Introduction to homeopathy

Samuel Hahnemann
• Founder of Homeopathy
1755-1843
• Picture from the London
Homoeopathic Hospital

Samuel Hahnemann
• Samuel Hahnemann was a German physician
who earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in
1779.
• Scientific advances were beginning to be seen
in the fields of
– chemistry,
– physics,
– physiology and
– anatomy.

Old Schools
• superstition and lack of scientific rigor.
• The treatments of the day,
– purgatives,
– bleeding,
– blistering plasters,
– herbal preparations
– emetics
• lacked a rational basis and were more harmful
than effective.

Discovering homeopathy
• While translating William Cullen's A treatise
of the materia medica into German,
Hahnemann was struck by a passage that deal
with cinchona bark, which was used to treat
malaria.

• Cullen described its mechanism of action as a
function of its stomach-strengthening properties.

• Hahnemann did not accept this explanation and
took "four good drams of Peruvian bark, twice a
day for several days" to attempt to characterize
the action of the quinine-containing bark.
• Hahnemann reported that he began to develop
symptoms identical to those of malaria.

• He concluded from this experience that
effective drugs must produce symptoms in
healthy people that are similar to the diseases
they will be expected to treat.
• Today this principal is known as the "Law of
Similars" and is the basis for the use of the
term homeopathy ("similar suffering").

Experimental stage
• Hahnemann and colleagues began to test various substances
to determine the types of symptoms they produced.
• These results suggested to Hahnemann what the drugs would
be useful to treat.

Experimental stage
• With reduction of the dose to infinitesimal levels by multiple
serial dilutions of ten or hundred fold .
• Soluble compounds or liquids were diluted in alcohol;
insoluble materials were serially diluted by grinding with
lactose.

Experimental stage
• Hahnemann practiced Homeopathic medicine
for almost 50 years until his death in 1843

Spiritual Vital Force
• In the healthy condition of human,
• the spiritual vital force, the dynamis that
– animates the material body (organism),
– rules with unbounded sway,
– retains all the parts of the organism in admirable,
harmonious, vital operation, as regards both
• sensations and
• functions,
• So mind can freely employ this living, healthy
instrument for the higher purpose of our
existence....

...The material organism,
without the vital force,
is capable of
no sensation,
no function,
no self-preservation

it derives
all sensation, and
performs all the functions of life
solely
by means of the immaterial being
(the vital principle)
which animates the material organism in health
and in disease (Organon, sixth edition)

Causes of disease

• Hahnemann believed that the cause
of disease is the disturbance of this
vital or life force.
• Disturbances in the vital force
manifest themselves as specific
symptoms.

Causes of disease
• The Law of Susceptibility deals with the
invasion of the body by diseases.

Law of Susceptibility
• The Law implies that
a negative state of
mind attracts disease
entities called miasms
to enter and/or
invade the body.

Causes of disease
Miasms can be acquired
– acutely
– congenital
– latent,
until
– negative experience
– normal aging
trigger their appearance as
– a symptom
then
– as disease.

Causes of disease

• Hahnemann argues that specific treatment of
such symptoms by opposing their action, as in
conventional medicine, is not useful in
treating disease because the disturbance in
the vital force remains.
• Only correction of the underlying disturbance
in the vital force can cure disease.

Like cures like
Similia similibus curentur (Like cures like)
• Hahnemann recognized that many natural
products produce pharmacological or
toxicological effects, which he refers to as
symptoms.
• He believed that substances that produce
symptoms similar to a given disease should be
used to treat that disease.

Like cures like
• He felt that the artificially induced
disease (caused by the medicine) would
push aside the pathologic disturbance in
the vital force and replace it with this
new, pharmacologically-induced
disturbance in the vital force.
• The body could then overcome this
artificial disturbance and a cure would
be effected.

Hahnemann's words
Like cures like
• This disease-manifestation no longer exists for
the principle of life which is now occupied and
governed merely by the stronger, artificial
disease-manifestation.
• This artificial disease-manifestation has soon
spent its force and leaves the patient free
from disease, cured.
• The dynamise, thus freed, can now continue
to carry life on in health.

Dynamization and Dilution
• Hahnemann recognized that the use of
substances that cause symptoms similar to an
existing disease would acutely aggravate the
condition and present other side effects.
• Thus he advocated the dilution of the
substance to the point where the symptoms
were no longer present.

• Dilutions are performed as ten or one
hundred fold steps.
• Dilutions of 1:10 are designated in the U.S. by
the Roman Numeral X
– 1X = 1/10,
– 2X = 1/100,
– 3X = 1/1000, etc.

• Dilutions of 1:100 are designated by the
Roman Numeral C
– 1C = 1/100,
– 2C = 1/10,000,
– 3C = 1/1,000,000, etc.

• Liquids are diluted with alcohol (ethanol),
water, or alcohol/water mixtures, whereas
insoluble powders are diluted with lactose
(milk sugar).

Hahnemann writes of this proposed phenomenon by analogy
to magnetism:
• "Only after (a) bar of steel is dynamized, rubbing it with a
dull file in one direction, will it become a true active
powerful magnet, one able to attract iron and steel to itself
and impart to another bar of steel by mere contact and
even some distance away, magnetic power and this in a
higher degree the more it has been rubbed.

• A the 12C (or 24X) dilution, there is a 50/50
chance of one molecule being present.

