HOW TO MAKE HOMOEO MORE POPULAR

[Krishna]

Dr. V. Krishnamurthy
Raman House
Old No. 21 Kuppaiah Street,
Chennai - 600 033. India
E-mail: chikungunya23@yahoo.co.in

Of late, there has been repeated hue and cry from our profession against governments and others for not giving due recognition to homoeopathy. The remedy lies not outside but inside—among homoeopaths. If we improve the quality of our practice, government and others (including allopaths) would automatically come forward not only to recognise but also admire us. This paper is an attempt to this end.
I got the inspiration to present this paper because I started studying and practising homoeopathy out of sheer academic interest. I started my career as a medical journalist. Forty years ago, while in New Delhi, when I entered the scene of homoeopathy, one striking thing that I noticed was that while one homoeopath cured most of his patients with one single dose (even obstinate chronic cases), another was giving more than one remedy that too repeatedly, with partial or nil relief. Thus my journey started to fill this gap of knowledge among homoeopaths. If you keep this in mind, you would evince much interest in what I am going to write further.

"It is very rarely the case that among the provings of our remedies not one is to be found which corresponds to the characteristic features of a case"

"Homoeopathy is slow to win its way because of the defective use of books as well as because of defective books."
[The above two quotations are from Kent's LESSER WRITINGS.]
Instead of listing out useless reference books, let me list hereinbelow (in order of their extent of usefulness), only those books which are absolutely essential in day-to-day practice.

1. Samuel Lilienthal's HOMOEOPATHIC THERAPEUTICS
2. J. T. Kent's REPERTORY
3. Boericke's MATERIA MEDICA and REPERTORY
4. Hering's GUIDING SYMPTOMS OF OUR MATERIA MEDICA
5. Calvin B. Knerr's REPERTORY
6. W. A. Yingling's THE ACCOUCHEUR'S EMERGENCY MANUAL
7. J. T. Kent's LECTURES OF MATERIA MEDICA

Actual cured cases presented below will justify the usefullness of the above books.

In medicine, emergency is the most important. Again in emergencies, nowhere else can one demonstrate the superiority of a medical system than at the time of childbirth. Thus Dr. W. A. Yingling stands as a guiding star in the sky of homoeopathy. In the preface to his book THE ACCOUCHEUR'S EMERGENCY MANUAL he states that the most alarming haemorrhages stops in seconds after administering one single dose of the indicated remedy. Be it mastery of the language or medical science or homoeopathy, his presentation should give total confidence to all practising homoeopaths. Let him not practice homoeopathy who does not read at least once a month, the Preface and Introduction in the book The Accoucheur's Emergency Manual by Dr. W. A. Yingling. Some portions from his book given below may not be out of place:

"The object of this Manual is to give assistance in the emergency, at the bedside, and to preclude the necessity of carrying one or more large volumes as aids, or of going to the office for help... This work deals exclusively with the remedies and their application to the abnormal conditions of parturition, those which occur directly before, during, or after labor or abortion. (italics ours)... In no class of cases will the homoeopathic remedy be found to act more efficiently and speedily than in post-partum haemorrhage. It is really astonishing how rapidly a profuse haemorrhage will cease after the administration of the properly selected simillimum. ...In each emergency cases nature speaks plainly. The more danger to life the more plainly nature speaks." And, the quicker the remedy acts!

Since emergencies of childbirth is a small topic, let me stop here talking further about Dr. Yingling and let me go to Dr. Samuel Lilienthal, the great.

If an author has covered his subject in its entire depth and breadth, it would be indicated by the fact that no other author would venture or dare to write another book on the same title. Yes, after Samuel Lilienthal, no one dared to write a work with the title HOMOEOPATHIC THERAPEUTICS.

We have all along been struggling with repertories and materia medicas. But nobody is able to get more than 10-30% of success, that too at the first visit of the patient. Thus and therefore a lateral thinking in bringing out a more sensible and useful or near-unfailing reference work is needed and hats off to Dr. Samuel Lilienthal for his
work "Homoeopathic Therapeutics". (Hereinafter called Lilienthal's.) You call it Materia Medica or Repertory or by any other name, it is par excellence. The superiority of this reference work (excepting, of course, Dr. Yingling) can be demonstrated by the following:

1. Drop the symptom in Lilienthal and you get the remedy. (See Case Nos. 1 to 5 in the following pages.)

2. Said Charles Gatchell in a review of HOMOEOPATHIC THERAPEUTICS (by Dr. Samuel Lilienthal), "... it is an extraordinarily useful book and those who add it to their library will never feel regret..." Sameul A. Jones said about Lilienthal's book: "For the fresh graduate this book will be invaluable... to the older one who says he has no use of this book, we have nothing to say. He is a good one to avoid when well, and to dread when ill."
The following cases would illustrate (a) what is meant by `mind symptom' and (b) that useful mind symptoms in a case may be one or two only.

