TheComplete
1HOMEOPATHY
HANDBOOK
Safeandeffectivewaystotreat
fevers-coughs-coldsand
sorethroats-childhoodailments-
foodpoisoning-flu-andawide
rangeofeverydaycomplaints3
L
ALLENCOUNTYPUBLICLIBRARY
V318330160
615.27c
bro,Miranda. Thecompletehomeopathy
handb
DONOTREMOVE
CARDSFROMPOCKET
ALLENCOUNTYPUBLICLIBRARY
FORTWAYNE,INDIANA46802
Youmayreturnthisbooktoanyagency,branch,
orbookmobileoftheAllenCountyPublicLibrary. DEMCO
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THECOMPLETEHOMEOPATHYHANDBOOK
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THE
COMPLETE
HOMEOPATHY
HANDBOOK
AGuidetoEveryday
HealthCare
MirandaCastroR.s.Hom. St.Martin'sPress
NewYork
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H.Way**'",<*aI",
Notetothereader. Itisadvisabletoseektheguidanceofaphysicianbeforeimplementingtheapproachtohealthsuggestedin
thisbook.Itisessentialthatanyreaderwhohasanyreasontosuspectthatheorshesuffersfromillnesscheck
withhisorherdoctorbeforeattemptingtotreatitwiththismethod.Neitherthisnoranyotherbookshould
beusedasasubstituteforprofessionalmedicalcareortreatment. thecompletehomeopathyhandbook.Copyright©1990byMirandaCastro.Illustrationscopyright©1990byLiz
Pepperell.Allrightsreserved.PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.Nopartofthisbookmaybeusedor
reproducedinanymannerembodiedincriticalarticlesorreviews.Forinformation,addressSt.Martin'sPress,
175FifthAvenue,NewYork,N.Y.10010. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publicarion Data
Castro,Miranda. Thecompletehomeopathyhandbook /MirandaCastro,
p.cm. Includesindex. ISBN0-312-06320-2
1.Homeopathy—Popularworks. I.Title. RX76.C391991 91-20722
615.5'32—dc20 CIP
FirstpublishedinGreatBritainbyMacmillanLondonLimited. FirstU.S.Edition:December1991
10987654321
FormysonDaniel
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction xi
HowToUseThisBookxi
PARTI:History,PrinciplesandPrescribing
1TheHistoryofHomeopathy 3
2PrinciplesandConcepts 11
3MythsandMisapprehensions 17
4TakingtheCase20
5Prescribing24
PARTII:TheMateriaMedicasandRepertories
ExternalMateriaMedicaandRepertory31
InternalMateriaMedica38
InternalRepertory165
PARTIII:PrescribingGuidelinesandFollow-through
StressasaCauseofDisease201
DiseasesYouCanTreatUsingThisBook203
Case-takingQuestionnaireandSymptomChecklists227
RepertorisingChart230
SampleCases232
PARTIV:TheAppendices
Glossary247
First-AidKits249
Index250
LastWord254
A
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Iwishtothankfirstmyauthorfriendswhohelpedmeorganisethechaos-Robin
ShohetandJaneHowardforenablingmeactuallytositdownandwrite,andMaggi
SikkingandSilvieTurnerfortheirconstantsupportandencouragement. Sincerethankstoallwhohelpedwiththisprojectoverthepastfouryears,
especiallyAndreeRyan,EricaDay,FrancisTreuherz,JaneHarter,JennyHaxworth,
JohnTomlinson,LyndaBallinger,MahavirBall,MikeStrange,RachelPacker,and
RozFishel.AlsothankstoLizPepperellforherdelightfuldrawings. SpecialthankstotheteamatMacmillanwhosupportedmeunstintinglyinmy
strugglesasafirst-timeauthor ...especiallytoKatrinaWhonewhosepatienceand
senseofhumourkeptmegoingwhenallelsefailed. Iwouldlikealsotoexpressmuchlovefor,andappreciation of,myteachers;my
parentswhosowedtheseedsofwhoandwhatIamtoday;J.R.Worsleywhohelped
medigthoseseedsintotheearth;TerryCooperandJennerRothwhohelpedmefind
thoseseedsagainandrediscovertheirworth;allthegreathomeopathicteachers,
bothdeadandalive,who,bothinwordandspirit,wateredregularlythegrowing
plant;myfriendsandfamilywhohavesupportedmeinallweathers;andmy
patientswhotaughtmesomuchandwhofinallymadeitpossibleforthistreeofmine
tobearfruit.Thankyou. INTRODUCTION
Thepracticeofhomeopathy,whetherintheconsult-
ingroomorinthehome,isadelightandachallenge. Usedcarefullyandwisely,itishighlyeffectivein
curingawiderangeofillnesses,fromminorhealth
problemstoveryseriousconditions.Thisbook
focusesoneverydaycomplaintsthatyoucantreat
yourself. Iamconcernedthatpeoplewhoareusing
homeopathicmedicinesshouldknowtheirpotential
andusethemwithrespect,especiallysincetheyare
nowsoldoverthecounterinmostchemistsand
health-foodshops,withveryfewguidelines. Inthisclimateofgreaterlifeexpectancyandyet
increasingill-healthanddisillusionmentwithmodern
wonderdrugs,peoplearequestioningthequalityof
theirhealthcareandlookingforsafeandeffective
waystotreatillnessaswellastoimprovetheirhealth. Homeopathy offersasafealternativeasitseeksto
improvethegenerallevelofhealthofthewholeper-
son,emotionallyaswellasphysically,andassuchis
playinganimportantroleinthemovementbacktoa
moreholisticapproachtohealth. Ibelievethatconventionalmedicinesshouldbe
usedsparinglyandthattheirindiscriminateusefor
minorailmentsisinappropriate. Idonotintendto
makecomparisonsbetweenorthodoxandalternative
medicineinthisbook;nordoIwishtobelittlethework
andintentionsoforthodoxdoctors.Nonetheless,
manypeopleareundermining theirgeneralhealthby
abusing(over-using)antibioticsandotherstrong
medicationsfortrivialcomplaints.Thisextendeduse
canleadeventuallytoresistancetothedrugsthem-
selves;toallergies;and,ofcourse,toaneventual
breakdownoftheimmunesystem.Homeopathy car-
riesnoneoftheserisksandinfactbooststhebody's
vitality.Ianticipatethatmanyusersofthisbookwillalready
havehadsomeexperienceofhomeopathyandtheuse
ofhomeopathicmedicinesinthehome,andwillbe
familiarwiththeapproachofsomeofthefirst-aid
guidesalreadyobtainable.Manybookscurrently
availableonfirst-aidhomeopathyoversimplifythe
'art'ofhomeopathicprescribingandhavegiventhe
falseimpressionthatprescribingahomeopathicrem-
edyissimplyamatteroflookingup,say,'boils',and
givingtheoneremedythatislisted.Thiswillalways
beahit-or-missaffair,withtheremedyworkingfor
onlyapercentageofthosepeoplewhotakeit. Homeopathicprescribing isnotthatsimple.This
bookmimicsthewayaprofessionalhomeopath
works.Asahomeopath,mytoolsforprescribingare
theMateriaMedicaandtheRepertory.TheMateria
Medicaissimplyafullaccountofthehomeopathic
remediesandtheRepertory isacross-referenced
indexoftheinformationpresentedintheMateria
Medica.WhatIpresenthereisasimplifiedformof
thesebookswheretheyapplytofirst-aidprescribing,
translatedwherepossibleintolay-person'sterms. Withinthelimitationsimposedbythesizeofthis
book,theinformationherewillhelpyoutomake
remedyselectionmoreaccurate.Thisbookalsolooks
attheprinciplesunderlyingthetheoryofhomeo-
pathy,aswellasathowtoprescribe-howtospotthe
symptomsorsignsofdiseaseandhowtoclassifythem
sothattheycanbeusedtofindthebestremedy.My
aimistohelptheseriousfirst-aidertousethese
principlestoprescribesuccessfully,asIintroduceyou
toawholenewwayofdefiningandtreatingillness. MirandaCastro
London,1990
HOWTOUSETHISBOOK
Thegoalofthisbookistoenableyoutouse
homeopathicmedicinessafelyandeffectivelyathome
inavarietyoffirst-aidsituations,fromaccidentsand
injuriestobackache,coughs,colds,childhood ill-
nesses,earaches,flu,food-poisoning, sorethroats,
teethingandmanyothercommoncomplaints. Mostofthehomeopathic first-aidbookscurrently
availablehaveattemptedtosimplifytheprocessof
findingaremedy(ashomeopathicmedicinesare
called)inordertomakehomeopathymoreaccessible. Thishasresultedinsomedisappointment, asmany
peoplehavefoundtheirattemptstouse'natural'
medicinetobeahit-or-missaffair.Thisbookaimsto
rightthiserrorbymimickingthemethodthatapro-
fessionalhomeopathuses.Tothisendtherearethree
mainsections:
PartI:History,PrinciplesandPrescribing
Thissection(Chapters1-5)introducesthehistoryand
theoryofhomeopathy,includingitsguidingprin-
ciples;itdefinesthosecomplaintsyoucansafelytreat
yourselfandguidesyouthroughtakingacaseand
prescribing. PartII:TheMateriaMedicasand
Repertories
Thisisthemainpartofthebookandisdividedinto
twosections:externalremedies(drops,lotions,
creamsandointments)andinternalremedies(tabletstakeninternally).EachhasaMateriaMedica-an
alphabeticallyarrangedlistofdetaileddescriptionsof
theremedies;andaRepertory-anindexofsymptoms
orcomplaintstoguideyoutothecorrectremedyinthe
MateriaMedica. PartIII:PrescribingGuidelinesand
Follow-through
Thispartincludesclearguidelinesonwhichcom-
plaintsyoucantreatusingthisbook.Italsogives
practicalmeasuresthatmaybehelpfulorimportantin
eachcomplaint. Itisessentialtoreadthisinconjunction
withtheremedypicturesinPart11.Followingthisare
questionnairesandchartstoassistyouin'takingyour
case'andprescribing.Finally,therearetensample
casesillustratingtheapplicationoftheprinciplesof
homeopathy,whichyoucanuseasexamplesortotest
yourselftoseehowwellyouhaveunderstoodthe
homeopathicprocessesoutlinedinthisbook. PartIV:TheAppendices
Theseincludeaglossaryprovidingbriefdefinitionsof
anyunusualtermsusedinthebookandasectionofhow
tostockupafirst-aidkit. \
PARTI
HISTORY,PRINCIPLES
ANDPRESCRIBING
•1-
THEHISTORY
OF
HOMEOPATHY
Originsofhomeopathic
THOUGHT
InthefifthcenturybcHippocrates(c.470-400bc),the
'fatherofmedicine',wrotethatthereweretwo
methodsofhealing:by'contraries'andby'similars'. Hiswritingsshowhisinsistenceonahighethical
standard,onaccuracyofobservationandclarityof
recordingcasesratherthanontheoryandsymptoma-
tology.Herefutedthecommonideathatillnesswas
punishmentfromthegods:'Everydiseasehasitsown
natureandarisesfromexternalcauses,fromcold,
fromthesun,fromchangingwinds. 'Headvised
againstmeddlesome interference, saying,'Our
naturesarethephysiciansofourdiseases.' Hisobservationsoncureby'similars'werenot
followedbythemedicalprofessionandoverthenext
thousandyearstheyseemedtoliedormant-except,
ofcourse,thatcountrypeoplethroughouttheworld
haveusedthisprinciplesuccessfully intheirown
folk-medicines formanyhundredsofyears. Paracelsus(1493-1541), aGermandoctorborn
PhilippusAureolusTheophrastusBombastusvon
Hohenheim,wasunconventionalevenbythestan-
dardsofhistime.Hewasoneofthenaturalphilos-
opherswhosoughttooverthrowwhathecalledthe
'logico-mathematical' theorisingofthetime.Hesaw
theearthasagreatchemicallaboratoryandrecognised
thevalueofchemicalexperimentsinmedicine,bothas
thebasisforunderstanding physiologicalprocesses
andasasourceofmedicinalpreparations.Heiscalled
the'fatherofchemistry',forheupdatedalchemyby
movingitawayfromitssearchfortheelixiroflife
towardstreatingillnessandpracticalpharmaceutical
studies;hebaseditfirmlyontheobservationofplants,
animalsandminerals,andstressedtheimportanceofdirect,practicalexperienceandexperimentation.He
railedagainstthosewhobelievedthatcontrariescure. Paracelsusbelievedintheharmonyofthewhole
universe.HeturnedtoGermanfolk-medicine,which
believedin'likecuringlike',orthatthepoisonthat
causesadiseaseshouldbecomeitscure.Asaresulthe
wasaccusedofadvocatingtheinternaluseoflethal
poisons,butinfacthegavecarefulattentiontodosage
andnotedthataverysmalldosecouldovercomea
greatdisease.Healsousedonlyonemedicineata
time.Hesawnatureineachandeverypersonasavital
spirit,andpredictedthegermtheoryofdiseaseby
statingthatthecausesofdiseasewereexternal,seed-
likefactorsintroducedintothebodythroughair,food
anddrink;thesethenbecamelocalised,growingin
specificorgansastheseedsofdiseasewhichcombated
thelocalvitalspiritoftheorganandthebody.Healso
believedinthenaturalrecuperativepowerofthe
humanbody.Again,hisobservationsonthelawof
similarswerenottakenupforovertwohundred
years. thefounderofhomeopathy:
SamuelHahnemann(1755-1843)
SamuelHahnemannwasborninMeisseninSaxony
(nowinEastGermany)on10April1755intoaneraof
enormouschangeandpoliticalupheaval.Duringhis
lifetimetheSevenYears'War,theFrenchRevolution
andtheNapoleonicWarsthrewEuropeintoturmoil. TheIndustrialRevolutionbroughtsocialchangeand
greatadvancesintechnology,andtherewerede-
velopmentsinscience.Hahnemannwasbornone
yearbeforeMozart,andthewritersGoetheand
Schillerwerehiscontemporaries. Thisperiodalsosawarevolutioninthought. Eighteenth-centuryGermanywasthebirthplaceofthe
4•TheFounder THEHISTORYOFHOMEOPATHY
political,spiritualandintellectualmovementnow
knownastheEnlightenment; thefreedomofthought
andopinionitencouragedwasimportantforthebirth
anddevelopmentofhomeopathy. Hahnemannwasthethirdoffivechildrenborninto
apoorbutuprightanddevoutlyProtestantfamily.He
waseducatedinitiallybyhisparents.Hisfather,aman
ofhighprinciplesanddeepreligiousbelief,taught
himnevertolearnorlistenpassivelybuttoquestion
everything.Legendtellsusthatbeforehisfatherwent
toworkhewouldlocktheboyinhisroomwitha
'problem'tothinkthrough,releasinghimonhisre-
turnonlyifhehadthecorrectanswer.Theyoung
Samuelappearstohavetakenlearningveryseriously;
hecertainlyhadaninordinatethirstforknowledge