• The dilution at which one would expect to
have only one molecule does depend upon
the starting number of molecules,
• Assuming that we started with all the atoms
estimated to be in the universe, about 6x1079,
then we end up with a 50% chance to have
one molecule left at 40C (or 80X),
• Still far more concentrated than the 200C
dilutions that are commonly dispensed.

Dynamization
• The process of dilution combined with
succession to increase healing potency runs
counter to the modern principles of
Pharmacology.

Dynamization
• Conventional practitioners and homeopaths
generally agree that the amount of active
substance present in a homeopathic remedy is
too small to have an effect on its own (this is
why they can be marketed over the counter as
harmless).

Dynamization
• This dilution is equivalent to one molecule
diluted in a sphere the size of the orbit of
Neptune! Thus, high potency homeopathic
remedies contain 100% vehicle and no active
molecules.

Proving
• To attempt determine which
homeopathic remedies would
be best for various ailments,
Hahnemann and others
engaged in a series of provings.
• In what can be viewed as early
clinical trials of natural
substances, Hahnemann and
others self- administered
pharmacologically active doses
of many different substances,
then carefully recorded the
symptoms that resulted in a
materia medica.
• These provings were based on
Hahnemann's early study of
cinchona bark

Proving
• Hahnemann stressed that homeopaths should
add to the materia medica with his own
provings

Treatment
• The homeopathic treatment of a patient begins with careful
history taking and observation of the patient.
• A list of the patient's symptoms is developed and can be
determined from the materia medica or compared to a
repertory.

Treatment
• The materia medica contains the results of provings of
thousands of substances.
• The idea is to match the patients symptoms as closely as
possible to the symptoms listed for a given substance in the
materia medica.

Treatment
• The prescription is based on the symptoms
and the behavior of the patient.
• Hahnemann believed that a single remedy
should be given at a time, to prevent
interference between two or more remedies.

Treatment
• The response to treatment is believed to
follow the Laws of the Cure, which state:
– A remedy begins to work at the top of the body
and progresses downward.
– A remedy works from the inside out; from major
to minor organs
– Symptoms go away in the reverse of their order of
appearance.

Definition and Measure of Health
• define what "health" is,
• what is the target or goal of treatment is,
• in what direction the patient should be guided
during his treatment.

• When the pain is gone,
• when the inflammation has subsided,
• when a bothersome symptom has
disappeared,
• when the pathology is no longer evident,
the patient usually is pronounced cured.

• Yet there may be long-term disturbances
caused by the treatment, especially in deeper
or more subtle parts of the human organism
such as the immune or hormonal systems or,
even worse, in the mental or emotional
planes, that are not taken into consideration.

• Such an objective is almost impossible to attain
through treatment with allopathic drugs, and
that only through some form of alternative
medicine practiced correctly, such as:
– Homeopathy,
– Acupuncture,
– Osteopathy,
– Naturopathy, etc.,
• can the potential for such a goal be realized.

The Definition of Health for the
Physical Body
• Disease, whether expressed through pain,
discomfort or weakness, always tends to
restrict the individual.
• Its opposite, health, gives a sense of freedom.

The Three Planes of Health
• Physical Body
• Emotional Plane
• Mental-Spiritual Level

Physical Body
• Every
– pain,
– discomfort,
– uneasiness,
– distress or
– weakness of the physical body
• results in a limitation of freedom and a feeling
of bondage to the pain or discomfort.

Physical Body
• The individual necessarily directs all his
attention to the pain, to the exclusion of
everything else, and of course loses his
general sense of well-being.

Physical Body
• Health is freedom from pain in the
physical body, having attained a state of
well-being.

The Definition of Health on the
Emotional Plane
• Excessive, inordinate passion for anything
shows a degree of imbalance within the
emotional plane.

Emotional Plane
• Passion for a cause, that brings the individual
to the point where he does destructive
actions against others is definitely a diseased
state rather than justified idealism.

Emotional Plane
• Certainly the opposite of passion - apathy - is
no more desirable.
• Apathy is an extremely unhealthy emotional
state, very much similar to the idea of death.

Emotional Plane
• What is desirable is a state of serenity and
calm that is dynamic and creative, not passive,
indifferent or destructive - a state where love
and positive emotions prevail, as opposed to
hatred and other negative emotions.

Emotional Plane
• Passion comes from weakness rather
than strength on the emotional
plane.

The Definition of Health on the Emotional Plane

Health on the emotional plane
is
freedom from passion,
having as a result
a dynamic state of serenity and calm.

Mental-Spiritual Level
one must identify the most important mental-
spiritual qualities,
which if disturbed
may seriously injure the mental equilibrium.

• After much deliberation I have come to the
conclusion that peace of mind can be
drastically affected by
– egotism,
– selfishness and
– acquisitiveness.
• The more egotistical and selfish an individual
is, the greater his potential for mental
derangement.

It is a known fact that a person who is
very egotistical can be quite upset
when his
– authority,
– knowledge
– attainments
are challenged.

• The same "shocks" that can set off an
egotist and destroy him can leave a
humble man almost unaffected.

Example of Mental-Spiritual Reaction
• An egotistical industrialist who fails in his
business and loses his factory cares more about
the opinion that others now have of him than
the fate of the families, including his own, that
will have no means to support themselves.

Example of Mental-Spiritual Reaction
• It is his ego that has been hurt.
• Even if he has plenty to live on without the
factory, he will feel miserable after the failure
and is bound to develop a host of symptoms
because of his "false" and selfish grief.

