The Treatment of Complex Miasms/Christina
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2002 6:41 pm
At 07:23 PM 6/12/2002 -0400, you wrote:
Dear Christina,
The idea that Hahnemann alternated remedies in last years has been used
as some to try and show that Hahnemann completely changed his methods in
some wild fashion. Some have even gone to the extreme of saying Hahnemann
gave "dual remedies" in his last years. The use of the polypharmacy terms
is a falsification of reality. Hahnemann occasionally alternated remedies
or gave a series of remedies but this is no new revelation.
Hahnemann first wrote about alternating remedies in the 1st Organon in
1810. He also spoke about it in the Chronic Diseases in 1828. He always
alternated remedies if and when necessary. As the materia medica become
larger he alternated remedies less because he could give a deeper
simillimum in more cases! Our review of the Paris casebooks show that in
his last years (The LM years 1840-1843) he only alternated two remedies on
rare occasions under special circumstances. I have collected some cases of
alternation between the years 1837-1843. Unfortunately, most of them are
still on microfiches in French.
Samuel did not write down all the details of such cases. He was not
writing his casebooks for posterity. One has to study the symptoms and
remedies very closely. Hahnemann's alternation of remedies in chronic
diseases was not mechanical nor did he seem to use rapid alternations in
chronic diseases. He did not give a remedy for psora in morning and sycosis
at night! Hahnemann taught that the suppression of sycosis and syphilis
often caused psora to become very active and form an obstruction to the
cure. This was demonstrate in the case of O.T which Hahnemann sent by
letter to Boenninghausen. I posted this case to list recently.
Hahnemann first gave Merc 0/1 and 0/2 for syphilis but the anal and
throat symptoms continued to alternate because of psora. He did not then
give one remedy for the throat and one for the anus in alternation! At this
time, Hahnemann used Sulphur 0/2 as an chronic intercurrent remedy for
psora followed by placebo and then returned to Merc 0/2. Once the psora was
pacified he was able to complete the cure with Mercury 0/2 and placebos
followed single olfactions of Nit-ac. Hahnemann wrote about a similar
situation in the Chronic Diseases in which three chronic miasms are
involved. Vide the Chronic Diseases, Theoretical Part, B Jain, Sycosis,
page 152.
"Then it was necessary first to come to the assistance of the most
afflicted part, the Psora, with specific antipsoric remedies given below,
and then to make use of the remedies for sycosis, before the proper dose of
the best preparations of Mercury, as will be described below, is given
against the syphilis. The same alternating treatment may be continued,
until a complete cure is effected. Only, each one of these three kinds of
medicine must be given the proper time to complete its action."
It seems Hahnemann treated the strongest miasm first until its
symptoms subsided, and when the next strongest miasm became more active, he
would treat it with its most appropriate remedy. In the Chronic Diseases he
said he only saw two case where three miasms were present at once. It was
more common to see psora with sycosis or psora with syphilis or sycosis and
syphilis. This, however, was state in 1828 so he must have seem more cases
over time.
Hahnemann treated the strongest miasms first and then followed the
symptoms. As the strongest miasm was reduced the next strongest miasm would
become more active. Then he would treat it with its most appropriate
remedy. If and when the symptoms returned to the miasm that was treated
first, Hahnemann would return to the remedy that was suited for it. He
followed the symptoms as they changed and gave each remedy sufficient time
to do its job. So this is a combination of the way layers and complex
diseases function. They are not separate conditions. They are very closely
related phenomena in which layers become complex diseases and complex
diseases become layers depending on their strengths and balances as well as
time and circumstances. Vide the Chronic Diseases, Syphilis, page 166,
Theoretical Part, B. Jain.
"I have, in my practice, found only two cases of the threefold
complication of the three chronic miasms, the fig wart diseases with the
venereal chancre miasm and at the same time a developed Psora, and those
cases were cured according to the same method, i.e., the Psora was first
treated, then the one of the other two chronic miasmata, the symptoms of
which were at the time the most prominent, and then the last one. The
remaining psora symptoms had then still to be combatted with suitable
remedies, and then lastly what there rest remained of sycosis and syphilis
by means of suitable remedies given above".
In the Paris casebooks Hahnemann would sometimes treat sycosis or
syphilis first if the psora was not activated by suppression. I have seen a
few of these cases. When he through psora was activated by the suppression
of venereal diseases he would treat the psora first because it was the
stronger layer of the complex disease. Then he would treat the next
strongest miasm, etc.. As we can see by the above quote he treated by the
symptoms "which were at the time the most prominent". Therefore, there was
no mechanical alternations or dual remedies where two remedies were given
at the same time. In this way, he followed the nature of the symptoms until
all three miasms were gone. Hahnemann treated the most active miasm. This
is a principle in anti-miasmatic treatment when there are active and
repressed layers and well as in complex miasms.
Since Hahnemann's time 100s of new remedies have been proven and our
knowledge of the anti-miasmatic powers of remedies have increased greatly.
We now know that some remedies have multi-miasmatic powers and are capable
of treating more than one miasm at a time. This was something Hahnemann did
not know. This, however, can only be done when all the characteristic
symptoms point to such a remedy. Many times this is not the case, and we
must begin the treatment by treating the most prominent miasm first and
then following the symptoms and they transform. In this way we follow the
symptoms of the mistunement of the vital force that we call disease until
harmony is reestablished.
I have touched on these areas in my complementary post to Joy.
