What is Homeopathy?
Homeopathy is a therapeutic system
of medicine that is based on the principle of similars- like cures like - which
means that a substance that can cause certain symptoms in a healthy person can
cure similar symptoms in an unhealthy person. Homeopathy aims to aid and
stimulate the body's own defense and immune processes. Homeopathic medicines
are derived from a variety of plants, animal materials and minerals. These
medicines are prescribed to fit each individual's needs, given in much smaller
and less toxic doses than traditional medications, and are used for both
prevention and treatment. Established 200 years ago by German physician Samuel
Hahneman, and is recognized by the World Health Organization as the second
largest therapeutic system in the world.
Homeopathy
is a system of medicine, which was discovered and developed by a German
allopathic physician, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, between 1792 and 1842.
The then
prevalent system of medicine was not at all scientific (in its modern sense). The
knowledge of anatomy, physiology, pathology etc. was not advanced enough. Most
of these sciences were still in their infancy in the 18th century. Most of the
disease causing organisms and conditions were still unknown to the medical
fraternity. So the treatment for most diseases was eclectic. Everyone treated
their patients according to their own whims and fancies. Methods like
bloodletting, leeching, purging, giving crude doses of mercury etc. were the
common treatment for most disorders.
Dr.
Hahnemann was very dissatisfied with the limited knowledge of human organism,
disease process and the effects of medicines being used. So, he left his
medical career and took up translation work to support his family.
While
translating Dr. Cullen's book of medicine (Dr. Cullen was a professor of
medicine in university), Dr. Hahnemann came across a line in which Dr. Cullen
attributed the curative action of Cinchona bark (from which quinine is
prepared) in malarial fever to the fact that it was bitter. Dr. Hahnemann was
not satisfied with this explanation as there were so many bitter substances
around but none other showed any curative action in malarial fever.
To find the
truth, he decided to investigate the action of Cinchona bark extract by taking
the medicine himself. After taking the medicine for 2 days, he found that
symptoms similar to malaria developed in him. He was amazed with this
observation. He repeated the experiment on many friends and family members and
found the same results. So from this observation he deduced that Cinchona bark
is able to cure malaria because when taken by a healthy human being, it can
create malaria like symptoms.
Then he
started working on this concept further to find if this a specific observation
or a general truth applicable to all drugs. He tested medicines with known
therapeutic values on his friends and family and discovered that this is a
general law which decided the curative action of all medicines. He called it 'Similia Similbus Curantur' or 'Like Cures
Like'.
Simply
stated, it means that a medicine can cure those symptoms in a diseased person,
which, it can produce in healthy individuals. It has been more than two
centuries since he discovered this law. Since then it has been tested millions
of times and has stood the test of time.
Today there
are more than 400 Homeopathy
Medical Colleges India , Pakistan , and Norway
After
discovering that one basic principle in 1792, Hahnemann established Homeopathy
as a full system of medicine in the next 50 years. Homeopathy became very
popular in the 19th century. It went through a phase of decline in 20th century
when the sciences considered auxiliary to allopathic medicine (anatomy,
physiology, pathology, surgery) became more advanced; modern drugs like
antibiotics and painkillers came into existence; and insurance companies took
hold of the medical practice. But now, as apparent limitations of these modern
wonder (!) drugs are being realized and more work is being done on scientific
and clinical research in Homeopathy, this science is gradually coming back to
the center-stage!
How homeopathy differs
from allopathy or conventional medicine?
Have
you ever wondered about the days of your great grandmother, when there were no
antibiotics, steroids, painkillers, and anti-inflammatory drugs to fight
disease with? How did the people used to get cured of their illness till a
couple of decades ago? The people did not used to succumb to every minor and
major illness. Most of the time they used to get out of it. But how? What used
to kill the bacteria, viruses, and parasites causing disease in those days?
Their own immune system!
Yes! our body has a very
strong defense mechanism, capable of fighting most disease conditions. When our
body suffers from any disease, body activates its defense system and fights the
disease causing agents. Now medicine can help in overcoming disease in two
ways.
One is to add foreign
chemical or biological agents in our body in the form of antibiotics and
antiviral drugs. These work by killing the bacteria and viruses respectively.
In this process they weaken the body's inherent defense mechanism, as our
body's own army of white cells becomes secondary. This is how allopathy or
conventional medicine works. It kills the bacteria but does nothing to remove
the predisposition of disease and the weakness of immune system, which
initially resulted in the establishment of disease process. Instead, it weakens
it further, predisposing it to more and frequent diseases.
The second way in which a
medicine can help the body in overcoming diseases is to strengthen our body's
inherent immune system and let the body take care of the disease causing
agents. In this way two objectives are attained. First, the disease is cured
very rapidly and effectively without the side-effects of the modern wonder
drugs(!). Secondly, in this process as the immune system is further
strengthened, the predisposition to disease forms is overcome and their
recurrence prevented. Thus there is overall health benefit. This is how
Homeopathy works!
What
Ailments can be Treated with Homeopathy?
Almost all ailments are
amenable to homeopathic treatment. But Homeopathy is best known for its ability
to treat chronic ailments. The reason for this is that Homeopathy is the only
system of medicine which offers curative treatment (not palliative) in many
chronic ailments which have been declared 'incurable' by other schools of
medicine. Be it skin disease, chronic gastric and intestinal disorders, chronic
fatigue syndrome, migraine, asthma, allergic disorders, menstrual complaints,
other hormonal disorders, arthritis, psychological disorders etc. All these and
many more chronic ailments have been affected curatively by Homeopathy. The
only major limiting factors are -
1. Gross structural and
pathological changes.
2. Very low vitality of the
patient.
3. Unavoidable presence of
certain causative or maintaining factors.
Then Homeopathy is also
known to make surgery unnecessary on many occasions. Many a tonsils, adenoids,
appendices etc. have been saved with Homeopathy. Benign tumors and renal stones
also respond well to homeopathic treatment.
Even in cases where curative
treatment is not possible, like advanced cases of arthritis, malignancies etc.
management and palliation with homeopathic medicines is very effective and
improves the quality of life of such patients without making them suffer with
the side-effects of the modern wonder-drugs ( ! ).
Homeopathy is also very
effective in the treatment of acute ailments. And the action of a rightly
selected homeopathic medicine is usually faster than any other medicines. Not
only this, under proper homeopathic treatment the tendency to frequent
recurrence of acutes and their tendency to become chronic is aborted. One last
thing! In Homeopathy, it is said that Homeopathy never fails, it's the
Homeopath that fails. And although Homeopathy has it's limitations, most
'curable' cases that do not respond to Homeopathy are due to improper selection
of medicine or potency and case management. So if you do not get benefit from
Homeopathy at first, don't dump Homeopathy - dump the Homeopath!
Are Homeopathy Medicines Safe?
Yes! They usually are.
