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NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 1999 Jul / Aug VOL VIII NO 4.
In the article "The Other Dimensions of DUB"- the author, Dr S Praveen Kumar, makes two significant statements. To quote:
- If we analyze the case, all that was desperately needed was iron and when it was rightly supplemented, she became completely all right.
- In the second case, the lady was prescribed iron capsules and she recovered completely."
- Lack of a balanced diet.
- Diet fads imposed for cosmetic reasons.
- Poverty -induced deficiency states where supplements will only aggravate unless sufficient food is made available.
(Boericke & Tafel 1950 Edn). "Iron is no more of a panacea for anaemia than is quinine for malaria... If the element is deficient in the blood, the fault lies in the assimilation processes...It is also true that when iron is introduced with a view to supplying a deficiency of iron in the blood, that it is not assimilated, but may be almost entirely obtained from the faeces; black, hard stools having been eliminated by the intestines...Iron does not act as a curative agent by virtue of its absorption as a constituent of the blood. I have seen better cures of bad cases of anaemia by Natrum-muriaticum in potentised form than I ever did from iron in any form, although Iron has its cases, so also has Pulsatilla.
The two printed pages which Dr Nash has devoted to this question of mineral supplements to correct its deficiency is one of the classics of Homoeopathic knowledge, which I first read in 1954 and has remained green in my memory ever since- unforgettable and unforgotten.
May I recommend re-reading of this passage in its full text to Dr Praveen Kumar and other readers of NJH? One last word- Is it not a fact that some patients receiving mineral supplements of iron, develop severe skin allergies etc, in addition to the more commonly observed constipation?
Dr Lakkshminarayanan Hyderabad
Editor: I am sure both views have their place. I have always been a staunch Homoepath, but looking back, I feel I was a little foolhardy (or too zealous) in my earlier days, when I would not allow any Iron and keep prescribing Ferrum etc, with a very slow increase in Hb. Today I advocate iron when the Hb is below 8 gms/ and Iron in 3 months brings it to N. The constitutional is continued simultaneously.
Still I do not deny that there are other situations too. Certainly Nash's article is worth a second reading.
Ever since I started subscribing to the NJH in June 98, I have been greatly impressed by your editorials and articles which reveal a personality imbibed with great humanness and sincerity, in addition to scholarship and vast experience. I thank you for the NJH and I wish you and the team all the best in your endevours.
Rama Prabhakaran, Chennai
- The issue Vol VIII No 1 of 1999 of your Journal contains the report on Homoeopathic Conference 1998, Mangalore. The report is candid and encourages organisers to do better in future seminars. I still cherish the memory of your company during our last seminar. Your participation has made the seminar a memorable one.
Dr S K Tiwari, Principal, Fr Muller’s Hom College, Mangalore. - I am a regular reader of your magazine and especially admired the crossword article that used to appear in it. I have with me a few articles based on the same lines. I would like to know whether I can send such articles for publication?
Dr Amitha P Baliga