andisreportedtohavebeenagiftedandcleverchild,
thoughoftenailingfromover-studyingandhisfam-
ily'seconomiccircumstances.Atschool,histeachers
recognisedhisunusualintelligenceandhewasnot
chargedtheusualfees.Hisgreatesttalentswerefor
languages,mathematics,geometryandbotany. Byteachingandtranslating,Hahnemannpaidhis
waythroughtheUniversityofLeipzig,wherehe
studiedmedicineandchemistry.Hequalifiedasa
doctorin1791andpractisedmedicineforaboutnine
years,duringwhichtimehemarried.Increasingly,
however,hebecamedisillusionedbythecrueland
ineffectivetreatmentsofhistime(blood-letting,purg-
ings,poisonousdrugswithhorrendoussideeffects)
andtookthecourageousdecisiontogiveuphisprac-
tice,concentratinginsteadonstudy,research,writing
andtranslation:
Jcannotreckononmuchincomefrompractice ...Iam
tooconscientious toprolongillnessormakeitappear
moredangerousthanitreallyis....Itwasagonyforme
towalkalwaysindarkness,when1hadtohealthesick,
andtoprescribe,accordingtosuchorsuchanhypothesis
concerningdiseases,substanceswhichowedtheirplacein
theMateriaMedicatoanarbitrarydecision. ...Soon
aftermymarriage, 1renouncedthepracticeofmedicine,
that1mightnolongerincurtheriskofdoinginjury,
and1engagedexclusivelyinchemistryandinliterary
occupations. Thismeantthatformanyyearshisfamilywas
extremelypoor,withHahnemann, hiswifeanda
growingnumberofchildrenlivingattimesinonlyone
roomandwithlittlemorethanbreadandfreshairas
sustenance. Thefirstproving
OneofthemajorworksHahnemanntranslatedwas
DrWilliamCullen'sATreatiseonMateriaMedica. Cullen(1710-90)wasanEdinburghteacher,physicianandchemist,andhisbookincludedanessayon
PeruvianbarkorCinchona(whichhomeopaths call
China),fromwhichquinine,thetreatmentformalaria,
isderived.CullenattributedCinchona'sabilitytocure
malaria,withitssymptomsofperiodicfever,sweating
andpalpitations, toitsbitterness.Hahnemann,scep-
ticalofthisexplanation,testedsmalldosesonhimself
andwroteinaletter:
/tookbywayofexperiment,twiceaday,fourdrachmsof
goodChina.Myfeet,fingerends,etc.,atfirstbecame
quitecold;1grewlanguidanddrowsy;thenmyheart
begantopalpitate,andmypulsegrewhardandsmall;
intolerableanxiety,trembling,prostrationthroughout
allmylimbs;thenpulsation,inthehead,rednessofmy
cheeks,thirst,and,inshort,allthesesymptomswhichare
ordinarilycharacteristicofintermittentfever,madetheir
appearance,oneaftertheother,yetwithoutthepeculiar
chilly,shiveringrigor.Briefly,eventhosesymptoms
whichareofregularoccurrenceandespeciallycharacter-
istic-asthestupidityofmind,thekindofrigidityinall
thelimbs,butaboveallthenumb,disagreeablesensation,
whichseemstohaveitsseatintheperiosteum,overevery
boneinthewholebody-allthesemadetheirappearance. Thisparoxysmlastedtwoorthreehourseachtime,and
recurred, if1repeatedthisdose,nototherwise; Idis-
continued itandwasingoodhealth. Inotherwords,HahnemannobservedthatCin-
chonaproducedinahealthypersonthesymptomsof
malaria,theverydiseasethatitwasknowntocure. Thisdiscoverywastobeofgreatimportanceinthe
developmentofhomeopathictheoryandpractice.By
observingthesymptomsanysubstanceproduced
whengiventoahealthyperson,Hahnemanncould
discoverthehealingpropertiesofthatsubstance. Physicianshadlonggrappledwiththisproblemand
theDoctrineofSignatures,whichstatesthataplant
willactonthatpartofthebodywhichitmostre-
semblesinappearance,wasanattempttounderstand
thehealingpowersofnaturalremedies.Hahnemann
haddiscoveredanexperimentalbasisthatwouldsys-
tematicallyyieldvastlymoreaccurateandspecific
informationabouttheindividualsubstancestested. Theprocedurewascalled'proving'(i.e.testing)a
remedy. Likecureslike:thefirstlawofhomeopathy
discovered
Thestandardmedicalassumptionhadalwaysbeen
thatifthebodyproducedasymptomtheappropriate
treatmentwouldbeanantidote,anoppositeor'con-
trary'medicinetothatsymptom.Forexample,con-
stipationwouldbetreatedwithlaxatives,which
producediarrhoea.Hahnemann'sexperiencewith
THEHISTORYOFHOMEOPATHY TheFounder •5
Cinchonaindicatedthatadifferentprincipleoftreat-
mentmightapply.Hahnemannwouldhavebeen
familiarwithHippocrates'writingsoncuringwith
'similars',andsoitmusthavebeenwithgreatexcite-
mentthatheembarkedonfurtherexperimentsthat
confirmedthisprinciple. Hecalledthissimiliasimilitruscurentur,or'letlikeshe
curedwithlike',andthisprincipleofcuringwith
similarsbecamethefirstlawofasystemofhealinghe
called'homeopathy',fromtheGreekhomoias(similar)
andpathos(sufferingordisease),inordertodiffer-
entiateitfromorthodoxmedicine,whichhecalled
'allopathy',meaning'oppositesuffering'. ///mistakenot,practicalmedicineliasdevisedthreeways
ofapplyingremediesforthereliefofdisordersofthe
humanbody.Thefirstmethod,thatofremovingor
destroyingthecausesofthemalady,thatispreventive
treatment. ...Thesecondandmostcommon ,contraria
contraris,thatishealingbyopposites,suchasthe
palliativetreatmentofconstipationbylaxatives ...the
third ...similiasimilibus,thatis,inordertocure
disease,wemustseekmedicinesthatcanexcitesimilar
symptomsinthehealthybody. Hahnemannwrotethisin1796.Duringthenextsix
yearsheconductedmanyprovingsonhisfamilyand
friends,andalsostudiedaccountsofthesymptoms
shownbyvictimsofaccidentalpoisonings. Finallyhesetupinmedicalpracticeagain,butwith
adifferentbasisforhisprescriptions.Heusedthe
materialhehadgatheredfromtheprovingsandinhis
patientslookedforthesimilimum-theremedywhose
'symptompicture'(basedontheprovings)most
matchedthatofhispatient.Hismethodsweremet
withdisbeliefandhewasridiculedbycolleagues,but
thepatientsflowedinandtheastonishingresults
Hahnemannachievedverifiedhistheory. Healsodifferedfromconventionalpractitioners in
givingonlyoneremedyatatime,whichwasunheard
ofinanagewhenapothecariesmadefortunesbv
mixingnumeroussubstances,manyofwhichwere
highlynoxious.Thisearnedhimenemiesamongthe
pharmacists. Theminimumdose
Hahnemanndidnotstopthere.Dissatisfiedwiththe
sideeffectsofhisdilutedmedicines,heexperimented
withsmallerandsmallerdosesofthesesinglerem-
ediesinordertominimisethesideeffects.Hefound,
however,thatwhenhedilutedamedicinesufficiently
toeradicatethesideeffects,itnolongereffecteda
cure.Hethereforedevelopedanewmethodofdilu-
tion:insteadofsimplystirringthesubstanceaftereach
dilutionheshookitvigorously.Thisshakinghecalled'succussion'andtheresultantremedya'potentised
remedy'. Hefoundthatnotonlydidhenowobtainaremedy
thathadnosideeffectsbutthatthemorehediluted
usingsuccussion,themoreeffectivelyhisremedy
cured.Hebelievedthattheshakingreleasedthe
strengthorenergyofthesubstance(involvingsome
sortofimprintingonthewater/alcohol solvent),with
noneofitstoxiceffectsremaining. Hahnemannnumberedthepotentisedremedies
accordingtothenumberoftimestheyhadbeendi-
luted:aremedydilutedsixtimes(takingoutone-
hundredthoftheliquideachtimeandadding"/100
alcohol)wascalleda6C(seepage13).Initiallyhe
prescribedremediesthathadbeendiluteduptothe
sixthpotency;thenheexperimentedwiththehigher
dilutions,findingthemmoreeffectivestill.Inhis
lifetimeheprescribeduptothethirtiethpotency.His
followerstookdilutionevenfurther. Thisprocessofdilutionincurredyetmorewrath
andderisionfromthemedicalestablishment,who
couldnotexplain,andthereforecouldnotaccept,how
anythingsodilutecouldhaveanyeffect.Yetdespite
opposition,homeopathysurvivedandspreadremark-
ablyquickly-because itwasremarkablyeffective. TheOrganonandotherpublications
Hahnemann's literaryoutputduringhislifewaspro-
digious.Heprovedaboutonehundredremedies,
wroteoverseventyoriginalworksandtranslated
abouttwenty-fourEnglish,French,ItalianandLatin
textsonawiderangeofsubjects.Healsocorre-
spondedwithhomeopaths,colleaguesandfriends
throughouttheworld,allinadditiontohisvastdaily
practice. In1810Hahnemannpublishedthefirsteditionof
TheOrganonofRationalMedicine(laterTheOrganonof
theHealingArt),whichrantosixeditions,eachone
modifiedandexpanded.Inithesetoutclearlythe
homeopathicphilosophyorsystemofbelief.In
thesameyear,whenLeipzigwasattackedinthe
Napoleoniccampaignsand80,000menwereslaugh-
tered,Hahnemann'streatmentsofthesurvivorsand
alsoofvictimsofthegreattyphusepidemicthatfol-
lowedthesiegewerehighlysuccessfulandfurther
increasedhisreputation. HelecturedatLeipzigUniversity,wherehistheor-
eticallectures,whichoftendeterioratedintoviolent
tiradesagainstthemedicalpracticesofdoctorsand
apothecaries,earnedhimthenickname'RagingHurri-
cane'.However,afewmedicalpractitionerswere
preparedtogoagainstthemainstreamofopinionand
anumbertrainedunderhimandtookhisteachings
outintotheworld.Bytheearly1820shehadalsobuilt
upathrivingpractice. 6•TheFounder THEHISTORYOFHOMEOPATHY
Between1811and1821Hahnemannpublishedhis
MateriaMedicaPurainsixvolumes;thisrepresented
theresultsoftheprovingssofarundertaken-
thousandsofsymptomsforsixty-sixremedies.The
provingsweremeticulousandpainstaking,butitis
worthremembering thatinHahnemann's experi-
mentsnothingwasdonetoeliminatethepowerof
suggestion:proversknewwhatsubstancetheywere
taking.Remediesweregiveninweakdilutionsand
notinpotentiseddoses.Coffee,tea,wine,brandyand
spicyorsaltyfoodwereallbannedfromtheprovers'
diets,althoughalittlebeerwasallowed.Gamesand
workactivitywererestricted,butmoderateexercise
wasencouraged. In1828Hahnemann's ChronicDiseasesandTheir
HomeopathicCureappeared (iteventuallyrantofive
volumes).InitheelaboratedonthephilosophyofThe
Organon,addingmoreremediesasaresultofhis
experiencesinsuccessfullytreatingchronicpatients. Hediscussedtheuseofhigherpotencies-uptothe
30thpotency-andintroducedtheconceptof'miasms'
toaccountforthefailureofsomepatientstorespond
totreatmentwithremedieswhichclearlvmatched
theirsymptoms.Amongsuchpeoplehefoundahis-
toryofcertaindiseasesanddiscoveredthathewas
abletolinkthetendencytoparticulartypesofcon-
ditiontoalegacyinthepatient'sinheritedhealth.He
developedawayoftreatingtheseblockstohealth
homeopathically. Successwithcholera
In1831cholerasweptthroughCentralEurope. Hahnemannpublishedpapersonthehomeopathic
treatmentofthedisease,advocatingtheadministra-
tionoftheremedyCamphorintheearlystagesand
Cuprummetallicum,Veratrumalbum,Bryoniaalbaand
Rhustoxicodendron inthelaterstages.Healsostressed
thatclothingandbeddingshouldbeheatedtodestroy
'allknowninfectiousmatters'andadvisedcleanliness,
ventilationanddisinfectionoftherooms,andquaran-
tine.Insuchrespectshisideaswerefaraheadofhis
time:theworkofPasteuronthegermtheoryof
diseaseandthatofListerondisinfectionwerestillto
come.InRaabinHungary,onlysixoutof154
homeopathically treatedpatientsdied,comparedwith
almost59percentofthosetreatedconventionally. ElsewherethroughoutEurope,cholerawasmoresuc-
cessfullytreatedwithhomeopathythanwithortho-
doxmedicine;mortalityratesvariedbetween2.4and
21.1percentcomparedwith50percentormorein
conventionaltreatment. In1833theLeipzigHomeopathicHospitalwas
opened,butin-fightingbetweenhomeopaths,the
autocraticcontrollinginfluenceofHahnemannandtheextremepolarisationthathomeopathycaused
withinthemedicalprofessioncreatedtensionsthat
finallyledtoitsdissolutionin1842. Hahnemann's finalyears
In1834acertainMademoiselleMarieMelanied'Her-
villytravelledfromParistoconsultHahnemann(now
agedseventy-nineandawidower)inKothen,where
hewasestablished.Shewasanattractive,intelligent
societyladyofaboutthirty,andaself-styledartistwho
hadcausedaminorscandalbydressingasaman. AfterreadingTheOrganonshecametostudywith
Hahnemann,claimingthatshehadavocationfor
medicine.WithinsixmonthsofherarrivalinKothen
theyweremarried,muchtothehorrorofHahne-
mann'sremainingfamily.TheymovedtoParisandset
uphouseinthefashionableruedeMilan,where
Hahnemannestablishedaprosperouspractice,con-
tinuingtoworklongdayswithhispatients,richand
pooralike,maintaininghis'nocure,nofee'system. Melaniehelpedherhusbandbytakingnotesand
begantotreatpatientsunderhissupervision. On2July1843,attheageofeighty-eight,Hahne-
manndiedinParisafterafewmonthsofbronchial
catarrh.Melanierefusedtoallowfriendsandfamilyto
visitthebody;therewerenoinvitationstothefuneral
andHahnemannwasburiedinapublicgraveinthe
cemeteryatMontmartre. Fifty-fiveyearslaterhisbody
wasexhumedandreburiedinthefamousPere
Lachaisecemeteryalongwithpoets,musiciansand
fieldmarshals. MelanieHahnemanncontinuedtopractiseafterhis
death;asshehadhadnoformalmedicaltraining,she
wasthefirstwomanlayhomeopath.Presumably
wealthyafterHahnemann's death,sherefusedto
helpherGermanrelations,andwithheldvariousof
herhusband'snotesandwritings,includingthe
sixtheditionofTheOrganon,againstrepeatedrequests
fromhomeopaths.Sheheldoutforenormoussums,
gainingareputationforbeingshrewdandcalcu-