Homeopathy medicines are given in sub-physiological doses (as dilution). They
do not have any chemicals or added colors in them. Since they work 'with' our
immune system and not 'in spite' of our immune system, they usually do not
cause adverse reactions. Homeopathy medicines usually do not have any
side-effects (as understood in conventional medicine) and they can not cause
structural damage in general. They can be given to infants and pregnant woman too.
This
does not mean that homeopathic medicines are totally harmless. The medicines
are harmless only when selected properly and used in moderate potencies for a
limited time or when taken under expert guidance. If the person taking the
medicine is too sensitive or if the medicines are used in very high/very low
dilutions (depending on the patients sensitivity) for long periods, medicinal
symptoms can appear in a person.
Homeopathy
medicines have a very profound action on human economy, so they should not be
taken without consulting a qualified homeopath.
In
many countries, homeopathy medicines are available as over-the-counter (OTC)
drugs, which do not need a prescription. If you plan to use homeopathy remedies
as home-remedies, at least follow these guidelines -
- Do not try to treat any
chronic ailment yourself.
- For acute conditions, use
medicines in lower potencies like 6c, 12c, 30c etc.
- Do not repeat the medicine
more than 3/4 times a day.
- If the medicine does not
give desired results in a day or two, seek professional help.
There is no such thing in
this world as 'totally-safe'. Homeopathy medicines are safe only when used
judiciously.
How
Homeopathy Medicines are Administered?
This one is relatively easy
to understand. The medicines are available in the market in 2 forms - liquid
and medicated globules (sugar pills).
If you have the medicine in
liquid form, you can take/administer it in the following ways -
- 2 to 4 drops of liquid
medicine dissolved in 2 - 4 teaspoons of water can be taken as one dose.
- The liquid medicine can
directly be taken on the tongue also, 1 - 2 drops at a time. The medicines have
high alcohol content, so this is not the most preferred way, especially for
children.
- The liquid medicines can
also be used to medicate sugar pills. To medicate the globules, following steps
are followed -
* Fill a small glass/plastic
vial (bottle) (1 to 4 drachma size) with sugar pills. Keep the filled level
slightly below the neck of bottle.
* Depending upon the size of
vial, put 5 to 15 drops of medicine in the vial. The ideal amount is that which
is able to moisten all globules and there is no free fluid left at the base.
Keep this as a standard, whatever be the quantity of globules.
* Then put the cap of the vial
back and shake it slightly to ensure that all globules get uniformly moistened.
* If there is excess fluid
left at the bottom, it should be drained by slightly tilting the vial. In old
days, it was recommended that the medicated globules should be dried on
blotting paper before use. These days this rule is not followed strictly and is
not known to make any difference either.
If you have the medicine in
medicated globules, 1 to 10 pills can be taken at a time, depending upon the
size of globule. Theoretically, the size and number of globule does not matter
much. 1 globule of any size can be taken. But as the pills are very small in
size, 4 to 6 pills are often taken as one dose for the sake of convenience.
Sometimes, homeopathy
medicines are dispensed in 'sugar of milk' powder, instead of cane sugar pills.
This method is also equally effective. It is specially suitable, if you need to
dispense just one or two doses of a medicine.
Homeopathy medicines can
also be administered by olfaction or by gently rubbing them on skin. These
methods are not very popular and not known to be equally effective. But they do
work!
Homeopathy medicines for the
LM scale are dispensed in a special way. It is a bit complicated. You will
learn about it later.
How
Homeopathy Medicines are Selected?
Before we deal with this,
let us first understand some basic words and definitions.
Case Taking - The process of initial consultation of a patient
with a homeopath in which the patient presents his/her history/complaints to
the physician in detail.
Materia Medica - A book which contains information about the action
of various homeopathy medicines.
Repertory - A dictionary like index of symptoms. Each symptom
is followed by a list of medicines that have produced that symptom during
proving.
Drug Proving - A process in which a medicinal substance is given
to a group of healthy people and the signs and symptoms thus produced are
recorded.
Now we come back to the
original question of how the homeopathy medicines are selected.
When a patient comes to a
homeopath for the first time, the homeopath takes a detail interview to find
out as much as possible about the complaints of the patient as well as about
the patient himself. The discussion goes beyond the disease name, to the actual
signs and symptoms experienced by the patient, the aggravating and ameliorating
factors, accompanying ailments, causative factors, maintaining factors,
physical and psychological makeup of the person etc. This whole process of
understanding the 'person' who is ill can take many hours (in chronic
ailments).
After a homeopath gathers
this information he/she uses the repertory to find out which medicines are most
indicated for the case. Then the homeopath uses his/her knowledge of Materia
Medica to find out the remedy that best fits the case.
This is a long process and
requires lot of skill from the homeopath. These days special software are
available which help a homeopath in the process of case analysis and
repertorization.
In acute cases like fever,
cough, diarrhea, cold etc., such detail case taking may not be required. Only
the symptoms of the acute ailment may be sufficient to prescribe a remedy.
What is
Individualization?
Individualization is the
process of differentiating an object or a person from a class or group of
similar objects or persons.
It is a character of
homeopathy that all its practical processes are governed by the process of
individualization. In its drug-proving, its study of the Materia Medica
compiled from those provings; its examination of the patient and study of the
case; its selection of the remedy and its conduct of whatever auxiliary
treatment is required, it always seeks to individualize.
Individualization of
Drugs
Homeopathy recognizes the
individuality of each drug and substance in nature. Its method of testing or
'proving' drugs upon the healthy human beings is designed and used for the
purpose of bringing out the individuality of each drug so that its full power
and relations are established. During a homeopathy drug proving the effect of a
drug is closely studied on all parts of the body and in large number of people.
This gives us the full range of action of the medicine.
The crude sensations and
symptoms like headache, colic, diarrhea etc. are not of much use to a homeopath
and in homeopathy drug provings, much finer symptoms are elicited. For e.g., if
a medicine produces headache during a homeopathic drug-proving, then the
symptom is completed with the location of pain, type of pain (throbbing,
aching, bursting, burning etc.), aggravating and ameliorating factors,
concomitant symptoms etc. The complete information allows us to differentiate
various medicine producing headache in drug-provings or to say in other words
the information allows us to differentiate various medicines capable of curing
headache.
Individualization of
a Case / Patient
No one would argue that all
healthy human beings are anatomically and physiologically alike. And no one
would argue that inspite of that similarity in our structure and functions, we
all have our individuality. We all have our way of thinking, reflexes,
emotions, expressions, built, desires, aversions, likes, dislikes, hobbies,
thermal reaction; patterns of sweating, salivation, sleep, dreams;
susceptibility to various external influences and diseases etc. These and many
other traits help to create our individuality.
As we all have an
individuality in health, we also have an individuality in disease. The signs
and symptoms of a disease are nothing but the reaction of a person to the
disease causing morbific agent or stimulus. Every person reacts to any external
agent according to his/her individuality and so a persons individuality is
reflected in his/her disease too.