CASE 1: A lady of forty-two came with a big stone in the gall bladder. She said that allopathic doctors advised surgery was the only answer but she declined to undergo it. She continued that she had already undergone two caesarean sections and one appendicectomy; after each one of these surgeries, her general health ran down. Therefore she cannot afford deterioration of health any further with another surgery and that she must safeguard her health for the remaining period of her life. Under the remedy Nux vomica (See the chapter `Melancholia' in Lilienthal's) we find the following words:
"Afraid she may not have enough to live on."

Nux-vomica-1M one single dose was given at bedtime. Not only her general health improved, but also the size of the stone started reducing. (Patient still under treatment)

CASE 2: A chronic renal failure patient came to me with a few relatives, all of whom were allopathic doctors. They showed me a file containing the diagnostic and other papers of the patient. After this, one by one, the relatives went out.
The patient was still sitting. He said, "Doctor, my sons say that I am sick and so I should not ride bicycle, go out and do our business work. They say they will do everything and ask me to sit at home taking rest. As my children, they should only tell me that I am all right and that I would recover soon. But instead of encouraging me for speedy recovery they have branded me as a permanent and incurable patient."
[The reader may note here that in most cases the `uncommon' symptoms (on which we can make a prescription) is told by the patient at the end of the consultation, or, in some cases, after you have made the prescription!)]

This patient feels that his sons, instead of encouraging, are letting him down. What one requires from his or her relatives is not money or help but moral support. In this case the patient feels that this is completely missing in his case.

This symptom we find in two remedies. They are
"… a feeling of moral deficiency…" – Kali brom.
"… despondency, sadness, moral depression and relaxation…" – Tarentula hisp.

(See Lilienthal, page 698 and 702)

We are quoting this not as a case report but it is an actual case to illustrate how to translate the words of the patient into a mind symptom.

The `uncommon mind symptom' may, in most cases, be one only. In the above renal failure case, the above quoted symptom cannot be classified in any existing rubrics in the repertory. Homoeo software would be of utter failure. The practitioner must memorise the symptom of the above two remedies and keep it in his finger tips. Homoeopathic practice is not a mechanical work but it is artistic. Therefore homoeo software would but be a mockery.

To illustrate this point, let us examine more cases; in all the following three cases, only one "uncommon" mind symptom was present and the reader, after studying the three cases, would at once agree that with homoeo software he cannot do anything to find the similimum.

CASE 3: A lady of 55, school teacher, was under my treatment for three months for sinusitis with little relief. She lives thirteen kilometers away from my clinic and she works in a school which is less than one kilometer from my clinic. Before going to the school she would come to me once a month, take medicine and go to school. Seeing no relief in spite of three visits, I told her that a certain acupressure doctor would come and give just 3-minute treatment once only and for this she need not pay any fees and also I assured total relief. Since the acupressure doctor comes to my clinic on Sundays only I asked her to come on a Sunday. To this she replied, … "I have to come all the way… from ... (her place of residence.)"

During the last three visits she would come to me in the morning before going to her school which is near my clinic. Sunday is holiday for the school and she feels it an ordeal to come for acupressure treatment all… the… way from her residence thirteen kilometers away.
It is hesitation. I told her no need to pay any fees for the one-time acupressure and 100% cure was also assured. Therefore, travelling 13 kilometre cannot be a crime. But to do this she has hesitation. Before we show the reader how we selected the remedy on this symptom let us see two more cases .

CASE 4: A lady allopathic doctor was learning homoeopathy from me every Sunday morning for two hours. She consulted for her complaints and got partial relief of her ailments. Once she said, "Doctor, can you give one-dose treatment for my son? Since birth he is having perennial cold; now he is five years and almost every week he has to take drugs?" I told her that she must bring her son at least once and I would cure him completely. Bringing her son once (and I am not going to charge her since she is my student) is not an ordeal or something immoral. To this she replied, "For this I have to… bring him all the way from my home" (which is just ten kilometers away.)