lating.Unpopularandisolated,shediedattheageof
seventy-eight. SamuelHahnemannlivedbeforethegermtheoryof
diseasehadbeenproposed,beforethermometers, the
X-rayandantibioticsmademedicineappearin-
creasingly'scientific'.Yet,aswehaveseen,inhis
ideasandinhisapproach,hewascertainlyamanof
scienceandaninnovator.Hewasamanofsufficient
intellectandculturetocombinescienceandmeta-
physics.Consciouslyorunconsciously,hedrewon
thetraditionsofGermanfolk-medicine,alchemyand
magic,aswellasthedevelopments inchemistry,
pathology,pharmaceuticsandmedicinewhichinthe
lateeighteenthandearlynineteenthcenturieswere
THEHISTORYOFHOMEOPATHY Hahnemann'sFollowers •7
beginningtomakemedicaldiagnosisandtreatment
bothmoreaccurateandmorehumane.Although
broughtupinaProtestanthousehold,inlaterlifehe
becameareligiousfree-thinker,believingthatGod
permeatedeverylivingthing.Healsoseemstohave
believedthathewasdivinelychosenandguidedinhis
work.Hisdevelopmentofasafeandeffectivesystem
ofmedicinehasgiventheworldapricelessgift. HAHNEMANN'SFOLLOWERS
Hahnemannwasapparentlyanirritable(andirri-
tating)manwithapenchantforantagonismwhich
seemstohavelivedoninmanyofhisfollowers.They
weremostlydoctorswhobecame'converted'to
homeopathy.TwosuchconvertswereConstantine
HeringandJamesTylerKent.midwifery.Inall,3500homeopathsweretrainedby
thecollege. Heringcontinuedtoproveremediesthroughouthis
lifeandwroteextensively.Heisbestremembered
todayforhisLawsofCure(seepage15).Healsotook
Hahnemann'smiasmtheoriesastagefurther,de-
velopingtheideathatanydiseasecouldleavea'tainf
ormiasm.Hedevelopedpotentiseddiseaseproducts
withwhichheexperimentedbygivingthemtopeople
whohadneverbeenwellsincesufferingfromapar-
ticulardisease.Forexample,hepotentisedthespu-
tumofapersonsufferingfromtuberculosisandgaveit
topatientswhohadneverbeenreallywellsince
sufferingfromtuberculosisthemselves.Thismethod
oftreatmentclearedthemiasm,andenabledthein-
dicatedremediestowork.Thiswasnot'classical'
homeopathyasHahnemannhaddeveloped it,and
hassincebeencalled'isopathy'-thatis,treatingwith
thesamethingratherthanwithasimilarthing. ConstantineHering(1800-80)
HeringstudiedmedicineatLeipzigUniversity,
where,afterpublicationofTheOrganon,hisprofessor
askedhimtowriteapaperdisprovingHahnemann's
theories.FarfrombeingabletodiscreditHahnemann,
hefoundhimselfgreatlyinterestedandabandoned
thepaper.Hewasalsosuccessfullytreatedforan
inflammationofthehandthatthreatenedamputation
afterawoundbecameinfectedwhilehewasdissect-
ing,andthisconvincedhimfurther.Hebecamein-
volvedinthehomeopathicworldandjoinedthe
Provers'Union,whichmeanthehadtomoveto
anotheruniversityinordertocompletehismedical
trainingbecauseofthehostilityatLeipzigtowards
homeopathy. In1827HeringtravelledtoSouthAmericaona
voyageofbotanicalexploration(financedbytheKing
ofSaxony)andsentdetailsofhisresearchesbackto
Germany-includingtheprovingsofLachesisthebush-
mastersnake(seepage105),whichhepersonally
undertook,askinghiswifetorecordeverythingthat
hesaidanddidwhilehewasdeliriousfromthe
venom. OnhiswaybacktoEuropehestoppedoffinPhil-
adelphiaandwaspersuadedtostaytobecomeoneof
thefoundingfathersofhomeopathy intheUSA.He
setupthefirsttrainingacademy(whichcloseddown
afterthefundswereembezzledbyadishonestsec-
retary),thenopenedtheHahnemannMedicalCol-
lege,whichflourishedandgrewalmosttouniversity
status.Ithad70professorsandlecturers,and300
studentstrainingatanyonetime,treating50,000
patientsand6000out-patientcasesayearinageneral
hospitalwith200bedsaswellasaspecialwingforJamesTylerKent(1849-1916)
AfterqualifyingasaphysicianinhisnativeAmerica,
Kentpractisedorthodoxmedicineuntilhisfirstwife
became illanddemandedhomeopathictreatment. ThesuccessofthistreatmentconvertedKentandhe
devotedhisremarkableenergytohomeopathy.A
manwithahighmoralsenseandanequallystrong
beliefinhisownlightnessandauthority,Kent'swrit-
ingsaredogmatic,muchlikeHahnemann's later
works. Headvocatedtheuseofveryhighpotencies-upto
CMandMM(seepage13)andmainlyprescribed
abovethe30thpotency(Machineryhadbythen
beeninventedtosuccusstheremediesandfacilitate
themakingofhigherdilutions. )Thepracticeofhigh-
potencyprescribingledtoasplitamongAmerican
homeopathsandtomuchin-fightingbetween'high'
(30andabove)and'low'(upto30)prescribers. Kent'smajorpublishedworksarehisRepertory,his
PhilosophyandhisMateriaMedica.TheRepertory,
whichismoresystematicandreadable-andtherefore
moreaccessible-thanearlierones,istheonestillmost
inusetoday.HisMateriaMedicawas-andis-also
themostaccessibletodate.Hedeveloped'pictures'of
theremedies-'constitutional types',astheybecame
known-fromthepatients'emotionalsymptoms,
identifying,forexample,'Sulphurpatients',whowere
scruffyandlazy('raggedphilosophers', ashetermed
them).Thisapproachmovedawayfromthepurely
scientificandpathologicalunderstanding oftherem-
edies.ThosewhoadoptedKent'snewmethods,along
withhigh-potency prescribing,becameknownas
Kentians.Hisinfluenceincreasedafterhisdeath,both
intheUSAandabroad. 8•TheNineteenthCentury THEHISTORYOFHOMEOPATHY
TheNineteenthCentury
HomeopathyintheUSA
Inthe1820s,whenhomeopathyarrivedintheUSA,
thestateoforthodoxmedicinewas,ifanything,worse
thanitwasinEurope.Thepracticeofalmostcom-
pletelydrainingthebodyofblood(four-fifthswerelet)
wasadvocated,evenforchildren.Adrugknownas
'Calomel'(Mercuriuschloride),whichhadbeenintro-
ducedoriginallytocuresyphilis,wasusedasastan-
dard'purgative'; itssideeffectswerelossofteethand
seizureofthejawsnecessitatingmajorsurgery,and/or
deathfrommercurypoisoning. Asmanyordinarypeopleconsultedherbalistsand
bone-setters,homeopathywaseasilyacceptedand
quicklyflourished.Homeopathswereseentobewell-
educatedandhard-workingpeople,andthe'meta-
physical'backgroundappealedtomanychurch
people.Itwasadoptedinparticularbyfollowersof
Swedenborg(1689-1772),avisionarywho'received'
informationaboutthespiritworldandthecosmosand
believedthathewasavehicleforanewreligious
revelation.Hiswritingsappealedtopeoplewhowere
studyingthenewsciences,suchasDarwinism,and
whowereconcernedabouttheconflictbetweenscience
andorthodoxreligion.Formanyhomeopaths this
blendofreasonandmysticismwasideal.Kent,like
HeringandmanyotherAmericanhomeopaths,wasa
Swedenborgian. In1846theAmericanMedicalAssociationwas
founded.Itadoptedacodeofethicswhichforbadeits
membersfromconsultinghomeopaths,andlocaland
statemedicalsocietiesweretoldtopurgethemselves
ofhomeopathsandtheirsympathisers.Nonetheless,
homeopathyhadmadeapositivemarkonorthodox
medicine-blood-lettingabated,medicaltrainingim-
provedandseveralhomeopathicremediesfoundtheir
wayintoallopathicprescribing.Publicdemandfor
homeopathictreatmentcontinued. The1860sthroughtothe1880ssawtheheydayof
Americanhomeopathy. Practitionersprovedevery
conceivableremedy,oftenatgreatcosttotheirown
health;someeveninvolvedtheirchildreninthe
provings.Hospitalsandtrainingprogrammeswere
establishedand,atitspeak,therewerefifty-six
homeopathichospitals,thirteenmentalasylums,nine
homeopathicchildren'shospitalsandfifteensanator-
iums,withthousandsoftrainedhomeopaths
throughoutthecountry.Thehomeopathictraining
collegesexcludedneitherwomennorblackpeople,as
wasthecasewiththeirallopathiccounterparts. Ashomeopathyappearedtobecomemoresettledin
theUSAbothfinanciallyandpolitically,intense
battlesdevelopedbetweenhigh-andlow-potencyprescribers.Thepuristsbecamehigh-potency prescri-
bers,centredaroundKent'steachings;therevisionists
becamelow-potencyprescriberswhomovedtowards
pathologicaldiagnosis,giving,forexample,a
homeopathicprescriptionforanulcerratherthan
treatingthepatient'sconstitution (i.e.takinginto
accountthewholepersonandthe'totalsymptom
picture').Britishhomeopathsmaintainedamorebal-
ancedpracticethanintheUSA,usingbothhighand
lowpotenciesforprescribing. HomeopathyinBritain
In1826ayoungdoctorcalledFrederickHerveyFoster
QuinvisitedHahnemanninGermanyandspentsome
timestudyingwiththeLeipzighomeopaths; laterhe
studiedforayearwithHahnemanninParis.Hewasa
verywellconnectedyoungmanwithaflourishing
practiceandasocialnetworktomatch.Hehadbeen
appointedphysiciantoNapoleoninexileonSt
Helena,butNapoleonhaddiedbeforehecouldtake
upthepost.In1831Quincaughtcholerawhilevisiting
Europetostudyhomeopathictreatmentsforthe
epidemicandwascuredwithHahnemann's
prescriptionofCamphor. In1832QuinsetupahomeopathicpracticeinLon-
don,wherehetreatedmanyfamouspeople,including
DickensandThackeray,andin1844heestablished
theBritishHomoeopathicSociety(latertheFacultyof
Homoeopathy).HefoundedtheLondonHomoeopathic
Hospitalin1849. Itisinterestingtonotethatduringthecholera
outbreakof1854inLondon,theBoardofHealth
suppressedthefactthatdeathsattheHomoeopathic
Hospitalwereamere16.4percent,comparedwiththe
50percentaverageforotherhospitals.Whenchal-
lenged,theBoardexplained:'Thefigureswouldgive
sanctiontoapracticeopposedtothemaintenanceof
truthandtheprogressofscience. '*
AftertheCrimeanWar(1853-6),whichledtothe
formationofapropernursingserviceunderFlorence
Nightingale,amedicalbillwasintroducedtoParlia-
mentwhichwouldhavemadehomeopathy illegal,
butQuin'sfriendsintheHouseofLordssecureda
savingamendment. IfQuinwasthepracticalandfashionableforcebe-
hindtheestablishment ofhomeopathy inEngland,
thetwomostinfluentialwritersandteacherswere
RobertDudgeon,whotranslatedHahnemann's texts
intoEnglish,andRichardHughes,amildmanwitha
conciliatoryattitudetowardstheorthodoxmedical
establishmentaswellasarigorousandscientificatti-
tudetowardshomeopathy.Hughesrejectedthevital-
*PinchuckandClark,MedicineforBeginners,Writersand
Readers,London,1984. THEHISTORYOFHOMEOPATHY TheTwentiethCentury •9
forcetheoriesofHahnemannandtookastricter
attitudetowardsprovingsandMateriaMedicathan
Hahnemannhaddoneinhislateryears.Hedistrusted
high-potencyprescribingandridiculedtheAmerican
high-potencymachines.Hugheslookedtoaworld
'wheretherivalrybetweenhomeopathicandallo-
pathicpractitionerswouldnolongerembitterdoctors
andperplexpatients',whichwouldhavemeantthe
assimilationofhomeopathyintoallopathy.Hewas
dubbeda'half-homeopath' andhisinfluencefaded
afterhisdeath. QueenAdelaide,wifeofKingWilliamIV,brought
homeopathyfromhernativeSaxonytotheEnglish
royalfamily.Albert,QueenVictoria'sconsort,wasthe
sonofDukeErnstofSaxe-Coburgwhohademployed
Hahnemannin1792torunahumanelunaticasylumin
Germany.TheEnglishroyalfamilymaintainsan
activeinvolvement inhomeopathy tothisday.The
Queenhasherownconsultanthomeopathandcarries
her'blackbox'ofhomeopathicremedieswithheron
allhertravels. THETWENTIETHCENTURY
BythetimeofHahnemann'sdeathin1843,
homeopathywasestablishedthroughouttheworld,
althoughthemutualantagonismanddistrustbetween
homeopathsandallopathscontinuedtohinderits
progress. Developments inmedicinearoundthecloseofthe
nineteenthcenturystrengthenedtheorthodoxcamp:
sciencehadprovedtheexistenceofmicrobes,theold
practicesHahnemannhadcondemnedweredim-
inishing,andpowerfulnewdrugswerebeingde-
veloped.Theriseofmedicinebecamesynonymous
withtheriseofthepharmaceutical industry-an
effectiveandwealthylobbyingforcebehindallo-
pathicmedicine.Asthepositionofallopathybecame
stronger,thehomeopathicestablishmentwasweak-
enedbyinternaldivision.Theconfusedgeneralpublic
wasdrawntothesidethatcouldputitscasemost
clearlyandstrongly. Medicinebecameincreasinglyinvolvedwithecon-
omicandpoliticalfactorsfarremovedfromthehealth
ofthepatient,butadvertisingbecameapowerfulforce
andthepublic-andmanyofthehomeopaths-were
sweptupbythetide.In1911theAmericanMedical
Associationmovedtoclosemanyhomeopathic
teachinginstitutionsbecausetheywereconsideredto
provideapoorstandardofeducation.TheAMAalso
mountedahugeanti-homeopathy propagandacam-
paign.Consequently,by1918thenumberof
homeopathichospitalsintheUSAhaddwindledtoseven.Greatoptimismaccompaniedtheintroduction
ofpenicillin:doctorsthoughtthatasortofmedical
Nirvanahadarrived.Thetimeinvolvedinthetaking
ofahomeopathiccasewasregardedasathingofthe
past.Thefive-minuteprescriptionandacureforevery
illhadarrived.Littledidtheyrealisethatitwasthe
dawnofamedicalnemesis. Homeopathyaroundtheworldtoday
Homeopathy ispopularovermuchofAsiafromPak-
istan,BangladeshandNepaltoSriLanka.InIndia
homeopathy isnowofficiallyrecognisedasaseparate
branchofmedicineandflourishesthere,fullysup-
portedbythegovernment. Ithasthelargestnumberof
homeopathichospitalsintheworld,300,000full-time
homeopaths(70,000registeredwithstateboards),
fortyhomeopathicmedicalschoolswithfour-tosix-
yeartrainingprogrammes,andathrivingpublishing
outlet. HomeopathyhasspreadthroughoutEurope,