In every case of a disease,
a person gives two types of symptoms - Common and Uncommon. Common symptoms
are those symptoms which are found in most cases of a particular disease. For
e.g.; Fever with shivering is a common symptom of malaria, burning pain in
esophagus and sour eructation are common symptoms of gastric acidity. Common
symptoms help us in disease diagnosis and in suggesting the prognosis and
general management to a case. Uncommon symptoms are those symptoms which
are found in very few patient suffering from a particular disease / condition.
They reflect the individual reaction of a person to a morbific agent. Such
symptoms help us in individualizing a patient and selecting a similar remedy
for him. For e.g.; a person suffering from fever can be restless or dull, may
have perspiration on a specific part like face or soles, may have thirst for
cold or warm drinks, may feel better in the evening or in morning hours etc.
Such characters reflect the individuality of a patient and are of great use to
a homeopath in selecting the right remedy.
Homeopathy recognizes the
individuality of each patient. The entire examination of a patient is conducted
with a view to discover not only the common symptoms of a case/disease by which
it may be classified diagnostically and pathologically, but the special and
particular symptoms which differentiate the case from others of the same
general class, are sought to find out the individuality of the patient..
It recognizes the fact that
no two cases or patients, even with the same disease, are exactly alike. It
maintains that a true therapeutic science must enable the physician to
recognize these differences and find the needed remedy for each individual. In
clinical practice these 'differences' are usually the deciding factor in the
choice of the remedy. It is said that homeopathy does not treat disease, it
treats the patient. In other words, it individualizes!
Concept
of Health
What is health?
How do you define it?
* Health is a state of being
free from any disease.
* Health is a state of
perfect harmony between all the organs and systems of the body.
Or is there more to health?
Let us explore.
The first definition of
health has a basic fault in it - it tries to define a primary state through a
secondary state. Health is a primary state. It cannot be fully defined through
a secondary phenomenon, disease. And then there is a larger question. Does
being free from any disease which can be given a name, makes one healthy? I
think, no. I know so many people who have no known disease and yet they are not
healthy. I know a woman who likes to show off her tons of jewelry to those who
can't have it; a woman who snobs at everyone. She has no known disease. But
would you call her healthy? I know a man, who is a couch potato. He goes to his
job and does nothing else. He does not help his wife with family responsibilities.
He behaves with her as if she is his servant. He has no known disease. But
would you call him healthy? I know a man who brags about his achievements till
everybody around drops dead. He has no known disease. But would you call him
healthy?
'Health' is an elusive word.
Most people who consider themselves healthy are not. And many people who are
suffering from some known disease, may be relatively healthy. Health is a
concept which does not merely relate to the absence of disease, of healthy
working of organs, or having good thoughts. Health is a holistic concept. It
relates to a person as a whole. Not just the person you see, but also the
person you 'feel'. Health is a triune of three parts:
- Emotional Health
- Mental Health
- Physical Health
Let us explore each one of
these.
Physical Health
This is probably the easiest
to define and yet it is sometimes the most difficult to understand. Physical
health can be defined as a state in which all the body parts are anatomically
intact and are performing their physiological functions perfectly and
harmoniously. It is a very simplistic definition, but it basically covers
everything like:
All the body parts should be there
All of them are in their natural place and position
None of them has any pathology
All of them are doing their physiological functions
properly
And they work with each other harmoniously
This may seem a bit
idealistic to some, but here we are talking about the ideals. But even this
definition does not cover it all. Let me give an example. There are lots of
people around us who catch a cold with every change of season or with every
sudden change of temperature. Now in common parlance, we say that these people
have low immunity. But the fact is that most of these people have normal blood
counts and normal immunological tests. So when these people are not down with
cold they are in perfect health as per the above definition. And yet they are
not perfectly healthy. Their system breaks down with every stressful condition.
So we can add another aspect to the above definition of physical health:
The anatomical and functional integrity of the body
parts and systems should be maintained under moderate stress.
Now a bit more tricky part.
Read the following statement carefully.
'Not falling ill
at all is also not a sign of good health'
This statement needs to be
understood carefully. It is a normal phenomenon to occasionally get a cold, a
fever, or a stomach bug. There is nothing wrong in getting an occasional acute
ailment. It is quite natural and also good for our immune system. Occasional
sickness keeps our immune system in a ready state.
But you might have seen many
people around you, who never seem to get an acute illness. People who have never
had a cold or never had a fever in ten years. Not all of these people are
healthy. In fact many of these people are more ill than their counterparts who
keep getting their occasional acutes. I say this because these people are not
super humans and most of them are not in 'ideal' health either. The fact is
that these people do get affected by environmental factors and other stresses.
But the result of these forces is not seen on physical plane. Such people are
more affected on the mental and emotional plane. They become 'dis-eased' but
their disease is not easily apparent on the physical level. If you want to
cross-check my statement, then go to a mental asylum and inquire about the rate
of prevalence of acute ailments. You will find it extremely low.
Now let us move on to the
mental health.
Mental Health
When we talk about mind, we
basically refer to our capability to perceive, comprehend, think, judge, and
remember - the intellectual and reasoning faculties. Now pause for a
moment and think. Think about all the people you know, who have rather
strange perceptions of people around them, or about certain cultural and
political ideologies. People whose perceptions are delusional. Think about the
people around you who need to be told everything twice before they understand
you. Think about the people who either do not think at all (thoughtless ones)
or who think too much. People who take wrong decisions even when facts are
against their decision. And then think about the children at school who do not
seem to remember anything. And the housewife who looks for her specs while
wearing them on her nose.
I do not intend to say that
all such people are mentally ill. But many of them are. Not everyone can have
the same level of mental faculties, but these signs do show that these people
are not in their optimum mental health.
I will not talk here about
the mental sickness that takes some of us to asylums. My focus here is on the
concept of mental health and not on mental sickness. Although they are totally
related but there is a difference of degrees.
There is no absolute
definition for mental health as there is a great variation in the level of
mental faculties among people. But still we can set some reasonable standards.
Some of the markers of mental health can be:
having a mental aptitude near or above social average.
having the ability to perceive things as they are, and not as one thinks they
are.
having the ability to understand the social structure and ability to comprehend
vocal and other forms of communication within that social structure
having a reasonable ability to make judgments regarding good and bad or right
and wrong.
having the ability to remember and reproduce information collected through
various senses or through learning to a reasonable degree.
These are just some of the
basics and even these cannot be given a measuring scale. The only measuring
scale we have is that of social average. But even that has its limitations. The
concept of mental health is so vast that whole books can be written about it-
without reaching to any conclusions!
The modern medical science
does not consider a person mentally ill, if he or she can not be given a
disease label to wear. But look around you and you will see so many 'mentals'
moving around. Most of us are unable to recognize when our mental health starts
to fail. The reason for this is that when our mind is affected, our ability to
reason and judge ourselves is also affected. And so people often do not realize
that they are not in optimum mental health, until the things start taking bad
shape.
As we appreciate changes in
the normal functioning of body parts as probable signs of disease, similarly,
we should appreciate the subtle signs which reflect a change in our mental
being. Most mental deviations cannot be labeled as 'disease'. They are at best
'deviations' that need correction through social and medical therapies.
