External applications (was Hom Ag)

[Soroush Ebrahimi]

It seems that we may have a discrepancy - can any one throw in more light

From Introduction to The Organon
"The allopathy of the old school not only greatly overrated these efforts of
the crude automatic power of nature, but completely misjudged them, falsely
considered them to be truly curative, and endeavored to increase and promote
them, vainly imagining that thereby they might perhaps succeed in
annihilating and radically curing the whole disease. When, in chronic
diseases, the vital force seemed to silence this or that troublesome symptom
of the internal affection by the production, for example, of some humid
cutaneous eruption, then the servant of the crude power of nature (minister
naturae) applied to the discharging surface a cantharides plaster or an
exutory (mezereum), in order, duce natura, to draw still more moisture from
the skin, and thus to promote and to assist nature? object - the cure (by
the removal of the morbific matter from the body?); but when the effect of
the remedy was too violent, the eczema already of long standing, and the
system too irritable, he increased the external affection to a great degree
without the slightest advantage, to the origirial disease, and aggravated
the pains, which deprived the patient of sleep and depressed his strength
(and sometimes even developed a malignant febrile erysipelas); or if the
effect upon the local affection (still recent, perhaps) was of milder
character, he thereby repelled from its seat, by a species of ill-applied
external homoopathy, the local symptom which had been established by nature
on the skin for the relief of the internal disease, thus renewing the more
dangerous internal malady, and by this repulsion of the local symptom
compelling the vital force to effect a transference of a worse form of
morbid action to other and more important parts, the patient became affected
with dangerous ophthalmia, or deafness, or spasms of the stomach, or
epileptic convulsions, or attacks of asthma or apoplexy, or mental
derangement, etc., in place of the repelled local disease.*"

195
In order to effect a radical cure in such cases, which are by no means rare,
after the acute state has pretty well subsided, an appropriate antipsoric
treatment (as is taught in my work on Chronic Diseases) must then be
directed against the symptoms that still remain and the morbid state of
health to which the patient was previously subject. In chronic local
maladies that are not obviously venereal, the antipsoric internal treatment
is, moreover, alone requisite.

196
It might, indeed, seen as though the cure of such diseases would be hastened
by employing the medicinal substance which is known to be truly homoopathic
to the totality of the symptoms, not only internally, but also externally,
because the action of a medicine applied to the seat of the local affection
might effect a more rapid change in it.

197 Sixth Edition
This treatment, however, is quite inadmissible, not only for the local
symptoms arising from the miasm of psora, but also and especially for those
originating in the miasm of syphilis or sycosis, for the simultaneous local
application, along with the internal employment, of the remedy in diseases
whose chief symptom is a constant local affection, has this great
disadvantage, that, by such a topical application, this chief symptom (local
affection)1 will usually be annihilated sooner than the internal disease,
and we shall now be deceived by the semblance of a perfect cure; or at least
it will be difficult, and in some cases impossible, to determine, from the
premature disappearance of the local symptom, if the general disease is
destroyed by the simultaneous employment of the internal medicine.
1 Recent itch eruption, chancre, condylomata, as I have indicated in my book
of Chronic Diseases.

198
The mere topical employment of medicines, that are powerful for cure when
given internally, to the local symptoms of chronic miasmatic diseases is for
the same reason quite inadmissible; for if the local affection of the
chronic disease be only removed locally and in a one-sided manner, the
internal treatment indispensable for the complete restoration of the health
remains in dubious obscurity; the chief symptom (the local affection) is
gone, and there remain only the other, less distinguishable symptoms, which
are less constant and less persistent than the local affection, and
frequently not sufficiently peculiar and too slightly characteristic to
display after that, a picture of the disease in clear and peculiar outlines.

Last footnote of 284
Experience, however, teaches that the itch, plus its external
manifestations, as well as the chancre, together with the inner venereal
miasm, can and must be cured only by means of specific medicines taken
internally. But the figwarts, if they have existed for some time without
treatment, have need for their perfect cure, the external application of
their specific medicines as well as their internal use at the same time.

