I may say here when a patient in any disease has still many non- pathognomonic symptoms (symptoms of himself) there is a hope of cure. But unfortunately in cases at the end and in many chronic diseases e.g. multiple sclerosis there are almost no symptoms of the patient. You have only symptoms of the disease. All those individualising symptoms fade away. These cases then become difficult to cure. That is why I insist that you find the non- pathognomonic symptoms.
The first thing after having heard the patient is to allow him to tell all about the disease. Ofcourse, I suppose you ask him first what are the things for which he is coming to consult you. Then you let him talk. If they talk too long, ask them to come again. They will always come and then they are finished you must not be pleased with it. You must ask, `what is more?” when he has ceased, still ask him, “Tell me more.” So you must ask, you must express from them every detail, till they tell everything about their sickness, all they may know about their disease.
You may find sometimes that after every symptom has been taken down, a lady patient coming back again with a long list of symptoms giving again a different story. Otherwise, she will tell you that you have not had the time to listen to her, you were in a great hurry. So when I see it is along case I always say, ” All right. Come along another time.” So when they come three, four or five times they begin to feel that they have described their illness enough.
Now is the time to yourself begin the questioning. When they have finished telling their story you begin to ask questions. Habitually, you can begin with the hereditary taints. It is interesting. You must know the patient religion too. Why the religion? Because you know for example in our country Catholics have many fears – fear of the flames in the inferno (hell) which protestants do not have. The Jewish have other kinds of fears. Then about the profession. It is interesting to know because our patients may have troubles because of their professions. So of course the first thing is to try to remove the cause. Then you must know how many children they have, if they are married or divorced once or twice or a third time, you begin to see the symptoms which are very probably of the animal sphere and it may be Lachesis or Sepia or something like that.
After you have asked the preliminary symptoms come the general symptoms. Ofcourse the general symptoms are such that everybody is supposed to be questioned about them. There you must know your repertory quite well. The first question is about the state of vital heat excess or lack of it – which is very important. Then about the time of the twentyfour hours when the patient feels worse, then about the climate modification, about the position, motion, about the air – snow air, mountain, seashore etc., about hot or cold water, about their clothing, if they like tight clothing or loose, about the question of woollen clothing then about the food, what are the foods which make them worse about the wounds whether they clear up easily or they suppurate easily or bleed freely etc. etc.
When you have asked about the general symptoms you become a little more acquainted with your patient he sees that you are interested in him. Then he is ready to give you some mental symptoms. Now, you have to judge if it is the time to go further. If you cannot ask mental symptoms you can go on then to the symptoms of desires and aversion in food.
The attention to the method, how you ask your questions is very important, for example, if you ask mental symptoms you can go on then to the symptoms of desires and aversion in food.
The attention to the method how you ask your question is very important for example if you ask the patient, “Do you like Namak, “Namak” is Hindi word of common salt. of course the patient will tell “Yes” or “no” But first you must never put a question that they can answer by a yes or no. It is not so easy. In this translation that I have made of the original Organon 6th edition is a series of questions. I made the translation because I found to my great astonishment that the man who had translated all the works of Hahnemann into French was an allopathic physician who never knew Homoeopathy! can you imagine? Nobody has ever found this out.
Hahnemann has never recognised any translation s perfect. So you see when I saw many mistakes, in shades, in very fine shades we found it necessary to bring out an edition where everything is written exactly as Hahnemann said). So hahnemann has made the questionnaire which is a marvellous thing where it is impossible to answer the question by a Yes or No. (But your English translation is not right at all. You cannot unfortunately rely on this translation. Hering who knew French, English and German was a keen student of Hahnemann and he has translated the Organon, 3rd edition. And we rely on this edition very much for many shades or meaning.