Emotional Health
Our brain is the part which
regulates both our mental and emotional faculties. So these two are highly
related. In fact, most of the people who suffer from some psychological disease
are both mentally and emotionally ill. But in this part, I will specifically
focus on the emotional health.
Technically speaking, our
emotions are neuro-hormonal reactions occurring in response to some physical or
mental stimulus, which in turn, affect our response to the same stimulus on the
physical and mental plane. This may sound like a very unromantic explanation,
but it is a fact. Emotions do not come from our heart, they are generated in
our brain. All the emotions we feel - love, joy, hate, anger, sorrow etc. are
nothing but some primitive algorithms that are processed to generate response
on the physical and mental level.
Let me give an example. Suppose
somebody abuses you. Afterwards you feel angry towards that person. The
question is how is this 'anger' generated? And why only 'anger' is
produced? Why do not you fall in love when somebody abuses you?
First, let me answer the
second question. What kind of emotional response is generated depends on two
factors - our subconscious mental awareness and, through social learning. Our
subconscious mental awareness is probably a mental reflex action that comes
without learning. For e.g., a young child also shows reaction to anger and
shouting. This is what is inherent in us. The second thing that affects our
emotions is our learning. Through social learning we are taught the meaning of
love, joy, hate, anger etc. and we are taught to differentiate them.
Now I come back to the first
question as to how 'anger' is generated. The moment somebody abuses you, your
mind perceives it as a threat or offense based on its social learning. To
counter this threat, the mind needs to prepare the body and itself for some reaction.
Based on the perception of stimulus, some neuro-hormonal reactions are
generated which create 'emotions'. What we perceive as 'anger' is the after
result of that processing. Our mind generate negative thoughts towards the
concerned person. The concentration level of mind increases and it is focused
on the current situation. Our eyes become prominent. The winking rate
decreases, muscles in face and the other parts of the body become tense in
anticipation of further action.. In this state we say a person is 'angry'. But
this is the primary response occurring as a reflex phenomenon. There can be a
secondary phenomenon like you can also hurl abuses or hit the person, or just
walk away. This secondary reaction is based on the intensity of emotions and the
integrity of the regulatory mechanisms in our brain.
Other kind of emotions are
also generated in a similar way. There is a primary stimulus which generates
the 'emotions' based on the perception of stimulus, and which leads to
appropriate physical and mental response.
I have delved deep into the
probable mechanism of emotions so that it becomes easy to understand how our
emotional health can fail just as our physical health does. As the
physiological reactions taking place in our liver or lungs can go awry, so can
they go wrong at the emotional level. Our brain can produce too strong an
emotional response for a small stimulus or it may produce a very weak response
against a strong stimulus. The response may persist for too little a duration
or too long a duration.
Let me give some real life
examples to explain this. It is normal to be angry when somebody abuses you.
But if you can't let that anger go for a very long time, then everything is not
right with you. It s normal to feel sad when somebody close to you passes away.
But if you try to kill yourself after that, then you are not emotionally
healthy. If you always feel elated (not just happy) without any good reason
then you are not emotionally healthy.
These are only a few raw
examples. Our emotions show very fine variations from person to person. There
is no measurable way to define emotional health. The three basic attributes
that can be given to an emotionally healthy person are:
An emotionally healthy
person is -
able to show correct emotional response based on the
stimulus
able to express his emotions (actually, able to
express the thoughts generated as a result of emotions)
able to regulate the mental and physical response
generated due to an emotion.
There are so many people
around us who are unable to cry when they need to; who are unable to fight when
they need to; who fear every passing wind; who lose their ability to reason
when they fall in love. These people do not have any 'disease' and yet these
people are not 'healthy'!
The Triune
So far, I have discussed the
three components of health as separate entities to understand each one of them
more thoroughly. But emotional health, mental health, and physical health are
not separate entities. You cannot have a healthy mind without a healthy body or
healthy emotions and vice-versa. The degree to which one of these components is
affected can vary from person to person, but ultimately it is the person as
a whole that is affected.
This understanding of the
human being is why I like Homeopathy so much. And this is the reason why
Homeopathy is so different from every other system of medicine. The dominant
medical school still has to realize that just as the parts of a human body can
not work in isolation, they also can not fall ill in isolation. There can not
be a disturbed liver or a damaged lung unless and until there is a primary
disturbance which affects the person as a whole. We can not forget that every
part in our body and every cell in those parts has come from a single cell. A
cell which had a life force of its own. How can any one dissociate the body
parts which have all come from one single cell?
Leave aside the
differentiation of parts, even the classification of health as emotional,
mental, and physical is not totally true. These are components which can not be
separated - neither in health, nor in disease.
Factors for Failing Health
While discussing physical,
mental, and emotional health, I did not discuss the causes for the derangement
of health. I left that part because there is hardly any cause which affects one
plane without affecting the others. Our mind and body are so closely integrated
that when one is affected there are bound to be repercussions on the other. Let
me give some examples to elaborate this. Even a small cut in your hand
(physical plane) can make you worry (mental plane) about the bleeding or injury
in general and can make you angry (emotional plane) with yourself that you were
not careful enough. Again, mental anxiety (which often results from emotional
problems) is a well known cause for peptic ulcers and hypertension. These are
not isolated examples. Nearly every known disease, be it physical or
psychological, can be associated with signs and symptoms on the other
planes.
Now let me elaborate
some of the most common factors affecting our health.
1. Genes - Yes!
our genes are one of the biggest factors in deciding the way in which our health gets deranged. They also decide which plane
is affected the most in a particular person. Through ages, it is known to
humanity that children tend to inherit their 'mother's nose' or their 'father's
eyes'. But what most of us do not realize is that children can also inherit the
'father's temperament' or 'mother's thought process'. And as children
inherit the physical and mental makeup from their parents, they also inherit
the tendencies and susceptibilities to acquire diseases. For example - it is a
well known fact that conditions like obesity, hypertension, peptic ulcers,
crohn's disease, diabetes, depression etc. often run in families.
Defective genes sometimes
directly result in diseases. What we commonly call as genetic disorders. But
even the 'emotional instability', 'tendency to worry a lot', or the 'tendency
to catch a cold frequently' can be attributed to our genetic inheritance.
2. Lifestyle and
Social factors - Our contemporary life style is the second biggest factor for
failing health of people. Increasing sedentary habits, long working hours,
reduced rest hours; diet containing highly processed food, poor in fiber
content and with loads of artificial colors and flavors; increased anxiety and
tensions related to education, career, job, performance, etc. are some of the
factors that are responsible for decreasing the health status of our society at
large. Coupled with environmental factors and allopathic drugs, these factors
are playing havoc with our health.
3. Allopathic
Drugs - Even allopaths say that allopathic drugs are one of the biggest cause
of health problems today. Allopathic drugs not only have their side-effects,
but their excessive use is decreasing the immunity level of our society at
large. The pill-popping culture is an open invitation to chronic ailments.
People keep suppressing their ailments and keep working until their body finally
gives up.
