathesis down to

ten key points (with a few embellishments) that you can

use to test yourself. If you score ten points you have a

fully developed cancer diathesis.

Ten confirmatory points to identify a cancer

diathesis:

Strongly affected by, or exhilaration from

(and/or childhood fear of) thunderstorms

Strongly affected by, or feels better (calm,

peaceful), or feels worse (fear, oppression) by

the ocean

Desire for sweets; caffeine (chocolate, coffee,

tea, soft drinks); and/or feels worse from

caffeine (anxious palpitations, insomnia) or

totally avoids coffee and caffeine (but may or

may not love the smell of coffee)

Aversion to slimy textures of foods; esp. runny

white of the egg.

Love, sympathy for animals and nature; never

cruel to animals, or loves animals more than

people

Desire for harmony; desires to please, to

conform; avoids confrontation, arguments,

reproach

Ameliorated by order; classical or harmonious

music; beauty; nature; nice décor;

Sympathetic, kind, caring, highly responsible;

fastidious, perfectionist about work, living

environment, habits; always busy

Worried about responsibilities, health; can’t

turn off mind, causing insomnia; worries about

future, health of close relatives; anticipation,

appears before the appointed time, etc.

Sensitive interpersonally (e.g. to rudeness;

becoming an easy target, “scapegoat”);

mentally (e.g. to bad news; all impressions);

emotionally (e.g. to confrontations, anger

criticism); towards the feelings of animals,

trees, nature, etc.; physically (e.g. food

allergies; odors; skin; itching)

2. A story of Discovery – when Homœopathic

knowledge becomes understanding

STACK, Adjoa Margaret (AH. 16/2010)

In 1984, the author experienced a very bad Malarial

attack. Her bitter experience of that treatment made her

to seek out alternative treatment. In 2006, two

household clinics were set up in Ghana and 75 people

were treated, 38 of them for Malaria. Since then clinical

data was updated. Till 2009 175 acute episodes of

Malaria are treated. The small group of remedies which

repeatedly showed up in the treatment are Arsenicum

album, Natrum muriaticum, Sepia, Ipecacuanha,

Pulsatilla, Bryonia, China. A remedy differentiation

chart comprising of these seven remedies has been

prepared by the author to facilitate the prescription.

A woman with very bad chills with fever for a

week. Burning fever. Dizziness and severe Headache,

Joint pains, occasional vomiting, constant inclination to

spit with fever and chill. Natrum mur. 200. Three days

later, she told, all her symptoms left immediately and

felt better. Did not fall sick in the next 3 weeks. No

relapse and overall much better.

Abdul, a carpenter with Malaria since 2 weeks. No

effect with antimalarial drugs. Malaria every two

months since many years. Incredible weakness.

Sometimes fever with delirium. Burning heat at night.

Joints sore and aching. Nausea even from the smell of

the food. Bitter taste after vomiting. Better with fresh

air. Arsenicum album 1M dry dose. A week later, he

was very well. Had so much energy worked and helped

the elders. In the next two years, once mild relapse,

subsided with Arsenicum 200.

Over the years, people who have been treated

consistently speak of increased energy, fewer episodes

and less debilitation from Malaria.

Based on this success, a paper was presented at the

first International Conference on Homœopathy in the

Developing World. Then a prophylactic protocol was

developed. Ars. 200c in water in the Senya region and

Nat. m. 200 in water at the Tamale region given once a

month over a three-month period.

Any large-scale public health Malaria prevention

protocol needs to include Mosquito abatement,

protection from bites.

3. Radically Healed – a case of Rheumatic complaints

JOHNSTON, Linda (AH. 16/2010)

A 43 year-old man, who is tired of being sick, talks

about himself not being normal. Something not normal

within the brain. The wrongness in having two sides

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 10

inside himself is mentioned in various contexts. He is

cold to woman, suddenly thinks of bad things for no

reason. He feels not normal because of his rheumatic

disease or Syphillis. He was active in his younger days.

His rheumatic problems limit his ability to move. His

dream was being paralysed only for his physical

movements. The themes of coldness, movement and

being divided are prominent in various symptoms. He

has a delusion that he is persecuted, on numerous

occasions, in his work life, dreams and childhood he felt

humiliated. He avoids and hides. This points to

Malarial Miasm and Rhus radicans. A dose of 1M and

six weeks later joint problems are gone by 95%,

constant bitter taste gone by 80%. No nasal congestion.

Feel much better in every way. I have started to love

myself, the other me. No cold feelings. No split felt

inside the head. Eighteen months later, dramatically

improved in every way.

4. Musings on Provings: Giving voice to the Genius

Within a substance

HUENECKE, Jason-Aeric (AH. 16/2010)

Everyday, we provide our patients with space to

explore their inner life, physical and emotional

symptoms in order to find a remedy that will gently

touch their Vital Force enough to stimulate a healing

response. It appears that a proving temporarily creates

an alternate reality or doorway into another perception

of reality. The proving seems to aid in the cleansing of

the doors of perception for the individuals involved and

somehow extends to the group as a whole. Provers

develop an understanding of Homœopathy through the

proving experience and their own alchemical dance with

the genius within the substance being proved.

The author is a classical homœopath and a master

prover for the Northwestern Academy of Homœopathy

in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He feels that the capacity to receive wisdom and

insight from the cosmos increases the more we live

homœopathically. On the homœopathic journey

individuals seek an expanded view and wider variety of

experiences in the cosmos because of their willingness

to step outside of a narrow worldview and adopt a

homœopathic, holistic way of living.

5. A proving of Acer Saccharum (Common North

American Sugar Maple)

HUENECKE, Jason-Aeric (AH. 16/2010)

The Methodology, classification, source,

preparation, uses and the list of rubrics and symptoms

are given.

6. Old remedies, New Cures

BLECH, Raquel (AH. 16/2010)

Case 1: Adam, one year old, thin with blueness at root

of the nose. Ear infections every month with high fever

since six months. First tooth late and difficult to erupt.

Drooling, swollen gums. Stubborn. Lips turn blue

while crying. Snoring +. Sour stools. Coldness of

hands and feet. Calcarea carbonica 30, one dose. Five

weeks later, much better. No ear infection. Breathing

and sleep better. Appetite improved. Snoring

decreased. Blueness less intense. Coldness not much.

Sour odor of stool is gone. 8 weeks later –

improvement continuous. Six weeks later again

problems due to teething. Calcarea carbonica 200.

Three months later improvement in all levels.

Case 2: Nine month old Ben, with severe constipation.

Stool every four days. Screams and kicks while he

passes stool. Tired after stool. Hard & soft stool

alternates. Likes to hug and be hugged. Throws up

milk after every feeding, Very sensitive to noises.

Sweats during sleep. Phosphorus 30 one dose. Much

better for the next 4 months. Unresolving nasal

discharge necessitated another dose.

7. Spanish Moss – Tillandsia usneoides: A

Trituration Proving Perspective

SCHRIEBMAN, Judy; Anneke Hogeland

(AH. 16/2010)

Some of themes are lack of recognition, feeling of

being disrespected, suspiciousness.

A case is presented.

8. Without the illness, you cannot find the cure

DRURY, Susan (AH. 16/2010)

The author was 31, when she began to experience

excruciating, burning pain stabbing from right jaw

across the cheek to nose. Pain in spasms, triggered by

most mundane activities, leaving her stunned and in

tears. Two years later, a surgery was done and pain free

for next three years. then mild pain for the next 2 years.

then worsened and was on anticonvulsant drugs but

there was some deeper disturbance that had not been

touched that held the secrets of the disease. Through

shamanic healing and craniosacral therapy experienced

different dimensions of her own psyche, when

introduced to Homœopathy, instantly recognized as a

complete medical system and enrolled in the Vancouver

Homœopathic Academy. During the next four years,

many medicines were given, but none touched the pain.

While researching for her thesis, stumbled across a short

emotional characteristic of a remedy which mirrored her

inner feelings. Three weeks later when the pain

recurred, the medicine was taken. Instantly, the pain

disappeared. Simply vanished. Whenever there was a

recurrence, another dose and pain disappeared.

Recurrences gradually faded and seven years later

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 11

permanently cured. The remedy was Mezereum. The

feelings were estrangement and indifference after

moving to a new place after getting established in one

place.

Pleasing others, even at one’s own expense seems

to be the central theme of the remedy.

[Mezereum is a well proved medicine, but this ‘mental’

symptom has not been observed. Seems to be only an

inference from this case or has any colleague read

anywhere else since the author has had remarkable

result = KSS].

9. Autism in Two Brothers

PACE, Gary (AH. 16/2010)

Case 1: C, 6 years was normal till his first year of life.

After MMR Vaccination, he stopped talking, picky

about food, developed chronic catarrh, started drooling

and began getting frequent ‘colds’ every year. Started

hitting himself in anger. He began falling often and

couldn’t walk straight. At three he was diagnosed with

Autism. Physical therapy and a special teacher helped

and improved him. At the age of 5, after the second

MMR Vaccination, he stopped talking and started

banging head when frustrated. Communication

became minimal. Thirsty for cold drinks, sensitive to

smell and noise. Thuja 30. In the next ten days his

behavior worsened and then had bout of gasteroenteritis.

After this he started improving. Started talking, singing

& learning to write. In the next one year, a dose of 200

and two of 1M, improved his connection with others

and co-ordination, but poor articulation, and hunched

posture did not improve.

Case 2: His younger brother N, 4 years old, was well

till his MMR shot at one year of age. Fever started one

week later, with multiple infections. A month later

stopped talking and pointing to things. Then started

hitting in anger and banging when frustrated. Drooling

when he is concentrating. Aversion to warm food and

and drinks. Screams when he is not pleased. Mercurius

30. For a week worse and then bit better and improved

in the next 4 months. Then a dose of 200. In the next 9

months another dose of 200 plussed and one 1M and

1M plussed.

Most noticeable changes were accomplishment of

toilet training and learning to swim. Articulation

improved. Surprisingly drooling persisted.

[The cases are hardly halfway through; what is the

purpose of reporting a “half-cured” – if it is ‘cure’ –

case? = KSS].

10. Treading water for Ages

A trituration proving of Acipenser transmontanus,

the Columbia River White Sturgeon

BROWN, Doug (AH. 16/2010)

This article is about the proving of the Columbia

River Fish up to the 4th trituration and the feelings that

emerged before trituration and during each step and then

about individual experiences during the each trituration

step. A thematic summary is given.

A eighteen page case history of a patient, cured by

this remedy is presented.

11. Princess Tikatika: A case of a Four-year girl with

Autism

WAUTERS, Ambika (AH. 16/2010)

Brittany, 4 years old, was wild, loud and

destructive. She could not concentrate on any one

activity. Constipated. Temper tantrums lasting an hour

at a time. Did not crawl as an infant. At 18 months,

stopped talking and eye contact. Food sensitivities,

grinding teeth. Nux vomica 6c in water daily. Gaertner

12c. This began a gentle detoxification and stimulated

her bowels to move. She had begun to speak few

words. Fewer tantrums. Three weeks later bowels

regular, and formed.

Carcinosin, based on her family history of Cancer.

Given in LM Potency to keep a daily input without too

many aggravations.

Two months after Carcinosin LM1, she began to

walk on her toes and had pain in ears. Constipation

returned and sleep pattern disruptive. Carcinosin was

stopped and began Tinus Smits vaccination

detoxification process.

DPT 30, 200, 1M, and 10M over 5 weeks and then

through all of her vaccination remedies. With each

detox, she became calmer, quieter, and more responsive.

Then entered a month long collaborative program using

alternative therapies. This was followed by

sleeplessness and constipation. Opium 200, removed

these symptoms. Two months later Tuberculinum

avium 200. In the next 6 weeks she grew several inches

taller. Finally Peter Chappel’s PC Trauma remedy was

given. After this she started talking a lot, responding

engaging in a natural way. [What indeed is PC

Trauma? Is it a patent? = KSS].

12. Sticks & Stones can Break a Bone

ROTHENBERG, Amy (HT. 31, 2/2011)

Many years ago, author’s two year old son fell

down from the zip glide, holding his leg and yelling.

Arnica 200 quieted him, but he wanted to be carried and

refused to put weight on that leg. In the ER, next day

X-ray revealed an oblique fracture of his fibula. There

was not a bit of swelling, bruising thanks to Arnica. He

wore a cast for a month and then became alright.

A 18 year-old college athlete with a Jones Fracture

in right foot, did not show signs of union even after six

weeks of cast and using crutches. He had unusual

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 12

irritability and crankiness. Calcarea phosphorica 12c

daily and three weeks later good signs of healing. He

was out of the cast and mood became normal.

Indications for Arnica, Hypericum, Bryonia,

Calcarea phosphorica, Eupatorium perfoliatum, Ruta

and Symphytum, to use in the treatment for broken

bones are given.

13. Cracked glass and cracked ribs

MOSS, Dale C. (HT. 31, 2/2011)

While restoring a small building, the author fell

down backwards over window glasses breaking them.

A dose of Arnica 200 soothened the sore pain. Searing

pain in right lower back rib cage suggested cracked rib.

Bryonia 200 did not help. A hot shower eased the pain,

so a dose of Rhus tox 1M. Felt relaxed to some extent.

Ribs felt grabbed and posture became a rightward

hunch. A dose of Symphytum 30 gave blessed sleep

and left the pain legs sharp on waking. A Reference

works search on rib injuries brought up Actea spicata

and Calcarea flourata.

The day after the injury two doses of Actea spicata

and liberal use of heating pad relaxed tight muscles for

2 days and then soreness reappeared. A dose of Ruta

200 helped a lot. A week later relapse of pain,

Ranunculus bulbosa helped over the next two weeks. A

month after the fall X ray confirmed a rib fracture, but it

was healing well. [Really great = KSS].

14. Facing our fears in a Fear-ridden world

ACOSTA, Judith (HT. 31, 2/2011)

Anxiety is a natural reaction to the stresses in our

lives. But when it becomes chronic and out of

proportion to the situation, it becomes a problem. For

people struggling with it, life becomes burdensome,

exhausting, joyless. Anxiety points to something that

has been lying dormant, such as a loss, a distortion of

thought by a long forgotten experience, a humiliation

and so on.

Janie: Profound heartbreak, repressed anxiety.

Janie, came complaining about her 6 year old

daughter’s unhappiness, rebellious and petulant mood,

always in trouble with teachers. Janie’s hands were

clasped, restrained emotions, when asked she recounted

a grievous divorce five years ago, from her husband of

20 years, who had fathered a child out of wedlock and

left her.

Since the divorce and delivery, she developed

serious physical symptoms and treated with many drugs.

She felt fatigued, anxious and frightened about her own

state of health. Anxiety at night, when alone kept her

awake. Fear of robbers. She felt mortified and

humiliated by her ex-husband.

Natrum muriaticum LM1, twice a day. Within a

week improvement began. Tingling subsided in 24

hours, Headaches just never came back. Sound sleep

and less anxiety. In the next 8 months went up to

Natr.m. LM11.

Then she developed severe bronchitis, wheezing.

She became overtly emotional and was weeping. Better

with fresh air. Pulsatilla 30. To be repeated when the

asthmatic breathing flared up. Within a month, physical

symptoms had subsided but revealed the depth of the

abandonment and loss she silently suffered for years and

made progress. A dose of 200 and she has a spring in

her step, expresses relief on a multitude of levels and

has been able to handle a number of family crises with a

steady heart.

Jack: Relentless anxiety and abject fear.

Jack, 24 year old with constant, pervasive anxiety.

Physically abused in childhood. After a brief time on a

prescription medication for depression, he developed

psychotic symptoms including delusions about the

devil, images of violence. After several weeks of

Psychotherapy, he described thoughts of tearing out

body parts and being attacked. He believed he was

being tormented and controlled by demons and God had

forsaken him. Stramonium 200. Within few hours, he

felt a deep well of ugliness removed from his chest.

Within couple of days, he felt lighter.

Few doses were repeated when he reached a

plateau. The psychiatric drugs are being titrated off

slowly and properly.

15. Alleviate your anxiety; Top 12 tranquility remedies

ACOSTA, Judith (HT. 31, 2/2011)

Brief descriptions of twelve remedies are given.

Aconite, Argentum nitricum, Arsenicum, Calcarea

carbonica, Gelsemium, Ignatia, Lycopodium, Natrum

muriaticum, Phosphorus, Pulsatilla, Silica and

Stramonium.

16. Breaking free of Panic Attacks

HAM, Natalie (HT. 31, 2/2011)

Erin 40, with daily anxiety for the past 10 years and

periodical panic attacks that made her feel her death was

imminent. She felt she had life threatening illness, fear

of being alone, great anguish about health, racing

thoughts, fastidious and fault finding nature. Fear of

safety of children. Fatigue and irregular and painful

menstrual periods. Walking or moving about helps her

to calm down. Arsenicum album 200. Two weeks later,

she was calm, cool and smiling with no look of fear in

her eyes. No panic attacks and no anxiety. Fatigue

improved. Menstrual cycle less painful. In the next 3

months, Ars.200 as and when needed. Several months

later, irritability popped up. Only 20% > after Ars. 1M.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 13

No sleep after 3 a.m. craving for fatty, spicy fried food,

impatience. Nux vomica 30, daily. 95% > in the next 3

weeks. Her anxiety levels never reached 10-15% of

original intensity. In the next three years upto Ars. CM

as and when needed.

Holly, 50, was bent over, red faced and sobbing,

holding her husband’s hand in a panic attack. Her

husband explained that they had to leave Kansas 2 days

ago to live in Arizona with an extended family two days

ago. During the journey, they had to give up some of

their possessions in the car which broke down. The jobs

assured here did not happen and the extended family

told they could stay only if they could pay the rent.

Since then she has been hyperventilating, trembling,

sobbing, dizzy and nauseated.

She was homesick and losing belongings was

tragic. Then betrayal hurt her. She felt she could not

take a deep breathe and was sighing. She felt choking.

Ignatia 200. She felt better instantly. She could

breathe, no redness of face. No choking. She had

calmed down. Within the next two weeks, they moved

back to Kansas. [The range of action of Homœopathy is

amazing indeed. No therapy can come anywhere near =

KSS].

17. Naturopaths without Borders (NWB)

Global Healing, Naturally

OSKIN, Jamie (HT. 31, 2/2011)

NWB is a student-run volunteer organization with a

mission to heal disadvantaged people around the world

using holistic, natural, prevention and treatment. One

weekend a month, a caravan of students and physicians

travel to Puerto Peňasco, Mexico (Rocky point) to see

patients in the makeshift clinic. Obesity and consequent

uncontrolled type 2 Diabetes with its complications are

rampant in this population.

Juan 68, with severe pain in feet. Wrinkled face.

Callused hands. Glassy eyes due to cataract. His non-

fasting sugar level was 490mg/dl. Burning feet.

Uncovers them. No sleep after 3 a.m. warm blooded.

Craved crispy, fatty foods and cold drink. Sulphur 6c

daily. Six weeks later, pain feet completely gone.

Sugar level was 320. He was advised to continue the

medicine for the next one month and monitored as and

when required.

Maria, middle aged woman with pre-diabetes, high

blood pressure, elevated blood lipids and an increased

risk of heart attack or stroke. Long standing right

shoulder pain, due to pulling down a heavy box from a

high shelf. Stiffness of shoulder. Pain better with warm

application. Rhus tox 10M. she also suffered from

depression. She would weep alone for hours. Desires

salty food and worse in sun. six weeks later shoulder

pain completely gone. Natrum mur. 200. Few days

after the shoulder pain subsided. Depression gone.

18. Summertime … and your living can be Easy

CATES, Trevor Holly (HT. 31, 2/2011)

Sunburn – Calendula spray. In addition Cantharis

taken internally, soothes pain and promote healing

Itchy rash – Anacardium, if no relief Rhus tox.

Bee stings and insect bites – Apis mellifica.

Ledum if the affected area is cold.

Minor scrapes and cuts – Calendula ointment, salve or

spray.

Trauma with soreness – Arnica

Injury to nerves – Hypericum

Swelling and soreness of deep bruises – Bellis perennis

Sprains and strains – First Arnica.

Bryonia if slightest movement causes pain

Ruta for severe sprains and strains.

Rhus tox for aches with stiffness and restless

feeling.

Symphytum to promote bone growth and repair

in a fracture.

19. Clinical Case Study

A Woman with Lupus, and a whole lot more

MOSKOWITZ, Richard (AJHM. 103, 1/2010)

A long-standing case of a woman with Systemic

Lupus Erythematosus is presented. Based upon a

number of characteristic symptoms – left-sidedness,

starting awake on falling asleep, sensitivity to touch and

tight collars, premenstrual aggravation, heat intolerance,

etc. – Lachesis was the first prescription. Later

intercurrent prescriptions of Lycopodium, Sulphur,

Natrum muriaticum furthered the progress of the case,

as did Mezereum for acute saliolithiasis. The case

reflects the substantial health benefits that can accrue

from careful, conventional, classical homœopathic

prescribing.

20. Syphilis: Microbe and Miasm

SHEPPERD, Joel (AJHM. 103, 1/2010)

Modern research science shows that syphilis is only

occasionally cured by antibiotic treatment. What do

biologists now know about the microorganism

associated with the disease named syphilis? What is the

outcome of antibiotic treatment? How do Hahnemann’s

observations compare to current knowledge of the

natural history of this disease? What is the relevance of

the term “chronic miasm” in relation to mainstream

scientific language? Can Homœopathy fully cure

syphilis? This paper will begin to address these issues.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 14

The author concludes with the explanation of

chronic miasms as symbiosis. When different life forms

interact, the result is the material and immaterial physics

of action and reaction.

[A very interesting and scholarly article. Read it in full

in Part II of this QHD = KSS].

21. A Constipated child

NOSSAMAN, Nicholas (AJHM. 103, 1/2010)

Amelia, 2 yrs, with chief complaint of holding

stool. Tendency to become constipated before any

acute illness. She would feel an urge, would cross legs

forcefully, grunt, and red in face clings to mother.

Angry and demanding. Based on her fastidious nature

and strong separation anxiety, Ars.alb.200. Within a

day, she began to have three or four stools a day without

resistance.

22. A young man suffering from Grave’s Disease

OSKIN, Jamie, A.; MESSER, Stephen, A.;

(AJHM. 103, 2/2010)

We present an ongoing case of a young man who

had unresolved Graves disease for seven years prior to

beginning treatment with a combination of conventional

medications and Homœopathy. His Hypertension and

Tachycardia initially improved slightly with medication,

which we prescribed to ensure his myocardial safety.

We then took his homœopathic case and prescribed

homœopathic Natrum muriaticum 200C daily. The

prescribing indications were: dwelling on past

disagreeable disturbances, resentment, aggravation from

consolation, laughing over serious matters, and craving

salt. After beginning homœopathic treatment, his

thyroid function and his general state overall improved.

We then were able to successfully wean him from his

pharmaceutical medications without a rise in his heart

rate or blood pressure. This case illustrates that

Homœopathy can be an effective treatment for Graves

hyperthyroidism and that by integrating the treatment

with conventional medications it is possible to manage

such patients effectively.

23. Two boys with persistent coughs

FIOR, Timothy, W. (AJHM. 103, 2/2010)

Two boys with recurrent coughs of a croupy,

asthmatic nature are presented. The family history or

perinatal history of thyroid disease in the mother was

one of the keys to the successful prescription of Iodum

purum. A brief description of iodine the element is

given followed by some characteristic Materia Medica.

24. The cough of Cardiovascular disorders

MOILOA, Motlhabane R. (AJHM. 103, 2/2010)

Cough is one of the five most common symptoms

for which patients seek consultation with a doctor:

patients suffering from heart disease may present with a

chronic painful dry cough associated with dyspnoea and

palpitations. Cough < during sleep, awakening the

patient.

The indications for Spongia, Laurocerasus, Naja,

Digitalis and Lachesis are given to be used in cases of

cardiac cough.

25. Delusions in Homœopathic Psychiatry

LALOR, Liz (AJHM. 103, 2/2010)

Homœopathic Psychiatry is the psycho-analytical

study of the meaning and application of the Delusion

rubrics in homœopathic case-taking and case analysis.

In the application of a delusion rubric, the

homœopath seeks to understand why the patient has

established the delusional state and why he needs to

maintain the misrepresentation of reality. [This kind of

delving into the patient is unwarranted that he/she has a

‘delusion’ is enough = KSS]. The Psychodynamic

development of the delusion symptoms (rubrics) follows

five psychological stages which patients will encounter

as they struggle to acknowledge or resign themselves to

their loss of good health.

Denial: ‘hubristic denial’ of disease.

Forsaken: Disproportionate feelings of abandonment or

persecutory delusional beliefs.

Causation: Disproportionate guilt

Depression: Predictions of failure

Resignation: Overblown resignation to disease and

death, or exaggerated hypochondriacal fears of illness.

Each remedy profile will present in one, or all, of

the psychological stages.

The importance of understanding the five

psychological stages within each constitutional remedy

profile is that such an understanding will provide

psychological insight into how each constitutional

remedy will behave when sick.

A detailed case of Thuja is presented to illustrate

this scheme. Aspects of the Materia Medica of Thuja

are also presented.

26. An urgent Bladder infection

HOOVER, Todd (AJHM. 103, 2/2010)

52 year-old lady with a solitary Kidney, after

donating one to her brother, complained of bladder

infection. Intense burning throughout the urination,

with constant and intense sense of urging that is not

relieved with urination. Irritable, impatient and anxious

of this problem. Cantharis 30. 80% relief within 30

minutes and complete recovery within two hours after a

second dose.

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27. Constipation in Cancer of Rectum

MISTRY, D.E. & CHITALE, Neeta

(HCCR. 1, 2010)

94 year-old lady with rectal Cancer and

constipation since 1½ months. Postural hypotension.

Likes salt and spicy food. Sharp memory. Nux vomica

200 weekly doses and Ruta 6c q.i.d. as local

pathological remedy. Intercurrent, doses of Carcinosin

were given. Along with some doses of Merc. sol. 30,

Hydrastis 30, Cheldonium 30, Nat-mur. 30. The patient

lived for more than two years almost with no pains of

Cancer.

28. A case of Acidity and Ventricular Dysfunction

MISTRY, D.E. & CHITALE, Neeta

(HCCR. 1, 2010)

Mrs. MSA, 52 years with acidity since 1985. Pain

left side of chest and left arm since 15th Aug. 2009.

Diagnosed as left Ventricular Dysfunction. Constant

fear of death from heart attack or brain haemorrhage.

Sudden fright at 12 years of age, fear of getting infected.

Acidity < sour food. Likes ghee, milk and cold food.

Phosphorus 30, then 200 relieved her in the next three

months.

29. Cases treated with water doses of Silicea

MISTRY, D.E., CHITALE, Neeta

(HCCR. 1/2010)

Five cases with different complaints treated by

Silica are given.

30. Few cases

DEY, M (HCCR. 1/2010)

Arthritis: Mrs. TM, 60 years, with joint pains since 30

years. < cold wet weather. >by massage, warmth.

Restless due to pain.

Rhus tox 0/3 and then 0/5 improved. Medo 200.

Much better. Urticaria appeared and subsided on its

own.

Insanity: Ms. RS, 23, with painless soft swelling of

both feet since one year. Tremors of upper limbs.

Delusion that someone will hurt her family members.

Shameless. Lascivious – since a fright 2 years ago.

Itching spots in forearms since 3-4 years. Opium 200/2

doses. Gradually improved and became well in the next

six months.

Asthmatic Bronchitis: Mr. P.V. 36 years, with pain

entire abdomen since 6 years. Pain appears and

disappears gradually. > pressure Dyspnoea, cough, <

winter, < New moon, since 3-4 years. USG Abdomen –

Appendicular mass and Fatty Liver. Stannum 200/2

doses. A month later no pain. Stil susceptible to cold.

Thuja 200/2 doses. No dyspnoea in the next 3 months.

Memory poor. Med. 200. 3 months later - No

problems. USG – Normal.

31. A case of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL)

SHINDE, Prakash (HCCR. 1, 2010)

Mrs. SLB, 55 years was diagnosed with APL on

Chemotherapy. History revealed that she felt lonely

after shifting to her new home on the outskirts of the

city, after daughter’s marriage; after son’s transfer.

Much breathlessness. Based on the sensation of

isolation, Coca 30. In 2 weeks, improved in all aspects.

Energized. No evidence of APL.

32. A case of Lung Abscess

SHINDE, Prakash (HCCR. 1, 2010)

Mr. MGS, 62 years, was admitted with sudden

severe pain in left chest. He was restless, perspiring and

pain relieved by lying on left side. CXR revealed left

lung abscess. Intercostal drainage tube. No response to

antibiotics or AKT. His condition was deteriorating.

He was on ventilator. Upon request he was put on

supportive aid and all medications were withdrawn.

Calcarea carbonica 1M was given, based on his

timidity, short stature, overcared, coward and fearful as

child. Next morning he came into consciousness. His

drainage tube was dry. Placebo drops were dispensed.

By afternoon, ventilator support was decreased to 50%.

Next day only on Oxygen mask alone. Next day severe

attack of asthmatic bronchitis, which subsided with

Sepia 200. He remains well.

[Not only cure of the serious disease, but the

(allopathic) hospital expenses were very heavy so as to

render the patient bankrupt. The homœopathic

treatment costed very very low which even a daily

wage earner could bear! And the rapidity of the cure!

Good job Dr. Shinde = KSS].

33. Cystic Hygroma – A Case Study

MISHRA, S.C. (HCCR. 1, 2010)

Master AY, 7 years with recurrence of Cystic

Hygroma in left axilla operated once at 14 months.

Cyst is hard and pain at times. Salivation during

occasional grinding teeth in sleep. Lies on abdomen.

Craves milk. Over a period of nine months, treated with

aqueous doses of Merc.sol. 30, an intercurrent dose of

Thuja 200 and finally Zinc. met. 200. The cyst became

softer, smaller and painless, though it did not disappear.

Case of Psoriasis

A farmer with severe itch on scalp since last three

months. Diagnosed as Psoriasis. Pyorrhea. Burning of

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 16

palms & soles since 2 years. Based on his reserved

nature and craving for milk, Staphysagria 200 was

given. In the next few months, he gradually improved

and was free of his problems.

Case of Insomnia with headache

Mrs. NM with insomnia and headache since 2

years. Hair roots are sensitive to combing. Angry,

irritable, feels dominated. Hurried. Being occupied

ameliorates her anxiety. Poor libido. Lilium tigrinum

200. Slept well and no anxiety after that.

Case of chronic dry cough

Mr. K. with continued dry cough since 12 years.

Cough < lying on right side. AKT did not relieve.

Operated for intestinal obstruction. Drosera 30,

followed by Ipecac 30. Cough better but plug like

feeling in throat. Ignatia 200. Completely relieved.

34. A case of Fibrocystic Disease of Breasts

SHAH, Devang (HCCR. 1, 2010)

46 year-old female with bilateral multiple cysts in

breasts. Pain in right arm, as if bursting. Headache on

the right side. Pain in knee joints. The lumps increase

whenever I am tense. Fearful since childhood. Fear of

son having an accident. Fear of death of husband.

Dreams of dead people. Fear of ghosts; of my own

shadow. Fear of dark. I shiver, faint in fear with a

sense of warmth in body.

Belladonna 200. Feels better. No fears. In the

next two months, lumps almost gone. Anger decreased.

Belladonna 1M.

A year after the first dose, lumps on left side

completely gone. On right side 3 lumps, but much less

in size. No dreams. Feels fresh.

35. A case of Acne vulgaris

MEHER, Kshama (HCCR. 1, 2010)

19 year-old girl with acne since 4 years – Acne

suppurate, and heal with a scar. Painful menstruation.

Chronic constipation. Recurrent stomatitis. Motion

sickness. Mother and sister are dominating. Much

tense before exams, interviews. Anticipatory anxiety

leads to vomiting. Silicea, Thuja, Psorinum, Berb. aq.,

Sulphur did not help. So Carcinosin was given as a

constitutional remedy. She gradually improved and was

cured of her problems.

36. A case of non-healing ulcer

BAVISKAR, Pushkar (HCCR. 1, 2010)

NDB, 60 years old male with a non-healing wound

in right heel since 1½ years – after an injury. Not

responding to conventional medicines. Pain with

purulent discharge from the irregular margins of the

ulcer. Gunpowder 30 and Calendula Q in repeated

doses, healed the ulcer in 6 weeks.

37. Die Seitenregel des Constantin Hering

(The Rule of Sides of Constantin Hering)

REIS Stefan (ZKH. 54, 1/2010)

This is study of much ignored aspect of

homœopathic therapeutics. While everyone spoke of

‘Hering’s Law’ of above downwards, from more

important organs to the lesser important ones and

symptoms disappearing in the reverse order of their

appearing – the latest to go first – another ‘rule’ of

HERING has been ignored, we do not know why.

Stefan REIS examines this; to my knowledge this is

the first and only study of this ‘rule’ so far.

In his Essay on the Rule of the Sides (The

Hahnemannian Monthly, 1865) HERING postulated

what if we are to treat a complaint which had moved

from right to left, we have to choose a remedy which

has caused in the Provings, a tendency to move from

left to right. Whereas in the actual practice so far we

have not done so. In the light of Hering’s Rule of Sides

corrections to the Repertory in respect of these ‘rubrics’

have to be made; application of the ‘Rule’ may validate,

Stefan REIS has in his practice over the past 4 years or

so followed this and confirms the ‘Rule’ of Sides of

HERING with regard to practical application in

practice.

38. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the

Vital Sensation

CHAPPELL, Peter (HL. 21, 3/2008)

In simple terms, there are two categories of trauma:

Trauma from systemic abuse, for eg. repeated, never

ending criticism, small, insidious insults and relentless

abusive comment.

Overwhelming trauma when a person disappears or

a tsunami occurs or from a mechanical birth process –

The key thing about trauma is the tormenting

memories.

In PTSD nothing gets resolved. The most

important is this unresolved trauma is inherited, without

the facts to go on, and it becomes a free floating trauma

which passes on to generations. This is termed as

‘PTSD Miasm’ by Peter CHAPPELL.

PTSDs are also created by epidemic diseases and

Genocides.

PTSDs basically cripple the person. Recoveries

occur in individuals fully treated by Therapy.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 17

The remedy PC Genocide addresses the deep

trauma almost overnight and people are able to function

normally. [These remedies Peter Chappell’s own

make. Are they homœopathic remedies? = KSS].

39. Great Balls of Fire

A case of Hecla lava

GILLIES, Mary (HL. 21, 3/2008)

A 40-year patient, suffering from pain abdomen

since childhood was treated with many homœopathic

remedies since 1998 with no relief. In 2005, re case

taking was done according to Rajan Sankaran’s method.

Her main complaint is abdominal pain and wind

experienced as a build-up of pressure, a ball of fire,

congested, bloated like something fermenting side.

Thirsty with pain.

Her anger builds up and bursts out of her like a

volcano.

The emotional feelings and the physical pain in

abdomen are exactly the same. Realizing this made her

relaxed and settled for the next two months. Then a

build up, of pain in right iliac fossa. Hecla lava 1M.

there was aggravation and return of old symptoms

which eased in two weeks.

Eight months later, there was relapse and Hecla

lava 200, settled it.

40. The Extremist

A case of Cuprum fluoratum

BAILEY, Philip (HL. 21, 3/2008)

A 52 year old man, looking like 40 year old, with

painful tendon in right lower leg and tenderness of left

biceps. Tendency towards Zinc deficiency. Poor

assimilation. Repressed catholic childhood. Depressed

for years. Core belief that sex is fearful. Sexual

Frustration. Less when I am sexually active. Fear-

oriented. Hard to grieve. Fear of pain. Dream of

frustration obsessive – compulsive personality.

Sensitive to loud noise. Had chosen to be childless.

Phobia about asphyxiation. Craving for ice-cream &

sweets. Raynaud’s phenomenon in fingers. Zincum

iodatum LM1. No effect. Zincum nitricum LM2

aggravated his aggression without any improvement

mentally and physically. His sexual focus suggests

flouratum remedies. Rigidity, preciseness and

fanaticism pointed to Cuprum (according to Scholten).

Calcarea flouratum 30c once daily. In the next 30

weeks, he gradually became better after an initial

aggravation. He finally had a child with his partner. 17

months later had felon in a finger which subsided with

Hepar sulph. 30. [Where do we have the Proving or

Clinical Materia Medica of Cuprum fluoratum? The

author Philip BAILEY has synthesized the remedy. =

KSS].

41. Two cases of Jaborandi

MANGIALAVORI, Massimo

(HL. 21, 3/2008)

Two cases are presented in which the general theme

of exhaustion suggested the rutaceae family, while

fertility problems combined with a strange attitude

towards food and extreme perspiration pointed to

Jaborandi.

42. Unlocking the case with one key

BJORNDAL, Andreas (HL. 21, 3/2008)

An old lady whose life had been with one goal,

making socks for the whole family for Christmas.

Everyday, every free minute, she would knit. In the last

two years, her eyesight was challenging her ability to

keep her schedule. Ruta 200, 3 doses. 8 weeks later,

she was grateful. Not only do I see better, but my hands

knit faster. A hard little ball on my wrist also went

away.

43. Angustura vera

SWOBODA, Franz (HL. 21, 3/2008)

Two cases cured by Angustura vera on the basis of

its Keynote – strong desire for coffee – are given.

But this symptom is not a proving symptom of

Angustura. In the introduction to Angustura,

Hahnemann cites Emmert’s report on a lethal

intoxication with a different plant, but contained

Strychnine. This boy asked for coffee in intoxication.

This mistakenly became a source for this remedy.

44. A case of Citrus vulgaris

JOHNSTON, Linda (HL. 21, 3/2008)

A 35 year-old woman with Headache since 12

years of age. The themes of

Falling Apart and Holding it together

Stretching beyond any limits

Crushing tightness – appeared in her chief

complaint,

The dreams, her views on life and even in her hobbies.

Based on the Citrus vulgaris 200. Within a month

could stop all headache pain medication and improved

overall. 16 doses in the next 3½ yrs. [What sort of a

Report is this? Was the patient cured? = KSS]

45. A case of Kali bromatum

MANGIALAVORI, Massimo (HL. 21, 4/2008)

68 year-old lady with dermatitis since years. Very

stiff in every sense. Itching and lots of formication.

Little pustules, hurt terribly. Stress due to father’s death

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and mother’s Parkinson. Operated for Ca Rectum.

Constipation all along. Ovarian cysts at 20 years.

Menopause at 21 years due to medication. Very

religious. Kali bromatum Q1.

Very gradually her skin symptoms decreased by

90%. Nails became stronger.

46. A case of Veratrum album

LALOR, Liz (HL. 21, 4/2008)

In Homœopathy if we can delve into the original

crisis that created the first Delusion we become aware

of how the person has constructed their self and their

presenting disease around this Delusion. This Veratrum

case reverberates with a crisis of self-examination

which reflects both the Delusions of herself as God, and

herself and her disease as the victim of God’s judgment.

God’s vengeance has been absorbed into the core

psychodynamic crisis which is subsequently borne to

fruition in the very nature of her disease. In this case

the woman believes she deserves the Adenocarcinoma;

she seeks no treatment. This is a suicide case.

Veratrum album moved her stance on whether she

deserved to die; Vertrum viride subsequently moved her

Delusion of curing her own Cancer.

47. Rubrics on Amelioration in Homœopathy

CHAKRAVORTY, Sakti (HL. 21, 4/2008)

Perhaps instinctively patients always tell about

aggravation of symptoms, something homœopaths also

focus on when asking their questions. This is our

experience. Moreover it requires tact and skill for both

the patient and doctor to elicit a true amelioration i.e. it

has to be “titrated-out’. Our attention to amelioration

came into focus when we embarked on case-taking and

repertorising. Curiously, the numbers of rubrics of

aggravations are greater than those for ameliorations.

Modalities are the third component of

Boenninghausen’s ‘quad’ i.e. sensations, locations,

modalities [aggravation and amelioration] and

concomitants. Recently we see an upsurge in various

‘modalities’ to study and prescribe a remedy e.g.

Thematic, Periodic table, Vital sensation etc. It is our

modest intention in this write-up to focus on the one

time-tested component ‘modality’ of Boenninghausen’s

quad – Amelioration. Let amelioration be another

feather in the cap of the ‘marathon methodology’ of

prescribing and studying remedies.

48. Homœopathic Blood Treatment

SONNENSCHMIDT, Rosina

(HL. 21, 4/2008)

When we consider blood in our repertories quite a

lot of symptoms are offered like, the tendency of

bleeding (haemorrhage), the locations of bleeding,

blood pressure and the condition of blood vessels. But

we rarely find the direct path to remedies which treat the

constituents of blood. On the other hand we deal with

severe chronic diseases such as Cancer or Alcoholism or

Arthritis or Diabetes etc. where a haemogram shows

many disorders concerning the haematopoiesis, blood

coagulation and the blood corpuscles. An exception

may be Anaemia and Leukaemia because of the location

of the disease. But there is no doubt in my mind that

any other severe disease starts with disturbance in the

blood quality as blood contains all information.

Further still, each blood cell contains consciousness and

the information of the whole. Blood presents the

holistic aspect of a living being. Long before symptoms

materialize in organs, in organ systems and at the

outside of the skin, the flow of the life force, the blood,

is disturbed in its inner rhythms. The blood flow as a

whole is pure rhythm and each constituent represents

rhythms of birth and death. The blood is a miracle of

equilibration. It responds to all physical, psychic and

mental dispositions. It takes quite a long time before a

physical suppression like fever or sweat or a

psychological suppression is manifested in an organ

system because the vibration of matter is slow and

because all suppression starts with compensation. But

you can already see at the beginning of such processes

how the blood reacts in its constituent parts. The only

problem is that we do not look through a microscope at

this point, nor do we start a treatment. I just want to

make clear that blood is our best field for diagnosis and

treatment as it allows a view into the inner world of

disease and that we as homœopaths should use the

haemogram count. At least in German-speaking

countries I often meet homœopaths who do not believe

in successful treatment of Cancer or any other serious

chronic disease with Homœopathy. May be this article

will go some way towards boosting faith in natural law,

in nature and in our wonderful healing art of

Homœopathy.

The Effect of Blood Remedies

The question arises of what actually homœopathic

remedies trigger when they are administered in cases of

blood disorder? Do they stimulate the production of

blood cells in cases of deficiency? Do they slow down

the pathological increase of blood cells? Do they

balance and regulate? These questions are important

because most of the remedies comprise a “too less” and

a “too much” element. Manganum oxydatum helps, for

example, when the Erythrocytes are increasing or

decreasing. The same is true with Uranium nitricum, a

very strong blood remedy when Lymphocytes are

pathologically increased or decreased. The laser-like

effect of the blood remedies allow us to look behind the

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 19

scenes, quite often into the hidden levels and elements

of a chronic disease.

We come to the conclusion that blood remedies can

support, stimulate and balance what is out of order.

They also deal with very specific problems such as the

coagulation factor VIII, where Plutonium nitricum and

Uranium nitricum help when the coagulation is too

slow, Radium bromatum and Cobaltum nitricum help in

any case of disturbance.

Another important field of use is miasmatic

treatment. Remedies which reach the inner structures

and constituents of blood are in most cases of syphilitic

nature, i.e. destructive. I work with about thirty

remedies, twelve of which are of the highest

importance. In my classes of miasmatic Homœopathy

even those medical doctors who are beginners in

Homœopathy can already start working successfully

with these main remedies as they have the requisite

physiological and medical background. Further, they

know most of the remedies such as antibiotics,

antiphlogistics, antipyretics and analgesics. Most of the

side effects of these chemical remedies are exactly the

symptoms we use as similes in their homœopathic

counterparts. Seeing it from the viewpoint of miasms

the decrease in blood constituents belongs to the

syphilitic miasm as they create a deficiency. When

reduction and atrophy take place, the nutrition with

oxygen and all necessary supplements in the peripheral

blood, in all organs and tissues suffer. So we have to

take it seriously when a Thrombocytopenia,

Leukocytopenia or Erythrocytopenia is obvious. The

blood as central flow of life force does not easily

collapse because its different constituents have their

own rhythm and all together they create a highly

flexible system of compensation. There must be a

serious and permanent suppression and pressure before

this flexibility can be disturbed.

What has the power to disturb such a holistic

system as the blood? The answer is very simple: it is

the conscious mind of the patient. The mind can create

healing power and destructive power and that is stored

in every cell of the blood and body. Each cell contains

consciousness. Blood never reacts with syphilitic

degeneration on daily or weekly stress, pressure and

suppression which we face as modern “workaholics” as

long as relaxation, pause and regeneration follow. The

problem is not the pressure and suppression themselves

but the loss of life rhythm. The problem is not the

heavy work, the busy day life but the loss of balance.

Blood cells can bear a lot of stress but not the loss of

rhythm. Why? Because life is rhythmic movement,

rhythmic vibration. In addition to the mind, regular

vaccination plays an important role in blood

disturbance.

Themes Behind Blood Constituents

According to new research in holistic neurology,

behind each cell group and organ stands a special

theme. The perception is not new: for thousands of

years Chinese medicine has been teaching the

relationship between the organ system and the psychical

and mental condition. Modern researches lead to

evidence. As far as the blood is concerned, it is very

interesting to note which problems or conflicts stand

behind its constituents:

Behind red blood cells (erythrocytes) stand

conflicts with mother and/or other close female

relatives.

Behind white blood cells (leukocytes) stand

conflicts with father and/or other close male

relatives.

Behind platelets (thrombocytes) stand conflicts

of the family system and/or ancestors.

As a matter of fact the deficiency and reduction in

one or more blood constituents indicates a serious

situation for the patient. The conflict has to be resolved.

Then we can observe the natural law: matter follows

mind. Of course, this cannot happen in a minute or in

one day. But realization of the conflict and the attempt

to solve it plus a blood remedy already leads to a better

haemogram. [This “Conflict” as the trigger has been

proposed by Dr. HAMER in his New Medicine or

HAMER has rejected the modern Cancer Therapy and

for all ills “Conflict solving” must attempted = KSS]

Let us consider as an example the sycotic aspect of

blood remedies.

According to the sycotic dynamic we find an

overproduction, i.e. Erythrocytosis, Leucocytosis,

Thrombocytosis and Lymphocytosis. Although such a

development is pathological it is not as dangerous as the

reduction in blood constituents. The blood and the

organ system can compensate. Sycotic processes

develop slowly. In my experience the psychic and

mental conflicts behind the sycotic blood disturbance or

disorders seem not to be quite harmless and are often

not recognized as a problem. But they create stagnation

and a progressive resignation.

Again, healing includes the necessity for stress

release and an adequate blood remedy. Both impulses

release the blockages and the sycotic stagnation. Again

I could see in several cases where the blood normalized

according to the patient’s perception an attempt to

release the conflict.

Categories of Blood Remedies

Among the blood remedies which reach the inner

structural constituents we find fewer plants and animals

than chemical source material. This makes sense if we

consider how often conventional remedies influence the

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 20

blood or produce negative side effects in the blood. No

wonder that the stop-ranking remedies are derived from

this category. Another important group consists of

metal elements of high radiation. Table 1 is an

overview of the most important remedies.

In Cancer treatment the help of these remedies is

obvious as we are facing a lot of problems if the patients

first undergo Chemotherapy and Radiation therapy. It

should be clear that these treatments neither solve the

actual problems of cancer cells – since cancer is a

mitochondrial disease that has no cell nucleus

degeneration – nor do they destroy enough cancer cells.

The side effects are well known among which the loss

of immune power and the destruction of normal cells

are the most serious. But in cancer we deal with

extreme fear of death. Therefore many patients,

although they don’t believe in healing through Chemo

and Radiation therapy, follow it, often pushed by the

intimidation of oncologists before and after surgery. It

will take another twenty years or more before cancer

patients first visit a homœopath before conventional

treatments are considered. So we meet quite a lot of

cancer patients who come after Chemo and Radiation

therapy. In these cases it is of great value to start the

holistic treatment with blood remedies in low potencies.

Because the haematopoiesis and the production of blood

cells is not activated, the immune system cannot

recover. After a boost in the blood quality, the self-

regulatory mechanism of the body can spring into

action.

After Chemotherapy and Radiation therapy we

often find the following defects in blood. Next to it I

add the appropriate remedy:

 Hypercholesterolemia (cholesterol in serum):

cisplat

 Leucopenia: azath, aureom, carbam, chlorpr,

halo, penic, acetyls-ac, plut-n, uran-n, rad-br,

plat-I, caes-m

The reduction in leukocytes, especially the

neutrophilic granulocytes, is based on a disturbance in

the hematopoiesis of the bone marrow cells. The

neutrophilic granulocytes have no time to get ready for

phygocytosis. This and many other processes lead to

the tremendous weakness of the whole immune system.

 Pancytopenia (reduction of all kinds of blood

cells); acetyls-ac, azath, sal-ac, methion, plut-n,

uran-n, caes-n

 Leukaemia (caused by chemotherapy): cisplat,

plat-i, uran-n.

Another point has to be observed in the wake of

much new research into the nature of Cancer cells:

There is no need to convert them into normal cells,

which means activating the respiratory chain in the

mitochondria. This can be done by amino acids like

“reduced glutathione”. But we can also use a wonderful

homœopathic remedy which I have used quite often:

Quebracho, also known as Aspidosperma quebracho.