For this small thing of bringing the boy once only (and for that he is going to get total relief permanently) she hesitates.
Only if you actually listen to the patient's reply in person you may understand this. Let me explain and elaborate on this.
Suppose you (the reader of this book) are my student and one day I ask you to murder a certain person. What would be your reaction? Immediately you would reply as under: "Sir, I… have to …" (The sentence would be incomplete. Because you have hesitation since doing this job would prick your conscience.)

In the abovesaid case No .3 and 4, for merely travelling twelve kilometres, they have lot of hesitation as if I am asking them to do some crime or immoral thing. In other words, they are overconscious of a trivial thing. The apt term would be "Conscientious scruples." This symptom is in the remedy Aresenicum album. [See Lilienthal - p. 694.]
Let us repeat, that uncommon mind symptom may be in most cases one and the computer-software or `remedy finders' are of no use. One single dose of Arsenicum Album-10M completely cured the above case of sinusitis, case and even acupressure treatment was not given.
CASE 5: This is a cancer patient and after the consultation was over, I asked my fees of six thousand rupees. To this he replied, "Money… is…" (The sentence was incomplete and hesitation was as if they are asked to do some big immoral act.) He should say that either he has no money or that he would try to borrow from relatives. But he does neither. Ars. Alb-10M, one single, dose cured him.

The above cases would illustrate the meaning and interpretation of mind symptoms of a given patient. In some cases the repertory or software is not useful and you have to memorise these uncommon mind symptoms.
The above two cases are quoted here to illustrate that if the practitioner can memorise the symptoms of various remedies given under `Melancholia' in Lilienthal (which runs just to eleven pages) he would be able to select the remedy in more than fifty per cent of cases that too at the very first attempt.

The reader must remember once again the remarks of Samuel A-Jones in his review of Lilienthal: "To the older one who says he has no use of Lilienthal, he is a good one to dread when ill."

Let no one practise homoeopathy who does not have a copy of Lilienthal and does not make use of it.

Dr. Kent had observed (in his Lectures on Mat. Med.) that in respect of many remedies mind symptoms have not been brought out in proving. This need not deter us because we have equally good tools for selecting the remedy—`uncommon' and `general' symptoms.

I had already quoted Lilienthal saying, "Drop the symptom in Lilienthal and you get the remedy." Let me illustrate this with three cases treated.

CASE 6: A boy of eleven was brought by his mother: "Doctor, look at him. The boy is making constant movements of his fingers. He often becomes violent and restless. This started six months ago. We went to allopathic hospital and they diagnosed his case as worm complaint and gave him santonine, but even double the adult dose of it had no effect. Then we went to a homeopathy specialist. (She showed me the
prescription: "Cina-30 daily morning and Graphites-30 daily night, for one month".) He has completed one month course of these two remedies but no result."

I looked at the boy again and the case sheet. `Case sheet' means plain white sheet on which we start writing down one below the other what all the patient and/or his relatives tell us. After a pause, the mother told me with wide open eyes, "Doctor, ever since he developed worm complaint he often complains of headache and vertigo. Why is it so doctor?"

The words `vertigo and headache' told by the mother (which is an `uncommon' symptom in worm complaint) were found under one remedy only viz., Cicuta virosa among the thirty-seven remedies given under the chapter WORM AFFECTIONS in Lilienthals. This remedy in 200th potency, single dose, cured worm symptoms as well as his skin complaint.
CASE 7: Fifteen years of sore throat and constipation completely and permanently cured with one single dose.

A certain middle aged patient came to me at 3 p.m. asking if I can give him some throat paint for his sore throat. I told him that I would give pills only and asked him to tell me how long he is suffering etc. (something to make the patient talk about his complaints.) He replied:
"Doctor, I have this for fifteen years. Daily at 3-4 p.m. it starts, so much burning in mouth and throat that in the evening I am unable to do poojas (he is a priest in Hindu temple and there he has to use loud voice to utter verses during worship etc.) loudly because my voice becomes husky. The burning pain would continue in the night, but next morning there won't be any pain.

In this case only one symptom is prominent – "< evening, night."
I went through all the remedies under the chapter SORE THROAT in Lilienthal. The symptom "< evening" was found under the remedies Alumina, Hepar, Natr. mur and Silicea. But in Alumina it is "< evening and night."