4. Environmental
factors - Increasing pollution of our air, water, and earth is a well known
factor in the increasing level of many diseases. There is a high level of
asthma and other allergic complaints in urban areas. Depleting ozone layer is a
known factor in increasing rate of skin cancers. Noise pollution is a
recognized factor in increasing anxiety and stress levels in our society.
These are some of the major
factors. One factor that I have left and which is commonly considered a cause for
illness is - bacteria, viruses, and parasites. What about these? Are they not a
major cause of disease? Yes, they are a cause of disease - but not a major one.
The ability of these microorganisms to make a person sick relies on two
factors:
virulence (quality and quantity)
immunity
Plus there is a third factor
that made me say that bacteria, viruses etc. are not a major cause of human
sickness:
Social health
If a person gets infected by
a potent microbe and has a low immunity against it, then he may fall ill. But
bacteria and viruses are not a cause for decreasing health status of our
society. Man himself is the cause for it.
People through their
lifestyle and drug-abuse, decrease their immunity and create fertile grounds for
these microorganisms. And people themselves act as the carriers and create
conditions for their spread. Think of it this way - if there is no drug abuse,
no sexual perversions, no promiscuity - what will be the rate of infection of
HIV or Hepatitis-B? Extremely low. And that applies to most of the modern
diseases in some way or the other. Bacteria and viruses cannot rage a war
against us - it is us who help them kill us!
What about Spiritual Health?
I could not have left this
one! Homeopathy does consider that we all have a 'spirit like' vital force,
which animates us. And it is this spirit like vital force which gets deranged
before we fall sick. Also most of the humanity believes in God. And if you
believe in God, you cannot logically disbelieve the spirit within us. And since
homeopaths themselves are human beings and deal with other human beings, we
cannot just shun the beliefs of a large proportion of humanity. We need to work
with them and on them.
The first question that
comes up in context of spiritual health is whether you believe in spirits? And
then there are related questions like - do you believe in God? good spirits and
evil spirits? afterlife? hell and heaven? etc. etc. All are very philosophical
questions and the only answer scientific reasoning can give to them is - 'NO'.
But I believe there is more to life than just science and so I will give my
views regarding these questions in relation to the question of spiritual
health.
To begin with, yes! I do
believe in human spirit and God too. Wait! Don't jump to any conclusions. Not
yet. There is a big question that follows this one. What do you understand by
God and human spirit? Well! I don't know if there is something ethereal like
God and spirits. For me God means 'Good Deeds'. I don't believe there is any
God in idols and churches or heaven. I believe if there is any God, he is
within us. The 'Goodness' in you is the God you think about. I do not
know and can not know if there is a dynamic human spirit that animates us. What
I know is that life itself is dynamic. And the spirit I believe in is the
summary of our physical, mental, and emotional health. For me 'human spirit' is
what a person really is, apart from what he appears to be. I believe what goes
around, comes around. What you sow, is what you reap. So if there is a hell,
it's right here and if there is a heaven, it's right here. I am not aware of my
past-life or afterlives, if I had any. But I have this life to live - the life
that I am aware of - and I want to live it healthily. That's my spirit!
What are the Sources of
Homeopathy Medicines?
Homeopathy medicines are
prepared from a number of sources like plants, minerals, animal products,
energy forms etc. Sometimes even diseased tissue is also used as a crude base
for the preparation of homeopathy medicines.
Homeopathy is the only
system of medicine which has been able to successfully use all forms of matter
and energy for therapeutic purpose. Even otherwise harmful substances like
arsenic, snake poisons, disease products and tissues etc. are successfully
prepared to yield therapeutic benefits homeopathically.
The magic of it all lies in
the way homeopathy medicines are prepared. We will study that in our next
chapter. For now, here is a list of sources of homeopathy medicines along with
some examples of medicines prepared from each source. Go through them
carefully. Many of the medicinal sources are going to raise questions in your
mind like 'How can a medicine be prepared from this substance?' or 'Are
homeopaths nuts to use this as a drug?'. Do not worry. You will get your
answers soon. None of these medicines are given in crude or physiological
doses.
Here is the list of
medicinal sources with examples of medicines from each source -
Plant Kingdom - Aconite napellus, Arnica montana, Belladona,
Chamomilla, Chelidonium, Drosera, Dulcamara, Euphrasia, Hyoscyamus, Pulsatilla,
Gelsemium, Allium cepa, Cinchona officinalis, Baptisia tinctoria, Rhus tox,
Digitalis, Oleander, Thuja, Lycopodium Calendula, Coffea, Nux vomica, Agaricus
muscaris, Aloe etc.
Animal Kingdom - Apis mel (honeybee), Blatta orientalis
(cockroach), Culex (mosquito), Tarentula (spider), Cantharis (spanish fly),
Sepia (cuttle fish), Carbo animalis (ox hide), Lecithin (egg yolk), Lac caninum
(bitch milk), Vipera (snake poison), Lachesis (snake poison) etc.
Mineral Kingdom - Aluminum, Argentum (silver), Aurum (gold), Cuprum
(copper), Platinum, Ferrum (iron), Graphites (carbon), Lactic acid, Oxalic
acid, Petroleum (mineral oil) etc.
Sarcodes (healthy secretions/extracts) - Adrenalinum (adrenal
gland), Insulin, Pancreatinum (pancreas), Thyroidinum (thyroid gland) etc.
Nosodes (disease producing agents, disease products or
diseases tissues) - Carcinocin (cancer tissue), Medorrhinum (gonorrheal virus),
Psorinum (itch eruptions), Tuberculinum (tubercular pus), Anthracinum (spleen
of anthrax affected animal), Influenzium (influenza virus) etc.
Imponderabilia (energy forms) - Luna (moon), Sol (sun's ray),
X-Ray, Electricitus (electricity) etc.
How are
Homeopathy Medicines Prepared?
What are
Homeopathic potencies?
To answer these questions, I
will take you into the process of discovery of the methods of preparation of
homeopathy medicines.
When Dr. Hahnemann
established the 'Law of Similia', he started prescribing the medicines he had
tested. He used to give crude, material doses as was the norm those days. For
e.g.., If a patient came with symptoms of malaria resembling the symptom
picture produced by china bark, the patient would be given the crude extract of
the china bark (cinchona) as a medicine.
Dr. Hahnemann observed that
these crude medicines, although acted curatively, produced lot of unnecessary
side effects. He also realized that many substances, which are poisonous in
nature, can alter the human state of health, but can not be used in crude form.
For e.g.., When a person ingests some arsenic, the person suffers from severe
vomiting and watery diarrhea. But arsenic being a poison could not be used on
the law of similars for similar cases of cholera. To reduce these undue
limitations, Dr. Hahnemann started to reduce the dose of drugs. He would take 1
part of medicine, mix it with 9 or 99 parts of alcohol or water or sugar of
milk and would shake it or grind it. While experimenting with this process, he
soon realized that the medicines prepared in this way were acting better than
the crude medicines. With every successive dilution, he found that the
medicines were acting better and more deeply.