BOERICKE tells us that this remedy stimulates the

absorption of oxygen. In parallel with an administration

of quebracho D3 or D6 the patient has to practice

regular breathing exercises because external breathing

supports inner breathing. The second remedy to

stimulate the respiratory chain is Asparticum acidum.

Erythrokatalysis

Another problem is the erythrokatalysis where the

cell membrane is destroyed. This process can be very

rapid, especially when, for example, the patient is a

chronic mobile phone user. Under the microscope you

can watch how quickly the erythrocytes lose their form

and “explode”. Remedies like Echinacea and Plumbum

help in these cases. But, of course, the best course is to

eliminate the causative factor: not to carry the mobile

phone close to the body, to use it less and leave the

body enough time for regeneration. When the

erythrokatalysis is slow we may not see any major body

symptoms. There may be no pain in liver and spleen.

But the haemogram calls for treatment. Remedies like

Mang-o, Acetyls-ac, Lec, Methion, Plut-n and Uran-n

are very helpful.

Parasitosis

Although I mention it at the end of this article, a

special fact led me years ago to the blood remedies and

answered a lot of questions: quite often in healing

processes of chronic diseases we see stagnation at the

miasmatic level of Sycosis. Old symptoms come back

for which previously the patient would typically take

conventional medicine like tablets against headache,

pain, inflammation, fever or mental disturbance. But he

is now in a different situation in so far as the

homœopathic treatment has arrived at this point and the

question arises: Shall I take the chemical remedies again

or not? Instead of forbidding conventional help I tried

to understand the wisdom of the body. What does it

show and tell? The Sycosis discloses everything that

was hidden and stored.

One day I got the key by accident

There was a female patient of 56 years who came

because of constant tiredness, exhaustion, upset stomach

and many other symptoms she had had for eight years.

she was a vegetarian and accepted only Homœopathy or

other forms of holistic treatment. It was one of the

many cases I see in my practice: nine out of ten people

suffer from a hereditary Gonorrhea which disturbs any

healing process. We can give many remedies but the

awakened Sycosis is clever and survives all attempts –

as we know. As the woman had already been suffering

for many years I gave Nitricum acidum C30 to be sure

that there were no hidden syphilitic roots. After four

weeks the lady felt much better, stronger and was full of

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 21

hope. As no syphilitic signs came out I started the

treatment of the hereditary Gonorrhea with Thuja C30

and Medorrhinum C30 alternating weekly with the

plussing method. The reaction was violent:

Headache, pessimistic mood, fever, swollen knees,

hands and ankles. She got an inflammation in the right

nostril. These symptoms I considered as wonderful

healing efforts of the body: what was hidden came

forward. But this was not the solution and not the key

to understanding the woman’s reaction: The moment the

symptoms appeared she got extremely nervous and

immediately wanted chemical remedies. By chance the

patient had brought her last three haemograms of the

last year. I recognized a lot of irregularities and asked

her what remedies she had used in previous years. She

confirmed that twenty years ago she had regularly taken

analgesic, antiphlogistic and antibiotic remedies.

Suddenly I had the inspiration: the key lies in these

chemical remedies. So I should use them as nosodes. I

studied their side effects and found exactly the blood

disturbances shown in the patient’s haemograms.

Fortunately I was able to find, in Austria

(www.remdia.at), all the Nosodes based on the above

mentioned chemical substances (see 1st row of Table 1)

What had happened at the sycotic level we call

“parasitosis” or “chemical remedy disease”. The

parasitosis has been acting as a “partner miasm” of

Sycosis for the last fifty years as many people

commonly take regular chemical medicine. Sometimes

they even forget about it because they think it is normal.

But to consider an exception as a rule is very dangerous.

How to deal with the parasitosis?

Whenever symptoms come back which formerly

the patient suppressed by chemical treatment, we start

with Nux vomica, the main remedy for parasitosis, and

use the category of the chemical substances as a nosode.

I have seen many cases where the old symptoms

could be cured without any dramatic events. But what I

found and still find most satisfying is the improvement

in the blood quality. What formerly as a plain substance

destroyed or at least disturbed the blood constituents

now revealed its healing power. Again, this is a

wonderful example of homœopathic science and the

spiritual view of natural laws: where there is shadow

there is light. Where there is a problem there is the

solution.

References:

1 van der Zee H. Die Geburt - eine Reise durch die

Miasmen. Stuttgart: Sonntag Verlag, 2004

2 Jahr GHG. Die venerischen Krankheiten.

Göttingen: Arkana Verlag, 1984

3 Jahr GHG. Therapeutischer Leitfaden. Hamburg:

Verlag für homöopathische Literatur, 1868; reprinted

edition 1998

4 Master FJ. Tumore und Homöopathie, Buchendorf:

Irl Verlag, 2006

5 Yui T. The Basic Guide to Immunization and

latrogenic Diseases. Tokyo: Homœopathy Publishing,

2007

6 Sonnenschmidt R. Miasmen und Kultur. Berlin:

Verlag Homöopathie & Symbol, 2007

Table 1 Most important blood remedies

Chemical

subst.

Metal

No

sode

Nit

rate

Ani

mal

Plant

Othe

rs

ACE

TYLS-AC

RAD-

BR.

Ad

ren

COB-

N

Ano

ph-ga

KRE

SOL

Ars-

h

AUREO

M

Ferr

Anthra

ci

PLUT

-N

Both

MILL

Nat-

p

AZAT

Mang

-o

Cortiso

URA

N-N

Croth

-h

Quebr

acho

Nat-

sil

CHLORPR

Merc-

d

Lec

Aml-

ns

Hir

Bell

Ox-

ac

CIS

PLAT

Phos

Plasmo

cytom

Ben-n

Lach

Carb-

v

Succ

-ac

PENIC

Plat-i

Caes-

n

Lat-m

Chin

Sul-

ac

Aspart

Plb

Ser-

ang

Croc-

s

Carb am

Echi

Halo

Ham

Hippo

Iris

Methion

Merl

Paracet

Thuj

Phenac

Sal-ac

Streptom

Sulfon

Sulfonam

49. Die Darmnosoden in den homöopathischen Praxis

(The Bowel Nosodes in Homœopathic Practice)

MALCOLM, Russell (AHZ. 252, 6/2007)

Some extracts:

Data sources for the Materia Medica of the Bowel

Nosodes

Whereas we have proving symptoms confirmed in

practice, in the case of the homœopathic Medicines, in

respect of Bowel Nosodes have been applied in sub-

acute cases and Symptom pictures have been drawn

from these clinical sources. We can discuss this as

follows:

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 22

1. Data based on actual cases: The constitutional

tendency of the patient which would denote the

constitutional medicine and thence the Bowel Nosode

that relates to this Polychrest.

2. Objective: Those who throw out specific micro-

organisms after taking the suitable Polychrest medicine.

(example: Morgan pure found in stool in the person

who had been treated with Sulphur.)

3. Knowledge of local indications for each Nosode.

Different medicines have different affinities of specific

body region. Like the heliobacter pylori to the stomach,

the Oesophageal region and the Pylorus, the Shigella-

type is for the Pylorus, Duodenum and the small

intestine. The Nosode Morgan gaertner has several

local affinities, particularly rarely to the Appendix.

Bacillus 10 has the affinity to the vagina and genital

tract.

4. Accompanying symptoms: In the same way there is

association of the Nosodes to Particular Systemic

Symptoms. The picture of Bacillus 7 has more

weakness while Morgan gaertner’s is distension, gas

and flatus. In respect of Proteus it may be muscle

cramps and itching and skin eruptions, when

Morganella Morgani (Morgan pure, Morgan co.)

represents the large intestine.

Patients who are more often in need of Bowel

Nosode may be: with signs of altered superficial

immunity like skin eruptions, Vaginitis, Anal pruritus,

recurring urinary tract infections, Balanitis, bad breath,

Gingivitis, Mouth ulcers, coated tongue, Blepharitis.

The following may be borne in mind in respect of

Chronic diseases that come to a homœopath for

treatment. A Bowel Nosode may be required to remove

a blockade and the causes for such a block may be

recognized by enquiring for:

1. Infection in the recent time; the lattest.

2. Antibiotic treatment

3. “Never well since”; in the aetiology there may be

periods of stress, infections or change in the daily food

and drinks

4. Systemic complaints which are mostly of a diffused

nature. Patients complain of “Weakness”. “Feeling

unwell”, etc.

5. Gastro-intestinal symptoms: Distension, Flatulence,

uneasiness and changing or irregular stools.

6. Symptoms with relation to body parts – normally

characteristics itself through appropriate inflammations.

7. Lack of reaction to a well-selected homœopathic

remedy.

50. DarmNosoden – Eine Kurze Übersicht

(Bowel Nosodes – A brief overview)

BLEUL, Gerhard (AHZ. 252, 6/2007)

Bacillus 7:

Source material: Probably citrobacter but not clearly

mentioned

Synonyms: Aerobacter clocae, B. asiaticus, B. clocae,

B. Freundi

117 Symptoms [in RADAR 9.2]

Leaders/clinical indications: Tiredness; Joint

inflammations; rheumatic pains, rheumatic skin nodes,

Angio oedema, sudden faintness, mental exhaustion,

Rectum prolapse, weak urinary stream, old, tired

persons.

Related Polychrests: Brom., Iod., Kali-br., Kali-i.

Bacillus 10:

Source material: Probably Gardnerella, but not clearly

laid down

Synonym: Bacillinum 10

71 Symptoms (in RADAR 9.2)

Leading Symptoms: Nausea from fat and egg, plucking

and boring into the nose, offensive smelling

leucorrhoea, flat, pointed and spiked warts on hand,

crack in the glans.

Related to intestinal sections and other organs: Vagina,

Genital tract.

Clinical Indications: Carbuncle of urethra, Lipoma,

Leucorrhoea, warts on hands.

Related Polychrests: Nat-s., Thuja.

Dysenteric co:

Source material: Shigella spp., Shigella flexneri.

Synonyms: Bacillus dysenteriae Bach. Shigella

dysenteriae,

Dysentery – Bacillus

263 symptoms are given (in RADAR 9.2)

Leading symptoms: Anticipatory stress, Anxiety and

fears, Fear in room, crowds, on petty matters, of

strangers, periodical headaches, pain and ulcers in

pylorus, masturbation tendency in children.

Heart ailments with hyperthyroid function (“Heart

Nosode”),

Fissures in hands and fingers,

Craving for sugar

Nervous strains

Uncertainty

Related to intestinal sections and other organs: Pylorus,

Duodenum and Small intestines

Clinical indications: allergies of respiratory, panagls

Hyperthyrodism, Osteoporosis, pyrosis

Related Polychrests: Carc., Lyc., Nux-v.

Faecalis

Source material: no information

Synonym: Bacillus Faecalis Bach. Bacillus Faecealis

alkaligenes, according to sources identical with

Mutabilis

1 Symptom entry (in RADAR 9.2):

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 23

Urine containing egg-white

Leading Symptoms/clinical indications: not known

Related Polychrest: Sep.

Gaertner

Source material: Salmonell spp

Synonyms: Bacillus Gaertner (Bach.)

Salononella enteritidis

138 Symptoms (in RADAR 9.2)

Leading symptoms: Fear in the night, alone, dogs,

sensitive to mental impressions, black teeth, long

eyelashes, great hunger with emaciation poor

nourishment, emaciation.

Clinical Indications: Chronic Gastro enteritis and

Colitis, Chillblains, Furuncles, food allergies.

Related Polychrests: Merc., Phos., Salts of Phosphorus

(Kali-p., Nat-p., Zinc-p.), Sil.

Morgan Co.

Source: Stool from children with summer diarrhea,

bacteriologically not clearly mentioned.

Synonyms: Bacillus Morgan Bach. Proteus Morgani.

124 symptoms (in RADAR 9.2)

Leading Symptoms: Fear of the world’s end.

Irritability during menopause. Congestion (of blood) in

head, nose and chest. Cheesy deposits in the Tonsils,

retching in the mornings. Desires butter.

Clinical Indications: Skin eruptions, Eczema from

early childhood (dentition period), Asthma,

inflammation of joints.

Related Polychrests: Puls., Sulph.

Morgan Gaertner

Source: Stool of children with Summer diarrhea, Stool

of Renal stone patients, bacteriologically not clearly

laid.

Synonyms: Bacillus Morgan Gaertner. 237 symptoms

(in RADAR 9.2)

Leading symptoms: Distended flatulence. Impatient,

strained nervous, hair falls from small parts, cracks in

the mucous membranes of mouth, extreme belching,

sudden diarrhea, brownish, ulcerative leucorrhoea,

tickling cough, Herpes of soles of feet, Desires salt and

sweets. Related to parts of bowels and organs:

Appendix

Morgan Pure

Source: Morganella morganii.

Synonyms: Morgan Paterson

439 symptoms (in RADAR 9.2)

Leading Symptoms:

Fear about health. Eczema hair border, pustules on

scalp, crack on angles of nose, stiff lips, pain root of

tongue, warts on tongue, galling belching, Nausea from

fat and eggs, Eruptions in the loins and Scrotum,

brownish and greenish leucorrhoea, inflammation of the

dorsal, lumbar, sacro-iliacal, feet sensitive to woolen,

numbness and creeping of the arms and legs, cracked

skin on fingers and heels, swelling of the finger joints,

stiffness of the finger in mornings.

Clinical Indications: Skin eruptions, Gall stone,

Eczema, Morbus Meniere, Furuncle meatus, Styes,

Sinusitis, Acne rosacea, recurring cystitis, urethral

caruncle, allergic asthma bronchial, post-zoster

neuralgia, Furuncle in neck, Erythema nodosum.

Related Polychrests: Sulphur.

Mutabilis

Source: Between Bacterium coli and “the true non

lactose fermenting type”, bacteriologically not clearly

explained.

Synonyms: Mutabile, Bacillus mutabilis (Paterson),

Bacillus mutabili Bach.

4 symptoms (in RADAR 9.2)

Leading Symptoms: skin eruptions alternating with

Asthma.

Clinical indications: Cystitis, Asthma bronchial

Related Polychrests: Ferr-p., Kali-s., Puls.

Proteus:

Source: Bacterial cultures of Proteus – stämme vulgaris,

mirabilis, morganii, reltgari

Synonyms: Bacillus, Proteus (Bach.), Proteus mirabilis,

Proteus vulgaris

393 symptoms (in RADAR 9.2)

Leading Symptoms: Dogmatic, obstinate, Fear about

opinion of others,

Delusion that he will be criticized, Beating and

screaming from rage, Vertigo from travel and in sun,

Headache from diarrhea, pustules around the mouth,

vomiting after excitement, frequent swallowing,

Leucorrhoea or during ovulation, palpitation from least

exertion, itching blisters on the fingers, dreams, that he

is dead, skin sensitive to UV-light, alternating states,

prematurely old, aversion to vegetables, Beer, raw

foods, desire for sweets, amel. from Brandy and

Whiskey, better in the mountains or great heights.

Clinical Indications: itching, muscles cramps, Morbus

meniere, Iridochoroiditis, Mastoiditis, Styes, Ulcer

Deodini, Perianal, axillary and vaginal furuncle,

Bronchitis old persons, Varices of the lower legs,

writers cramp, Dupuytren, Morbus Raynaud

Related Polychrests: Nat-m., Psor., Sulph., Tub.

Sycotic co.

Source: Streptococcus faecalis or mixture from Str

eptococcus faecalis.

Grahamalis catarrhalis and other Cocci from the

Bacterialflora of the respiratory passages.

Synonyms: Bacillus Sycoccus Paterson

553 entries (in RADAR 9.2)

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 24

Leading symptoms: Fear of dogs, shocks, fright at

night, sudden rage, periodical headache every week,

premature gray hair, long eyelashes, fissures in alae

nasi, hair on upper lips of women, deep ulcers on

tongue, internal throat feels as if burnt, Asthma from

humidity and chill, better on sea, inflammation of the

finger and hand joints, skin eruptions of back of hands,

fissured heels, muscle cramps.

Clinical indications: recurring infections of the

respiratory passages, chronic catarrh after acute

infections, rattlings. Allergies of respiratory passages,

anorexia nervosa, glaskörpertrübung, Adenoids,

Chronic Gastroenteritis, Anal prolapse, Nephrotic

syndrome, Balanitis, Intertrigo mammae, Intercostal

neuralgia, Panaritium. Hand and feet Warts, Chicken

Pox, Herpes zoster, Impetigo, Allergy against washing

agents, Bursitis.

Related Polychrests: Bac., Calc., Ferr., Lyc., Med.,

Nat-s., Nit-ac., Puls., Rhus-t., Sulph., Thuj., Tub-bov.

More Bowel Nosodes

Only some information on these provided by O.A.

JULIAN, W. METTLER.

******

Anti Colibacillary Serum (1935 Marting and Fortier-

Bernoville)

From Serum from goats infected with E-Coli

suspension:

Similar: Colibacillinum

Keywords: Asthenia, Anorexia. Allergies with

Tubercular load, peripheral haemorrhage.

Cocal Co. (Paterson):

No relevant bacteriological nomenclature

Keywords: Septic states, Lymphangitis, rheumatic

fever

Colibacillinum (1933, VANNIER):

From 3 different sources E.Coli.

Keywords: Old complaints of kidney disorders or

digestive disorders. Psora. Tuberculinic. Sycosis.

Eberthinum (1939 CARTIER):

Salmonelo Typhii – Bacterial lysate

Keywords: Neurologic and psychosomatic disturbances

after Typhus.

Paratyphoidinum-B (1956, BERNARD)

Salmonella Schottnuilerei

Keywords: Chronic emaciated after salmonellosis,

syphilitic, Tuberculinic.

Streptoenterococcus (1950, Ponnier de Santi)

Enterococcus proteifornis

Keywords: Emaciation, Asthenia, Sleeplessness, Fever

attacks, Inflammations, Tuberculinic. Syphilinic.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. REPERTORY

1. Die Bedeutung der Grade in Boenninghausens

Therapeutisches Taschenbuch

(The significance of Grade in Boenninghausen’s

Therapeutic Pocket Book)

MINDER, Peter (ZKH. 54, 1/2010)

The Therapeutic Pocket Book of

BOENNINGHAUSEN carried 4 grades and it was

believed that the ordinary print was just a proving

symptom and the next grade indicated that the symptom

appeared more often in the provings; the third was those

confirmed by clinical application and if these were

repeatedly experienced it was put in the next higher

grade. But actually this is not the case.

How did BOENNINGHAUSEN go with the

clinical results? Carrol DUNHAM wrote: “If for

example, in any given history of disease, one prominent

symptom occurs, which is not found under any remedy

he notes in a separate book kept for the purpose, this

symptom and the remedy given with the result. In a few

months, and perhaps not for years, he has opportunity to

repeat the observations. Another note is added to the

former. If the result of a number of these experiments

concur, this symptom is noted with a mark of

interrogation under the remedy which seemed to remove

it. If subsequent experience confirm this supposition he

notes the fact as a clinical symptom in his repertory, for

subsequent edition.”

It is evident that the repertory entries are based

purely on BOENNINGHAUSEN’s own experiences.

The author examines a remedy, Dulcamara and he

found almost all 4 grade symptoms were not confirmed

by the Materia Medica (Provings); they are all clinical

symptoms. Similarly Clematis.

It must, however, be stressed that this does not at

all in any way diminish the importance of

BOENNINGHAUSEN’s Therapeutic Packet-Books. It

does its work well enough.

2. Ergänzungen, Fehlen, Ungenauigkeiten und

urklarheiten in den Repertorien

(Supplements, Errors, inaccuracies and lack of

clarity in the Repertory)

SEIPEL, Jörgen (ZKH. 54, 2/2010)

K. p.5: Anxiety, eating > is right, and also Anxiety,

eating, as a main rubric (K.p.6) is right.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 25

Rubrics: “Kleptomania, steals dainties” – K.p.61 has

mag-m., nat-c., SR and carries mag-c., mag-m., nat-c.

Verification of sources do not support the addition of

mag-c.

Epistaxis, K.p.335 “feer-m” should be corrected as

“ferr-m.”

Stomach Aversion to Beer, K.480 Pall. has to be struck

off and instead, in p.484 Desires Beer Pall. should be

added.

Abdomen “Pain, cutting, on appearance of menses:

“…Gels. PLAT.” These entries are questionable,

because we don’t find this symptom either in the EN or

in the GS.

Rubric obstipation (K.608) while travelling: Plat. This

is only a clinical tip and not a ‘pure’ work of Platina.

Compare JAHR, BOENNINGHAUSEN.

Rubric Genitalia, Male:

Retraction (K.709) Testes, has to be corrected as

“Alum”. Not Alumn. Verified with the EN. [In my

article in ZKH, 2/1999, I had clearly pointed out that the

EN used abbreviations for Alumina and Alumen exactly

opposite of what later was used in the Kent Repertory,

‘Alumn’. in the ‘Index’ of EN is Alumina (Alum. In the

Kent and the following repertories; similarly ‘Alum.’ in

the EN is Alumen. However when additions were made

from the Index of EN in all subsequent Repertories this

difference was not observed and entries made which

gave wrong remedies. In fact all entries of Alum.,

Alumn. from EN may be carefully examined completely

= KSS]

Rubric Playing Piano (K. 1391). agg. (K.1391, SR. P.

315)/Piano playing ailments from/Playing “Piano:

anac., Calc., Kali-c., Nat-c., Sep., zinc.” And in SR

additions of Cham. and Phos. These additions are also

seen in the Synthesis Edition 9.1. It is understood that

the rubric meant someone playing the Piano and the

complaints due to that exertion or the passive type like

one simply hears and that causes ailments! The

symptom “agg. from Music” in TB (p. 335) contains

among other remedies, “Calc., Kali., Nat-c., Sep., and

Zinc.” A brief but thorough study of each of the remedy

with reference to this symptom – Piano Playing – has

been done by referring to original sources.

BOGER: BOENNINGHAUSEN’s

CHARACTERISTICS AND REPERTORY.

Parkersburg 1905 (BB): INDIAN EDNS 1987 &

1995(BB.Ind.):

Rubric: Head internal agg. “bending head” (p.282) must

be bending head backward”

Rubric: Teeth Turning (p.429) must be a sub-rubric

“Yellow, turning”.

Rubric: Stool stringy (p.591). the ‘Proving’ symptom

do not support Gratiola. But Graph. – symptom

No.509 and 510 – are clear. Hence Grat. Must be

struck off and replaced with Graph.

Rubric: Back, Lumbar Region – Small of back in

general (BB/793; K.905: Calad. (BB) , Calac., (BB.

Ind.)., Calc-ar (K), which entries are correct?:

Chelidonium or Calcarea arsenicosa or Calcarea

acetica. After an exhaustive study the results are:

In Boger’s ‘Lumbar back” Caladium may be struck off

and instead Calcarea acetic entered.

Rubric: Climacteric agg.: BB. ind may include Vinca

minor – see GS. Vol. X, p, 470.

Rubric: Food, bread and butter agg. BB. ind p.1119,

K.1362: Ruta graveolens, may be added.

Rubric: Food crumbs and cucumbers (BB. ind 1120)

apis to be added.

3. Calcium carbonicum – instead of Meals, Meat is

given.

1835 Hahnemann, (Chronic Diseases)

KWIBUS Der Kleine, -Thomas MICKLER– 2007.

“Stomach pressure, empty and after food..”

1835: Boenninghausen, Pecularities

“Pressing stomach cramps after meals

With vomiting of whatever eating.”

1866 Adolph Lippe, Textbook of Materia Medica:

“Pressure and Cramp-like pain in the stomach,

especially when fasting, or after meats, with vomiting of

the ingesta.”

1881 Hering’s Guiding Symptom:

“Pressure and cramp-like pain in stomach when fasting,

or after meals with vomiting of ingesta.”

1899: Kent’s Repertory:

“Stomach, pain, meat, after”

2066 Complete Repertory, Synthesis, Repertorium

Universale, Repertorium Generale, Kent’s Repertorium

(Keller/Kunzli)”

“Stomach pain, meat, after”.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 26

V. PHARMACOLOGY

1. The Rutaceae Family – Order Sapindales

VERMEULEN, Frans (HL. 21, 3/2008)

A thorough description is given of the Rutaceae

plant family. A wide variety of sources were used

including old and new masters in Homœopathy and

works on pharmacognosy, phytochemistry, mythology,

symbolism, phylogeny and plant systematic.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

VI. RESEARCH

1. Research Breakthroughs: Homœopathy in Cancer

care - New studies offer hope – show significant

positive effects

JOHNSON, Christopher

(HT. 31, 2/2011)

Two important studies on the use of Homœopathy

in Cancer have recently been published. Both involved

relatively large numbers of participants and had very

impressive results.

One study demonstrated greater effectiveness in

treating certain types of cancers—stomach, liver,

gallbladder, pancreatic—than any treatment yet assessed

by modern research methods.1 If replicated, the

protocol would represent a true breakthrough in treating

these intractable malignancies—greatly increasing

patient survival. Another study showed statistically

significant improvements in life quality for patients

receiving homœopathic treatment alongside

conventional care2.

Taken together, these two studies of Homœopathy

in Cancer treatment represent a significant step forward,

as research data in this area has been limited.

HOMŒOPATHY AS FIRST-LINE TREATMENT

The first study used Homœopathy as the primary

treatment of cancer—meaning, treatment with the intent

to cure without using conventional oncologic treatment.

It was a non-randomized, observational trial conducted

at the Critical Cancer Management Research Centre and

Clinic in Kolkata, India.

The findings were presented at the 2009 American

Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) Annual

Conference, the world’s leading professional cancer

organization, and an abstract was published in the

Journal of Clinical Oncology.

There were 158 subjects with the following

Cancers: 42 stomach, 40 gallbladder, 44 pancreas, and

32 liver. Patients had inoperable malignant tumors that

were confirmed by standard pathological testing and

had no prior chemotherapy or radiation. Nearly all had

locally advanced or metastatic disease, with 71%

diagnosed at stage IV and 25% at stage III.

The protocol involved administering the

homœopathic remedy Psorinum 6X daily, along with

supportive homœopathic and conventional care.

Conventional supportive care included control of

infection, pain, electrolyte balance, bleeding, etc.

homœopathic supportive care consisted of homœopathic

remedies prescribed on a pathological basis (as opposed

to a patient-individualized basis).

High survival rates

The results were astonishing, with survival rates

many times greater than that achieved with conventional

treatment or any other rigorously assessed cancer care.

For instance, the 5-year survival rate of patients

receiving conventional treatment for stage III and IV

pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the most deadly of all

common malignancies, is approximately 2%3,4. In this

study, 38.6% survived 5 years.

Conventionally treated Liver Cancer has a 1-year

survival rate of 20% and a 3-year survival rate of 5%5.

With the Psorinum protocol, 81% survived 1 year, and

59% survived 3 years. An astounding 43.75% survived

5 years. For stomach cancer patients, 38% of

participants survived 5 years, compared to the

conventional 5-year survival rate of less than 20%6.

The results were astonishing, with survival rates many

times greater than that achieved with conventional

treatment.

Overall, 33% of study participants with stage III

disease had a complete disappearance of all cancerous

lesions without disease progression or appearance of

any new lesions; 41% had at least 30% shrinkage of

tumors. Among those with stage IV disease, 10.7% had

complete and 34% had partial tumor response.

Improved quality of life

Quality of life was also significantly improved

compared to standard care. 60% of people with stage

III and 45% with stage IV disease reported “the therapy

was effective in reducing their cancer-related pain,

cough, dyspnea, nausea and vomiting, fatigue,

constipation and improving appetite and weakness.”

Further, “no adverse side effects were observed from

the drug Psorinum. However, very few patients

reported to have mild oral irritation and skin itching

which were successfully controlled by supportive care.”

At the 2010 ASCO Annual Conference, the same

researchers presented promising results of another

trial—use of the Psorinum protocol for 95 patients with

inoperable lung cancer7. The 5-year survival rate was

44% compared to 16% with conventional treatment8.

Again, the abstract was published in the Journal of

Clinical Oncology. The full study is not yet published.

Impressive data

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 27

Though the trials were not randomized or

controlled, the data are noteworthy for a number of

reasons: 1) the extraordinary degree of effectiveness of

the treatment in some of the most difficult-to-treat

malignancies—no published study has demonstrated

anything even close to these results; 2) survival rate as

an outcome measure is completely objective (not

subject to bias), and unlikely to be due to chance; 3)

there already exists a very large body of data

demonstrating the degree of effectiveness of

conventional treatment approaches; and 4) the trials

comprise a fairly large study group, with 253 total

subjects.

The primary limitation of the studies is that they did

not control for the effects of the supportive

homœopathic care. We already know what to expect

from supportive conventional care, so it is not much of a

variable. However, we are left wondering how much of

the effectiveness was due to the Psorinum therapy itself

versus the supportive homœopathic remedies that were

extensively used. In any case, this is a good problem

and likely to be figured out in the future. We look

forward to more from these investigators on the subject,

as they have reported that a phase III (larger, more

rigorous) clinical trial is in the works.

HOMŒOPATHY AS COMPLEMENTARY

TREATMENT

The second study examined the effect of

homœopathic treatment on the quality of life in cancer

patients who were also receiving conventional

oncologic care. It was published in the Journal BMC

Cancer by doctors at University Hospital Zurich

(Switzerland), University Hospital Freiburg (Germany)

and the Tumor Biology Center at Albert Ludwig’s

University Freiburg (Germany).

There were 259 subjects in the

homœopathic/conventional group and 380 in the

conventional-only group; it should be noted that 10% of

the homœopathic group refused recommended

conventional care. The type of Homœopathy used was

the traditional “constitutional” approach, in which a

single remedy is chosen based on individualized

characteristics (as opposed to common pathological or

medical indications). Breast cancer was most common

in study participants, followed by colorectal cancer,

prostate cancer, and melanoma.

The primary outcome measure was change in

quality of life. Secondary outcome measures were

change in fatigue, psychological well-being, and patient

satisfaction. All were measured using widely accepted

assessment tools. Patients were assessed at 3 and 12

months.

Significant findings

The following data emerged in the homœopathic

group:

Quality of life improved significantly at 3

months and further at 12 months---twice as

much as the conventional group (and in the

upper range of the clinical significance scale)

Mental and physical fatigue and physical

activity improved significantly at 3 and 12

months

Anxiety and depression did not change

The following data emerged in the conventional

group: Quality of life was slightly improved at 12

months (at the bottom edge of the clinical

significance scale)

Fatigue did not change

Anxiety and depression did not change

Food for thought

This trial was meant to reflect real-world medical

practice and decision-making by patients and doctors.

The participants were not randomized and were free to

choose their course of treatment. Doctors were free to

recommend individualized treatment protocols.

Although the two groups were well-matched at

entry to the study in terms of symptoms, there were

important disparities, namely: 1) demographics—the

homœopathic group was more likely to have a higher

level of post-graduate education and to be white collar

workers or self-employed; 2) stage of disease

progression—the homœopathic group was more likely

to have a more severe diagnosis or progressed tumor

stage, and had a longer elapsed time since first

diagnosis; and 3) types of therapies used—the

homœopathic group used less chemotherapy and

radiation, due to already having used more prior to

study entry.

These differences precluded statistically valid

comparison of the two groups as matched pair controls.

Nevertheless, the data clearly suggests that

homœopathic treatment is beneficial to cancer patients

as a whole.

If anything, the differences should have favored a

greater improvement in the conventional group—the

participants were at earlier stage of illness and therefore

more amenable to treatment. Some would argue that

greater results are to be expected from a sicker

population (the homœopathic group) who have more

potential for improvement. While this may be true in

non-degenerative or self-limiting conditions, it is

certainly not the case in cancer, where advanced

progression of disease is nearly always associated with

worse symptom scores and poorer response to

treatment.

Some would argue the conventional group fared

worse due to greater exposure to chemotherapy and

radiation—but these interventions would likely have

been finished in the first months of treatment, and

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 28

outcomes at 12 months should not have been negatively

influenced by their side effects.

Improved life quality—spiritual and physical

Even considered as a separate pool of data, the

results achieved in the homœopathic group were “by all

standards, a clinically relevant improvement.” As the

authors concluded: “We have shown that under

homœopathic care, sizeable benefits were achieved for

patients’ quality of life, as measured by FACT-G and

also for spiritual well-being as measured by the FACIT-

Sp. The improvement was clinically relevant and

statistically significant. It could also be seen in

symptoms of physical and mental fatigue. Thus our

data suggest that classical homœopathic care could

complement conventional cancer care to the benefit of

patients.”

References:

1. Chatterjee A, Biswas J, Chatterjee AK,

Bhattacharya S, Mukhopadhyay B, and Mandal S.

Psorinum Therapy in Treating Stomach, Gall Bladder,

Pancreatic, and Liver Cancers: A Prospective Clinical

Study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011:

724743.

2. Rostock M, Naumann J, Guethlin C, Guenther L,

Bartsch HH, Walach H. Classical homœopathy in the

treatment of cancer patients—a prospective

observational study of two independent cohorts. BMC

Cancer. 2011 Jan 17;11(1):19.

3. Cancer Facts and Figures 2009. American Cancer

Society. Available at

http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/500809web.pdf.

Accessed February 5, 2010

4. Erickson A, Larson C, Shabahang M. pancreatic

Cancer. available at

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/280605-

overview. Accessed February 21, 2010.

5. Oslen SK, Brown RS, Siegel AB. Hepatocellular

carcinoma: review of current treatment with a focus on

targeted molecular therapies. Therap Adv

Gastroenterol. 2010 Jan; 3(1):55-66.

6. Hui P Zhu, 1 Xin Xia, 2 Chuan H Yu, 2 Ahmed

Adnan, 3 Shun F Liu, 3 and Yu K Du. Application of

Weibull model for survival of patients with gastric

cancer. BMC Gastroenterol. 2011 Jan 7; 11:1

7. Chatterjee A, Biswas J, Chatterjee AK,

Bhattacharya A, Mukhopadhyay BP. A Phase II, Single

Arm, Clinical Trial Involving an Alternative Cancer

Treatment—Psorinum Therapy--- in Patients With Non-

Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (NSCLC). J Clin Oncol.

2010 vol.28, suppl(15s), abstract 2592.

8. Jemal A, Siegel R, Xu J, Ward E. Cancer Statistics,

2010. Ca Cancer J Clin. 2010 Sep-Oct; 60(5):277-

300.

2. Effect of Homœopathic Calcium on Bone Density

HARKIN, Carina (HL. 21, 3/2008)

Osteoporosis is a disease that is rapidly increasing

in prevalence owing to a combination of dietary

influences, adverse effects of medication and a rapidly

aging population. Osteoporosis is placing an increasing

strain on the public health purse. Homœopathy is an

inexpensive non-pharmacological alternative that may

be useful to increase bone density. However, currently

there is little evidence-based research on its effects.

This pilot study aimed at exploring the effect of

medium-potency calcium on the bone density of women

over a period of one year. The majority of the women

were post-menopausal. The bone density was measured

before and after treatment with bone ultrasonometry.

Results showed that medium potency calcium caused an

increase in the bone density of eleven of the fifteen

participants that completed the trial, ten of these post-

menopausal. This prescription can be combined safely

with allopathic drugs and is cost-effective. It is

concluded that this homœopathic dose may be a viable

treatment for osteoporosis but future controlled trials are

needed to confirm the results.

3. Report on Mustard Gas experiments

(Glasgow and London) Jan. 25th, 1943

(HOM. 100, 1-2/2011)

The council of the British Homœopathic Society in

association with Ministry of Home security conducted

experiments to know the probable action of

“potentized” gases in the treatment of casualities caused

by contact with war gases such as Mustard gas.

The experiments confirm that administration of a

potency of Mustard gas given before the exposure to the

action of Mustard gas applied to the skin protects the

subject.

The administration of a potency of Rhus

toxicondendron given after the exposure to the action of

Mustard gas, might be expected to modify the lesion

and hasten the rate of healing.

4. Biochemical and biological evidence of the activity

of high potencies

BOYD W.E. (HOM. 100, 1-2/2011)

1. A method is described for investigating the possible

action of microdoses of mercuric chloride on the

hydrolysis of soluble starch with malt diastase.

2. The microdoses of the mercuric chloride used in the

latest crucial series carried out in 1946, 1948, and

1952, were what are termed ‘high potencies’ made

in accordance with the pharmaceutical method of

preparation of drugs ordinarily used in the practice

of homœotherapy.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 29

3. These microdoses were prepared by separate stages

of dilution, the solution at each stage being

subjected to mechanical shock. The solutions were,

theoretically, ‘dilutions’ of the order of 1 in 10-61

and on present physical theory would not contain

any molecules of the original mercuric chloride.

4. The difference in rate of hydrolysis between flasks

containing starch, diastase, and distilled water

(controls) and flasks containing starch, diastase and

microdoses of mercuric chloride (tests) were

compared colorimetrically by the Spekker

absorptiometer, and the frequencies of the

differences statistically analysed, as the results

obtained showed biological scatter. More than 500

such comparisons were carried out. The differences

of means were examined by the Fisher ″t″ test, the

variances tested and Cochrane and Cox’s test

applied where indicated. All the series gave a

highly significant difference in the rate of

hydrolysis between controls and tests, the

microdoses stimulating the process. Statistically

the significance is shown by the fact that a

probability of <0.001 was obtained independently

in each of the three years 1946, 1948 and 1952.

The control results gave an approximately normal

distribution.

5. The distribution, control methods, and accessory

control procedures were considered to exclude, as a

cause of the effects, adsorption of the original drug

and the presence of extraneous contaminants by

chance solely in test flasks. The only difference

between control and microdose flasks was the

addition of microdose, the distilled water being

common to both controls and tests.

6. It was concluded that a factor, unidentified, derived

from the mercuric chloride used, was present in

solutions prepared by serial dilution with

mechanical shock which could affect the distilled

water diluents, that this change was transferable to

subsequent ‘ultra-molecular’ stages of ‘dilution’,

and that this factor was the source of the activity in

the microdose solutions producing the acceleration

of the rate of hydrolysis.

7. In an addendum there is described recent biological

work which is also providing evidence of the

presence of an active selective factor in ‘high

potencies’ derived from Strophanthus sarmentosus

by the same methods of dilution with mechanical

shock.

5. Adjunctive homœopathic treatment in patients with

severe sepsis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-

conbtrolled trial in an intensive care unit

FRASS, M., LINKESCH, M., et al.

(HOM. 100, 1-2/2011)

Background: Mortality in patients with severe sepsis

remains high despite the development of several

therapeutic strategies. The aim of this randomized,

double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was to evaluate

whether Homœopathy is able to influence long-term

outcome in critically ill patients suffering from severe

sepsis.

Methods: Seventy patients with severe sepsis received

homœopathic treatment (n=35) or placebo (n=35). Five

globules in a potency of 200c were given at 12h interval

during the stay at the intensive care unit. Survival after

a 30 and 180 days was recorded.

Results: Three patients (2 Homœopathy, 1 placebo)

were excluded from the analyses because of incomplete

data. All these patients survived. Baseline

characteristics including age, sex, BMI, prior

conditions, APACHE II score, signs of sepsis, number

of organ failures, need for mechanical ventilation, need

for vasopressors or veno-venous hemofiltration, and

laboratory parameters were not significantly different

between groups. On day 30, there was non-statistically

significantly trend of survival in favour of Homœopathy

(verum 81.8% placebo 67.7%, P=0.19). On day 180,

survival was statistically significantly higher with

verum Homœopathy (75.8% vs 50.0%, P=0.043). no

adverse effects were observed.

Conclusions: Our data suggest that homœopathic

treatment may be an useful additional therapeutic

measure with a long-term benefit for severely septic

patients admitted to the intensive care unit. A constraint

to wider application of this method is the limited

number of trained homœopaths.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

VII. HISTORY

1. “Anything but a Trifler”

Dr. Frederic Hervey Foster QUIN

HAYES, Deborah (AH. 16/2010)

Frederic Hervey Foster QUIN born on Feb. 12,

1798, was educated in London and France. Pursued a

medical degree at Edinburgh University graduating in

1820. He was attending the Duchess of Devonshire for

few years. In 1824, he became intrigued by

Homœopathy after witnessing remarkable cures by Dr.

Georg von NECKER of Naples. QUIN travelled to

Germany in 1826 to study with Hahnemann himself;

enroute he developed severe Pneumonia, treated with

Homœopathy, he wrote he was a living proof of the

efficacy of the new system. Following his study with

HAHNEMANN, he became physician to Prince

LEOPOLD of Saxe-Coburg in 1827. Two years later

went to Paris. In 1831, he tackled Cholera epidemic in

Moravia. Not a single person died. In 1832, he

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 30

established practice in London. Most prominent

members of British society were his patients. In 1838,

his membership to the exclusive Athenaeum club of

London was blocked by Dr. Paris, who accused him of

being a “quack and imposter”. Quin’s friend Lord

Clarence Paget visited Dr. Paris and gave him the option

of a written apology or a duel with pistols at twelve

paces. The apology was duly written. After

Hahnemann’s death he was appointed as the Honorary

president of the Gallic Homœopathic society, a post he

held until his death.

QUIN founded the British Homœopathic

Society(BHS) in 1844. Constantin HERING was

present at the initial meeting of BHS. QUIN was

awarded the honorary membership of Allentown

Academy in 1836. Through his efforts London

Homœopathic Hospital was opened on April 10, 1850.

QUIN edited Hahnemann’s Fragmenta de viribus and

the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia. He died on Nov. 24,

1878.

Here are some of QUIN’s axioms:

 The patient who is in the greatest danger, or in the

most acute suffering, has a privilege over all others,

whatever be their station or condition in society.

 The voice of the poor who has been saved speaks

louder and in more thrilling tones than that of the

rich.

 Disseminate by writing and by conversation sound

ideas and correct notions respecting the

preservation of health and the treatment of disease.

Combat prejudies and promote institutions

ameliorative of the general state of health.

 Act cautiously and prudently in attacking the

deeply-rooted prejudices of the public.

Discrimination of what is essential in art from what

is merely accessory to practical art, and the power

of both generalizes or individualizes, according as

the one or the other is required---a knowledge of

the remedies and their specific modes of action.

[With such a wonderful legacy the present day Britons

call Homœopathy ‘Witchcraft’! They should read

history = KSS].

2. Loyal to the Ancestral Line: Hahnemann’s

Nephew, Dr. C.B. Trinius

NISSEN, Myra (AH. 16/2010)

Myra NISSEN gives a brief account of meeting

Gilbert von STUDNITZ – a direct descendant, four

times removed, - of Charlotte HAHNEMANN, Samuel

Hahnemann’s eldest sister.

Gilbert’s great, great, great grand father, Carl

Bernard TRINIUS was a homœopathic physician,

favourite nephew of HAHNEMANN. Born in 1778,

studied medicine and graduated in 1802. He was

physician to Duchess Antoinette of Württemberg in

1808 and then to Russian Emperor NICHOLAS I. By

1830, he abandoned allopathy in favour of

Homœopathy. He died in 1844.

3. Reflections on 100 years of the journal

CAMPBELL, Anthony (HOM. 100, 1-2/2011)

This article gives a brief account of early days of

British Homeopathy, incorporation of Homeopathy in

The National Health Service, Antibiotics and prevention

of 1940s, Beginnings of Research – Basic and clinical,

and Anthroposophy in the past 100 years of the journal.

Now the journal is helping to bring Homeopathy up to

date and to define its place in relation to mainstream

medicine. [Unfortunately there is rapid opposition to

Homœopathy in the UK and the opposition has

succeeded in taking out the name of Homœopathy from

the Royal London Homœopathic Hospital. See Brian

KAPLAN’s article following this = KSS]

4. The Work of the International Homeopathic

Council for the coming year

BURFORD, George (HOM. 100, 1-2/2011)

(Vice-President of the International Homœopathic

Council)

This paper was read at the meeting of the council at

Ghent, Aug. 1913.

Abstract: Our call to this Assembly is to make

Homœopathy the dominant practice of medicine. The

plan of campaign is “each for all and all for each” and to

consolidate our fraternity. To advance we must have a

definite idea of our immediate aim and to make our

advances permanent we must work out the consecutive

steps which will allow our aim to be materialized.

Suggestions as to how the council can give a stimulus to

Homœopathy of each country were invited. The plans

for the next 12 months enumerated. The conviction of

the cure to be expressed by figures. Every

homœopathic hospital should issue at intervals of five to

ten years a statistical report. The council to take

necessary steps to collect strictly verifiable

homœopathic statistics of results from the homœopathic

hospitals of the world.

5. “Witchcraft”: The Attack on Homœopathy in the

United Kingdom

KAPLAN, Brian (AH. 16/2010)

The author discusses the history of Homœopathy in

the UK and recommends certain approaches to defend

the offensive, relentless, hasty, hypocritical and

increasingly successful efforts to delegitimize

Homœopathy in UK.

He is infuriated by the comment that “Homœopathy

is Witchcraft” by a committee of doctors in UK.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 31

[But the ‘Witchcraft’ works! So what is the objection?

= KSS].

--------------------------------------------------------------------

VIII. BOOKS

I. ERLACH, A.: Die Geschichte der Homöopathie in

der Schweiz. Quellen und Studien zur

Homöopathiegeschichte Band 12 (History of

Homœopathy in Switzerland. Study of the sources

with regard to history of Homœopathy Vol. 12),

Stuttgart, Haug: 2009; geb. 330S, Preis € 79,95.

(German) review Christian LUCAE (ZKH. 54, 1/2010):

“…. A wonderfully well researched Book in which

many aspects of the development of Homœopathy in

Switzerland and its influence in the general history of

Homœopathy. Biographies of Rudolf FLURY, Antonie

NEBEL, Pierre SCHMIDT are also given. The

information of Pierre SCHMIDT’s life and works which

is available for the first time here alone is well-worth

the cost of the book.”

II. SPRING, B.: Verlaufsbeurteilung in der

Homœopathie (Estimation of the progress in

Homœopathy) Stuttgart: Haug; 2009. geb. 208s.

Preis €49,95. (German) review Thomas GENNEPER

(ZKH. 54, 1/2010): “…. Beat SPRING discusses the

Hering’s Law to assess the progress in the course of

homœopathic treatment. The book offers useful ideas in

strategy and important investigations, interrogations

during subsequent interviews and evaluate the progress

of treatment. There are differences in this regard

between use of Q potencies and C potencies.

Contains a fund of useful information. A very

helpful book for day today practice.

III. VONARBURG, B.: Homöotanic. 2 Bände

(Homœotanic – 2 Vols.) Stuttgart: Haug: 2009,

review Thomas G ENNEPER (ZKH. 54, 1/2010)

(German): “….. now it is in 4th edition. An excellent

get up. In word and pictures essential botanical

information of the large as well as small remedies have

been given. …..”

IV. RONSON R.J.: Looking Back Moving Forward,

London: Food for Thought Publications 2007, 498S.,

kart ₤ 33.00 (ca. 36€). Review Christian LUCAE

(English) (ZKH. 54, 1/2010): “It is in the form of

Interviews with contemporary homœopaths of standing

and to that extent it is an unconventional book and it

contains information on 40 years of Homœopathy in

Great Britain. Over a period 2½ years he has

interviewed 34 homœopaths of Great Britain, all of

whom teach and practice Homœopathy. Jeremy

SHERR, Sheilagh CREASY, Brian KAPLAN, Roger

SAVAGE, Francis TREUHERZ, Peter CHAPPELL are

some names included in this ….. Those interested in

the contemporary British homœopaths will find varied

details and stream in this. …. In the events of political

difficulties it is to be appreciated how much strain the

homœopaths had to undergo to keep Homœopathy

active and successful.”

V. Homœopathy for Birth Trauma (Homöopathie

und Geburts-trauma). Harry van der ZEE.

Homeolinks Publishers, 2007, paperback, 200 pages,

English edition € 29,95. ISBN 90-807103-5-1,

German edition €34,95, ISBN 90-807103-6-8,

www.homeolinks.nl Reviewed by Francis

TREUHERZ, United Kingdom. (HL.21, 3/2008).

The lesson of this book is the necessity to enquire,

in as much detail as possible, about the state of the

mother in pregnancy and labour, and the patient in

utero and during the birth for every patient we

encounter.

The many detailed cases mention about 85

remedies, they are about patients who suffered before

and during their birth and are presented with amazing

insights. The cases are narrated with wide-ranging

references from the many cultures of Homœopathy and

beyond: plant families, periodic tables, the lifestyles of

animals, close repertory work, Jungian symbolic

themes, Greek myths, a quotation from Virgil, even

medical diagnoses!

The cases are themed, and after each there are

pearls of wisdom, the lessons learned from this theme.

There is a full bibliography and an index of remedies.

IX. OBITUARY

1. In Memory of Andy P. BORMETH,

1960–2009, BORNEMAN, J.P. (AH. 16/2010).

Andy earned his Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy

from the University of Illinois. His career in

Homœopathy began in 1991, when he joined Boerick &

Tafel (B & T) in California. He was in the committees

of the American Association of Homœopathic

Pharmacists (AAHP) and the Homœopathic

Pharmacopoeia Convention of the United States

(HPCUS) with the relocation of the B & T facility in

2004, Andy maintained his relationship with the firm

and founding National Pharmaceutical Consulting

Services Inc. Andy passed away on July 19, 2009.

2. Tinus SMITS, MD (1946-2010): A life inspired,

KALINA, Kim (AH. 16/2010).

