Materia Medica Notes and Tips
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 2001 Jan / Feb VOL III NO 1.
Compiled By
T K Kasiviswanathan
We come across several tidbits of information on Materia Medica of remedies and clinical tips while going through the past and present Homoeopathic Journals. I thought it worthwhile to segregate them and put them under this new section for ready reference and future compilation. We shall try to present some material in each issue. Hope readers find it useful. Please do write back-Kasiviswanathan.
Clinical Tips: Dr AU Ramakrishnan: This is from an interview with this renowned Homoeopath, who specializes in treating cancer and other incurable cases. Glioma: Plumbum- iodatum is found to be effective;
Epilepsy: It is curable. The first rule is do not stop the allopathic anti-epileptic medicines and after administering the indicated Homoeopathic remedy, and getting a response, allopathic medicines will have to be slowly tapered off. Hyoscyamus, Stram, Calcarea-ars, Cuprum-met, Viscum-alb in children and Aethusa are helpful.
In cerebro-vascular disorders: Baryta-mur, Lachesis and others in treating cerebral haemorrhage.
In Systemic Lupus Erythmatosus: Apis-mel.
For pituitary disorders: Phytolocca and Symphytum.
DUB with pituitary disorders where prolactin levels are high with symptoms of galactorrhea: Phytolacca is effective.
In hypothyrodism and thyrotoxicosis Spongia has given good results.
For DUB and endometriosis: Aurum-muriaticum-natronatum
Tubal blocks: Tuberculinum, Bacillinum, and Ars-iod
Enlarged ovaries: Apis-mel.
Urethral strictures: Staphy.
In sperm antibody positive cases: Thuja is the remedy of choice.
Status asthmaticus: Mag-phos one dose in 200 potency in a glass of water to be sipped every 2 minutes; also Ipecac, Kali-carb and Thuja; 200th potency is ideal for asthmatic conditions.
Acute renal failure: Apis- mel 30 in 10 half-hourly doses.
Glonoine in patients with total anuria, puffiness of face and pedal oedema with urinary continence.
Hyperacidity with UTI: Natrum-phos
Acute Appendicitis: Rhus-tox 30,200 (Homoeo Pulse- Pulse II-Winter 2001)
Kingdom Approach To Study Of Remedies:
(Homoeopathic Links-2-3/2000)
Dr Rajan Sankaran and Jan Scholten have been writing and presenting their approaches to study of remedies in various kingdoms. The Israeli Homoeopath Dr Chaim Rosenthal advocates a different approach to study of remedies in different kingdoms to understand the essence of remedies and prescribe better and also make a very good differential diagnosis between remedies appearing in the same rubrics in the repertory. According to him, and drawing much from Kabala, the main themes are:
Elements: Existence, being and consist
Salts: Structure, connection and balance
Plant: function, growth and digestion
Animal: motion; emotion, desire
Human: thinking, understanding and meaning.
He also classifies the miasms under different kingdoms as under:
Psora: inanimate ie elements and salts
Sycosis: plant kind of pathology
Syphilis: Animal kind of pathology
Cancer: Human kind of pathology.
Human organism consists of all the four kingdoms. Every remedy may affect different kingdoms in a different way. For prescribing it is necessary to identify in which kingdom the pathology is located and what kind it is. On that basis it is possible to decide on the potency also. Dr Rosenthal advises potency as under:
If the inanimate kingdom is affected- low potency up to 30c
If the plant kingdom is diseased: medium potency 30c-200c
If the animal kingdom is diseased: high potency 200-1M
If the human kingdom is diseased: 1M - 50M
Milk Remedies: To understand the milk remedies Dr Nancy Herrick in her seminar asked the participants to focus on breast of the mammal. It is an organ of nourishment, guidance and protection; it is soft, warm and yielding and mother is associated with the abundance of love as well as the potential to withhold this love.
The themes of different milk remedies as presented by her were:
Lac-lupinum (wolf milk): Death is all round us; children in danger and dying; preoccupation with mortality and immortality.
Lac-loxodonta (African elephant milk): a sense of ancient timelessness, homelessness, violence and brutality; strong sense of insufficient food.
Lac-delphinum (dolphin milk: Dolphins though aware of their danger feel safe nevertheless. The social and family structures provide protection to the young and there is a kind of herd security; their main desire is for play and fun.
Lac-equinum (horse milk): Strong desire to co-operate despite history of abuse in domesticated state; it has been a beast of burden; there is therefore a conflict between abuse and desire to please; the horse expresses an overwhelming sense of frustration; also concern of a mother for children, left-sidedness and severe headache.
Sanguis-soricis (rat blood): This remedy was made from rat blood as it was found difficult to get sample of rat milk. Rats embody the theme of dark goddess or all that has been repressed in our society- a sense of paronia about being seen, a desire to wander at night and strong sexuality.
There are other milk remedies like Lac-can, Lac-humanum , Lac-felinum and Lac-lioninum which will be covered in another issue.
The Common Themes in mammal remedies in the Mental Sphere: the overall desire is to please so as to get the care and be protected. Related to this is the desire to be accepted by the group, and a loyalty to the family and friends. There will also be strong feelings of inadequacy and guilt and constant self-reproach (Lac-defloratum); a strong desire to hide and cover up one’s weaknesses; there can also be feelings of embarrassment, shyness. Strong sense of dependency can lead to vulnerability to abuse.
Headache especially over left eye; problems with milk - desire for or aversion to or < from: Extremity pain, especially in wrists, ankles and feet; love of animals especially of mammals; feelings of competition or love of competitive sports; jealousy
A person who needs a mammal remedy will have issues about their mother or mothering and about nourishing and nurtured. (Homoeopathy Today, January 2001)
Clinical Tips
Dr Rajan Sankaran said in a seminar that four things are needed for successful living;
Hope: when there is complete despair remedy is Syphilinum;
Independence: When it is totally absent he becomes an anarchist ; remedy is Mercury
Morality: when it is absent you get Aurum.
Identity as an individual: When one loses his identity it is Alumina.
Clinical Tips:
Dr M Aleem: Lachesis is one remedy for head lice. It is also interesting to note that, among the remedies for children with lice, three of them concern jealous children - Apis, Ars-alb, Lach
Drug addiction: withdrawal and recovery phase: Ars-alb - acute anxiety states
Morphine-sulph: drug addicts. Avena-sativa: general withdrawal
Syphilinum: for the syphilitic state which commonly emerges; Agaricus-alcoholics
Nux-vom : anger with withdrawal. Lachesis - during alcoholic episodes. - Homoeopathy Today Nov 2000.