Exactly when and how Dr.
Hahnemann stumbled upon this method of drug preparation is not known. This
discovery has become one of the most controversial discovery of medical science
ever.
Now a days, medicines are
prepared in two basic scales of dilution - decimal and centesimal. In decimal
scale, the medicine is diluted in a ratio of 1:9 in every successive
preparation (potency) (1X, 2X, 3X, 4X...and so on). In centesimal scale, the
medicine is diluted in a ratio of 1:99 in every potency (1C, 2C, 3C, 4C..and so
on). The medicines are strongly shaken after every dilution (there is a
specific method for shaking).
The controversy starts here
because after 24th decimal dilution (24X potency) and after 12th centesimal
dilution (12C potency), the medicine gets so diluted that even 1 molecule of
the original drug substance can not be traced in the medicine(!!!!! the
Avogadro's number is crossed)). Yet the medicines work! and work better than
the lower potencies.
This is a big scientific
puzzle. Our current concepts of physics and chemistry are not able to explain
what is left in these medicines at such dilution that works curatively. A 12C
is considered a low potency by homeopaths. Homeopaths frequently use potencies
as high as 30C, 200C, 1000C, 10000C and beyond.
The current hypothesis is
that the method of shaking somehow transfers the 'electromagnetic signature' of
the drug substance to the diluting vehicle. What this signature is and how it
gets transferred should be left as work for physicists. What is important for
the patient and the homeopath is that the medicines work and work very
effectively. It has been clinically verified millions of times. Very soon, you
yourself will start appreciating the power of small doses of homeopathy.
How do Homeopathy
Medicines Work?
In the last 2 chapters,
while discussing the method of preparation of homeopathy medicines, I told you
that homeopathy medicines are usually given in sub-physiological doses. It
means, the homeopathy medicine 'Arsenic' does not contain even a single
molecule of arsenic and the homeopathy medicine Cinchona(or china) does not
contain any bark extract in it. (Beyond 12 C potency)
So if there is nothing
chemical left in these medicines, then how and why do they work? Big questions.
And Frankly speaking, I do not have any specific answers to them either. This
is an unsolved puzzle. We have just started putting the pieces of this puzzle
together. There have been many double blind clinical trials which have
undoubtedly shown that homeopathy medicines have definite medical properties.
Some newer concepts in modern physics like 'memory of water', nuclear magnetic
resonance, kirlian photography etc. are also being used to find the physical
basis of homeopathy medicines. The initial results are very encouraging and I
expect a full answer to this puzzle within the next few years.
The current hypothesis regarding
the action of homeopathy medicines is as follows -
Diseases as characterized by
various names (diabetes, hypertension, cancer, peptic ulcer, OCD etc.) are not
definite entities. They are 'states' - states of deviation from health.
Diseases as we know them, are just the final stage of a long process.
Homeopathy recognizes all diseases as a process and not as an entity.
Homeopathy medicines when given to a healthy human being, create an artificial
disease like state which is called proving. When given to a sick person having
a similar 'disease state', the medicine (somehow) stimulates the body's
defense mechanism (possibly through neuro-endocrine axis) in such a specific
manner that the body itself compensates the diseases state and the process of
healing starts.
The way clinically health is
restored through homeopathy medicines has been documented extensively and
millions of times. What transpires within the body is of academic interest.
What is of primary interest to people who are sick and the people who want to
heal, is that homeopathy medicines can restore a persons health. This is the
bottom line, which no one can deny!
Myths
about Homeopathy
Myth 1. Homeopathy is an
unproved science.
Fact: Homeopathy is based on experimental pharmacological
and clinical data. Over the years, homeopathic medicines have been extensively
studied for their efficacy in a variety of indications. Clinical studies have
been conducted in India as well as other countries. The physical basis of the
homeopathic medicines is still not clear but there is enough clinical data to
prove its efficacy. All the principles of homeopathy are based on sound logic
and experimental data.
Myth 2. Homeopathic
medicines are only sugar pills which act more as placebos and have no medicinal
value as such.
Fact: Yes, the white sugar pills, as such do not have any
medicinal value. But these act as vehicles or carriers for the medicines, which
are alcohol based. Otherwise the medicine can be taken directly or dissolved in
water. Homeopathic medicines have been scientifically studied the world over
and found to be effective in a wide range of diseases. Thus they are not
placebos.
Myth 3. Homeopathy is
slow acting and cannot be used in acute cases of diarrhea, fever, cough, cold,
etc.
Fact: Homeopathy is fast acting in acute cases and can be
effectively used in treating infections, fever, cold etc. Unfortunately, people
tend to go to a homeopath only when the acute problem becomes chronic.
Naturally, these cases take longer to treat. Also, most people take recourse in
homeopathy in cases of arthritis, allergic asthma or skin conditions etc.,
which take a longer
Myth 10. Are there
really no side effects of homeopathic medicine.
Fact: Generally there are no side effects of homeopathic
medicine if prescribed in potencies of 3CH and above. However, some tinctures
and triturates in very low potencies like Ix, 2x have some side effects of
minor nature. Sometimes, homeopathic medicines in higher dilutions may also
elicit drug-proving in sensitive individuals. But just like any other medicine,
homeopathy medicines should be used with caution and in chronic ailments, they
should not be taken without consultation with a qualified homeopath.
Short
Materia Medica
A brief discription of 8 homeopathy medicines (aconite,
arnica, arsenic, belladona, carbo veg., pulsatilla, nux vomica and ignatia) is
given here to make you familiar with homeopathy materia medica, medicines and
their application. The descriptions are not very exhaustive and have been
simlified for better understanding. Many keynotes of each medicine are given in
bold. Do remember them.
ACONITE
Often there are times when
you feel that you are about to fall ill. The stage when the disease has not
localized, yet you can feel dis-eased - technically called the prodormal
phase of an acute illness. Aconite is a medicine that can be taken in the
prodormal stage of most acute ailments, especially, if they develop suddenly.
It will abort the illness in most cases.
Aconite is a medicine to
consider whenever complaints appear suddenly. You were fine till 2 hours
ago and now suddenly you develop pain in throat - aconite could be the remedy.
You went into cold air, entered a warm room and suddenly started sneezing,
aconite can be the remedy at this stage before the cold has fully gripped you.
Similarly, if you suddenly develop fever, your skin feels dry and hot,
there is dryness of mouth and you feel thirsty and there is redness
of face - aconite could be your remedy.
Often in aconite patients,
you will find that they get more disturbed even with slight ailments. They
become more anxious and restless. They may even develop an undue fear
of disease and death. The ailments are slight but the slightest ailment
puts them off the track.
That is aconite for you in
brief - just remember acute ailments, sudden onset, anxiety and restlessness!
ARNICA
Arnica is a medicine which
is best known for its ability to heal in cases of injury, especially, when the injury
results from a fall, blunt instruments, concussions, and contusions. In
injuries where there is an element of shock or where the muscles are
more affected with a sore, lame, bruised feeling in whole body, as if
beaten, arnica is often indicated.