Tinus studied Homœopathy for over thirty years.

Through his commitment to personal growth and

evoluting, Tinus went on to develop Inspiring

Homœopathy to treat universal layers and heal the deep

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 32

disorders that create suffering in mankind. This ground

breaking work gives homœopaths a conscious and

profound way of supporting their clients through the

deeply transformative process of spiritual growth and

self-realization. Most recently he developed CEASE

Complete Eradication of Autism Spectrum Expression,

a method to heal autistic children. He passed away on

April 1, 2010.

3. Harris L. Coulter (1932-2009). The Washington

Post (Oct. 31, 2009). (AJHM. 103, 1/2010).

COULTER, Harris Livermore died on 28th Oct.

2009 at the age of 77, after a long struggle with stroke

damage. Born in Baltimore on Oct. 8th 1932, he

attended Milton Academy and Yale University (1954).

Master’s degree in 1961 and Doctorate in 1969. He

authored nine books on medical history.

He was fondly remembered by Richard

MOSKOWITZ, Jay YASGUR, Lauren FOX, Nick

NOSSAMAN, David WEMBER, Richard HILTNER,

Paul BERGQUIST, Bernardo MERIZALDE, George

KEELER and George GUESS.

Surely he was an indefatigable fighter for

Homœopathy. [Personally I had the pleasure of meeting

him for few minutes in the 1995, LIGA at New Delhi.

He signed for me in the Vol.4 of Divided Legacy =

KSS].

Books by Harris L. Coulter:

1. Vaccination, Social Violence, and Criminality: The

Medical Assault on the American Brain

2. Divided Legacy, Volumes 1-4: A History of the

Schism in Medical Thought

3. AIDS and Syphilis: The Hidden Link

4. Homœopathic Science and Modern Medicine: The

Physics of Healing With Microdoses

5. A Shot in the Dark: Why the P in DPT May be

Hazardous to Your Child’s Health

The Controlled Clinical Trial: an Analysis

6. Homœopathic Influences in 19th Century Allopathic

Therapeutics.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

X. NEWS & NOTES

I. Thriving in Adversity. HAYES, Deborah (AH.

16/2010).

Deborah HAYES is the new Editor-in-chief of

American Homeopath. She talks of the series of

attacks on Homœopathy in UK. From the beginning,

Homœopathy has struggled against adversity and has

survived.

One of the reasons that Homœopathy survives is

that the time-honored principles on which it is based are

not extinguished by new developments. [Homœopathy

will survive purely on its therapeutic successes.

HAHNEMANN said that he silenced his critics by

making more and more wonderful cures and that’s what

we too should do = KSS].

II. A message from the president. Charge what is

right. MUELLER, Manfred. (AH. 16/2010).

In a conversation with another homœopath who

was not making a very good living in her practice.

MUELLER advises to charge clients up front by credit

card at the time of making the appointment or let them

send money order. Do not discount your services. He

says people seek you out for your knowledge and

experience. They have to sense you have confidence in

your own work and your future. A year after following

these advises, the practice of that homœopath nearly

tripled.

III. The Harmonious whole: A conversation with Dr.

Frederik SCHROYENS by ADAMS, Margo. (AH.

16/2010).

In a conversation with Margo ADAMS,

SCHROYENS explains the history of homœopathic

software program RADAR since 1994 and above. The

new one called Radar OPUS and its many salient

features. Some of them are, many informations used

and needed by a homœopath will be managed by only

one program. The stored information in Materia

Medicas, Repertories, one’s own patient files, other

homœopaths data can be accessed easily. Cross-

translation in 35 languages is possible. By a process

called stemming related words and synonyms are easily

arrived and takes nearer to the appropriate work.

While typing the case in patient’s words Radar

OPUS does background work and gives you related

rubrics. In the basic version Vithoulkas Expert System

(VES) is integrated and the second module of VES

(with latest ideas of Vithoulkas and interesting

improvements in analysis) will be integrated later.

The future programs will suit Mac, Linux, Smart

phones, i- phones and i-pads. The platform will be

accessible through the internet.

Additions can be uploaded and downloaded by any

user. Parameters can be set to decide on which

information has consistency, reliability and source.

OPUS is about the integration of the repertory and the

idea of synthesizing everything – cases, repertory,

Materia Medica.

IV. Treating and Teaching Across Borders.

MERRON, Myrna (AH. 16/2010).

Homœopaths Without Borders (HWB) were invited

by Trinidadian healthcare providers, to add

Homœopathy to their knowledge of alternative

therapies. They provided classrooms, housing and food.

A week long seminar was organized at the University of

West Indies in Oct. 2009.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 33

The topics were: Foundations, history, principles,

acute vs chronic prescribing; common myths about

Homœopathy, research studies, introduction to

Repertory and Materia Medica; introduction to

veterinary Homœopathy, basic remedies for pregnancy,

birth and infants; First aid and injury. Each session

incorporated questions and discussion. The seminar

was attended by medical doctors, nurses, naturopaths,

massage therapists, midwives and wealth of other

healthcare providers. At the end of the week,

Trinidadian organizers invited HWB back, the ultimate

recognition of success.

Treating in Haiti: Emergency Response – a Far cry

from Trinidad.

In Feb. 2010, four weeks after the devastating

earthquake, HWB organized a camp by assembling a

team, collecting supplies and raise funds and with great

difficulty arranging transportation. A clinic with tent

flaps and folding tables and chairs started to function

from Sun rise. Women with head pain and vertigo, men

with lacerations and crush wounds, young girls with

every vaginal complaint imaginable and children with

inadequate nutrition were treated. Three thousand

patients were treated during the first trip. The second

trip was made in March. The conspicuous difference

was shift from emergency problems to a focus on basic

health care. Third trip in July.

A seed had been planted. Medical personnel

showed interest in learning about Homœopathy. Next

mission would include a seminar.

V. Joint American Homœopathic Conference 2010.

SHOLTZ, Laura (AH. 16/2010).

The fifth Annual joint American Homeopathic

Conference was held on the East coast, in Alexandria,

Virginia. David WARKENTIN’s speech was inspiring.

NASH celebrated its 20th anniversary. Mirando

CASTRO was honored with Lifetime Achievement

Award. Ken SILVESTRI presented “Integrating

Homœopathy with Forgiveness”. CASTRO presented

on cell salts. Kim ELIA’s New, Old and Forgotten

remedies”, a whirlwind tour of Keynotes and clinical

indications.

VI. The Public and issues of Science. A public debate

on nanotechnologies in The Netherlands raises

awareness about the risks involved, and also creates

support for the development of the field of science.

Science and Technology is rapidly moving. How

much of it is really ‘advance’ meaning adding to the

wellbeing of the common man is the question. The

latest is ‘Nano’ technology which everybody is talking

about. The ‘public’ is suspicious about the real benefit

to it. It was because of alertness of the ‘public’ that a

moratorium was declared on the Bt. Brinjal. In 2009 a

vaccination campaign against Cancer failed. In 2010

there was stiff opposition to nuclear power in Germany.

[It is therefore surprising that here in India we are

aggressively going ahead with nuclear power

installations = KSS]

In Netherlands there has been open public

discussion about ‘nanotechnologies’, when the priorities

are discussed.

Nano science deals with the very small building

blocks smaller than one millionth of a meter are used for

new materials and instruments. There are possible

hazards in this technology. Scientific evidence points to

toxicological risks. Nano particles of gold, silver seem

to be seriously toxic, while gold and silver as bulk

materials are inert and safe. This is worrying: there is

scientific evidence of toxicity but not yet absolute

scientific certainly about that nanotoxicity.

The Societal dialogue and discussions of the subject

are going on among the Dutch.

[Based on an article in The Hindu, Chennai, Feb. 10,

2011]

VII. Health tips on a postcard.

NYM 2012 MAUROBAD

DEC. 26, 2011.

Respected Readers of ‘The Hindu’,

Wish you a happy and prosperous New year. The

Theme of W.H.O. Day 1988 was – ‘Health for all-All

for Health’. Let us resolve to follow the following ten

commandments from this year to achieve that theme.

(1) Our hunger index is 67. Let us share the food

honourably. (2) Let us promote drinking of boiled and

cooled water, handwash, use of mosquitonets and

prevent 13 diseases that contribute about 7,80,000 death

annually. (3) Our Gini coefficient is 0.38. let us strive

to reduce it to zero. All will be happy and healthy. (4)

Biomedical model of health that is ruling us results in

‘Bad health at high cost’. Let us reverse this model

and aim at ‘Good health at low cost’. (5) Let us be

part of public driven health programmes and contribute

for their success. (6) Let us adopt single living and free

ourselves from the burden of non-communicable

diseases. (7) Let us create awareness on health in the

community. Health practices in school curriculum is

the best model. Let us look to state to do that. (8)

Health is the contribution of several social determinants.

Let us work to improve them. (9) A responsible,

accountable, skilled humane medical care. Contributes

to good ‘medicare dependant Health’. Let us hope this

from all those who render medical care. (10) The

W.H.O. day ‘theme’ for 1989 was ‘let’s talk health’.

So let’s talk health.

Wishing you health,

26.12.2011.

Dr. ARAVEETI RAMAYOGAIAH

FOUNDER – Organisation for promoter of Social

Dimensions of Health (OPSCH)

Mobile – 9849669282.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 34

Dr. Araveeti Ramayogaiah:

March 2, 2009, was a “red-letter day” in my life. The

Hindu with a news item on last page with the title

“Health Tips on a Post Card” brought me from

obscurity to the fore. That brought great joy and hope.

So far, I have posted about 27,000 hand-written post

cards on various health issues in Telugu and English. I

have a precious treasure of 17,014 handwritten

addresses. I dedicate my latest write-up titled ‘Health

for All – All for Health” to the readers of The Hindu.

(The writer is Founder, Organisation for Promotion of

Social Dimensions of Health and former Additional

Director of Health, Andhra Pradesh. His e-mail ID is

araveeti-ramayogaiah@gmail.com)

VIII. “…. Nor can we predict our health, although

we understand the principles that under lie medicine, the

principles of Chemistry and Biology extremely well.

The problem again is that there are too many billions

upon billions of details in a real life system, even when

that system is just one human body.

With the Theory of Everything in our hands we’d

still be a staggeringly long way from predicting

everything. Even if the underlying principles are simple

and well understood, the way they work out is

enormously complicated. ‘A minute to learn, the

lifetime of the universe to master’, to paraphrase an

advertising slogan. ‘Lifetime of the universe to master’

is a gross understatement.

There is a further problem. We must look again at

the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics.

(From Stephen Hawking – His life and work by Kitty

Ferguson, 2011, Bantam Press.)

IX. When we gather, miracles happen! GAHLES,

Nancy (HT. 31, 2/2011).

The enthusiasm, camaraderie and solidarity were

palpable in the sixth Joint American Homœopathic

Conference held in Alexandria Virginia on April 8-10.

It is in the gathering of like-minded people that

inspiration is generated, in the sharing of ideas that

wisdom is found, and in the sheer numbers that

solidarity is felt. In the laughter and the awe-inspiring

moments, friendships are created and old bonds

deepened. NCH had a year of great success in

advancing the cause of Homœopathy in many directions

nationally and internationally. One such example is

collaboration with one voice, one vision, sponsored by

the Homœopathy Action Trust in the U.K. This

worldwide homœopathic coalition was formed to create

a global strategy for Homœopathy.

X. Homœopathy and Dr. Oz: Share your story.

(HT. 31, 2/2011).

On March 30, The Dr. Oz show watched by some

3 million TV viewers, ran a short, positive segment on

Homœopathy. The show featured RUSS

GREENFIELD, an integrative practitioner from North

Carolina. Dr. Oz show website received positive feed

backs.

XI. Making waves for Homœopathy and Luc

Montagnier. (HT. 31, 2/2011).

Physicists at Northeastern University in Boston are

making waves within the scientific community – they

have published research suggesting that single-celled

bacteria like E-coli might communicate using radio

waves. This supports Nobel Laureate and Virologist

Luc Montagnier’s 2009 research, which had similar

findings but which was extremely controversial then

since it validated the basic principles of Homœopathy.

ExtremeTech,com, April 26, 2011.

XII. Learn Homœopathy in your Pajamas. Online

Seminars - free for NCH members JEROME, Ann

(HT. 31, 2/2011).

Teaching people how to use Homœopathy is one of

the missions of NCH. For members, NCH has created a

new educational series of live, online seminars that

focus on treating common acute first-aid conditions at

home. About every two months, members are invited to

a free one-hour Homœopathy at Home webinar led by

an eminent teacher-homœopath.

Each webinar begins with a brief introduction to

Homœopathy and then describes how to use

Homœopathy at home for a particular condition.

Recordings of the webinars are posted in the members’

area of the NCH website for later viewing.

Many years ago, a friend was erecting a wooden

fence and a splinter lodged in the fleshy ball of his hand.

Painful with redness Silica 30c was dissolved in water

and to moisten it with a gauze. Next morning, when the

bandage was changed, a two inches long and a quarter

inch wide splinter was in it and the pain relieved and

wound healed completely.

XIII. FDA Warning. (HT. 31, 2/2011).

Proton pump inhibitors that block acid production

in the stomach may increase the risk of hip, wrist and

spine fractures according to a number of studies. Yet

this was the third highest selling category of

prescription drugs in 2009, with sales totaling $13.6

billion. The long term use of these drugs are also linked

to higher rates of Pneumonia and the bacterial infection

Clostridium difficile, especially in people over age 50.

XIV. President’s Message

Concerns about Homœopathy. HOOVER, Todd

(AJHM. 103, 1/2010).

Three specific conversations in the recent past have

captured the attention are

1. Allopathic and “Hard Science” attacks on validity

of Homœopathy,

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 35

2. Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s

struggle to be seen as a viable entity

3. Discourse within our homœopathic community

surrounding the definition of homœopathic medicine.

The author feels that our community is still limited

by individual opinion and ego-driven commentary that

hampers true scientific inquiry. We lock the rigor

needed to appropriately discuss our own methods

internally and come to reasonable scientific conclusions,

so it is no wonder that the remainder of the world

remains skeptical about the validity of our science.

XV. President’s Message: Responding to the United

Kingdom Threat. HOOVER, Todd, A. (AJHM. 103,

2/2010).

The recent attacks on Homœopathy in Great Britain

have escalated to new height. A governmental

subcommittee concluded that Homœopathy should not

be funded as efficacy is not demonstrated by RCT. So

the author believes only research will protect us in the

long run. Like it or not, medicine in the U.S. is moving

to a model of “evidence-based” practice protocols. Re-

imbursement is tied to whether patients with a given

diagnosis are managed “correctly” according to the

standards. Without research evidence, Homœopathy

may be further sidetracked in a manner similar to that of

Great Britain.

XVI. It all began with a vision. 10th anniversary of

Homöopathen Ohne Grenzen (Homœopaths without

Borders). (HL. 21, 3/2008).

In 1996, an individual who was working in the

frontline during the Bosnia-Herzegovina war, thought of

homœopathic treatment for the victims of the war. So a

homœopathic clinic was set up in Mostar by 20 German

homœopaths who treated thousands of refugees all of

them severely traumatized in several ways, rape, torture

in concentration camps, etc.

In 1997, Homœopaths without Borders, Germany

was founded in order to have an official organization,

where doctors and practitioners joined together to

pursue a common goal, each of them willing to share his

time, knowledge and experience in various ways, in

areas where Homœopathy is still unknown, to

countries where access to healthcare is lacking because

of poverty or as a consequence of war or natural

catastrophies.

Homœopaths worldwide was created with founding

members from Germany, France, Switzerland,

Madagascar and Netherlands. As a result training

homœopaths was successful in Togo, Honduras,

Macedornia, Kenya, Iran, Sri Lanka to take care of the

common folks suffering as a result of civil wars.

XVII. Homœopathy and Art. ZEE, Harry van der

(HL. 21, 3/2008).

In the Heidelberg conference held on 19 – 21 Oct.

2007, three artists exhibited high quality work inspired

by Homœopathy. Katalin GIESSWEIN, exhibited her 4

bronze sculptures of HAHNEMANN depicting him in

his most distinct life phases (www.sculpturarbeit.de).

Ute BAUER, exhibited her sculptures on

homœopathic remedies.

XVIII. Is the fertilized human egg a person? What

is a person? Philosophers, Ethicists and Moralists have

debated it for centuries and each generation brings in

newer arguments.

In several states in the U.S. abortion is illegal. In

1973 the US Supreme court ruled that a woman has the

right to terminate her pregnancy in the first trimester as

a constitutional right.

In the foetus a ‘person’? after much debate,

discussions, it was decided that a human foetus,

embryo, fertilized egg or a clone is not a person.

While the definitions of Rene DESCARTES, John

LOCKE, David HUME and the much later Thomas

WHITE have all been considered, the answer is still not

conclusive. [D. Balasubramanian in The Hindu, Nov.

24, 2011]

XIX. Homœopathy and Hospitals in History.

Conference of the International Network for the

History of Homœopathy (INHH) Stuttgart, 4th to 6th

July 2007. Reported by von REISWITZ, Felix &

DINGES, Martin. (HL. 21, 3/2008).

The Institut für Geschichte der Medizin (IGM) of

the Robert Bosch Foundation played host to the 7th

International Conference of the European Association

for the History of Medicine and Health’s International

Network for the History of Homœopathy (INHH) from

the 4th to the 6th July 2007. The conference’s theme was

“Homœopathy and Hospitals in History”, addressing the

curious fact that, despite Homœopathy and “the clinic”

emerging around the same time, the relationship

between the two had so far not been seriously examined

in any great detail. Proceedings were divided into four

sections, “Europe I: North-West”, “Europe II: The

Cradle of Homœopathy”, “USA” and “Central and

South America”.

In her inaugural lecture, “The Last Frontier:

Hospitals, Homœopathy and History”, Naomi Rogers

(New Haven USA) talked about the origins of the

hospital as an institution and of the importance of the

hospital for the flourishing of homœopathic practice,

through its role in demonstrating and explaining

Homœopathy.

Following the introductory lecture, the first section

on North-West Europe began from a Dutch perspective,

with Hein De Lange de Klerk’s (Groningen,

Netherlands) paper “Homœopathic hospitals in the

Netherlands”.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 36

Moving west across the English Channel, Felix S.

von Reiswitz (London, United Kingdom) presented “A

case study of the London Homœopathic Hospital”.

Flying north once more, Motzi Eklöf (Linköping,

Sweden) presented an intriguing alternative to hospital

history from a Swedish perspective, namely the history

of “The Homœopathic Hospital that never was:

Attempts in the Swedish Riksdag from 1835 to 1863 to

obtain support from government authorities for the

establishment of a homœopathic hospital, and the issue

of theory versus empiricism in medicine”.

Moving south from Washington State, Josef M.

SCHMIDT (Munich, Germany) completed the North-

American picture with his “History of the Homœopathic

College and Hahnemann Hospital at San Francisco”,

representing research conducted through the

examination of hospital records, directories of medical

practitioners, telephone directories and registers.

The fourth and final session turned to Central and

South America, with Paulo Rosenbaum (Sao Paolo,

Brazil) talking about the “Brazillian experiences in

hospitals from the 19th to the 21st centuries”.

Fernando François Flores’ (Mexico City, Mexico)

paper on “The National Homœopathic Hospital in

Mexico City” concluded the session, providing an

insight into Mexican Homœopathy.

Robert JÜTTE (Stuttgart, Germany) concluded the

conference proceedings with his closing remarks on the

“Specificities of the homœopathic hospital”. Despite the

diversity a few general features can be singled out. The

motives in founding homœopathic hospitals were of

four kinds: 1) to gain public recognition by proving the

efficacy of the new art of healing; 2) to ensure scientific

progress in theory and practice; 3) to provide training

for future homœopaths; 4) to offer patients better

treatment; 5) to compete with allopaths and to gain

prestige in the scientific community, 6) to prove that

Homœopathy is the cheaper and better treatment. There

are also common denominators to be observed as far as

the closing down of homœopathic hospitals is

concerned: Among the general problems were, for

example, the lack of funds, the internal strife, and lack

of space. But also the trends of the time played a role,

e.g. structural changes in the health system or progress

in biomedicine. And there were, last but not least,

intrinsic problems such as the failure to provide

scientific evidence, and the lack of research. More

research is needed on open questions such as everyday

life in a homœopathic hospital or the specific treatment

provided by these institutions.

For a more detailed conference report please go to:

http://www.igm-bosch.de/f6.htm and click at

“Rückblick”.

XX. Sir Richard Branson’s Newest Project.

ULLMAN, Dana (HL. 21, 4/2008)

Sir Richard BRANSON is launching a new health

care business of clinics with family doctors who provide

homœopathic treatment alongside conventional medical

care.

XXI. Launch of New International Council for

Homœopaths. GORDON, Stephen (HL. 21, 4/2008).

International Council for Homœopathy was

launched with the support of European Council for

Classical Homœopathy. Its aim is to promote and

support the professional practice of Homœopathy

around the world based on agreed standards of

education and regulation for the benefit of patients. It is

hoped that there will be future liaison with LIGA.

XXII. Bridging the Gap: Homœopathy in Kenya.

AJANJA, Joakim oria. (HL. 21, 4/2008).

The Kwale Homœopathic Academy and clinic in

Kenya has well designed management structures and a

sound academic programme. The clinic also runs

mobile units. Treatment is offered to the community at

affordable rates. With the Academy, clinic and mobile

clinics, the centre is rich with potential for International

students seeking to write theses or do internships.

XXIII. Seminar Report. Solanaceae and Related

Remedies. Reported by BOWYER, Erroll (HL. 21,

4/2008).

Massimo, MANGIALAVORI came to Zurich to

deliver his 3rd annual seminar, organized by VKH, on

September 8 – 10, 2006. As in previous years, the

seminar was held in Wallisellen, a leafy suburb some 20

minutes out of central Zurich, in a very airy and

spacious conference room.

Some Belladonna-like, the Solanaceae and Related

Remedies

Why Belladonna-like? The Solanaceae is a large

family of substances with different properties. The

poisonous Solanaceae are very different from the edible

Solanaceae. It is not easy to compare the eating of

potato, pepper and tomato with eating Belladonna

berries. Although there is the alkaloid Solanine in all of

them, we have some quite different substances in this

family. In the seminar we were to look at some typical

Solanaceae close to Belladonna and some different

ones. And some other remedies Massimo considers

very close to Belladonna but not in the same botanical

family. Hence Belladonna-like.

Introduction

By way of introduction, we heard how, from the

anthropological point of view, many of these substances

were used as drugs in mediaeval times. They could

alter one’s sense of the world and one’s perception.

Many of these plants were used in witches’ rituals. A

lot of the prejudices about witches stem from what the

Catholic Church and the Inquisition wrote about them;

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in reality what these women did was totally different.

Folk tales portray witches as malicious, ugly women;

the reality was totally different. Because these women

were doing something forbidden, it became the Devil’s

work, related to a dark world, full of monsters and awful

creatures. These rituals were able to create different

relationships with the elements of nature, with our inner

nature, especially the world of instinct. As for the

symbol of witches flying using broomsticks, many of

the Datura were used as ointments put on to the

broomsticks and rubbed in between the legs. This

friction to the genitals meant that they could absorb the

alkaloids through the skin. This was a less poisonous

way to take these substances than eating them. The

effect was stronger, and so could free their instinctual

life; their hidden, closed side could be released.

Whereas in Cannabis and the hallucinogenic drugs you

open a door, have a new experience, and from that

moment on you are not the same person as something in

you will have changed dramatically, in the Belladonna-

like there is no memory of the experience. Even if it is

similar to Cannabis and the hallucinogenic drugs in that

it allows you to get in touch with an inner side, you

delete the experience, as if it never happened. They

would have this experience, and come back to earth a

normal person. These issues are important for a better

understanding of some of the Solanaceae.

The bulk of the seminar then focused on 11

Belladonna-like cases, each with long-term follow up of

a minimum of two years on the same remedy, each

confirmed as the simillimum when it acted on acute

episodes which arose.

And from these cases were deduced the themes of

the Belladonna-like, which Massimo would look to

confirm before he would consider prescribing one of

these remedies.

Belladonna

To set the scene, the first two cases presented were

chronic cases of Belladonna, an adult man and a young

girl. What was characteristic of both these cases was

the mild and timid presentation. Massimo explained

how he had misunderstood that seeing the well-known

violent side was an important issue to prescribe these

remedies successfully. In the great majority of these

cases this violent side is not acted out so clearly. And

there is a significant difference between children and

adults where this anger and violence is more restricted

than acted out.

Even when you see cases of more decompensated

situations, when the anger is acted out, you see how

they are rarely satisfied by the experience. Even if they

express their anger and violence, it is always perceived

as perhaps only 10% of what they should have done.

All of these poisonous Solanaceae from the very

beginning of their life experience a serious lack of

emotional contact with their family. A serious lack of

support. A deprivation of a direct relationship and

empathy with their family. The anger is the result of

something that should have been done or given to you

and for some reason this awful father or mother

deliberately withholds it: I am thirsty, my parents have a

huge jug of water in their hands and they won’t give me

a drink. I really feel this strong sense of anger because

something was not given to me but if I express this

anger I risk losing what little support and protection I do

have. If I allow myself to express what I need, I will

have even less than what I do receive.

Integration of this anger, of their basic needs in

their personality, is one of their most important issues.

There is a split between what they need to survive and

how they behave to survive. There is a strong

inhibition.

The man came with chronic hip joint disease,

possibly needing a hip joint replacement. In many of

Massimo’s chronic cases of Belladonna, Hyoscyamus

and Lyssinum there was a serious hip joint disease.

Whatever in a chronic case is perceived as something

paralytic is very often over control of motion and of

emotions – a symbolic representation of what they have

to clench or to inhibit in order not to create problems.

Escape into fantasy is a common feature in these

remedies. It is common to find children seeking

imaginary friends – acting out something that is missing

in their lives from their father and mother. A serious

moment of decompensation with really severe disease

comes when they reach adolescence. Where they are

able to trust in magic, it is a big help for them. When

they have to face reality and see that things are no

longer working as they imagined – missing the support

of these imaginary ideas – they find it very hard to

integrate reality into themselves. Whereas the Snakes

need to explore the dark side: I need this dark side to

grow, to become a complete person, and this double

feeling in the Snakes is a powerful feeling, the uniting

of the 2 sides of our brain; in the Belladonna-like this

split is extreme and there is no communication between

the light and dark. It can only be black or white. And

whatever is black is something demonic. Contact with

the night, the moon, water, is scary, and cannot be

integrated. Witches use something to get in touch with

this but keep it in a separate part of their mind. It is not

a door they can open with their consciousness. How

gigantic and terrifying this huge box can be! Getting in

touch with this is one of the main problems of this

family of remedies.

Gallicum acidum

The second two cases were of a remedy that,

botanically speaking, is not a member of the

Solanaceae, yet has features in common; Gallium

acidum. We know of this remedy from the Ananda

ZAREN seminar where she talked about children who

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 38

were so fearful and so destructiove and how

Belladonna, Stramonium, Tuberculinum would come up

in repertorisation (see LINKS issue 1/1993). It was

fascinating to see an adult presentation of this remedy.

A 45 year-old lawyer whose chief complaint was severe

teeth grinding. He could not be alone. Most strikingly,

he could not sleep on his own. The cleaning lady from

his childhood ended up being employed to sleep in the

same room as him in his flat. When travelling abroad

he needed to arrange for someone to come and sleep in

his room, and just to sleep! When at work he needed to

be able to see others. Such a strong inability to be alone

and yet unable to establish any real connection, even

with his family. Desperately screaming for help but no

one could help him. Someone getting too close was too

much. Characteristically for the remedy, he needed to

curse a lot.

Children who need Gallicum acidum are some of

the most restless and destructive in the Materia Medica;

it is impossible to leave them alone.

There is also a serious intolerance to fish in

Gallicum acidum. Massimo sees this aggravation from

fish not only in Gallicum acidum but also in other

Belladonna-like, especially Mandragora, where fish

causes itching/asthma.

Mandragora

The next two cases were of Mandragora. Both

male adults, showing a more reserved and regressive

attitude; with the characteristic fears of dogs, of the

dark, and of possession by the Devil, as well as the lack

of attention from their families that we had already seen

in the previous cases. What differentiates this remedy

from the others is a sense of guilt: “I can see that the

fact I don’t get my basic needs met by my family is

because there is something wrong in me.” There is also

commonly a difficult integration of their assertive side

and they try not to show any of their aggression. This

leads to up and down behavior. One situation is when

the mechanism of control is working, the other is when

the mechanism of control doesn’t work and you see

something escaping. Like a pot of boiling water onto

which they are constantly putting a lid. Kleptomania

featured in one of the cases and Massimo has seen this

in other good cases of Mandragora.

Themes of the Belladonna-like

Having studied together these 6 cases in depth

Massimo then introduced to us the themes of the

Belladonna-like.

The fundamental themes were:

1) Fear

It is hard to find a remedy belonging to the

Belladonna-like that has no fear. This fear focuses on

the dark side. There is a parallel universe full of devils,

monsters and witches, which is hard to access. It is hard

to find any representation of these fears. Something

belongs to that world; something belongs to the real

world. A real amelioration in these patients is seldom

just to do with their sleep getting better and no more

nightmares. They are able to get in contact with and

become friends with these entities and they are no

longer so scared by them.

2) Deprivation

This is someone who has this clear feeling of “I

deserve something and this something was never given

to me. This is what I needed from birth and those

people never gave it to me.” They have a clear idea of

what should have been done and given to them but was

instead withheld from them. When there is an

amelioration, in the great majority of cases their

relationship with their parents changes dramatically.

They are able to overcome and forgive and to see that

their parents did what they could.

3) Inaccessible part of themselves:

Darkness/Water

As we can split day and night, summer and winter,

they have a clear feeling that the inner world and the

outer world are divided in two. Whatever belongs to the

dark side is destructive, scary and is inaccessible. What

is related to the female element is a disaster; it destroys

them. We see this reflected in their terror of anything

connected with water.

4) Hypersensitive

Their system is constantly on alert. They always

have to have their ears and eyes open, ready to fight.

Their main, overriding fear is that they are never able to

float in this water and just give up. Sleep with one eye

open. Anything could happen at any moment.

5) Congestion

In all the Nightshades, across the whole botanical

family, these over-congested symptoms are very

common. Solanum tuberosum, Dulcamara, Capsicum,

Tabacum always have very congested symptoms.

Redness, hypertension, system full, inflating, heart

pumping etc.

6) Vexation/Mortification/Reproach/Jealousy

Their sense of anger is very blocked; even if they

can act it out, it is only 10% of how far they could go.

They complain that others had what they never had.

Jealousy is very common. “I had nothing in my life, I

was never protected. Others around me did have this.

This is not right.”

Then the general themes:

7) Destructiveness

They can be violent and injure themselves. The

pathology is often severe, sudden, violent, explosive,

with the potential to destroy them completely. They can

have strokes, infarcts or something that could kill them.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 39

8) Suddenness/Fit/Explosive

Very often their symptoms are perceived as

something that is bursting out of them. I am a bomb

that can explode at any moment.

9) Violence/Inhibition

Massimo’s experience of the compensated state of

these remedies is that they show a strong sense of

inhibition.

10) Rigidity/Stiffness

Stiffness is the result of someone trying to control,

not to move, to avoid the possible appearance of

something else. “Blockage”, “Paralysis”, “Inhibition of

movement”. After a successful prescription of the

remedy, movements become more fluid.

11) Alternation

Alternation is a common feature of what they tell

you. A common somatic representation. Extremely

high fever, then nothing.

12) Chronic versus acute

In the great majority of chronic cases of these

remedies, (and it is actually much more common to find

a chronic case than an acute one) the acute is a basic

relapse of their old recurring chronic state. It is wrong

to consider Belladonna as a paradigm for acute

illnesses. Most of these Belladonna-like cases are

deeply sick, injured people. An acute problem is just

something exploding from a suppressed basic system. It

is more common to have a chronic disease that looks

like a current relapse of an acute problem – they are

operating constantly under a serious inhibiting,

controlling mechanism with an inability to keep this

energy in and it sometimes bursts out.

Solanum nigrum

The next case was of a young woman with M.S.

Eye symptoms were particularly disabling and

persistent. An MRI scan revealed some early lesions in

the optioc nerve. Characteristic was black spots which

“pass before me as if they were sailing against my eyes

…. If I move slowly and waveringly …. they suddenly

become like black circles that go round … to give you

an example I would say that I seem to see a little black

boat they suddenly ends up in a whirlpool and then

begins to spin around….” On waking there were

sudden, explosive headaches; a strong love of lemons

which helps the pain; childhood fear of the dark; a

father who was away at sea for months prompting

fighting for his attention with her three siblings; and a

self-destructive vindictive streak which saw her marry

the enemy of her one-time boyfriend in the church

outside the ex-boyfriend’s house. This was a case of

Solanum nigrum. In all cases of Solanum nigrum the

destructive attitude is much more evident; and there is a

tendency to produce neurological diseases where

dizziness and eye symptoms are common. There is a

benumbing of the entire system affecting the senses in

many directions. The follow-up was eleven years for

this case.

The final five cases we studied together were all of

remedies that are not members of the Solanaceae

family, yet have many features in common with them

and so are included by Massimo in this Belladonna-like

group of remedies.

Tanacetum vulgare

Two cases were of Tanacetum vulgare, a remedy

that looks close to Belladonna and Lyssinum. An adult

and a child presenting with pinworms, vomiting;

convulsions, nightmares and an inability to face the

dark; both felt unsupported and not close to the family.

Fear that if they didn’t defend themselves they would be

destroyed.

Their aggressive side was extremely strong

(stronger than Cina, Chamomilla). They were unable to

control it and complained about it, asking the recipients

of their aggression to forgive them. Strangely, as in the

film The Exorcist, they reacted with vomiting, which in

this remedy has an aggressive meaning.

Lyssinum

The next two cases were of Lyssinum. In this

remedy the sense of deprivation is very close to what we

had been shown before in Solanum nigrum. This is not

only the idea that they are not considered, not

recognized, not fed properly but also a feeling of being

rejected, an outcast of society, and an unwanted,

undesired person. I must have something wrong inside

as people reject me so outrageously. This is often

something that can be perceived in children who were

abused or raped, a strong guilty feeling inside. They

can present as extremely insecure, extremely inhibited,

unable to cope with others, unable to move, appearing a

too sweet person, while if overcompensated they can be

much more attacking, bombastic, too direct. But in the

end they recognize how impossible it is to have a good

relationship with almost anybody. They remain

isolated. To compensate this they do their best to be

recognized as the first, the best, with the clear

perception inside that they do not deserve this position

at all. There can be an eroticization of relationships as

someone using their sexuality to get what they think

they need or want. In contrast to the other Belladonna-

like, there is a strong need for a compensation that is

religious, which can present as a kind of fanaticism. As

they are rejected by humans, the only one who can love

them is God. Water is key in these cases: hydrophobia;

water is indispensable for living, but Lyssinum is unable

to drink it; they have to wash twenty times a day,

washing off this strong sense of dirt that is not easy to

wash off. Water is a cleansing element that never

cleans. Lyssinum can be self-destructive in that they are

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 40

so able to destroy their relationships. They choose one

bad relationship after another.

Doryphora decemlineata

The final case was one of a boy aged four who had

been treated by another homœopath for more than a

year with Belladonna, which did nothing. He was a

very restless, hyperactive boy who worshipped an older

child who lived close by. He had recurrent tonsillitis,

violent delirium with fevers, night terrors and a history

of urinary tract infections. He wanted to be the leader,

to grow as soon as possible: to be big was better. A

specific attitude of seeking out a more powerful person,

behaving like a slave to this powerful person and then

overcoming them revealed a strong sense of hierarchy.

Like many of the Belladonna-like he had an imaginary

friend. And he had a strong desire for potatoes. This

was a case of Doryphora decemlineata, the Colaroda

beetle, a parasite of the potato, which interestingly, as

an insect, is full of solanine. This remedy has many

symptoms in common with Belladonna, Solanum

nigrum and Solanum tuberosum. Characteristic of

Doryphora is a strong affinity for the urinary tract; pain

which affects the nerves; a strong sense of competition

in order to survive; and a passion for transformation.

Stramonium and Hyoscyamus

To conclude, Massimo gave us some insights into

aspects of Stramonium and Hyoscyamus. In

Stramonium the sense of deprivation is extremely

strong. They have a strong guilty feeling. They feel

they have done something wrong and so they don’t

deserve to get what they need. More commonly than in

the other Belladonna-like, in Stramonium we can find

very many strong inhibitions: not only inhibiting their

anger and violence but also what they have to do to

assert who they are. In a corner asking for as little as

possible. Completely in the dark side, there is nothing

they can do to come out of it. In adult cases of

Stramonium it is more common to see a severe

depression. Whereas in Stramonium there is a primary

basic injury and fear an inability to cope with it,

Hyoscyamus is much more confident, more mature.

They assert themselves by being different. Everything

is based on power. The vengeful attitude we saw in

Solanum nigrum is even stronger. Their basic tool is to

seduce and not give you anything but revenge. I want to

intrigue you but the instant you want to have me, you

have nothing.

Non-toxic Solanaceae

And finally we heard briefly about the non-toxic

Solanaceae: Tabacum, Capsicum, Dulcamara,

Lycopersicum, Solanum tuberosum have very little to

do with what we had previously seen in the poisonous

Belladonna-like, even though there are some common

symptoms of congestion. In Tabacum there is a more

solid and stronger personality, and usually we find

someone who is successful in society. But it is never

enough. There is a discrepancy between what they can

do and what ultimately is satisfying for them. Tabacum

is the typical paradigm of the False Self personality –

someone acting as much as possible to appear better

than he is. They have a pathological fear that they will

be found out. Capsicum has congestion very similar to

that of Belladonna but beyond this has very little in

common with the other Belladonna-like. A very

insecure, shy, inhibited person, who can compensate by

having a pathological relationship with food, often

presenting with bulimia to fill the emptiness they feel.

Dulcamara can also have bulimia and will reveal a

major discrepancy between their inner world and what

they can show. They use a strategy of trying to be

nasty, pushing away others to see how interested they

really are in understanding them. They too are

inhibited. Whatever is part of their inner world cannot

be expressed at all.

Lycopersicum has problems with bleeding,

coagulation. And has a false personality, inflating

themselves, appearing bigger, larger, and more powerful

yet seeking constantly an emotional support that they

are not able to get. The destructive side of Solanum

tuberosum aegrotans is extremely strong, much stronger

than in Solanum nigrum. They can also present with

neurological diseases. Characteristic, as in some of the

other Belladonna-like, is the idea of being completely

unable to escape from those ghosts, that dark, black

side. Self-injury, biting themselves, more self-

destructive. There is no pleasure in life.

For anyone wishing to study these cases and the

Belladonna-like in more detail, Massimo’s publication

“Solanaceae: Nightmare between Light and Dark” can

be acquired from his website: www.mangialavori.com.

XXIV. Editorial. 100 years of Homœopathy. Peter

FISHER. (HOM. 100, 1-2/2011).

This is a centenary issue.

The journal was launched in 1911 as the British

Homœopathic Journal under the Editorship of Giles

Forward GOLDSBOROUGH and Thomas George

STONHAM. Since 2001, the title changed to

Homeopathy.

The present Editor Peter FISHER completed 25

years. This consists of selected papers, at least one from

each of our 10 decades.

This is the only homœopathic journal to be indexed

in Medline since 1998.

1945-2001 archives is online at:

www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00070785.

XXV. Editors of the BHJ/Homeopathy 1911 - 2011.

(HOM. 100, 1-2/2011).

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 41

1911 – 1932

Giles Forward GOLDSBOROUGH

Thomas George STONHAM

1932 – 1936

Harold FERGIE-WOODS

Francis H BODMAN

1937 -1939

William Lees TEMPLETON

1939 – 1943

Douglas KENYON

1944 – 1947

William Lees TEMPLETON

John M PATERSON

1948

James D. KEYON

G Ruthven MITCHELL

1949 – 1950

W Ritchie McCRAE

G. Ruthven MITCHELL

1951 – 1952

W Ritchie McCRAE

James Campbell MACKILLOP

1953 – 1954

JAMES Campbell MACKILLOP

Duncan Campbell RUSSELL

1955 – 1956

Margery BLACKIE

Duncan Campbell RUSSELL

1957

James D KENYON

1958 – 1979

Llewellyn R TWENTYMAN

1979 – 1986

Anthony CAMPBELL

1986 – 2011

Peter FISHER

XXVI. Memorial address.

TWENTYMAN L.R. 1972. (HOM. 100, 1-

2/2011).

This memorial address was given by L R

TWENTYMAN at the memorial service

commemorating those who died in the aircraft disaster.

St. George the Martyr, Queen Square, London W.C. 1.

on Thursday 29, June 1972.

The following are the names of the deceased.

Frederick ADAMS, Isabel CAMPBELL, Dudley

EVERITT, and his wife MAROOT, Marjorie

GOLOMB, Elizabeth HAWTHORN, William

KADLEIGH, Ludi KANDALLA, Joan MACKOVER,

John RAESIDE, Thomas Fergus STEWART and his

wife ELIZABETH.

XXVII. From the teaching centres. Single or

multiple medicine prescribing – a debate – 1993.

(HOM. 100, 1-2/2011).

Motion: This house believes that the single remedy

is the medicine of experience.

The issue was debated in favour by David CURTIN

and Francis TREUHERZ and was opposed by George

LEWITH and June BURGER. This was chaired by

Peter FISHER. Brian KAPLAN, Andrew LOCKIE,

Michael JENKINS and several others in the audience

took part in the discussion. After the summing up the

motion was carried.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

2. AJHM: American Journal of Homœopathic Medicine,

formerly Journal of the American Institute of

Homœopathy (JAIH). 801 N. Fairfax Street, Suite 306

Alexandria, VA 22314.

3. THE HINDU: Newspaper, Chennai – 600 002.

4. HCCR: Homœopathic Clinical Case Recorder, Dr.

Subhash Meher, Near Hotel Chanakya, Anandrishiji

Marg, Burudgaon Road, AHMEDNAGAR-414001.

5. HH: Homœopathic Heritage, B. Jain Publishers

Overseas, 1920, Street No.10, Chuna Mandi, Paharganj,

Post Box 5775, New Delhi - 110 055.

6. HL: Homœopathic Links, Homœopathic Research &

Charities, F/s, Saraswat Colony, Linking Road, Santacruz

(W), MUMBAI – 400 054.

7. HOM: Formerly British Homœopathic Journal (BHJ),

Homœopathy, Faculty of Homœopathy, 29 Park Street

West, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU13BE, UK.

8. HT: Homœopathy Today, National Center for

Homœopathy, 801, North Fairfax Street, Suite 306,

ALEXANDRIA, VA. 22314, USA.

9. S & C: Science and Culture, Indian Science News

Association, 92, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road,

KOLKATA – 700 009.

10. ZKH: Zeitschrift für Klassische Homöopathie, Karl F.

Haug Verlag, Hüthig GmbH, Im Weiher 10, D-69121

HEIDELBERG, GERMANY.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 42

PART II

(This Section abstracts/extracts from selected articles; even the entire article in some case)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Assessment of homeopathic clinical trials on

infectious and parasitic diseases

Êrika F. Rosas C. da Silva,1 Antonio S. Tempesta1,

Tiago F. Ribeiro2,

Osvaldo de S. Leal,1 Martha S. Martinez-Silveira3 e

José Tavares-Neto2

IJHDR. 6, 20/2007)

Summary

Among the clinical trials with homeopathic

remedies published in the literature, it was not found an

adequate evaluation of their quality. This was the

reason for the present study, performed on clinical trials

involving patients with infectious or parasitary diseases.

Literature was reviewed on electronic data-bases,

reference lists of the selected studies, specialists and

institutions were consulted. In the evaluation of the

quality of the selected studies it was employed a

modified scale of Jadad, ranging from 0 to 9. From 132

trials selected, only 18% met the criteria of inclusion;

among them, there was good concordance (K=0.76%)

in the assessment by 2 external reviewers. Considering

the median punctuation (=5), 55.6% of the trials were

considered of good quality, with limit values between 5

and 9. Even taken into account the need to improved the

scale employed, the results indicate the need of further

and more methodologically rigorous studies in this field.

Key-words

Homeopathy, clinical trials, infectious diseases,

parasitic diseases, review.

Introduction

The status of homeopathy is controverse since its

inception, 1 2, 3, 4 A possibility to change this situation

is the performance of high quality clinical trials which

take the specificities of this medical approach into

account. Currently the randomized, controlled, double-

blind clinical trial is widely employed, as it would

neutralize several kinds of bias, thus, it would allow to

reasonably infer that clinical outcomes are related to the

intervention under study.3,5,6,7,8

Due to the recent development of new techniques

for research, analysis and access to bibliographical data,

systematic reviews of clinical trials employing

homeopathic remedies have become more

frequent.1,2,3,5,10,11,13,15-20,21,21,22,23 However, they not

properly assess the methodological quality of the trials.

In the specific field of infectious and parasitic diseases,

it could not be located review or meta-analysis studies

appraising clinical trials with homeopathic remedies.

This is the reason for the present systematic review,

which sought to evaluate the quality of clinical trials

with homeopathic remedies.

Methodology

Systematic reviews of clinical trials with

homeopathic remedies in patients suffering from

infectious and parasitic diseases published until

October, 2nd, 2005 were researched in the following

data-bases: MedLine, Embase, Lilacs, Homeoindex,

Web of Science, Hom-Inform and Cochrane Library.

Other sources of information were consulted, such as

non-indexed journals, homeopathic practitioners,

homeopathic associations (Brazilian Association of

Homeopathic Pharmacists; São Paulo State

Homeopathic Association) and active search of the

references quoted in the selected studies.

Keywords were: “homeopathy or homoeopathy”

and “parasitosis or parasite or parasitic diseases” or

“infection or infectious diseases or communicable

disease or bacterial infections or mycoses” and “clinical

trials or randomized controlled trial or blind or

placebo”.

Studies were classified as preselected or not, and

later, in included or excluded, according to the

following criteria: interventional studies exclusively as

clinical trials in humans, employing homeopathic

remedies in infectious or parasitic diseases; trials ought

to have been published in any of the languages

previously established (English, French, Italian,

Spanish, Portuguese).

Criteria of exclusion were one or more of the

following: prophylactic treatment as the aim of a study;

pathogenetic provings; non infectious or parasitic

disease; lack of defining criteria (clinical,

epidemiologic, laboratorial, image diagnosis) for the

diagnosis of the disease; case or series of cases studies;

graduate dissertations; abstracts published in annals or

specialized journals; language other than the

established.

Papers with an abstract available in one of the

electronic databases were preselected according to the

inclusion and exclusion criteria. When the abstract was

lacking or inconclusive, a copy of the full paper was

required from the reference library. Equally, copies of

the preselected papers were required to libraries in

Brazil and abroad.

All selected articles were carefully read and a

record was made in a standardized form22 to establish if

all the inclusion criteria were met.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 43

In the next stage, a data-base was generated,

including the relevant bibliography references quoted in

each article selected or not, but including exclusively

those not found in the electronic databases. The new

references were researched, according to the procedure

described above.

According to Jadad et al,24 the evaluation of the

quality of clinical trials might be accomplished

according to individual markers, lists or scales. There

currently exist more than 30 lists of such criteria,

however Jadad’s are the most used and the only

validated.25 In order to improve the evaluation

instrument, 4 questions were added to Jadad’s 5-

question scale, concerning: 1) fitness of the inclusion

criteria adopted in a trial; 2) reference to the adequacy

of exclusion criteria; 3) observance of homeopathic

principles; 4) presence of co-interventions.

To each question with a positive answer 1 point

was added; when negative, no point was added and

neither when the answer was indeterminate. 24 Jadad’s

scale establishes the substraction of 1 point when the

answer on the criteria of randomization of samples or

masking is not clearly established or described. Thus,

the score of each selected trial may vary from 0 to 9; the

highest limit (=9) corresponds to the situation in which

each of the 9 questions received the highest punctuation

(=1).

Due to the importance of masking in evaluation,24

and of the respective score of each selected paper, 2

external reviewers, A and B were selected among

medical school academicians proficient in the English

language. These reviewers were geographically isolated

and “blind” concerning the folowing information on

each paper: name of authors and institutional affiliation;

vehicle of publication; date of publication; financial

sources; bibliographical references; acknowledgments.

In a first stage, Jadad’s scale was independently used by

each reviewer; later, a consensus form was adopted for

discordant answers.22

Independently from the blind analysis of both

reviewers, the study gold-standard was performed, from

conjoint discussions with 2 other members of the team,

more experienced in scientific methodology.

Data were recorded in the clipboard of SPSS 9.0®.

In the univariated analysis for the assessment of the

methodologic quality of each study, the results of the

gold-standard analyses with values equal or higher than

the median were considered. In order to assess the

degree of concordance between reviewers A and B, the

Kappa index was employed, 42 considering as good

concordance values between 0.61 and 0.80.

Results

128 (97%) papers were located in one or more of

the researched databases; 4 (3%) papers were located

among the bibliography references quoted in one or

more of the former. All bibliography references quoted

by other sources corresponded to one of the 132 papers

previously located. No paper was located in non-

indexated journals.