• In a similar way, acquisitiveness could become
the core of mental disturbance.
• Can you imagine how an avaricious man might
react to the loss of his physical wealth and the
deep symptomatology that could result?

• Hardly anyone today is totally free from the
feelings of egotism, selfishness and
acquisitiveness.

• We speak about the insanity of Hitler, Idi Amin
Dada, even of the captain in charge of the
Titanic whose arrogance cost the lives of
hundreds.

• In our own way, every one of us is dealing with
similar issues on a smaller scale.
• This "disease" called egotism and selfishness seems
to be universal.
• That is why the saints were admired and
worshipped ; everyone believed that they actually
managed to subdue their egotism and sacrifice their
own lives for the sake of others.

Although rare,
this "saint-like" attitude
is the healthiest to possess;
in such a state
true peace of mind and happiness is
achieved.

mental health is
Freedom from selfishness in the mental sphere,
having as a result
total unification with Truth.

The whole definition of Health
• Health is
– freedom from pain in the physical body,
– a state of well being; freedom from passion on the
emotional plane, resulting in a dynamic state of
serenity and calm; and
– freedom from selfishness in the mental sphere,
having as a result total unification with Truth.
• A truly healthy individual should therefore
combine both divine qualities of Love and
Wisdom.

Q and A
• If we cure somebody of asthma and as a consequence he
develops a heart condition, how do we know that this new
state of health is better or worse than his previous
condition?
• If we treat a patient with a cardiac condition and he
improves, but after a certain period of time he develops a
phobic state or an anxiety neurosis, can we say that the
treatment benefited the patient?
• If we treat rheumatic patient, so that the pain was better,
meanwhile his stomach got ill

Center of gravity
• In order for a treatment
to be successful it has to
push the disorder's
center of gravity more
and more to the
peripheral, the skin being
the final avenue of
expression, leaving the
deepest parts of the
human being - his mental
and emotional levels -
intact.

Creation vs Destruction
• A good parameter for measuring the health of
an individual is the degree to which he is free
to create.
• Anybody who is basically healthy will seek to
create rather than destroy.
• The person action promotes the interests and
good of oneself and others.

Creation vs Destruction
• To the degree that one commits destructive
acts toward either himself or others, the
degree to which he is diseased is apparent.

What is 'constitutional homeopathy'?
there must be a proper in-depth case taking
and
understanding of the patient
And
matched to one single remedy.

To be able to find one single remedy
(sometimes called the 'simillimum')
that will address
the patient’s symptoms in their entirety,
it is necessary to understand as much as
possible about the whole of the person's
makeup.

The patient may have several complaints
that they have not initially seen as being related,
But
from a homeopath's perspective
every symptom,
both emotional and physical,
no matter how obscure or where it’s located,
is part of the person's expression of disease,
the homeopath will be looking for a coherence
that
covers that expression
in
one single remedy.

• By cross referencing
– the remedies suitable for one symptom
– with those for other symptoms,
– and taking past traumas,
– suppression and
– aetiology into account,
• Some remedies occur in more of the headings, or
strongly represented than others.
• These top remedies will then be checked in the
Materia Medica to further narrow down the options,
• Just one is found that matches the totality of
symptoms; that then is the homeopathic remedy, the
'simillimum'.

• Not every patient is suitable for this method
initially,
• e.g. due to current allopathic medication or
other 'maintaining causes' it may not be
effective,
• but the homeopath can still help by using
alternative methods until their treatment
progresses them to a level where it can be
applied.

1. curing the problem you initially came with,
2. improve your overall health and well being,
3. lessen your general susceptibility to illness;
it improves your whole constitution!

THE SINGLE DOSE
it's importance in Classical Homeopathy
Why the single dose?
• It may be difficult to believe a single dose of a
homeopathic medicine can cure deep seated
conditions, especially if we are used to following
allopathic regimes where a pill was to be taken
several times a day for a week or longer.
• Remember though that in homeopathy we are
only looking for one remedy that is homeopathic
to the whole of the disease in all its
manifestations.

THE SINGLE DOSE - it's importance in
Classical Homeopathy
• individualisation - the matching of one
patient's symptoms to one remedy

THE SINGLE DOSE
• "what's the remedy for eczema, or the
remedy for asthma" etc.? (i.e.non-holistic) -
and it won't work that way because it just
can't be applied that way

CASETAKING - THE HOMEOPATHIC
CONSULTATION
• investigations, the ascertainable physical
constitution of the patient (especially when the
disease is chronic),
– his moral and intellectual character,
– his occupation,
– mode of living and
– habits,
– his social and domestic relations,
– his age,
– sexual function, etc.,
• are to be taken into consideration.

CONSULTATION
• What happens in a homeopathic consultation
(casetaking)
• the homepath listens very carefully to the
patient describing their problem
• takes comprehensive notes so he or she can
remember in exact detail what was said,
• so when it comes to repertorising, the
different headings can be chosen precisely.

CASETAKING - THE HOMEOPATHIC CONSULTATION
• More questions that haven't already been covered may
then be asked in regard to
– symptoms
– medical history
– allopathic medications,
– vaccinations,
– supplements,
– dietary preferences,
– emotional traumas,
– physical traumas,
– stress,
– lifestyle,
– sleep and
– dreams, etc.
• because it is surprising how often seemingly unrelated
events in our life can have a bearing on our health.

CONSULTATION
• Homeopathy does not focus on disease
diagnosis, but on the totality of the symptoms
and individual as a whole, and because of the
nature of this initial consultation, clients often
find it therapeutic in itself.

