Homeopathy - Exact and Accurate Practice

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COMPUTERS AND SOFTWARE IN HOMEOPATHIC PRACTICE: We have no objection to the use

of computers in selecting the remedy. But it is maya (a Hindustani term meaning

'disillusionment') to think that selecting the remedy from the computer is

'time-saving' and 'unfailing.' The reference book HOMEOPATHIC

THERAPEUTICS by Dr. Samuel Lilienthal (for use as and when a case comes to

us and not a textbook for study from cover to cover) is, in a fair

percentage of cases, quicker and unfailing than any latest computer

software.

 

Somewhere Dr. Samuel Lilienthal, the author of HOMEOPATHIC THERAPEUTICS,

aptly observed about his work, " Drop a symptom in the slot and you get the

remedy. "

 

Yes, it is that much quicker. Ten times surer and quicker than any of the

latest softwares, call it Radar, Cara etc. The problem with software is (be it

astrology, homeopathic selection of the remedy or any other subject) that

those who had developed them are poor either in their knowledge of computer

or the subject in which they have developed the software. One has to be

expert both as computer software professional and a wizard in the subject.

That is rare to find!

 

Before you start using Lilienthal's, the reader must remember the following

words of Dr. Oscar E. Boericke (in the Preface to the ninth edition of his

Repertory):

 

" .it is only by the persistent use of one repertory, that its peculiar and

intricate arrangements gradually crystallizes itself in definite outline, in

the mind of the student of the same, and thus he attains the ready ease and

practical insight of the collator, thereby rendering such a clinical

bee-line well-nigh indispensable in our day of labor-saving devices. "

 

We have such wonderful authors around 1930's that the arrangement and

presentation of their works enable us to select the remedy in no time.

 

WHAT IS LILIENTHAL'S HOMEO THERAPEUTICS AND HOW TO USE IT?

 

Actual cases treated successfully are given below to illustrate the use of

Lilienthal's:

 

Case 1: A boy of eleven was brought by his mother: " Doctor, look at him. The

boy is making constant movements of his fingers.) He often becomes violent

and restless. This started six months ago. We went to allopathic hospital

and they diagnosed his case as worm complaint and gave him santonine, but

even the double the adult dose of it had no effect. Then we went to a

Homeopathy specialist. (Here shows me the prescription: Cina-30 daily

morning and Graphites-30 daily night, for one month. (Graphites, on the

symptom--

eruption on the left forearm of the boy.) We completed one month course of

these two remedies but no result. "

 

I looked at the boy again and then the case sheet. 'Case sheet' means plain

white sheet on which we start writing down one below the other what all the

patient and/or his relatives tell us. After a pause, the mother told me with

wide open eyes, " Doctor, ever since he developed worm complaint he often

complains of headache and vertigo. Why is it so doctor? "

 

I went through all the remedy descriptions in Lilienthal's HOMEOPATHIC

THERAPEUTICS under the chapter 'WORM AFFECTIONS.' Thirty-four remedies are

described and the words 'vertigo and headache' told by the mother (which is

an 'uncommon' symptom in worm complaint) were found under one remedy only

viz., Cicuta virosa. This remedy in 200th potency, single dose, cured both his

worm

symptoms as well as his skin complaint.

 

Case 2: FIFTEEN YEARS OF SORE THROAT AND CONSTIPATION COMPLETELY AND

PERMANENTLY CURED WITH ONE SINGLE DOSE:

 

A certain middle aged patient came to me at 3 p.m. asking if I can give him

some throat paint for his sore throat. I told him that I would give pills

only and asked him to tell me how long he is suffering etc. (something to

make the patient talk about his complaints.) He replied:

 

" Doctor, I have this for fifteen years Daily at 3-4 p.m. it starts, so much

burning that in the evening I am unable to do poojas (later I learnt that he

is a priest in Hindu temple there he has to use loud voice to utter verses

during worship etc.) loudly because my voice becomes husky. The burning pain

would continue in the night, but next morning there won't be any pain.

 

In this case only one symptom is prominent - " < evening, night. "

 

I went through all the remedies under the chapter SORE THROAT in

Lilienthal's. The symptom " < evening " was found under the remedies Alumina,

Hepar, Natr. mur. and Silicea. In Alumina it is " < evening and night. "

 

Under the remedy Alumina the words " clergyman's sore throat. < evening and

night. with husky voice " suited the case. Just to confirm the remedy (since

it is one of the remedies for chronic and obstinate constipation) I asked

him about his bowel movements, to which he replied that he would pass stool

once in 3-4 days.