After analysis, from the 132 papers, only 18

(13.6%) clinical trials were selected (Graphic 1); 114

(86.4%) papers were excluded, due to the following

reasons: 69 (60.5%) were not clinical trials, but case or

series of cases studies; 14 (12.3%) were published in

languages not included in those study (12 in German

and 2 in Russian); 8 (7%) concerned non humans; 7

(6.1%) could not be located in the journals of the

reference library; 5 (4.4%) were not directed to

infectious or parasitic diseases; 5 (4.4%) were published

in 2 different journals (only 1 was considered); 3 (2.6%)

aimed at the prophylaxis of infectious disease; in 1

(0.9%) the treatment was phytotherapic; 1 (0.9%) was

not published and could not be located; 1 (0.9%) was

lost by the reference library.

The result of the evaluation considered as gold-

standard in each selected trial is described in the last

column of Graphic 1. In general, the answers with the

smallest number of positive answers (=1) referred to the

method of randomization (reviewers: 33.3%; gold-

standard:17.8%) and co-interventions (reviewers:

16.7%; gold-standard:16.7%).

As the evaluation instrument included 9 questions

and 18 papers were included, the total of answers was

162 (Table 1), the global ratio of concordance between

the 2 reviewers was 85.2% (138 equal answers) and

Kappa index (=0.7602) of good concordance. Table 2

shows the comparison of the gold-standard analysis to

the performed by the 2 reviewers, A and B, with a good

global ratio of concordance, 84.6% (137 equal answers;

Kappa index=0.7487) and 79% (128 equal answers;

Kappa index=0.6671), respectively.

Only in 4 (22.2%) papersc,o,p,r there was full

consensus between the answers of 2 external reviewers;

in 7 there was 1 question with discordant

answersd,f,i,j,k,m,q; in 6, 2 answers were discordant;a,e,g,h,I,n

1 paperb had 5 non consensual answers. Thus, there was

disagreement in 24 (14.8%) answers between the two

examiners.

All 18 selected articles were published between

1985 and 2005, 14 (78.8%) before 2000. The limits of

total score varied between 0 to 9 (Graphic 1), with mode

= 7, mean = 4.72 and median = 5. In 10

papersc,d,e,i,j,l,m,n,o,p (55.6%) the score was equal or higher

than the mean (>5), suggesting a high methodologic

quality. Among these, 8 c,d,e,i,m,n,o,p described a positive

therapeutic outcome.

10 trialsa,c,e,f,g,i,j,k,m,p employed individualized

homeopathy; among these, only 3 g,k,p did not use co-

interventions. Thus, only 1 trial both observed the

homeopathic principles and attained the highest score

(Graphic 1). However, the sample in this trial was

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 44

heterogeneous, including carriers of Human

Immunodeficience Virus (HIV) and sufferers from

Acquired Immunodeficience Syndrome (AIDS).

On the other hand, the etiologic agent of the disease

under study was not duly defined in 2 papersc,k. In 2

trialsm,n, the criteria defining the diagnosis were

exclusively clinic; one of themm included children in a

wide age range suffering from upper and lower airway

infections. 4a,f,g,i (22.2%) studies assessed the

homeopathic treatment in cases of middle ear infection,

also exclusively diagnosed through clinical criteria,

without microbiological investigation; 2 f,g also

included children in a wide age range, including

teenagers.

Among the 8a,c,f,g,I,k,m,n papers with distortion in the

diagnostic criteria or the features of the sample, 4c,i,m,n

were previously considered as high methodological

quality; their exclusion would decrease the frequence of

this category from 55.5% (10/18) to 33.3% (6/18).

Discussion and conclusions

In the present study, the criteria of inclusion

previously established were essential to attain the

highest homogeneity among the 18 clinical trials

selected and they also warranted the possibility of

comparing them.

14 preselected papers, written in German or

Russian, should have been considered, but due to the

impossibility of a reliable translation, they had to be

excluded. It is possible that the inclusion of these papers

would have modified the results obtained.

Some interesting features were not included in the

evaluation of the papers, such as: separate analysis of

the masking criteria by the observer and the research

subjects; calculus of the size of the sample; if there was

a pilot study or not; adequate statistical analysis; criteria

for the comparison of groups; bias due to drop-

outs/excluded cases were included in the statistical

analysis (principle of the intention to treat); correct

description of the clinical outcome; approval by ethics

committee; reference to the term of consent; description

of the place and time of the study, among other indexes

of high quality in clinical trials.

Such items were not included in the modified

Jadad’s scale. It is probable that if included, all papers

assessed in the present study would have received very

low, even null scores. Moreover, in the present study

there was no limits in the time of publication, thus, if

the items above would have been included, most of the

oldest papers would have received the lowest scores, as

such items began to receive more attention in recent

years. It is advisable to take these items into account in

future systematic review studies aimed at the evaluation

of the quality of clinical trials.

It is also advisable to include the alternative of the

negative score (-1) for all items, whenever an article

inadequately incorrectly describes a topic under the

analysis of the observer, instead of exclusively, as Jadad

et al.24 suggested, in the questions on the criteria for

randomization and masking. This new analysis strategy

would avoid the high frequence of null score (=0), thus,

some studies would not receive a proportionately higher

final score. Therefore, in future revisions of the

modified Jadad scale, the Form of Evaluation of the

Quality of Papers ought to include the alternatives and

items mentioned above, as well as the suggested in the

present study.

No matter its limitations, the Jadad scale, together

with the added modifications, might be considered

valid, due to the good concordance between the 2

external reviewers, as well as between the latter and the

gold-standard evaluation.

The present study did not aim to evaluate the

adequacy of the clinical outcome, especially, as it be

noted that the 18 studies approached different diseases.

Most of them described positive of favorable outcomes,

however, the assessment of the effectiveness of the

homeopathic therapy requires its correct application,

individualizing cases and excluding co-interventions.

Among the 18 studies, only 3 g,k,p showed a stricter

compliance to the homeopathic principles, and only 1p

of them rated as high methodological quality. Yet, as

mentioned above, the sample was heterogeneous,

composed of non comparable groups. Taking all criteria

into account, none of the 18 selected papers showed

methodological rigor and observance of the

homeopathic principles.

Nonetheless, when considering exclusively the

adopted scale, more than half (55.6%) of the studies was

classified as high quality. This frequence is smaller

(33.3%) if the criteria of etiologic diagnosis and stricter

inclusion criteria are taken into account.

On the other hand, most of the systematic reviews

of the use of homeopathic remedies were not limited to

the clinical situation, and some even included other

therapies (acupuncture and phytotherapy) besides

homeopathy,16,18,20 while others did not assess the

quality of the studies.1,10,11,20 Among those which did,

none considered as inclusion criteria neither high

methodologic quality nor individualized homeopathy.

Only 117 review included individualized homeopathy as

a criterion. Other authors2,3,17,23 were so explicit in their

opinion adverse to homeopathy, that the impartiality of

their results is doubtful. Some review studies17,23

included simultaneously therapeutic and prophylactic

trials, compromising the homogeneity of the sample.

Thus, such systematic reviews are more confusing than

enlightening, making the study of clinical trials with

homeopathic remedies significantly more complex or

inducing the reviewer to suppose that homeopathy is an

actual panacea,29 which was objected by Atallah &

Castro26 and Verhagen et al.27 These authores stressed

that in systematic reviews, only well designed and well

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 45

conducted studies ought to be included, with

representative samples, minimal drop-outs and proper

statistical analysis. Similarly, Chalmers, quoted by

Jadad et al., recommends masking in the evaluation of

the quality of clinical trials, as this will influence the

results of the systematic review.

Due to the reasons discussed, the small number of

clinical trials with homeopathic remedies would even be

expected, especially when compared to the number of

studies of conventional remedies published in the last 2

decades. On the other hand, when evaluating the

homeopathic treatment with the methodology applied to

the conventional, the risk will always remain to infer

that the results of the former are equal or similar to the

obtained with placebo. This, in part, happens because in

the conventional treatment, the aim is the evaluation of

remedies directed to a certain disease, while in the

homeopathic it is imperative to observe individuality

and the specific features of the homeopathic theory.

To conclude, this study applied Jadad scale to the

evaluation of homeopathic clinical trials, which also

showed features that indicate the need to improve this

instrument. Even not taking into account the analysis of

several controversies, homeopathy versus conventional

medicine, it is impossible not to mention the qualitative

and quantitative lack of clinical trials with homeopathic

remedies in infectious or parasitic diseases. On the other

hand, this cannot anymore be invoked as a justification

to dismiss the study of homeopathy nor to posit it as a

second-rate therapeutic strategy. In front of this, and

also due to the smaller cost of homeopathic remedies,28

it is necessary to promote further clinical trials,

especially in the underdeveloped countries.

Estudos clínicos/Clinical trials

a- Barnett ED, Levatin JL, Chapman EH, Floyd LA,

Eisenberg D, Kaptchuk TJ, et al. Challenges of

evaluating homeopathic treatment of acute otitis media.

The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 2000; 19: 273-

275.

b- De TK. Studies on Cynodon dactylon, an

indigenous drug in the treatment of amoebiasis.

Hahnemannian Homoeopathic Sandesh. 1989; 13: 283-

288.

c- Erp VM, Brands M. Homoeopathic treatment of

malaria in Ghana: open study and clinical trial. The

British Homeopathic Journal. 1996;85: 66-70.

d- Ferley JP, Zmirou D, D’Adhemar D, Balducci F. A

controlled evaluation of a homoeopathic preparation in

the treatment of influenza like syndromes. British

Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 1989; 27: 329-335.

e- Frass M, Linkesch M, Banyai S, Resch G,

Dielacher C, Löbi T, et al. Adjunctive homeopathic

treatment in patients with severe sepsis: a randomized,

double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in an intensive

care unit. Homeopathy. 2005; 94: 75-80.

f- Frei H, Thurneysen A. Homeopathy in acute otitis

media in children: treatment effect or spontaneous

resolution? The British Homoeopathic Journal. 2001;

90: 180-182.

g- Friese KH, Kruse S, Ludtke R, Moeller H. The

homoeopathic treatment of otitis media in children:

comparisons with conventional therapy. International

Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

1997; 35: 296-301.

h- Gaucher C, Jeulin D, Peycru P, Amengual C. A

double blind randomized placebo controlled study of

cholera treatment with highly diluted and succussed

solutions. The British Homoeopathic Journal. 1994; 83:

132-134.

i- Jacobs J, Springer DA, Crothers D. Homeopathic

treatment of acute otitis media in children: a preliminary

randomized placebo-controlled trial. The Pediatric

Infectious Disease Journal. 2001; 2: 177-183.

j- Kainz JT, Kozel G, Haidvogl, Smolle J.

Homoeopahic versus placebo therapy of children with

warts on the hands: a randomized, double-blind clinical

trial. Dermatology. 1996; 193: 318-320.

k- Kumar A, Mishra N. Effect of homoeopathic

treatment on filariasis. The British Homeopathic

Journal. 1994; 83: 216-219.

l- Labrecque M, Audet D, Latulippe LG, Drouin

J. Homeopathic treatment of plantar warts. Canadian

Medical Association Journal. 1992; 146: 1749-1753.

m- Lange-de-Klerk ESM, Blommers J, Kruik DJ,

Bezemer PD, Feenstra L. Effect of homoeopathic:

medicines on daily burden of symptoms in children with

recurrent upper respiratory tract infections. British

Medical Journal. 1994; 309: 1329-1332.

n- Lecoq P. Les voies therapeutiques des syndromes

grippaux. Cahiers de Biothérapie. 1985; 87: 65-73.

o- Papp R, Schuback G, Beck E, Burkard G, Bengel J,

Lehrl S, et al. Oscillococcinum in patients with

influenza-like-syndromes: a placebo-controlled double-

blind evaluation. The British Homoeopathic Journal.

1998; 87: 69-76.

p- Rastogi DP, Singh VP, Singh V, Dey SK, Rao K.

Homeopathy in HIV infection: a trial report of double-

blind placebo controlled study. The British

Homeopathic Journal. 1999; 88: 49-57.

q- Subramanyam VR, Mishra N, Rai Y, Rakshit G,

Pattnaik NM. Homeopathic treatment of filariasis:

experience in an Indian rural setting. The British

Homeopathic Journal. 1990; 79: 157-160.

r- Torbicka E, Brzozowska-Binda A, Wilczynski J,

Uzerowicz A. RSV infections in infants: therapy with a

homeopathic preparation. Biomedical Therapy. 1998;

16: 256-260.

12

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 46

AUTHOR

MOLÉSTIA

PONTUAÇÃO

Barnett et al.a

Otite média aguda

De TKb

Amebíase

1

Erp & Brandsc

Malária (espécie?)

7

Ferley et al.d

Influenza

5

Frass et al.e

Sepsis

7

Frei & Thurneysenf

Otite média aguda

2

Friese et al.g

Otite média aguda

4

Gaucher et al.h

Cólera

3

Jacobs et al.i

Otite média aguda

7

Kainz et al. j

Verruga vulgar(mãos)/warts (hands)

7

Kumar & Mishrak

Filariose (espécie?)

2

Labrecque et al.l

Verruga vulgar (pés)/warts (feet)

7

Lange-de-Klerk et al. m

Infecções respiratórias

7

Lecoq n

Síndrome gripal/flu

5

Papp et al.o

Influenza

7

Rastogi et al.p

HIV e AIDS

9

Subramanyam et al.q

Filariose bancroftiana

0

Torbicka et al.r

Vírus sincicial respiratório

4

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 47

Tabela 1 – Distribuição da avaliação dos 18 dos ensaios

clínicos, pelos dois examinadores externos (“A” e “B”),

sobre os nove itens da escala de Jadad modificada.44

Examina-

dor B

Examinador A

Sim

N

äo

NEPD*

NSA*

*

TOTAL

Sim/Yes

78

2

4

0

84

Näo/No

6

39

0

45

NEPD*

4

7

10

0

21

NSA**

0

1

0

11

12

Total

88

49

14

11

162

(*) NFPD, não foi possível determinar. / Not possible to

establish.

(**) NSA, não se aplicava essa pergunta, porque o

método não foi aleatório ou não foi possível determinar

se foi aleatório. / Not applying.

Tabela 2 – Comparação da avaliação padrão-ouro com

as dos dois examinadores externos (“A” e “B”) dos

ensaios clínicos incluídos neste estudo.

Examinado

r A

Padrão-ouro

Si

m

Nä

o

NFPD

*

NSA*

*

TOTA

L

Sim/Yes

76

8

3

1

88

Não/No

6

39

4

0

49

NFPD*

1

12

0

14

NSA**

1

0

10

11

TOTAL

84

48

19

11

162

Examinador B

Sim/Yes

72

7

4

0

82

Não/No

8

33

2

0

44

NFPD*

3

7

13

1

24

NSA**

1

0

10

12

TOTAL

84

48

19

11

162

(*) NFPD, não foi possível determinar. / Not possible

to establish.

(**) NSA, não se aplicava essa pergunta, porque o

método não foi aleatório ou não foi possível determinar

se foi aleatório. / Not applying.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Teorias Interpretativas sobre as Ultradiluições e

Evidências a Favor

Interpretative Theories about Ultra-Dilutions:

Supporting Evidences

Madeleine Bastide*

(IJHDR. 5, 16/2006)

The similia law is the specificity of homeopathy. It

is based on analogy of symptoms observed in proving

(healthy subject receiving the substance tested diluted or

not) and patient (who is cured by this substance in

homeopathic preparation). The main part of the

treatments uses high diluted remedies, sometimes

beyond the Avogadro-Ampere boarder. So, scientific

studies on the effects of high dilutions started with

homeopathic therapy. Without such an example, no

scientist could imagine to test such diluted substances

that theoretically contain no molecules. It has been

proved by therapeutic use that extremely diluted

solutions (even beyond Avogadro number) could have

biological effects.

This is a very controversial statement considered by

the scientific community as a scientific error. It looks

like an error because nobody is able to explain why and

how these high dilutions can be active. However,

experiments investigating this phenomenon have been

performed by various scientists, most of them

attempting to prove the effects of homeopathy. Many

papers have been published in peer-reviewed scientific

journal as well on basic as clinical research. An analysis

of more than 300 papers on basic research in the field

1 2 shows that 34 papers validate the pharmacological

effect of homeopathic high dilutions published in peer-

reviewed scientific journals. After examining 184

clinical trials in a meta-analysis, the Homeopathic

Medicine Research Group (HMRG) of the DG XII of

the European Commission3 conclusion was that research

in this field was valuable; another meta-analysis of

homeopathic clinical trials covering 89 trials (out of 185

studied) showed that the results were not compatible

with the hypothesis that the clinical effects observed

were completely due to placebo.4

To discuss various theoretical approaches that may

bring some explicative elements to such an important

curing method, we will first show some results

published in peer-reviewed scientific publications to

illustrate our argumentation. These results concern only

ultra-high dilutions that theoretically contain no

molecules.

1- Specific results obtained by using ultra-high dilutions

a- Experimental models using high dilutions of

endogenous molecules. We will first present models

using high dilutions of biological products designed by

the term « endogenous molecules ». Many experimental

models have been carried out with endogenous

molecules, most of them relevant to the immune system.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 48

Descriptions of an immuno-modulatory activity of

succussed dilutions of thymulin were described.5 6 7 8 9 10

High dilutions of bursin were able to replace the Bursa

of Fabricius in chickens operated during the embryonic

life (3rd day) and treated during the same period at 6th

and 9th day.11 12 13 Highly diluted histamine even placed

in sealed vials or the highly diluted antigen itself was

administered in isolated hearts of guinea pigs

immunized with ovalbumin induced significant

coronary flow variations.14 15 16 Thyroxin was

administered in highly diluted succussed solution (10-

30) to frogs at the end of the metamorphosis of the

tadpoles. The number of the two legged or four-legged

tadpole observed by Endler et al17 18 19 20 was

significantly reduced in treated amphibians when

compared to the control (evaluated by climbing

activity). The observation was similar even though the

effect of the succussed dilution of thyroxin was

transmitted through an electronic device.

b- Experimental models based on the prevention of

intoxication by homeopathic high dilutions of the same

toxic substance (isotherapy)

Observations were processed using succussed high

dilutions of the poison itself before poisoning the

organisms by the same one. This may be observed either

with a treatment before or after poisoning: in the first

case, the living organism is in the situation of being

informed of the danger. In the second case, the process

of natural defence is extended by the high dilution

treatment. A meta-analysis of serial agitated dilutions in

experimental toxicology has been published.4

Examples of protection by succussed high dilutions

of heavy metals using 10-30 or 10-40 M of Cadmium,

Cis-Platinum21 22 or mercury chloride23 were published.

No cross-reaction exists even though the organisms are

treated before with a poison very similar (i.e. two heavy

metals.)21. Moreover, when the “prevention” is

processed by using high dilutions of Cadmium and the

toxic effect is induced by Cis-Platinum, no protection

occurs but a contrary effect: the treated cells (LLCPK in

culture) dye in greater number than the cell-control.21.

The protective effect of Arsenicum album 30C against

arsenite trioxide has been demonstrated in mice24 25 or in

plants.26 27

Another model on neuroprotection using high

dilutions of glutamate of cultured rat neurons against

toxicity of 25microM of glutamate has been published28.

However, this cross-reaction exists when the protection

is induced by molecular classic concentrations.29 30

Taddei et al.31 studied the effect of high dilutions of

different teratogenic substances administered before and

after the teratogenic challenge in mice. The results

demonstrated the specificity of the isotherapic treatment

(identity between the first and second stressor) as the

best results preventing caffeine teratogenic effects were

obtained with coffea; however the adenine did not

protect against the adenine itself.

Doutremepuich et al.32 33 34 have shown in vivo and

in vitro that high dilutions of aspirin had a

thrombogenic effect whereas classical ponderal doses

have an anti-thrombogenic effect. The same principle of

experimentation was presented by Pongratz on plants by

using silver nitrate to stimulate the growth of wheat.35

In clinical trials based on the isotherapy with

homeopathic high dilution principle, contrary effects

were also observed: curative effects were published by

Reilly et al.36 when pollen hay-fever was treated by

Pollen 30CH while Aabel37 in a similar model with

birch pollen did not observe any curative effect but an

increase of the clinical manifestations.

c- Experimental models based on the stricta sense

similia principle of homeopathy

Experimental models based on the similia principle

exist but for practical reasons, few of them are

published. Two parameters are concerned: a scientific

experimentation needs to compare groups of animals

(test group and control group). The similia principle is

based on the specific effect of homeopathy on each

individual, each one expressing its own symptoms. So it

is rather difficult to find groups needing the same

medicine except when the symptoms are very local. For

instance, one of the local symptoms of the homeopathic

medicine Silicea is the decrease of cicatrisation. To

prove the efficacy of this remedy, local lesions on ears

of mice allowed demonstrate that Silicea 5 CH, 30 CH

and 200 CH increase the cicatrisation process measured

by image analysis of the hole induced in the mouse

ears.38 Another experimental model using Silicea was

performed studying its effects directly on

macrophages.39 Other models proved the activity of

homeopathic high dilutions of Apis or histamine on

allergic patients’ basophils.40 41 The effect of Arnica

30C was tested on sonicated mice protecting against

induced genotoxicity.42 A reduced genotoxicity was

observed in p-DAB induced hepatocarcinoma in mice

treated by Chelidonium 30C or 200C.43 Of course, all

the clinical trials used in veterinary medicine are a

useful demonstration of the activity of homeopathy and

not a placebo effect.44

d- Physical studies of homeopathic high dilutions

The physical properties of high dilutions were also

studied. A high dilution is a solution of a material (pure

chemical or biological substance, vegetal or biological

extract etc...) serially diluted with “succussion” (strong

vertical agitation) between each dilution in a solvent,

classically water or ethanol (currently 60%). This is also

designed by “potentised dilutions”. The physical state of

the “potentised dilutions” was tested by NMR by

Demangeat et al.45 46 It seems that the succussed dilute

solution presents significant differences compared to the

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 49

succussed water control allowing the hypothesis of a

remaining modification related to the original molecule.

But no scientific repeatable study was really

performed.37 Two very recent papers demonstrate that

the physical state of the succussed homeopathic

solutions without any molecule is different from the

controls: it has been shown by thermoluminescence47

that differences exist but no explanation is given by the

author; this has been observed also by gas discharge48

with specific characteristics allowing to differentiate

four 30C remedies; these two analysis may involve a

link with electromagnetic parameters.

Two approaches may be proposed: the structural

one, inspired from the mechanistic paradigm,

demonstrating a conservative structure of the original

molecule printed in the solvent;49 50 51 and the second

one, that is based on the diffusion of “information”

carried from the succussed solution. This “information”

was transferred by Endler et al.20 or Van Wijk et al.30 as

an electromagnetic signal by mean of an input coil

linked to a filter and an amplifier.20 However, these

results are hard to repeat. The high dilution signal of

histamin transmitted to an isolated guinea-pig heart was

inhibited by a magnetic field.14 From all these

observations, it looks like electromagnetic parameters

do exist in the process of transmission.

2- Researches on the mechanism of action of

homeopathy

a- The qualities of classical experimental design.

The concept of experimental method was

introduced by Galileo Galilei at the end of the XVIth

century and was perfectly presented by Descartes in the

first half of the XVIIth century. Subsequent

methodological criteria are universal and no one could

imagine that a modern scientific demonstration could

actually deny this proposition. In the context of classical

science, the following criteria are required: the

evaluation must be within an experimental design and

the observed effect must be measurable and

reproducible.

An experimental design construction is related to

the underlying theory: this may concern a very narrow

concept, for instance, is this molecule interacting with

this secondary messenger in this kind of cell? On the

other hand, this may concern to more general concepts.

The experimental design is built to check the hypothesis

itself according to empirical observations, through

deductive demonstrations, as proposed in experimental

methodology. It is necessary to create the model

according to the theory that will be validated or

invalidated.

Measurement depends on the existence of

technical; it is not an intrinsic property of the studied

object. For instance, before the existence of Geiger-

Müller counter, nobody was able to measure the

radioactive effect, but radiation has existed since the

earth formation. When the measurement is possible,

statistics validate it as a confirmation of the quality of

the measurement. The appropriate test has to be chosen.

Reproducibility depends on the degree of isolation

of the studied phenomenon from its environment. The

more the phenomenon depends on environmental

parameters, the greater is the variability and the more

difficult the reproducibility. Of course, physico-

chemical models seem to be very independent and they

are easily reproducible; but biological effects observed

in living organisms interfere with many parameters:

temporal and environmental parameters are the best

known. To avoid such difficulties, biologists classically

study basic mechanisms by using in vitro models in

order to control the main part of environmental

conditions.

b- Particularities observed in high dilution

research

Some particularities are observed in experimental

models using homeopathic high dilutions:

-Pharmacological effects of solutions in which here is

no more “substance”.

-Memory effect observed in clinical practice (the

first action is often different from the following one).

-Contrary effects according to the health condition of

the subject (the similia principle itself). This was

observed in some experimental models.5 6 8 9 10

-Contrary effects may be observed according to

environmental conditions, i.e. in allergic treatments by

birch pollen “Betula 30 CH’, in which the treated

patients showed more symptoms than the control; the

concomitant variations were increase of temperature and

pollen in the atmosphere.52 Another study performed on

irradiated mice demonstrated that the effect of high

dilutions of bursin / interleukin 3 /thymulin in total body

irradiated mice was protective in warm season but

increased the mortality of treated mice in cold season.53

54

- Suppression of the current pharmacological molecular

effect when the treatment by the same product in high

dilution is associated.55

3- Working hypothesis and general theories

applied to homeopathy

Provided active dilutions are molecule-free and

taking in account experimental observations, a working

hypothesis concerning mechanisms underlying the

effects of succussed highly diluted compounds is

necessary.

We will distinguish working hypothesis and the

general theories. The first may concern the transmission

of the effect of the homeopathic dilutions; the second is

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 50

more related to the three principles of homeopathy:

similarity, whole organism effect, curing operation.

Working hypothesis

Starting from observation of phenomena, working

hypothesis has to be formulated and the experimental

design of research has to be organized according to the

theory. For example, when a virologist tries to find the

pathogenic agent of a new infectious disease, he uses

the “pastorian concept” and organizes his experiments

according to the biological properties of the viruses. He

will avoid to seed viruses on mineral support because he

knows virus growth requires living cells; on the

contrary, bacteria may grow on adapted synthetic

medium.

A theory, on the other hand, should be more general

and may concern the conceptual framework of

reasoning.

Provided active dilutions are molecule-free and

taking in account the experimental observations

published in scientific papers (see above), a working

hypothesis concerning mechanisms underlying the

effects of highly diluted is necessary. We must remind

that Avogadro, physicist of the XVIIIth century and

contemporary of Hahnemann, proposed the hypothesis

(actually «Avogadro-Ampère» law), which is a

quantitative modern chemistry law that allows to count

the molecule number as molecule-gram (N=6,022 x

1023). This number indicates that a dilution higher than

1023 does not contain any molecule. This boarder is

between homeopathic dilutions 10CH (10-20) and 12

CH (10-24) according to the molecular weight of the

diluted product.

As the dilution-succussion is a fundamental

modality to obtain pharmacologically active high

dilutions in homeopathy, we will distinguish this kind of

preparation even though they contain still molecules i.e.

diluted less than 10C (10-20M) from the unsuccussed

very low concentrations that we can find in classical

research: such as very low concentrations of pheromons

which act at the level of 10-16 M,56 or neuropeptides

introduced directly into the brain at 10-6 pg i.e. one

attogram,57 or kinds of catalytic effects of metal at

picomolar concentrations,58 or immunomediators59 and

neuropeptide activity on lymphocytes60 at 10-14 M. In

these cases, no comparison with the effects of succussed

high dilutions is available.

The papers presented above demonstrate

effectiveness of high dilutions starting from 9CH

homeopathic dilution (10-18g) and above. In these

experiments, the pharmacological effect cannot be

related to the presence of molecules. Our choice is to

discuss only about the “nonmolecular” activity

nevertheless low dilutions with remaining molecules

(4CH, 5 CH, 7 CH) are very commonly used in

homeopathy according to the similia principle.

Choosing only non-molecular high dilution activity

will simplify the discussion as no reference to molecular

activity is possible. For that reason, we may suppress

the following molecular hypothesis such as cybernetic

regulation, rebound effect and self recovery30 that

claims a necessary strong molecular effect to stimulate

the “self recovery” as a function of time. This self-

recovery belongs to the “action-reaction” working

hypothesis. It is the reaction of the organism to

aggressions and self-recovery concerns the appropriate

auto-regulation and specific tools to reach a new

equilibrium. The forces it uses in order to find a new

balance are so strong that no non-molecular treatment is

able to provoke this. According to the same logic, the

“Arndt-Schultz law” or so-called “hormesis” cannot be

a help to understand the mechanism of homeopathic

high dilutions. It was shown that “high concentrations

inhibit growth, low concentrations increase growth.”61 62

This observation is very old and was also published by

Arndt and Schultz.63 It is verified for every type of

organism, but the results are obtained with

concentrations close to the toxic one. This is used in the

protective system so-called “mithridatization” in which

low doses of poison, taken every day, inhibit the

poisoning effect by permanent production of inhibitory

compound such as heat shock proteins in the “action-

reaction” system.

The contrary effect obtained with lower dose of the

toxic substance and the application to the protective

effect is often proposed to explain homeopathy.64

However, the production of the contrary effect by

synthesis of defence molecules is related to the presence

of a real presence of molecular substance. This is not

observed when high dilutions of a toxic are

administered21 even though this treatment amplifies the

synthesis of defence molecules at the moment of the

poisoning. A cross reaction is observed in the molecular

model;65 in the high dilution treatment, opposite effects

may be observed, it means: the cross reaction increasing

the sensitivity of the pre-treated cells instead of

protecting them.21 22

Working hypothesis concern also effects of

electromagnetic fields, based on ideas as bioenergy,66 67

biofield68 or systemic memory resonance.69 It is a hard

work to analyse how electromagnetic fields could

operate precisely in the field of homeopathy: so many

parameters are concerned: frequency, wave shape,

intensity, origin and targets, etc. This part is always in

fringing science and much work has to be done.

Proposed theories

Some of the proposed theories seem to be very far

from the homeopathy problematic. For instance,

deterministic chaos, or complexism, was suggested.70 71

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 51

The complexism is interesting when applied to

hierarchy of the symptoms in homeopathy, or to explain

the organization of the pathologies of a patient that

applies the teleological hypothesis to the interactions

between a subject and his pathologies. But in these

models, no operational phenomenon can explain the

curing effect of homeopathy.

The most adapted theory seems to be the Lagache´s

theory on body information.7 72 73 74 75 76 It is really a new

paradigm: just as the mechanistic paradigm seizes the

material interactions between objects and the symbolic

paradigm assumes linguistic facts, Lagache introduces

the paradigm of corporeal signifiers by the body

information. It is based on the informative

communication of the body, not at a symbolic level. The

living organism is a complex structure able to exchange

information with the external world; information also

circulates in its internal world allowing exchanges at

every level: the living organism is an informed-

informing structure. Living beings communicate with

their world in a “non verbal” way. These exchanges

concern matter and energy. The concept of totality (one

principle of homeopathy) emerges from this concept:

totality transcends the sum of interactions and sub-

systems. A new framework is necessary that is neither

cybernetic nor systemic.

The paradigm of the corporeal signifiers is based on

an analogical communication at the body level. The

living body operates as an open system; it is resonant

with the environmental events that have a sense for it.

This communication leads it to modify itself either in

the sense of the message by a passive mimesis (proving)

or in a differentiating regulation corresponding to the

beneficial remedy action. Lagache proposes that this

system functions as a relationship communication

between the "informative minimum system" including

the active molecule which will be the matrix of

information (“raw material and/or stock”), the sensitive

receiver able to read and treat this information (healthy

subject for proving or patient) and the mediation of

information which is represented by the succussed

homeopathic dilutions. Here the electromagnetic field

working hypotheses are interesting to explain how

information is transmitted. Information is not an object

but needs a carrier that could be electromagnetic waves.

Information exists only when exists a sensitive receiver.

This information (corporeal signifiers) will be received

and treated by the organism if it has a sense for it. But

what is “read” by the body receiving corporeal

signifiers?

Analysing the published experimental models, we

have classified the effects of homeopathic high

dilutions in three categories: models with biological

molecules, models of isotherapy, models using the

similia principle.We must define how the organism will

read and treat each one through experimental

demonstration. Once again, exchange of information

does not follow the same logic as exchanges of objects.

The information of biological molecules produced

by the body is automatically recognized and is always

significant for the body when it is used in the logic of

the organism (physiological function). When the models

are built according to physiologic function, effects are

significant and reproducible.11 12 13

In the isotherapy models, the identity between the

substance used for the homeopathic high dilution and

the toxic must be perfect, or else contrary effects (or no

effect) are observed. A false information not understood

at the moment of the toxic effect shows no effect or the

misunderstanding provoke an adverse effect. The

phenomenon of information is instantaneous and

explains the immediate suppression of the

dexamethasone molecular by high dilution of the same

agent.55

The similia law is the specificity of homeopathy

It is based on analogy of symptoms observed in

proving (healthy subject receiving the substance tested

diluted or not) and patient (who is cured by this

substance in homeopathic preparation). This precise

definition is very important to avoid confusion. So, it is

necessary to define the homeopathic symptoms. Charles

Nicolle (Nobel Price 1929) discovered the “life and

death of the diseases” and identified the “unapparent

diseases” that do not show any symptoms but provoke

biological modifications such as antibodies (i.e. rubella,

toxoplasmosis). It means that the symptom is

independent from the biological signs. The symptom is

an expression of the subject when he is unable to treat

his pathology. The biological sign belongs to the

mechanistic world in the action-reaction system

(including the cybernetic one); the symptom is an

expression in the world of affect (impression-expression

system).

In homeopathy, the interesting symptoms are those

in which the patient expresses his singularity

(idiosyncrasic symptoms). These symptoms are an

attempt to find an impossible answer. The analogical

communication allowed by the informative dilutions of

the remedy - that is able to provoke the similar

symptoms brings to the organism - the answer it is

looking for. Then, the body is able to recognize and

treat this information that helps the patient as a cathartic

phenomenon. This general theory could be an help to

understand what is homeopathy.

We have to follow a very long road and we have to

do many experiments to find explanations to this

therapy. Whatever the working hypothesis that has to be

confirmed, we must always remind the three inter-

dependent principles of homeopathy that give its

specificity, and not only the mechanistic functions of

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 52

classical medicine. The challenge is to build new

experimental models keeping in mind the particularity.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Validation of techniques and methods for the

impregnation of homeopathic globules

OLNEY Leite Fontes et. al

(IJHDR. 3, 9/2004)

Introduction

Homeopathy is a medical and pharmaceutical

specialty accredited by Federal Boards of Medicine and

Pharmacy. It has a well-determined scientific system

whose research methodology is backed by the effects of

drugs tested upon healthy individuals in clinical

experiments. The homeopathic practitioner aims at

prescribing a remedy which best matches the totality of

symptoms presented by the patient. For that purpose, the

patient is given some substance that, in the experiment

with healthy individuals, has produced symptoms

resembling those the practitioner wants to eliminate;

therefore, the organism is stimulated to react against the

disease (TEIXEIRA, 1998). The greater the similarity

between the patient’s symptoms and the experimental

clinical pattern of the medication, the stronger its

therapeutic effect (BASTIDE & BOUDARD, 1994).

However, in order to avoid the toxic effects of the

original substance, and to increase its healing potential,

the homeopathic pharmacist will transform this drug

into a homeopathic medication by using a special

technique called dynamization (MARTINEZ,1983).

The homeopathic medications are prepared and

dispensed in different pharmaceutical forms. Whereas

the liquid pharmaceutical forms are represented by

drops, only one liquid oral dosage, and liquid

formulations, the solid pharmaceutical forms are

represented by pills, globules, powders, tablets, only

one solid oral dosage, and solid formulations

(BRAZILIAN HOMEOPATHIC PHARMACOPOEIA,

1997).

One of the homeopathic pharmaceutical forms most

prescribed in Brazil is the dosage form intended for

internal use called globule. Such form is obtained from

the impregnation of inert globules with homeopathic

dilutions. Inert globules are small spherical grains which

are homogenous and regular, white and practically

scentless, and which have a sweet flavor; they are made

up of 100% of sucrose or a mixture of sucrose and

lactose. They serve as vehicles for the fixation of

homeopathic dilutions. (AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF

HOMEOPATHY, 1988; SYNDICAT DES

PHARMACIES ET LABORATOIRES

HOMÉOPATHIQUES, 1981). They are designated and

marketed in Brazil according to their average weight of

30 mg (globules #3, 50mg (globules #5), and 70mg

(globules #7), and they are manufactured from sugar

particles by means of multiple coatings (FONTES,

2001).

Hahnemann recommended a certain amount of

drops of the homeopathic dilution (stock preparation) to

moisten all the inert globules. Nevertheless, he did not

determine an exact proportion between the volume of

the stock preparation and the weight of the globules

(HAHNEMANN, 1984). According to research carried

out by the Associação Brasileira de Farmacêuticos

Homeopatas (ABFH, for Brazilian Association of

Homeopathic Pharmacists), most of the homeopathic

pharmacies in the State of São Paulo currently perform

single impregnations in proportions from 2% to 5%

(w/v) and, more rarely, triple impregnations at 10%

(w/V), adopted by the Brazilian Homeopathic

Pharmacopoeia, 2nd Edition (ABFH, 2001).

Although homeopathic pharmacopoeias and

manuals present different methods and techniques

devised for the impregnation of inert globules, they do

not describe validating procedures. Based mostly on

tradition, some authors have suggested the use of a

Methylene Blue coloring solution as a visual indicator

for the validation of methods of globule impregnation;

however, they have not provided any detailed studies on

that issue (FONTES, 2001; POZETTI et al., 2002).

Materials and methods

Material

The following equipment, utensils, glasswares and raw

materials were used for carrying out the experiments:

Equipment and Utensils

Mettler/Micronal PB 303 precision electronic balance

(with resolution 0,001g and maximum load 200g);

Shimadzu 1601 PC spectrophotometer; manual

chronometer; micropipetters; disposable tips; automated

dispensers; alchohometer; picnometer; higrometer;

scalpel; paper filter.

Glasswares

Flat bottom volumetric flasks; Petri dishes; graduated

cylinders; glass rods; ambar glass flasks of 30mg;

Erlenmeyer flasks; funnels; beakers; mortar and glass

pestle.

Raw materials

Inert globules, average weight 30mg (#3) and 70mg

(#7); analytical grade ethanol (96 v/v); water purified by

distillation; colorings (Picric Acid, Methylene Blue,

Basic Fuchsin, Safranin, Gentian Violet).

Methods

Coloring Solutions

The coloring solutions were prepared in different

concentrations of the raw materials previously chosen;

they were dissolved in ethanol (70% and 90% w/w). In

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 53

order to carry out the experiments to validate methods

and techniques for the preparation of homeopathic

medicines in the form of globules, experimenters chose

color solutions whose densities were more similar to

those of the homeopathic dilutions normally used in the

homeopathic pharmacies in the State of São Paulo; here

they are represented by the hydroethanolic solutions at

70% and 90% (controls). Among the different coloring

solutions which were chosen, the ones used (solutions A

and B) were the two which behaved similarly to the

hydroethanolic solutions at 70% and 90% (w/w),

respectively. The color contrast caused by treating the

inert globules with the coloring solutions was

considered.

The densities of the coloring solutions prepared in

different concentrations, determined by the picnometer,

were compared to the densities of the homeopathic

dilutions (70% and 90% ethanol). The selected coloring

solutions were the following: Methylene Blue 0,2%,

Safranin 0,2%, Gentian Violet 0,3%, prepared in 70%

ethanol; and Methylene Blue 0,2, Safranin 0,2%,

Gentian Violet 0,2%, prepared in 90% ethanol.

The colorings Picric Acid and Basic Fuchsin were

not used for, whereas the use of the former is controlled

by the Army because it is part of the composition of

explosives, the latter is insoluble in ethanol.

The impregnation of the globules

To prove how the coloring solutions act on inert

globules in order to pick the one that most accurately

reproduced the behavior of homeopathic dilutions in

relation to these vehicles as regards weight loss, we

carried out impregnations with standard hydroethanolic

solutions (70% and 90%) and with coloring solutions

previously selected in the proportions of 2% and 5%

(v/w) in relation to the quantity of globules. That is, the

volume of the solution was calculated according to the

weight of the analyzed globule sampling. Therefore, for

each 15 g of inert globules, 0,3 mL and 0,75 mL were

used, respectively. As for the impregnations, we used

30 mL amber glass vials containing 15 g of inert

globules with average weight of 30 mg and 70 mg (inert

globules numbers 3 and 5, respectively). The coloring

solutions were distributed along the sides of the vials.

The vials were then sealed with caps featuring sealing

rings. Globules were homogeneized by means of lateral

shaking together with rotation of the vials for 3 minutes.

Time was measured by using a chronometer. Globule

drying was done on Petri dishes at ambient temperature

and humidity.

Those experiments were carried out in duplicate;

the groups were divided according to the size of the

globules (globules numbers 3 and 7). Such groups were

subdivided according to the ethanolic grade of the

coloring solution (70% and 90%), which were

subdivided again according to the amount of coloring

solution added in the impregnation procedure (2% and

5% v/w)

Drying time

To determine the drying time, the homeopathic

globules were weighed on an eletronic balance after

single impregnations (2% and 5% w/v) were carried out

into inert globules numbers 3 and 7, by using ethanol

graded 70% and 90%. Drying times were recorded from

the moment of the stabilization of globule weight. This

experiment was done in duplicate and at ambient

temperature and humidity.

Choosing the coloring solution

To choose the solutions A and B, that is, the

solutions that would provide the best color contrast,

single impregnations at 2% and 5% were performed

with the following dyes: Methylene Blue, Safranine,

Gentian Violet, and with the standard solutions.

Conclusions

Among the analyzed coloring solutions, the most

appropriate for validating the methods and techniques

for the preparation of homeopathic globules were the

Gentian Violet solutions at 0,3% (w/V) and 0,2% (w/V),

which were prepared respectively in ethanol graded

70% and 90% (w/w). Based on the data obtained, we

concluded that the stabilization of the weight of the

globules, after their im-pregnation with homeopathic

dilutions, takes a considerable amount of time, which is

different from the length of time routinely taken at

homeopathic pharmacies. Using artificial heat at a

temperature lower than 40oC may help hasten the drying

of the impregnated globules. The results have shown the

importance of the validation of pattern operational

procedures (POP´s) by pharmacies, including time and

ideal drying method for the homeopathic globules.

The method of triple impregnation at 10% (V/w)

with dilution prepared in 90% ethanol (w/w) has been

proven to impregnate globules homogeneously and to

make them evenly colored and integral. However, such

method has been proven unfeasible for dilutions

prepared in 70% ethanol (w/w). Studies must proceed

further, comparing the triple impregnation at 5% (V/w)

and at 10% (V/w) in the 90% alcoholature (w/w), trying

to identify the ideal technique for impregnating

homeopathic globules. While that has not been

ascertained scientifically, that is, whether different

amounts of medicine incorporated by the globules are

relevant or not for the preservation of the medicine

quality, the technical criteria for validating the

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 54

impregnation methods and techniques must ensure the

evenness of impregnation and integrity of the globules.

Results and discussions

TABLE 1: Dilutions of the dyes whose densities are

similar to those of the control homeopathic dilutions,

prepared with 70% ethanol (w/w).

Solutions

Density 1

Density 2

Density

average

(D1 &

D2)

70% EtOH

(control)

0,892

0,894

0893

METHYLENE

BLUE 0,2%

0,893

0893

SAFRANIN

0,2%

0,893

0892

0,8925

GENTIAN

VIOLET 0,3%

0,891

0,894

08925

Measurement was taken in duplicate (density 1 and

density 2) in the afternoon of one single day, at ambient

temperature ranging from 29,1°C to 28,6°C, and relative

humidity of air

TABLE 2: Dilutions of dyes whose densities are similar

to those of the control homeopathic dilutions, prepared

with 90% ethanol (w/w).

Solutions

Density 1

Density 2

Density

average

(D1 &

D2)

90% EtOH

(control)

0,832

0,833

08325

METHYLENE

BLUE 0,2%

0,833

SAFRANIN

0,2%

0,833

0,834

0,8335

GENTIAN

VIOLET 0,2%

0,833

0,834

0,8335

Measurement was taken in duplicate (density 1 and

density 2) in the afternoon of one single day, at ambient

temperature of 26,9°C, and relative humidity of air

varying from 57% to 56%.

========================================

4. CASE REPORTS: Hidden Grief

Dr. ENGLISH, John

(Simile, Vol.5, July 1995)

Mrs. WN at 49.

Presenting Complaints:

a) Menstrual headaches and other symptoms from age

40. Headache < onset of period, wakes with it; lasts

three to four days. Frontal, “itchy, want to scratch”,

over one eye, R>L. then band round head. Focusing

difficult: words blurred, makes mistakes, clumsy,

forgetful. Periods (7/26) “hit like thunderbolt”,

completely depleted, “useless for a week”. Bloating of

stomach, HANDS and breasts before period; mood

variable anyway, more extreme during periods, >>

afterwards. Symptoms increasing, during last eight

years.

b) Lifelong constipation without desire, has weekly

laxative. Wind++, occasional colic; small dark sheep’s

stools.

c) “Life a succession of trials and difficulties.”

No other physical complaints. Was insomniac,

better since daughter’s death (see below).

Family history

Felt “fairly cared for” at first as child, then had

brother who became “apple of mother’s eye”. Was

closer to father, but felt lonely. Fearful, early school

years, few friends when young. OK later, but didn’t

have will to study.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 55

Boyfriends important. Pregnant at 16, baby at 17.

They wanted to marry but all four parents combined to

stop them. He paid regular maintenance.

At 20 met another man, conceived identical twins,

and married. “A disastrous mistake….he was

domineering, I was not permitted feelings… I fought

that…. Physical violence…. Bruises++… frightened

and angry… later depressed, tearful++….”

Divorce when twins were five. “He defended it out

of spite, but had to pay in the end.” Depressed, weepy

after the split, partly still wanting him.

“It was me and the girls against the world…. Lived

for my family” … some further relations,,, remarried

when twins 12: “Opposite of first husband: cared for,

besotted by her and girls but ++unstable and needed

looking after. Proved to be a con man and told

elaborate lies, eg was having therapy in London when

he’d gone to US with first wife! I found this out and

divorced him. No tears this time.”

Then met oldest daughter’s father again after years.

he had been married and divorced too. They married

(twins 18).

On 22.12.91, twins at 23, one twin injured in road

traffic accident, both sisters, their boyfriends and drink

involved. She died after being on life support for one

month. The patient and the other twin “devastated”.

“Saw” her head daughter three and eight days after

her death; so did twin sister and her boy-friend. Still

does, occasionally, “but I don’t talk about it now”. Not

normally psychic. Thinks message is that she’s OK.

Never saw the daughter’s boy-friend again. Anger:

thought he shouldn’t have got away with it as he did.

Generals: slightly chilly, >outdoors <stuffy room +

No time modalities; good appetite, no strong food

modalities: fat-, butter+, fruit+ average thirst.

Dislikes tight clothes, usually thinly clad.

Appearance: lively, energetic, talkative, friendly,

average to asthenic build. Neatly dressed, dark.

Mentals: Observed to theorise++ about complaints

and life generally; egocentric in interest and

presentation, mood changes easily: mainly cheerful

open and optimistic; some anger, volatile but not

malicious; averagely sympathetic, generous, wept with

crises, not much in-between; does not dwell on the past.

Consolation neither <nor>. Fears: spiders and heights.

Not tidy, critical or self-critical. Average music and

dancing. Sex always fairly important, not overriding,

“less lately”.

Remedy selection

The differential lay between Lachesis, Phosphorus,

Natrum muriaticum for grief, and Sulphur. She did not

seem to react to her past as a Natrum would, was not

“sharp” enough for Lachesis, and her menstrual

modality was wrong, so despite being loquacious and

intolerant of clothing, this was rejected. With her

egoistic energetic manner and her theorizing I chose

Sulph 200c.

Progress

Six weeks later: first week lethargic, and depressed.

She had a light 17-day period, then next one five days

late. “Black hole depression” first day only, and a slight

headache for three to four hours. She had been with

grandchildren, more busy than usual at this time. Up

and down, generally better, since then.

After a further six weeks: entered looking well and

smiling. She began: “After the remedy I had a most

extraordinary dream. A man handed me a knife (a

remembered kitchen knife from my youth), and said:

‘Saw through my head’. I did, but nothing happened

and he told me to do it again. This time he fell down

dead, & there was lots of blood everywhere. I suddenly

realized what I had done and screamed: ‘My God I’ve

killed him, get an ambulance’. My (dead) daughter,

appearing as she was in hospital, beckoned me, but I

couldn’t hear what she said. I told her: ‘Everything will

be alright. If you get better I’ll look after you at home,

and if you die I’ll come with you so you’ll still be OK’”

[She explained that, with a tracheostomy, her daughter

had been unable to communicate anyway.]

“Then the date of the twins’ conception came very

strongly to mind. I could see myself struggling with a

big heavy object, which I managed to put behind me.

Then I recalled vividly meeting my present husband for

the first time. We had a short affair, I became pregnant.