although itispoorlyrepresentedinsomecountries,
likeSpain,IcelandandDenmark.Inothers-France
forexample-thereisalargerandfast-growing
interest.Homeopathicmedicinesarereadilyavailable
inmostpharmaciesand therearehomeopathicconsult-
antsatsomehospitals.InFrancetheNapoleonicLaws
bannedtheuseofallpotenciesabove30Candthishas
ledtoacomplicateduseofthelowerpotencies,with,
forexample,3C,4Cand5Callinthesameremedy
beingusedfordifferentcomplaints.Francealsosub-
scribestocombinationremedies,movingawayfrom
theholisticorclassicalapproach.Thecountryboasts
severalfinelaboratoriesproducingremediestoavery
highstandard. InWestGermany,thebirthplaceofhomeopathy, it
isextremelypopularwithseveralthousandpractition-
ers,but,asinFrance,Germanhomeopathsareex-
tremelyfondofcombinations,usingmixturesofupto
twentyremedies. InEasternEuropehomeopathy ispoorlyrep-
resented,althoughthereissomeinterestinPoland. Theexactextentofhomeopathy intheUSSRisnot
known,although itiscertainlyavailableinthemain
cities.In1935anofficialdecreealloweddoctorsto
prescribeorthodoxorhomeopathicmedicinesaccord-
ingtotheirchoice. Homeopathy ishighlyrespectedinmanySouth
Americancountries,withMexico,Argentinaand
Brazilattheforefront,eachwithmanythousandsof
homeopaths.Thestandardofpracticeishigh. InAustraliaandNewZealandhomeopathy is
spreadingrapidly,withbothdoctorsandprofessional
homeopathstakingpart. Asmallbutdedicatednumberofhomeopathswere
10TheTwentiethCentury THEHISTORYOFHOMEOPATHY
practisinginSouthAfricawhenin1974anActof
Parliamentcloseddownthehomeopathiccolleges(in
amoveidenticaltothatintheUSAintheearly1900s). Itisnotofficiallyaccepted,butafewpractitioners
continuetowork. Homeopathy isnon-existentintheArabstates.Itis
gaininginpopularityinIsrael. InGreeceGeorgeVithoulkas,authorofTheScienceof
Homeopathy, isaprofessionalpractitionerwhohasset
upaclinicandtrainingschoolinAthens.Hisclinichas
treatedhundredsofthousandsofpatientsoverthe
twentyyearssinceitsfoundationandhasdevelopeda
remarkablereputation.Vithoulkas isasconcerned
withtheimportanceofhowhomeopathyworksasheis
withthemoremetaphysical aspects.Hefollows
HahnemannandKentinhispurelyclassical
approach,andhasdrawntogethermuchmaterial
fromobservation.HehasupdatedKent'srepertoryin
termsoflanguageandaccessibility,butalsowith
respecttothementalandemotionalstates.Thesehe
hasre-interpreted inthelightofmodernpsychology
andbysodoinghasmadeaninvaluablecontribution
tohomeopathy.Hehascalledhisremedypictures
essences',andthepublicationofhisMateriaMedicais
eagerlyawaited.HomeopathyinBritaintoday
Throughoutthelatenineteenthcenturyandearly
twentiethcentury,homeopathic hospitalswere
openedinBristol,Liverpool,GlasgowandTunbridge
Wells,aswellasinLondon,andin1946,whenthe
NationalHealthServicewasestablished,homeopathy
wasincludedasanofficiallyapprovedmethodof
treatment.Aswehaveseen,itdidnotgrowtobecome
arealrivaltoorthodoxmedicine,butinBritaintoday
itspopularity isincreasingrapidly.Itisstillpractised
undertheNationalHealthinthesefivehospitalsand
byGPs,althoughthelimitoftimeonconsultations
oftenmeansthatantibioticsarehandedoutwiththe
homeopathicmedicinesjustincasethelatterdonot
work. Professionalhomeopathsrunprivatepracticesand
manyparticipateinalmost-freeclinicsfortheneedy. TheSocietyofHomoeopaths, theorganisationwhich
representstheprofessionalhomeopath inthis
country,promotesthepracticeofhomeopathy toa
highstandard.Fromsmallbeginningsin1974,the
numberofregisteredmembers(whousetheinitials
RSHom.aftertheirnames)increasesannuallyand
therearenowatleastsixcollegestrainingseveral
hundredprofessionalhomeopathseachyear. PRINCIPLES
AND
CONCEPTS
'Thehighestidealoftherapyistorestorehealthrapidly,
gently,permanently; toremoveanddestroythewhole
diseaseintheshortest,surest,leastharmfulway,accord-
ingtoclearlycomprehensible principles.' SoitwasthatSamuelHahnemann, inTheOrganon,
definedhisgoalsforanewsystemofmedicine. Itis
hardtoimagineadescriptionthatcouldexpressmore
conciselytheneedsofbothpractitionerandpatient. Homeopathystrengthensthebody'svitalityandits
abilitytorespondtostresswithoutrecoursetoother
medicines.Theprinciplesofhomeopathyasawhole
representacompleteviewoftheprocessesofhealth
anddisease.Since1810,whenTheOrganonwasfirst
published,theyhaveprovedveryresistanttomajor
re-interpretation. Homeopathy, asasystemof
medicine, ispractisedwithintheframeworkofthese
principlesand,becausetheyarecrucialtosuccessful
prescribing, Ihopetheywillbecomeasfamiliartoyou
asoldfriends. theslmilimumorlawof
Similars
Thisbasiclawofhomeopathy issimiliasimilibus
curentur:'letlikesbecuredwithlike'.Basedonthis
premise,thefirsthomeopathicprinciplestatesthat
anysubstancethatcanmakeyouillcanalsocureyou-
anythingthatiscapableofproducingsymptomsof
diseaseinahealthypersoncancurethosesymptoms
inasickperson. By'symptom'thehomeopathmeansthosechanges
thatarefeltbythepatient(subjective)orobserved
(objective),whichmaybeassociatedwithaparticular
disease,orstateofdis-ease,andwhicharetheout-
wardexpressionofthatstate.PROVINGS
'Proving'isthenamegiventothehomeopathic
methodoftestingsubstancesinordertoestablishtheir
'symptompictures'.SinceHahnemann's firstproving
in1790(seepage4),hundredsofprovingshavebeen
carriedoutandtheirresultscollatedinthegreat
MateriaMedicas.Inthe1940stheAmericansorgan-
isedaprogrammeofre-provingremedies,butitwas
abandonedwhenidenticalsymptomswereelicitedall
overagain. Today,healthyvolunteerproversofnew,potentially
medicinalsubstancesaredividedintotwogroups,
accordingtodouble-blind trialrules,withonegroup
beinggiventheunnamedsubstanceandtheothera
placebo.Neithertheproversnortheconductorofthe
provingknowsatthetimewhoistakingwhat.The
remediesaresometimestestedintheirdiluted-
potentised-formor,iftheyarenotpoisonous,in
crudedoses(inthe'mothertincture').Oncetheprov-
ingiscompleteandtheindividualswhohavepro-
ducedasymptompicturehavereturnedtoastateof
health,theresultsarecollated.Noteverybodywho
provesasubstancewillprovidesymptoms:onlya
proportionofpeoplearesusceptibletoanyonesub-
stance,asisthecasewithdiseases.Allsymptoms-
physical,emotionalandmental-arenotedinpains-
takingdetail,thengatheredinaschematicwayand
commonthemesnoted. Apartfromthesymptomsthathavebeendeliberate-
lyprovedbyhomeopathsovertheyears,twoother
typesofsymptomaretakenintoaccount:
Accidentalprovingshaveprovidedarichsourceof
valuableinformationthatmightnototherwisebe
availabletous.Substancessuchasdeadlynightshade,
snakevenoms,hemlockandmanyothersareofgreat
12•TheMateriaMedica PRINCIPLESANDCONCEPTS
value:becausetheycancauseextremelyseriouscon-
ditions,theyalsohavetheabilitvtocurethem. Understandably, notallthevolunteerswhowill-
inglyprovedremedieswereaskeenasConstantine
Hering(seepage7)torisktheirhealthbytesting
highlypoisonoussubstances.However,homeopaths
havebeenabletoaddsymptompicturesofsubstances
suchasdeadlynightshade,theremedyBelladonna,or
snakevenomssuchasLachesistotheMateriaMedica
bydrawingondetailedaccountsofaccidentalpoison-
ings.Deliberatepoisonings,suchasthedeathof
Socratesbyhemlock(theremedyConium),havealso
providedhomeopathswithmuchusefulinformation. Curedsymptoms.Afteraremedyhasbeensuccess-
fullyprescribed,symptomscuredbyitwhichdidnot
emergeeitherintheprovingsorintheaccidental
provingsarenoted.Iftheremedyconsistentlycures
thesesymptomsinmanypeople,thentheyareadded
tothepicture. TheMateriamedica
TheMateriaMedica(Latinfor'MedicalMatter'or
'Material')liststhesymptompicturesofeachremedy,
asdiscoveredintheprovings.Themanyhundredsof
remediesarearrangedalphabeticallyandthesymp-
tomsofthoseremediesarearrangedaccordingtobody
area.Newremediesareconstantlybeingdiscovered
andadded. Theprofessionalhomeopathworkswithanumber
ofMateriaMedicascompiledbydifferenthomeo-
paths,eachreflectingpersonalexperienceovertheir
careers.Theyallhavethesamebasicinformation,as
theyarebasedontheoriginalprovings; itishowthe
individualhomeopathpresentsthematerialandinter-
pretstheinformationthatisinteresting. Withinthisvastamountofinformationcertainpat-
ternsemergeanditisthesepatternswithwhichthe
homeopathbecomesfamiliar.Heorshewillmemorise
thestrongsymptomsorkeynotesofaremedy,butthe
smallortheobscuresymptomswillneedlookingupin
theMateriaMedica.Forexample, ifapersonissuffer-
ingfromacoldafterbeingcaughtoutintherain,a
numberofremediescometomind,butitisthepar-
ticularsymptomsofthepatient'scoldthatmaythen
needtobelookedupinordertodecidebetweenthe
differentremedies. TheRepertory
TheRepertory isanindexofsymptomsfromthe
MateriaMedicalistedinalphabeticalorderandthere-byprovidingavaluablecross-referencing system.A
goodRepertory isessentialasitisimpossibleto
memorisethevastnumberofsymptomsintheMateria
Medica. TheSingleRemedy
Theclassicalhomeopathgivesoneremedyatatimein
ordertogaugeitseffectmorepreciselythanwouldbe
possibleiftwoormoreremediesweregiventogether. Indeed,theremedieswerealloriginallyprovedsepar-
atelyanditisconsequentlynotknownhowthey
inter-react ifmixed;itwouldmakesensetousecom-
binedremediesonlyiftheyhavebeenprovedin
combination. However,thismostdifficultaspectofhomeopathic
prescribingdetersmanypeople.Findingasinglerem-
edytomatchthepatient'ssymptoms isaconstant
challengeandcaninvolveanenormousamountof
hardwork.Thelazy,busyormisguidedhomeopath
maymixseveralremediestogetherinthehopethat
onewillwork.Thishit-or-missapproachisnottrue
classicalhomeopathyasHahnemanndefineditand
showsalackofunderstanding ofthefundamental
principles. TheMinimumdose
Themorearemedyisdilutedandsuccussed(vigor-
ouslyshaken),thestrongeritbecomesasacure(see
page13).Thisidea-theinfinitesimaldose,asitis
called-isoneofthegreatstumblingblocksfora
conventionally trainedscientificmind.Ialwaystell
cynicsthattheymustseehomeopathyworkinorder
tobelieveitbecausenoamountoftheoryisacceptable
withoutsomesortoftangibleproof.Peoplewhofind
thisconceptbafflingareknowntolaughlikedrainsat
thethoughtthataverydilutesolutionofseasalt-
beyondthepointwherethereisanysaltleftinthe
solution-iscapableofcuringawiderangeofcom-
plaints,fromcoldsores,hayfeverandheadachesto
depression(seeNatrummuriaticum,page117).Logi-
cally,itdoesseemunlikelythatasubstancethatcan
causehighbloodpressureinitscrudeformcould
becomeastrongandeffectiveagentforhealingwhen
itissodilute. Thereisapharmacological lawthatstatesthat
althoughalargedoseofapoisoncandestroylife,a
moderatedosewillonlyparalyseandaverysmall
dosewillactuallystimulatethosesamelifeprocesses. Newdiscoveriesinphysicsarebeginningtoexplain
thisphenomenon.Onetheoryisthatthesuccussion
PRINCIPLESANDCONCEPTS ConstitutionandSusceptibility •13
createsanelectrochemical patternwhichisstoredin
thedilutantandwhichthenspreadslikeliquidcrystal
throughthebody'sownwater.Anotherhypothesis
suggeststhatthedilutionprocesstriggersanelectro-
magneticimprintingwhichdirectlyaffectstheelectro-
magneticfieldofthebody. Potencies
Therearetwoscalesfordilutingsubstances-the
decimalandthecentesimal.Inallcasesthestarting
remedyismadefromamixtureofthesubstanceitself
whichhasbeensteepedinalcoholforaperiodoftime
andthenstrained.Thisstartingliquidiscalleda
'tincture'or'mothertincture'. Forthedecimalscale,one-tenthofthetinctureis
addedtonine-tenthsofalcoholandshakenvigor-
ously;thisfirstdilutioniscalledaIX.Thenumberofa
homeopathicremedyreflectsthenumberoftimesit
hasbeendilutedandsuccussed:forexample,Sulphur
6Xhasbeendilutedandsuccussedsixtimes. Thecentesimalscaleisdilutedusingoneparttinc-
tureinahundred(asopposedtoten)andtheletterC
isaddedafterthenumber(althoughinpractice
homeopathshaveomittedtheCandjustusethe
numbersforthecentesimalscale). Paradoxically, a6Xiscalledalowpotencyand200
(C)ahighpotency-thegreaterthedilution,the
greaterthepotencv. Themostcommonlyusedpotencyinthedecimal
scaleisthe6X,althoughthe9X,12X,24Xand30Xare
usedbysome.Inthecentesimalscalethoselowpo-
tenciesmostcommonlyusedarethe6,12and30.The
higherpotencies-200,1M(dilutedonethousand
times),10M(tenthousandtimes)andCM(one
hundredthousandtimes)-arehighlyrespectedbv
homeopathsandshouldnotbeusedbythehome
prescribes
'Inert'substancesaregroundformanyhourswitha
pestleandmortaruntiltheybecomesoluble,aprocess
called'trituration'whichisusedformetalsaswell
asothersubstancesthatdonotdissolveeasily. TheWholePerson
Theconceptoftreatingthe'wholeperson'isanessen-
tialelementofclassicalhomeopathy.Thebasisofthis
beliefisthatsymptoms,diseasesorpainsdonotexist
inisolation,butareareflectionofhowthepersonasa
wholeiscopingwithstress.Itisthewholepersonthat