 

Alumina-10M single dose cured his chronic sore throat as well as

constipation. (I never knew that he got complete cure till one day when I

casually visited the temple in which that priest was doing poojas. I even

forgot him. On looking at me he immediately removed a big garland from

around the neck of the deity and put it around my neck (this is a sign of

honoring V.I.P.s in Hindu temples). I was rather puzzled. He gave me fruits

etc. and came out with me till the entrance while other big heads were

waiting by paying heavy amount etc. That night I narrated this to my

house-owner who does part-time work in that temple and he said that I was

honored because my prescription of one single dose completely cured that

priest, which he used to remember almost daily.

 

Case 3: This is an interesting case. A boy of twelve was brought to me for

tuberculosis of lungs . I asked the boy a few questions (no standard

questionnaire etc.

please) just to make him talk, about the name of his school, what games he

play etc.

 

Nothing 'uncommon' or 'rare-strange-peculiar' or 'mind symptom' came out. I

got up and went to the cupboard of medicines, took out a bottle and was

preparing doses of some medicines.

 

At this time it occurred to me to consult Lilienthal. I studied the short

descriptions of all the remedies given under the chapter PHTHISIS PULMONUM.

While doing so, under the remedy Lycopodium, the words " observing

disposition " made me to pause and ponder. I could recollect how the boy was

constantly observing me at what all I had been doing, writing on the case

sheet, referring to books, preparing the doses etc. I could remember that

unlike other patients, he was constantly observing me.

 

Lycopodium 10M was prescribed. Next month he was due to report. He did not.

Later when I met the boy's father, he said, " Oh! He is perfectly alright

now. That is why we did not come to you again. "

 

The last case is very interesting and educative too.

 

Case 4: A certain breastfed baby was brought to me for constipation. On the

symptoms (which I don't remember now) I prescribed one dose of Nux

vomica-30. The lady came three days later saying that with the one dose the

child passed normal stool the next morning. But next day, again constipation.

 

It has never been my experience that one dose acted for one day only. I only

thought that my selection of Nux-Vom may be wrong. To select a better

(correct) remedy I looked through all the remedies given under

" CONSTIPATION " in the Chapter " CHILDREN, DISEASES OF " in Lilienthal's. I

read Nux-vom. also wherein the following words under the remedy caught my

attention:

 

" .the nurse takes too much coffee and lives too high.”

 

I asked the mother about coffee habit and she at once affirmed that she

consumed daily seven or eight cups of strong coffee.

 

I gave one dose of Nux-vomica 30 to be given to the baby at bedtime and

emphatically told the mother that she must (i) either stop coffee or (ii)

stop the breast feeding. She agreed to take light coffee 1-2 times only.

After the second dose of Nux-vomica there was no relapse of constipation.

Without Lilienthal I would only have concluded that my first prescription of

Nux-vom. was wrong and would have meddled with the case.

 

Remember the words of Dr. Samuel Lilienthal: " Drop a symptom in the slot and

you get the remedy. " Yes, it is so quick and certain in some cases. Much

less than the time needed to switch on the computer, leave alone opening the

software etc. etc.

 

Selecting the remedy manually with the repertory (ies) is neither difficult

nor time-consuming. It is definitely quicker than the computer. What is

time-consuming and difficult is Case Taking which the computer cannot do

even one per cent.

 

Most homeopaths consider " totality-of-symptoms " and so administer a

questionnaire to the patient, but they are not taught that

" Totality-of-uncommon symptoms " is the correct method. [section 153 of the

Organon]. In any patient " uncommon, rare, strange or peculiar " symptom is

one or, at the most, two only. For referring these one or two symptoms to

the repertory, doing it manually is definitely quicker than the computer, as

explained in the above four cases cured with the help of Lilienthal's.

 

Homeopathy software is not altogether useless. It can certainly do a better

job in the hands of researchers and authors of books. But, unfortunately,

homeo software is dumped into the heads of innocent practitioners. The real

and ideal use of computer is in the hands of those who are doing

compilations, preparing manuals, indexing, writing special repertories,

therapeutics like Lilienthal's and so on.

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Random notes on practice

 

Certain symptoms cannot be classified under any rubric in the Repertory and,

therefore, they must be memorised. Let us consider a few clinical cases.