CONSULTATION
• Remember there are no remedies specifically
for named diseases in homeopathy, only for
symptoms, so to differentiate between the
remedies we have to differentiate between
the symptoms.

Emotional and mental symptoms in
homeopathic case-taking
In chronic conditions
the association between the physical and the
mental/emotional may be less obvious
and require sensitive investigation to reveal,
in acute conditions
the association between the physical and the
mental/emotional is usually very evident.

in chronic illness
the patient is quite aware that
their physical suffering is accompanied by a
change in mood,
if they aren't,
those around them usually are!

• The mental/emotional aspect may be really
obvious
• Example
– anxiety with asthma,
– the delirium of a fever,
– the whining or screaming of a teething toddler
– Etc…

OR
• It may be clear, but not understood to have a
role in differentiating the remedy
• Example
– Dysmenorrhoea with jealousy
– Weepiness
– Anger
– Etc…

OR
• it may be covert
• Example
– IBS from long held indignation,
– high blood pressure from chronically unexpressed
anger
– Etc..

OR
• it may be that the physical symptoms appear have
no direct relation to a change in the
mental/emotional sphere, then it is the mental
attributes discernable from the patients overall
character which are used,
• Example
– benign prostate enlargement in retired business
man, with a domineering personality

• Unlike some schools of thought which insist on a
psychological (or 'psychospiritual') causation behind
every physical ailment, homeopathy doesn't
automatically assume this psychosomatic
connection, even though it does recognise such
aetiology when it is evident.
– (e.g. fainting caused by a fright,
– or ulcers from anxiety).
• It is the chosen remedy's homeopathicity
which rights the problem, not psychoanalysis.

BODY MIND CONNECTION IN
HOMEOPATHY
HOW CAN THE BODY AND MIND BE SEPARATE

WHEN

FEAR CAUSES A WHITE FACE

ANGER CAUSES A RED FACE

SADNESS CAUSES A WET FACE?

HOMEOPATHY
• Every emotion you feel has an effect on your
body, every thought you have involves a
neurological process, every physical change
from the norm is accompanied by a
corresponding mental/emotional state.

HOMEOPATHY
• Sometimes it will be obvious, sometimes
subtle, (sometimes denied, but denial is an
emotional state too).
• Yet the idea of treating the body and mind
separately (allopathy) ignores this truth and
so how can it be the in the best interests of
the patient?

BODY MIND CONNECTION IN HOMEOPATHY

• "The cure of the part should not be attempted
without treatment of the whole.
• No attempt should be made to cure the body
without the soul and, if the head and body are to
be healthy, you must begin by curing the mind...
for this is the great error of our day in the
treatment of the human body, that physicians
first separate the soul from the body" - Written
by Plato in the fifth century BC, echoed by
Hahnemann two centuries ago and just as true
today as it ever was.

• Therefore homeopathy, a holistic system,
always honours the body-mind connection,
both in the casetaking and in the choice of
remedy.
• Its remedies are effective for, and
simultaneously treat, both mental/emotional
and physical conditions, whether they appear
to exist separately or together.

SUPRESSION in homeopathic case-
taking
What is Suppression?
• Suppression occurs whenever the patients
symptoms go against the DIRECTION OF CURE,
that is, the medicine (or any other
circumstances) works against the body's vital
energy, causing the disease state to go deeper
into the constitution, resulting in greater ill
health and a more chronic disease.

taking
• Suppression is not always immediately
apparent but can develop insidiously
• Suppression is not (generally) recognized by
allopathy as a problem, rather as a solution,
whereas in homeopathy it is considered as
dangerous and something to be avoided at all
costs.
• Suppression is often the AETIOLOGY
(causation) of another ailment

taking
• The consequences of suppression are
widespread and homeopathic literature is
bedecked with cases illustrating how a
patient's suffering has been increased as a
result of allopathic suppression

taking
• Suppression should be differentiated from
side effects of allopathic treatments -
suppression only occurs when the direction of
cure is thwarted

taking
The good news is:
• not all allopathic treatment is suppressive
– e.g. pain relief. (although it may still have side
effects).
• homeopathic treatment will undo suppression.

taking
An example:
• When eczema is suppressed with hydrocortisone
creams or tar based preparations and then
subsequently the patient develops asthma.
• Here the eczema has been suppressed resulting
in a deeper condition of asthma
– (this problem was even reported in the Sunday
Express).
• Better to use homeopathy which can cure
without suppressing.

Cured cases
• http://www.hpathy.com/casesnew/
• Homeopathic Cured Cases

Cured cases
• Author Title Medicines

• Johnson, David A Lac Canis Latrans Case Lac Canis
Latrans
• Sridharan, Sowmya Losing Weight, Looking Old - A Case of Bronchial
Asthma Phosphorus
• English, Mary A Case of Apis to Help Nephrotic Syndrome
`` Apis
• Lewis, Elaine Revisitng: Cold Gone Bad! Rhus-tox
• Johnson, David Quarrelsome and Needy With Menorrhagia
Culex
• Kulkarni, Ajit Revisting: Case of Miss K. P. Platina
• Lewis, Elaine Revisting: "Mickey Moose" Has The Sneezies
Nux vomica

Cured cases
• Maver, Jennifer A Case of Chronic Inflammatory demyelinative
Poly Neuropathy Disease Plumbum met.
• Andrews, Julie A Most Difficult Case
Phosphorus
• Scase, Genevieve Crotalus Cascavella and a Splash of Colour
Crotalus Cascavella
• Johnson, David Praseodymium bromatum in Fibromyalgia
Praseodymium bromatum
• Chauhan, Dinesh I Love Heart
Tilea Cordata
• Assilmen, Melissa A Case of Chronic Fatigue - The Metaphoric Story
Calcarea mur.
• D'Souza, Leela Brain Stem/Pontine Haemorrhage in Coma
Carcinocin

STRANGE RARE PECULIAR - S.R.P
• During the casetaking process though,
the patient may also reveal a symptom
or a sensation, that draws attention
because it is unusual (the more unusual
the better as far as the homeopath is
concerned) and which we refer to as
'strange, rare and peculiar'.

