Homeopathic Aspects of Dealing with Acute and Chronic Disorders and How Our Ancestor Homeopaths Have Done Enormous Work for Us!

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Since I began my practice of homeopathy, every day I am awestruck at the usefulness and wide array of application this science presents to us. Even if I look at this science and art of medicine from a distant perspective (not as a homeopath), we can perceive that it is one of the most accurate modes of therapy that exist today.

No other mode of therapy gives so much importance to the subjective symptoms of the patient as does the homeopathy. The objective symptoms no doubt are visible and quite conspicuous for furthering our therapeutic acumen. But the subjective symptoms that vary from person to person so widely are recognizable as the “symptoms of that individual” in homeopathy alone. This is equally applicable in acute as well as chronic disorders.

That is the reason we often see that an expert handling of a case is must in homeopathy. The homeopathic physician must be aware of the common signs and symptoms of the disease as well as the peculiar symptoms of a particular patient that distinguishes him homeopathically from many others. These set of distinguishing features in a patient constitute the totality of symptoms in that individual. The SIMILLIMUM must be accurate to deal with these specific set of characteristic symptoms so that the patient is cured totally.

In chronic cases especially, we homeopaths often come across this magic of constitutional dosages. Through the practice, I have come across this peculiar and beautiful aspect in homeopathy that unless we give constitutional approach to each and every chronic case, we CANNOT cure the patient of his or her malady. And this perception after a few years of haphazard practice (when we are too enthusiastic to look for the core constitution) increases our belief in homeopathy’s therapeutic action.

Frankly enough, in early practice when I used to come across such magic cures (or so they seemed then) with the constitutional medicines, I used to cry with joy and utter respect for the stalwarts in homeopathy that have proved such marvelous medicines and presented us with the accurate materia medica we can rely upon. It’s not a joke to prove thousands of medicines and give so very accurate physical and mental symptoms that are produced by different attenuations of homeopathic remedies. Today our job (mostly) is just to match those drug symptoms with disease symptoms. If we fail doing even that, it is our and the patient’s tragedy.

When today I teach my students, they often ask, “How can we remember so many symptoms of different remedies?” But looking back at how we began and developed ourselves, I feel there is no alternative. If you want to be a fast prescriber, there is no alternative to learn and distinguish different drugs from each other. No doubt today’s advanced repertories (and software) help us largely to do this job. But repertories are the tools that help us propagate through our materia medica with ease. But the ultimate guide is our materia medica that has the finer nuances of each and every polychrest remedy. Also I personally feel that the beauty of homeopathy can be perceived only by studying in depth various materia medica and not repertory. Repertory is a guide; materia medica- the source book!

Therefore, we should stress more on studying the materia medica books and applying them in the sick. While doing that, sticking close to the basic principles of homeopathy (that have remained the same since centuries) is must. Miasmatic differentiation is also must while dealing with chronic intractable cases and only a thorough constitutional history since the childhood of the patient (or even before that) can guide us through the case.

Even for acute cases, acute totality of the case must be studied in order to find the simillimum suited at that particular time. The rules of minimum and necessary repetitions must be followed along with the rules for appropriate dosages.

Prima facie, this may sound complicated. But a thorough study of homeopathy as regards its principles, application, and philosophy makes it easy. Ask a person who passionately studies homeopathy. He will tell you, “Nothing is as rewarding, entertaining, and enlightening as the study of homeopathy!”