 

Calcarea carbonica: We find the phrase ‘Easy relapses, interrupted

convalescence’ under this remedy in Boericke’s materia medica. We shall now

learn the significance of this

 

Quite often we have observed this symptom with children that often catch a cold.

The mother would say: ‘Doctor, he gets the cold and fever almost every month. We

give some medicine and he is cured. But the attack saps his energy and his

health is going down hill. We give tonics or nutritious food and he slowly

recovers in a month. By this nutritious food and he slowly recovers in a month.

By this time, when he is exposed to cold or plays in water, another attack come

on; again it takes away all the regained health of the child.’

 

There is not only ‘recurrent relapses,’ but every time it also interrupts the

recovery of the child. The convalescence (period of recovery following illness)

too is interrupted. As soon as the child recovers from the last attack of cold

and fever, there is another attack undermining its health.

 

It is not either, the easy relapses alone or the interrupted convalescence, but

both together are seen in the patient. It is a syndrome. In these situations I

give the child a vial of Belladonna-30 or 200 (one or two doses only at four

hours intervals) to be given only when the child is having cough and cold and,

as soon as he recovers from it, to be followed by one dose of Calcarea carb.1M.

I also prepare a dose of Calc. carb.10M with the instructions that, when the

child gets his next attack, at that time they have to repeat Bell.30 or 200 (one

or two doses) and as soon as recovery is complete, to be followed by Calc.

carb.10M, and like this each time Calc. carb. in the next higher potency.

 

The monthly attacks, during the acute phase, always points to Belladonna. When

the mother carries out my instructions she finds that the next attack does not

come after a month but it is postponed by a few months. During a relapse she

repeats Belladonna, followed by the next higher dose of Calcarea carb. and this,

in turn, holds on the case for a longer duration and so on.

 

Ignatia: In homoeopathy we do not treat aches, fevers and haemorrhoids but the

patient. Treating the patient and not disease, alone brings permanent and

complete cure in the shortest possible time and in the gentlest way. Thus,

instead of pathology and prognosis we, in homoeopathy, have to learn a different

classification of patients (not diseases), and that is the real and correct

study of homoeopathic techniques.

 

In the remedy Ignatia we find the phrase ‘Great contradictions’ (again, in

William Boericke’s Materia Medica). This, indeed, is a very interesting symptom.

My first case was that of my daughter.

 

One night when I was away from home at 10 O’clock she was found muttering and

trembling in bed. My wife woke her up and took her to a nearby allopath who put

the thermometer in her mouth and found a temperature of 102°. But her body was

not hot to touch. That doctor gave her medicine. The next morning I returned

home. On touching her I found her body hot but the thermometer showed 98.4°.

This, at once, brought the above symptom to my mind. The previous night when the

thermometer showed 102°, her body was not hot to touch. Now the body is hot but

thermometer shows a normal temperature. Ignatia 200, in a single dose, cured

her. Homoeopathy is just and only a specialty.

 

Another homoeopath reports that by keeping in mind the above symptom ‘great

contradictions’ in Ignatia, he could cure a case of haemorrhoids with one single

dose. The curious feature in his case was, in the very words of the patient,

“Whenever I get constipation and strain at stool there would be complete relief

of pain and burning in my piles. Whenever I get diarrhoea, during loose bowel

movements, the suffering gets worse.’’

 

It is both-ways. Constipation alone aggravates piles and loose bowel movements

give total relief to piles patient. In this case, both are directly opposite.

Hence the word appears in plural in Ignatia: “Great contradictions.’ Dr. William

Boericke is indeed a great author!

 

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THE HOMEOPATHIC PHYSICIAN versus SYMPTOM-COVERER: A CASE FOR " ROUTINIST versus

EXPERT "

 

Homeo is not a matter of rituals---giving the remedy Arnica for

injuries and Belladonna for fever. Such routinist homeo won't tolerate.

 

Homeo is not a substitute for allopathy. Again, homeo is not

just another system like Ayurveda, Rei-Kei, herbal etc. Then what is homeo?

 

When and where other systems fail, homeo comes in. In other

words, homeopathy is a specialization, as the following case would show:

 

A middle aged patient came in and asked if I can give him some

relief for pain in his anal region where he had been suffering for a few

months with boil like eruption. First he went to allopathy, then Ayurveda.