counts-notjustthephysicalbodybutalsothemental
and/oremotional'bodies'.Thehomeopathlooks
beyondthe'presentingcomplaint',beyondthelabel
ofthedisease(forexample'tonsillitis'or'migraines'or'foodpoisoning')tothe'totalityofsymptoms'a
personexperiences. Ialwaysaskmyself,'Howisthispersondifferent
fromanotherwiththisparticularcomplaint? 'The
homeopathindividualises theprescriptiontofitthe
patient-ratherlikeatailoredsuit.Imaginethat
thewholepersonislikeajigsaw.Prescribingonone
symptomaloneislikeseeingonlyasmallpartofthe
jigsaw;itdoesnotgiveyouenoughinformationto
workoutwhatthewholepictureis. Asfarasfirst-aidprescribing isconcerned, itis
possibletoprescribeonasinglesymptom-like,for
example,chilblainsormouthulcers.Butitisalways
preferabletofindaremedythatmatchesthetotalityof
symptoms,takingintoaccountasmanypiecesofthe
jigsawaspossible.Ifyouareabletolocateatleastmost
ofthepiecesandfitthemtogether(see'TheSymptom
Picture'and'WorkingOuttheRemedy',pages20and
22),thenyouwillbeabletomakesenseofthewhole
pictureandmatchittoasingleremedy. Constitutionand
Susceptibility
Ioftenhearpeoplesayenviouslyaboutafriend,'He
smokeslikeachimney,drinkslikeafish,workslikea
maniacandhasneverhadaday'sillnessinhislife.It's
notfair.Istruggleconstantlytostayhealthyandneed
ninehours'sleepanight,otherwise Igetsick.Why?' Well,theanswerliesintheconstitution.Theperson
whoworksallhoursandsmokesanddrinksasifthere
werenotomorrowhasastrongconstitution-andmay
wellbewastinghis'inheritance',becausetherewill
comeatimewhenitwillrunout,whenevenhewillget
sick. GeorgeVithoulkas,inTheScienceofHomeopathy,
definestheconstitutionas'thegeneticinheritance
temperedormodifiedbyourenvironment', thatis,a
person'sfundamentalstructure-theirstateofhealth
andtheirtemperament. Basically,astrongconstitution
isonethatcanwithstandconsiderablepressurewith-
outfallingill.Aweakconstitution isonethathasan
increasedsusceptibility toillness. Susceptibility issimplythedegreetowhichaperson
isvulnerabletoanoutsideinfluence.Inanepidemic
noteveryonewillbeaffected(thegermtheoryof
diseasefailstotakethisintoaccount).Wecallthose
whoareaffected'susceptible'.Theirpredisposition is
duetoanunderlyingconstitutionalweaknessthatis
eitherinheritedorduetopastand/orcurrentstress
(mental,emotionalorphysical),andwhichmakesthe
personopentocertaindiseaseconditions. Ifyourgrandparents alldiedofoldageandyour
parentshavebeenbasicallyhealthyalltheirlives;if
14•VitalForce PRINCIPLESANDCONCEPTS
yourbirthwasplannedandyourmotherwashealthy
throughoutherpregnancy(didn'tsmoke,drink,etc. );
ifyourparents'marriageishappyandyourbirthwas
uneventful,thenyourconstitutionshouldbeofthe
strongestvariety. If,ontheotherhand,allyourgrandparentsdiedat
earlyagesofcancerorheartdiseaseandoneofyour
parentshadtuberculosisasachildandtheother
sufferedfromasthmaandeczema,thenyourchances
ofinheritingaweakconstitutionaregreater.Youcan
stillescapetheworstofapoorinheritance ifyour
parents'marriageisahappyoneandtheyhavetaken
goodcareoftheirownhealth. Itmayhelpyoutothinkofyourconstitutionasa
hugeenergybank.Atbirthsomepeoplehavevast
reserves,bothondepositandintheircurrentaccount. Othershaveonlyanominalamountinthecurrent
accountandneedtobepayingintothataccountcon-
stantlythroughouttheirlivesinorderto'stayinthe
black'-inordertostayhealthy. Andthatiswherealternativemedicinecomesin. Manypeoplecometoahomeopathfor'constitutional
treatment'-inotherwordstoimprovetheirgeneral
healthratherthanwaituntiltheyfallill.Thevalueof
constitutionaltreatment isthatitbooststheweak
constitutionanddecreasesitssusceptibility todisease. VitalForce
Homeopathsbelievethereisabalancingmechanism
thatkeepsusinhealth,providedthatthestresseson
ourconstitutionsareneithertooprolongednortoo
great.ThisbalancingmechanismHahnemanncalled
the'vitalforce'andhebelieved ittobethatenergetic
substance,independentofphysicalandchemical
forces,thatliterallygivesuslifeandisabsentatour
death. Thehumanorganism,indeedanylivingthing,hasa
uniquerelationshipwithitsenvironment. Biologists
callit'homeostasis',bywhichtheymeanthata
healthylivingbeingisself-regulating,withaninnate
(protective)tendencytomaintainequilibriumand
compensatefordisruptivechanges.Homeopathsbe-
lievethatthevitalforceproducessymptomstocoun-
teractthevariousstressesweexperience,andthatit
makesadjustmentsmomentbymomentthroughout
ourlivestokeepushealthyandbalanced.These
symptoms,then,aresimplythebody'swayoftelling
ushowitiscopingwithstress.Obviousexamplesare
shiveringwhencold,perspiringwhenoverheatedand
eatingordrinkingwhenhungryorthirsty.Allthese
reactionshelptoensuretheregulationofaconstant,
life-preservingenvironmentwithinthebody. Familiarexpressionssuchas'defencemechanism',
and'immunesystem'areanotherwayofreferringtothevitalforce.Homeopathsbelievethatdisease
'attacks'onlywhenthisvitalforceisweakened. Homeopathicmedicinesactasacatalyst,theenergy
oftheremedystimulatingthebody'sownvitalforce
(itsimmunesystemordefencemechanism)toheal
itself.Theydonotweakenthedefencemechanismby
suppressing itasdomanyorthodoxmedicines.The
correcthomeopathictreatmentnotonlyalleviatesthe
symptomsbutenablesthepatienttofeelthatlifeis
onceagainflowingharmoniously. Patientsoften
remarkthattheyhaven'tfeltsowellinalongtime. ACUTEANDCHRONICDISEASES
Acutediseaseisself-limiting; inotherwords,itisnot
deep-seatedand,giventime,willusuallyclearofits
ownaccord.Someacuteillnesses,suchaspneumonia,
meningitisornephritisforexample,areextremely
seriousandcan,rarely,befatal.Thesearenotwithin
thescopeofthehomeprescriberandalwaysneed
expertadvice. Anacutediseasehasthreedefinitestages:theincu-
bationperiod,whentheremaybenosymptomsof
disease:theacutephase,whentherecognisablesymp-
tomssurface;theconvalescentstage,whenaperson
usuallyimproves. Coughs,colds,flus,foodpoisoningandchildren's
illnessessuchaschickenpoxareallexamplesofacute
illnesses.Well-chosenhomeopathicremedieswill
speeduprecovery,alleviatepainandensurethat
therearenocomplications. Seepages203-26fortheacuteillnessesyoucan
andcannottreatusingthisbook. Chronicdiseaseismoredeep-seatedthanacute
disease.Itdevelopsslowly,continuesforalongtime
andisoftenaccompaniedbyageneraldeteriorationin
health .Thedevelopmentofthediseasedoesnottakea
predictablecourse;neitherisitpossibletosayforhow
longitwilllast. (Anacuteillnessthatisfollowedby
complicationscandevelopintoachronic,long-term
illness.) Arthritis,heartdisease,cancerandmentalillness
areallexamplesofchronicillness.Homeopathsbe-
lievethattheincreaseinincidenceoftheseconditions
wearenowseeingisinpartduetothechemical
stressestheindividualhastoputupwith,including
theover-useoforthodoxmedicinesandenvironmen-
talpollution. MIASMS
IntheearlyyearsofhispracticeHahnemannwas
puzzledtofindthatsomepatientsfailedtorespondto
PRINCIPLESANDCONCEPTS Health•15
theirconstitutionalremediesandsomepatientswho
didimproverelapsedafteronlyashorttime.He
collectedthese'difficult'casestogetherandaftermuch
painstakingstudyfoundacommonfactorinthepres-
enceofcertaindiseasesinthepersonalorfamily
historyofsuchpatients.Herealisedthesediseases
mustconstituteblockstohealthwhichstoppedthe
indicatedconstitutionalremedyfromworking.He
calledtheseblocks'miasms'anddevelopedacompre-
hensiveandcomplextheoryaroundthem.Hisin-
sightshaveenabledtheprofessionalhomeopathto
assessthroughthehistoryofapatient(bothpersonal
andinherited)theirlikelyconstitutionalstrengthand,
inmanycases,topredictthesortofblocksthathe
orshemightencounterduringthecourseofconsti-
tutionaltreatment. Hahnemanndefinedthreebasicmiasmswhichhe
believedtobetheunderlyingcausesofchronicdis-
ease,eachofwhichpredisposesapersontoaparticu-
larrangeofhealthproblemswhichhealsodefinedat
length.Thethreemiasmswere:Psora,whichhe
associatedwithsuppressedskindiseasesandwith
leprosy;Sycosis,associatedwithsuppressedgonor-
rhoea;andSyphilis,associatedwithsuppressedsyph-
ilis. Homeopathshavesinceaddedmanymoreand
believethatcancerisa'marriage'ofthemiasms-itis
presentinpeoplewhoseinheritedpictureincludesall
threemiasmsandmore. Whenthehomeopathencountersa'miasmatic
block'inapatient,andtheindicatedremedydoesnot
act,theblockmustbecleared.Therearevarious
methodsfordoingthis,butitisamatterforthe
professionalhomeopath,notforself-treatment. TheLawsofCure
TheLawsofCurewereformulatedbyConstantine
Hering(seepage7),whobasedthemonalifetime's
observationoftheprocessesinvolvedwhensick
patientsbecamecured.Throughouthisyearsofprac-
ticehewasabletodrawthefollowingconclusions:
•Assomeoneiscured,symptomsmovefromthe
innermostorgansofthebody(thosemostvitalto
life)totheouterorgans.Inotherwords,curemoves
fromwithintowithout.Forexample,someonewith
heartdisease(serious,lifethreatening)mayexperi-
encestomachorbowelproblemsduringtheprocess
ofcure. •Curealsotakesplacefromabovetobelow,sothat
symptomsusually'dripoffthebody,startingfrom
theheadandclearingdownwards,withthehands
andthefeet(sometimessimultaneously) beingthe
lasttobeaffected(with,say,askineruption).•Symptomsthathavebeensuppressedinthepast
oftenresurfaceduringtheprocessofcureand
usuallydosointhereverseorderfromtheiroriginal
sequence.Forexample, ifapatientwithheartdis-
easehadbeensuccessfullytreatedwithorthodox
medicinesforastomachulcerbeforetheheartcon-
dition,thentheappearanceofstomachsymptoms
(lessseverethanintheoriginalcomplaint)wouldbe
welcomedasasignthattheoldsuppressedsymp-
tomswerebeingclearedout.Theselawsapplyto
thetreatmentofchroniccomplaintsbutoccasion-
allyalsotoacuteprescribing-soifanoldsymptom
surfacesafteragoodprescription,waittoseeifit
willclearofitsownaccord.Ifitdoes,theremedyis
stillworking ...carryonwaiting. Thesuppressionofadiseaseusuallyleadstoamore
deep-seatedillnesssurfacing.Forexample,manychil-
drenwhoseeczemahasbeen'successfully'treated
withsteroidsmaysufferfromasthmaatalaterdate. Thesetwoeventsareseenbytheorthodoxmedical
professionashavingonlyacasualconnection,where-
asthehomeopathbelievesthatthesuppressionofthe
eczemahascausedtheasthma.Successfulhomeo-
pathictreatmentinvolvestheeczemareappearing at
somepoint. Itisalsopossibletosuppresswithhomeopathic
medicinesbytreatingasinglesymptomandnotthere-
foretakingthewholepersonintoaccount. HomeopathsusetheseLawsofCuretomonitor
treatment,tocheckwhetherthecureisgoinginthe
'right'direction.Asfarasacutetreatmentorhome
prescribing isconcerned,occasionally averywell-
selectedconstitutionalremedywillpushtothesurface
oldsymptomsthatmayhavebeenforgotten.These
willclearoftheirownaccord.Itisimportantnotto
prescribeanotherremedyandbysodoingencourage
thechronicconditiontogoback'in'again. Health
Healthismorethansimplytheabsenceofdisease. Beinghealthygivesusasenseofwell-being,ofbeing
balanced,ofpersonalfreedom. Itisaboveallthe
abilitytowithstandstress. Whenwearephysicallyhealthywehavestrength
andflexibility,andareservoirofenergytodrawon
shouldweneedit.Beingemotionallyhealthymeans
wecanacknowledgeandexpressourfeelingsandby
sodoingmaintainrewardingrelationships.Being
mentallyhealthyenablesustothinkclearly,toformu-
lateideas,solveproblemsandmakedecisionseasily. Diseaselimitsthatpersonalfreedom;abrokenleg,
forexample,limitsaperson'sphysicalfreedom
16•Health PRINCIPLESANDCONCEPTS
bymakingitdifficulttowalk,tobephysical.Ade-
pressioncanlimitaperson'semotionalfreedom
becauseofhisorherdifficultyininteractingwithother
people,andsoon.Mentalexhaustionafter,say,a
taxingexammakesitdifficulttoconcentrateandto
makedecisionsandthereforelimitsaperson'smental
freedom.Ifyoudofallillitisoftenusefultoask
yourselfhowandwhythatillnessislimitingyou. Theorthodoxmedicalview,orgermtheory,of
diseaseisthatillnessisa'bad'thing.Analternative
medicalviewisthatdiseaseisa'good'thing,alerting
thebodytothenecessityoftakingsometimeand
spacetohaveagoodclear-out. Ithinkthatdiseaseis
neithergoodnorbad.Thediseasewesuccumbto
providesuswithinformationaboutourpersonal
weaknesses,abouthowwearelivingourlivesand
copingwithstress.Italertsustothefactthatthereare
deficienciesorweaknessesthatneedattention. Buildinghealth-preventativemedicine
Thedesiretoridthebodyofdiseaseisahealthy
attitude,althoughanyapproachthatinvolvesbuild-
inghealthandthereforepreventingdiseaseorill-
healthwill,ofcourse,beofgreaterbenefitinthelong
termthananytemporarysuppressionofthesymp-
tomsalone.Howweapproachillness,aswellasthe
treatmentwechoose,deservessomethought. Thepresenceofdiseaseorpainoftencreates
anxiety,whichinturncanleadtofearandpanic.In
thissituationmostofusatonetimeoranotherhave
consultedanauthoritativefigure(adoctor)toallayour