I could feel myself as I was while waiting for my period

to come, tense and anxiously wondering if I was

pregnant.” [In the dream and in reality at the time] “I

had a severe headache from the tension, [I had a series

of them, like those I’ve been getting, and since that

night I’ve not had a single one!]. Then, also vividly, I

was back with my first boyfriend when I was 14. He

was wonderful. I remembered being with him, and

suddenly at 16 or 17 we looked at each other and knew

we could be like man and woman, and I knew quite

clearly I didn’t want sex with him and said ‘no’ to it.

[Soon after that we drifted apart and I met my now

husband.]

“I feel the 17 year old experience separated love

and sex for me. Sex was good before my marriage then

my husbands got impotent. After writing it all down I

imagined (or dreamt again): I was standing as I am now

in my bedroom completely naked, I felt as if everything

had been stripped off me. Then I was standing in front

of a small oval grave with a small mean wooden cross.

It was as if everything that has ever happened to me was

buried there. I knew this, a deliberately walked away

and left it there. It all felt finished and final.

“I decided to celebrate Christmas this year. I

hadn’t since Melanie died. Then I had flu on 23 Dec. I

decided to fight it and went on busily preparing for

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 56

Xmas. Then I got bronchitis and ended needing an

antibiotic. I was wheezy and the doctor thought I had

Asthma, but the inhaler didn’t do any good. A week

later I had oxytetracycline and was slowly better. Now

I feel really well. For the first time in 50 years I’ve not

been constipated.

“My problem, I’ve realized, is not of giving, as I’d

thought before, but of receiving. I can’t ask for

anything for myself as I wasn’t worthy of it. I talked to

my husband, and said our problems were my fault. He

said they were his fault too. We’d never talked like that

before and things have been better since….I realize I

still have a long way to go, and I’m looking forward to

working on it.”

Comment

This is one of the most remarkable results I have

had following homœopathic case-taking and

prescription. I express it thus advisedly, for it might be

argued that the former was the more important. Then

why should it have followed the second consultation,

which in no way matched the intensity of the first?

She had not mentioned problems with this

marriage, and clearly very much wants it to go well.

This dream, and the attitudinal change following it, are

a remarkable example of spontaneous psychotherapy

following a homœopathic consultation and an

appropriate remedy. She could have achieved less in

three years of formal therapy! This is not to say that at

this stage she would not benefit still more from having

some.

More modest improvements on the same lines are

not uncommon following a successful prescription.

Perhaps the most satisfying result is to have removed

lifelong problems such as this patient’s constipation.

Perhaps it is to hear of decisions which change their

lives for the better, or as in the present instance, of a

new level of communication with her husband after

years of marriage.

========================================

5. Infertility: Can Homœopathy make it Alone?

ANDREASSEN, Alf T. (NEJH. 8, 2/1999)

Being a full time practitioner since 1982, I have had

a busy schedule since day one. Before I began to

practice, I expected my day to be filled up with a variety

of patients containing all sorts of problems. In

hindsight, it seems that destiny had other plans for me.

In March 1997 a beautiful blond woman entered my

office. She was slim, wearing glasses and looked calm.

Her face was sickly pale (2) and her lips were firmly

pressed together. She was a college teacher, and looked

like it.

She told me about her liver problem. An ordinary

blood test showed positive liver values (3) with high

bilirubin and she had been hospitalized for further

testing. Biopsy confirmed the liver problem and she

was instructed to avoid alcohol and follow a level-

headed diet. Ultrasonic studies also showed gallstones

(1). She complains of a stitching pain (2) just below

the ribs on the right side.

She feels a lump in her right breast, but tests are

negative.

Inspection of her eyes showed a yellow

discoloration (2). In addition, she told me she was very

near-sighted (2).

She gave birth to a son in 1981, but before that she

had an extra uterine pregnancy in 1977 at which point

her left oviduct was removed.

Since that time, she has been trying to become

pregnant again. At this moment she almost breaks into

tears and tells me a long story of measuring

temperature, following the advice of different positions

during coition and so forth, to get pregnant. Her

husband’s sperm test was normal. She went through

laparoscopy on February 12, 1987. The result was

depressive. They found defects on one ovary. The

remaining right tube had adhesions and her uterus was

displaced (retroflexed). She was told that having an

operation was the only possible way for her to get

pregnant.

In the previous year, the hospital had operated on

eighteen people with similar problems and seven of

them have become pregnant. The hospital estimated her

possibilities to be 30 percent and she was put on the

waiting list for the operation and in-vitro fertilization.

Being a very headstrong person she managed to

hasten the operation, which was scheduled for May 11th,

only 5 weeks from this current consultation. I tried to

persuade her to postpone the date, but she was very firm

and determined to have the operation.

She only requested my help to fix her liver

problems.

This gave me a real pressure on time. Was it really

possible for Homœopathy to establish a cure within only

one menstrual cycle? Her menstrual period was regular

with a 28 days cycle. Bleeding lasted 5 – 6 days with

normal flow, but more profuse than before the first

pregnancy (2). She had painful stitches in her ovary

around ovulation (2) and at the end of the menses (2).

There was no leucorrhea and no premenstrual

symptoms. Normal sexual desire with no problems.

In her left shoulder she had a burning pain (1). It

was difficult, almost impossible, to raise the arm (2).

This was worse at night and early morning (2). Her

neck was also very stiff (3) and with a kind of burning

(1). Her shoulder problem seems to come and go.

There can be pain for about two months, then vanishes

for a certain period of time, sometimes short and

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 57

sometimes long, and then comes back again. When this

shoulder problem is present she has a numbness of her

whole arm, especially very early in the morning. The

numbness is so strong that it can wake her up from sleep

(2).

Her digestion is fine. She craves chocolate (2),

sweets (1), vegetables (1) and oranges (1). She is averse

to fats (1) and she is very thirsty for cold water (2), not

icy-cold. She drinks some tea and coffee as well.

She has some problem with headaches. They come

on quite often, especially in the forehead/temples area,

but it is difficult for her to describe the type of pain.

Whatever she does, the pain takes its time and is usually

gone by the next day. If she drinks cold water, it will

ameliorate her headache (1), and she thinks that she gets

less headaches if she keeps drinking a lot of water on a

daily basis.

She is some problem with headaches. They come

on quite often, especially in the forehead/temples area,

but it is difficult for her to describe the type of pain.

Whatever she does, the pain takes its time and is usually

gone by the next day. If she drinks cold water, it will

ameliorate her headache (1), and she thinks that she gets

less headaches if she keeps drinking a lot of water on a

daily basis.

She is constipated (2) due to a long and winding

colon and has to eat whole grain breads to have daily

stool.

She is chilly and always has cold feet, especially in

the evening (2). Occasionally she wears socks at night

and she has to take a hot foot bath before she goes to

bed. If she does not, it’s difficult for her to fall asleep.

She sleeps on her left side and curls up.

She is afraid of high places(2), it is a kind of

vertigo—as if dragged out. She is also afraid of

walking alone (1), and of being alone at home (2).

She tells me that she had an experience with a car

crash, it was a big shock to her and since then, she does

not like to drive or ride in cars. She is also a little afraid

of flying.

She is very systematic and needs to schedule her

day. She is a strong-willed person and stands up

whenever there are things she does not agree with. She

is very conscientious about her work and she thinks her

teaching is very systematic.

Her parents are still alive and quite healthy, no

serious disease in the family. She had a happy

childhood and is happily married---“so far!” she says.

I asked her to come by my office to get the remedy

the next day and buried myself behind my books the

whole evening. The tool I really would have needed

was the RADAR program that I bought a year later, but

now I carefully studied the case on paper.

The first symptom I looked at was from my

observation of her and the very first symptoms she gave

me. Her paleness and the liver complaints gave me

some interesting points for remedies like Carduus

marianus, Podophyllum, Lachesis, Chelidonium and

Nitric acid. I added Platina to the group especially

when I took into consideration the more profuse menses

after the birth of her son. Kali carbonicum and Sulphur

interested me, too.

The shoulder pain forced me to put Sulphur,

Phosphorus, Kali bichromicum, Sepia, and Kali

carbonicum into the group.

Of the stitching pain remedies I so far had ruled out

Bryonia, Hepar sulphuricum, and Silicea, but Lac

caninum, Phosphorus, and Podophyllum, came up more

strongly with the stitching pain during menses.

Kali carbonicum, also came more strongly from the

peculiar symptom of numbness of the arm in the

morning and it fit the rest of the symptoms as well.

Boericke tells us that all Kali pains are sharp and

cutting, and may be felt in any part of the body and with

any connection. Kali carbonicum fits also very well the

liver problems, as do Phosphorus, Magnesium

muriaticum, Sulphur, and so forth.

Adding the neck problems did not make any

difference so I took a look at the digestive system. The

food symptoms gave me some stronger points for

Arsenicum album, and Sulphur, (at that time I did not

know much about Chocolate), and Phosphorus,

tightened the grip a bit.

With constipation and coldness of the feet Calcarea

carbonica, joined the party and was underscored with

the fears and vertigo from high places. Even

Lycopodium, and Magnesium muriaticum, were

beckoning.

Finally, late night, after writing down the symptoms

of more than 475 remedies I felt pretty sure that I

needed to differentiate between my best choices:

Phosphorus, Nitric acid, Kali carbonicum, Calcarea

carbonica, Lycopodium, and Magnesium muriaticum.

After taking into consideration her personality type

as I understood it, I went to bed very tired and hoped

that perhaps my dreams would help me out!

However morning came with no dreams that I

could remember. When she came into my office, I

instructed her how to take the remedy and sent her away

with a single dose of Kali carbonicum 200C.

Follow-up appointment was made for May 4th,

exactly one week before her scheduled operation. She

came in and reported no special reaction, except that she

had sleepiness for the first few days and that the

stitching pain was gone. She was however, 4 days late

for her menstrual period, but that had happened a few

times before so she didn’t pay much attention to it and

was still determined to go through with the operation.

On Friday May 8, three days before the operation,

she called me from the hospital. No menses showed up

and she went to the hospital for a checkup. She was

pregnant after all!

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 58

There should be the following rubrics:

FEMALE GENITALIA/SEX – ADHESIONS –

Oviduct

and Kali carbonicum should be in it.

Add Kali carbonicum, also in

FEMALE GENITALIA/SEX – PAIN – stitching –

Ovaries – menses – during

The pregnancy went fine without any

complications. A urinary infection at the end of the

pregnancy was cured with a dose of Phosphorus30C

and she delivered a perfect girl measuring 50cm/4180g

in January, 1988.

It belongs to the story that she again got pregnant

without any medical assistance, giving birth to another

girl and again two years later. She divorced her

husband in 1995 and until now she is still single.

I was very happy for my patient of course, but

surprised that the remedy could handle such serious

pathology in such short order.

The real turn around for me, however, was still to

come.

My patient was frustrated about the way the doctors

at the hospital reacted in her case. She felt nobody

really took any notice of her fantastic story, so she

organized one of her friends who was a reporter in our

biggest newspaper and published the story over three

pages in the Saturday magazine following the paper on

April 9, 1988.

This created a major discussion that went back and

fourth during several weeks, and ever since the

infertility cases take more and more of my practice.

Through these years of experience with this field, I

have now several questions. There are many aspects

that should be thoroughly discussed in order to be even

more successful in prescribing.

Questions like:

Will reflexology, acupuncture and other alternative

therapies improve or block the homœopathic results?

Can lack of essential substances (like hormones,

minerals and vitamins and so forth) be an obstacle to

cure with Homœopathy?

Can Homœopathy deal with the side effects mental,

emotional and physical of synthetic drugs and hormones

used to treat infertility problems?

I hope this little story of mine can be an inspiration

in the battle of infertility. I will be more than happy to

continue to share all my knowledge and experience with

these patients and hope to benefit from the knowledge

of my fellow colleagues as well.

========================================

6. Candida albicans – a proving report and a case

RIEFER, Marco (HL. 11, 4/98)

Two years of research and three years of

homœopathic experience have shown that Candida

albicans is a very potent substance in everyday practice.

Two proving of the remedy in different groups and

places have provided the basic symptoms to treat more

than 20 chronic and acute cases, resulting in a full

picture of a ‘new’ homœopathic remedy.

The proving showed a clear and poignant picture.

In the evaluation and analysis I later found a

striking resemblance between the nature of the

substance and the homœopathic picture. Our experience

in practice has confirmed and clarified the results.

I like to point out the clear relationship between the

substance and the picture of the remedy.

Details about the proving and my motivation to

prove this fungus may be found in the booklet,

published in a second edition in 1997.

I will briefly describe the main characteristics of

this remedy which, in combination with a good case,

will reveal to you the general idea of Candida albicans.

Candida albicans is the most frequently occurring

pathogenic fungus in the human organism and is found

mainly in the Oro-Gastro-Intestinal-Tract. Although it

is an annoying, troublesome and sometimes dangerous

fungus, Candida albicans is defined to be

‘physiologically normal’ up to a certain concentration.

If, due to (un) favourable conditions, it grows out of

bounds, the fungus becomes pathogenic and produces

mild to severe symptoms and diseases.

I got interested in Candida albicans for two

reasons: First of all it is an unproved remedy (at least I

don’t know of any other proving till now.) Secondly,

Candida albicans has become an important substance

in everyday (medical) routine. In addition, mycosis not

only exists in the form of a definite disease, it is also

quite a fashionable diagnosis for many rather

unspecified symptoms, mainly of the digestive system.

I will now try to give you an idea of this nosode.

The manifestation of Candida albicans

The most striking features are:

The fact that mycosis has become such a frequent

disease is essentially connected with the development of

penicillin (which itself is the product of a fungus) and

the widespread use of antibiotics.

Thoughtless use of antibiotics (as well as cytostatic

and immune-suppressing drugs) damages the intestinal

flora and promotes, amongst other things, the expansion

of fungi.

From a homœopathic point of view, antibiotic

treatment of the symptoms of a disease is a violent

method of elimination of symptoms and is therefore

suppressive. This suppression of symptoms is a

widespread phenomenon. (It is not like the 18th and 19th

century where only a handful of rich people were able to

pay for a doctor and ruin their health and methods like

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 59

blood-letting and abuse of mercury. Nowadays a new

kind of suppressive treatment happens daily and in

million fold.)

The phenomenon of suppression is very evident in

Candida albicans, first of all in the form of suppressed

anger.

During the provings, rage was experienced directly

and immediately. However, in practice I usually saw

conditions of suppressed anger, of anger which was not

allowed. In many cases the anger could not be kept

down and was therefore permanently looking for an

outlet.

‘Wut im Bauch haben’ is a common idiom in the

German language, which could be translated as ‘anger

in my belly or in my tummy’. This expression fits very

well with the central physical symptoms concerning the

digestive system (flatulence, fullness, diarrhea and

cramping pains…see symptoms and clinical

manifestations). It has been confirmed in this proving,

as well as in others, that mental and physical symptoms

form a corresponding unit and the disease is reflected on

different levels.

The aggression itself can be completely hidden, but

can also be very violent, almost driving the patient mad.

There may be an impulse to destroy everything, simply

smash everything to pieces. A typical expression of a

prover (f): ‘I feel such tremendous aggression in me that

I can hardly stand it. I have to mobilize all my strength

not to destroy something.’

Suppression (especially suppressed anger)

describes the central characteristic of the remedy, the

more so as the parasitic growth, e.g. of Candida

albicans in the bowels, is suppressive as well.

Another striking symptom is the tremendous lack of

energy of this remedy. (Is this a result of the suppressed

anger?)

Tiredness up to severe exhaustion widely occurred

in the whole proving and in many of the treated cases.

We could understand the greatly increased desire

for sweets, certainly a high degree symptom, as an

attempt to make up for this lack of energy. (This

craving is also common to the mycosis-patient.)

To me the Candida albicans-patient seems to be a

typical ‘product’ of modern western society which is

characterized by the following features:

Too many demands made upon a person by a

tough, efficiency-oriented society which is too

complex for the individual to grasp and which

he experiences as threatening;

A multitude of daily impressions which he is

exposed to, almost overwhelming the

individual;

A hectic state, tension, stress and a daily

feeling of ‘too much’;

Ignored emotions and an outward presentations

of a smooth and clean surface.

These are all features of our remedy too and are

represented by another important detail we saw in the

proving and in practice:

‘Too many’ requirements, expectations,

impressions (odours, noises,….). Too much to do and

no way out… .

The basic sensation of ‘too much’ is a feeling of

inability to cope, of overburden, a feeling of not being

able to fulfill the demands of everyday life and

sometimes even of the whole life. (A typical phrase

from the proving is: ‘Even the little demands of

everyday life are too much for me.’)

The Candida albicans patients feels overwhelmed

by the daily routine, requirements and duty. A feeling

of restriction develops and takes over, and they cannot

get rid of it.

A good example for this is a (single) mother,

unable to cope, exhausted and at the end of her tether.

They can only react but cannot act consciously any

more.

What is the reaction?

The reaction is that they feel restless and hectic.

Candida albicans is a particularly restless remedy,

ceaseless in action (or more precisely, the feeling of

being ceaseless in action), always having something to

do, no time to relax. They quickly reach a state of stress

and tension. Examples of the proving are: ‘I cannot get

anything done. This is the most stressful week. Dates,

driving. Everything is too much.’ and: ‘Towards the

evening everything is too much; a feeling of being

hurried and rushed. A big desire for rest and being

alone.’

Forgetfulness, lack of concentration and in some

cases real confusion are very striking, in combination

with the other symptoms.

Chaotic conditions are a central manifestation of

Candida albicans.

We see these symptoms in many remedies but in

Candida albicans they are the prominent and significant

symptoms of the remedy.

Characteristically one prover (f) wrote: ‘I was very

confused and had to think about normal procedures

before carrying them out. I had forgotten what I had

planned to buy in the supermarket and once in the car

park I had to think where I was, where I wanted to go

and how to get there.’

About the causes

In order to answer the question of ‘what is the

cause of this kind of manifestation, why is this anger not

allowed to be expressed, why are these people so

confused,’ etc., we should look at a number of cured

Candida albicans patients.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 60

These people have been inhibited, often hindered

and suppressed in expressing their free will and this

suppression has become the central theme of their lives.

(DD.: Carcinosinum)

We talk about dominated people who were not

allowed to develop their own personality.

In some way we could say we are dealing with

parasite relationships.

We observe exploitative relationships, with the

Candida albicans patient being the victim, being used

or abused, in which the equilibrium of give and take

is/was shifted.

(This is the same situation as in a mycosis, when

the fungus (a parasite) is put out of physiological

balance, when it leaves the boundaries of an organ and

becomes a violent threat to the whole organism.)

We can see exploitative relationships frequently in

the relationship of a child towards a parent or towards

both parents.

The tendency towards exploitative relationships

often continues and is repeated again and again

according to a fixed pattern.

Candida patients usually react in a helpless and

defenceless way in this kind of situation, showing

vagueness and indirect and ineffectual aggression. In

single cases feelings of hate have been observed.

Symptoms and clinical manifestations

The most important themes in the dreams:

Blood

Brutality, murder

Bombs

Explosion

Hell

Rape

The most important local symptoms, briefly:

Digestive troubles play a significant part. Craving,

flatulence, constipation, diarrhea of various types,

smelly, slimy and bloody stools, and so on.

Very strong desire for sweets.

Many symptoms of the mucous of the ear-nose-

throat system.

Headache in various forms, especially temporal

headache.

Lack of vital heat. Weakness.

We saw many itching eruptions of the skin during

the proving as well as in practice. Because the setting

of limits is an essential theme of Candida albicans, I

was not surprised to find quite a number of skin

symptoms, because the skin forms the outer limit of our

body.

Clinical indications

Some important disease, where Candida albicans

proved to be a healing remedy:

Atopic dermatitis

Itching eczema, exanthema and various other skin

lesions (e.g. nappy rash, Pityriasis rosea)

Hayfever

Food allergies

Borreliosis

Bronchitis, Asthma

Migraine

Pre-cancerosis

Proctitis, Colitis

Gastritis

Some further ideas

Finally I would like to mention some further ideas I

got during the study of the theme of mycosis.

Would it be possible that the beginning of the era of

antibiotics from 1945 onwards, a time of fundamental

changes in the whole world, has brought forth a new

miasma? There are some facts are in favour of this idea.

First of all there was the sensational developement of

penicillin with all its consequences. Its exploration took

place at the end of the thirties and at the beginning of

the forties. Its widespread use as a miracle treatment in

the west, and later on in the whole world, started after

the end of the war. Many new antibiotics have been

developed since.

The resulting (suppressive) effects are enormous

and far reaching: It has caused a shifting of existing

diseases and a manifestation of new diseases.

The large increase of mycosis is an important detail

in this development.

Are we perhaps dealing with an ‘antibiotic miasm’?

And would Candida albicans be the matching nosode?

This idea seems to be interesting enough to be taken

into consideration.

So far, this has been a brief summary of my

knowledge and experience with the nosode Candida

albicans in homœopathic treatment. A more detailed

picture of the remedy, as well as the proving reports,

seventeen chronic and acute cases, interesting facts

about the substance, analogies to the remedy picture,

proved indications, differential diagnosis to related

remedies and a repertory can be found in the booklet

about Candida albicans (see below).

Following this presentation I would like to show

you a case, to underline some of the essential features of

the remedy.

A case

Woman, 36 years old, married, three children, the

eldest one from her first marriage; she runs a family

restaurant and hotel business.

She presents with the following complaints:

Headache: ‘I have a constant pressure in my head, it is

like a vacuum, like being empty.’

She cannot concentrate and is afraid to forget important

things.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 61

Dryness of the eyes.

Clenching of teeth at night during sleep.

Stiffness of her neck.

Stiffness of the whole body (significantly raised titre of

Borellia).

Recurrent cystitis and macro haematuria, recurrent

occurrence of Chlamydia with subsequent treatment of

antibiotics.

Very strong desire for sweets.

Strong aversion against fat (nausea).

Aversion against meat.

Offensive smelling stools.

She is markedly chilly, but cannot stand heat which

makes her feel dizzy.

Menses without problems, but irritable before.

She talks slowly about her complaints, rather

disconnectedly and repeatedly gets distracted by her two

children who accompany her. She lacks concentration

and after being interrupted it is difficult for her to take

up the thread again.

She behaves as if she is slightly sedated (or

pleasantly intoxicated), but she is willing and friendly. I

also get the impression of a childlike naivety.

This is also represented in her outer appearance;

she is small and slightly built and seems to be rather

shy. Her whole appearance is rather girlish.

‘I am easily hurt and then start crying quickly. It

has always been like this since my childhood, then I

used to cover my eyes with my hand.’

‘My mother often made jokes at my expense, she

showed me up and treated me unfairly.’

She thinks she has a very strong sense of justice.

Usually she feels unbalanced and her moods are

extreme, either very calm or very aggressive.

‘I suffer from severe forgetfulness. I am unable to

remember names for example, I mix them up or make a

slip of the tongue. Also I have problems calculating.’

(Quite a disadvantage in her job).

Altogether she seems to be rather confused and

unsystematic.

As is common in the restaurant and hotel business

they have a tremendously busy and hectic time in the

main seasons and this makes her suffer a lot. During

these periods she is under pressure to be everywhere at

once, and she feels almost unable to cope with the

situation.

After work she is tired and worn out, finds it

difficult to recover and gets moody and irritable.

In addition, her parents who used to run the

business are still involved and sometimes even interfere

with her affairs. This especially concerns her mother.

Even though she often disagrees with her mother’s

ideas, she is unable to tell her directly and she cannot

say no. everything depends on her mother’s mood, she

is a very determined lady. She feels a lot of pressure

from her and can do nothing to oppose her. ‘I give in

and feel rotten.’

When she tries to do something on her own she has

a bad conscience, as if she were a little girl and then she

hates her mother (‘love-hate relationship’). Sometimes

she feels very aggressive towards her without showing

this directly.

She is very sensitive to criticism and cries with

anger.

When I asked if she had any specific fears she said

that she fears brutality and violence.

As a child she used to imagine and even hope that

she was an animal in hibernation, that she was just

having a dream of her current life, and that she would

finally wake up and it would all be gone. Also today

she has the wish just to fall asleep and not to wake up

again.

She feels as if her life is not her own.

She remembers mainly one dream which she

dreamt repeatedly during puberty: ‘I am in a car in the

frong passenger seat. Suddenly the driver dies and I

have to steer the car.’

Prescription: one dose of Candida albicans 30c

(Schmidt-Nagel).

Follow-up after six weeks

First of all she tells me that immediately after

taking the remedy she felt an obvious effect.

Especially during the first period she felt furious,

angry with no desire to compensate, she did not want to

hide her aggression as she used to. She felt as if she

was walking more ‘upright’. She is less willing to be

responsible for others anymore. She says: ‘The anger is

coming out.’

The mother-conflict had been more present. She

called it ‘deadly serious’, she felt sadness and had to cry

more. This condition lasted for about three weeks.

The headache with the vacuum was fifty percent

better.

Prescription: one dose of Candida albicans 30C

Follow-up, after three and a half months

A reaction towards the second dose was not

perceived but her whole attitude towards life was

markedly different. She felt more calm and moiré

centred, and she connected this to the fact that she can

accept a lot of things now which used to upset her. she

said ‘Yes’ to her feelings.

‘I have passed through a tunnel, like being newly-

born. It was completely dark and I had lost my

orientation. But at the end of the tunnel there was a

light and this light said: “without a guilty conscience”.’

I asked her what she meant by ‘without a guilty

conscience’ and she answered: ‘I can say no to other

people’s demands and I can stand up to my mother.’

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 62

‘I do not generally feel insecure any more. It is

somehow easier to find my own position.’ This was

particularly evident in her relation to her mother; she

said: ‘I feel as if I am almost the same size as my

mother.’

In the meantime the following coincidence

happened: her mother, who had been almost

indispensable in the business until then, did break her

arm and, as it was a complicated fracture, she had to

stay in hospital and afterwards she was quite limited in

her activities. The miracle of this situation was of

course that it helped her daughter to manifest her new

potential in real life.

Follow-up after eight months

Approximately eight months after the start of the

treatment.

The new and positive condition was totally restored

within a short period of time. Moreover she had learnt

to deal with conflicts between her and the employees.

Before she used to run away at the slightest hint of an

argument. ‘Now I jump at the situation and make my

statement. I confront people, whether they like it or not.

And I am also able to mediate between others when

there is a conflict.’

Deep inside she feels more secure and stable and

has more confidence.

She started the consultation with the sentence: ‘I

am very well. Here I am and here I stand.’

Nearly all of her complaints have disappeared.

The migraine did not appear again.

No more recurrence of the cystitis.

Concentration 90% better, doing calculations still

creates problems from time to time.

Forgetfulness significantly ameliorated.

Chilliness not bothering her.

No more stiffness, neither of the neck nor in

general.

Odour of stool not noticeable.

Two more doses of Candida albicans 200C and

1MK were necessary later on, at a time of particular

stress when the old patterns started to show up again.

This healthy condition remained more or less stable

in the following year. Now, two years after the start of

the treatment she says: ‘I feel really healthy. I think I

have become mentally clear and far more mature.’

========================================

7. Syphilis: Microbe and Miasm

SHEPPERD, Joel (AJHM. 103, 1/2010)

Introduction: it is a surprise to me that a current

(2009) establishment science journal publishes the

following statement: “We caution that the antibiotic

treatment may be effective only in the earliest stages of

these spirochetoses. Indeed antibiotics such as

penicillin and its derivatives induce round body

formation and quiescence of symptoms rather than cure

… we question the accuracy of screening tests and

clinical diagnoses for Treponema pallidum (the syphilis

‘germ’). Particularly vulnerable to misinterpretations

are immunological tests in cases of reinfection, later

secondary or tertiary syphilis.”(1)

Evidently, new facts and information exist about

the bacteria involved with the disease called syphilis

that are not in current textbooks. As more people accept

the fact that antibiotics do not cure syphilis, what does

Homœopathy offer? Currently, it is mostly illegal and

unethical not to use antibiotics in a case of syphilis, at

least in first world countries. Homœopaths must be

very certain of what they can claim in such cases.

The Microbe

The germ theory of mainstream medicine says that

syphilis is caused by a venereal infection with a

spirochete bacterium called Treponema pallidum. In

Greek, these words mean twisted thread and pale. This

is its appearance when seen in a microscope, an event

that first occurred in 1905. It is corkscrew or spiral

shaped, always found in animal tissue where it is motile,

swims with structures called flagella.(2)

The routine growth of T. pallidum outside of the

warm, nutritious mammal body has not been achieved;

so this spirochete is called an “obligate pathogen.”(3)

Since it can’t be grown in a test tube, it cannot be

genetically manipulated, and no molecule of the

pathogen has been identified as the reason for its

virulence. The sequence of the genome of T. pallidum

became completely known in 1998. It has 1,100

genes—one of the smallest bacterial genomes known.

In spite of this exact knowledge, it is unknown how

such a fragile bacterium can be destructive and

persistent inside its host. Other spirochetes that live

outside the body of animals have at least four times as

many genes and produce all necessary components, but

T. pall. “does very little by itself; it survives only on

rich human tissue as its food.”(4) It seems that T. pall.

lost its genes as it became a parasite. Figure 1 shows

the spirochete appearance under a microscope.

It takes 10-57 spirochetes to cause permanent

infection. Fifty percent of people do not contract the

disease following sexual contact with the infectious

syphilitic lesions. Spirochetes remain below the host’s

immunologic radar while in the skin, called the pre-

clinical phase of the disease, but may be infectious. The

bacteria spread through the blood before the appearance

of the primary lesion called a chancre. The pathogens

enter the brain early on. It is a well-recognized

observation that secondary syphilis lesions appear when

the chancre is resolving, but scientists are unable to

explain this puzzle.(5)

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 63

The disease

Syphilis infection starts from a break in moist skin

or mucus membrane. Primary syphilis is announced

with the appearance of the skin lesion called the chancre

at the point of infection some three weeks later. The

lesion disappears in two to six weeks. Secondary

syphilis begins five to twelve weeks after the chancre.

It consists of lesions of the skin and mucus membranes,

such as gummas, from mild to severe, along with fevers

that imitate malaria, typhus or typhoid. All tissues are

liable to suffer. This stage can last up to six months.(6)

Allopaths maintain that a person is not infectious

after two to seven years and relatively few spirochetes

are found, but, then, years or decades later new

symptoms appear that are finally recognized as tertiary

syphilis. This stage of disease attacks the inner

structures of the body such as the aorta and the brain

resulting in paresis, tabes, hearing loss and dementias of

neurosyphilis. However, historically, “Nineteenth-

century homœopaths, rightly emphasizing that the

decades before tertiary syphilis deserved a discrete

category, defined four stages.”(7) This in-between

stage is called the latent stage. Does the latent stage

mean that the disease is inactive or is it a chronic

relapsing disease? Scientists did not believe syphilis

could cause disease decades later. Mainstream

medicine is “unable to explain the conundrum of

latency.”(8)

The earliest reports [European] of syphilis date

back to the return of Columbus and his crew from the

New World [1493].(9) At first it was quite virulent in

its manifestation and easy to track just as the new

infections that Columbus brought to the American

Indians were often lethal. Now the early stages seem

less severe.

Mercury was first used in Europe for syphilis

treatment in 1497. “Hawkers of remedies, or quack-

salvers (those who quacked about their salves), became

known as ‘quacks,’ deriving in particular from those

itinerant vendors who pushed toxic mercury salve,

known as quicksilver or quacksilver.”(10) It became

impolite to record who did or did not have syphilis or

possibly no one recognized it in the 18th century, but it

returned to the recorded literature again in the 19th

century, with mention of attacks on the central nervous

system. A doctor following patients over a lifetime

observed that syphilis “manifests in various forms with

no apparent connection to the primary disease.”(11)

Syphilis became known as the Great Imitator disease. It

mimics many other conditions. No part of the body is

free of symptoms.

By 1905, the bacterium was seen and named. It is

about as long as a red blood cell is wide – 4-20 microns.

It has flagella that allow it to swim easily. It multiplies

by dividing lengthwise every 30-33 hours at first, then

more slowly.(12) By 1913, spirochetes were found in

the brain, and the forced treatment of sexual partners

began. In 1943, the first case of syphilis was treated

with penicillin.(13)

The Penicillin

The current text book dogma states that benzathine

penicillin is effective in treating syphilis.(14) However,

current research findings construct another story. The

corkscrews disappear with penicillin, but tiny, shiny

round bodies (cysts), the apparent remains of ‘dead’

spirochetes are found. Now studies show, whether

treponemes are seen or not, penicillin “is not an

effective and permanent cure,”(15) except very early in

the course of the disease. The round bodies can revert

back to an active, swimming form after weeks or

months if the environment is conducive.(16)

“Spirochetes can be harbored in any tissue for decades

and can move from latency to reproductive stages; their

survival in any host and despite any known therapy is

nearly certain(17).”

Another author says that penicillin kills spirochetes,

but not all of them. They remain in “treponemal

sanctuaries,” such as the brain, eye, lymph nodes and

temporal arteries.(18) “The CNS may serve as a

sanctuary from which infection could re-emerge

following inadequate therapy.” (19)

Even the accuracy of screening tests and clinical

diagnoses is now called into question. There is an

“absence of any reliable test or single diagnostic.” The

test to detect syphilis is negative in advanced stages in

known syphilitics.(20)

These findings are not a surprise to most

homœopaths. Authors such as George Vithoulkas have

predicted and warned that antibiotics do not fully cure

the whole person: “Being infected with syphilis…

simply taking penicillin does not eliminate the

problem… These people’s infections should be treated

as something very serious, and if penicillin is

prescribed, special care, attention and support should be

given to the immune system with alternative methods of

treatment, especially Homœopathy, until the patient has

completely recovered.(21)”

It has been one hundred years since the bacterium

Treponema pallidum was identified, but it is still not

understood. The researchers say even now that the

relationship between the presence of the bacteria,

syphilis symptoms, the immune response, secondary

infection, sexual behavior and claimed cures is largely

unknown in current science and medicine.(22)

The Chronic Miasm

By 1828, Hahnemann confirmed that not all

chronic diseases are due to improper lifestyle or wrong

allopathic treatments. He describes his careful

observations in the book The Chronic Diseases.(23) He

noticed that some people retained symptoms of sickness

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no matter how well their acute illnesses were treated

with Homœopathy and no matter how perfect their diet

and life habits. He perceived that certain illnesses

began through dynamic contagion and would never

leave the whole person without accurate, long-term

homœopathic treatment. He named this chronic

disease-producing process “chronic miasms,” (24) and

he detailed a method to cure these miasms.

The process of the dynamic contagion is described

in terms of the host response. Hahnemann wrote at a

time before bacteriology, but the current “germ theory”

places undo emphasis on the pathogen. The pathogen is

not the disease. It is one part of a disease process that

requires a living person. It is time to re-emphasize

observations about the whole person.

There are three moments in the process of dynamic

infection according to Homœopathy. First: the infection

takes place in one single moment. Second: the

infectious process pervades the whole person. Third:

there is an external outbreak of the malady when the

whole organism is completely sick.(25) These

observations emphasize that contagion is more

accurately described by dynamic actions, rather than

chemical physiology. These conclusions are still ahead

of our time, still waiting for scientific confirmation.

In the homœopathic syphilis miasm, the external

outbreak of the third “moment” in chronic disease is

called a chancre. The whole syphilis disease is already

developed within the living organism before the chancre

can appear. The disease dwells in the body from the

first moment of infection. At the same moment of

contact that “takes,” it is, at that very same moment,

local no more. The whole living body has perceived it.

When the whole living body is loaded down by the

internal malady, then does nature bring forth the local

symptoms. The chancre soothes the internal

suffering.(26)

Compare this to current mainstream theories that

require reproduction over a longer time for the

contagion to spread. One experimenter in history found

spirochetes throughout the blood within five minutes,

and a current observer comments that it must have been

“due to inadvertent intravascular injection,” but does

say that his experiments show, “for practical purposes,

there is probably no appreciable time during which a

syphilitic infection can be regarded as confined to the

focus of entry.” (27)

Hahnemann observed that the venereal miasms

required friction in the tenderest part of the body, such

as the genitals or a wound, to begin; whereas the psoric

miasm only required a touch to the epidermis.(28)

Hahnemann stated that the chancre appeared 7-14 days

after contact, was painful, and did not disappear if left

totally alone. (29) Modern textbooks say that the

chancre appears 10-90 days after exposure, is painless,

and disappears in a couple of weeks.(30) In current

science, these differences are explained by the fact that

bacteria mutate over time, and so the clinical

appearance of disease would change also.

If the chancre is treated allopathically or “driven

away” from the surfaces of the body, then the chronic

internal disease intensifies and after several months

appears as secondary syphilis with so many possible

manifestations that many homœopathic remedies must

be considered. If untreated at this stage, a latent stage

begins in a few weeks. Allopaths say that a “majority of

cases do not progress beyond the latent stage, even

without treatment.”(31) Homœopaths have a more

overarching view of chronic disease: the whole person

is sick; killing some bacteria does not end the illness in

the whole person. The disappearance of the chancre

does not mean less disease. The spirochete is not the

whole disease. The latent stage is not a time of no

disease according to Homœopathy, but the time when

the disease is more slowly damaging the person

internally.

Material Thing or Dynamic Process

The word syphilis is used by modern medicine to

name a disease caused by a bacterium. The name

syphilis is used by Hahnemann to describe a dynamic

process initiated by a contagion. One syphilis is a

pathogenically determined disease; the other syphilis is

a descriptive name given to many clinical observations

involving a skin eruption called a chancre. The disease

name syphilis is a fixed form of common symptoms and

same bacteria. The miasm syphilis is a formative

process of continuous modifications of a dynamic

contagiousness. The syphilis disease focuses on what

the spirochete does. The syphilis miasm describes how

the whole being changes. The syphilis disease is an

object/thing. The syphilis miasm is a metamorphosis: it

is a dynamic that appears in an endless variety of forms.

Syphilis the disease is a classification; syphilis the

miasm is modification of a unifying process. (32, 33).

Symbiosis

The general meaning of symbiosis is a living

together of different organisms. For example, lichen is

a life form made up of algae and fungus. Symbiosis has

been divided into types such as parasitism, where one

life thrives at the expense of another; commensalisms,

mutualism, metabolic symbiosis, or behavior symbiosis,

where there is more equal benefit. The type of

symbiosis that applies to syphilis is called

symbiogenesis or genetic symbiosis. It is defined as

symbiosis acting as an evolutionary force or a means of

evolutionary change.(34)

Early life forms with a nucleus incorporated blue-

green bacteria (cyanobacteria) through the evolutionary

process of symbiosis. These new life forms became the

forerunners of green algae and plants. The blue-green

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bacteria became known as chloroplasts---that part of a

plant where photosynthesis takes place.(35)

Mitochondria were once free-living, oxygen-breathing

bacteria and now are the energy-providing organelles of

the cell. There is, “Rigorous experimental evidence that

mitochondria and chloroplasts originated as symbiotic

bacteria that had entered a host cell hundreds of millions

of years ago…symbiosis in evolution.”(36) The

evidence consists of several types: they reproduce

independently of the nucleus by the bacterial process of

budding; their DNA is not the DNA of the nucleus of

the cell – it is made up of bacterial genes in a typical

ring; their DNA is inherited only from the mother.(37)

Most convincingly for modern researchers is that the

RNA of mitochondria resemble bacteria and not nuclear

DNA.(38) This accepted explanation replaces the

previous theory that mitochondria, etc., were always

parts of cells and arose by DNA-genes that were

pinched off from the nucleus.(39) Symbiosis adds a

new dimension to the mechanisms of evolution. There

is not only the classical branching evolution, but there is

now fusing evolution.

Spirochetes in Symbiosis

Evolution by symbiosis makes a further claim.

Organisms like bacteria have no nucleus. The first

organisms that did have a nucleus evolved from

symbiosis of spirochete-like bacteria and another

bacteria.(40) The spirochetes are the “speedsters of the

microbial world.”(41) They contribute motility to a

cell. The spirochetes are ancestors to sperm tails and all

flagella and cilia. (see Figure 2) Their remnants are in

microtubules that make up axons and dendrites of nerve

cells.(42) (see Figure 3)

Mitochondria and chloroplasts are not infectious

today, but may once have been. When spirochetes first

invaded other organisms, they were probably more

aggressive, killing more cells, but leaving others alive to

carry the invader. Those organisms that remained alive

would multiply and nourish the invader. The new

population co-evolved with the spirochete, becoming a

new organism.(43)

Chronic Miasms are Symbiosis

“Infections by spirochetes in humans, when seen in

their evolutionary and ecological context, are examples

of cyclical symbioses that have evolved over geologic

time.:(44) Some parts of the spirochete genetic material

now co-exist with our normal healthy self, but complete

co-existence is not accomplished. Co-evolution

developments continue. The dynamic process of

symbiosis produces signs and symptoms of what

homœopaths call chronic miasms. The on-going

human-spirochete symbiosis that causes disease will be

permanent for each sick person without accurate

homœopathic treatments. If the remaining small

genome of Treponema pallidum has not settled into

cooperation with the human genome after all these

centuries, then the practitioner must intervene to relieve

suffering.

Modern researchers of the syphilis bacteria

recognize a characteristic that they call “immune

evasiveness.” It is as if the Treponema pallidum

surface were “antigenically inert.” The body’s humoral

defenses do not recognize a foreign invader. It is as if

the outside molecules of the bacteria mimic molecules

that the body already has. No vaccine can be prepared

because of this.(45) The body does not recognize the

spirochete as totally foreign. It is as if it were a part of

the body. A homœopath thinking about similar would

not find this so strange.

Syphilis and HIV

“We posit that the spirochete disease syphilis

persists in the human population where its signs and

symptoms may be overlooked or misinterpreted for

those of AIDS,”(46) say the same modern researchers

who have no connection or interest in Homœopathy.

They base their statement on several factors. The

screening tests for later syphilis don’t work. The

treatment with penicillin doesn’t work. Both are

venereal diseases. They go further in their thinking.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus—

a single strand of RNA that can copy itself and paste its

own genes into the host’s cell’s DNA. It turns out that

eight percent, or may be a lot more, of our normal DNA

is a retrovirus structure. Every human has DNA that is

like an HIV gene sequence. What does the body use it

for? The HIV retrovirus segments in the healthy DNA

are used to code for the structure that forms the barrier

between mother and fetus in the placenta.(47) The

normal HIV in the healthy body allows the mother do

not recognize the growing baby as foreign and not reject

the tissue. This is considered an example of a persistent

virus that entered into long-term co-evolution with an

ancient host.

What activates HIV to provoke infectious behavior

[again]? The current researchers’ answer is that the

environment, such as other infections, cause viral

change.(48) Compare this to the similar explanation by

George Vithoulkas, who implicates multiple venereal

infections from multiple sex partners treated with

immune system modifying treatments such as multiple

antibiotics.(49) All these factors change the body’s

resistance and transform the microbes involved. HIV is

a reactivated common virus.(50) There is a high rate of

co-infection of HIV and syphilis. Syphilis is “a major

cofactor for the transmission of HIV.” (51) “Even now

[written 2007] there is an absence of any reliable test or

single diagnostic.”(52) The conclusion is drastic:

syphilis is still common by other names.(53)

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 66

Homœopathic Cures of the Syphilis Miasm

Mainstream research now observes that antibiotic

treatment of syphilis causes “immune suppression.”(54)

How similar this is to Vithoulkas’s detailed descriptions

of suppression resulting from allopathic treatments

where there will be more Alzheimer-like dementias and

neurosyphilis.(55) Most likely, mainstream medicine

will resort to even stronger and more prolonged

antibiotic treatment rather than abandon the germ theory

approach, but sooner or later this strategy will prove

suppressive also. Homœopaths must know exactly what

they can offer humanity when the time comes.

Hahnemann offers the following experiences:(56)

He describes three states of syphilis for the

homœopathic clinician. 1) Syphilis alone with the

chancre present. 2) If the chancre is gone. 3) If

syphilis is complicated with long illness-psora-even if

the chancre is still present. A popular book on syphilis

quotes Hahnemann: “In that stage of syphilitic disease,

where the chancre is yet existing, one single dose of the

best ‘mercurial’ preparation is sufficient to effect a

permanent cure of the internal disease together with the

chancre in the space of a fortnight.”(57) In reality, the

present day practitioner sees no patient fitting this stage

1.

In clinical state 2, the chancre has been driven off

by treatment, but there is no Psora. Hahnemann says

that Mercurius is not certain to cure. I have never seen

a patient with syphilis treated by allopathy who did not

have Psora. This leaves virtually every case that the

practitioner will see as qualifying for state 3.

The chancre-disease (syphilis) is difficult to cure if

complicated with Psora, says Hahnemann. “It is

impossible to cure the venereal disease alone.”

Standard treatment makes the Psora worse too; so it is

complicated. Allopathic treatment contributes to the

disease picture; plus there is uncured syphilis. Syphilis

must be freed from Psora to make it curable, and Psora

remains incurable if the syphilis has not been extirpated,

says Hahnemann. To treat this double (or triple) disease

state requires several steps according to Hahnemann:

a) Lifestyle changes must be made, such as no sex.

b) Give the best anti-psoric to treat the medicine

disease first.

c) Then give a second anti-psoric to treat the purer

remaining Psora.

d) When the second treatment has run its course, the

mercurial remedy must be used for 3-7 weeks aimed at

the syphilitic miasm.

e) But in difficult cases with continued symptoms,

more anti-psoric remedies must be given.

f) After the Psora is gone, Mercurius in another

potency must be used for the secondary syphilis

symptoms, but these symptoms are so changeable that

cure is uncertain unless chancre remnants are there and

then totally disappear.(58)

This document adds up to a minimum of five

remedies given at the right time in the right potency in

the right order, in addition to requiring the complete

cooperation of the patient. Accomplishing such a task

will require a new generation of trained, experienced

master homœopaths in a transformed culture that has

revised priorities.

Conclusion

Since modern biological researchers now conclude

that penicillin rarely cures syphilis, they reaffirm

homœopathic experience and principles. It does not

mean, though, that homœopathic remedies easily cure

chronically sick people with syphilis. Hahnemann

points this out in exacting detail.

By extrapolation, Hahnemann also predicts that one

remedy, often called the genus epidemicus, will not

fully cure people in the next pandemic. People will

recover from the acute disease with correct

Homœopathy, but their chronic disease will surface with

more symptoms.

The homœopathic observation about the dynamis

aspect of the dynamic contagion of miasms awaits

clinical verification by the mainstream. In the

meantime, consider Figure 4. It is a very simplified

energy sketch of a possible dynamis of a miasm that

resembles the physical shape of a spirochete.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 67

The mechanism of symbiosis in evolution is a

relatively new development in science. It offers a non-

judgmental description of the presence of microbes

associated with chronic miasms. No theories need to be

invoked: no punishment for sins or karma, no wrong

thoughts, no learning a lesson in life; no need to

fabricate ideas about symbolism or archetypes or

psychological types. When different life forms interact,

the result is the material and immaterial physics of

action and reaction.

References

Margulis L, Maniotis A, MacAllister J, Schthes J,

Brorson O, Hall J, et al. Spirochete round bodies,

syphilis, Lyme disease & AIDS: resurgence of ‘the

great imitator’? symbiosis 2009; 47:52.

Tortora GJ, Funke BR, Case CL. Microbiology. 9th ed.

San Francisco: Pearson Education, Inc; 2007. p.795.

Radolf JD, Hazlett KRO, Lukehart A. Pathogenesis of

syphilis. In: Radolf JD, Lukehart, editors. Pathogenic

Treponema. Norfolk, England: Caister Academic

Press;2006. p.197.

Margulis L, Sagan D. Dazzle gradually. White River

Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Co.;

2007. p.65.

Radolf JD, Hazlett KRO, Lukehart A. pp. 201, 216,

302, 197, 300, 301.

Hayden D. Pox: genius, madness, and the mysteries of

syphilis. New York: Basic Books; 2003. p. 53-4.

Ibid. p.51.

Radolf JD, Hazlett KRO, Lukehart A. p.301.

Tortora GJ, Funke BR, Case CL. p. 794.

Hayden D. p. 45.

Ibid. p.32-4.

Ibid. p.24-6.

Ibid. p. xvii.

Tortora GJ. Funke BR, Case CL. p. 797.

Margulis L, Sagan D. p. 64-5.

Margulis L. Maniotis A, et al. p.52.

Margulis L, Sagan D. p. 63.

Hayden D. p. 50.

Radolf JD, Hazlett KRO, Lukehart A. p. 203.

Margulis L, Sagan D. p.63.

Vithoulkas G. A new model for health and disease. Mill

valley CA: Health and Habitat;1991. p.133.

Margulis L, Sagan D. p. 65.

Hahnemann S. The chronic diseases. Sittingbourne,

UK: Homœopathic Book Service; 1998.

Kunzli J, Naude A, Pendleton P, translators. Organon

of Medicine by Samuel Hahnemann. Los Angeles: J.P.

Torcher, Inc.; 1982. P.71.

Hahnemann, S. p. 33.

Ibid. p. 89.

Radolf JD, Hazlett KRO, Lukehart A. p. 202.

Hahnemann S. p. 33.

Ibid. p. 89-95.

Tortora GJ, Funke BR, Case CL. p. 796.