Again, he went to a homeopath who said he would give Silicea in low potency

to make the abscess ripen and suppurate out. It worked. But in two weeks

time it reappeared. He went to a somewhat senior homeopath, who said he

would abort it and so gave high dose of Hepar sul. The eruption subsided.

But three weeks later it reappeared. He was then referred to a Specialist

who said he would give a remedy to " eradicate the tendency to boils " and

gave Graphites. Patient had relief this time also and he thought that the

story was over once for all, because this time he was treated by a

specialist! A month later it was the same old story. At this time he came

to me. I told him I may not be able to give medicine at once (off-hand

prescription) and that I needed a few hours. I asked him to tell me from

the very beginning ever since he first had the skin complaint.

 

He told me that his skin complaint first appeared five years ago

around his mouth. For this he took allopathy and got relief. A year later

it appeared on his left upper arm--the same eruption. This time allopathy

failed and so he went to an Ayurvedic doctor whose medicines gave relief.

About two years later the same complaint appeared on his right hip. He went

to a doctor and got cured. One and a half years after this, it appeared on

his left nates. This time he took allopathy and got relief but six months

later it reappeared on the anus. It was at this time one homeopath after

another treated him, first to suppurate it out, then the second homeopath

aborting it and finally a specialist eradiating the tendency.

 

CASE REPERTORISATION: In this case the only available peculiar or uncommon

symptom is the " direction of appearance. "

 

From left upper arm it goes to right hip

 

(left upper, right lower)

 

From right hip it goes to left nate

 

(upper right, lower left)

 

Though " sides of the body " is the least valuable symptom, since

no other more valuable symptom was available in this case, this was taken as

a matter of exception. (Page 1400 of Kent's

Repertory)--GENERALITIES--SIDE--CROSSWISE.

 

LEFT UPPER AND RIGHT LOWER--a big list of remedies

 

LEFT LOWER AND RIGHT UPPER--several remedies

 

Remedies common to the above two lists were taken out and read

in Boericke's Mat. Medica.

 

The words " Mouth and anus chiefly affected " found in the remedy

Muriatic Acid seemed to suit the patient. (Originally it appeared around

mouth. Now finally it is in anus). Muriatic Acid-1000, single dose,

completely cured him. It is now more than ten years and there is no

relapse. His general health too improved.

 

[The mistake committed by many homeopaths is they mainly concentrate on

" sensation, location, modality, concomitant " but if we carefully keep in

mind the advice of Dr. Hahnemann in section l53 of his Organon, we would

learn that if we prescribe on a symptom not at all connected with the

pathology, we can be more confident of our selection of the remedy. By this

way alone we can treat the patient and not the disease as the following case

would show:]

 

CASE 2: Sixty year old Mr. C. L. K. was referred to me for chronic renal

failure. The attending nephrologists said that kidney transplantation was

the only way out. At the time of the visit of the patient in my clinic,

five of his relatives were with him. They showed me his case file that

contained lab findings, blood reports etc. etc. I have to patiently look

through the file. After twenty minutes, one of the relative went out to

bring money for my fees. Others except the patient also went out. I and the

patient were sitting in my office. The patient said, " Doctor, instead of

telling me that I am alright and would recover soon, my son and others tell

me quite often not to talk much, not to work much and to take rest etc. " (He

repeated this two more times). I asked the patient to come the next morning

for collecting his medicine.

 

The rubric in Kent's Repertory cannot be so exactly found by a

homeopath. To make a start anyhow, we may think of

 

" Complaining, discontented "

 

" Reproaches others "

 

A more appropriate word would be 'wants moral support' (but this

would not readily occur to anyone.)

 

To start with (we have to start somewhere, like a detective, no

hard and fast rule for this) Boericke's repertory was consulted:

 

MIND--(page 695) fault finding, finicky,

cautious--13 remedies

 

--Complaining, discontented,

dissatisfied--21 remedies

 

[some readers may wonder why we have not considered kidney

symptoms of the patient. The answer is simple. The patient did not tell

any 'uncommon' 'rare-strange-peculiar' symptom in respect of his kidney.

Also if we select a remedy, that too on mind symptoms that are not commonly

found in a disease, we are playing a sure and safe game. Section 213 of the

Organon.]