anxietybyputtinganametowhatishappeningtoour
bodies,andtodeterminehowitmustbetreated.The
dangerhereisthat,inlookingoutsideourselvesfor
theanswersandinaskingtoofewquestions,we
experiencealossofpersonalcontrolwithconsequent
feelingsofhelplessness.Wegiveupourresponsibilityforourownhealthtothepeople'incharge'andwe
becomerealpatients,or,asIseeit,victims. Inthissituationwemayfindthatwefeelunableto
confidemisgivings,toexpressourinstinctsaboutour
ownhealth,ortoexploreotheroptions.Webecome
passiveconsumersofmedicalcare.Forexample,
womenwhoarenotwellinformedonthesubjectof
contraceptionandwhothenbegintohavetrouble
withthecontraceptive pill,will,onvoicingtheir
worriesandsymptoms,bereassuredthatthePillisper-
fectlysafe,thatthereisnothingtoworryaboutand
thattheirproblemispsychosomatic. Thisisusually
nottrueandthesewomenthensufferneedlesslyfor
monthsandsometimesyearsbecausetheycarryon
takingadrugthatdoesn'tsuitthem. Howdowe,aspatients,redressthisbalance?The
firststepistobecomeinformed,byreadingandtalk-
ingtopeoplewhoaresympathetictoourviews(and
doubts),andwhomayhavehadsimilarexperiences. Wealsoneedtolearntoaskforwhatweneed,tomake
realisticdemandsofhealth-careprofessionals.We
needtoseekthehelpofdoctorsandspecialists(both
orthodoxandalternative)whoarewillingtocom-
municatewithus,whoareabletoacknowledgethat
we,thepatients,haveaparttoplayinourownhealing
processesandarethereforeabletogiveusthein-
formationweneed(anddeserve)aboutwhatthey
thinkishappening. Bytakingresponsibility forwhathappenstoour
bodieswecanthenstartcreatingforourselvesthe
balancewewantinourownlives,andwecanstart
tuningintoourownfeelings,orinnersense,ofwhatis
wrongwithus.Bydevelopingthispositiveapproach
towardscreatingahealthylifeforourselveswecan
moveawayfromautomaticallytakingadefensive
positiontowardsillness. Ultimately,beinginvolvedinourownhealingpro-
cessesgivesusself-confidence, increasesourpersonal
strengthandgivesusmorechoices. •3-
MYTHS
AND
MISAPPREHENSIONS
Manyhomeopaths,believingthattheexplanationof
howhomeopathyworksissecondarytoitssuccess
withliterallymillionsofpatients,havetraditionally
refusedtorevealthenamesofthemedicinestheygive. Thisandthelackofinformationtheyhaveprovided
abouttheirpracticehasledtoanauraofsecrecyin
whichmythsabound.Itisworthlookingatafewof
thesemisapprehensions. Myth:'Homeopathy issafe'
Inthesamewaythathomeopathycancure-dramati-
callyandpermanently inmanycases-itcanalsocause
harm.Kentsaidthathewouldrathersharearoom
withanestofvipersthanbesubjectedtotheadminis-
trationsofaninexperiencedhomeopath!Potential
dangersare:
Unintentionalprovings
Ifyoutaketoomanyhomeopathic pillsoveraperiod
oftimeitispossibleto'prove'theremedy-thatis,to
sufferfromthesymptomsthattheremedywassup-
posedtocure.Thiscanmeanthatalthoughyourown
symptomsmayimproveinitially,theymayworsen
againifyoucontinuetotakethepills.Worsestill,ifthe
remedydidnotfityourpicture-wasnotrightforyou
-youmayexperiencesymptomsyouneverhad
before. Thisisadangerwithself-prescribing orover-the-
counterprescribing,wherethereisnoprofessional
homeopathtomonitorthesymptoms.Inmyfirstyear
inpracticeawomanrangmeonedayinafranticstate,
desperateforhelp.Shetoldmethefollowingstory:
Jaskedforhelpatahomeopathicchemistforthrush,
whichIhadsufferedfromforseveralmonths,andwas
prescribedNuxvomica30overthecounterandtoldto
takeitthreetimesdaily.AfterafewdaysIexperiencedamarkedimprovement inmycondition,soIcarriedon
takingit.Afteraweekofnofurtherchangesmysymp-
tomsstartedtogetworsesoIcarriedontakingit.1
finishedthebottleofpillsandwentbacktothepharmacy
andtoldthemmythrushwasnowasbadaswhenIhad
startedtakingtheremedy.Theygavemeanotherbottleof
Nuxvomica30andtoldmetocontinuewiththe
treatment. Itisnowtwomonthssince1startedonthis
remedyandmythrushisunbearable. ItissobadIcan't
sleepatnightandIamirritableallthetime.Pleasehelp
me. Iadvisedthiswomantostoptakingthepillsandto
antidotetheremedywithstrongcoffeeandcamphor-
atedointment(tocounteract itseffects)andwithin
twenty-fourhoursshewasbacktoheroldself,having
sleptwellforthefirsttimeinoveramonth.Thethrush
wasbacktowhereithadbeenbeforeshetooktheNux
vomica-annoyingbutmanageable.
The_Complete_Homeopathy_Handbook_by_miranda_castros.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        TheComplete
1HOMEOPATHY
HANDBOOK
Safeandeffectivewaystotreat
fevers-coughs-coldsand
sorethroats-childhoodailments-
foodpoisoning-flu-andawide
rangeofeverydaycomplaints3
L
ALLENCOUNTYPUBLICLIBRARY
V318330160
615. 27c
bro,Miranda. Thecompletehomeopathy
handb
DONOTREMOVE
CARDSFROMPOCKET
ALLENCOUNTYPUBLICLIBRARY
FORTWAYNE,INDIANA46802
Youmayreturnthisbooktoanyagency,branch,
orbookmobileoftheAllenCountyPublicLibrary. DEMCO
wX
r
V
THECOMPLETEHOMEOPATHYHANDBOOK
(iA
THE
COMPLETE
HOMEOPATHY
HANDBOOK
AGuidetoEveryday
HealthCare
MirandaCastroR. s. Hom. St. Martin'sPress
NewYork
r
H. Way**'",<*aI",
Notetothereader. Itisadvisabletoseektheguidanceofaphysicianbeforeimplementingtheapproachtohealthsuggestedin
thisbook. Itisessentialthatanyreaderwhohasanyreasontosuspectthatheorshesuffersfromillnesscheck
withhisorherdoctorbeforeattemptingtotreatitwiththismethod. Neitherthisnoranyotherbookshould
beusedasasubstituteforprofessionalmedicalcareortreatment. thecompletehomeopathyhandbook. Copyright©1990byMirandaCastro. Illustrationscopyright©1990byLiz
Pepperell. Allrightsreserved. PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica. Nopartofthisbookmaybeusedor
reproducedinanymannerembodiedincriticalarticlesorreviews. Forinformation,addressSt. Martin'sPress,
175FifthAvenue,NewYork,N. Y. 10010. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publicarion Data
Castro,Miranda. Thecompletehomeopathyhandbook /MirandaCastro,
p. cm. Includesindex. ISBN0-312-06320-2
1. Homeopathy—Popularworks. I. Title. RX76. C391991 91-20722
615. 5'32—dc20 CIP
FirstpublishedinGreatBritainbyMacmillanLondonLimited. FirstU. S. Edition:December1991
10987654321
FormysonDaniel
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction xi
HowToUseThisBookxi
PARTI:History,PrinciplesandPrescribing
1TheHistoryofHomeopathy 3
2PrinciplesandConcepts 11
3MythsandMisapprehensions 17
4TakingtheCase20
5Prescribing24
PARTII:TheMateriaMedicasandRepertories
ExternalMateriaMedicaandRepertory31
InternalMateriaMedica38
InternalRepertory165
PARTIII:PrescribingGuidelinesandFollow-through
StressasaCauseofDisease201
DiseasesYouCanTreatUsingThisBook203
Case-takingQuestionnaireandSymptomChecklists227
RepertorisingChart230
SampleCases232
PARTIV:TheAppendices
Glossary247
First-AidKits249
Index250
LastWord254
A
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Iwishtothankfirstmyauthorfriendswhohelpedmeorganisethechaos-Robin
ShohetandJaneHowardforenablingmeactuallytositdownandwrite,andMaggi
SikkingandSilvieTurnerfortheirconstantsupportandencouragement. Sincerethankstoallwhohelpedwiththisprojectoverthepastfouryears,
especiallyAndreeRyan,EricaDay,FrancisTreuherz,JaneHarter,JennyHaxworth,
JohnTomlinson,LyndaBallinger,MahavirBall,MikeStrange,RachelPacker,and
RozFishel. AlsothankstoLizPepperellforherdelightfuldrawings. SpecialthankstotheteamatMacmillanwhosupportedmeunstintinglyinmy
strugglesasafirst-timeauthor. especiallytoKatrinaWhonewhosepatienceand
senseofhumourkeptmegoingwhenallelsefailed. Iwouldlikealsotoexpressmuchlovefor,andappreciation of,myteachers;my
parentswhosowedtheseedsofwhoandwhatIamtoday;J. R. Worsleywhohelped
medigthoseseedsintotheearth;TerryCooperandJennerRothwhohelpedmefind
thoseseedsagainandrediscovertheirworth;allthegreathomeopathicteachers,
bothdeadandalive,who,bothinwordandspirit,wateredregularlythegrowing
plant;myfriendsandfamilywhohavesupportedmeinallweathers;andmy
patientswhotaughtmesomuchandwhofinallymadeitpossibleforthistreeofmine
tobearfruit. Thankyou. INTRODUCTION
Thepracticeofhomeopathy,whetherintheconsult-
ingroomorinthehome,isadelightandachallenge. Usedcarefullyandwisely,itishighlyeffectivein
curingawiderangeofillnesses,fromminorhealth
problemstoveryseriousconditions. Thisbook
focusesoneverydaycomplaintsthatyoucantreat
yourself. Iamconcernedthatpeoplewhoareusing
homeopathicmedicinesshouldknowtheirpotential
andusethemwithrespect,especiallysincetheyare
nowsoldoverthecounterinmostchemistsand
health-foodshops,withveryfewguidelines. Inthisclimateofgreaterlifeexpectancyandyet
increasingill-healthanddisillusionmentwithmodern
wonderdrugs,peoplearequestioningthequalityof
theirhealthcareandlookingforsafeandeffective
waystotreatillnessaswellastoimprovetheirhealth. Homeopathy offersasafealternativeasitseeksto
improvethegenerallevelofhealthofthewholeper-
son,emotionallyaswellasphysically,andassuchis
playinganimportantroleinthemovementbacktoa
moreholisticapproachtohealth. Ibelievethatconventionalmedicinesshouldbe
usedsparinglyandthattheirindiscriminateusefor
minorailmentsisinappropriate. Idonotintendto
makecomparisonsbetweenorthodoxandalternative
medicineinthisbook;nordoIwishtobelittlethework
andintentionsoforthodoxdoctors. Nonetheless,
manypeopleareundermining theirgeneralhealthby
abusing(over-using)antibioticsandotherstrong
medicationsfortrivialcomplaints. Thisextendeduse
canleadeventuallytoresistancetothedrugsthem-
selves;toallergies;and,ofcourse,toaneventual
breakdownoftheimmunesystem. Homeopathy car-
riesnoneoftheserisksandinfactbooststhebody's
vitality. Ianticipatethatmanyusersofthisbookwillalready
havehadsomeexperienceofhomeopathyandtheuse
ofhomeopathicmedicinesinthehome,andwillbe
familiarwiththeapproachofsomeofthefirst-aid
guidesalreadyobtainable. Manybookscurrently
availableonfirst-aidhomeopathyoversimplifythe
'art'ofhomeopathicprescribingandhavegiventhe
falseimpressionthatprescribingahomeopathicrem-
edyissimplyamatteroflookingup,say,'boils',and
givingtheoneremedythatislisted. Thiswillalways
beahit-or-missaffair,withtheremedyworkingfor
onlyapercentageofthosepeoplewhotakeit. Homeopathicprescribing isnotthatsimple. This
bookmimicsthewayaprofessionalhomeopath
works. Asahomeopath,mytoolsforprescribingare
theMateriaMedicaandtheRepertory. TheMateria
Medicaissimplyafullaccountofthehomeopathic
remediesandtheRepertory isacross-referenced
indexoftheinformationpresentedintheMateria
Medica. WhatIpresenthereisasimplifiedformof
thesebookswheretheyapplytofirst-aidprescribing,
translatedwherepossibleintolay-person'sterms. Withinthelimitationsimposedbythesizeofthis
book,theinformationherewillhelpyoutomake
remedyselectionmoreaccurate. Thisbookalsolooks
attheprinciplesunderlyingthetheoryofhomeo-
pathy,aswellasathowtoprescribe-howtospotthe
symptomsorsignsofdiseaseandhowtoclassifythem
sothattheycanbeusedtofindthebestremedy. My
aimistohelptheseriousfirst-aidertousethese
principlestoprescribesuccessfully,asIintroduceyou
toawholenewwayofdefiningandtreatingillness. MirandaCastro
London,1990
HOWTOUSETHISBOOK
Thegoalofthisbookistoenableyoutouse
homeopathicmedicinessafelyandeffectivelyathome
inavarietyoffirst-aidsituations,fromaccidentsand
injuriestobackache,coughs,colds,childhood ill-
nesses,earaches,flu,food-poisoning, sorethroats,
teethingandmanyothercommoncomplaints. Mostofthehomeopathic first-aidbookscurrently
availablehaveattemptedtosimplifytheprocessof
findingaremedy(ashomeopathicmedicinesare
called)inordertomakehomeopathymoreaccessible. Thishasresultedinsomedisappointment, asmany
peoplehavefoundtheirattemptstouse'natural'
medicinetobeahit-or-missaffair. Thisbookaimsto
rightthiserrorbymimickingthemethodthatapro-
fessionalhomeopathuses. Tothisendtherearethree
mainsections:
PartI:History,PrinciplesandPrescribing
Thissection(Chapters1-5)introducesthehistoryand
theoryofhomeopathy,includingitsguidingprin-
ciples;itdefinesthosecomplaintsyoucansafelytreat
yourselfandguidesyouthroughtakingacaseand
prescribing. PartII:TheMateriaMedicasand
Repertories
Thisisthemainpartofthebookandisdividedinto
twosections:externalremedies(drops,lotions,
creamsandointments)andinternalremedies(tabletstakeninternally). EachhasaMateriaMedica-an
alphabeticallyarrangedlistofdetaileddescriptionsof
theremedies;andaRepertory-anindexofsymptoms
orcomplaintstoguideyoutothecorrectremedyinthe
MateriaMedica. PartIII:PrescribingGuidelinesand
Follow-through
Thispartincludesclearguidelinesonwhichcom-
plaintsyoucantreatusingthisbook. Italsogives
practicalmeasuresthatmaybehelpfulorimportantin
eachcomplaint. Itisessentialtoreadthisinconjunction
withtheremedypicturesinPart11. Followingthisare