Ibid. p. 796.

Shepperd J. Reclaiming the meaning of miasms. AJHM

2005; 981: 53-58.

Shepperd J. The integral of the chronic miasms. AJHM

2006; 99, 1:67-72.

Ryan F. Virolution. London: Collins; 2009. p. 82-3.

Ibid. p. 10-11.

Snapp J. The new foundations of evolution. Oxford:

Oxford University Press: 2009. p. xi.

Ryan F. p. 125-6.

Sapp J. p. 234.

Margulis L. Symbiotic planet. Amherst, MA: Basic

Books: 1998. p. 40-41.

Sapp J. p. 304.

Margulis L. p. 45.

Hayden D. p. 22.

Ryan F. p. 128.

Margulis L, Maniotis A, MacAllister J, et al. p. 54.

Radolf JD, Hazlett KRO, Lukehart A. p. 217-9.

Margulis L, Maniotis A, MacAllister J, et al. p. 54.

Specter M. Darwin’s surprise. The New Yorker

December 3, 2007.

Ryan F. p. 177.

Vithoulkas G. p. 155.

Ryan F. p. 165.

Radolf JD, Hazlett KRO, Lukehart A. p. 286.

Margulis L, Sagan D. p. 63-4.

Ibid. p. 59.

Margulis L, Maniotis A, MacAllister J, et al. p. 54.

Vithoulkas G. p. 47.

Hahnemann S. p. 88-95.

Hayden D. p. 49.

Hahnemann S. p. 94-5.

========================================

8. Homœopathic Medicine: The Science of Pattern

Recognition

SHORE, Jonathan (AJHM. 103, 1/2010)

What follows is a discussion on certain

fundamental aspects of homœopathic science and the

logical approach to the patient which arises from this

world view. The argument is made that the world view

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 68

of Homœopathy

1

is fundamentally different from that of

current thought and thus it is necessary to question

deeply the degree to which current thought entraps our

minds and blinds us to the logical consequences of the

former. As the issue of science has been introduced it is

necessary to clarify the original intent of this word and

to see what it has come to mean in this day.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary has this to say:

“Science: the state of knowing: knowledge as

distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding.”

The etymology places the origin in the fourteenth

century: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from

Latin scientia, from scient-, sciens having knowledge,

from present participle of scire to know. Following

this, we may say that if science is a state of knowing,

then a scientist is one who knows or rather has the

desire to know.

Science as a noun: “a body of facts learned by

study or experience.” A complementary view which

expands on this a little comes from the online

encyclopedia Wikipedia: “Science (from the Latin

Scientia, meaning ‘knowledge’) refers in its broadest

sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive

practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or

predictable type of outcome. In this sense, science may

refer to a highly skilled technique or practice.”

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science#cite_note-0)

In its more restricted contemporary sense, science

refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on

scientific method, and to the organized body of

knowledge gained through such research. Scientific

method refers to a body of techniques for investigating

phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting

and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed

scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on

gathering observable, empirical and measurable

evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning.

Thus far there is nothing which would set the

homœopathic method at odds with the definition of

science. It is however in the details of the underlying

assumptions that the problems arise. It turns out that the

basis for this reasoning is the search for the reasons for

the discovered beliefs, conclusions, actions, or feelings.

It is just here that the fundamental divide is born; it is

laid out at the very outset in the footnote to the first

aphorism of Hahnemann’s Organon of Medicine:

“His [the physician’s] mission is not, however, to

construct so-called systems, by interweaving empty

speculations and hypotheses concerning the internal

essential nature of the vital processes and the mode in

which diseases originate in the interior of the organism,

1

The use of the word Homœopathy is here restricted

to the system expounded by Samuel Hahnemann and is

not meant to include the wide variety of contemporary

variants which are commonly grouped under this title.

(whereon so many physicians have hitherto ambitiously

wasted their talents and their time); nor is it attempt to

give countless explanations regarding the phenomena in

diseases and their proximate cause (which must ever

remain concealed)” [emphasis mine]

Thus it is clear that Hahnemann insists that the

search for the reason behind phenomena has no role in

homœopathic thought. A little reflection will show that

almost all diagnosis and consequent therapeutic

intervention, whether it be allopathic or one of the

practices now called CAM, be it Chinese, Herbal,

Dietary, etc., is based upon a hypothesis as to the cause

of the problem and what subsequent interventions are

needed to remedy this cause. The question here is not

of the right or wrong or better or worse duality, but

rather the recognition of the unique position of

Homœopathy as a ‘cause irrelevant’ system. Neither do

we wish this former dualistic thinking to obscure the

discussion. Of course, Homœopathy takes cause (or

etiology) of disease into account in certain cases; it is,

however, only an occasional adjunct and not the center

of gravity or axis of the system. Cause is the servant of

the process, not the master, not the main force.

Having left behind the world of causality, (this

world which is so obvious to us that its reality is never

brought into question) to what can one turn in order to

establish a base, a foundation upon which something

real may be built?

Hahnemann’s thought indicates that this foundation

may be found not in a world of fragmentation and

separation but rather in the world of unity. We might

say that this great world has as its representative in the

human world what Hahnemann terms the ‘Vital Force’.

This is introduced in Aphorism 9 of the Organon:

“In the healthy condition of man, the spiritual vital

force (autocracy), the dynamis that animates the

material body (organism), rules with unbounded sway,

and retains all the parts of the organism in admirable,

harmonious, vital operation, as regards both sensations

and functions, so that our indwelling, reason-gifted

mind can freely employ this living, healthy instrument

for the higher purpose of our existence.”

It is clear that his idea is that what we call the body

is subject to, is completely controlled by, a higher

energy, or to put it another way, by an intelligence of

such magnitude that it can harmonize the unimaginable

diversity of processes which constitute the everyday

functioning of our lives. Thus while the now automatic

inclination of the mind is to flow outward into ever

more detail, into increasing diversity, this Vital Force

as the representative of unity is in itself the agent of

unification, the movement back towards simplicity and

harmony. It is the intelligence of this Vital Force which

must form the foundation of that which is to be trusted.

In Aphorism 11 Hahnemann reasons that, since this

Vital Force is the supreme authority in the organism,

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disease can only arise from a disturbance of this very

same force by an inimical energetic (dynamic) agent

acting on the same level of subtlety. He writes further,

“As a power invisible in itself, and only cognizable by

its effects on the organism, its morbid derangement only

makes itself known by the manifestation of disease in

the sensations and functions of those parts of the

organism exposed to the senses of the observer and

physician; that is, by morbid symptoms, and in no other

way can it make itself known.” In other words, he

reasons that, as these disturbances occur at levels

outside of the range of receptivity available to human

beings, the only possible way to cognize this, to be

aware of its existence, is through the senses – that the

inner derangement is expressed through the sensations

and outer motions of the patient and can only be

perceived by the sense organs of the physician.

In this investigation of the Vital Force what is to be

taken into account is laid out in Aphorism 5:

“In these investigations, the ascertainable physical

constitution of the patient (especially when the disease

is chronic), his moral and intellectual character, his

occupation, mode of living and habits, his social and

domestic relations, his age, sexual function, etc., are to

be taken into consideration.”

This line is further elaborated in Aphorism 6:

“The unprejudiced observer – well aware of the

futility of transcendental speculations which can receive

no confirmation from experience - be his powers of

penetration ever so great, takes note of nothing in every

individual disease except the changes in the health of

the body and of the mind (morbid phenomena,

accidents, symptoms) which can be perceived externally

by means of the senses; that is to say, he notices only

the deviations from the former healthy state of the now

diseases individual, which are felt by the patient

himself, remarked by those around him and observed by

the physician. All these perceptible signs represent the

disease in its whole extent; that is, together they form

the true and only conceivable portrait of the disease.”

What has been said up to this point places us

squarely in front of the homœopathic demand to trust in

an intelligence which lies outside of the ordinary mind

and to use only such data as can be observed by the

senses. A moment’s reflection brings one to the

realization that there is almost nothing in one’s

education, from one’s parents, from medical school, or

from homœopathic treaining that has prepared one for

this task. This is what makes Homœopathy so

essentially different and why its true potential is barely

understood, even by many who call themselves

homœopaths. We are being asked to engage, to

interface with a world which is unknown to us.

As a response to this demand for a completely

different orientation to the therapeutic encounter I

would like to introduce the reader to a story which is

one of my favorite teaching stories, the response of

Chen Man Ching, who was a great martial artist, to one

of his student’s questions.

His student asked, “Why is it that none of your

pupils approach you? All of them fall far below your

level. What is the secret?”

The Master answered, “You are right. There is a

secret, but it is so simple as to be unbelievable. Its

nature insists that you believe, that you have faith;

otherwise you will fail. The secret is simply this: you

must simply relax – body and mind – totally. You must

be prepared to accept defeat repeatedly and for a long

period. You must invest in loss; otherwise, you will

never succeed. I succeeded to my present state because

I pushed pride aside and believed my Master’s words. I

relaxed my body and stilled my mind so that only chi,

flowing at the command of my mind, remained.

Initially, this brought many bruises and defeats. In fact,

in some matches, I was pushed so hard I lost

consciousness, but I persisted. I followed my teacher by

listening to and heeding my chi. In crushing defeat, I

forgot anxiety, pride, ego. Gradually my technique

improved. My students either do not believe in this

power, or if they do, they do not pursue it eagerly

enough.”

By contemporary civilization I mean this time in

which we live, this “age of materialism” in which the

heaviest, most dense part of life is considered to be the

prime moving force, the origin of all things.

Hahnemann is very clear on the fallacy of this

viewpoint (Aphorism 10):

“The material organism, without the vital force, is

capable of no sensation, no function, no self-

preservation. It derives all sensation and performs all

the functions of life solely by means of the immaterial

being (the vital principle) which animates the material

organism in health and in disease.

1) It is dead and only subject to the power of the

external physical world; it decays, and is again resolved

into its chemical constituents.”

Thus Hahnemann’s system, the one which gave

birth to our science, is based on the supremacy of the

Vital Force – on the idea that matter in itself is dead, has

no power except that given it by the finer, lighter and

imperceptible energies. Hahnemannian homœopaths

are viutalists. The world around us, life in general as

we know and live it, is based on the supremacy of

matter; our culture is materialistic. That is to say, the

thought patterns of our culture are materialistic; all

mainstream thought, all the ways in which the world is

conceived of, are based on the underlying assumptions

of the supremacy of matter. Materialistic thought is

divisive; it divides things into their components, into

parts, into more and more detail. Vitalism sees things as

wholes, as unities. Thus our everyday conceptions are

quite different from the way in which Hahnemann

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 70

ordered and structured his universe. It needs to be

emphasized that under the rubric ‘medical thought’ are

included almost all of the CAM disciplines, which,

although they use techniques and therapeutic agents

quite different from conventional medicine, are all

based on the separation of the organism into diverse

parts and functions considered to be independent agents

needing somehow to be replaced, controlled or

harmonized by external agents or adjustments.

The Form of Our Thought

How we see the world, or more exactly the manner in

which we explain it to ourselves, is the primary

influence conditioning our perceptions. Without

entering into a lengthy justification let us agree that

what we expect to find, what we are looking for, that is

what we will find. That which we do not expect, which

we do not believe exists, will never present itself to us

as real. Not only are the thought patterns of our

contemporary culture materialistic, they are also

psychological. Our everyday conceptions and therefore

our everyday interpretations of events are quite different

from that of the pre-psychology era of Hahnemann and

his contemporaries. Our brains are soaked in the

thought of Sigmund Freud, of Carl Jung, of Adler, Klein

and the innumerable branches of psychological theory

to which they gave birth – so soaked and permeated

that, when we talk to each other and to ourselves, we

accept as completely self evident our reasoning on the

causes of behavior and, thus, on the interventions

required to correct or modify these causes. We accept

this in the same way that we accept our interpretations

of the causes of events in our materialistically conceived

universe. What is being proposed here is this: in the

same way that materialistic thought is an inadequate

instrument for an understanding of Hahnemann’s ideas,

psychological thought, that is all psychological theories,

interpretations and explanations, is a completely

inadequate tool for understanding the patient, and thus

the remedy, from a homœopathic point of view

2

.

This is not to say that we do not need a psychology.

We undoubtedly must have such a study as was

originally intended – psychology: Greek: Ψυχολογία,

lit. “study of the mind”, from Ψυχή, “breath, spirit,

soul”; and –λογία, “study of.” [How the ‘mind’ is taken

as synonymous with the breath, spirit and soul

constitutes a whole other study. What is needed is here

an appreciation for, and an understanding of, the psyche

of substances, of the fact that matter in its different

2

The issue here is not whether these psychological

systems of thought have validity. It is simply that the

mixing of homœopathic ideas and psychological ideas

gives rise to more confusion than clarity from a purely

homœopathic point of view.

forms and degrees has a consciousness which is able to

express itself through the medium of the human

organism.] Thus, it may be said that if there were to be

a homœopathic psychology, it would of necessity have

to be an organic psychology in which the patterns of

thought and feeling are understood to be direct

expressions of the nature of the remedy, natural a priori

patterns. We do not have to make theories about this.

We do not need special words or technical terms. These

patterns just exist; they express and describe

themselves.

What we do need is a careful study of these patterns

to try as best we can to grasp their central or unifying

thread. This thread is the essential expression of the

nature of the substance, that which makes it what it is –

its essence. Our explanations, our theories about this

thread, this essence are just that, theories. Why it is like

it is, what it means, how it fits in with everything else;

these are aids to memorization, hooks to hang our

thoughts on. They are not essential to the process and

must not be confused with the facts, with the truth of the

situation. “Do not mistake the finger which points to

the moon for the moon itself.”

Another way to look at this: At a certain level the

expression of these patterns is a basic pre-verbal human

experience. We do not need theories or even thought to

distinguish a giraffe from a lion, a stone from a flower.

There is a universe of direct experiential information

available to us. This sounds so simplistic, childish in a

way. The mind is cunning and arrogant. It tricks us

into believing that all knowledge is contained in it. No

other books are worth reading, no other libraries have

any information; just this one somewhere near the front

of our head. However, much valuable information is

available to us through our bodies and our feelings,

through our direct experience. On the other hand, we

are verbal and most of our overt communication is

through speech. Our books are full of words, words

through which patients have attempted to communicate

their experience. These words are themselves an

expression of the pattern, of the natural substance. But

how to understand these words, what significance and

importance to grant them, is one of the big questions we

face today.

Returning to my earlier remarks: we live in a sea of

psychological thought; it surrounds us and permeates

our minds like an unseen light which colors everything

one color, say blue, such that the whole world then

looks blue to us and we never question this “blueness.”

It’s just what is. In the same manner the psychic

experiences of the remedies are filtered and expressed

through this psychological medium, confused and

overlaid by interpretation and fashionable buzz words

which we accept without question because we ourselves

live in this same intellectualized world.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol.XXIX, 1 & 2/2012. Private circulation only. 71

So, the question we have come to is: What is

needed from us to place these words, to grasp their

living meaning, to evaluate their true significance in the

whole organic pattern of the patient’s expression? The

direction of this need is twofold – one pointing inwards

towards knowledge of ourselves, the other outwards to

knowledge of Homœopathy and human manifestations.

Of course, this classification is static and the

relationship between the inner and outer in the

movement of life is a dynamic one.

Considering the first or inwards direction

These requirements are not arranged in strict

hierarchical order as no one is more critical than

another. We can begin with life experience. This is of

course impossible to teach and, finding no place in any

system of education, is thus only valued by those who

possess it. At the same time it is an absolutely essential

ingredient in the evaluation of pathological behavior. In

listening to the patient’s story there must be a

simultaneous background process of comparative

confrontation formulated thus:

How would I behave in such a situation?

What is the extent (measure) of my pathology in this

particular area?

To what degree does the patient’s behavior coincide

with or differ from mine?

Based on the above evaluation, the decision as to

whether this is in fact a symptom and, if so, where does

it fall on the scale of strange rare and peculiar?

Now, although this appears to be a lot of thinking,

in an individual who has examined his life and reactions

with a view to self knowledge, the whole process is over

in a second or two. Which leads to the next topic which

may be discussed under the heading of “a quiet mind.”

Now this quiet mind does not mean the absence of

thought. What it does imply is that the rhythm of

thought, the bursts of thought activity have spaces

between them enough so that impressions of the patient

as he is can enter and pass directly to the feeling or the

body. In other words, the person in front of one can be

experienced directly as a feeling or a physical sensation

without passing through the distorting lens of

intellectual interpretation. It goes without saying that

this skill does not develop of its own without special

training. Just as no medical education is complete

without a careful study of the various techniques of

touching the body that constitute the physical exam, so a

homœopathic education is inadequate in the degree to

which the student is untrained in the skills of quieting

the mind which fall under the broad rubric of

meditation.

Another area to be considered is a concentrated

activity of our sense organs. This might also be

expressed as an intense focus of attentiveness. A field

of attentiveness enclosing both the practitioner and

patient must be established. No thought strays outside

of the boundaries of this space; no movement taking

place within it goes unnoticed and unremarked. If the

patient moves a hand, the practitioner is aware of it. If a

movement begins in the practitioner, it is halted until its

potential effect on the energy between the two persons

is considered. All impulses to speak are contained and

released only as precise maneuver. No gesture is

random. The foregoing efforts fall to a certain extent

within the domain of the correct function of thought. A

quite different arena, that of the feelings, must be

introduced at this juncture. One could say that what is

needed along with all the above is an open heart. Of all

the above requirements this is the one which does not

lend itself to any form of direct intervention. The mind,

as powerful as it is, has no power over the heart, no

authority. This openness takes place as a response to a

certain quality of suffering, a suffering which has been

lived in experience and thus can resonate to that same

quality in another.

To summarize what has been written above: We

need a more direct way, not a mental analytical

approach which fits people into a theoretical construct,

but a living experience of the situation; not

interpretation, but rather a feeling for the basic impulses

or needs of the organism – like a massage. One is

searching for the knot, for the sore spot. When the spot

is pressed, there is a reaction – the subject experiences it

as quite different from the surrounding area, from the

previous touch. The information coming from the

patient must strike us in the same way, not so much by

thinking about it, but feeling its impact upon our

organisms. The strange, rare and peculiar must strike us

in the feelings.

In this relationship, in this field of investigation, the

directing intent may be expressed as three questions:

What is central to the functioning of this organism?

What are its basic needs?

How are these expressed?

It is just here that we turn to the outside for help.

Help is given in the form of knowledge of the remedies.

This comprehensive body of information about the

organic patterns of nature as expressed through the

human form brings us to the other direction, the one in

which our attention turns outwards to the study of the

outside world – the remedy and the patient. Knowledge

of the remedies, of their essential and timeless patterns,

is a topic on which so much has been debated, argued

and written that even to begin to address this in an

intelligent way is beyond the scope of this paper.

Suffice it to say that in the view of this author the

essential nature (that by which a thing is what it is) of

any substance will express itself in a coherent and

recognizable form in any medium in which it is

released. As regards the patient and what he says, our

main focus must lie in identifying and isolating the most

central subjective sensations from whatever explanation

or interpretation the individual places upon them.

While paying attention to this important aspect, a

definite percentage of our attention is also directed

towards the physical gestures and the rhythms of speech

and motion. However, it is not only the detail or

characteristics of the individual gestures, peculiar

motions and so on that carry the important data. All

these impressions together with those of the organic

structure (such as body shape, hairstyle, clothing, etc.)

can leave one with a sense of the weight and speed of

the organism as a whole. When this particular sense is

present, it can offer an invaluable aid in the

differentiation between remedies. Remembering that

the best prescriptions are those which are based on the

fullness of the case, this particular differentiation can

serve as an important general of the same order as

warm-blooded or chilly, which, when pronounced, is

ignored at one’s peril. As an example, when the

prescriber is considering a remedy from the realm of the

heavy metals, but the impression of the patient is one of

lightness and speed, or, alternatively, when considering

a remedy from the bird kingdom and the overall

impression is one of marked heaviness and

sluggishness, these facts should raise a significant

warning signal regarding the choice of remedy.

Considerable emphasis needs to be placed on this phrase

“a warning signal.” This phrase in no way implies the

exclusion or elimination of the remedy in question.

What it does indicate is that there is something quite

deep in the case which has not been understood, and,

thus, the first remedy that comes to mind should be very

carefully reconsidered.

One last aspect which I would like to touch upon is

the pattern or ‘story’ of the life of the individual in

question. Observations in this area do not lead directly

to a choice of remedy, yet they provide an overall

perspective which, being relatively judgment-free,

allows for an atmosphere of acceptance which is in

itself an agent of healing in addition to ensuring that

what is revealed is close to the heart of the matter. Over

the years it has become clear to me that even though we

as individuals have a daily sense of choosing and thus

determining the course of our lives, this sense is almost

completely subjective. Viewed from the outside and

over time each life is like a story in which the patient is

the protagonist. A story composed of certain basic

elements and played out by a predetermined character

who is bound to have certain experiences. What is of

fundamental importance here is the fact of, the existence

of, each of the elements in the story rather than who did

what to whom. In the same way as any symptom which

is central to a remedy is to be found listed along with its

opposite

3

, so the presence of any particular thematic

axis is more important than the particular position on

that axis where the symptom is to be found. Thus, in a

story containing the element of violence, the existence

of violence is more important than whether the

protagonist is the perpetrator or the victim of this

violence. Where deceit is an element, it is the existence

of deceit rather than who was deceived or who did the

deceiving which determines the overall pattern. Where

the main elements are violence, deceit, confusion and

crime, the story is quite different from one in which the

building blocks are struggle, poverty, work and despair

– a different story and thus a different remedy. A

different remedy implies a different substance

transforming different energies, composed of different

forces, and whose manifestations form a completely

different pattern.

What is of central importance for the prescriber in

all this is not the reason for, or explanation of, the

events, but rather the particular pattern which they form

in their mutual relationship and, of course, the matching

of that pattern with the particular substance which

manifests the same pattern – the simillimum.

========================================

9. The Bowel Nosodes in Homœopathy

SAHA, Subhranil (AJHM. 103, 2/2010)

Introduction: The majority of the commensal intestinal

bacilli are lactose-fermenting (LF, e.g., Escherichia

coli, Klebsiella, etc.), non-pathogenic, non-sporing,

aerobic or facultatively anaerobic. Medicines prepared

from cultures of non-lactose fermenting (NLF),

pathogenic, Gram negative commensal intestinal flora

(e.g., Salmonella, Shigella, Proteus, etc., which are

major intestinal pathogens) are called Bowel Nosodes.

Although they are not the morbid products of disease,

they are classified as nosodes. The intestinal bacteria

were first isolated from flora in 1880 by bacteriologist

Eberth. Research on the bowel nosodes was first

conducted by Dr. Edward Bach (1886-1936) and his co-

worker Dr. John Paterson (1890-1955). The first full

clinical proving was conducted in 1929 by Thomas

Dishington. In 1919, Bach joined the London

Homœopathic Hospital as a bacteriologist. A year later

he started isolating the bacilli from stool specimens,

prepared ‘autogenous’ vaccines from dead cultures,

potentized them, and treated patients with injections. In

1930, he briefly summarized the clinically derived

indications for most of the nosodes (B. Morgan,

Dysentery co, B. Proteus, Gaertner, B. Mutable, and B.

Faecalis). Following that, Paterson published his works

3

Arsenicum album is to be found both in the rubrics

fastidious and chaotic.

on bowel nosodes (Morgan Pure, Morgan Gaertner,

Sycotic co, Bacillus No.VII and X, and Cocal co.) in

1950. Provings were not conducted in strict

Hahnemannian sense; symptomatic indications were

based on clinical observations of ill individuals.

According to Bach, nosodes prepared from non-lactose

fermenting Gram negative coliform bacteria are closely

associated with Psora, while Gram negative diplococci

are closely associated with Sycosis.

Characteristics of the Commonly Used Bowel

Nosodes

Bacillus No. VII (Related remedies: Arsenicum

iodatum, Kali bichromicum, Kali carbonicum)

Extreme mental and/or physical fatigue is the keynote.

Very sensitive to colds and drafts of air.

Intolerance of fat: causes eructation and flatulence.

Asthma, bronchial catarrh; tough, sticky mucus which is

difficult to raise; worse at 2 a.m.

Feeble urinary outflow; loss of sexual function,

premature sterility.

Stiff neck: ‘cracks like a nut;’ fibrositis of neck and

sholulders, spinal osteoarthritis; backache, worse from

damp, cold and on beginning to move, better from heat

and rest.

Bacillus No. X (Related remedies: Kali bichromicum,

Natrum sulphuricum, Thuja)

Anxious, irritable, depressed.

Aversion to egg, bread, tomato, tea and breakfast;

craving for sweet, chocolates, fried fish; upset of

stomach from egg and fatty foods.

Bowel motion sluggish, early in morning; constipation

with pruritus ani; pain in iliac fossa.

Asthma; cough aggravates in morning; sputum difficult

to raise.

Flat or pointed warts in hands.

Allergy to anti-asthmatic drugs.

Dysentery co. (Related remedies: Anacardium,

Argentum nitricum, Arsenicum album)

Anticipatory nervous tension is the keynote.

Nervous, fearful, lack of confidence, apprehensive,

claustrophobic.

Frequent attacks of cough and cold, recurrent tonsillitis

and hay fever.

Craving for fats, sweets, salt and milk.

Indigestion for years, distension and discomfort; no

heartburn, no vomiting, no nausea, no pain; wakes at 2

or 3 a.m. with pain and discomfort in epigastrium;

remarkable action on congenital hypertrophic pyloric

stenosis.

Loose bowel, often mixed with mucus, frequent motion,

5-6 times a day; diarrhea on excitement and worry;

sensation of throbbing or as if a plug is lodged in.

Thyrotoxicosis and tachycardia.

Osteoarthritis, periostitis, osteoporosis.

Palms dry, cracked, painful; flat warts in hand;

psoriasis.

Gaertner (Related remedies: Mercurius, Phosphorus,

Silicea)

Malnutrition and prostration are the keynotes;

overactive brain with undernourished body; especially

adapted to kids fed on artificial diet.

Nervous, bites nails, intelligent, excitable, irritable;

fidgety of hands and feet.

Craving for milk and dairy products, egg, sugar and

sweet.

Aversion to bread, butter, meat and fish.

Acidity and vomiting, aggravates after taking sweets.

Bowel constipated; offensive diarrheal attack every few

weeks; blood and mucus in stool.

Rheumatic pain aggravated at night.

Fear of darkness; wants company; late in falling to

sleep, restless sleep, somnambulism, night terrors.

Morgan Gaertner (Related remedies: Lycopodium,

Chelidonium)

Irritable, quick-tempered, impatient, nervous,

claustrophobic; fear of crowds, excitement and

company.

Nasal catarrh with bad taste in mouth, dirty tongue.

Fond of fats, sweet and salt; aversion to egg and meat;

prefers food hot.

Indigestion, flatulence and excessive eructation, sour

mouth and distended feeling, worse between 4-8 p.m.

Acute renal or gall stone colic.

Bowel constipated and sluggish; painful, itching,

bleeding piles.

Right-sided rheumatism; better from heat, both

internally and externally.

Insomnia, night terrors; starting in sleep.

Large, flat or jagged warts on hands.

Morgan Pure (Related remedies: Calcarea carbonica,

Graphites, Petroleum, Psorinum, Sulphur)

Congestion is the keynote.

Weepy, depressed, irritable; fears crowds, but become

anxious if left alone.

Congestive morning headache with sinusitis; cracks at

the angles of nose; anosmia, epistaxis.

Ulcers in mouth; tongue dry, coated, swollen, raw and

burning sensation, bad taste, halitosis; cracked angles of

mouth; throat dry and burning.

Fond of fats, sweets and eggs; but cannot tolerate them.

Biliary tract disorders with constipation and pruritus

ani; itching, bleeding, painful piles.

Menorrhagia/metrorrhagia with pruritus vulva and

vagina; offensive, corrosive leucorrhea.

Bronchitis and asthmatic attacks in each winter;

recurrent bronchopneumonia in children.

Rheumatic pain; worse from cold, damp and at the

beginning of motion; better from constant motion and

heat.

Weepy, itching, scaly and pustular eruption and eczema;

especially in chin, forehead, scalp, behind ears, neck

and chest; worse from heat and washing.

Proteus (Related remedies: Ammonium muriaticum,

Natrum muriaticum)

Suddenness of the complaints is the keynote.

Tense, depressed, stubborn, unresponsive; violent

outburst of temper if opposed; kicks and throws objects;

can commit a murder if crossed.

Aversion to butter, pork, meat, boiled egg; intolerance

of egg; fond of sweets and salt.

Acidity, heartburn, sourness and flatulence; hunger pain

not relieved by eating; worse after mental strain.

Constipation; sensation of a ball in the rectum; itching,

bleeding piles.

Skin eruption dry, scaly, itching, papulopustular, crusty;

Reynaud’s disease.

Burning of palms and soles at night; cramps in calves;

feet feel frozen.

Sycotic Co. (Related remedies: Bacillinum, Natrum

sulphuricum, Rhus toxicodendron, Thuja)

Extreme irritability is the keynote.

Nervous, cross, restless, fear of animals, dogs, and of

being alone.

Puffiness of face in morning, especially under eyes.

Nasal catarrh; cracks at the angles of nose, epistaxis,

enlarged tonsils and adenoids.

Lips dry, cracked, cracks at the angles of mouth; tongue

sore, dry, fissured; deep ulcers on tongue.

Aversion to and intolerance of egg, even thoughts of

egg cause problems; fond of butter.

Constipation or loose stool with splinter-like pain in

rectum; rectal prolapse; mucus per rectum with motion;

urgent call for stool as soon as rising from bed.

Asthma or bronchitis; worse from damp and cold,

between 2-3 a.m., on waking; better in seaside;

considered a pre-tubercular remedy.

Rheumatism, polyarthritis and lumbosacral pain – all

aggravated after sitting, when beginning to move and at

night; better from continuous motion and heat.

Cracks on finger tips and heels; brittle nails; warts on

mucocutaneous surfaces.

Restless sleep, insomnia, night terrors; profuse sweat of

head and body during sleep; dreams of dead people.

Indications for use

New cases

It is always better to start the treatment first with the

indicated remedy, not with the nosode.

The nosode can be used at first if the symptomatology

does not clearly point out a single remedy, but rather

corresponds at best only to a list of remedies.

Old Cases

In old cases, subjected to considerable number of

indicated remedies which have produced a favorable but

ill-sustained improvement, the previously used

medicines should be compared with the nosode list and

the most similar nosode should be selected there from.

If the percentage of NLF pathogenic bacteria in the

stool is greater than fifty percent, the administration of

bowel nosode is contraindicated. The nosode given at

that time produces a negative phase with a

corresponding period of vital depression in the patient.

In such cases, a nosode can be used in lower potencies

to avoid the chance of violent negative reaction.

Special Use

The bowel nosodes can be prescribed sometimes

specifically for antibiotic poisoning (Gaertner and

Morgan), skin drugs (Morgan), digestive drugs

(Proteus), etc.

Dose, Potency & Repetition

According to the principles of Homœopathy,

the more distinct the mental picture the higher

the potency. The potency should be lower if

irreversible pathology is present. In my

practice, I have always preferred the 200th

potency to start with and have rarely had to go

beyond that. In case of children, however, I

have started with the 30th, but if there’s not

been an adequate response, I have quickly

switched over to the 200th. The result was

then satisfactory.

Paterson has advised, though it is not required,

not repeating the bowel nosode within three

months; it is recommended instead, if required,

that the homœopathically-indicated similimum

from the group of remedies (previously used)

related to the bowel nosode be prescribed.

Mechanism of Action of the Bowel Nosodes

E. coli in the intestinal tract performs normal and

useful functions when the intestinal mucosa is healthy,

but any change in the host that affects the intestinal

mucosa will affect the balance and change the

biochemistry of E. coli. It should be noted that the

primary change; i.e., the disease, originated in the host

which compels the bacilli to modify in order to survive.

While this alteration in the nature of bowel flora might

be a mere concomitant to the disease condition, there is

reason to believe that the E. coli actually turns

pathogenic. Thus the balance of the bowel flora is

disturbed in disease. After the administration of the

suitable bowel nosode, the curative process begins. The

MLF pathogenic bacteria begin to mutate to other non-

pathogenic groups (LF and LLF/Late Lactose

Fermenters; e.g., Shigella sonnei) and ultimately

disappear. These happenings occur simultaneously with

the disappearance of the symptoms, reappearance of the

old symptoms and the efflorescence of the skin

eruptions with ultimate clearing (Hering’s Law). This is

associated with a marked increase in the vitality of the

patient.

Case study

The case I’m discussing has been under my

treatment for about seven months. The patient is male,

aged about 42, and had been suffering from

hyperacidity for the last eighteen months. Previously he

was taking over-the-counter antacids (H2 receptor

anatagonists; e.g., Ranitidine, famotidine, etc. and

various proton pump inhibitors; e.g., Rabeprazole,

Pantoprazole, Domperidone, etc.) for about six months,

but without much relief. Then the case was taken by an

eminent homœopathic physician. He advised

appropriate dietary modifications, exercise, and an

endoscopic examination, which revealed no pathology.

His presenting totality on 12.06.08, as noted by the

previous physician, was as follows:

Excessive flatulence, bloating and loud grumbling, not

relieved by belching; choking sensation while eating.

Loss of appetite; constant feeling of satiety; excessive

hunger at night.

Heartburn, sour water brash and sour eructation

throughout the day.

Preference for hot food; fondness for sweets, but unable

to tolerate.

Constipated; hard stool, every alternate day; sensation

as if something is lodged in the rectum.

Irritable; cannot tolerate opposition.

The medicines he had taken are arranged

chronologically:

Robinia 30: 8 doses; one dose twice a day for 4

days; placebo for 25 days. (date: 12.06.08)

Result: A little improvement in the first week,

but after that nothing significant.

Anacardium 30: 6 doses; one dose twice a day

for 3 days; placebo for 25 days. (date:

11.07.08) Results: No improvement.

Nux vomica 200: 2 doses; one dose once a day

for 2 days; placebo for 30 days. (date:

10.08.08) Result: A little better than before.

Lycopodium 200: 2 doses; one dose once a day

for 2 days; placebo for 30 days. (date:

11.10.08) Result: Much better than before.

Lycopodium 1M: 1 dose; placebo for 30 days,

(date: 12.11.08)

Report: Immense improvement in the first week, but

since then no progress.

Lycopodium 1M: 2 doses; one dose a day for 2

days; placebo for 30 days. (date: 14.12.08)

Result: Considerable improvement for the first 10 days,

but since then no progress.

Lycopodium 10M: 1 dose; placebo for 30 days.

(date: 11.01.09)

Result: Great improvement in the first week, but since

then no progress.

Lycopodium 10M: 2 doses; one dose a day for

2 days; placebo for 30 days. (date: 12.03.09)

Result: Considerable improvement in the first

two weeks, but since then no progress.

After such prolonged treatment, the patient lost his

faith completely in his physician and came to me on

07.05.09. One thing was evident, Lycopodium was a

correct prescription according to the totality; but in spite

of that, the duration of relief was really ill-sustained. I

began to think in another way. I was thinking of some

miasmatic obstacles that might have been present, but I

got no such clear cut indication from the patient. He

was repeatedly emphasizing the fact that I should

concentrate on his present symptoms, and neither his

past history nor family history. He became irritated

whenever I pursued a more detailed history. Keeping in

mind this Sycotic characteristic (extreme irritability) as

well as the relationship with Lycopodium, I prescribed

Sycotic Co. 200: 2 doses (one dose daily for two days)

on 07.05.09, with placebo for one month.

The next visit was on 08.06.09. The patient entered

my clinic smiling and reported that he was feeling

extremely well. His hyperacidity had diminished to a

great extent, his appetite had increased, and his bloating

was much relieved. However, there was no

improvement in his constipation and he insisted that I

prescribe another remedy for his hard stool. I

prescribed placebo again for the next month.

The patient revisited me on 07.07.09. There was

marked improvement in his total symptom picture,

including constipation. I prescribed placebo again, but

this time for two months.

It was 08.09.09, when the patient again came to my

clinic. He had an acute coryza and sneezing since that

morning and could not go to his office. I prescribed

Aconitum, nap. 30: 4 doses at 3 hour intervals. I was

concerned that the action of Sycotic Co. might be

compromised as a result of the prescription and asked

him to visit again on in a week.

No disturbance occurred in the gradually improving

symptomatology of the patient. The last date I saw the

patient was 11.12.09, when his overall improvement

was quite unbelievable.

At this moment, it is difficult to say whether the

patient is cured or not; however, it is clear that he is on

the path to cure. More than seven months have passed;

there are no indications for repeating the Sycotic Co.,

nor Lycopodium, nor any other remedy.

Conclusion

The case I’ve discussed is but one of my successful

bowel nosode cases. I hope my fellow practitioners will

consider treating intractable cases, if the

symptomatology corresponds, with bowel nosodes.

Especially when indicated remedies effect a favorable

but fleeting response, these nosodes often prove an

essential tool to bringing the case to a successful

conclusion.

References

Keynotes and Characteristics of the Materia Medica by

Dr. H.C. Allen.

Bowel Nosodes by Paterson.

Materia Medica of the Nosodes by O.A. Julian.

1001 Small Remedies by Dr. Friedrich Schroyens.

A Textbook of Microbiology by P. Chakraborty.

Textbook of Microbiology by Dr. R. Ananthanarayan

and Dr. Jayaram Paniker.

www.hpathy.com. Homœopathic Materia Medica.

Hpathy Ezine. January, 2007. Bowel Nosodes by Dr.

S. Praveen Kumar.

www.similima.com. Bowel Nosodes by Dr. K.R.

Mansoor Ali.

========================================

10. Dr. MARENZELLER

From “The Pioneers of Homœopathy”, Vol. II.

Dr. MARENZELLER was a contemporary of

HAHNEMANN. He was connected with the first

homœopathic experiments, performed by order of the

emperor, in the military hospital at Vienna.

He received the doctor degree in 1788, and became

a regimental physician and a professor. In 1815 he

became a convert to the doctrines of HAHNEMANN,

but still remained in the army and held his post as staff-

surgeon for many years after his conversion. He was

appointed by the Arch-Duke John of Austria his

physician in ordinary, which appointment he held until

his decease.

While attending to his military duties in Prague at

the invalid hospital he was also investigating

Homœopathy. In 1823 we went with the Illustrious

General Schwartzenberg, from Vienna to Leipzig,

where the General was placed under the care of

HAHNEMANN, and where Marenzeller assisted in the

treatment, and where he remained until the death of the

Prince Schwartzenberg.

Rapou says that the introduction of Homœopathy

into Austria is due to Marenzeller. Count Gyulay,

commanding general and field marshal, claimed the

professional attentions of the Homœopathic Military

Surgeon Marenzeller for a painful cardialgia considered

incurable, and from which he had suffered many years.

The malady yielded promptly to homœopathic

treatment. Marenzeller, wishing to aid the general

interests of the homœopathic school, refused the most

generous fee of the general, demanding from him as an

only recompense to ask from the emperor a more liberal

policy regarding Homœopathy, which method had been

before this time very harshly treated by the government.

The emperor, struck by the prompt cure of Count

Gyulay, with the petition and the conduct of the

physician, decided to determine the value of this new

system by a series of public experiments. The choice of

the physician to conduct them naturally fell upon

Marenzeller. He was the most suitable; forty years in

practice, during all which time he had been head of a

large military hospital, for ten years having used

homœopathic medicine, he presented all the conditions

requsite for experiment to be confided to him. It was a

delicate affair, for upon its success depended the

introduction of Homœopathy in Austria, and it was

necessary to conciliate and make friendly the

authorities. The emperor sent him a personal letter, and

clinical experiments were commenced in the Garrison

Hospital at Vienna. Dr. Marenzeller was not allowed to

publish an account of these experiments, but Dr. J.

SCHMIDT kept an accurate account of them, which

account he gave to HAHNEMANN, who sent it with

some remarks to the Archiv, v. 10, pt. 2, p. 73.

A ward containing twelve beds was set apart in the

chief Garrison Hospital at Vienna. A commission of

twelve professors of Joseph’s Academy, with the Chief

Staff Surgeon, Dr. von Isfordink, at its head, was

appointed to watch the experiments. The ward was

provided with a homœopathic pharmacy, and a library

of homœopathic books to consult in uncertainty. Two

regimental, two superior and two inferior surgeons were

appointed, whose sole duty it was to see that the orders

of the homœopathic physician were carried out. Special

nurses were appointed. A special kitchen was set apart

for the preparation of food for the homœopathic

patients, and there was a cook who had been especially

instructed in prepariong food according to the

homœopathic regimen. The surgeons kept watch night

and day, in order that nothing should be given to the

patients but what the homœopathic physicians ordered.

Most of the patients were taken in as new patients,

though there a few who had been in the other wards.

Dr. Marenzeller paid a visit every morning and evening

at fixed hours, and each time two professors from the

Joseph Academy were present. Each two of the

professional commission acted for ten days, when two

more replaced them. This clinic opened on April 2,

1828, and lasted for forty days, during which forty-two

patients were treated. Many medical visitors were

usually present at each visit. At each visit the patients

were examined and the result was entered word for

word in a book. The diagnosis and prognosis were

made by Dr. Marenzeller and the members of the

commission respectively. Dr. Marenzeller then made

the prescription, gave directions for diet, and all this

was entered in the book and subscribed to by the

members of the commission. This took place with

every patient and at every visit. The medicine

prescribed was always given in the presence of the

commissioners. Even other precautions were taken for

a fair trial. Dr. SCHMIDT took notes at each visit, and

these are the notes that were published.

In all, forty-three patients were admitted. Four by

the homœopathic physician; nine by the commissioners;

twenty nine from new admissions to the hospital; one

came back in consequence of a relapse; thirty-two were

cured; one died; five were transferred to other wards.

When the experiment ceased five were uncured, but

improving. the judgment of the commission of inquiry

consisting of the twelve professors of allopathic

medicine was: “The experiments terminated in such a

way as to make it impossible to say that they were in

favor of or against Homœopathy.” (See Archiv f. hom.

Heilkunst, vol. 10. Pt.2, p.73. Brit. Jour. Hom., vol. 12,

p.320. rapou, vol. I, p.238. Trans. World’s Conv., vol.

2, p.200.)

The closing of this clinic was brought about by four

convicts, who were told that they were brought there to

be experimented upon. They offered active resistance

and indujced other patients to do the same. While the

trial was in progress, Dr. MARENZELLER was given

an audience by the emperor, who received him kindly

and expressed satisfaction at the results of the

experiments, of which he received daily reports. That

MARENZELLER was himself satisfied with his success

is shown by the fact that he left a very lucrative practice

in Prague and removed to Vienna in 1829. He is said to

have been overwhelmned with patients from morning

till late at night and died at his post.

The results of these experiments were not allowed

to be published in the Austrian journals, but they were

published May 27 and June 6, 1828, in the Allgemeine

hom. Zeitung, and also in a German political journal of

more extended circulation.

In 1835, the Austrian emperor died, and it was said

that his death was hastened by too profuse blood letting.

His brother, the Archduke Antoine, died of the same

inflammatory affection, also with profuse blood letting.

The Archduke John, called the Nimrod of Steyermark,

being also taken ill, declared that he would have a

physician of the school that did not believe in bleeding.

Marenzeller was called. The contrast between this

treatment and that of the others made a great impression

upon the Court, and the progress of Homœopathy was

given new impulsion and the number of its practitioners

increased sensibly.

Rapou, who visited the principal countries of

Europe in 1846, has told us much about the early

homœopathists in his “Histoire de la Doctrine Medicale

Homœopathique.” He says: the old MARENZELLER,

whom I had seen in 1832 (when he travelled through

Germany with his father), is constantly occupied in

Vienna with a very large practice. Two carriages are

alternately in service daily, which hardly suffice to take

him to his numerous patients. What should inspire with

such ardor a man for a long time possessed of

reputation, riches and honors, be it not the charm of a

truth so long persecuted? For MARENZELLER could

not deny that his long experience and his practical talent

had formed a solid track for exact in the matter of some

slight details. Just as he received it from

HAHNEMANN, so is he conservative. He held aloof

from the discussions of his colleagues, but his name and

his opinions were made the object of harsh and unjust

criticisms from these pretended reformers. They

thought it an injury to the new art to thus exaggerate its

principles, and to put an obstacle to its development in

thus servilely following the footsteps of

HAHNEMANN. MARENZELLER did not seek to

defend his doctrines; he had found in the works of

HAHNEMANN a logical method; he had, in the

hospital experiments, made a fair and successful trial

and now accepted exact Homœopathy.

During his stay in Vienna MARENZELLER was

appointed personal physician to the Archduke John, a

title which gave him a position in the court.

Dr. MARENZELLER died on January 6, 1854, at

Vienna, in his 90th year.

The British Journal contains the following: On the

6th of January, of the present year, this veteran

homœopathist died. Unlike most of those whose deaths

we have recently recorded, Dr. MARENZELLER

attained a very great age. He had completed his 90th

year when he was removed from among us. He was

thus a contemporary of HAHNEMANN, being only

eight years the junior of our illustrious Master. The

name of MARENZELLER is intimately connected with

the history of Homœopathy, more especially in the

Austrian dominions, and yet Dr. MARENZELLER was

no great writer. His celebrity is chiefly owing to his

connection with the first homœopathic experiments,

performed by order of the emperor, in the military

hospital at Vienna. At 21 years of age

MARENZELLER was a regimental physician and

professor. In 1815 he became a convert to the doctrines

of HAHNEMANN; but, nevertheless, he remained in

the army, and held the post of staff surgeon for many

years after his conversion. He was appointed by the

Archduke John of Austria, formerly Regent of

Germany, to be his physician in ordinary, which

appointment he continued to hold till his decease.

Our opponents are constantly in the habit of

referring to the experiments of Andral as being a

complete refutation of the pretended efficacy of

Homœopathy. Now these experiments, if they deserve

that name, were performed by a man totally ignorant of

Homœopathy, in defiance of Hahnemann’s rules, and

with a carelessness and presumption perfectly

inexcusable in a man of Andral’s reputation. The

merest tyro in Homœopathy would have been ashamed

to call such practice Homœopathy. And yet these

experiments, which we reject with scorn, and which

have been over and over again shown to be deficient in

every element that could constitute them illustrations of

homœopathic practice, are the stalking horse of all the

opponents of Homœopathy, and their ready excuse for

not taking the trouble to enquire experimentally into the

truth or falsity of our assertions relative to the

superiority of the system we practice. On the other

hand, the real homœopathic experiments performed by

Dr. MARENZELLER, under every condition that a

watchful jealousy could suggest, in order to assure their

genuine homœopathic character, and with all the

accompanying pride, pomp, and circumstance of

imperial-royal decrees, commissions, protocols, daily

registers, weekly bulletins, and solemn reports, are

never now referred to; the ipse dixit of Andral, as to the

unsuccessful issue of his own experiments in an art of

which he was utterly ignorant, being held to be more

conclusive than the deliberate report of a commission

appointed by the Austrian Government to inquire into

the practice of Homœopathy by a homœopathic

physician.

As we believe no account of Dr. Marenzeller’s

experiments has as yet been published in English, we

take the opportunity suggested to us by the death of the

principal actor in connexion with these experiments, to

give a succinct account of them, drawn from the official

documents and the testimony of impartial and

honourable eye-witnesses. These records are contained

in various volumes of the Archiv für hom. Heilkunst.

These homœopathic experiments were, as will be

hereafter seen, conducted by order of the Government,

with every precaution that could secure fair play to the

homœopathist during their performance. A daily record

of the cases treated was kept by the medical

commissioners appointed to watch the treatment. But

two mistakes were committed by the Government. One

was that it was not made a condition that these records

should be published. The consequence of this oversight

was, that the reports of the commissioners were kept

secret, and it is only by accident that that of the two

commissioners who were appointed to follow the

treatment during the third ten days of its continuance

(for the commissioners appointed to watch the treatment

were changed every ten days) has seen the light. This

report fell into the bands of Dr. Attomyr, after the death

of one of the commissioners, and was published by him

in the 18th Vol. of the Archiv, twelve years after the

experiments had been made. The other mistake made

by the Government was, that the hostile allopathic

faculty of the Academy of Medicine were constituted

the judges of the success or reverse of the treatment.

The consequence of this error was, that the bald

judgment of the faculty was alone issued, and the facts

on which this judgment was framed were withheld by

them.

The deliberate judgment of the faculty, consisting

of twelve professors of allopathic medicine, was as

follows:- “The experiments terminated in such a way as

to make it impossible to say that they were in favour of,

or against Homœopathy.” Had the experiments turned

out unfavourably for Homœopathy, it is to be presumed

the faculty would have been too happy, not only to say

so, but to prove the truth of their accusation by

publishing the reports of their professors. And even had

the experiments warranted the judgment given, it is but

natural to suppose that the faculty would for their own

sakes have published the facts in order to justify their

conduct. The publication of such a verdict without any

corroborative facts, naturally makes us suspect that the

facts did not warrant the conclusion nominally drawn

from them, that in a word the experiments were more

favourable to the new system than is implied in the

words of the judgment. Two out of twelve judges

dissented from the verdict recorded. The one, Professor

ZANG, from his own observation of the cases treated

during ten days, came to the conclusion that the facts

showed Homœopathy to be perfectly powerless—the

other, Professor ZIMMERMANN, was so convinced of

the contrary, that he confessed himself forced to

acknowledge that Homœopathy had a real power over

disease, and from that day he set himself to study the

principles and practice of Hahnemann’s system, and

became a zealous partisan of Homœopathy.