 

After having selected one or more remedies from the Repertory,

to confirm our selection, we may read that one or few remedies in the

following reference books:

 

(1) Homeo Therapeutics by Lilienthal

 

(2) Boericke’s Mat. Medica

 

(3) Hering’s GUIDING SYMPTOMS (10 volumes)

 

A few words about Lilienthal. Most homeopaths would think that

the above two lists should be read in Lilienthal's HOMEO THERAPEUTICS in

chapters connected with urinary system. But this is not so. We selected

remedies on mind symptoms alone. For such cases where we select a remedy (or

remedies) on mind symptoms, we must go to the chapter " Melancholia " in

Lilienthal. This is the only chapter in Lilienthal for mind symptoms (apart

from 'hysteria' 'insanity' and 'emotions')

 

If the reader does not find some remedies (selected through the

Repertory) under the chapter " Melancholia " he may ignore them.

 

When we did the above, i.e., while reading the description of

remedies (in the above two lists 'fault finding...' and 'complaining,

discontented...') in the chapter MELANCHOLIA in Lilienthal, the remedy

Tarentula Hispania seemed to suit the patient because of the following words

under that remedy

 

" ...despondency, sadness...moral depression and relaxation... "

 

In some rare case of patients you come to learn the exact words

for a symptom of the patients while you study them in the Materia Medica

after having selected remedies through the Repertory. (The Materia Medica

should be studied with the aid of a Repertory.) You have to be an artist and

not a clerk doing mechanical work. You have to be an executive as far as

" taking of the case " and/or " selection of the remedy " is concerned.

 

In the case of the above kidney failure patient, his reference

to the attitude of his relatives indicates his feeling of not getting moral

encouragement.

 

Tarentula Hispania-10M single dose was given and placebo, with

instructions to report after six weeks.

 

Four weeks later, the son of the patient (who is an allopath)

told me over phone that the lab. test showed lot of improvement in uric acid

and creatinine level. When the patient met me two weeks after this, he

said, " I feel very good...but how can I say that my kidney which is inside,

has improved... " (Drags on his reply)

 

I asked him to pay my fees of twelve thousand for the next

course of medicines; he hesitating replied, " Money is a difficulty for me

now... " (This time too, drags on in his reply)

 

A healthy reply in the case of a poor patient would be either

that he would take loans from somebody or make arrangements for the money

etc. In this case, he drags on in his reply.

 

In the above two replies of the patient (i) regarding

improvement of his kidney and (ii) payment of fees to me, he is not definite

in his reply.

 

For many homeopaths, selecting the appropriate word for this

attitude is not easy. At the most, we may say 'indecision' or 'inconstancy.'

'Inconstancy' under MIND was there in Kent's Repertory. All the twenty

remedies in this list were studied in Lilienthal under the chapter

" MELANCHOLIA. " Therein, under the remedy Arsenicum Alb. the following words

caught my attention.

 

" ...gloomy disposition of mind...conscientious scruples... "

 

One of the meanings for the word 'scruples' is " feeling of doubt

or hesitation...about acting or approving of action. " (Oxford)

 

The patient's reply in respect of his kidney condition and

payment of fees, both were of hesitating nature. Arsenicum Alb.10M single

dose was given. (Fortunately a distant relative of the patient who

accompanied him volunteered to pay the fees to me on behalf of the patient).

Arsenicum Alb. showed further improvement. Patient is still under

treatment.

 

 

For complete knowledge on homeo see my book ADVANCED HOMEO PRACTICE which can be

had by sending US$l2 or British Postal Order for £7=00 to Dr. V. Krishnamurthy,

Raman House, 21 Kuppiah Street, West Mambalam, Madras-33, India

 

Phone: 24890370

 

 

 

Learn Homoeopathy Exactly and Accurately!

 

Question & Answers

 

1. What is the only one correct remedy to be given to a pregnant woman, when

the foetus (baby in uterus) stops growing?

 

2. During epidemic encephalitis (brain fever, e.g., in Ariyalur district)

what remedy would you use as prophylactic (preventive)?

 

3. All the children borne to a woman are syphilitic by birth. What remedy

you would give her to prevent syphilis in the offspring in future child-births?

 

4. What is the remedy to be taken once in a month by all practising

homoeopaths? (Just because no homoeopath has been taking this regularly, they

are not able to prosper)

 

5. Write the names of two authors who had written biography of Dr. Samuel

Hahnemann.

 

6. Doctors say that an expectant mother is too weak to develop normal pains;

moreover, she is anaemic and so caesarean alone is the answer. What is the only

one remedy that will cure her anaemia, remove weakness and thus cause normal

child birth? (Please note that the answer is NOT Pulsatilla.)