STRANGE RARE PECULIAR - S.R.P
• These symptoms should not be waived
aside as not fitting in with our
preconceptions, but have special
emphasis placed on them as being
something to differentiate and clearly
portray the individuality of the case,
whether we understand it or not.

STRANGE RARE PECULIAR - S.R.P - in
• Some symptoms in the remedy's Matera
Medica are quite unusual too (when remedies
are 'proved', the provers often record
symptoms that fall under the heading
'strange, rare and peculiar').

• These symptoms are unlikely to be common
to many remedies so if we also find this
'strange, rare and peculiar' symptom in a
patient and also in a remedy, then the
homeopathic match is made all the easier for
it.

• Consequently (and although it might be
irrelevant to an allopathic doctor, and the
patient may even be shy of mentioning it), the
more strange, rare and peculiar a patient's
symptom is, the greater help it is to the
homeopath because the less remedies there
are which are likely to have that SRP
symptom.

• This once again underlines the difference
between allopathic and homeopathic
approaches.
• Allopathy looks for symptoms that are
common in order to make a diagnosis
whereas homeopathy looks for symptoms
that are uncommon in order to individualise.

Examples of just a few SRPs:
• GENERALITIES; JUMPING; sensation,
internally (3) : croc., mosch., spig.

• GENERALITIES; SHOT, rolling through
the arteries, sensation of (K1400,
SRII-581, G1154) (1) : nat-p.

Examples of just a few SRPs:
• GENERALITIES; VAPORS, smoke, fumes, as of, internally (22)
: ars., apisin., bar-c., brom., bry., camph., carb-v., chin.,
ferr., ign., ip., lyc., merc., mosch., nux-v., par., puls., rhus-t.,
sabad., thuj., verat., zinc.

• GENERALITIES; WIND, draft, sensation of (K1422, SRII-760,
G1171) (53) : Chel., Lyss., cist., laur., mez., mosch., nux-v.,
acon., agar., asaf., asar., bar-c., calc., camph., canth., caps.,
caust., chin., cimic., coloc., cor-r., croc., cub., cupr., graph.,
hep., lac-d., lach., med., naja, nat-m., ol-an., olnd., petr.,
ph-ac., phos., plat., puls., ran-b., rhus-t., sabin., samb., sep.,
spig., squil., stram., sulph., syph., ther., thuj., thyr., valer.,
verat.

Causation (AETIOLOGY) in
homeopathy
• its importance in case-taking
• Causations (aetiology) –
– Shocks,
– traumas,
– injuries,
– poisons,
– diet,
– drugs,
– vaccinations,
– stresses,
– surgery,
– bad weather, etc.,
• are the roots of many acute and chronic disorders and weakness.

Causation (AETIOLOGY) in
homeopathy
• Knowing the causative agent in any given problem
often makes finding the remedy that much easier.
• It is sometimes possible to prescribe just the best
known remedy for the cause, or prescribe
tautologically, and see all manner of conditions
dependant on that cause clear up from this remedy,
even though sometimes it may not have the
particular symptoms in the remedy picture.

NEVER BEEN WELL SINCE = NBWS
• If a patient has not had good health since a particular
event,
• i.e. if they have 'never been well since' that time
• and even though a condition may have existed for
years changing slowly over time, they may still need
the remedy today that would have been needed at the
time of the incident.
• Despite it apparently not covering the particulars of
the case, once given it may clear up all the problems
that have developed since, from that single situation.
• The power of prescriptions based on NBWS should not
be underestimated

Timeline
• A very useful aid to visualisation and for
working out which remedy was applicable at
which time of life, is to plot the major events
on a line between birth and the present.

Susceptability in homeopathy
• What is susceptability?
• Susceptability is our inherited and
aquired predispositions to illness,
whether it be physical, mental/emotional
or both.

• The type or nature of our susceptabilities will
depend firstly on those miasms we inherited
before birth and secondly on those miasms
and dyscrasias we aquired since birth.
• We all know that it's down to susceptability
that some poeple are allergic to peanuts yet
others can eat them with impunity; that some
people get hay fever and others don't.

• So we know which illness's that we do or don't
get depends on our susceptabilities and that
we all have some degree of susceptability -
even the strongest and healthiest among us
have our achillies heal.

• Modern science has taught us that it's largely down to
genetics so we can understand how influences like red
hair skip a generation or will come up in one child but
not another; just as do our traits of weakness and
strength.
• The reason this is important in homeopathy is because
it relates to individualisation and to miasmatic
understanding, and therefore to remedy choice and
also because it enables us to understand changes that
may occur in our susceptability, as that doesn't
neccesarily remain static - it can change as a
consequence of trauma or other influences (e.g.
vaccination)

Miasms in homeopathy
• He associated miasms with specific diseases
that had dogged mankind throughout the
ages.
• The 'Psora’ miasm(underfunction).
• the 'Sycotic' miasm (overfunction)
• the 'Leutic' miasm (self-destructive).
• the Tubercular miasm (restriction)
• the Cancer miasm (suppression).