We are not however left to depend entirely on the

fragmentary report of the two commissioners for the

knowledge of Dr. Marenzeller’s experiments. Although

he himself was precluded from publishing an account of

them, a careful record of the cases was kept by Dr. J.

SCHMIT, of Vienna, who attended every visit from the

beginning to the end of the treatment, and who

communicated the results of his observations to

HAHNEMANN, by whom they were handed to the

Editor of the Archiv for publication. From Dr. Schmit’s

report we are able to give the following particulars

respecting these interesting experiments:

By the command of the Emperor a ward containing

twelve beds was set apart, in the Chief Garrison

Hospital in Vienna, for the purpose of testing the power

of Homœopathy. The staff surgeon, Dr.

MARENZELLER, a distinguished partisan of the

doctrines of HAHNEMANN, was summoned from

Prague to conduct the treatment on homœopathic

principles. The commission appointed to watch and

report on the treatment consisted of twelve professors of

the Joseph’s Academy and the chief staff surgeon. The

ward was provided with a homœopathic pharmacy, and

a library of homœopathic physician were strictly carried

out. Special nurses were appointed, whose sole duty it

was to see that the orders of the homœopathic physician

were strictly carried out. Special nurses were appointed

for the service. A special kitchen was set apart for the

preparation of the food for the homœopathic patients,

and was presided over by a cook who had been

instructed in the mode of preparing food according to

the rules of the homœopathic system. The surgeons

kept watch day and night, in order to see that nothing

was given to the patients but what the homœopathic

physician ordered. A few of the patients were

transferred from the other wards of the hospital, but

most of them were taken in as new patients. Dr.

MARENZELLER paid a visit every morning and every

evening at fixed hours, and each time he was

accompanied by at least two of the members of the

medical commission. There were usually several others

of the professors present at the examination of the

patients. At these visits the patients were examined, and

the examination was entered in a book, word for word.

The diagnosis and prognosis were then made by Dr.

MARENZELLER and the members of the commission

respectively. The former then made the prescriptions,

gave directions as to diet, and all this was entered in the

book and subscribed, by the signatures of the members

of the commission. This took place with every patient

and at every visit. The medicine prescribed was always

administered in the presence of the commissioners.

Other necessary arrangements were made to secure a

fair and impartial trial of Homœopathy. The

experiments lasted forty days, during which forty-two

patients were treated. Dr. SCHMIT was, as before

stated, present at each visit, and from the notes he took

from day to day he has compiled the following table, for

the accuracy of which he vouches. The table speaks for

itself without any need of explanation. In most of the

cases the principal medicines given during the disease

are indicated, but in some of them they are not, as Dr.

SCHMIT forgot to register them. That is however of

little importance, as we only wish to know the result of

the treatment, and we have sufficient confidence in Dr.

Marenzeller’s skill to be assured they were all

prescribed in strict accordance with the homœopathic

principle. We may remark that Dr. MARENZELLER

was what we would now call a rigid Hahnemannist, at

least his treatment was in exact conformity with the

rules of HAHNEMANN at that period.

From the report of Professors JAEGER and ZANG

that has been published, we may extract a couple of the

cases described more in extenso than the above, in order

to show the character of Dr. Marenzeller’s treatment,

and to give the valuable testimony of his adversaries to

its happy effects.

The following case corresponds with that marked

No.6 in the above list of those cured:

Bed No. I was occupied by the infantry-private,

Johann Hradil. He was admitted the 20th April with

febris intermittens tertiana. The 23d was a day on

which he was free from fever. He got Pulsatilla of the

9th dilution. On the 24th, at half past nine A.M., he had

an attack of fever, slighter than any of the previous

ones. As he had no fever on the 26th, the day that the

paroxysm ought to have come, he was declared to be

convalescent, and on the 27th was transferred to the

convalescent ward.

The next case corresponds to that marked No.25.

On the evening of the 24th April bed No.3 was

occupied by Jacob Czikaro, cadet in Baron Meyer’s

infantry regiment. For the last four days he had suffered

from febris rheumatico gastrica cum pleuritide spuria,

combined with infarctus lienis, the sequel of a previous

intermittent fever. He got Bryonia 18. On the 25th, in

the evening, the local affection having increased was

declared to be pleuritis vera. On the 26th, in the

morning, the fifth day of the disease, there occurred

critical excretions in the form of perspiration, urine, and

fæces. On the same evening, as the fever and painful

chest-symptoms assumed a dangerous character, Dr.

MARENZELLER was asked to declare whether he

would go on with the treatment or not. He stated he

would. With this considerable exacerbation the disease

had, at the end of the sixth day, attained its climax and

on the seventh and eighth days profuse critical

excretions, in the shape of sweat, epistaxis, urine, and

fæcal evacuations, occurred, and the disease seemed to

be on the decline; however, on the eighth day, there

occurred increase of the fever and of the pain in the

affected side of the chest. The fever declined

gradually, with universal nocturnal sweats; but the

shooting pain betwixt the seventh and ninth ribs, felt on

touch or deep inspiration, remained, though less in

degree. On the 30th he got China 9. On the 1st May he

was dismissed as convalescent.

These two are the only cases of which the details

are given by Professors JAEGER and ZANG that seem

worthy of record. The case of Pneumonia (No. II in the

above list) they merely mention as having been admitted

one day, and discharged cured after thirteen days of

treatment. Altogether we cannot help remarking in the

report of these illustrious professors, a tendency to

dwell upon the slighter cases, and an attempt to prove

their recovery to be little, if at all, connected with the

administration of the medicine; and on the other hand,

we notice that they slur over the more serious diseases

treated by Dr. MARENZELLER. If the reports of all

the commissioners were of a similar character, it is little

wonder that a prejudiced academy of allopathic

professors should not give a verdict favourable to

Homœopathy founded on such records: the fact of their

verdict not being adverse to Homœopathy, speaks to our

mind greatly in favour of the homœopathic treatment of

Dr. MARENZELLER, as it shows that all the ingenuity

of the inimical reporters could not pervert the results of

the treatment into the basis of a judgment by a hostile

faculty unfavourable to Homœopathy.

As far as Dr. MARENZELLER’s experiments in

the presence of the allopaths went, they are undoubtedly

much more favourable to the claims of Homœopathy

than the reverse. The only tenable ground possessed by

the commission for their neutral verdict is, that the

experiments were not carried on for a sufficient length

of time, and did not extend over a sufficient number of

patients, to enable them to decide very positively as to

the influence of the treatment adopted. But who is to

blame for this? Certainly not Dr. MARENZELLER,

who was perfectly willing to continue with the treatment

for any length of time. The time for continuing the trial

was originally fixed at sixty days (a short enough time

assuredly), but it was suddenly interrupted, after only

forty days had elapsed, by order of the government

(doubtless at the instigation of the official allopaths).

However, these homœopathic experiments have not

been without their influence on the progress of

Homœopathy in Vienna; and we believe they mainly

contributed to induce the government to repeal the laws

that had been passed against Homœopathy in Austria,

and are partly the cause of the rapid spread of our

system in Vienna, and of the favour now shown to our

practice by the governing bodies of that city.

ATTOMYR thus speaks of him: Homœopathy has

lost in the beginning of this year one of its most active

practitioners, who out of his medical career of 66 years

had devoted to it 49 years exclusively and with

enthusiastic zeal. Long before this a monument, ought

to have been erected in this journal to this worthy; I

undertake it yet before the close of the year.

Staff-surgeon Dr. Matthias Marenzeller was born of

poor parents in Pettau, Styria, February 15th, 1765.

After completing his gymnasial studies in Marburg and

his philosophic studies at Gratz, he went to Vienna to

study medicine. MARENZELLER must have been an

excellent student as he lectured even before his

graduation in the general hospital, while he was only 20

years old, as Instructor (Privatdocent) on Anatomy and

Surgical Operations. As the Josephs Academy was

being founded just about this time, MARENZELLER

determined to pass through its academic course, and at

its conclusion, on the 15th of August, 1788, he was

granted his diploma as Doctor. In the same year he was

appointed regimental surgeon. As such he went through

the war with Turkey, and was appointed in 1813, field

officer in charge of the Italian hospitals, after having

been married the year before to Miss Francisca Lechky.

Five years after the appearance of the Organon, in

the year 1815, MARENZELLER began his study of

Homœopathy, his restless medical skepticism having

driven him from one medical system to the other. He

was the first man in the Austrian States who professed

the doctrine of Hahnemann. He who knows the position

of the Austrian field-surgeons at that time will

acknowledge that it required unusual courage to make

such a profession. Besides this, in 1815 there had not

been as yet anything published but the Organon, the

Fragmenta de virib, med. p., and a single volume of

the Materia Medica Pura. With the aid of these three

volumes MARENZELLER began to make experiments.

A physician must find his curative method very

wretched, if it can be surrendered to take up an

embryonal method of cure, the whole library of which

consists of three books–Chorion, Allantois, Amuion. It

is not a small compliment to the acumen of

MARENZELLER, that he could see from even this

wretched cradle of homœopathic literature that it

contained the germ of a great truth, a truth which, as he

lived to see and feel, should enkindle the whole medical

world even to fury and should shake its reign of

thousands of years even to its foundations; a truth for

the acknowledgment of which no physician in the

Austrian states has done more than MARENZELLER.

With 32 homœopathic remedies only imperfectly

proved as yet, Staff surgeon. MARENZELLER gained

such successful results within a year in Prague,

whither he had been transferred in 1816, that his name

and his strange methods of healing had become known

in a large circle, by the one party raised to heaven, by

the other dragged down into the dust.

In the course of the next December, several

physicians of Austria, especially in Vienna, had imitated

his example: Lichtenfels, regimental surgeon

MUELLER, LOEWE, VRECHA, A. SCHMIDT,

MENZ, SCHAEFFER, VEITH and others studied

Homœopathy with enthusiasm, and practiced it with

great success, in spite of all the persecution of the

medical faculty, the Josephs Academy and the police,

which were especially able to interfere on account of

their dispensing their own medicine. That the success

of MARENZELLER and of the homœopathic

physicians then in Vienna must have caused an

excitement may be concluded from this, that in 1828,

by command of the Emperor, an experiment was

ordered to be made at the Josephs Academy. It had

been intended, indeed, to make two trials. By the first

trial, which was appointed to be made for 60 days, it

should only be found out whether Homœopathy could

accomplish anything at all. By a second series of

experiments the extent and importance of its

performance should be determined. But the second

experiment was never made, and even the first was

terminated 20 days earlier than the time first set, owing

to the orders of the higher authorities.

Staff-surgeon MARENZELLER had been ordered

from Prague to Vienna on account of these experiments.

One might suppose that MARENZELLER felt very ill

at ease, and that any one who would undertake such a

ticklish business would have to have “Robur et aes

triplex circa pectus.” Nevertheless, I can assure the

reader that he undertook these experiments with joy and

full confidence; for when I spoke with him about the

matter, several years later, he answered laughing: “I

would even have undertaken the contest, and would

have felt confident of the result, if they had made the

condition that I should treat all my patients with nothing

but sugar of milk; for I had long ago become convinced

that much more favorable results would be obtained by

not giving the patient any treatment than by treating

them allopathically; this I had become convinced of as

early as the war with Turkey.” Nevertheless, even with

this conviction, it was not an easy matter to defend a

curative method in a medical college, which differed in

every direction, even down to the soup to be supplied to

the patients, from this method while the conflict should

decide that either the new system should be discredited

or the old system annihilated. To have carried on this

conflict under circumstances which in part were very

unfavourable to a victorious issue and to the glory of the

new method, was a matter for which our deceased friend

deserves all honor and we all owe him thanks; for the

manifestly thereby opened the way for Homœopathy in

the Austrian states.

MARENZELLER during these experiments cured

nine inflammatory diseases of the severer grade with his

remedies, simply after Prof. ZANG had given the worst

prognosis unless blood-letting should be resorted to;

when they were, nevertheless, cured ZANG would

always exclaim: “How much can nature accomplish!”

the patients were in every way prepossessed against the

homœopathic treatment, so that one Pneumonia patient,

frightened by these malevolent insinuations, was about

to kill himself; according to the demand of

MARENZELLER, all physicians who were not

officially connected with the experiments were

excluded. When finally MARENZELLER had lost only

one patient out of 43, the authorities suddenly found

out that these experiments amounted to playing with

men’s lives, and the homœopathic clinic was suddenly

and abruptly closed. Of the twelve professors of the

academy, who had now to give their judgment as to

these experiments, Prof. ZIMMERMANN declared in

favor of Homœopathy, ZANG declared himself

decidedly opposed to it, and the others remained neutral.

But MARENZELLER laughed, well satisfied, for he

knew well why the experiments had been stopped. As

to the judgment of the Vienna public concerning these

experiments, it suffices to say that from this time on

MARENZELLER’s office in Kærnthnerstrasse was full

of patients from early morning till late in the evening,

and that MARENZELLER had the most extensive

practice in Vienna, and had literally no time left him for

his meals.

From this time on MARENZELLER remained in

Vienna and was pensioned at his own request.

Although the prohibition of Homœopathy issued in

1818 was not yet repealed. Archduke Johann appointed

him his physician in ordinary, and most of

Marenzeller’s patients belonged to the first houses in

Vienna. His practice was so extensive that he every day

tired out four horses. After he had driven about, making

calls from 7 A.M. to 3 P.M., when he came home he

would find the rooms full of patients. With these he

would spend several hours, then at 5P.M. he would take

a hurried dinner *

4

and would again drive out to visit

patients. Late in the evening when he would return

home at 9 or 9:30, he would again find patients waiting

for him; and thus he went on day after day for fully

twenty five years, till he had reached a good old age.

During his last years his son aided him as his assistant.

MARENZELLER died January 6th, 1854, in the

89th year of his life. A year before his death he had to

give up his practice, because the most vivid visions

tormented his spirit and in the last weeks of his life,

through their ever increasing frequency and duration,

they exhausted him so much that he would swoon away.

To these were added considerable ulcerations on his

back and along his spine, which became gangrenous and

hastened his health.

In the last year of his life MARENZELLER applied

for a patent of nobility in Austria. His request was only

granted when he was already dead, and it is reported

that by the grace of the Emperor this distinction is to be

transferred to the children of MARENZELLER.

MARENZELLER was tall and slender of figure,

with strongly marked features and hasty in his

movements; he was never seen walking slowly; in going

up stairs, he would mostly take two steps at a time, even

when he was quite old. His health and his body could

endure much, and not often has a man who continually

underwent such hardships almost reached his 90th year.

His manner of living was always sober and simple. He

usually ate only once a day and would drive out without

a breakfast to see his patients at 7 O’clock, summer and

winter. He never drank coffee or wine, very seldom a

little beer, but all the more water. Of this he would

drink in the morning hours 3-4 bottles “to dilute his

bile.” In all seasons of the year he would rise at 5:30

A.M. He knew the names of very few of his patients

but every patient had a number and at his next visit he

would present himself with his number; most of his

letters to his patients were headed with a number instead

of a name. His hostility to Allopathy and its

4

During one such hasty dinner the poor man swallowed

a chicken bone which kept him in anguish for 36 hours.

representatives he exhibited openly at every occasion.

In his ante-room there were hung pictures which

ridiculed Allopathy and especially the evacuative

method. He never visited parties or theaters; card-

playing he hated. Even to his family he could not

devote an hour day, and he had often to think a while

before he could remember the names of his

grandchildren. As a physician MARENZELLER had

rare success, and his patients had an immovable

confidence in his practical tact. Although friendly and

kindly in his intercourse, he would not stand much on

ceremony even with the noblest patients. He had a

stupendous memory, which was a great advantage in his

study of the Materia Medica. In many respects

MARENZELLER was an original character. In

conversation he was very rhapsodical; he would jump

from one subject to the other, and would be very apt

after several days to take up a conversation where he

had left off. His favorite authors were Jean Paul and

Lavater. In Jean Paul’s works he everywhere suspected

a masked cynicalness, and asserted that J. Paul fooled

the whole world. MARENZELLER was too much a

man of activity to find time for literary work;

nevertheless among the manuscripts he left behind him

there are also writings of a practical nature; as also his

synopsis of constitutions, which is well known to the

physicians of Vienna. We hope that the son of Dr.

Marenzeller, our colleague, Dr. Adolph

MARENZELLER, may publish what is most important

of this posthumous treasure.

The oldest Homœopaths of Austria will think of

MARENZELLER with love and sadness, for he ever

was to them in those troublous times of medical

inquisition a faithful friend and colleague. The younger

colleagues will remember for a long time to come the

memorable challenge which he readily accepted and

carried through victoriously in the very camp of his

enemies to serve Homœopathy and its adherents; while

thousands of patients, who owe to him their health and

life, will lovingly bless his memory. (World’s Conv. 2.,

199-235. Brit. Journal Hom., vol. 12, p.320; Kleinert,

ppl109, 142, 165, 260; All. Hom. Zeit., vol. 47, p.96;

vol.49. p.54; Rapou, vol.I, pp.244, 256, 277, etc.; vol.2,

p.243, etc.)

========================================

11. Homœopathic philosophy: its importance in the

treatment of Chronic Diseases

WEIR, John (HOM. 100, 1-2/2011)

 This article is a reprint of a previously published

article. For citation purposes, please use the original

publication details; Br. Hom. J. 1915 5: 5—21.

What is homœopathic philosophy?---It is an

understanding of the various phenomena of reaction to

the like-drug-stimulus, supplied by the homœopathic

remedy. It not only deals with the choice of the drug,

but teaches us how to use it.

There is nothing more true in the world than this:

what we sow, that we shall reap. In Homœopathy,

especially in the treatment of chronic diseases, we shall

get out what we put in. If we expect the impossible we

shall be disappointed. If we despair and say

“incurable,” we shall miss many unexpected triumphs.

If we sow mistakes we shall reap failures. And out of

failure comes disheartenment and loss of faith in our

work. The “efficacy of Homœopathy in chronic

diseases” depends on two factors that make for success

on the part of the practitioner, viz., knowledge and

faithfulness.

To begin with, we need to know our work from

start to finish.

To prescribe remedies peculiar to the homœopathic

school is not enough. To understand the “grading” of

symptoms (that is to say, their relative importance as

regards the choice of the remedy) is not enough; to

know our way blindfold about the repertory, and to use

it constantly in prescribing, is not enough. To prescribe

according to the Law of Similars, is not enough. To be

able to hit the drug is much; but it is not everything.

It is the right and necessary beginning; but it is only

the beginning. To prescribe only high potencies—or

low –is not enough.

HAHNEMANN, who gave us the Law of Similars:

who showed us the relative value of symptoms: who

told us how to use the repertories: and how to be led by

them to the Materia Medica: gave us, besides this, a

very great deal more. And unless we go the whole way

with him we need not expect (as he warns us) ever to

see “the efficacy of Homœopathy in chronic diseases.”

Chronic diseases

In regard to chronic diseases (which he claims to be

the first to treat successfully) HAHNEMANN has given

us most explicit instructions, warnings, and

exhortations. It is not enough, he tells us again and

again, to find the curative remedy, we must know how

to use it if we are to be successful here.

HAHNEMANN (speaking of the necessity of letting the

single, dose of the indicated remedy act to its finish)

says (all quotations are taken from “The Chronic

Diseases”): “Unless the physician imitates my method,

he cannot expect to solve the highest problem of

medical science (that of curing those important chronic

diseases, which have indeed remained uncured up to the

time when I discovered their true character, and proper

treatment).” ….

“If physicians do not carefully practice

what I teach, let them not boast themselves of

being my followers; and above all, let them not

expect to be successful in their treatment.”

An acute disease is self-limiting; the patient

recovers, or dies. Of chronic diseases, on the contrary,

HAHNEMANN says: “They never yield to the simple

action of a robust constitution; or to the best regulated

diet, or mode of life. On the contrary, they grow worse

from year to year to the end of life, gradually assuming

different and more dangerous symptoms.” …

“As when,” he says, “phthisis passes often into

insanity, drying up ulcers into apoplexy, intermittent

fevers into asthma, affections of the abdomen into

pains in the joints or paralysis. It is not difficult,” he

adds, “to perceive that the new symptoms were founded

on the existing primitive malady, and could only be

parts of a much more extensive disease.”

If our Homœopathy, then, is to exhibit its efficacy

in chronic diseases, we must know our work. We must

know how to take the case; how to estimate the relative

value of symptoms, in order to find the correct remedy;

how to administer that remedy; how to wait while the

patient reacts to the vital stimulus; how to read the

response of the patient when the reaction comes; how to

wait till the reaction is wholly spent before again

stimulating.

“He who observes these things with the greatest

care will be,” as HAHNEMANN says, “the most

successful homœopathic practitioner.”

For what is Homœopathy? Homœopathy is “like”

medicine, it is true; but it is much more. It includes the

single drug, the single dose, the initial aggravation,

non-interference with reaction, and potentization.

On all these, in his work on chronic diseases,

HAHNEMANN strongly insists; and if we are to

experience the “efficacy of Homœopathy in chronic

diseases,” we need all these.

Let me repeat, because it is so important:

Homœopathy means the “like” remedy (that is to say,

the remedy whose disease symptoms resemble the

disease-symptoms of the patient we desire to cure) but

besides the “like” remedy, it means the single drug, the

single dose, the initial aggravation, non-interference

with reaction and potentization.

Individualize

What differentiates the school of HAHNEMANN

from all other schools is, that we individualize; they do

not. To treat a chronic disease per se is quite wrong.

To send all patients suffering with rheumatism to Bath,

or with gout to Harrogate, is all wrong. The waters that

help one may be harmful to another. To prescribe the

same diet for all patients whose diseases are called by

the same name is useless. It agrees with this one and

disagrees with the next.

What we must treat is the underlying dyscrasia of

the patient. When we prescribe homœopathically, we

are prescribing for idiosyncrasy, and that is where we

get our success. If we believed that medicines would

cure our patients, we might think that the more of the

right medicine we could get in the quicker would be the

cure; whereas exactly the opposite is the case. The

patient must cure himself. Medicine cannot cure him.

All that medicine can do curatively is to stimulate his

curative reaction. The dose of the drug to which his

idiosyncrasy makes him sensitive merely acts as a vital

stimulus. And it is in his reaction to that stimulus that

lies his salvation. So we see that diseases and drugs are

much alike in their effects. They provide stimuli to

which there is more or less vital reaction.

Kent says: “Susceptibility is only a name for a state

that underlies all possible sickness, and all possible

cure.” There is the individual behind it all. Different

individuals react differently to both diseases and

remedies. It requires many cases of a disease to exhibit

the whole disease picture. It is only from many provers

that the whole of a drug-disease picture can be elicited.

Everywhere it is the ego behind it all that has to be

reckoned with. And it is only through symptoms that

denote the individual (and his defective reactions to

mental and physical environment in particular) that we

can find his individual stimulus. This is the very

essence of Homœopathy as taught by HAHNEMANN.

Resistance

The thing that concerns us, as physicians, is the

patient. Surgery busies itself only with “ultimates,” or

disease-products. Remember that disease (or what we

call disease), is really the result of disease, or deficient

resistance. It is this resistance that we must stimulate.

The true disease is the underlying condition, the

susceptibility, the intangible cause of the pathological

changes. It is this with which we have to do, or fail.

HAHNEMANN tells us that our only mission in life, as

physicians, is to cure the sick. And everything depends

on our interpretation of a sick man. We often come

across patients who give us plenty of symptoms; yet on

careful examination nothing definitely is found wrong.

Yet that patient is a sick person, and if not treated will

in the end have ultimates to show.

The individual behind the disease is shown in what

we call the generals of the patient; that is to say, by his

reactions, as a whole, to environment, mental and

physical. This is where he betrays his weakness and

deficiencies; this is where we can help him. You see,

the patient is out of tune with his surroundings and

therefore suffers. And suffering, of course, means

damage. He is out of gear; he is failing to adjust

himself; he is working along a wrong channel. His

normal healthy rhythm is disturbed.

In machinery a want of perfect adjustment means

stress, jar and friction. Friction, stress and jar are

destructive to any machine. Parts are strained, worn

down; presently adjustment fails and something gives.

The machine is old and worn out and incapable before

its time. It is just like that with the human machine.

The man is not normal. He fails, therefore, to adjust

himself, fails to react curatively to injury, strain, or

invasion of disease. There are attempts at

compensation; but these things do not make for health,

and a vicious circle is established. Things are not

working smoothly; there is distress, pain, perverted

function. Presently something gives. Ultimates are

established. When this happens we can give the disease

a name; but the man was sick long before, or all this

would never have happened. The patient was wrong,

out of gear, out of sorts, before he could show it by

putting up diseased parts.

It is the patient himself, the primitive sick man,

with which Homœopathy is concerned; and he can only

be got at through his morbid reactions, mental and

physical. Therefore, for our purpose, the symptoms of

importance are those which denote or express the

patient; not those secondary to mechanical or

pathological changes. This cannot be too often

repeated. The symptoms complained of by the patient,

the obvious symptoms, dependent on gross pathological

lesions, are generally worthless from the point of view

of prescribing. The stiffness of ankylosis, the dyspnoea

of pressure on the trachea, the frequent micturition of

pressure on the bladder, the itching skin of bile-

absorption, are not symptoms of any use, when we are

searching for the constitutional remedy. But the

symptoms that are of importance are the symptoms of

the patient himself, as a whole; the failures to adjust

himself to mental and physical surroundings. These are

the things that cramp his vitalities, his healthy activities

and enjoyment of life, that lower his resistance; it is on

these that ultimates are established.

In speaking of the symptoms that express the

patient it may be as well to explain the terms used, in

case they should be unfamiliar to any here.

General symptoms are those which denote the

patient as a whole. Particulars are those which refer

only to a part or organ.

Of generals, the patient says “I,” not “My.” (“I

suffer in the cold,” “I have lost interest in everything---

in work---in my loved ones.” “I feel nausea at the sight

or smell of food.”) Of particulars he says, not “I,” but

“My” (“My knees suffer in the cold, or damp.” “My

eruption is more painful after washing.”)

It is necessary to get generals and particulars

clearly, since they may be contradictory. The patient

may say, “I feel the cold, and cannot stand it; but my

joint pains are much worse from heat.” Such

contradictory conditions are very valuable to the

prescriber.

It is also necessary to distinguish clearly between

generals and particulars, because the generals take far

higher rank, as denoting the patient himself. Even in

Homœopathy the whole is greater than its part. Of the

generals the symptoms of highest rank are the mental

symptoms, as expressing most perfectly, and indeed

dominating the individual. These all are more

especially important when they express a change in the

mental or physical condition. Deviations from the

normal of the race are important; deviations from the

normal of the individual are much more so.

Take an example: A man who has always appeared

lighthearted and open, becomes depressed and takes on

suspicion. His very nature seems to change. This is of

the utmost importance and it limits your work at once.

Mentals are of the highest grade and such a marked

symptom must be in high type. We know, therefore,

that the remedy for this case must be in the group of

suspicious remedies. Only drugs that have caused or

evoked suspicion need to be considered. I say evoked

because there must have been a latent tendency to

suspicion in the patient, otherwise, neither sickness nor

drug would probably have been able to bring it out.

Mental symptoms, then, that express the patient’s very

self, take the highest rank in working out the case.

Where they are very definite and strongly marked they

lead you at once to the consideration of a small group of

remedies, and lighten the labour entailed in determining

the drug. For we may get a long case with numerous

symptoms. Something must be left out. The whole

situation depends on what we do so leave out. If we

remove the prop, the very foundation, why it must fall.

Without the grading of symptoms, the knowledge of

what is essential to the case, repertorizing would be an

interminable task; with results so poor and uncertain as

would soon lead to its abandonment. The symptoms of

importance in repertorizing are those that denote the

patient, his mental reactions, desires and fears; his

physical reactions to temperature, storm and climate, to

time, to food and drink, to position, motion, and such-

like.

Of less importance are his particulars (the

symptoms pertaining to his parts or organs), unless

indeed, “rare and peculiar,” when they at once become

characteristic of himself, apart from his malady, and

rank high.

Of least importance are common symptoms,

whether common to his disease and therefore not

distinctive, or common to a great number of remedies,

and therefore useless for the selection of one. Common

symptoms are practically useless in prescribing.

But notice, please, that the symptoms that go to

make up the choice of the remedy, often lie quite

outside those that go to make up the pathology of the

case. Beware of prescribing on a single symptom,

however marked and characteristic. You may wipe out

that symptom---only. You will do so, if you prescribe a

remedy that does not cover the whole case. Whereas in

prescribing for the patient as a whole, you will wipe out

that symptom with the rest. More than that, you will

often learn, later, that your medicine has cured

symptoms that the patient never thought to mention to

you.

Taking the case

The homœopathic taking of the case, then, must

differ entirely from anything we have learnt outside the

School of Hahnemann. “The first rule is, let the patient

talk. Don’t interrupt. We want his whole story. By

diverting his thoughts, we may lose something of the

first importance. When he has finished, it is our turn.

We must start questioning him, and get him to qualify

all the statements he has made (because a common and

useless symptom, when qualified, is often transformed

into the “strange, rare and peculiar” that is so important

in working out the remedy). We shall need to ask a

great number of questions, in order to get the few

symptoms of vital importance. But care is needed in

framing our questions. They should be put in such a

way that the patient is forced to consider, and make

statements: that he is unable to answer them by yes, or

no. Again remember: if we ask leading questions, we

shall get misleading answers. Another point: it is

useless to write down anything that is not definite and

marked. If it is a question of “Yes---I think so?” “Well,

you know, I rather prefer---” leave it out.

Next we have to get the generals, and mentals. The

mentals we leave to the last, till we have had time to

familiarize the patient with our methods, and to win his

confidence. It is a difficult thing, often, to reach the

very symptoms we need most---to probe to the depths of

fears and depression. The friends of the patient may

help us here, especially in regard to important changes

of disposition. Besides that, we are helped by our own

observations; the patient betrays himself in a hundred

ways. There is not only the type of the patient: the

moist hand, the dusky complexion, the way he begs us

to open (or shut) the window.

We may notice: restlessness and ceaseless

movement, a suspicious look and manner, reserve, and

resentment of sympathy, reluctance to tell even

necessary symptoms, loquacity or slowness, easy

weeping. Often our conclusions flatly contradict the

patient’s own description of his mental state.

In children the mentals are easy to get, and help you

more than anything. There is the child you want to

caress, and the child you want to spank. The child that

wants to be comforted, and the child that twists angrily

away.

In taking the case, the only things we have in

common with the old school are, the careful

examination of the patient and the necessity for

diagnosis. Not because on diagnosis is based the

remedy. It is not. But because, unless we diagnose the

mechanical and pathological condition, we cannot

prescribe either homœopathically or safely. For without

examination and diagnosis, how are we to differentiate

between the symptoms that are secondary to, or

common to the disease, and those which are inherent in

and peculiar to the patient? And for the discovery of the

vital stimulus, the latter alone are of importance. Again

if we neglect diagnosis, we may inadvertently, but

irretrievably, damage the patient, by administering the

vital stimulus in too high a potency. Where there is

gross tissue-change, the remedy that ought to have been

administered many years ago may provoke such a

turmoil, such reaction, that the patient never rallies. In

our attempt to cure what is incurable, we may actually

kill.

Potencies

And here let me say one word about potencies.

Potentization was Hahnemann’s great discovery. He

considered potentized drugs essential in the cure of

chronic conditions. He says: “Homœopathic

dynamizations are processes by means of which the

medicinal properties of drugs, which are in a latent state

in the crude substance, are excited, and enabled to act

dynamically upon the vital force; that is upon the

sensibility and irritability of fibres.

“I have been the first to discover and to promulgate

this awakening of the latent dynamic properties of

medicinal drugs, which is effected either by the process

of trituration, or succussion.

“It is therefore improper to apply the term ‘dilution’

to a dynamized drug (though every new potency of a

drug has to be mixed either with alcohol or sugar of

milk, to enable us to carry on these processes still

further, and to set free the very inmost power of the

drug, which could not be done by simply triturating or

shaking the original substance, were we to do it for ever

so long a period).

“…By employing proper care in the preparation of

our potencies, even the 50th potency becomes

exceedingly powerful.”

He has, however, sanctioned potencies higher than

he ever dreamed of, when he tells us the height to which

potentization may, with advantage, be carried. For he

says, so long as the potentized remedy is capable of

provoking even a small aggravation of symptoms

immediately after its administration, “we have curative

power.”

Aggravation

And here let us consider, for a moment, the

question of aggravation. Aggravation is almost as

precious to the homœopath, as amelioration. Where

there is aggravation, there is evidence of power. Also,

where there is aggravation, there is evidence of

reaction; and it is on vital reaction that all our work is

based. It is the reaction of the patient to the vital

stimulus provided by the simillimum, that is curative.

The remedy, as we said, never cures the patient, but it

does far more: It stimulates him to set about curing

himself. And that is why we must not repeat lightly.

For while he is so busied, it is a fatal mistake to

interrupt him, and cause him to swerve from his course.

The symptoms presented by the patient, are really his

reaction to disease. When we add a drug-stimulus of

“like” nature, the preliminary aggravation is evidence of

the enhanced endeavour of the patient to resist. But

aggravation is of two kinds, and we must distinguish

between them. For with the one we must interfere; with

the other, we must not.

There is the aggravation of the disease, where the

disease is worse, and the patient is also worse; here we

must antidote at once. There is the aggravation of

symptoms only, when the symptoms are worse, but the

patient feels better. Here we must let it alone. It will

pass. Whenever there is aggravation of symptoms, but

the patient says, “I feel better,” that is of good prognosis

--- provided you keep your hands off.

Hahnemann says: “The physician need not feel the

least uneasiness if the ordinary symptoms of the disease

are called out by the antipsoric remedies, in a higher

degree of intensity than they usually manifest.

“They will diminish more and more, one day after

another.”

“This so-called homœopathic aggravation is a

proof that the cure is not only probable, but may be

anticipated with certainty.”

When there is not much tissue change, you get no

real aggravation of disease, but a mere transient

exacerbation of symptoms. Where the homœopathic

aggravation is quick, and severe, and soon over, the

amelioration will be long-lasting. (Always provided we

keep our hands off.) A quick rebound on the part of the

patient tells us several important things: That the

remedy was well chosen; that the vital economy is in

good state; that there are no gross tissue changes; that

the patient will get well. Such cases give us no anxiety.

So we see how all-important it is to our peace of mind,

to know our work, and when we get results, to be able to

interpret them.

The language of reaction

It was important for us to be able to read the

language of symptoms, to correctly interpret their cry

for the curative drug. It is no less important that we

should also master the language of reaction, and be able

to rightly interpret what the remedy has to tell us, in

regard to prognosis and the after-treatment of the case.

No aggravation, a sudden amelioration of all

symptoms (a quick rebound to health) means: the

remedy was right; the potency was right; the disease

was not deeply seated.

A short, sharp aggravation, followed by long

amelioration means: The remedy was right; the potency

was right; reaction is good; patient curable.

In less favourable cases you may get: Long

aggravation, with slow improvement; long aggravation,

with slow decline of patient; rapid improvement,

followed by long aggravation; these mean, prognosis

not good. The normal curative reaction is not here.

You must remember that there are cases that are

incurable. In such, you must not give the constitutional

remedy in high potency---the remedy that should have

been given twenty years ago. It is too late. The reaction

to such advanced disease would destroy the patient.

You can help these patients a great deal, you can

prolong life; only you must realize that you cannot cure

them. In such cases we are told “to use short-acting

remedies, and such antipsorics as do not relate to the

case as it was at the beginning. The remedy that fits the

previous condition will tear the case down.”

There is one other group of great importance:

Amelioration, followed by return of old symptoms. (By

these we mean old, perhaps long-forgotten symptoms:

not the symptoms for which the patient consulted us.)

When these ancient symptoms return, in the reverse

order of their coming, this is of the utmost importance.

It tells us that the remedy is deep-acting, down, to the

very foundations; that the patient will get well (always

provided that we will let well alone).

It proves, as Hahnemann says of the return of these

old symptoms: “That the remedy has attacked the

disease in its inmost nature, and will prove of great use

hereafter. Therefore the remedy,” he says, “ought to be

left undisturbed.”

Therefore, whenever the patient returns with the

report of symptoms new to us, we must always ask

whether they are really new to the patient, or whether

they are not merely a return of ancient symptoms i.e.,

previous phases of the chronic life-long disease), since

these are of good prognosis, and must not be meddled

with; for, as a rule, they do not persist. They return to

make their bow before the curtain; then vanish.

We must let the remedy act

And now, most important of all, we must speak of

the need to let the remedy act. It is at our peril we

meddle with reaction. The first prescription was

important. On the second hangs the future of the

patient. It is no good to say, “I have found the curative

drug, I will push it.” Remember always, that if there is

one thing the curative drug will not stand, it is being

pushed. The result of such a course will speedily cause

you to doubt whether you have got the curative drug at

all. We must be loyal to the remedy, and to the reaction

of the patient; or they will both fail us, and there will be

no cure. The curative drug always demands that we

shall watch and wait: for the curative drug strongly

resents interference.

Even the Allopaths have come to recognize a state

of hypersensitiveness or anaphylaxis following a vita

stimulus: and the uselessness, and even danger of

repetition while this lasts. The disciples of Hahnemann

knew of this condition ages before it got a long Greek

name. They have Hahnemann’s warnings, and his

directions for practice. You have got to hasten slowly.

You have, with the dose of your well-selected remedy,

supplied the initial impetus: your patient is just able to

stagger forward; but it is forward. Give him another

push, and his direction is no longer forward, but down.

Hahnemann says: “The surest and safest way of

hastening the cure, is to let the medicine act so long as

the improvement in the patient continues (were it far

beyond the period set down as the probable duration of

its action). He who observes this rule with the greatest

care will be the most successful homœopathic

practitioner.”

There are more cases spoilt by improper repetition

of the remedy than from any other cause. Whenever a

remedy has produced a positive effect, whether of

aggravation or of amelioration, no repetition is

permissible until that action has wholly spent itself.

Symptoms were all important for the choice of the

remedy: but after the remedy has been given, and while

the patient is reacting, symptoms must not betray us into

prescribing. So long as a patient is improving,

symptoms are not a call for a new prescription. Listen

to Hahnemann again: “The physician must be on his

guard against interrupting the action of the antipsoric

remedy which he has given to the patient. Let him not

exhibit an intermediate remedy, on account of a little

headache, which may perhaps come the day after the

antipsoric was given, or another remedy for a sore

throat, or diarrhea, or a little pain.”

“The rule is, that the carefully selected

homœopathic remedy should act until it has completed

its effect.”

And again, he says, “A hasty repetition of the

remedy, or every new dose of another remedy, would

produce increase of morbid symptoms, and interrupt the

process of cure. It often requires a long time before so

much mischief can be remedied.”

And again, “By means of a single dose of a

carefully selected remedy, the homœopathic physician

often produces an improvement in the state of his

patient, which continues even to the restoration of

health. This result could not have been obtained if the

dose had been repeated, or if another remedy had been

given.”

And again, “The whole cure fails, if the antipsoric

remedies which have been prescribed for the patient are

not permitted to act uninterruptedly to the end…” He

talks of “the loss which the rash haste of the physician

has inflicted upon the patient,” by which “the benign

action of the remedy, which was about manifesting its

most beautiful and surprising results, is probably lost to

the patient for ever.”

And once again: “The surest and safest way to

hasten the cure is, to let the medicine act so long as the

improvement of the patient continues. He who observes

this rule with the greatest care, will be the most

successful homœopathic practitioner.”

So long, then, as reaction is in progress, symptoms

are not a call for a new prescription, even were it a

repetition.

While the patient is reacting, and his symptoms

mending, there is no cry for a drug, and you have no

business to give a drug, except in response to a definite

cry. A drug for which there is no cry is no stimulus to

healthful reaction.

Reaction is still going on, so long as symptoms

continue to disappear in the reverse order of their

coming, or ancient symptoms return (to disappear) in

the reverse order of their appearing, or if symptoms

pass from internal organs on to more superficial ones,

or, when symptoms change and move from above

downwards,

Hering, in his preface to the “Chronic Diseases,”

puts this point. He writes: “Every homœopathic

physician must have observed that the improvement in

pain takes place from above downwards, and in disease

from within outwards. This is why chronic diseases, if

they are thoroughly cured, always terminate in some

cutaneous eruption. The thorough cure of a widely

ramified chronic disease in the organism is indicated by

the most prominent 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.

“Even the superficial observer cannot fail to

recognize this law of order. An improvement which

takes place in a different order can never be relied on.”

This, then, is the order of cure: From above

downwards; from within outwards; in the reverse order

of appearing.

But how long must we wait before repeating the

dose? (Have you observed, by-the-bye, how

Hahnemann always speaks about the dose, when he is

dealing with chronic diseases.) There is only one rule

in regard to repetition; wait till the patient feels less

well, and the symptoms on which we prescribed begin

to come back to stay. They return just to ask for a

repetition of the remedy. Here is a case of

Hahnemann’s. He says: “On one occasion I gave sepia

against a chronic headache, which came on at intervals.

The attacks became both less frequent and less violent.

Another dose stopped the headache for a period of one

hundred days; from which I inferred that the remedy

acted during all that time. At the end of one hundred

days another slight attack came on. A third dose of

sepia was given, and it is now seven years since the

headache has completely disappeared.” -----“Chron.

Dis.”

I think I have shown you that this is all

Hahnemann, of whom Dr. Kent is the greatest exponent

in our day. Kent says in a recent letter: “It always seems

so strange to me to hear that I have attempted a

departure from Hahnemann’s teaching. I simply try to

show what it means, and how to apply it after one

hundred years of application. I have made no

discoveries. I have nothing that I can call my own.”

On the question of letting the remedy act, he is at

one with “the Grand Old Master,” as he calls

Hahnemann. Kent says: “The more ignorant the

physician, the more he will do.” “It is better to do

nothing at all than to do something useless.” “If you go

at it like a common tinker you may cure acute sickness,

but, on your life, do not tamper with these chronic

diseases.” “This flopping about, and not waiting for the

remedy to act, is abominable! There are periods of

improvement and periods of failure. Let the life force

go on as long as it can, and repeat only when the

original symptoms come back to stay.”

One last quotation from Hahnemann I will give

you: “My doctrines in regard to the magnitude and

repetition of the doses will be doubted for years, even

by the greater number of homœopathic physicians.

Their excuse will be, “that it is quite difficult enough to

believe that the minute homœopathic doses have at al

the power to act upon disease, but that it is incredible

that such small doses should be able to influence an

inveterate chronic disease even for two or three, much

less for forty or fifty days: yea, that after so long a space

of time important results should be obtained from those

imperceptible doses ….”

“Does the physician risk anything by imitating a

method which I have adopted from long experience and

observation? Unless the physician imitates my method,

he cannot expect to solve the highest problem of

medical science, that of curing those important chronic

diseases which have indeed remained uncured up to the

time when I discovered their true character and proper

treatment…

“If physicians do not carefully practice what I

teach, let them not boast themselves of being of

my followers, and, above all, let them not expect

to be successful in their treatment.”

There may be much in the foregoing that seems

strange and almost inexplicable, but we must approach

it with the humble mind of those eager to do all we can

for suffering humanity. We do not yet understand what

electricity is, but that does not hinder men from using it

along directed channels to obey their wills---if we sit

still and do nothing till we fully understand why all how

things happen, we will not be busy or useful.

So with Homœopathy---we cannot explain

precisely how the simillimum acts—why such minute

quantities of drugs should have any action at all—why

it is dangerous to repeat too soon the phenomena of

aggravation, but we use them intelligently. Now

science comes along and clears up much that was dark.

Recent excellent papers by Mr. Dudley WRIGHT, Dr,

WHEELER, and last month by our President, gave

evidence of the forces of the infinitesimal, we need no

longer apologize for using drugs in such imperceptible

doses. The phenomena of anaphylaxis are analogous to

the upset produced by the too early repetition of the

homœopathic remedy. Sir Almroth Wright’s so-called

reaction in vaccine therapy explains to some extent the

aggravation felt by the patient after the administration

of our drugs.

So we may yet hope for many of the strange things

that actually do occur in our practice being fully

understood some day, but we must not wait till then

before we utilize their messages.

Dr. Wheeler ably puts it in The Homœopathic

World, February, 1914: “As regards many subjective

symptoms and so-called ‘general’ symptoms, their

pathology is as yet unknown; but that does not mean

that it is nonexistent. There must be a reason why one

patient reacts unfavourably to damp or cold more than

another. Sometimes we can divine it, but when we

cannot, the symptom is nevertheless a part of the

pathology of the case, and it is not scientific to ignore

all that we cannot explain. Rather we should seek to

understand.”

I have been almost entirely using Hahnemann’s

name, and that advisedly. It is impossible to conceive

in these days of anyone blindly following teachings of

100 years ago, unless they be borne out by everyday

clinical experience. Even to-day Hahnemann’s warning

holds good---and only those who closely follow his

directions need look for his results.

=======================================

12. Constitution and Constitutional Treatment

LEESER, O. (HOM. 100, 1-2/2011)

MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

let me begin by telling you that I highly appreciate the

opportunity to speak in this famous centre of British

Homœopathy, and my thanks are due to the Council of

the British Homœopathic Society for their kind

invitation.

The subject matter I have chosen, “Constitution

and Constitutional Treatment,” certainly is a most

important one for our medical art. For the

constitutional treatment must be considered the highest

aim of all internal medicine. One might well put the

question, however: Is it not entirely superfluous to

speak about constitutional therapeutics to homœopathic

physicians, seeing that all homœopathic therapeutics

are constitutional treatment? Indeed I should like to put

this thesis at the head of my remarks. As a matter of

principle and method Homœopathy means

constitutional treatment. We are proud of the fact that

the homœopathic method enables us consciously to

practice constitutional therapy with drugs; to realize

this by other methods appears a scarcely attainable

ideal, but in this circle, as it were intra muros, I need

not point out the advantages of homœopathic methods,

rather do I wish to ventilate detailed problems of this

kind which might determine our practice. A correct

understanding of the relations between Homœopathy

and constitutional therapy can, for instance, facilitate

our decision in individual cases whether we might or

should make the local and acute manifestations of

disease the object of treatment, or whether the

individual constitutional disposition has to take priority.

Perhaps I may partially anticipate the answer to this

question. Constitutional therapy is never a matter of

something absolute, it is rather a matter of degree, of

the extent which the constitution can be diagnosed and

treated. What I purpose to attempt to-day is mainly to

elucidate the various degrees and stages into which

medical treatment can delve.

I must first shortly establish Homœopathy as

constitutional therapy and give it its proper place in the

greater biological complex as I see it. Our conception

of disease, natural and artificial healing, is that it forms

part of the greater all-embracing nature principle of

adaptation.

Like a river in its bed, the river flows but within its

limits; the fluctuations of its level, dependent as they

are on the weather, have a wide zone of adaptation. But

the river can overflow its normal bounds owing to the

abnormal weather conditions.

So also the individual is continually flowing,

changing, altering. In the pain it is adapted to the

conditions of its environment, or it is easily able to

adapt itself. It has a physiological margin of

adaptation.

Looking at the surface we can observe adaptation

as an active process in its details even in our humanly

narrow field of vision. This becomes most distinct

when and where the fluctuations exceed their normal

limits. That is the case in disease, a process in the

living being which particularly concerns us. We call an

organism diseased when it fails to be adapted to

unusual surrounding factors or even to its usual

conditions of living. The pathological processes

represent to our mind attempts at adaptation. But in

disease these attempts are insufficient as they fail in

time and in extent. Whether the organism will later on

be successful in its attempts at adaptation, be it with or

without artificial help, is another question.

During illness, these attempts are at least

incomplete, if not entirely insufficient. What we want

to show in this connection is how our conception of

disease is governed by the great biological principle of

adaptation. This conception corresponds to modern

teaching of biology; it is dynamic, for it considers the

forces of the living organism to be continually active

with the aim of self-conversation.

With such a conception Homœopathy wholly

agrees, since its aim is to further the efforts of the

organism to adapt itself in those places and those stages

where failure becomes manifest.

What is the meaning of our comparing the

symptoms of the individual patient with the symptoms

caused by medicines and then prescribing the most

similar remedy? We bring the remedy into close accord

with the diseased individual. The very object at which

we direct our attack is the same human organism, the

same psycho-physical unit against which the exterior or

interior causes of disease are fighting. The intensity

with which the organism reacts on the pathological or

medicinal stimulus affords us our gauge. The reacting

organism is what we always refer to; we judge the

increase or decrease of the disease according to the

symptoms the organism produces. Neither can the

quantity of pathological causes be a measure of disease,

nor the quantity of a remedy a measure of healing.

Homœopathy seeks healing by furthering the

reactions of the organism. Neglect or suppression of

these reactions are in any case alien to Homœopathy.

The fighting side, which is to be aided and supported by

homœopathic treatment is really the reacting organism

and that means nothing but the constitution. Thus

Homœopathy is as a matter of principle constitutional

therapy. The manner in which an organism reacts

shows us the peculiarity of its constitution.