 

7. What is the chief or first remedy that you would think of for

haemophilia?

 

8. In homoeo terminologies what is the meaning of ‘scrofula or scrofulosis’

and ‘cachexia?’

 

9. What is the remedy for jaundice after blood transfusion?

 

10. In respect of the symptom “haemorrhage,” differentiate between Phosphorus

and Hamamelis.

 

11. Name the remedy for (a) violent blow on single part of the body; (b) after

a person falls rolling down from a speeding train or bus; © falling from

height (second or third floor or from a tall tree) with bleeding; (d) falling

down while trying to climb into a running jeep from behind?

 

12. Under what heading in the repertory you would search remedies for a

patient with chronic tonsillitis?

 

13. What is the name of reference book (and the name of its author) you would

use for complaints of pregnant women occurring directly before, during or after

child-birth or abortion?

 

14. A certain patient tells that he feels as if a crowbar is lodged inside his

chest. What is the name of reference book (and its author) you would use in this

case?

 

15. A lady of twenty-eight had attempted to commit suicide (by swallowing

kerosene or sleeping pills) and somehow she recovered. What is the remedy for

her so that she may not repeat it in future?

 

16. What is the remedy for ‘ghost pain.’

 

As a sample, we give below the correct answers for question No. 1, 7 and 12:

 

Answer to qn. no.1: Secale is almost a specific when the growth of foetus is

arrested. (See page 698 of Repertory by Dr. Calvin B. Knerr: Pregnancy, foetus:

arrests development, Secale.)

 

Answer to qn. no.7: Crotalus horridus is one of the prime remedies, to be

thought in cases of haemophilia.

 

Answer to qn. no.12 For a patient with chronic tonsillitis, you would

generally look into the Repertory against the following:

 

Tonsils, inflamed (quinsy, tonsillitis) (page 389 of Knerr’s Repertory)

 

But remedies in this list may be useful for acute complaints of tonsillitis. For

curing tonsillitis permanently, it needs ‘treatment of chronic diseases.’

Chronic tonsillitis is in most cases due to tuberculosis (See MEDICAL DISEASES

oF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD BY Dawson Williams, M.D., London: Cassel & Co. page

338-348)

 

(a) When tuberculosis affects lungs we call it tuberculosis of lungs

or phthisis pulmonum; with family history of tuberculosis, when t.b. affects

bones or glands it is called ‘scrofula’ or ‘struma’ in homoeopathy.

 

(b) All chronic affections of glands are due to tuberculosis in the

family. Chronic affections of bones may be due to tuberculosis or syphilis; (in

syphilitic affections of bones we find nightly boring pain.)

 

THEREFORE, to cure a chronic tonsilitis patient, we must examine the remedies

given in Knerr’s Repertory again the following head.

 

page 1191—Constitution, scrofulous (strumous):... enlarged glands:

 

For knowing the correct answers to the remaining questions, and to increase,

perfect, correct and enlarge your knowledge of homoeopathy, you may read the

book advanced homoeopathic practice which can be obtained by sending Euro l2=00

or US12=00 or British Postal Order for £7=00 to: Dr. V. Kirushnamoorty, Raman

House, 21 Kuppiah Street, West Mambalam, Madras-600 033, India. Phone :

044-24890370, 55393214 --. E-mail: Ramaswamy1234

 

or

 

kirushna25

 

 

 

 

Case 1: A lady, the mother-in-law of a fourth stage cancer patient, came to me

asking for medicine for cancer. When I asked her to bring the patient she said

that he won’t come. I asked her to tell me at least in verbatim what he had

said. She replied, “He does not say anything.’’

 

At this stage I asked her whether she did not care to go and see her son-in-law

who is said to be in fourth stage cancer. She replied:

 

“My daughter wrote me a letter stating that and doctors have said that he would

live for another six months only, and he is not afraid of death, but he wants to

live with family in the same quarters in which he had been all along living and

said that he does not want anyone (be it friends or relative) to visit him.’’

 

(Sometimes, we do get valuable symptom from the report of messengers).

 

Let us now see how to work out this case.

 

does not want anyone to visit him Company,

aversion to

 

till death wants to live with family in the same

 

quarters where he had been living all these years Homesick

 

(1) COMPANY, aversion to: 46 remedies (page 27 of Knerr’s Repertory)

 

(2) HOMESICK: 10 remedies (page 50 ..)