Arnica can work wonders in
injury cases where the flesh is not torn. If there is ecchymosis or internal
bleeding after an injury or if there is pus formation in soft tissue or bones
(without lacerations) after injury, arnica is often indicated.
Many times it happens that
you meet people who tell you that they suffered some injury or met with an
accident many years ago, but they still feel the pain in the injured parts.
Arnica can even heal such effects of very old injuries.
The arnica patient is very
sensitive to touch. More sensitive than most people. The pains are often
worse at rest, by touch, by motion, and better by lying down.
Arnica has more use than
described here. But if you remember injury, sore/lame/bruised feeling,
ecchymosis, and sensitivity to touch - you will be able to put arnica to good
use!
A brief discription of 8 homeopathy medicines
(aconite, arnica, arsenic, belladona, carbo veg., pulsatilla, nux vomica and
ignatia) is given here to make you familiar with homeopathy materia medica,
medicines and their application. The descriptions are not very exhaustive and have
been simlified for better understanding. Many keynotes of each medicine are
given in bold. Do remember them.
ACONITE
Often there are times when
you feel that you are about to fall ill. The stage when the disease has not
localized, yet you can feel dis-eased - technically called the prodormal
phase of an acute illness. Aconite is a medicine that can be taken in the
prodormal stage of most acute ailments, especially, if they develop suddenly.
It will abort the illness in most cases.
Aconite is a medicine to
consider whenever complaints appear suddenly. You were fine till 2 hours
ago and now suddenly you develop pain in throat - aconite could be the remedy.
You went into cold air, entered a warm room and suddenly started sneezing,
aconite can be the remedy at this stage before the cold has fully gripped you.
Similarly, if you suddenly develop fever, your skin feels dry and hot,
there is dryness of mouth and you feel thirsty and there is redness
of face - aconite could be your remedy.
Often in aconite patients,
you will find that they get more disturbed even with slight ailments. They
become more anxious and restless. They may even develop an undue fear
of disease and death. The ailments are slight but the slightest ailment
puts them off the track.
That is aconite for you in
brief - just remember acute ailments, sudden onset, anxiety and restlessness!
ARNICA
Arnica is a medicine which
is best known for its ability to heal in cases of injury, especially, when the injury
results from a fall, blunt instruments, concussions, and contusions. In
injuries where there is an element of shock or where the muscles are
more affected with a sore, lame, bruised feeling in whole body, as if
beaten, arnica is often indicated.
Arnica can work wonders in
injury cases where the flesh is not torn. If there is ecchymosis or internal
bleeding after an injury or if there is pus formation in soft tissue or bones
(without lacerations) after injury, arnica is often indicated.
Many times it happens that
you meet people who tell you that they suffered some injury or met with an
accident many years ago, but they still feel the pain in the injured parts.
Arnica can even heal such effects of very old injuries.
The arnica patient is very
sensitive to touch. More sensitive than most people. The pains are often
worse at rest, by touch, by motion, and better by lying down.
Arnica has more use than
described here. But if you remember injury, sore/lame/bruised feeling,
ecchymosis, and sensitivity to touch - you will be able to put arnica to good
use!
CARBO VEG.
Carbo veg., made from
charcoal, proves useful when the vital power becomes low from loss of vital
fluid, from grave or serious diseases, from effects of drugs etc. It helps when
reactivity is low.
The typical Carbo veg
patient is fat, sluggish, lazy and has a tendency to chronicity of complaints.
It especially suits to old people with low vitality and to people who
have never recovered fully from the effect of some previous illness.
It is a lifesaver remedy for
the state of collapse in cholera, typhoid or other grave diseases, when the
patient is almost lifeless, with cold body (head may be hot), breath
cold, pulse imperceptible, respiration quickened and there is desire to be
fanned.
Hemorrhage, where the blood
is dark, oozing from shock, after surgical operations, persists for hours or
days. Alco bleeding gums.
Weakness, flatulence, and
air hunger are present with most of
the complaints.
Carbo veg has pronounced
action on the gastrointestinal tract. Digestion is slow, food turns into gas.
Aversion to meat, fat and milk which cause flatulence. Loud eructations
which ameliorate. Heaviness and burning after eating. Abdomen distended,
esp. the upper part. Can not bear tight clothing around waist.
That's carbo-veg for you!
PULSATILLA
On account of its changing ,
shifting symptoms, this remedy is known as a weather cock remedy. It is
preeminently a remedy for females - mild, gentle, plethoric, sluggish,
yielding disposition - who cry readily.
Thirstlessness, chilliness and shortness of breath is often present
with digestive and menstrual disorders. Mucus discharges are profuse, bland,
thick, yellowish-green. Symptoms often change, shift or appear
contradictory.
Mentally, the patient is mild,
timid, emotional and fearful. Easily discouraged and offended. The patient craves
sympathy, which ameliorates. Has a clinging nature. Children like
fun and caress. In females there is often morbid fear of opposite sex. Also
there is fear to be alone, of dark, of ghosts in the evening. Although the
pulsatilla is patient is very mild, she is also very irritable at the
same time.
Pulsatilla is very useful if
menses are delayed at puberty or when the menses are late, scanty and
painful. It also helps if the labour pains are weak or when the pains after
delivery are severe or when there is bleeding after delivery. It also helps
when the milk is suppressed or scanty.
Pulsatilla patient is
usually worse by warmth, heat, closed room, evening and eating rich food
and is better by cold, open fresh air, gentle motion and weeping.
NUX VOMICA
Nux vomica is an everyday
remedy. It corresponds to many diseased conditions to which a modern man is
prone. It is useful in those persons who lead a sedentary life, doing
much mental work, or remain under stress and strain of prolonged office work,
business cares and worries. Such people are are apt to indulge in wine, woman,
rich food, stimulants and drugs, and suffer in consequence.
The typical nux patient is
rather this (may be potbellied), spare, quick, active, nervous and irritable.
Nux affects nerves causing hypersensitiveness and overimpressionability
- both mentally and physically.
Mentally, the patients is
active, gets angry easily, is impatient and can not stand pain.
Nux is the remedy for males who are zealous, optimistic, ambitious, fastidious,
faultfinding, headstrong and self-willed - the achievers. The focus is
often on 'I', 'Me' or "Mine'. The patient is usually oversensitive to
external impressions like noise, light, odor, touch etc.
Nux is a very good remedy
for gastric disturbances. The Nux person craves beer, fats and stimulants.
There is heaviness in abdomen an hour or two after eating, must loosen
clothing. The patient can not do mental work for 2-3 hours after a meal.
Constipation; with frequent, unsuccessful desire; passing small stool.
There is sensation as if not finished after stool.
Nux patient is usually chilly,
can not bear cold. Patient is usually worse in morning, mental exertion, after
eating or overeating, touch noise, anger, dry-cold weather,
disappointment of ambition etc. and better by free discharges, naps, milk and
rest.
