That it so widely is not correctly applied is and has been painfully evident; that there are distortions of the law of similars is also true, but these departures from principle should not restrain us from seeking more practical methods of applying our remedies in the endeavor to benefit the thousands who are now bereft of a method of cure which has stood for 150 years as a successful and safe means of healing the sick. As with every law, the law of similars has its limitations of application, but these in no way militate against its truth. What is sorely needed is the wide spreading of this truth to all who have open minds and who can be convinced. May the day be not too far distant when this goal can be reached.
It has been stated that provings, as it were, speak the language of the sick man; this of course, is true and the completed proving is to be looked upon as an artificial disease, a counterpart to all intents and purposes of the sick individual; whenever this resemblance between the symptoms of the drug, as elicited by the prover, and those of the individual who is ill, is an exact one, we may rightfully speak of a similimum and then confidently expect a speedy cure by the remedy which has thus been indicated.
It is true that such an exact resemblance does not always occur; the reasons are several and usually are to be found in the faulty taking of the case. Here, the physician may be to blame and his failure is likely to be due to his insufficient knowledge of the principles of homoeopathy. These are definite and must be thoroughly understood, for any misconception is bound to lead to disappointment on the part of both physician and patient, more particularly the latter. However, he himself may be the cause of failure for not stating his symptoms clearly and in their entirety. Furthermore, there are patients who, from a sense of false modesty or from fear to reveal facts of which they may be unwarrantedly ashamed, do not tell the physician all that lies in the back of the mind.
After all, physicians must be and are, consciously or not, men and women who possess a deep under- standing of human nature, its frailties, its weaknesses and faults. These, especially in chronic diseases and where the emotions are easily disturbed, should be revealed to the homoeopathic physician in all necessary detail, not only for his guidance of the patient, but also because these very frailties as emotionally expressed often lead to the choice of the correct remedy. Hahnemann and his followers placed great importance upon mental symptoms and these have been carefully compiled and tabulated in our repertories for the use of the physician. It is of much interest to study these mental symptoms, for frequently they lead to cure.
Thus the case of a man may be cited, who was in the tertiary stage of syphilis and who had a very highly inflamed tongue, a condition technically known as glossitis and one which was extremely painful, leading him to despair so that he constantly spoke of committing suicide. Aurum metallicum cured him, for this noble metal, so highly prized and so eagerly sought after, when potentized in the homoeopathic pharmacopoeial manner, actually produces intense melancholy with profound suicidal thoughts and impulses. It remained for Hahnemann to give us this information which enables the student of materia medica to achieve happy results when the symptoms of Aurum metallicum are present.
From which it may be seen in how many devious ways gold can and does affect us all. To be without it, may be disastrous, to possess it, may be a curse. But from the standpoint of homoeopathic practice it is often a great blessing.
From the above it will again be seen how much emphasis must be placed upon careful case taking. When employing the repertories of von Boenninghausen and Kent a different technique must be used, for these compilations are by no means a mere listing of known symptoms, in as much as they proceed from “generals” to “particulars”, a statement which, for the layman especially, as well as for many physicians, needs clarification. What is meant by these terms? A general symptom is one which pertains to, or is predicated of, the patient himself; in large measure it qualifies and distinguishes him from another individual who may be afflicted in more or less the same manner as he.
It has to do with his general reactions, those, e.g., relating to heat or cold, seasonal changes, weather changes such as wet weather, the imminence of storms, the likes and dislikes with reference to foods, condiments, etc., the mental states of the patient. Kent spoke of such modalities as the loves and hates, for such they often are. These must be distinguished from mere preferences, such as a preference for sweets or for acids. A marked craving for salt, e.g., suggests Natrum muriaticum and Phosphorus, although other remedies, such as Carbo vegetabilis and Veratrum album, must be thought of. Each patient must be individualized.