• The top Psoric remedy is said to be Sulphur,
• The top Sycotic remedy is Thuja,
• The top Leutic remedy is Mercury.
• Thus knowing which miasm is dominant in a case helps
to determine the remedy. E.g. Itchy skin is an symptom
of underfunction and therefore Psoric, so Sulphur will
be considered.
• Warts are a symptom of overfunction and therefore
Sycotic, and so Thuja will be considered.
• Ulcers are a symptom of self-destruction and therefore
Leutic, so Mercury will be considered.

• Most remedies can be said to be multi-
miasmatic.

ACUTE CONDITIONS
• ACUTE prescribing is where homeopathy is used
for acute conditions like
– stings,
– bruises,
– sprains,
– food poisoning,
– influenza,
– measles,
– mumps,
– diarrhoea and vomiting,
– any acute inflammatory or infectious disease

ACUTE CONDITIONS
In acute prescribing:
• The effect of the remedies is quickly used up; they
may need frequent repetition and they only affect
the immediate condition.
• the remedy can usually be found with a minimum of
information

ACUTE CONDITIONS
• it doesn't usually profoundly improve your physical
and emotional well being and susceptibilities,
beyond resolving the immediate condition (unlike
constitutional prescriptions).
• sometimes several remedies may be used in quick
succession (e.g.. flu may need Gels. to start, then
Eup-per, the Kali-p then influenzinum, as the disease
progresses through its various stages).
• it is reasonable to treat yourself and your family for
common uncomplicated conditions.

PRESCRIBING FOR ACUTE CONDITIONS
• When a patient has an acute condition before
we can decide on a course of action,
• FIRST
• has the patient recently been prescribed a
constitutional remedy?
• Acutes caused by a constitutional remedy are
a healing process and should not be treated
unless harm could come to the patient)

BLOCKS TO CURE IN HOMEOPATHY
• Sometimes an apparently well chosen remedy doesn't
work. Why?
• One possibility is that there is a block to cure
• A block to cure can be physical or emotional and related to:
– work
– Relationships
– Lifestyle
– current medication
– toxicity
– past surgery or injury
– other environmental (external) influences
– Miasm

• A block to cure is anything that prevents cure
from the prescribed constitutional remedy
(simillimum) alone.
• The block to cure needs to be addressed first and
separately before a deeper acting remedy can be
effective.
• Sometimes this can be done by changing
prescribing methods i.e. giving a homeopathic
remedy specifically for the block itself , or it may
be that the block needs other strategies to
resolve it.

You cannot cure starvation with homeopathy
nor
can you stop a radioactive fallout

although you may be treat some side effects of
them.

• For example
• stress at work or in a relationship may
override the patients ability to be healthy
and so this needs to be addressed if possible
by other methods,

• e.g. by resolving the problem or by removing
the patient from the problem.

• Equally toxicity from whatever source,
(environmental, work related, medications,
recreational drugs, alcohol) may prevent a
constitutional homeopathic remedy from
working, so it needs to be addressed directly

• Homeopathy can play a part in assisting these
processes:
• the extent to which it helps will depend on:
A - whether the patient can actually be distanced
from the block to cure or not.
B - how amenable the block is to homeopathic or
other therapy

MOST COMMON REMEDIES
Aconite
• For the treatment of acute, sudden, and violent invasion,
with fever. Complaints and tension caused by exposure to
cold weather , draught of cold air, checked perspiration
• Panic crises: fear of imminent death, vertigo, numbness,
tachycardia,(rapid pulse) palpitations, flushes. faintness; . fear
with symptoms .anxious restlessness. First remedy to try
where the onset is very sudden with fear.

Antimonium-Tart
• Great accumulation of mucus, even drowning in own mucus.
Increasingly weak, sweats, becomes drowsy and relaxed with
lack of reaction

Apis
• Burning, stinging pains. Great swelling
(edematous) & effusions: general & local.

Arsenicum
• Anxiety, tremendous, especially about their
health. Despair of recovery. Fear of death, of
being alone. Convinced they're going to die
(may be too frightened to even say so).Very
restless, unless too weak to move

Belladonna
• violence of attack and suddenness of onset.
Hot, red skin, flushed face, dilated pupils,
throbbing carotids, excited mental state,
delirium, convulsive movements.

Causticum
• BURNING, AND SORENESS are characteristic.
Local paralysis, vocal cords, muscles of
deglutition, of tongue, eyelids, face, bladder
and extremities.

Rhus-toxicodendron
• Poison ivy, oak. Red, swollen, skin
itching intense. Dry, hot, burning, -
restlessness

Sulphur
• Heat, burning, Frequent flashes of heat.
violent ebullitions of heat throughout entire
body

Anacardium
• absent mindedness; very easily offended;
senile dementia; weakening of all senses,
sight, hearing, etc.

Aethusa :
• For the treatment of intolerance of milk and
marked inability to digest it as well as all the
associated symptoms such as easy
perspiration (surface of body is covered with
sweat),nausea and vomiting, with sweat and
great weakness

Aloe
• An excellent remedy to aid in re-establishing
physiological equilibrium after much dosing,
where disease and drug symptoms are much
mixed.
• Adapted to weary aged people.
• Good for treatment of diarrhea.