He only translated the 3rd edition – not 4th or 5th) And so Hahnemann. These questions, they are fascinating. Not one question can you answer by a yes or no. You do not ask the patient, ” Are you thirsty?” Because when you are referring soup or tea. Of course you can drink tea without being thirsty for the pleasure of taking tea, but that is not relevant here. So there are patients who think they drinks soup when they are thirsty but they is wrong. Some others drink lots of water and think they are not thirsty because it is at time of the meal. So you must be very cautious. “How much liquid do you need in a day?” or “what about thirst?” They cannot say yes or No. They must think. You cannot put questions like ” Are you jealous?” So you have to put such sort of questions as taught by Hahnemann. You can copy them. They are very nice. Such are the questions that they must be answered by the patient without being to say Yes or No in reply.
Another thing, Hahnemann has prepared 22 questions about diseases they will hide the patient will not tell you the truth or will not tell you at all. And Hahnemann has described 22 very interesting different diagnoses and disease or troubles that the patient hides. Or he hides something of his mind when there has been trouble about grief, or mortification or some wrong that the patient has committed that he will not tell you about. So you may know many interesting things by asking the questions that Hahnemann has put down. Ofcourse, a homoeopath, besides his homoeopathy, is able sometimes to know things which the patients will not tell him.
How is he able to do it? First observation. Second somebody has told him something before the patient came and therefore he knew something already. He must have good memory about it. Third, you have people who know graphology asking the patient to write something and you know many such things by knowing graphology. A good homoeopath should know graphology because it helps very much Now nominology may help through the name of the patient. Every name is a vibration.
The name that you are given when you are born is not something in the air. It is something that vibrates every time you are called, Paul or Samuel or something. This name has, in fact a science about it. Besides this, there is numerology. By the name and birth date of the patient you can tell his character. At once, you know his tendency. You know if he is stubborn, very sensitive to beauty or form or if he is a businessman etc. All these you know by the date of birth and if you have further a microscope you can look into his eyes and see by the form of his pupil what he is hiding.
For example once a young girl about 18 years of age came complaining that she had been having constipation for six months. She had gone to many physicians and had tried many laxatives, Either there was no result or they gave such side effects that she was sick many a time. Now the question is why was she constipated so much? She was going to the school and nothing was wrong was wrong. I looked into her eyes and the pupil which was supposed to be round was not round at all. In the 12 o’clock position was a sign of grief.
She was suffering from grief but she would not tell – a silent grief. The ailment was possibly due to silent grief May be it was ignatia or Nat. mur In a girl of 18, what can it be? It can only be a sweetheart and a sweetheart that she cannot tell her mother or father about it, or is opposed by the father or the mother. So I said to the girl, “I think you have a grief connected with your sweetheart.” She began to cry and the mother said. “Yes that is so but she would not tell me earlier.” This was the cause of th constipation. One does of Ignatia and she was cured at once. Since that time there has been no trouble though I had to arrange with the parents and the daughter how to manage the situation so that it can be accepted.
So you see, you can get information even by looking into the eyes. Now, this was in the right eye. If it is in the left eye, it is not all grief. This is funny. Every body is divided into two parts or two poles, the right one is father’s side, the left one is the mother’s side. If it is in the left eye, it is revengeful feeling or rage inside an angry feeling against somebody e.g. It could be finding so she comes every day already trembling and says all day she is constipated because she is always under fear. so this is interesting – ailment from fright and silent or suppressed anger. In this case, what is the remedy? Staphysagria? Ofcourse. What is full name of Staphysagria? Delphinum Staphy-sagria. It is a plant It can be rosy or blue. It has symptoms of indignation, angry feeling that you cannot express.
Dr. Schmidt was introduced to the results of homeopathic treatment during the 1918 flu epidemic while living in London. There he met both J. H. Clarke and John Weir.
In 1922 he came to the United States and began his studies with Alonzo Austin and Frederica Gladwin, who had been a pupil of Kent's. He became the first graduate of the American Foundation for Homeopathy course for doctors. Returning to his native land he set up practice in Geneva, Switzerland. He was responsible for reintroducing classical homeopathy into Europe, teaching several generations of physicians, including Elizabeth Wright Hubbard.
Dr. Schmidt helped edit the "Final General Repertory" of Kent, and translated the Organon into French. In 1925, he was one of the main founders of the Liga Medicorum Homoeopathic Internationalis (LIGA).