Further, under the remedy Alumina the words "clergyman's sore throat… < evening and night…with husky voice" suited the case. Just to confirm the remedy (since it is one of the remedies for chronic and obstinate constipation) I asked him about his bowel movements, to which he replied that he would pass stool once in 3-4 days.

Alumina-10M, single dose, cured his chronic sore throat as well as constipation. (I never knew that he got complete cure till one day when I casually visited the temple in which that priest was doing poojas. I had even forgotten him. Looking at me he immediately removed a big garland from around the neck of the deity and put it on me (this is a sign of honoring V.I.P.s in Hindu temples). I was rather puzzled. He gave me fruits etc., and came out with me till the entrance while other big heads were waiting by paying heavy amount etc. That night I narrated this to my house-owner who does part-time work in that temple and he said that I was honoured because my prescription of one single dose completely cured that priest, which he used to recall almost daily.
Yes, drop the symptom in Lilienthal and you get the remedy!
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Sometime you have to read the entire symptoms under Mind in all the remedies to select a remedy for a patient. (For this I use Boericke's Materia Medica and Hering's Guiding Symptoms). But once you find the remedy, subsequent cases requring that remedy becomes easy.

I am not reporting herein cases treated and their follow-up but my attempt is to tell the reader how and what exactly homoeopathy practice is. As one cannot learn swimming without first getting into the water, nor car driving without first sitting on the wheel, so also without actual cases on hand one cannot learn homoeopathy. To that extent only I am quoting actual cases as seen in my clinic.

As already said in the beginning of this paper I am a free-lance medical journalist and so I took the following two cases as a challenge to homoeopathy. These two cases would illustrate the reader how rich, exact and accurate (and also complete) our existing materia medicas are. Thus and therefore, what is needed is exact mastery of the use of the reference books viz., Lilienthal, Boericke, Kent, Hering's and Calvin B. Knerr (and more importantly Yingling in the case of emergencies at the time of labor and abortion.).

CASE 8: A patient with chronic headache, after spending millions with various doctors, specialists and homoeopaths came to me. After finishing the history of his seven years' pain in head, he ended up saying: "Doctor, if you or any one can cure me of this terrible headache, I won't mind even giving away half of my property (worth three millions) to that doctor."

Doctors of all other systems would simply ignore the last line told by the patient at the end of his report.

If a patient is ready to pay 1.5 millions... I thought over this. I took this as a challenge to homoeopathy. (I am a free lance journalist and not a practising homoeopath) and told him that he may first pay me ten thousand rupees and also give me one week's time with a promise that if I do not cure him in one single dose (or a few doses) in two week's time I would pay him double the amount paid by him. Also, if he is cured he may pay me another ten thousand rupees. He agreed to this condition and paid ten thousand rupees.

I took a copy of Boericke's Materia Medica and went to a professor English in a college and requested him to render me a help. I told him that he has to read the lines given only under the chapter `Mind' in all the remedies in Boerick's Mat. Med. and underline if any relevant line is found equivalent to the statement of a person who says that he would pay half of his wealth if his headache is cured. I paid him five thousand rupees (which the professor said is more than sufficient for the work)—It may take a few days, daily spending two or three hours to go through the lines given under the chapter `Mind' in Boericke's 688 pages materia medica.

To another profesor of English I went with Hering's Guiding symptoms (ten volumes) and paying him the remaining five thousand rupees requested him to do the job of reading the lines given only under the chapter `Mind' in all the remedies (and this too would take a few days, daily working for three hours) and tell me if he finds any thing equivalent to the above said statement of the headache patient.
The first professor (using Boericke's) could not find any suitable line. But the second professor underlined and pointed out the following lines under the remedy Stillingia (under `Mind' in Hering's)
"deplorably downhearted; suffering extreme torture from bone pains."
Stillingia 1000, one single dose cured the patient and he paid me another ten thousand rupees. [After this case I cured two patients both of whom said the above words (ready to give me his entire wealth to me) with the homoeo remedy Stillingia.]

CASE 9: Here is another case of headache. This 55-year old male patient remarked: "Doctor, all these years I have been having these pains; my sufferings are such that no amount of compensation would be equal to it. Even if you make me the President of all the nations in the world that would not be a sufficient compensation." I told him the same condition which I put to the patient in the earlier case. After taking ten thousand rupees I went to the two professors, one with Boericke and the other with Hering's 10 volumes. In this case the professor going through Boericke's Mat. Medica could help me. He pointed to the following found under the remedy Salenium.
"Extreme sadness, abject despair, uncompromising melancholy."
Selenium 10M one dose cured the patient and he paid me ten thousand rupees.