 

Only three remedies, viz., Carbo a., magn. m., and natr. m. are common to the

above two lists.

 

To confirm one out of these three, all these were studied in HOMOEOPATHIC

THERAPEUTICS (By Dr. Samuel Lilienthal) under the chapter “”Carcinoma’’. Only

Carbo a. was described and the remaining two remedies (magn. m., and natr. m.)

were not found.

 

In the description under Carbo animals, among other things, the words “Cachexia

fully developed “ confirmed our selection..

 

Carbo animalis cured the patient and the patient is living even today

 

 

 

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Let us now illustrate with actual cases where patients were cured by me with one

single dose.

 

Case: In the homeo doctors' meeting on a Sunday evening one doctor asked what is

the best remedy for eczema because he has been treating a 58-year old person

with ten years eczema and he tried Sulphur, Psorinum, Graphites etc. etc. with

no results.

 

Five days after the above doctors meeting I happened to be in the clinic of the

doctor who asked for “the best remedy for eczema.” At this time, the patient

with eczema (whose case was discussed in the previous Sunday evening doctors

meeting) came to see the doctor.

 

After the patient has told his symptoms (that there is no relief with the

medicines prescribed by that doctor last time) the doctor gave some medicines.

 

After receiving them and paying his fees the patient remarked, “Doctor, I am not

taking medicines with a desire to get well. I am now 58 and am going to retire

from service in two years. Before I die, I would like to see that my daughter

gets married to a decent boy and my only son settles in life by getting a good

job; then I may die in peace”.

 

At this time, I asked that doctor whether he has prescribed Petroleum to this

patient because this last words told by the patient agrees with the symptom

“Feels that death is near and must hurry to settle affairs” which is found under

the remedy Petroleum in Boericke's Materia Medica.

 

Petroleum 1M cured the patient completely as confirmed by the doctor (when I

saw him later) and by the patient.

 

BY THE WORDS “MENTAL SYMPTOMS” MANY READERS WRONGLY CONSIDER THAT THEY MUST

PROBE DEEPLY INTO THE MENTAL FACULTY OF THE PATIENT BY PUTTING SYMPTOM-ELICITING

QUESTIONS

 

No. Not at all! You have to simply listen to the patient. He has to tell his

remedy and not you.

 

While ‘key-notes’ ‘characteristics’ or ‘rare, strange and peculiars’ are also

ways to find the remedy, there is another but easy, quick and surest way to

arrive at the similimum, and it is to work out the case on mind symptoms.

 

S.210 of the Organon reads:

 

“...in all the so-called corporeal diseases the condition of the disposition and

mind is always altered; and in all cases of diseases we are called on to cure,

the state of the patient’s disposition is to be particularly noted, along with

the totality of the symptoms, if we would trace an accurate picture of the

disease, in order to be able therefrom to treat it homoeopathically with

success.’’

 

Again, in S. 211 Hahnemann adds:

 

“.... the state of the disposition of the patient often chiefly determines the

selection of the homoeopathic remedy, as being a decidedly characteristic

symptom which can least of all remain concealed from the accurately observing

physician.’’

 

Case: The other day a homoeopath was sitting by my side when a patient walked in

and asked:

 

“Doctor, do you have treatment for diabetes?”

 

Myself: “Yes, I do... tell me your symptoms”

 

Patient: “Diabetes... see my hand (feel my pulse) and give medicine...”

 

[The tone of the patient was similar to that of a king or emperor who, when he

wants a work to be done, will make noise by clapping his hands and as soon an

attendant or soldier comes and bows, the king will command ‘Go and bring that

man’s head by this evening.’

 

In other words, the tone of the patient was ‘imperious.’]

 

Upon this, the doctor who was by my side started blaming patients coming to

homoeopaths. He said to me, “Oh! see, these patients do not tell their symptoms;

how can we make a prescription?” I smiled to myself, and taking Dr. Calvin B.

Knerr's Repertory I turned the pages under the chapter MIND (page 19) and showed

the following to him:

 

Answers imperiously: Lyc.

 

[A symptom need not necessarily be one about diabetes. Mental symptom does not

mean that the patient should start telling. “Doctor, I have terrific fear..” or

“I had mental shock a year ago..”]

 

The mere attitude of the patient (as observed by you) may in itself become a

symptom.