IGNATIA
Ignatia is a remedy which
often comes into play when there is history of suppressed anger, grief, loss
of loved ones, or disappointed love. Persons who become mentally of
physically exhausted by long-concentrated grief. Such people often have desire
to be alone. They are amicable in disposition if feeling well, but easily
disturbed by very slight emotion; easily offended. The slightest faultfinding
or contradiction excited anger, and this makes her angry with herself. The
person becomes moody. Mental conditions change rapidly from joy to sorrow, from
laughing to weeping.
Children when reprimanded or
scolded, get sick or have convulsions in sleep.
Ignatia especially suits to women
of a nervous temperament who have a mild disposition. But they are quick to
perceive and rapid in execution (unlike Pulsatilla). Ignatia patients often
have involuntary sighing. Also they have an aversion to
tobacco/smoking.
Ignatia is called the remedy
of contradictions as it presents lots of contradictory symptoms like
thirst during chill, pain in throat better by swallowing, cough worse by
coughing, piles better by walking etc.
Ignatia is also
oversensitive to pain. And pains usually occur in small circumscribed spots.
Another interesting feature
of Ignatia is that its patients often sweat on face while eating. That's
Ignatia for you!
What is
Organon of Medicine?
Dr. Hahnemann was able to
verify the curative action of Cinchona bark by 1790. For the next six years he
proved many drugs upon himself, his friends and family to verify the law of
Similia. In 1796, he published his findings in Hufeland's journal in an article
titled 'An Essay on a New Principle for Ascertaining The Curative Powers of
Drugs and Some Examination of Previous Principles'.
When Hahnemann started
practicing on the basis of the law of simila, he faced numerous difficulties.
With increasing experience, his attitude towards disease, drug-actions, the
method of testing their positive effects, the relation between the disease and
the drug phenomena, and the mode of application and preparation of drugs began
to take a definite shape. He felt the need to synthesize his thoughts and
communicate them to other physicians.
Apart from the above
mentioned article, he also wrote - Aesculapius in the Balance (1805); Medicine
of Experience (1805); On the Value of Speculative System of Medicine (1808);
Observations on the Three Current Methods of Treatment (1809). These works
paved the way for publishing his magnum opus - Organon of Rational Medical
Science, in 1810.
This book is written in
aphoristic style (paragraphs with numbering) but there is continuity and
logical sequence of thoughts underlying the sections. The book went through 6
editions in all. Five editions were published during the author's life. The 6th
edition was completed by Dr. Hahnmeann in 1842 but he passed away on July 2nd,
1843 before the 6th edition could be published. The last edition was finally
published in 1921 due to the efforts of William Boericke.
Dr. Hahnmeann was a born
searcher for truth and was always ready to modify his ideas to suit the facts.
He had no hesitation in acknowledging his errors if fact and experience went
against his principles.
Title of the Book.
The word 'Organon' is
derived from the Greek word 'Organum', which means 'instrument of knowledge'.
The word Organon was first used by the Greek Philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC)
for his treatise on logic. Later, Franics Bacon (1561-1626), the English
philosopher and statesman wrote a treatise on logic in Latin titled 'Novum
Organum',
wherein he urged upon his
fellow men to follow the inductive method of reasoning. Possibly these works of
Aristotle and bacon influenced Hahnmeann to name his book Organon.
In the first edition,
Hahnemann named his book 'Organon of the Rational Medical Science'. From the
2nd edition onwards, the title was changed to 'Oragnon of the Healing Art'.
Various Editions of Organon
of Medicine
First Edition
Published in 1810
Published from Torgau
Aphorisms - 271
Title - Organon of Rational Medical Science (Organon Der Rationellen Heilkunde)
Translated by C. E. Wheeler, in English, in 1913.
Published from Torgau
Aphorisms - 271
Title - Organon of Rational Medical Science (Organon Der Rationellen Heilkunde)
Translated by C. E. Wheeler, in English, in 1913.
Below the title of the book
there was a small couplet from Gallert's poem -
The Truth We Mortals Need
Us Blest To make And Keep
The All-Wise Slightly Covered Over
But Did Not Bury Deep.
Us Blest To make And Keep
The All-Wise Slightly Covered Over
But Did Not Bury Deep.
Just above the first
aphorism was written 'Organon of The Healing Art'. The first edition had no
table of contents.
Second Edition
Published in 1819
Published from Leipzig
Aphorisms - 315
Title - Organon of The Healing Art (Organon Der Heilkunst)
Translated by Ernest George von Burnnon, in French, in 1824.
Published from Leipzig
Aphorisms - 315
Title - Organon of The Healing Art (Organon Der Heilkunst)
Translated by Ernest George von Burnnon, in French, in 1824.
In the second edition the
title of the book was changed. The Gallert's poem was also replaced by the
phrase 'Aude Sapere', which means 'dare to be wise'.
Third Edition
Published in 1824
Published from Koethen
Aphorisms - 317
Title - Organon of The Healing Art (Organon Der Heilkunst)
Published from Koethen
Aphorisms - 317
Title - Organon of The Healing Art (Organon Der Heilkunst)
No significant change.
Fourth Edition
Published in 1829
Published from Koethen
Aphorisms - 292
Title - Organon of The Healing Art (Organon Der Heilkunst)
Translated by Charles H Deurient, in English, in 1833
Published from Koethen
Aphorisms - 292
Title - Organon of The Healing Art (Organon Der Heilkunst)
Translated by Charles H Deurient, in English, in 1833
The theory of chronic
diseases was included in the organon for the first time. In the 9th aphorism of
this edition, Hahnmeann stated that the fundamental cause of all chronic
diseases are 'Chronic Miasms' and in aphorism 72 he stated that chronic
diseases are caused by 'dynamic infection of chronic miasm'. Introduction to
Organon proper was introduced in this edition.
Fifth Edition
Published in 1833
Published from Koethen
Aphorisms - 294
Title - Organon of The Healing Art (Organon Der Heilkunst)
Translated by Robert Ellias Dudgeon, in English, in 1849 and agin in 1893. Also translated by C. Wesselehoft.
Published from Koethen
Aphorisms - 294
Title - Organon of The Healing Art (Organon Der Heilkunst)
Translated by Robert Ellias Dudgeon, in English, in 1849 and agin in 1893. Also translated by C. Wesselehoft.
This edition introduced two
new approaches - Doctrine of Vital Force, and Doctrine of Drug Dynamization.
Sixth Edition
Published in 1921
Written in Paris
Aphorisms - 291
Title - Organon of Medicine
Translated by William Boericke, in English, in 1921.
Written in Paris
Aphorisms - 291
Title - Organon of Medicine
Translated by William Boericke, in English, in 1921.
This edition was published
after the death of Dr. Hahnemann. In this edition many significant changes took
place. The term Vital Force was replaced by Vital Principle and a new scale for
potentization, 50 Millesimal scale was introduced in the sixth edition. Apart
from these many other changes in the preparation, administration and repetition
of drugs took place. Some of these changes were so stark that large number of
homeopaths have not been able to accept this edition till date.
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