On a later occasion the abovesaid professors asked me what I did by their help and I showed them that I practise homoeopathy. Soon both of them started learning and practising homoeopathy.
Conclusion:

1. Homoeopathy is complete in her existing armamentarium of materia medicas.

2. If you have a good teacher of homoeopathy you can go to the top in a year or two.
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Salient features of Hering's Guiding symptoms (10 volumes) and Boeicke's Mat. Medica.

In Boericke we find the following: (Name of the remey under which they appear are given in brackets at the end of the symptoms)

l. "Its periods of aggravations are peculiarly divided as to the bodily region affected; thus the head and chest symptoms are worse mornings, the abdominal in the afternoon, the pain in the limbs, the skin and febrile symptoms, in the evenings." [Ammonium mur.]

2. Mind.—"Sad…unreasonable. Skin.—Faintly developed eruptions with defective vitality. " [Ammon-carb.]

3. "Symptoms disposed to appear periodically and in groups." [Cuprum met.]

A practitioner would not and cannot understand the use of the following symptoms in Hering's Guiding symptoms (l0 volumes) unless a teacher points them out to them with actual cases treated.

l. "The inflammation . . . runs in radii as it extends to adjacent parts." [Belladonna.]

2. "Increased excitability and action in voluntary muscles, with diminution of it in involuntary muscles." [Opium.]

3. ". . . depression of vital power on one side and increased irritability on the other . . ."

4. "Haemorrhagic exudations. " [Anthracinum.]
Let us now see hereinbelow cases treated with the above remedies:

CASE 10: A patient consulted me for constipation. Even laxatives and purgatives were said to be of no use. He further said that for several years he had been taking daily anticonvulsant drug for epilepsy and if he stops it, he would get convulsions.
The symptom under Opium (in Hering's Materia Medica) agrees with this case: "…Increased irritability and action in voluntary muscles, with diminution of it in involuntary muscles…"
When the intestine is full with faeces, urging is felt (involuntary muscles.) In the instant case these muscles are not functioning. Movement of limbs is controlled by voluntary muscles and he gets convulsions in them (increased irritability and action).

Opium-10M one single dose cured his constipation and he was asked to stop anticonvulsant drugs; he did so and to his surprise convulsions did not appear.

CASE 11: A patient showed his right leg with ulcer. He got injury a few months earlier but so far it did not heal in spite of best medical treatment. After a pause, the patient continued, "Doctor, ever since the accident I feel numbness in my right upper arm and I am unable to use it freely. Has this non-healing of wound in my leg anything to do with numbness in my arm? But my arm was not hurt in the accident."
We say that homoeopathy is a system of medicine where the patient tells or indicates the remedy to us. In Hering's Materia Medica the following sentence under the remedy Pulsatilla agrees with this case:

… "depression of vital power on one side
and increased irritability on the other…"

Pulsatilla-10M, one single dose cured both the ulcer on the leg and numbness in the arm.

CASE 12: The one symptom in the remedy Belladonna will highlight what is meant by `uncommon symptom'; also it would illustrate the uniqueness and superiority of Hering's Materia Medica. A patient came in with pain in the femoral part of urethra and backache. It was worse while riding the two-wheeler. He showed his medical file (given by allopathic hospital) and therefrom we noted the following points:

hydroureteronephrosis—Left kidney. Pain in femoral part of urethra pain in sacral region.

His complaint (pathology) is in ureter but he has pain in femoral part of urethra and sacrum. This is something rare-strange-peculiar. Both these painful places are at the same distance from the seat of affection—ureter.

Under the remedy Belladonna (Hering's Materia Medica) we find the following: "Inflammation of internal organs… The inflammation… runs in radii as it extends to adjacent parts."

(Femoral part of urethra and pain in sacrum are more or less at equal distance from his left ureter) Belladonna-10M, single dose, cured him.
CASE 13: Two years after case No. 12 above, a lady came to me for cervical spondylitis. These patients get pain normally in the neck extending to head or one upper limb. Strangely this patient complained of unbearable pain in both shoulder tips. (Both shoulder tips are at the same distance away from the cervical vertebra.) Belladonna-10M, single dose cured her.
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