In pathology and therapy we speak of constitution when

we deduce the present state of the individual, his

morphological and functional characteristics as having

been caused by past influences; the same complex we

should call predisposition when we refer to the future

tendency with its accidental possibilities.

In constitutional therapy, however, we always have

in mind both the present situation resulting from the

past and its future tendencies. For dynamic conception

the improvement of the constitution is synonymous

with elimination of the predisposition.

Whenever we improve the adaptation of the

organism to the conditions surrounding it, whenever we

further its reactions towards attacks and demands, we

are practicing constitutional therapy. That it is possible

to be practiced there can be no doubt; more important to

us is the particular question how far into the organism,

into the constitution can we trace the disease, with our

perception on the one hand, with the stimulus of the

remedy on the other. How far can we intensify

constitutional diagnosis and constitutional treatment?

Extent and depth, degree and grade, the more or less of

the manner of penetrating the constitution, theoretically

as well as practically---these are the real and internal

problems of Homœopathy. Let us contemplate

separately the continuity of space and time within

which we also view the individual, first in the

geometrical and then in the time dimension. We are

well aware, that in reality we cannot separate the “now”

and the “here,” but for the understanding we should do

well to consider the steps and degrees leading us into

the comprehension of the constitution separately

according to space and time.

Consider the constitution, the organism, in its

dimension of space, would that not lead us straight

away to a localistic anatomical materialistic pathology?

No that is not at all what we mean. Surely it is not only

the material which has a relation to space, forces also

can be localized. There exist between them super-

ordination, co-ordination or sub-ordination, what we

call peripheral, and more or less central localization.

These dynamic localizations are what we principally

mean. Let us take a Cystitis; surely it can be limited

locally. But what we have to comprehend and treat is

not a conglomeration of inflamed mucous membranes.

Rather are we bound, even here, in the mostly local

peripheral case to suppose the existence of a centre for

the disturbance as well as for its regulation. Let the

ultimate cause be, say, wet and cold feet at a time when

the coli bacilli are present. Here at least we have to

super-ordinate the disturbance in the regulation of the

blood-vessels to the alteration in the cells of the mucous

membranes. Without such a central switchboard, a

regulating centre, we cannot conceive a connection

between morbific event and morbid manifestations.

Neither can we conceive the medicinal regulation as a

peripheral action on the mucous membranes of the

bladder, when Cantharis 6 presently induces an

improvement. It would be impossible to suppose that

the few drops can have a local mending action on the

peripheral cells. We cannot be mistaken in assuming

one and the same regulating centre for the genesis of

the malady and for its abolition. This centre is super-

ordinated with regard to the cells of the peripheral

organ, but in such a rather peripheral process it would

be an inferior centre. This centre too belongs to the

constitutional part of the pathological and therapeutical

process. But the constitution is engaged only partially

or within certain limits in this case, in which the

exogenous factors were preponderant. In giving

Cantharis we have used the partially constitutional

method of a comparatively peripheral grade. A so-

called “organotropie” because we have directed our

efforts towards an organ; but it is still constitutional

therapy.

Starting from such a low rung, the constitutional

part of disease as well as the remedy, both of which

meet at the same regulating centre, can proceed in two,

as it were, directions of space, in the plane and in the

depth, on the horizontal and in the vertical. First, in the

plane. If the disease remains limited, let us say to the

bladder, the external causes may diminish in case a

stronger local disposition of the organ exists. Let us

take the case of Capsicum. There we frequently find an

ectropion of the urethral orifice in women as an

expression of the easily inflammable and irritable

bladder. The nervous spasmodic accompanying

manifestations are strongly apparent. One remembers

that Capsicum belongs to the family of Solanaceae, as

Belladonna and Hyoscyamus. In such cases of easily

inflammable bladder with ectropion urethrae in women

I have seen good effects from Capsicum. Here we may

still speak of a peripheral affection and a comparatively

organotropic therapy, but the exogenous causes are

secondary to the stronger local disposition. Now let us

take a Sepia woman patient with relaxed protruding

abdominal organs. The down-drawn urethra causes a

continual irritation of the neck of the bladder, again and

again slight inflammation with slight incontinence. In

such cases I have repeatedly been successful with

Sepia. It is obvious that here the constitutional part of

the local affliction has become preponderant. The outer

causes become secondary. We call them accidental. In

such a case of Cystitis in the Sepia woman, however,

we see the constitutional part not only extended in the

plane but also in the direction of depth. The affection

of the bladder is subordinated to a more universal

diseased state. The regulating centre, the existence of

which we suppose we remove here, lies deeper in the

constitution. The laxity of fibre is more general. The

personality as a whole is affected, also its psychical

reactions become more important. The entire

psychophysical functional unit is modified in the Sepia

sense. The specific emotional symptoms, signs of

psychic exhaustion, point in such cases even more

definitely to Sepia, for they lead us more directly to the

centre of the personality. In the specificity of the

person we see the most central point of the functional

system. This central office of the individual receives

the stimulus from outside already in its own specific

manner, transforms it equally specifically, so that the

outward effects also bear the stamp of its own specific

personality. This refers to the normal as well as to the

morbid attitude. The line from the periphery of an

organ to this personal centre represents that dimension

of depth in which we have to seek the points from

which disease and cure are being regulated. This

exploring into the depth of constitution when collecting

and comparing symptoms is quite familiar to us. We

know that the more characteristic symptoms, mental

symptoms and modalities, that we can find and utilize

in any single case, the more we shall penetrate into the

depth topwards the disturbed supreme centre of

personality. What psycho-analysis tries to accomplish

by its method is for Homœopathy a method long

familiar. Later we shall see that also for the time

dimension the same applies.

The gradual penetration from the periphery to

more and more central regulating seats, down to the

most central point of the personality, will become quite

apparent when I give you some examples. Take a

series of cardiac affections represented by the effects of

the similar remedies well familiar to you. You can then

easily form a scale from the organotropic base up to the

personotropic apex, for instance, if you hold before

your mind the affinities of the following drugs in

cardiac affections. At the lowest Digitalis and

Stropanthus, a step higher Convallaria, Scilla, Adonis

then Crataegus, Laurocerasus, Cactus then Kalmia,

Spigelia, Lachesis then Arsenicum, Phosphorus and

finally Kali carbonicum. In this scale you see the

personal part crescendo (increasing) and the local

organotropic one decrescendo (decreasing). What

remedy from this scale the therapeutist chooses depends

objectively on the individual case, that is to say how far

individualization is possible on the one hand and on the

other hand subjectively from the ability of the physician

to find the adequate consonance.

But also within the sphere of a single drug you can

follow this scale from the periphery to the centre from

the end-organs to more and more central seats of

regulation. Take for instance Arsenicum album, there

you know on the lowest rung of the ladder the

destructive effects on cells, gangrene and necrosis,

carcinoma, septic embolic processes with foetid and

acrid secretions. The next rung is taken by the

inflammatory alterations leading finally to fatty

degeneration of the cells of organs and of vascular

endothelium. From these toxic effects we derive

clinical indications as enteritis, nephritis, myocarditis,

cardiovascular syndromes with tendency to oedema and

so on. On the next higher rung we find the effects on

the nervous system as caused by minute but often

repeated doses. The neuralgias and neuritis, the various

trophoneurotic troubles, ulcers, herpes zoster are of this

kind. Here the heavy burning pains, the aggravation

from cold, the midnight aggravation are keynotes. And

again the constitutional part increases proceeding to the

allergic conditions which indicate arsenic, as asthma,

hay-fever, urticaria, and the vasomotor megrims and

headaches. Here the organic part recedes more and

more to the background and the functional part

becomes preponderant. We penetrate more and more to

the top point of personality when anxiety, restlessness,

pedantry, are guiding symptoms. However Arsenicum

album is not at all a remedy especially appropriate for

penetrating to the very personal centre of a patient. We

should not call arsenic a constitutional remedy in a

stricter sense. Take, for instance, Calcarea carbonica

as a constitutional remedy of the first rank. Here the

stress lies on those symptoms which characterize the

person, the focus lies in the supreme centre of the

psychophysical functional unit, the depth of personality.

The local effects on the organs are of comparatively

little importance in a Calcarea patient, and at the same

time the exogenous causes become less important in

such calcarea cases. These conditions are mainly of an

endogenous nature. The individual shows itself already

insufficiently adapted to common conditions of life.

Such conditions arise also from the normal stages of

development, as is, for instance, puberty. Further on

this constitutional inferiority is of a universal kind, not

limited to a single organ. Let me briefly quote a case of

my own experience. A boy, aged about 12, formerly

very vivacious and irritable, changed more and more

into a distinct habitus femininus. He became bodily

and mentally indolent and slow; certainly the diagnosis

dystrophia adipose-genitalis under which this case has

to be classified is not to be found in our register of

calcarea symptoms. However, we find there great

obesity and increasing corpulence of the young. In this

patient the mental symptoms and modalities also

pointed exactly to Calcarea. About eighteen months

later the patient, treated only with Calcarea carbonica

30 in varying intervals, was normally developed and the

restriction of his mental activity had disappeared. Let

the sceptic of such a change of the constitution in its

morphological aspect ascribe all success to the

influence of time and nothing to the highly potentized

Calcarea. Those who have experiences of their own

will continue to prefer the homœopathic remedy to the

hormone preparations, which latter can perhaps be

supported by theoretical arguments but only very

slightly by practical success.

In cases of this kind we are accustomed to seek the

disturbed regulating centre in the system of endocrine

glands. But it is not possible to hold responsible either

the genital glands or the hypophysis alone. The

functional harmony has been disturbed and the entire

dynamic of the personality has been altered. We know

of the intimate interchange of cause and effect between

psychic functions and endocrine metabolism. One can

no longer speak of a materia pecans, these interchanges

are only accessible to a dynamic conception of disease,

thus co-ordinating the immaterial psychic forces as

causes and the psychic symptoms as effects with the

material causes and manifestations.

Just as the natural diseases vary strongly in the

depths to which they reach into the personal

constitution, so also the artificial images of disease

represented by the effects of medicines. For this reason

I spoke in my text book of constitutional remedies of

the first, second and third order according to their

degree of depth. I have pointed out that the

constitutional remedies of the first order are almost

entirely taken from minerals which are necessary

ingredients of the organism. I have argued why the

elements compounding the organism are particularly

qualified to supply constitutional remedies of the first

rank. It was very interesting to classify these mineral

constitutional remedies according to the place of their

elements in the periodic system of chemistry. That

means according to the sense of their electric charge,

positive, negative or amphoteric, and then to recognize

parallel correspondences to the three types of

constitution as classic in Homœopathy. How this

vision into three types of constitution is elaborated by

Grauvogl who interpreted Hahnemann and Rademacher

in his own way, and the relation in which these types of

constitution stand to the classifications of the official

school, has also been sufficiently discussed in my text-

book, and as this part already exists in an English

translation in the Journal of the American Institute of

Homœopathy, I need not go further into these details

here and now.

When we see the present symptoms of the patient

as reflected in the image of the similar effects of a

remedy our tracing the constitution is limited to the

present situation. That is what I called comprehension

of the constitution in its dimension of space, and I

explained the two directions in the plane and into the

depth. This way of proceeding and applying

constitutional remedies may be sufficient in many

cases. Hahnemann, in his first homœopathic epoch,

lasting from 1796 to about 1818, worked out this

method based on the present situation of the patient.

The difficulty which he saw before him about 1818 was

the following: the present picture of symptoms recorded

and utilized even in a perfect manner sometimes gave

unsatisfactory results. The improvement was transient

only, the same or another syndrome returned after some

time. Hahnemann with his ingenious intuition

acknowledged that there must exist a deeper reaching

evil. The essence of his teaching about the chronic

diseases might not be his aetiological reduction of all

chronic diseases to the three great miasms wellknown

to you as Psora, Sycosis and Syphilis. Rather would I

see the principle progress in the accomplishment of his

method. Hahnemann thus made the chronic diseases

(the chronic patients’ constitution), accessible to our

exploration and to our medicinal treatment with regard

also to the dimension of time.

It is obvious that the more chronic a disease is the

greater will be the part played by the constitution.

Therefore, constitional treatment must justify its highest

claims in chronic diseases. Here it must be proved how

far it will reach into the individual constitution in the

dimension of time; in correcting the influence of past

events and preventing long enduring future

consequences. The further constitutional treatment can

go back into the past the more we may call it a

profound one, but we speak of profound treatment, too,

with regard to the permanence of recovery. This is not

always synonymous, as the one does not necessarily

correspond with the other. But often the profound

restitution can be obtained only by extending our

measures far into the past, and that can best be

accomplished by the homœopathic method, as I shall

later explain.

Hahnemann acknowledged diagnosis as of

comparatively little value, first regarding the present

state of disease. He put in its place the totality of

symptoms of the individual patient. This totality of

symptoms is, according to him, all that can be observed

of the dynamic disturbance or disharmony. Going back

to the forces, he could view the psychic and physical

causes and effects appearing as immaterial or as

material on the same plane. We also must accept this

dynamism of HAHNEMANN, otherwise it would be

impossible to bridge the gap formed by the theoretical

separation of psychic and physical causes and effects as

in no way comparable, but such a separation does not

exist in reality, as proved by daily experience.

HAHNEMANN, in his second homœopathic epoch,

applied the same statements to the genesis of the

chronic diseases, or we should rather say to the history

of the chronically diseased person. First he

acknowledged this---the chain of the morbid

manifestations may not every time consist of links of

equal kind. A present manifestation can connect with a

former one of a quite different symptomatology. One

disease seems to be substituted by another, but there is

only a change of manifestations in a chronic morbid

condition. This matter is quite familiar to the popular

experience, but official medicine agrees with it only

hesitatingly and only concerning few examples which

are undeniable, such as the alternation of eczema and

asthma, of poly-arthritis, urticaria, erythema nodosum

and chorea. The old school fears to risk or to lose the

independence of their diagnostic types as being the base

of their treatment. But the change of manifestations

appearing as alternation and vicariation of diseases

occurs quite frequently and is well founded in nature.

If the diseases of a patient at his various epochs of life

cannot be considered as independent from each other,

they have quite a natural connection, namely, as

functional unit and totality of the person, the

constitution. This unit remains super-ordinate also in

the course of time to the single disturbances and is

comparatively independent. Surely the connection of a

longer time of life exists only for the constitutional part

of the disturbances, but even this part is the most

important one in chronic diseases. After all, a failure of

constitution has in every case to be held responsible for

the chronicity of a disease. The question to be

answered before we can treat rationally is in what kind

of an affection has the constitution failed, what morbid

process could not be completely overcome? Thus

exploring the chronic patient, we often find a decisive e

vent in his history. Apparently this was the beginning

of the chain of chronic ailments or of unfavourable

modific ations of a formerly harmless affection. Of

course, not in all cases is such a distinct event to be

found, but if it can be ascertained it affords us the point

where we can apply the lever. Getting into a more

chronic or less favourable state means that the reactions

of the organism have become retarded and diminished.

If the kind of retarded or even suppressed reactions is

indicated by a distinct past event, we have the means of

comparison needed to choose the adequate reactive

remedy. It matters not that the decisive event has

passed, the organism which formerly failed in its

reactions has remained the same. Thus we can make up

for the efforts the organism failed to make in a past but

decisive period or state, even though it were years ago.

Without insight in these connections the successful

cures of chronic patients would sometimes appear

incredible or miraculous, but we know by experience

how deeply into the past of a patient we can delve with

medicinal energies. A clear understanding of

constitutional treatment of chronic diseases is apt

materially to increase its sphere. In applying the

principle of simile to past manifestations we are by no

means attempting to blot out or undo some past event,

but we merely want to cause the organism to make up

for a former deficiency, to improve on a previous want

of adaptation.

You will, no doubt, have known cases in which the

formerly suppressed perspiration of feet or an old

eczema reappeared for instance in an asthma patient

under Silica or Sulphur respectively, and the asthma

attacks ceased definitely. After a formerly suppressed

secretion has reappeared, the change of the whole

patient is often so evident that it is usually to be spoken

of as a change of the total constitution. That was the

case of a girl aged 11, of my experience. She was

troubled by a cough, swollen glands, want of appetite,

and mainly by very painful warty callosities on the

soles of the feet. The feet were noticeably cold and

blue. After Silica 30 was given, a foetid perspiration of

feet appeared, the callosities and the other troubles

vanished and at the first glance improvement could be

perceived.

If the original morbid event during which the

reactions were incomplete or missed, happened a long

time ago, the provoked outbreak of an old evil may not

be finished at once. I treated in 1923 a patient aged 54,

for an obstinate polyneuritis and found occasionally a

residual annular eczema on one leg. The patient did not

attend to it because it had existed there since his earliest

youth. But his attention was claimed soon after Sepia

30, and later on Sulphur 30, when a moist eczema

spread over the whole body and worried him for about

four months. Then the eruption ceased gradually, and

since this time the patient is in perfect health. In

explaining more thoroughly the biological connection

within which such cures are to be seen, let us start from

considering the opposite kind of diseases, the acute

infections. They also have constitutional effects,

favourable as well as unfavourable. Measles or

Whooping-cough without complications in the one

child, even they leave an immunity for this infection as

a favourable constitutional effect. Sometimes also we

see a chronic Eczema disappear during Measles, but in

other children when the unfavourable modification of

constitution becomes evident the child appears

sensitized for other infections. Quite correctly we think

it dangerous if an acute exanthema is suppressed, be it

with or without artificial intervention. Thus also in

acute diseases retardation or even suppression of

reactions is responsible for developing a chronic state

of sickness. With the sudden suppression of secretion,

be it physiological, as menstruation or perspiration, or

pathological, as leucorrhoea, bleeding haemorrhoids

and so on, it is all the same. Further on the psychic

shock, too, may become the cause of chronic affections

manifested often as strongly somatic. Here once more

the main condition is that the reactions are incomplete,

the psychic shock is pushed away, supplanted. You see

we use the same expressions to explain the mechanism

of growing into chronicity this psychological method

which attempts to awaken old disturbances in order to

bring suppressed reactions to an end. Only the means

are different, there psychological, here medicinal. It is

not my purpose to weigh the one method against the

other, only I wish to explain what it means when

emotions are given as aetiological indications in our

Materia Medica. Then tacitly it is supposed that the

emotions were not released, but were suppressed, and

so psychic aetiological indications are meant in the

same sense as, for instance, suppressed eruption.

To summarize, we can establish that, whereas

disease is caused by failure in adaptation of the

constitution, cure can be furthered by reactivating the

means of adaptation in constitution, and this is possible

too even if the failure is of long standing and if the

original consequences are substituted by others.

Substitution of one manifestation by another is

unfavourable, if the latter consequence is caused by

retardation, restriction, suppression of the activity of the

organism; then the tendency is from acuteness to

chronicity.

On the other hand, the substitution of a chronic

state by an acute one sometimes is seen favourable,

curative. Such a cure may happen spontaneously, or

Nature may be imitated by medical art. The old

humoralists and their modern followers intend to

produce fever inflammation or suppuration; the cure of

progressive paralysis by Malaria is a well-known

example to-day. In provoking reactions of the

organism our intention agrees with this unspecific

stimulative method, but Homœopathy differs from it by

the higher grade of specificity in the direction of

individual constitution; our great advantage by applying

the principle of similar. We try to promote the

processes which fail in the individual patient or have

failed in a previous period of his life and thus turned

into chronicity with or without change of its

manifestations. It must be clearly understood that our

constitutional treatment is based on the principle of

similar when it is adjusted for the past as well as for the

present state. Indeed, we have before us an

enlargement of our constitutional treatment according

to the principle of similar, an enlargement in the

dimension of time.

Why, for instance, do we choose Thuja, if in a

patient it has become apparent that a scrofulous or

neuropathic disposition has been sensitized by

vaccination, and since that time chronic ailments will

not end. Because in proving Thuja, similar feverish

states with burning pustules are observed as in

vaccinosis, so the similarity of symptoms with the

original affection which could not be overcome by the

constitution governs our treatment.

And we look firstly at Sulphur or Nux vomica if

chronic ailments date since bleeding haemorrhoids were

suppressed, be it with or without artificial intervention;

that is to say we look for remedies which are known as

apt to produce the haemorrhoidal syndrome from

proving, and thus also to reproduce it in this chronically

affected patient. And with Ignatia for the consequences

of disappointment it is the same. By no means do I

wish to plead for a schematic aetiological treatment.

When we refer to such a principal cause, we attain a

decisive past state of the patient as a further object of

comparison, an additional indication but a very

important one. However, the system we always refer to

really is the individually reacting constitution.

So again and again we meet constitution as the

great mediator, receiving, transforming and answering

each stimulus in an individual manner, the morbific

stimulus as well as the remedial one, and so constitution

mediates also our curing, based on comparison even of

its individual reactions.

By acknowledging this connection, the seeming

contradiction dissolves between the first and the second

epoch of Hahnemann’s teaching, the first based on

symptomatic comparison only, the supplementary

teaching of the chronic diseases seemingly based on

aetiological indications; seemingly, I said, because I

think it has become evident that the cure of chronic

diseases implies only a larger application of the

principle of similars.

Furthermore, we may correct according to the

explained conception an easily mistaken interpretation

of HAHNEMANN. When HAHNEMANN speaks of

the substitution of one disease by another, he seems to

omit his dynamic conception and to admit diseases as

independent entities. If he says that the natural disease

must be substituted by a stronger artificial medicinal

disease, it would be difficult to conceive why artificial

disease might be stronger than a natural one. But if the

reactive organism, the constitution, is interposed, it

becomes quite evident what is meant. The afflicted

organism is stronger in its attempts to adapt itself when

stimulated by the adequate remedy than it was before.

In closing my lecture, I fear to have been too

abstract, but a certain abstractness is inevitable in

discussing such methodical problems. However, the

clearness of our method and its compatibility with the

best available knowledge of biological science is so

important a matter that it must be shown again and

again and from different aspects. Modern science is

ripe for Homœopathy. Let us be well prepared to

receive a medical art which will join modern biological

conceptions and then will meet Hahnemann’s teaching.

Time works for Homœopathy.

======================================

13. NOTHING SHALL MOVE YOU

LYNCH Richard

COURTESY: UNITY

There is a quietness of spirit that is both active and

still. It springs from hidden depths of being and may be

linkened to the perfect balance maintained by a

spinning top. It is motion so perfectly adjusted and

balanced that it appears to be absolute stillness. It is

power under perfect control. This true balance of

energy and serenity, when peace and power are found

in proportionate combination, we call poise. It is a

method by which a continuous increase of power may

be obtained. And power is the great requirement of all

accomplishment. Poise, then being a conserver of

energy, is most necessary for us to attain.

Most of us know the necessity of being poised, but

we don’t always put our knowledge into practice.

Those who accomplish great things are invariably quiet,

self-controlled, self-confident, and self-sufficient. They

are dependable in times of stress or emergency, and

naturally they can do the most work. Compare the man

who “keeps his head” with the one who “flies all to

pieces”. Yet poise is no special gift – anyone may

develop it by exercising his mental muscles. If he has

the will and the imagination, and is determined to

control the lower impulses by using his higher faculties,

any man may obtain the power that is the result of

poise.

All truly great persons are poised in mind or spirit.

Poise is the quality that underlies power, the balance

wheel that controls it. Yet no man has a monopoly on

any mental quality. Some marvelous expression of

calm superiority often leads us to believe that he who

achieved it must have been born with paramount

ability. Very likely he has developed it by stead-fast

effort and watchful self-training. Each one of us may

do the same if he is willing to make the effort.

We long for power to meet every emergency; to be

self-possessed in society; to appear easy and natural

under all circumstances; to grasp every situation swiftly

and intelligently; to “keep our temper” under every

provocation ; to know what to do and to do it, on every

occasion. As with everything that is worthwhile,

mental exercise develops self-control; it requires true

balance between inner and outer harmony. Poise is a

result of spiritual dominion, gained by steadfast

determination to conquer something within oneself, for

the truth is that no person is competent to command

others until he is able to control himself. Truly “he who

is slow to anger is greater than the mighty, and he who

ruleth his spirit than he who takes a city”.

We all want to succeed in life. Whatever it is we

desire to do demands power. Many start out bravely,

enthusiastically, promisingly. Success crowns their

efforts for a time, but gradually they begin slipping

backward. Why? The human system is replete with

energy. It is continually receiving powerful charges of

dynamic force. What becomes of this power that is

more than sufficient for our daily needs?

No person should be weak or sick or inefficient.

Everybody should be able to accomplish all that he

wants to do. Yet such attainment is scarce. At the very

pinnacle of success, sometimes the victor’s heart stops

beating or his nervous system collapses or his arteries

refuse to work. Why? Not because he has failed to

receive power, but because he has not known how to

use it. Generally he has neglected to keep it under

control. He has “raced his motor” when it should have

been throttled down to normal. He has thus wasted his

surplus energy which might have been conserved and

stored.

Poise is the throttle valve that controls our motive

power. It tends to balance the outflow with the inflow

and to prevent waste caused by excessive emotion –

that of excitement or anger, or fear or worry. Quietness

is often mistaken for a sense of poise. Simple lack of

action is no more indicative of strength than strenuous

restlessness is of its absence. Poise indicates a sense of

equilibrium gained by the balancing of forces. It is

activity so perfectly adjusted as to give the appearance

of suspended motion.

The spinning top seems motionless in its whirling

energy. So the human mind may function swiftly, yet

keep its perfect equilibrium. In our daily life we are

more or less susceptible to the fear thought of the race.

But the man of poise is not played upon by this

negative influence of chaos. None of these things move

him. As long as his activity of mind maintains its

balanced adjustment in Truth, he cannot falter or fail.

Self-depreciation and self-distruct cause most of

our failures, therefore confidence is one of the

important elements to be acquired. This is not easy for

those who have always lacked faith in their own ability.

This lack of faith often develops fear to an abnormal

degree. Fear brings about mental conflict so

disorganizing that it all but paralyses earnest effort. It

keeps its victims in a constant state of inharmony, and

this is the exact opposite of the quality that makes for

poise. When we are afraid of meeting people or of

displeasing them, or of seeming incompetent or

ridiculous or a hundred other imaginary but agonizing

things, it is best to try to understand just how all this is

going to manifest in our behaviour.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the

conviction of things not seen”. Faith in a Self greater

and stronger and more powerful than we seem to be

gives us assurance of that Self-conviction of its

possibility. It helps us to have the confidence in ourself

that we wish others to have in us. We can scarcely

expect others to appraise us highly if we ourself fail to

do so. A realization of potential powers and

possibilities gives a sense of mastery which tends to

produce the harmony so necessary to poise.

Not for a moment would I have you develop a

sense of exaggerated ego. It is always a hindrance to

poise. We encounter it in the man who, although

constantly criticizing others, immediately defends his

own actions when they are questioned. This man has a

constant sense of grievance and suspects that others are

always under rating his ability. It leads him to tell you

how “good” he is and how no other person could fill his

place. He also believes that those who are ahead of him

have risen, not because they deserve it, but through the

favouritism shown them by influential friends. The

exalted ego attitude is not to be confused with the self-

confident one. It disturbs the balance of harmony quite

as much as the inferiority complex does. It cannot

work happily and graciously with others; on the

contrary, it is irritated by its associates and

uncomfortable in their presence.

Self-consciousness is another barrier to poise. It

attacks both those who are fearful and those whose ego

is over-developed. In either case it casts a shadow of

self over their work. It is said that Michelangelo kept a

lighted candle in his cap, against his forehead, to avoid

casting his own shadow upon his work. No man can

see to do his work well with a shadow of either his

weakness or his importance obscuring what he wants to

accomplish. If he is poised and centered in Divine

Mind he will cease to regard that little self which has

been shading his efforts and interfering with his true

expression of being. He cannot be thinking always of

how remarkable or of how imcompetent his work is,

without losing much of its effectiveness.

The man with a purpose fixes his attention upon it

instead of himself. He is interested in what he is doing

instead of what he is feeling. He lives above the world

of tribulation. He has “an anchor of the soil, both sure

and steadfast,” and he is rooted and grounded in the

knowledge that gives him a full assurance of power.

The man who has developed poise has found the

peace that passes human understanding. He has learned

about “entering into the closet of the mind and shutting

the door against all intrusion.” There, in the secret

place of his own soul, he replenishes his strength, in

quietness and confidence. For quiet and solitude are

necessary in order to hear the “still small voice” of

God. The man who has thus renewed his strength, and

through self-control and self-discipline has harmonized

his personal characteristics, is invariably a person of

poise.

The poised man does not fume or fret over trifles,

nor does he waste his nervous energy in restless tapping

or fidgeting. He does not hurry in either movement or

speech and he knows that exaggeration and over-

enthusiasm are fatal to harmonious balance. He is

resolved that none of these things shall move him. He

cultivates a courageous optimism, because no person

has ever been known to call a pessimist poised. He

avoids perversity and stubbornness, and he “resists not

evil.” He does not argue. If he feels it is necessary to

express a difference of opinion, he does so quietly and

without antagonism. He listens calmly to the other

person’s point of view and gives it due consideration.

He is happy over success, whether it is his own or that

of another, because his heart is filled with goodwill

toward all men.

Peace and power – we all may possess them. They

are inherent gifts, but their development depends upon

ourself. Is our soul troubled and oppressed by fear and

worry? We may contact, in mind, the peace that is

beyond explanation. Is our body racked with pain?

That peace will heal the cause. So the petty irritations

of daily life upset us? Have we lost faith in ourself and

in other? We may find and touch the Source of power

within ourself. Are lack and want staring us in the

face? We need not recognize them – they are shadows.

Although they may frighten us with their seeming

reality, we have the power to scatter them into

nothingness by turning the brilliant light of Truth on

them. Is our heart saddened by grief and affliction? He

will keep those in perfect peace whose minds are stayed

on Him, because they trust Him.

But something in required of us. We may not

indulge in destructive thought. We may not “bear false

witness” against others. We may not even allow them

to hold a grievance against us. Before we can make any

great contribution to the universal good we must first of

all be unified with our “brother” – that image and

likeness which is in all humanity.

If we cannot love and be harmonized with the good

we see expressed, how can we believe in and trust what

we have never seen? If we are unable to do this we

shall never have the confidence in that greater Self

which is the miracle-worker of the ages. For it is self-

confidence that measures the height of our power.

According to our faith, we shall receive.

No man is truly great until he has attained this

harmony of spirit. The disturbed mind cannot see

clearly or truly. It sees “in a mirror dimly”, while the

poised mind sees “face to face”. There is positive,

constructive force in poise, indicating as it does a

perfectly balanced mind. To be poised at our work

does not mean that it needs to be slow and deliberate.

The exact opposite is true; the calmer the spirit the

faster the accomplishment, because no energy is

wasted. Logically, the quality of the work is finer and

there is no tiring effect. Our work will not tire us if it

can be done calmly and directed straight toward a

settled purpose.

We can make little headway in life unless we get at

least a glimpse of our higher, nobler Self. As we learn

to depend more and more upon this Divinity within, we

shall find ourself growing more and more serene, and at

the same time more and more powerful. When we have

found peace and the inner Source of power, and have

realized both in perfect combination, we have touched

the secret of poise.

COURTESY : UNITY.

=======================================

PART III

(While Part II features articles from other journals, Part III contains the editor’s own contribution and other original

articles.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BOOKSHELF:

1. The Secret – Rhonda Byrne

One of the most remarkable book that has come out

in prints – a bestseller for all times. Its a book of mere

198 pages. Each chapter has various authors giving

their brief comments about the contents revealed in each

chapter.

The book should really be titled “The Secret to

Life” and the author states that she began to trace the

secret through history and her researches led her to

believe some of the greatest people in history like –

Plato, Shakespeare, Newton, Bethovan, Emerson,

Edison, Einstein all knew or atleast were aware of the

fundamental principles of the great secret which made

them what they were.

This led the author to begin the search for people

alive today who know about ‘The Secret’.

One by one such people began to emerge and one

teacher would then became an instrument to link to the

next in a perfect chain. The next step was trying to

make a film of ‘The Secret’ and for this reason the

author flew from Australia to United States where the

majority of teachers were based. Just 7 weeks later 55

of the greatest teachers across United States were filmed

and 8 months later this film was released.

As the film swept the world stories of miracles

began to flood in; people wrote about healing from

chronic pain, depression, disease, walking for first time

after an accident and even recovering from death bed.

People have used the secret to manifest their perfect

homes, life-partners, cars, jobs, and promotions and

heart-warming stories of stressed relationships

involving children being restored to harmony.

All over the world secret parties are being held in

homes as people share the knowledge with loved ones

and familiar as the author states her intention in creating

‘The Secret’ was and still is to bring joy to billions of

people around the world of all ages, races and

rationalities. There isn’t a single thing that you cannot

do with this knowledge. It doesn’t matter who you are

or where you are ‘The Secret’ can give you what you

want.

The author states that 24 amazing teachers are

featured in this book. Their works were filmed all

over the Unites States all at different times and yet

they speak as one voice. She has shared in this book all

the easy parts, the tips and shortcuts that she has learned

so that you can live the life of your dreams.

The book starts with chapter titled ‘The Secret

revealed’, ‘The Secret made simple’, ‘How to use the

Secret’, ‘Powerful Processers’, and The Secret to

Money, Relationships, Health, to the World around

oneself, and to life. It ends with biographies of people

who are featured in this book who are still alive today.

I must warn my readers it is easy to read the book

but the principles must be practiced as is revealed in

book otherwise the result will be disappointing. What I

feel is those with a strong power of imagination would

benefit far more than those who don’t utilize their

imaginative power in their day-to-day life.

The price of this book is roughly Rs.800/- in terms

of exchange from dollars or pounds.

ISBN-13:978-1-58270-170-7

ISBN-10: 1-58270-170-9

Published by ATRIA Books.

Dr.D.E. MISTRY.

========================================

2. Differential Diagnosis, ed. by Leah

KAMINSKY. Hachette Book Publishing India

Private Ltd., Gurgaon 122009. India. Rs.350/-

pp.223. 2010.

Contain Fiction and non-fiction.

There are 9 non-fiction and 6 Fiction

contributions. Some names of the contributors

are well-known like Oliver SACKS, Abraham

VARGHESE, John MURRAY.

In the Foreword Jerome GROOPMAN says, “A

physician works at the border between science and the

soul.” The rapidly expanding knowledge wealth has

changed the nature of diagnosis and treatment, bringing

many maladies under the bright light of Science,

illuminating their genesis, and providing a rational basis

for their remedy. But what has not changed over the

millennia is the human soul. The role of the physician

as healer has not been fundamentally altered by his

burgeoning knowledge. Greater knowledge does not

necessarily translate with greater wisdom. The wise

doctor probes not only the organ of his patient but also

his feelings and emotions his fears and his hopes, his

regrets and his goals. And to accomplish that most

impatient task of applying wisdom, the physician also

needs to take his own emotional temperature, to realize

how his own beliefs and biases, may be brought to bear

in his efforts to seem a better future for his patient. …”

All these are so relevant to the Homœopathic physician.

Further on, “a physician is trained in medical

school and residency to hide his feelings and filter his

thoughts. This training is required in order to

effectively deliver care in an environment that is often

chaotic and unnerving. The doctor needs to present

himself to the patient as a safe harbour of stability in the

midst of the tempest of illness.”

The physician should not develop a condition called

“Tunnel vision of the soul” that meant seeing only what

is straight in front of you. You focus on the sickness,

and don’t see the sick person. In Homœopathy we are

taught to see the sick person.

Speaking of the present day medical care: the

author says that the damage that the human body can

survive these days is as awesome as it is horrible:

crushing, burning, bombing, a burst blood vessel in the

brain, a ruptured colon, a massive heart attack,

rampaging infection. These conditions once had been

uniformly fatal. Now survival is commonplace, and a

large part of the credit goes to the irreplaceable

component of medicine known as intensive care,

specialists however call it “Critical care”. But the term

“life support” is more suitable. Typically this involves a

panoply of technololgy----a mechanical ventilator and

perhaps a trachaeostomy tube if the lungs have failed,

aortic balloon pump if the heart has given out, a dialysis

machine if the kidneys don’t work.

Take for example reviving a drowning victim. A

Case Report in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery of a

three year-old girl who fell into an icy fishpond in a

small Austrian town in the Alps. She was lost beneath

the surface for thirty minutes before her parents found

her on the on the pond bottom and pulled her up.

Following instructions from an emergency physician on

the phone, they began cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A

rescue team arrived eight minutes later. The girl had a

body temperature of 66 degrees Fahrenheit, and no

pulse. Her pupils were dilated and did not react to light,

indicating that her brain was no longer working.

But the emergency technicians continued CPR

anyway. A helicopter took her to a nearby hospital,

where she was wheeled directly to an operating room.

A surgical team put her on a heart-lung bypass machine.

Between the transport time and the time it took to plug

the inflow and outflow lines into the femoral vessels of

her right leg, she had been lifeless for an hour and a

half. By the two-hour mark, however, her body

temperature had risen almost 10 degrees Fahrenheit,

and her heart began to beat. It was her first organ to

come back.

After six hours, her core temperature reached 98.6

degrees Fahrenheit. The team tried to put her on a

breathing machine, but the pond water had damaged

her lungs too severely for oxygen to reach her blood.

So they switched her to an artificial-lung system known

as ECMO--extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The

surgeons opened her chest down the middle with a

power saw and sewed lines to and from the ECMO unit

into her aorta and her beating heart. The team moved

the girl into intensive care, with her chest still open and

covered with plastic foil. A day later, her lungs had

recovered sufficiently for the team to switch her from

ECMO to a mechanical ventilator and close her chest.

Over the next two days, all her organs recovered, except

her brain. A CT scan showed global brain swelling,

which is a sign of diffuse damage, but no actual dead

zones. So the team drilled a hole into the girl’s skull,

threaded in a probe to monitor her cerebral pressure, and

kept that pressure tightly controlled by constantly

adjusting her fluids and medications. For more than a

week, she lay comatose. Then, slowly, she came back

to life.

First, her pupils started to react to light. Next, she

began to breathe on her own. And, one day, she simply

awoke. Two weeks after her accident, she went home.

Her right leg and left arm were partially paralysed. Her

speech was thick and slurry. But by age five, after

extensive outpatient therapy, she had recovered her

faculties completely. She was like any little girl again.

What makes her recovery astounding isn’t just the

idea that someone could come back from two hours in a

state that would once have been considered death. It’s

also the idea that a group of people in an ordinary

hospital could do something so enormously complex.

To save this one child, scores of people had to carry out

thousands of steps correctly: placing the heart-pump

tubing into her without letting in air bubbles;

maintaining the sterility of her lines, her open chest, the

burr hole in her skull; keeping a temperamental battery

of machines up and running. The degree of difficulty in

any one of these steps is substantial. Then you must add

the difficulties of orchestrating them in the right

sequence, with nothing dropped, leaving some room for

improvisation, but not too much.

For every drowned and pulseless child rescued by

intensive care, there are many more who don’t make

it—and not just because their bodies are too far gone.

Machines break down; a team can’t get moving fast

enough; a simple step is forgotten. Such cases don’t get

written up in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, but

they are the norm. Intensive-care medicine has become

the art of managing extreme complexity----and a test of

whether such complexity can, in fact, be humanly

mastered.

We now live in the era of the super specialist—of

clinicians who have taken the time to practice one

narrow thing until they can do it better than anyone who

hasn’t. Super specialists have two advantages over

ordinary specialists: greater knowledge of the details

that matter and an ability to handle the complexities of

the job. Dr. GAWANDE details a case which clearly

explains this.

In spite of all care, caution and innovation, errors

do occur: Critical care is team work and so all must do

their part properly. Since a single virus may ruin, a

‘Check List’ was prepared which had to be used,

howsoever eminent the surgeon be; this ‘Check List’

has saved a lot of lives.

In the Chapter ‘The Nazi Doctors’ by Robert Jay

LIFTON extracts from his book are given. LIFTON

concluded that the doctors were ordinary men who

rationalized their participation in atrocities through their

belief that they were ‘killing to heal! The Nazis were

not the only ones to involve doctors in evil.”

As I pursued the work, it became clear that the

Nazis were not the only ones to involve doctors in evil.

One need only look at the role of Soviet psychiatrists in

diagnosing dissenters as mentally ill and incarcerating

them in mental hospitals; of doctors in Chile (as

documented by Amnesty International) serving as

torturers; of Japanese doctors performing medical

experiments and vivisection on prisoners during the

Second World War; of white South African doctors

falsifying medical reports of blacks tortured or killed in

prison; of American physicians and psychologtists

employed by the Central Intelligence Agency in the

recent past for unethical medical and psychological

experiments involving drugs and mind manipulation;

and of the ‘idealistic’ young physician—member of the

People’s Temple cult in Guyana preparing the poison ( a

mixture of cyanide and KoolAid) for the combined

murder—suicide in 1978 of almost a thousand people.

Doctors in general, it would seem, can all too readily

take part in the efforts of fanatical, demagogic, or

surreptitious groups to control matters of thought and

feeling, and of living and dying ….

“But I found that Nazi doctors differed significantly

from these other groups, not so much in their human

experimentation but in their central role in genocidal

projects---projects based on biological visions that

justified genocide as a means of national and racial

healing … For this and many other reasons, Nazi

doctors require a study of their own, and [my] book

[The Nazi Doctors] is mainly about them.

In so far as the Jay LIFTON the author of the book

The Nazi Doctors… for which he had interviewed,

investigatged, etc. “One cannot expect to emerge from

a study of this kind spiritually unscathed, all the more so

when one’s own self is the instrument for taking in

forms of experience one would have preferred not to

have known about.”

The Nazi Killers only expressed the fact that a

healer turned out to be a killer. This due to the political

ideology and the biomedical ideology in their effects on

individual and collective behavior.

Jay LIFTON concludes “So much stays with me

from this work, but I want to end with two images that

continue to reverberate within me.

The first is from Auschwitz. I went to the camp a

few years ago and was shown the many exhibits

maintained there, exhibits that leave nothing to be added

concerning the evil human beings can do to other

human beings. But the one that left the most profound

impression on me was the simplest of all: a room full of

shoes, mostly baby shoes.

The second image is from a talk with a Jewish

doctor who survived Auschwitz incarceration, told me

his story, and became my friend. He described how, at

a certain point, he and a few other prisoner doctors were

overwhelmed with moribund patients, with suffering

people clamouring for relief. They did what they could,

dispensed the few aspirin they had, but made a point in

the process of offering a few words of reassurance and

hope. He found almost to his surprise that his words

had effect, that in that situation it really helped. He

concluded that by maintaining one’s determination to

try to heal even under the most extreme conditions, ‘I

was impressed with how much one could do.’

The next Chapter is ‘Intensive care’ by Danielle

OFRI. In great detail Dr. OFRI narrates the case of an

alcoholic . Dr. Joseph SITKIN was rather abrupt and

sometimes what may appear to be rude, in his

evaluation of cases. Case that would not recover he

would say “This one’s dead”. His diagnosis,

instructions on medications were remarkable. He had a

wife and two girl children 4 year and 2 years. He loved

all of them very much. The team under Dr. SITKIN

were doing very well, and the doctors learnt much. Dr.

OFRI was away at Israel for 18 months and returned.

On return she found Dr. SITKIN who was bubbling

with energy vitality, etc. had committed suicide by

jumping into water! Why? Why did Dr. SITKIN who

loved his family so much do so?

“Ours is a dangerous profession, I’ve often thought.

There is the constant assault of physical and emotional

challenges of taking care of patients, which is layered

upon the already difficult task of conducting our own

lives. It is no wonder that so many of us become

overwhelmed at times and need some intensive care.

For every Dr. SITKIN who eventually declares his pain

to the world, there are probably fifty others who suffer

silently, for whom the anguish burns slowly and

excruciatingly. The medical profession has little room

or patience for hearing about this. These feelings often

get expressed as bitter, abusive personalities, or drug

and alcohol addictions.”

I recall that very recently, may be 2-3 years ago,

Dr. CHERIAN who was already past 80, a renowned

surgeon who always had the patient’s welfare in his

mind – one forenoon he had finished his rounds and

was on his way to lunch. He excused himself for few

moments went up the stairs and jumped down from the

4th Floor, blaming none! Still no one knows why he did

so at that age; What frustrations?

We now come to the famous Dr. Oliver SACKS.

Most of us will beknowing his famous book ‘Awaken

ing’ which gave an excellent record of the sufferings of

Parkinson and the relief given by the wonder drug L-

DOPA. Dr. Oliver SACKS has published several other

titles also, each of them are indeed an eye-opener.

The Chapter in this book is the ‘Lost Mariner’, in

this, is the case of an ex-Navy man, Jim, who in 1975

was in so far as his memory is concerned is fixed in

1945 and has no memory at all of the present. He

thought that TRUMAN was the President of the USA!

Knowledge of Neuropsychology does not help. Perhaps

one has to find remedy into realm of the individual, his

feeling, moral being, etc. etc.

However in this case Jim continued to live in the

same position for more than 8 years when this story was

written.

K.S. SRINIVASAN.

3. COFFEA: Materia Medica Revisa Homœopathiae,

Coffea, von Peter MINDER, Klaus-Henning GYPSER(Hrsg),

Wunnibald Gypser Verlag.

This small Monograph has 709 symptoms which includes

Coffea tosta. The symptoms of Coffea cruda is marked by “Ct” in

bracket.

Whereas the EN has 247 of Coffeea cruda and 152 Coffea

tosta; and the GS also has separately dealt with Coffea cruda and

Coffea tosta. Thus this Monographs has more than the double the

number of symptoms in the EN. There are many clinical

symptoms of great value.

I recall the Case of a 25 year old Medical Student

complaining of headache. One day late evening, she came with

severe pain, moaning and groaning aloud. The pain was so bad.

The allopathic pain killer tablets she used to take were of no use at

all. She slumped in the chair that she would leave only if the

headache is relieved! Since Coffea was known for violent pains I

gave her a dose of the 200 potency and within minutes her

moaning and groaning were far less and she was half asleep. I

sent her home and she slept well thro’ the night and since then her

headache was far less frequent.

Peter MINDER gives lot of information about the history of

the Coffea plant, the differences between Arabic and later

European Coffee houses.

This remedy will very rarely come up by repertorisation.

One must have a sound knowledge of the Materia Medica to come

to these rare but highly useful remedies.

K.S. SRINIVASAN.

===============================================

4. Tales of the macabre

Some U.S. Libraries have books bound in human skin

(The Hindu, Chennai. 12. Jan. 2006)

PROVIDENCE: Brown University’s library boasts an anatomy

book that combines form and function in macabre fashion. Its

cover---tanned and polished to a smooth golden brown, like fine

leather – is made of human skin. In fact, a number of the finest

libraries in the U.S., including Harvard’s, have such books.

The practice of binding books in human skin was not

uncommon in centuries past, even if it was not always discussed

in polite society. At the time, the best libraries belonged to

private collectors. Some were doctors who had access to skin

from amputated parts and patients whose bodies had gone

unclaimed. In other cases, wealthy bibliophiles acquired skin

from executed criminals, medical school cadavers and people who

died in the poor house.

Nowadays, libraries keep such volumes in their rare book

collections and do not allow them to circulate. Brown’s John Hay

Library has three books bound in hum an skin: the 1568

anatomy text by the Belgian surgeon Andreas VESALIUS, and

two 19th century editions of The Dance of Death, a medieval

morality tale. One copy of The Dance of Death was rebound in

1893 by Joseph ZAEHNSDORF, a masterbinder in London. A

note to his client reports that he did not have enough skin and had

to split it. The front cover, bound in the outer layer of skin, has a

bumpy texture, like soft sandpaper. The spine and back cover,

made from the inner layer, feel like suede.

The Dance of Death is about how death prevails over all,

rich or poor. As with many other skinbound volumes, “there was

some tie-in with the content,” said Sam STREIT of the John Hay

Library.

Medical books

Many of the volumes are medical books. The College of

Physicians of Philadelphia has some bound by Dr. John

STOCKTON Hough, who diagnosed the city’s first case of

Trichinosis. He used that patient’s skin to bind three of the

volumes.

“The hypothesis is that these physicians did this to honour

the people who furthered medical research,: said Laura

HARTMAN, a rare-book cataloguer.

It is not clear if some of the patients knew what would

happen to their bodies. In most cases, the skin appears to have

come from those who had no one to claim their remains. In any

case, the practice pre-dated the age of consent forms.

While human leather may be repulsive to contemporary

society, libraries can ethically have the books if they are used with

respect for academic research and not displayed as objects of

curiosity, said Paul WOLPE of the University of Pennysylvania.

“There is a certain distancing that history gives us from certain

kinds of artefacts,” he said, noting that museums often have bones

from archaeological sites. The Boston Athenaeum, a private

library, has an 1837 copy of George WALTON’s memoirs bound

in his own skin. WALTON was a highwayman and left the

volume to one of his victims.

Decades ago, the Harvard Law School Library bought a

1605 manual for Spanish lawyers for $42.50 from an antiquarian

books dealer. It sat on a shelf unnoticed until the early 1990s,

when curator David FERRIS was going through the library

catalogue and found a note saying it was bound in a man’s skin.

DNA tests to find the type of skin were inconclusive – the genetic

material having been destroyed by the tanning process – but the

library now keeps it on a special shelf. “We felt we couldn’t set it

just next to someone else’s law books.” Mr. FERRIS said. – AP.