 

Case: Mrs. L., thirty-five, as a result of undergoing radium therapy for uterus

cancer , came with symptoms of profuse and frequent diarrhoea for which the

allopaths could not do anything. I did not talk. After a little while, she said,

“Doctor, please stop this diarrhoea somehow...”

 

I continued to look through the pages of the repertory.

 

After a pause, she just spurt out:

 

“Doctor, cure me somehow; I want to go to my village people and prove to them

that I got completely cured; they had been disrespecting me by telling that I

won't get cured and would die soon. I want to challenge my villagers by telling

“Look here, I am cured, what is your answer now? (A practitioner cannot readily

classify this into an appropriate mental symptom in the repertory, but, after

selecting a few remedies on other symptoms and while reading mental symptoms of

those in the materia medica, he may probably be able to identify or classify

this mental symptom.)

 

If we read the above, we would realise what we have to prescribe for her. But,

however, for the anxious pathological prescriber, let us proceed in a different

routine:

 

How the remedy was selected in this case?

 

Most practitioners would look under the heading ‘diarrhoea' in the repertory.

That is not correct. This complaint is after radium treatment. The correct

symptom is ‘discharge, profuse.’

 

The discharge is from ‘mucous membranes’ and so I looked into the great

monumental work Repertory by Dr. Calvin B. Knerr. On page 1136 of this work, we

find the following being relevant to the case on hand:

 

Mucous membranes, secretions...profuse, like

 

haemorrhages, draining system, Ham.;

 

....secretions with depressed vitality, Kreo.

 

....transulation of watery portions of blood

 

causing copious diarrhoea, Crot. t.

 

....profuse, watery, serous, especially stomach

 

and intestinal tracts, Elat.

 

....passive, flux, Ph. ac.

 

(We cannot find the above rubrics in J.T. Kent’s Repertory and we are unable to

understand as to why Kent is talked about and praised so much)

 

I read all the above five remedies in Boericke's materia medica; the following

words under Hamamelis made me to confirm the remedy.

 

Wants “the respect due to me” shown.

 

This made me to recall what the patient had been saying; she wanted to get cured

and then go and prove to the people in her village that she is now cured.

 

Moreover, out of the five remedies indicated above, any homoeopath would easily

say that Hamamelis is a ‘traumatic’ remedy and decide this remedy for the case

because the discharge (diarrhoea) started after radium treatment.

 

Hamamelis 1-M single dose cured her completely.

 

Case: A lady of fifty was suffering from chronic arthritis. After trying for

cure under several systems (including homoeopathy) she consulted me finally. She

started describing her symptoms which were very common in arthritis cases like

unbearable pain, swelling, aggravation at night etc. etc. After a pause, she

remarked:

 

“Doctor, I got married when I was five years old. My husband passed away within

a year of the marriage. As I do not have any children, many people have inquired

whether I am not worried about it. But I used to reply them that I am unaffected

by all these things in life. Listening to the radio, teaching music to children,

I am happily spending my life.”

 

The words ‘I am happily spending my life’ are the most important and uncommon

mind symptom to be considered for homoeopathic prescription. It is not a healthy

state of the mind or healthy mental symptom at all for the case under review.

(If it is a healthy state, she should have replied as under

 

(a) “I am not worried now though I had lost my husband at my very young age.”

 

or

 

(b) “The fact that I had lost my husband and that I have no issues bothered me

initially but I have slowly recovered from this shock and right now I rarely

think of it.”

 

In this case, the patient had remarked that she is not at all affected by the

worst happenings in her life and that she was spending the days happily. Let us

see how this case was worked out with Boericke’s Repertory

 

MIND (page 695) gay, frolicsome, hilarious: Bell., Can. ind., Coff.; Croc.;

Cyprip.; Eucal.; Formica.; Hyos.; Lach.; Nux. m.; Plat.; Spong.; Stram.; Thea.;

Val.

 

On studying the above sixteen remedies in Boericke's materia medica we find the

words “An arthritic medicine” under the remedy Formica Rufa in Boericke's

materia medica (page 292) relevant to the case on hand. In the remaining

sixteen remedies no symptom was found regarding arthritis..

 

Formica Rufa-IM was prescribed and it gave her relief; After three months, she

reported relapse and 10M potency, single dose, of the same remedy cured her

completely. (At this point the beginner starts taking notes " Formica Rufa is

good for arthritis.' No, not at all! He should note down as “Formica Rufa is

almost a specific for arthritis patients if they are jolly type or gay-going.”)

 

 

 

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