I hope this helps shed some light on this area of homoeopathic pathology.
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
Dear Christina,
The idea that Hahnemann alternated remedies in last years has been used
as some to try and show that Hahnemann completely changed his methods in
some wild fashion. Some have even gone to the extreme of saying Hahnemann
gave "dual remedies" in his last years. The use of the polypharmacy terms
is a falsification of reality. Hahnemann occasionally alternated remedies
or gave a series of remedies but this is no new revelation.
Hahnemann first wrote about alternating remedies in the 1st Organon in
1810. He also spoke about it in the Chronic Diseases in 1828. He always
alternated remedies if and when necessary. As the materia medica become
larger he alternated remedies less because he could give a deeper
simillimum in more cases! Our review of the Paris casebooks show that in
his last years (The LM years 1840-1843) he only alternated two remedies on
rare occasions under special circumstances. I have collected some cases of
alternation between the years 1837-1843. Unfortunately, most of them are
still on microfiches in French.
Samuel did not write down all the details of such cases. He was not
writing his casebooks for posterity. One has to study the symptoms and
remedies very closely. Hahnemann's alternation of remedies in chronic
diseases was not mechanical nor did he seem to use rapid alternations in
chronic diseases. He did not give a remedy for psora in morning and sycosis
at night! Hahnemann taught that the suppression of sycosis and syphilis
often caused psora to become very active and form an obstruction to the
cure. This was demonstrate in the case of O.T which Hahnemann sent by
letter to Boenninghausen. I posted this case to list recently.
Hahnemann first gave Merc 0/1 and 0/2 for syphilis but the anal and
throat symptoms continued to alternate because of psora. He did not then
give one remedy for the throat and one for the anus in alternation! At this
time, Hahnemann used Sulphur 0/2 as an chronic intercurrent remedy for
psora followed by placebo and then returned to Merc 0/2. Once the psora was
pacified he was able to complete the cure with Mercury 0/2 and placebos
followed single olfactions of Nit-ac. Hahnemann wrote about a similar
situation in the Chronic Diseases in which three chronic miasms are
involved. Vide the Chronic Diseases, Theoretical Part, B Jain, Sycosis,
page 152.
"Then it was necessary first to come to the assistance of the most
afflicted part, the Psora, with specific antipsoric remedies given below,
and then to make use of the remedies for sycosis, before the proper dose of
the best preparations of Mercury, as will be described below, is given
against the syphilis. The same alternating treatment may be continued,
until a complete cure is effected. Only, each one of these three kinds of
medicine must be given the proper time to complete its action."
It seems Hahnemann treated the strongest miasm first until its
symptoms subsided, and when the next strongest miasm became more active, he
would treat it with its most appropriate remedy. In the Chronic Diseases he
said he only saw two case where three miasms were present at once. It was
more common to see psora with sycosis or psora with syphilis or sycosis and
syphilis. This, however, was state in 1828 so he must have seem more cases
over time.
Hahnemann treated the strongest miasms first and then followed the
symptoms. As the strongest miasm was reduced the next strongest miasm would
become more active. Then he would treat it with its most appropriate
remedy. If and when the symptoms returned to the miasm that was treated
first, Hahnemann would return to the remedy that was suited for it. He
followed the symptoms as they changed and gave each remedy sufficient time
to do its job. So this is a combination of the way layers and complex
diseases function. They are not separate conditions. They are very closely
related phenomena in which layers become complex diseases and complex
diseases become layers depending on their strengths and balances as well as
time and circumstances. Vide the Chronic Diseases, Syphilis, page 166,
Theoretical Part, B. Jain.
"I have, in my practice, found only two cases of the threefold
complication of the three chronic miasms, the fig wart diseases with the
venereal chancre miasm and at the same time a developed Psora, and those
cases were cured according to the same method, i.e., the Psora was first
treated, then the one of the other two chronic miasmata, the symptoms of
which were at the time the most prominent, and then the last one. The
remaining psora symptoms had then still to be combatted with suitable
remedies, and then lastly what there rest remained of sycosis and syphilis
by means of suitable remedies given above".
In the Paris casebooks Hahnemann would sometimes treat sycosis or
syphilis first if the psora was not activated by suppression. I have seen a
few of these cases. When he through psora was activated by the suppression
of venereal diseases he would treat the psora first because it was the
stronger layer of the complex disease. Then he would treat the next
strongest miasm, etc.. As we can see by the above quote he treated by the
symptoms "which were at the time the most prominent". Therefore, there was
no mechanical alternations or dual remedies where two remedies were given
at the same time. In this way, he followed the nature of the symptoms until
all three miasms were gone. Hahnemann treated the most active miasm. This
is a principle in anti-miasmatic treatment when there are active and
repressed layers and well as in complex miasms.
Since Hahnemann's time 100s of new remedies have been proven and our
knowledge of the anti-miasmatic powers of remedies have increased greatly.
We now know that some remedies have multi-miasmatic powers and are capable
of treating more than one miasm at a time. This was something Hahnemann did
not know. This, however, can only be done when all the characteristic
symptoms point to such a remedy. Many times this is not the case, and we
must begin the treatment by treating the most prominent miasm first and
then following the symptoms and they transform. In this way we follow the
symptoms of the mistunement of the vital force that we call disease until
harmony is reestablished.
I have touched on these areas in my complementary post to Joy.
I hope this helps shed some light on this area of homoeopathic pathology.
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