Rgds
Soroush

[VR VR]

Seems that what may help resolve the discrepancy is that in the aphorisms you cite, Hahnemann is opposed to external application of remedies on the affected area. In aphorism 285 he gives specific places to rub in remedies, specifies not to rub in remedies on areas which may be painful, with skin eruption etc., so it's not topical application to suppress local symptom, rather just another delivery system, much like patch or cream/gel application of allopathic drugs like hormones etc. where the place of application can change from day to day and isn't related to the problem as such.
Problem is, if talking about rubbing in remedies for another person as a delivery system, we open another can of worms - touching remedies with your hands...I'm never sure how seriously to take that one..
Regards,
Vera

Finrod wrote:
It seems that we may have a discrepancy - can any one throw in more light

From Introduction to The Organon
"The allopathy of the old school not only greatly overrated these efforts of
the crude automatic power of nature, but completely misjudged them, falsely
considered them to be truly curative, and endeavored to increase and promote
them, vainly imagining that thereby they might perhaps succeed in
annihilating and radically curing the whole disease. When, in chronic
diseases, the vital force seemed to silence this or that troublesome symptom
of the internal affection by the production, for example, of some humid
cutaneous eruption, then the servant of the crude power of nature (minister
naturae) applied to the discharging surface a cantharides plaster or an
exutory (mezereum), in order, duce natura, to draw still more moisture from
the skin, and thus to promote and to assist nature? object - the cure (by
the removal of the morbific matter from the body?); but when the effect of
the remedy was too violent, the eczema already of long standing, and the
system too irritable, he increased the external affection to a great degree
without the slightest advantage, to the origirial disease, and aggravated
the pains, which deprived the patient of sleep and depressed his strength
(and sometimes even developed a malignant febrile erysipelas); or if the
effect upon the local affection (still recent, perhaps) was of milder
character, he thereby repelled from its seat, by a species of ill-applied
external homoopathy, the local symptom which had been established by nature
on the skin for the relief of the internal disease, thus renewing the more
dangerous internal malady, and by this repulsion of the local symptom
compelling the vital force to effect a transference of a worse form of
morbid action to other and more important parts, the patient became affected
with dangerous ophthalmia, or deafness, or spasms of the stomach, or
epileptic convulsions, or attacks of asthma or apoplexy, or mental
derangement, etc., in place of the repelled local disease.*"

195
In order to effect a radical cure in such cases, which are by no means rare,
after the acute state has pretty well subsided, an appropriate antipsoric
treatment (as is taught in my work on Chronic Diseases) must then be
directed against the symptoms that still remain and the morbid state of
health to which the patient was previously subject. In chronic local
maladies that are not obviously venereal, the antipsoric internal treatment
is, moreover, alone requisite.

196
It might, indeed, seen as though the cure of such diseases would be hastened
by employing the medicinal substance which is known to be truly homoopathic
to the totality of the symptoms, not only internally, but also externally,
because the action of a medicine applied to the seat of the local affection
might effect a more rapid change in it.

197 Sixth Edition
This treatment, however, is quite inadmissible, not only for the local
symptoms arising from the miasm of psora, but also and especially for those
originating in the miasm of syphilis or sycosis, for the simultaneous local
application, along with the internal employment, of the remedy in diseases
whose chief symptom is a constant local affection, has this great
disadvantage, that, by such a topical application, this chief symptom (local
affection)1 will usually be annihilated sooner than the internal disease,
and we shall now be deceived by the semblance of a perfect cure; or at least
it will be difficult, and in some cases impossible, to determine, from the
premature disappearance of the local symptom, if the general disease is
destroyed by the simultaneous employment of the internal medicine.
1 Recent itch eruption, chancre, condylomata, as I have indicated in my book
of Chronic Diseases.