Baryta Carb.
• This is indicated in infancy and old age. Loss
of memory; mental weakness, especially for
old. Senile dementia; confusion. Childish; grief
over trifles.

Drosera :
• For the treatment of spasmodic, dry irritative
cough, like whooping cough ,the paroxysms
follow each other very rapidly; can scarcely
breathe. Cough very deep and hoarse; worse
after midnight.
• Treatment of asthma

Ignatia
No. 1. For Depression , Sadness and Disappointment:
• Mentally, the emotional element is uppermost. It is
one of the chief remedies for nervous temperament,
easily exited. Rapid change of mental and physical
condition, opposite to each other. Great
contradictions. Effects of grief and worry. Changeable
mood; silently brooding. Sad, tearful, not
communicative, sighing and sobbing (take a deep
breath that can be heard – indicating sadness). After
shocks, grief and disappointment.

Kali Carb :
• Alternating mood; very irritable. Full of fears
and imaginations. Never wants to be left
alone. Never quieted or contended.
Obstinate and hypersensitive to pain, noise
and touch.

Anxiety
Aconitum napellus
• A panic attack that comes on suddenly with
very strong fear (even fear of death) may
indicate this remedy. A state of immense
anxiety may be accompanied by strong
palpitations, shortness of breath, and
flushing of the face. Sometimes a shaking
experience will be the underlying cause.
Strong feelings of anxiety may also occur
when a person is just beginning to come
down with a flu or cold

Argentum nitricum
• This remedy can be helpful when anxiety
develops before a big event: an exam, an
important interview, a public appearance or
social engagement. Dizziness and diarrhea may
also be experienced. People who need this
remedy are often enthusiastic and suggestible,
with a tendency toward peculiar thoughts and
impulses. They often crave sweets and salt
(which usually make their symptoms worse).

Arsenicum album
• People who are deeply anxious about their health, and
extremely concerned with order and security, often
benefit from this remedy. Obsessive about small
details and very neat, they may feel a desperate need
to be in control of everything. Panic attacks often
occur around midnight or the very early hours of the
morning. The person may feel exhausted yet still be
restless-fidgeting, pacing, and anxiously moving from
place to place. These people may also have digestive
problems or asthma attacks accompanied by anxiety.

Calcarea carbonica
• This remedy is usually indicated for dependable, solid
people who become overwhelmed from physical
illness or too much work and start to fear a
breakdown. Their thoughts can be muddled and
confused when tired, which adds to the anxiety. Worry
and bad news may agitate them, and a nagging dread
of disaster (to themselves or others) may develop. Fear
of heights and claustrophobia are also common. A
person who needs this remedy is often chilly and
sluggish, has a craving for sweets, and is easily
fatigued.

Gelsemium
• Feelings of weakness, trembling, and
mental dullness (being "paralyzed by
fear") suggest a need for this remedy.
It is often helpful when a person has
stage-fright about a public
performance or interview, or feels
anxious before a test, a visit to the
dentist, or any stressful event. Chills,
perspiration, diarrhea, and headaches
will often occur with nervousness.
Fear of crowds, a fear of falling, and
even a fear that the heart might stop
are other indications for Gelsemium.

Ignatia amara
• A sensitive person who is anxious because of
grief, loss, disappointment, criticism, loneliness
(or any stressful emotional experience) may
benefit from this remedy. A defensive attitude,
frequent sighing, and mood swings are other
indications. The person may burst unexpectedly
into either tears or laughter. Headaches that feel
like a nail driven into the side of the head, and
cramping pains in the abdomen or back, are
often seen when this remedy is needed.

Kali phosphoricum
• When a person has been exhausted by overwork or
illness and feels a deep anxiety and inability to cope,
this remedy may help. The person is jumpy and
oversensitive, and may be startled by ordinary sounds.
Hearing unpleasant news or thinking of world events
can aggravate the problems. Insomnia and an inability
to concentrate may develop, increasing the sense of
nervous dread. Eating, warmth, and rest often bring
relief. Headaches, backaches, and nervous digestive
upsets are often seen when this remedy is needed.

Lycopodium
• Individuals likely to respond to this remedy feel anxiety
from mental stress and suffer from a lack of
confidence. They can be self-conscious and feel
intimidated by people they perceive as powerful (yet
may also swagger or be domineering toward those
with whom they feel more comfortable). Taking on
responsibility can cause a deep anxiety and fear of
failure, although the person usually does well, once
started on a task. Claustrophobia, irritability, digestive
upsets with gas and bloating, and a craving for sweets
are often seen when this remedy is needed.

Natrum muriaticum
• Deep emotions and a self-protective shyness can make
these people seem reserved, aloof, and private. Even when
feeling lonely, they tend to stay away from social
situations, not knowing what to say or do. (Inhibitions
sometimes leave completely if they turn to alcohol, which
makes them feel embarrassed afterwards.) Easily hurt and
offended, they can brood, bear grudges, dwell on unhappy
feelings, and isolate themselves-refusing consolation even
when they want it. However, they are often sympathetic
listeners to other people's problems. Claustrophobia,
anxiety at night (with fears of robbers or intruders),
migraines, and insomnia are often seen when this remedy
is needed.

Phosphorus
• People who need this remedy are openhearted,
imaginative, excitable, easily startled, and full of
intense and vivid fears. Strong anxiety can be triggered
by thinking of almost anything. Nervous and sensitive
to others, they can overextend themselves with
sympathy to the point of feeling exhausted and
"spaced out" or even getting ill. They want a lot of
company and reassurance, often feeling better from
conversation or a back-rub. Easy flushing of the face,
palpitations, thirst, and a strong desire for cold,
refreshing foods are other indications for Phosphorus.