questionnairesandchartstoassistyouin'takingyour
case'andprescribing. Finally,therearetensample
casesillustratingtheapplicationoftheprinciplesof
homeopathy,whichyoucanuseasexamplesortotest
yourselftoseehowwellyouhaveunderstoodthe
homeopathicprocessesoutlinedinthisbook. PartIV:TheAppendices
Theseincludeaglossaryprovidingbriefdefinitionsof
anyunusualtermsusedinthebookandasectionofhow
tostockupafirst-aidkit. \
PARTI
HISTORY,PRINCIPLES
ANDPRESCRIBING
•1-
THEHISTORY
OF
HOMEOPATHY
Originsofhomeopathic
THOUGHT
InthefifthcenturybcHippocrates(c. 470-400bc),the
'fatherofmedicine',wrotethatthereweretwo
methodsofhealing:by'contraries'andby'similars'. Hiswritingsshowhisinsistenceonahighethical
standard,onaccuracyofobservationandclarityof
recordingcasesratherthanontheoryandsymptoma-
tology. Herefutedthecommonideathatillnesswas
punishmentfromthegods:'Everydiseasehasitsown
natureandarisesfromexternalcauses,fromcold,
fromthesun,fromchangingwinds. 'Headvised
againstmeddlesome interference, saying,'Our
naturesarethephysiciansofourdiseases. ' Hisobservationsoncureby'similars'werenot
followedbythemedicalprofessionandoverthenext
thousandyearstheyseemedtoliedormant-except,
ofcourse,thatcountrypeoplethroughouttheworld
haveusedthisprinciplesuccessfully intheirown
folk-medicines formanyhundredsofyears. Paracelsus(1493-1541), aGermandoctorborn
PhilippusAureolusTheophrastusBombastusvon
Hohenheim,wasunconventionalevenbythestan-
dardsofhistime. Hewasoneofthenaturalphilos-
opherswhosoughttooverthrowwhathecalledthe
'logico-mathematical' theorisingofthetime. Hesaw
theearthasagreatchemicallaboratoryandrecognised
thevalueofchemicalexperimentsinmedicine,bothas
thebasisforunderstanding physiologicalprocesses
andasasourceofmedicinalpreparations. Heiscalled
the'fatherofchemistry',forheupdatedalchemyby
movingitawayfromitssearchfortheelixiroflife
towardstreatingillnessandpracticalpharmaceutical
studies;hebaseditfirmlyontheobservationofplants,
animalsandminerals,andstressedtheimportanceofdirect,practicalexperienceandexperimentation. He
railedagainstthosewhobelievedthatcontrariescure. Paracelsusbelievedintheharmonyofthewhole
universe. HeturnedtoGermanfolk-medicine,which
believedin'likecuringlike',orthatthepoisonthat
causesadiseaseshouldbecomeitscure. Asaresulthe
wasaccusedofadvocatingtheinternaluseoflethal
poisons,butinfacthegavecarefulattentiontodosage
andnotedthataverysmalldosecouldovercomea
greatdisease. Healsousedonlyonemedicineata
time. Hesawnatureineachandeverypersonasavital
spirit,andpredictedthegermtheoryofdiseaseby
statingthatthecausesofdiseasewereexternal,seed-
likefactorsintroducedintothebodythroughair,food
anddrink;thesethenbecamelocalised,growingin
specificorgansastheseedsofdiseasewhichcombated
thelocalvitalspiritoftheorganandthebody. Healso
believedinthenaturalrecuperativepowerofthe
humanbody. Again,hisobservationsonthelawof
similarswerenottakenupforovertwohundred
years. thefounderofhomeopathy:
SamuelHahnemann(1755-1843)
SamuelHahnemannwasborninMeisseninSaxony
(nowinEastGermany)on10April1755intoaneraof
enormouschangeandpoliticalupheaval. Duringhis
lifetimetheSevenYears'War,theFrenchRevolution
andtheNapoleonicWarsthrewEuropeintoturmoil. TheIndustrialRevolutionbroughtsocialchangeand
greatadvancesintechnology,andtherewerede-
velopmentsinscience. Hahnemannwasbornone
yearbeforeMozart,andthewritersGoetheand
Schillerwerehiscontemporaries. Thisperiodalsosawarevolutioninthought. Eighteenth-centuryGermanywasthebirthplaceofthe
4•TheFounder THEHISTORYOFHOMEOPATHY
political,spiritualandintellectualmovementnow
knownastheEnlightenment; thefreedomofthought
andopinionitencouragedwasimportantforthebirth
anddevelopmentofhomeopathy. Hahnemannwasthethirdoffivechildrenborninto
apoorbutuprightanddevoutlyProtestantfamily. He
waseducatedinitiallybyhisparents. Hisfather,aman
ofhighprinciplesanddeepreligiousbelief,taught
himnevertolearnorlistenpassivelybuttoquestion
everything. Legendtellsusthatbeforehisfatherwent
toworkhewouldlocktheboyinhisroomwitha
'problem'tothinkthrough,releasinghimonhisre-
turnonlyifhehadthecorrectanswer. Theyoung
Samuelappearstohavetakenlearningveryseriously;
hecertainlyhadaninordinatethirstforknowledge
andisreportedtohavebeenagiftedandcleverchild,
thoughoftenailingfromover-studyingandhisfam-
ily'seconomiccircumstances. Atschool,histeachers
recognisedhisunusualintelligenceandhewasnot
chargedtheusualfees. Hisgreatesttalentswerefor
languages,mathematics,geometryandbotany. Byteachingandtranslating,Hahnemannpaidhis
waythroughtheUniversityofLeipzig,wherehe
studiedmedicineandchemistry. Hequalifiedasa
doctorin1791andpractisedmedicineforaboutnine
years,duringwhichtimehemarried. Increasingly,
however,hebecamedisillusionedbythecrueland
ineffectivetreatmentsofhistime(blood-letting,purg-
ings,poisonousdrugswithhorrendoussideeffects)
andtookthecourageousdecisiontogiveuphisprac-
tice,concentratinginsteadonstudy,research,writing
andtranslation:
Jcannotreckononmuchincomefrompractice. Iam
tooconscientious toprolongillnessormakeitappear
moredangerousthanitreallyis. Itwasagonyforme
towalkalwaysindarkness,when1hadtohealthesick,
andtoprescribe,accordingtosuchorsuchanhypothesis
concerningdiseases,substanceswhichowedtheirplacein
theMateriaMedicatoanarbitrarydecision. Soon
aftermymarriage, 1renouncedthepracticeofmedicine,
that1mightnolongerincurtheriskofdoinginjury,
and1engagedexclusivelyinchemistryandinliterary
occupations. Thismeantthatformanyyearshisfamilywas
extremelypoor,withHahnemann, hiswifeanda
growingnumberofchildrenlivingattimesinonlyone
roomandwithlittlemorethanbreadandfreshairas
sustenance. Thefirstproving
OneofthemajorworksHahnemanntranslatedwas
DrWilliamCullen'sATreatiseonMateriaMedica. Cullen(1710-90)wasanEdinburghteacher,physicianandchemist,andhisbookincludedanessayon
PeruvianbarkorCinchona(whichhomeopaths call
China),fromwhichquinine,thetreatmentformalaria,
isderived. CullenattributedCinchona'sabilitytocure
malaria,withitssymptomsofperiodicfever,sweating
andpalpitations, toitsbitterness. Hahnemann,scep-
ticalofthisexplanation,testedsmalldosesonhimself
andwroteinaletter:
/tookbywayofexperiment,twiceaday,fourdrachmsof
goodChina. Myfeet,fingerends,etc. ,atfirstbecame
quitecold;1grewlanguidanddrowsy;thenmyheart
begantopalpitate,andmypulsegrewhardandsmall;
intolerableanxiety,trembling,prostrationthroughout
allmylimbs;thenpulsation,inthehead,rednessofmy
cheeks,thirst,and,inshort,allthesesymptomswhichare
ordinarilycharacteristicofintermittentfever,madetheir
appearance,oneaftertheother,yetwithoutthepeculiar
chilly,shiveringrigor. Briefly,eventhosesymptoms
whichareofregularoccurrenceandespeciallycharacter-
istic-asthestupidityofmind,thekindofrigidityinall
thelimbs,butaboveallthenumb,disagreeablesensation,
whichseemstohaveitsseatintheperiosteum,overevery
boneinthewholebody-allthesemadetheirappearance. Thisparoxysmlastedtwoorthreehourseachtime,and
recurred, if1repeatedthisdose,nototherwise; Idis-
continued itandwasingoodhealth. Inotherwords,HahnemannobservedthatCin-
chonaproducedinahealthypersonthesymptomsof
malaria,theverydiseasethatitwasknowntocure. Thisdiscoverywastobeofgreatimportanceinthe
developmentofhomeopathictheoryandpractice. By
observingthesymptomsanysubstanceproduced
whengiventoahealthyperson,Hahnemanncould
discoverthehealingpropertiesofthatsubstance. Physicianshadlonggrappledwiththisproblemand
theDoctrineofSignatures,whichstatesthataplant
willactonthatpartofthebodywhichitmostre-
semblesinappearance,wasanattempttounderstand
thehealingpowersofnaturalremedies. Hahnemann
haddiscoveredanexperimentalbasisthatwouldsys-
tematicallyyieldvastlymoreaccurateandspecific
informationabouttheindividualsubstancestested. Theprocedurewascalled'proving'(i. e. testing)a
remedy. Likecureslike:thefirstlawofhomeopathy
discovered
Thestandardmedicalassumptionhadalwaysbeen
thatifthebodyproducedasymptomtheappropriate
treatmentwouldbeanantidote,anoppositeor'con-
trary'medicinetothatsymptom. Forexample,con-
stipationwouldbetreatedwithlaxatives,which
producediarrhoea. Hahnemann'sexperiencewith
THEHISTORYOFHOMEOPATHY TheFounder •5
Cinchonaindicatedthatadifferentprincipleoftreat-
mentmightapply. Hahnemannwouldhavebeen
familiarwithHippocrates'writingsoncuringwith
'similars',andsoitmusthavebeenwithgreatexcite-
mentthatheembarkedonfurtherexperimentsthat
confirmedthisprinciple. Hecalledthissimiliasimilitruscurentur,or'letlikeshe
curedwithlike',andthisprincipleofcuringwith
similarsbecamethefirstlawofasystemofhealinghe
called'homeopathy',fromtheGreekhomoias(similar)
andpathos(sufferingordisease),inordertodiffer-
entiateitfromorthodoxmedicine,whichhecalled
'allopathy',meaning'oppositesuffering'. ///mistakenot,practicalmedicineliasdevisedthreeways
ofapplyingremediesforthereliefofdisordersofthe
humanbody. Thefirstmethod,thatofremovingor
destroyingthecausesofthemalady,thatispreventive
treatment. Thesecondandmostcommon,contraria
contraris,thatishealingbyopposites,suchasthe
palliativetreatmentofconstipationbylaxatives. the
third. similiasimilibus,thatis,inordertocure
disease,wemustseekmedicinesthatcanexcitesimilar
symptomsinthehealthybody. Hahnemannwrotethisin1796. Duringthenextsix
yearsheconductedmanyprovingsonhisfamilyand
friends,andalsostudiedaccountsofthesymptoms
shownbyvictimsofaccidentalpoisonings. Finallyhesetupinmedicalpracticeagain,butwith
adifferentbasisforhisprescriptions. Heusedthe
materialhehadgatheredfromtheprovingsandinhis
patientslookedforthesimilimum-theremedywhose
'symptompicture'(basedontheprovings)most
matchedthatofhispatient. Hismethodsweremet
withdisbeliefandhewasridiculedbycolleagues,but
thepatientsflowedinandtheastonishingresults
Hahnemannachievedverifiedhistheory. Healsodifferedfromconventionalpractitioners in
givingonlyoneremedyatatime,whichwasunheard
ofinanagewhenapothecariesmadefortunesbv
mixingnumeroussubstances,manyofwhichwere
highlynoxious. Thisearnedhimenemiesamongthe
pharmacists. Theminimumdose
Hahnemanndidnotstopthere. Dissatisfiedwiththe
sideeffectsofhisdilutedmedicines,heexperimented
withsmallerandsmallerdosesofthesesinglerem-
ediesinordertominimisethesideeffects. Hefound,
however,thatwhenhedilutedamedicinesufficiently
toeradicatethesideeffects,itnolongereffecteda
cure. Hethereforedevelopedanewmethodofdilu-
tion:insteadofsimplystirringthesubstanceaftereach
dilutionheshookitvigorously. Thisshakinghecalled'succussion'andtheresultantremedya'potentised
remedy'. Hefoundthatnotonlydidhenowobtainaremedy
thathadnosideeffectsbutthatthemorehediluted
usingsuccussion,themoreeffectivelyhisremedy
cured. Hebelievedthattheshakingreleasedthe
strengthorenergyofthesubstance(involvingsome
sortofimprintingonthewater/alcohol solvent),with
noneofitstoxiceffectsremaining. Hahnemannnumberedthepotentisedremedies
accordingtothenumberoftimestheyhadbeendi-
luted:aremedydilutedsixtimes(takingoutone-
hundredthoftheliquideachtimeandadding"/100
alcohol)wascalleda6C(seepage13). Initiallyhe
prescribedremediesthathadbeendiluteduptothe
sixthpotency;thenheexperimentedwiththehigher
dilutions,findingthemmoreeffectivestill. Inhis
lifetimeheprescribeduptothethirtiethpotency. His
followerstookdilutionevenfurther. Thisprocessofdilutionincurredyetmorewrath
andderisionfromthemedicalestablishment,who
couldnotexplain,andthereforecouldnotaccept,how
anythingsodilutecouldhaveanyeffect. Yetdespite
opposition,homeopathysurvivedandspreadremark-
ablyquickly-because itwasremarkablyeffective. TheOrganonandotherpublications
Hahnemann's literaryoutputduringhislifewaspro-
digious. Heprovedaboutonehundredremedies,
wroteoverseventyoriginalworksandtranslated
abouttwenty-fourEnglish,French,ItalianandLatin
textsonawiderangeofsubjects. Healsocorre-
spondedwithhomeopaths,colleaguesandfriends
throughouttheworld,allinadditiontohisvastdaily
practice. In1810Hahnemannpublishedthefirsteditionof
TheOrganonofRationalMedicine(laterTheOrganonof
theHealingArt),whichrantosixeditions,eachone
modifiedandexpanded. Inithesetoutclearlythe
homeopathicphilosophyorsystemofbelief. In
thesameyear,whenLeipzigwasattackedinthe
Napoleoniccampaignsand80,000menwereslaugh-
tered,Hahnemann'streatmentsofthesurvivorsand
alsoofvictimsofthegreattyphusepidemicthatfol-
lowedthesiegewerehighlysuccessfulandfurther
increasedhisreputation. HelecturedatLeipzigUniversity,wherehistheor-
eticallectures,whichoftendeterioratedintoviolent
tiradesagainstthemedicalpracticesofdoctorsand