Obviously, repertory analysis must be left to Hahnemannian physicians; it is for them to evaluate the particular case presented to them. In this evaluation diagnosis must, of course, be determined as accurately as possible, for physicians must know with what they are dealing. This is especially necessary for the Hahnemannian, for he, in his evaluation of the case, must determine whether the condition of the patient, his disease, is one which can be relieved or cured by homoeopathy. The condition may be one calling for surgery or for some other form of therapy which lies without the scope of the law of similars physiotherapy, for example.
Many forms of pathological tissue changes, in their earlier stages, can be overcome by a homoeopathic remedy prescribed for the patient as an individual, but when pathology has advanced too far, and when, at the same time, the symptoms peculiar to the patient himself are submerged by his pathological lesions, then the issue becomes one of great uncertainty so far as cure through medicinal measures is concerned. Such cases occur and when they do if surgery is for any reason contra-indicated, it may be possible to palliate painful or other symptoms pertaining to the lesion, whatever this may be, and thus make the patient more comfortable.
In an inoperate cancer, it may at times be possible to mitigate the burning pains with the remedy Euphorbia heterodoxa in potency. The homoeopathic materia medica is a vast one, but a large number of its medicines have not received a thorough proving or even any at all, yet from clinical experience we know what they can do. Here is where homoeopathic research is so badly needed. If sufficient funds are to be obtained, the homoeopathic profession, more particularly in the East, will have to become a far stronger and more united unit than it now is.
Research in homoeopathy may yet be the salvation of our school.
A recent case, which illustrates very strikingly what homoeopathic prescribing is capable of where definite pathology had appeared in its early stages, is the following. A young woman of 23, unmarried, was seized with pain in a molar tooth in the left lower jaw. Her dentist upon examination found an impacted tooth which he proceeded to draw under the action of novocain. With the tooth out, he discovered a soft, pulpy mass embedded beneath the roots of the tooth; fearing infection and abscess formation, he gave the patient Penicillin by mouth, but with no change on the following day. He repeated this antibiotic in much larger dosage and this time, hypodermatically. There was still no improvement on the next day, when the patient came to me for homoeopathic treatment.
A rather large, hard tumor which bulged out from the patients lower jaw presented itself, distorting the face very decidedly. With a possible abscess in mind, a dose of Silicea 1000. was given, but on the next day no change in the tumor was found. The mouth could hardly be opened, compelling the patient to resort to liquid nourishment. The true status of the condition was then borne upon the prescriber and Hecla lava 30., a single powder each night, was prescribed.
Within two days definite reduction in the size of the swelling was evident, and after four days more, the face looked perfectly normal and the young woman could open her mouth much further. A small tumor could still be felt, but was no longer as sensitive as the hard mass at first had been. One dose of the same remedy in the 1000. potency was now given and will finish the case. No other system of medicine can possibly equal such a rapid result. Unfortunately, very few physicians know of this useful remedy and these are all Hahnemannian physicians.
Here is a remedy which cannot be found in any repertory and its selection through repertorial analysis cannot, therefore, be made. Hecla lava is the ash found on Iceland coming from the lava of Mt. Hecla. This ash contains Silica, Alumina, Lime, Magnesia and some Iron oxide. An Englishman, Garth Wilkinson, first called attention to it as a result of his travels in Iceland. He found that sheep and horses, also cows, were affected by this ash, more especially the finer ash which had fallen at a distance from the volcano. The gross ash, nearer to the mountain, was inert. Thus we see that even in the crude state, this remedy was more poisonous to animals in its finer form than the coarse ash itself.
American Homeopathy Doctor.
Rabe graduated from the New York Homeopathic Medical College and trained under Timothy Field Allen and William Tod Helmuth.
Rabe was President of the International Hahnemannian Association, editor in chief of the Homeopathic Recorder, and he wrote Medical Therapeutics for daily reference. Rabe was Dean and Professor of Homeopathic Therapeutics at the New York Homeopathic Medical College.