Boenninghausen - a case
Posted: Thu May 27, 2004 5:52 pm
Dear all,
during the last time there has been a lot of interesting discussion
about Clemens von Bönninghausen and his pocket-book, so I thought I
would contribute a case, published by CvB in 'Stapf's Neues
Archiv',1845, Vol. 2, Issue 1,p.91-92. The main subject of this letter
from CvB to Stapf was a confirmation that higher potencies were
effective for cure and that primary effects and aggravations were often
seen.
The 'high potencies' Bönninghausen was talking about were 200Cs, in fact
during the next years he often used higher ones, too. We have to bear in
mind that during these times even many homoeopaths had doubts about the
effectiveness of potencies higher than 30C, so later on the cures which
were effected from 800C or 2000C were often really doubted by others.
But here, in the beginning time of the high potencies, we are simply
dealing with a 200C!
------------------------------------------
Let me tell you a little bit about the patient:
In July 1842, a landlord came to CvB: for 17-18 years he had been
suffering from a chronic cough, which had aggravated to such a degree
that doctors as well as his relatives had given up any hope, regarding
him as highly phthisical.
CvB seemed to be of the same opinion, as he wrote into his case-book: "
Doesn't seem to be able to be saved."
The symptoms were as follows:
- cough for 17-18 years
- expectoration white, viscid, sweetish, unboiled
- shortness of breath before each attack of cough
- aggravation of the shortness of breath by motion
- concomitants: each morning nose is obstructed; itching in anus;
sourkraut causes flatulence; generally better in the evening
From the time after visiting CvB, the patient received every 2 or 3
months a dose of Phos, Sulph, Iod, Ars, Lyc (for a fungus at the knee,
which disappeared), Sep, Nat-m - all of them in 30C, 2 globs; some of
the remedies were used twice, Phos was used 3 times. The patient stayed
alive and was not aggravated, but not ameliorated either.
In 1844, end of September, the case began to worsen, so CvB gave one
dose of Phos 200C (2 globs), to be diluted in a cup of water, a
tea-spoonfull to be taken on 5 subsequent evenings.
After the 3rd dose an aggravation set in, that everyone thought death
was near. CvB stopped further doses and gave Sacch-lac. Slowly
everything calmed down and 6 weeks after this incident the patient was
totally cured and "belonged to the most healthy and most vigorous
persons of his environment".
------------------------------------------------------------------
Interesting case, I think. On the one hand we can learn more about von
Bönninghausen's way of dosing, but also about the choice of the remedy.
So, for one thing, it's interesting that he repeated the aqueous
solution for several evenings, and when the aggravation set in he
stopped.
This is quite similar to the way of dosing as recommended by Hahnemann
for LMs: continue until an aggr. of the symptoms sets in then stop.
Of course, in a 200C this may happen much earlier than in an LM ('may'
but of course needn't happen always or often).
Let's have a look at the choice of the remedy, using my German
'therapeutisches Taschenbuch' (the Gypser edition):
Cough with expectoration: PHOS 4th degree
expectoration
- viscid: Phos 3rd degree
- sweetish: PHOS 4th degree
- white: Phos 3rd degree
- unboiled: this rubric is not found as such in the TPB
Aggravation motion: Phos 3rd degree
Aggravation sourkraut: Phos 3rd degree
Aggravation morning: PHOS 4th degree
shortness of breath: PHOS 4th degree
breathing problems as concomitant symptoms: PHOS 4th degree
Nose obstruction: Phos 3rd degree
Hope this was of interest to some of you.
All the best,
Gaby
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gaby Rottler
Germany
rottler@curantur.de
http://www.curantur.de
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
during the last time there has been a lot of interesting discussion
about Clemens von Bönninghausen and his pocket-book, so I thought I
would contribute a case, published by CvB in 'Stapf's Neues
Archiv',1845, Vol. 2, Issue 1,p.91-92. The main subject of this letter
from CvB to Stapf was a confirmation that higher potencies were
effective for cure and that primary effects and aggravations were often
seen.
The 'high potencies' Bönninghausen was talking about were 200Cs, in fact
during the next years he often used higher ones, too. We have to bear in
mind that during these times even many homoeopaths had doubts about the
effectiveness of potencies higher than 30C, so later on the cures which
were effected from 800C or 2000C were often really doubted by others.
But here, in the beginning time of the high potencies, we are simply
dealing with a 200C!
------------------------------------------
Let me tell you a little bit about the patient:
In July 1842, a landlord came to CvB: for 17-18 years he had been
suffering from a chronic cough, which had aggravated to such a degree
that doctors as well as his relatives had given up any hope, regarding
him as highly phthisical.
CvB seemed to be of the same opinion, as he wrote into his case-book: "
Doesn't seem to be able to be saved."
The symptoms were as follows:
- cough for 17-18 years
- expectoration white, viscid, sweetish, unboiled
- shortness of breath before each attack of cough
- aggravation of the shortness of breath by motion
- concomitants: each morning nose is obstructed; itching in anus;
sourkraut causes flatulence; generally better in the evening
From the time after visiting CvB, the patient received every 2 or 3
months a dose of Phos, Sulph, Iod, Ars, Lyc (for a fungus at the knee,
which disappeared), Sep, Nat-m - all of them in 30C, 2 globs; some of
the remedies were used twice, Phos was used 3 times. The patient stayed
alive and was not aggravated, but not ameliorated either.
In 1844, end of September, the case began to worsen, so CvB gave one
dose of Phos 200C (2 globs), to be diluted in a cup of water, a
tea-spoonfull to be taken on 5 subsequent evenings.
After the 3rd dose an aggravation set in, that everyone thought death
was near. CvB stopped further doses and gave Sacch-lac. Slowly
everything calmed down and 6 weeks after this incident the patient was
totally cured and "belonged to the most healthy and most vigorous
persons of his environment".
------------------------------------------------------------------
Interesting case, I think. On the one hand we can learn more about von
Bönninghausen's way of dosing, but also about the choice of the remedy.
So, for one thing, it's interesting that he repeated the aqueous
solution for several evenings, and when the aggravation set in he
stopped.
This is quite similar to the way of dosing as recommended by Hahnemann
for LMs: continue until an aggr. of the symptoms sets in then stop.
Of course, in a 200C this may happen much earlier than in an LM ('may'
but of course needn't happen always or often).
Let's have a look at the choice of the remedy, using my German
'therapeutisches Taschenbuch' (the Gypser edition):
Cough with expectoration: PHOS 4th degree
expectoration
- viscid: Phos 3rd degree
- sweetish: PHOS 4th degree
- white: Phos 3rd degree
- unboiled: this rubric is not found as such in the TPB
Aggravation motion: Phos 3rd degree
Aggravation sourkraut: Phos 3rd degree
Aggravation morning: PHOS 4th degree
shortness of breath: PHOS 4th degree
breathing problems as concomitant symptoms: PHOS 4th degree
Nose obstruction: Phos 3rd degree
Hope this was of interest to some of you.
All the best,
Gaby
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gaby Rottler
Germany
rottler@curantur.de
http://www.curantur.de
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