apothecaries,earnedhimthenickname'RagingHurri-
cane'. However,afewmedicalpractitionerswere
preparedtogoagainstthemainstreamofopinionand
anumbertrainedunderhimandtookhisteachings
outintotheworld. Bytheearly1820shehadalsobuilt
upathrivingpractice. 6•TheFounder THEHISTORYOFHOMEOPATHY
Between1811and1821Hahnemannpublishedhis
MateriaMedicaPurainsixvolumes;thisrepresented
theresultsoftheprovingssofarundertaken-
thousandsofsymptomsforsixty-sixremedies. The
provingsweremeticulousandpainstaking,butitis
worthremembering thatinHahnemann's experi-
mentsnothingwasdonetoeliminatethepowerof
suggestion:proversknewwhatsubstancetheywere
taking. Remediesweregiveninweakdilutionsand
notinpotentiseddoses. Coffee,tea,wine,brandyand
spicyorsaltyfoodwereallbannedfromtheprovers'
diets,althoughalittlebeerwasallowed. Gamesand
workactivitywererestricted,butmoderateexercise
wasencouraged. In1828Hahnemann's ChronicDiseasesandTheir
HomeopathicCureappeared (iteventuallyrantofive
volumes). InitheelaboratedonthephilosophyofThe
Organon,addingmoreremediesasaresultofhis
experiencesinsuccessfullytreatingchronicpatients. Hediscussedtheuseofhigherpotencies-uptothe
30thpotency-andintroducedtheconceptof'miasms'
toaccountforthefailureofsomepatientstorespond
totreatmentwithremedieswhichclearlvmatched
theirsymptoms. Amongsuchpeoplehefoundahis-
toryofcertaindiseasesanddiscoveredthathewas
abletolinkthetendencytoparticulartypesofcon-
ditiontoalegacyinthepatient'sinheritedhealth. He
developedawayoftreatingtheseblockstohealth
homeopathically. Successwithcholera
In1831cholerasweptthroughCentralEurope. Hahnemannpublishedpapersonthehomeopathic
treatmentofthedisease,advocatingtheadministra-
tionoftheremedyCamphorintheearlystagesand
Cuprummetallicum,Veratrumalbum,Bryoniaalbaand
Rhustoxicodendron inthelaterstages. Healsostressed
thatclothingandbeddingshouldbeheatedtodestroy
'allknowninfectiousmatters'andadvisedcleanliness,
ventilationanddisinfectionoftherooms,andquaran-
tine. Insuchrespectshisideaswerefaraheadofhis
time:theworkofPasteuronthegermtheoryof
diseaseandthatofListerondisinfectionwerestillto
come. InRaabinHungary,onlysixoutof154
homeopathically treatedpatientsdied,comparedwith
almost59percentofthosetreatedconventionally. ElsewherethroughoutEurope,cholerawasmoresuc-
cessfullytreatedwithhomeopathythanwithortho-
doxmedicine;mortalityratesvariedbetween2. 4and
21. 1percentcomparedwith50percentormorein
conventionaltreatment. In1833theLeipzigHomeopathicHospitalwas
opened,butin-fightingbetweenhomeopaths,the
autocraticcontrollinginfluenceofHahnemannandtheextremepolarisationthathomeopathycaused
withinthemedicalprofessioncreatedtensionsthat
finallyledtoitsdissolutionin1842. Hahnemann's finalyears
In1834acertainMademoiselleMarieMelanied'Her-
villytravelledfromParistoconsultHahnemann(now
agedseventy-nineandawidower)inKothen,where
hewasestablished. Shewasanattractive,intelligent
societyladyofaboutthirty,andaself-styledartistwho
hadcausedaminorscandalbydressingasaman. AfterreadingTheOrganonshecametostudywith
Hahnemann,claimingthatshehadavocationfor
medicine. WithinsixmonthsofherarrivalinKothen
theyweremarried,muchtothehorrorofHahne-
mann'sremainingfamily. TheymovedtoParisandset
uphouseinthefashionableruedeMilan,where
Hahnemannestablishedaprosperouspractice,con-
tinuingtoworklongdayswithhispatients,richand
pooralike,maintaininghis'nocure,nofee'system. Melaniehelpedherhusbandbytakingnotesand
begantotreatpatientsunderhissupervision. On2July1843,attheageofeighty-eight,Hahne-
manndiedinParisafterafewmonthsofbronchial
catarrh. Melanierefusedtoallowfriendsandfamilyto
visitthebody;therewerenoinvitationstothefuneral
andHahnemannwasburiedinapublicgraveinthe
cemeteryatMontmartre. Fifty-fiveyearslaterhisbody
wasexhumedandreburiedinthefamousPere
Lachaisecemeteryalongwithpoets,musiciansand
fieldmarshals. MelanieHahnemanncontinuedtopractiseafterhis
death;asshehadhadnoformalmedicaltraining,she
wasthefirstwomanlayhomeopath. Presumably
wealthyafterHahnemann's death,sherefusedto
helpherGermanrelations,andwithheldvariousof
herhusband'snotesandwritings,includingthe
sixtheditionofTheOrganon,againstrepeatedrequests
fromhomeopaths. Sheheldoutforenormoussums,
gainingareputationforbeingshrewdandcalcu-
lating. Unpopularandisolated,shediedattheageof
seventy-eight. SamuelHahnemannlivedbeforethegermtheoryof
diseasehadbeenproposed,beforethermometers, the
X-rayandantibioticsmademedicineappearin-
creasingly'scientific'. Yet,aswehaveseen,inhis
ideasandinhisapproach,hewascertainlyamanof
scienceandaninnovator. Hewasamanofsufficient
intellectandculturetocombinescienceandmeta-
physics. Consciouslyorunconsciously,hedrewon
thetraditionsofGermanfolk-medicine,alchemyand
magic,aswellasthedevelopments inchemistry,
pathology,pharmaceuticsandmedicinewhichinthe
lateeighteenthandearlynineteenthcenturieswere
THEHISTORYOFHOMEOPATHY Hahnemann'sFollowers •7
beginningtomakemedicaldiagnosisandtreatment
bothmoreaccurateandmorehumane. Although
broughtupinaProtestanthousehold,inlaterlifehe
becameareligiousfree-thinker,believingthatGod
permeatedeverylivingthing. Healsoseemstohave
believedthathewasdivinelychosenandguidedinhis
work. Hisdevelopmentofasafeandeffectivesystem
ofmedicinehasgiventheworldapricelessgift. HAHNEMANN'SFOLLOWERS
Hahnemannwasapparentlyanirritable(andirri-
tating)manwithapenchantforantagonismwhich
seemstohavelivedoninmanyofhisfollowers. They
weremostlydoctorswhobecame'converted'to
homeopathy. TwosuchconvertswereConstantine
HeringandJamesTylerKent. midwifery. Inall,3500homeopathsweretrainedby
thecollege. Heringcontinuedtoproveremediesthroughouthis
lifeandwroteextensively. Heisbestremembered
todayforhisLawsofCure(seepage15). Healsotook
Hahnemann'smiasmtheoriesastagefurther,de-
velopingtheideathatanydiseasecouldleavea'tainf
ormiasm. Hedevelopedpotentiseddiseaseproducts
withwhichheexperimentedbygivingthemtopeople
whohadneverbeenwellsincesufferingfromapar-
ticulardisease. Forexample,hepotentisedthespu-
tumofapersonsufferingfromtuberculosisandgaveit
topatientswhohadneverbeenreallywellsince
sufferingfromtuberculosisthemselves. Thismethod
oftreatmentclearedthemiasm,andenabledthein-
dicatedremediestowork. Thiswasnot'classical'
homeopathyasHahnemannhaddeveloped it,and
hassincebeencalled'isopathy'-thatis,treatingwith
thesamethingratherthanwithasimilarthing. ConstantineHering(1800-80)
HeringstudiedmedicineatLeipzigUniversity,
where,afterpublicationofTheOrganon,hisprofessor
askedhimtowriteapaperdisprovingHahnemann's
theories. FarfrombeingabletodiscreditHahnemann,
hefoundhimselfgreatlyinterestedandabandoned
thepaper. Hewasalsosuccessfullytreatedforan
inflammationofthehandthatthreatenedamputation
afterawoundbecameinfectedwhilehewasdissect-
ing,andthisconvincedhimfurther. Hebecamein-
volvedinthehomeopathicworldandjoinedthe
Provers'Union,whichmeanthehadtomoveto
anotheruniversityinordertocompletehismedical
trainingbecauseofthehostilityatLeipzigtowards
homeopathy. In1827HeringtravelledtoSouthAmericaona
voyageofbotanicalexploration(financedbytheKing
ofSaxony)andsentdetailsofhisresearchesbackto
Germany-includingtheprovingsofLachesisthebush-
mastersnake(seepage105),whichhepersonally
undertook,askinghiswifetorecordeverythingthat
hesaidanddidwhilehewasdeliriousfromthe
venom. OnhiswaybacktoEuropehestoppedoffinPhil-
adelphiaandwaspersuadedtostaytobecomeoneof
thefoundingfathersofhomeopathy intheUSA. He
setupthefirsttrainingacademy(whichcloseddown
afterthefundswereembezzledbyadishonestsec-
retary),thenopenedtheHahnemannMedicalCol-
lege,whichflourishedandgrewalmosttouniversity
status. Ithad70professorsandlecturers,and300
studentstrainingatanyonetime,treating50,000
patientsand6000out-patientcasesayearinageneral
hospitalwith200bedsaswellasaspecialwingforJamesTylerKent(1849-1916)
AfterqualifyingasaphysicianinhisnativeAmerica,
Kentpractisedorthodoxmedicineuntilhisfirstwife
became illanddemandedhomeopathictreatment. ThesuccessofthistreatmentconvertedKentandhe
devotedhisremarkableenergytohomeopathy. A
manwithahighmoralsenseandanequallystrong
beliefinhisownlightnessandauthority,Kent'swrit-
ingsaredogmatic,muchlikeHahnemann's later
works. Headvocatedtheuseofveryhighpotencies-upto
CMandMM(seepage13)andmainlyprescribed
abovethe30thpotency(Machineryhadbythen
beeninventedtosuccusstheremediesandfacilitate
themakingofhigherdilutions. )Thepracticeofhigh-
potencyprescribingledtoasplitamongAmerican
homeopathsandtomuchin-fightingbetween'high'
(30andabove)and'low'(upto30)prescribers. Kent'smajorpublishedworksarehisRepertory,his
PhilosophyandhisMateriaMedica. TheRepertory,
whichismoresystematicandreadable-andtherefore
moreaccessible-thanearlierones,istheonestillmost
inusetoday. HisMateriaMedicawas-andis-also
themostaccessibletodate. Hedeveloped'pictures'of
theremedies-'constitutional types',astheybecame
known-fromthepatients'emotionalsymptoms,
identifying,forexample,'Sulphurpatients',whowere
scruffyandlazy('raggedphilosophers', ashetermed
them). Thisapproachmovedawayfromthepurely
scientificandpathologicalunderstanding oftherem-
edies. ThosewhoadoptedKent'snewmethods,along
withhigh-potency prescribing,becameknownas
Kentians. Hisinfluenceincreasedafterhisdeath,both
intheUSAandabroad. 8•TheNineteenthCentury THEHISTORYOFHOMEOPATHY
TheNineteenthCentury
HomeopathyintheUSA
Inthe1820s,whenhomeopathyarrivedintheUSA,
thestateoforthodoxmedicinewas,ifanything,worse
thanitwasinEurope. Thepracticeofalmostcom-
pletelydrainingthebodyofblood(four-fifthswerelet)
wasadvocated,evenforchildren. Adrugknownas
'Calomel'(Mercuriuschloride),whichhadbeenintro-
ducedoriginallytocuresyphilis,wasusedasastan-
dard'purgative'; itssideeffectswerelossofteethand
seizureofthejawsnecessitatingmajorsurgery,and/or
deathfrommercurypoisoning. Asmanyordinarypeopleconsultedherbalistsand
bone-setters,homeopathywaseasilyacceptedand
quicklyflourished. Homeopathswereseentobewell-
educatedandhard-workingpeople,andthe'meta-
physical'backgroundappealedtomanychurch
people. Itwasadoptedinparticularbyfollowersof
Swedenborg(1689-1772),avisionarywho'received'
informationaboutthespiritworldandthecosmosand
believedthathewasavehicleforanewreligious
revelation. Hiswritingsappealedtopeoplewhowere
studyingthenewsciences,suchasDarwinism,and
whowereconcernedabouttheconflictbetweenscience
andorthodoxreligion. Formanyhomeopaths this
blendofreasonandmysticismwasideal. Kent,like
HeringandmanyotherAmericanhomeopaths,wasa
Swedenborgian. In1846theAmericanMedicalAssociationwas
founded. Itadoptedacodeofethicswhichforbadeits
membersfromconsultinghomeopaths,andlocaland
statemedicalsocietiesweretoldtopurgethemselves
ofhomeopathsandtheirsympathisers. Nonetheless,
homeopathyhadmadeapositivemarkonorthodox
medicine-blood-lettingabated,medicaltrainingim-
provedandseveralhomeopathicremediesfoundtheir
wayintoallopathicprescribing. Publicdemandfor
homeopathictreatmentcontinued. The1860sthroughtothe1880ssawtheheydayof
Americanhomeopathy. Practitionersprovedevery
conceivableremedy,oftenatgreatcosttotheirown
health;someeveninvolvedtheirchildreninthe
provings. Hospitalsandtrainingprogrammeswere
establishedand,atitspeak,therewerefifty-six
homeopathichospitals,thirteenmentalasylums,nine
homeopathicchildren'shospitalsandfifteensanator-
iums,withthousandsoftrainedhomeopaths
throughoutthecountry. Thehomeopathictraining
collegesexcludedneitherwomennorblackpeople,as
wasthecasewiththeirallopathiccounterparts. Ashomeopathyappearedtobecomemoresettledin
theUSAbothfinanciallyandpolitically,intense
battlesdevelopedbetweenhigh-andlow-potencyprescribers. Thepuristsbecamehigh-potency prescri-
bers,centredaroundKent'steachings;therevisionists
becamelow-potencyprescriberswhomovedtowards
pathologicaldiagnosis,giving,forexample,a
homeopathicprescriptionforanulcerratherthan
treatingthepatient'sconstitution (i.
Miranda Castro
Who is the author of the book "The Complete Homeopathy Handbook"?
The Organon
What is the name of the first edition of Hahnemann's work that introduced the concept of "curing with similars"?
To enable the reader to use homeopathic medicines safely and effectively at home in a variety of first-aid situations.
According to the text, what is the goal of the book?
James Tyler Kent
What is the name of the second homeopath who is mentioned in the text?
The Complete Homeopathy Handbook
What is the name of the book that Miranda Castro is concerned about, in relation to the use of homeopathic medicine?