198
The mere topical employment of medicines, that are powerful for cure when
given internally, to the local symptoms of chronic miasmatic diseases is for
the same reason quite inadmissible; for if the local affection of the
chronic disease be only removed locally and in a one-sided manner, the
internal treatment indispensable for the complete restoration of the health
remains in dubious obscurity; the chief symptom (the local affection) is
gone, and there remain only the other, less distinguishable symptoms, which
are less constant and less persistent than the local affection, and
frequently not sufficiently peculiar and too slightly characteristic to
display after that, a picture of the disease in clear and peculiar outlines.

Last footnote of 284
Experience, however, teaches that the itch, plus its external
manifestations, as well as the chancre, together with the inner venereal
miasm, can and must be cured only by means of specific medicines taken
internally. But the figwarts, if they have existed for some time without
treatment, have need for their perfect cure, the external application of
their specific medicines as well as their internal use at the same time.

Rgds
Soroush

[David Little]

At 09:53 PM 12/26/2005, you wrote:
Hello,

Why don't you tell us what you see as the discrepancy before we take on
such a large quote.

Sincerely, David Little
---------------
"It is the life-force which cures diseases because a dead man needs no more
medicines."

Samuel Hahnemann

Visit our website on Hahnemannian Homoeopathy and Cyberspace Homoeopathic
Academy at
http://www.simillimum.com
David Little © 2000

[Soroush Ebrahimi]

Dear David

Unless I am mis-reading (mis-understanding) quite simply in the statements I
have shown below, Hn is saying that INTERNAL remedy is sufficient.
Yet in fn 284 and 285 he states that the remedy can (should) also be applied
externally.

Thanks for your time David.
Rgds
Soroush

[David Little]

At 04:43 AM 12/28/2005, you wrote:

Dear Soroush,

If one puts ALL of Hahnemann statements together on a number of
subjects, especially from different time periods, one finds differences.
What we see mostly are the general rules of thumb. Hahnemann also notes
that there are sometimes exceptions to the general rule. In general,
Hahnemann taught that one should not use external remedies on the skin
during internal treatment. He explains that using external remedies on skin
lesions mask the internal progress in such a manner that one cannot tell
what the internal remedy is doing. The skin is a magic mirror that reflects
the inside of the organism and helps one in their prognosis and case
management. Hahnemann also wrote that the same remedy given during
treatment may also be applied on the *healthy* areas of the body at the
same time as internal treatment. He said this was useful in protracted
chronic diseases.

Now comes the except to the rule. Hahnemann clearly wrote that in some
protracted cases of sycosis with protracted condlyomata that one could use
Thuja tincture externally on the grows at the SAME time as the internal
remedy. So in this case, Hahnemann was using the same remedy internally in
potency and external in a material dose on the lesion. He did not explain
exactly how he did this but one would guess that at first he gave the
internal remedy and if it was not sufficient he used the external
application simultaneously. I cannot the reference to this quote by memory
but it is well known. Perhaps, someone else can post it.

So, as far as 284 AND 285 he is suggesting the use of the external
remedy at the same time as the internal remedy but only on the healthy
parts of the skin. This is just a adjuvant delivery system not external
application of the lesion. This is to strengthen the action of the remedy.
Nevertheless, he did suggest the external use of Thuja on the figwarts at
the same time as the internal use of the remedy. This IS the use of the
same remedy on the lesion! In this way, the Founder did open the door to
experimental external applications of the same remedy on protracted skin
lesions.

So, Hahnemann was not a dogmatic in this area. He just suggested what
is best in most cases and made the general rule but also pointed out a
clear exception to the rules. His final methods were not self serving in
the sens of maintaining a rigid philosophy. It was what he thought best for
the patient.

Sincerely, David Little
---------------
"It is the life-force which cures diseases because a dead man needs no more
medicines."

Samuel Hahnemann

Visit our website on Hahnemannian Homoeopathy and Cyberspace Homoeopathic
Academy at
http://www.simillimum.com
David Little © 2000

[safi hiten]

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DR HITEN SAFI MD(HOM)

CONSULTING HOMEOPATH
MUMBAI INDIA

MOBILE 9820723617
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