Pulsatilla
• People who need this remedy often express anxiety as
insecurity and clinginess, with a need for constant
support and comforting. The person may be moody,
tearful, whiny, even emotionally childish. (Pulsatilla is a
very useful remedy for children.) Getting too warm or
being in a stuffy room often increases anxiety. Fresh
air and gentle exercise often bring relief. Anxiety
around the time of hormonal changes (puberty,
menstrual periods, or menopause) often is helped with
Pulsatilla.

Silicea (also called Silica)
• People who need this remedy are capable and serious, yet
are also nervous, shy, and subject to bouts of temporary
loss of confidence. Anxiety can be extreme when they are
faced with a public appearance, interview, examination, or
any new job or task. Worry and overwork can bring on
headaches, difficulty concentrating, and states of
exhaustion, oversensitivity, and dread. Responsible and
diligent, they often overreact and devote attention to tiny
details-making their worries (and their work) more difficult.
They often have low stamina and come down with colds,
sore throats, or other illnesses after working hard or being
under stress.

Sleeplessness
Aconitum apellus:
• This remedy can be helpful if a person panics
with insomnia. Fear and agitation come on
suddenly when the person is drifting off to
sleep, or may even wake a sleeping person up.

• Arsenicum album:
• People who need this remedy are often
anxious and compulsive about small details,
and have trouble sleeping if they feel that
everything is not in place. They are often
deeply weary and exhausted, yet feel restless
physically and mentally. Sleep, when it arrives,
can be anxious and disturbed, with dreams full
of fear and insecurity.

• Calcarea phosphorica: This remedy is often
helpful to children with growing pains, and also
to adults who have aching in the joints and
bones, or neck and shoulder tension that make
it hard to fall asleep. The person lies awake for
many hours, feeling upset and irritable—then
has trouble waking in the morning, feeling
deeply tired and weak.

• Cocculus: This remedy is often helpful to those
who feel “too tired to sleep” after long-term
sleep loss—from getting up with an infant,
taking care of someone who is ill, a disruptive
work schedule, travel and jet lag, or chronic
worry and insomnia. The person may feel
weak and dizzy, with trouble thinking, and
may be sleepy, irritable, or tearful.

• Coffea cruda: Mental excitement and nervous
stimulation that keep a person from sleeping
suggest a need for remedy. Thoughts preventing
sleep can be happy or distressing. The person
may be looking forward to something that will
happen in the morning, but feels stressed and
exhausted as the night wears on. If the person
falls asleep, it is usually very light with vivid
dreams, and disturbed by any little noise or
motion. (This remedy can also help if overuse of
caffeine is the cause of sleeplessness.)

• Ignatia: If insomnia is caused by
emotional upset (grief or loss, a
disappointment in love, a shock, or
even an argument) this remedy may be
helpful. The person is sensitive and
nervous, and may often sigh and yawn
in the daytime, but find it hard to relax
at night. As the person tries to fall
asleep, the arms and legs may twitch or
itch. If sleep arrives, it is usually light,
with jerking of the legs and arms, or
long and troubling nightmares.

• Kali phosphoricum: A person with insomnia
from nervous exhaustion caused by overwork
or mental strain, or following a taxing illness,
may respond to this remedy. The person is
very weak and sensitive to everything (noise,
lights, touch, and pain). Irritability, depression,
and anxiety with an empty feeling in the
stomach are often seen.

• Lycopodium: People who need this remedy often
have no memory of dreams and often doubt that
they have slept at all. Insomnia may set in
primarily because of worry: lack of confidence
can make them doubt their own abilities,
although they are usually very capable. Insomnia
caused by digestive trouble, especially gas, can
also indicate a need for this remedy. The person
feels drowsy after meals, but has trouble sleeping
at bedtime. Ravenous hunger in the night that
wakes a person up is another indication for
Lycopodium.

• Nux vomica: People who have insomnia after over-
indulgence in stimulants, food, and drink—or after
overexertion, either physically or mentally—may
benefit from this remedy. They may be able to drift
off, but sleep is light, and they often awaken in the
early morning (typically three a.m.) and lie awake for
hours. On getting up, they are tense, impatient, and
irritable, with a feeling that they sorely need more
sleep.

• Silicea (also called Silica): This is a useful remedy for
nervous people with low stamina who get too tired,
then have insomnia. The person often goes to sleep
at first, but awakens suddenly with a hot or surging
feeling in the head—and finds it hard to fall asleep
again. People who need this remedy usually have
anxious dreams, and some (especially children)
sleepwalk frequently.

• Sulphur: This remedy may be helpful if
insomnia comes from itching—or an
increasing feeling of heat in bed, especially in
the feet. The person is irritable and anxious,
and often feels a need to throw the covers off.
Lying awake between two and five a.m. is
typical. Insomnia that develops because of a
lack of exercise may also be helped with
Sulphur.

• Zincum metallicum: People who need this
remedy often have insomnia from mental
activity. They can get wound up from
overwork—or be naturally inclined toward
nervousness and just have trouble relaxing.
Their legs and arms often feel extremely
restless, and lying still in bed may be
impossible. Even during the daytime, a person
who needs this remedy may feel a constant
need to move the muscles.

Introduction to homeopathy

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