Dr M L Dhawale Memorial Lecture Series: Hair & Homoeopathy
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 2002 Jul / Aug VOL 4 NO 4.
Reported By
Dr Rahul Malushte

On ICR Poona Founder’s Day Nov 02, Dr Vishpala Parthasarathy gave a presentation on Hair and Homoeopathy at Poona. The presentation focused on a systematic approach towards Hair Care including Cosmetic aspects, a much neglected area in practice but a vital area which can help build up trust and authenticity of Homoeopathic treatment and the Homoeopath; especially useful for a Homoeopath who is trying to establish oneself in practice.
Highlights Of The Presentation: Focus on vital issues in understanding the homoeopathic management in a stepwise manner demonstrated through case presentations

The Physiology Of Hair:
Parts of hair, Types, Phases of development, Genetic: patterns of baldness and Growth patterns
Understanding the significance of above helps in acceptance of a case and expected changes through homoeopathic intervention and supplementary role played by other cosmetic therapies.
The Pathology:
The various conditions involved and their types & causes

· Age related	· Infections
· Hormonal problems	· Nutritional problems
· Associated with other medical conditions

The Role Of Clinical Diagnosis
The difference in management of the conditions based on the cause & the clinical condition associated with it.
Case Taking :
Systematic and detailed approach and it’s importance
Role of the evolution of complaints
The Cause - vital in construction of the totality
The concomitant mental state
The associated complaints

Construction of Totality

The Physicals Dispositional features

- Constitutional types - Cravings,Aversions - The General modalities

Physical Generals through the case of the urchin boy

The Characteristics

- the modalities - the peculiar sensations - locations involve

Particulars Physical

Therapeutics
· Role of Deep Acting Constitutional Remedy
· Role of Chronic Phase Remedy based on the evolved state
· Role of specific remedies as seen in cases which played a supportive role in the post-op case of hair transplant
· Role Of Intercurrent- vital in the management of conditions like alopecia. Role of miasmatic intercurrent based on the fundamental dominant miasmatic activity
Posology
The potency and the repetition of the selected drug because the remedy is the right medicine in the right potency and the right repetition
Deep Acting remedy repeated infrequently giving good results.

Ancillary Line Of Treatment
The role of hygiene and nutrition
The use of shampoo’s and the damage done by them; use of cetavalon instead for cleansing the hair.

The above demonstration helped in understanding the finer aspects of various cases through which an attempt was made the drug picture of Phosphoric-acid.
It was studied through various aspects:
The study of the chemical contents and it’s effects
The mental state and it’s similarity to a state of indifference experienced by an individual who has run out of resources after a prolonged fight with the environment
It’s characteristic modalities and the sensations involved
The associated physical conditions in which it is useful.

An illustrative case to illustrate the many factors taken into consideration to prescribe:

Case 1: The Gypsy Boy
A young boy of 8. Fa: 49 was a Hawker- sold clothes on the roadside. Mo, 40: helped Fa. Twin Br: 8y, 6y Si: 4y/ 6m. All brought up on the road-side and enrolled in Municipal school. Pt was in 2nd Std.
CC: Alopecia Areata since 12m. All Rx tried, including scalp steroid Injections, which they could ill-afford. Now there are 3 adjoining bald coins- on the occiput =17x7.5cm total area covered.
Other Complaints: Burning urine OD.
Enuresis 1/w
Epistaxis bright red < winter once a yr
Generals: Lean, Ht 44", Wt 15kgs
Skin dry, sweat mainly on forehead +++
Otorrhoea at 1yr. Caries++. Scorbutic gums. Cr: Sweets 3 Av : Fish
Mentals:Gets very angry and breaks into tears. Bold 3, common for that socio-economic strata who can ill afford to be fearful. Poor memory & slow in answering: just gets pass marks. Obstinate.
Salivation in sleep
FH: Fa: alcoholic, came to me for an ulcer on leg. Big in ideas. Wanted me to buy him a cross-pen!! I do not know what got into me, but I gave him one, on his 10th visit. Later I heard, he died. But at least with that one dream fulfilled!!
Analysis: Constitutional: Here child was slow to answer, lean and loved sweets. They said he had no fears. To this, I gave the perspective that if a child is living on the roadside, he can hardly afford to be fearful, so I gave it less weightage.
The remedy which came out was Bar-m
Intercurrent: From the Father: Alcoholic, big ulcers, big in ideas. Syphilitic Miasm.
Remedy Syphil 1M.

Follow-up:
12-11-91: Syphilinum 1M-1 dose Bar-m 30 rptd doses. By Mar 92, his wt was up from 15 to 17 kg, App > Patches >. But hair growth required more stimulation and higher potencies. By May he was on Bar-m 1M 3/w and Syph 10M- 1/m. It took about 1 yr.
In 1995: Fresh spot and severe cold. Merc-sol followed by Syph 10M- 1 dose. I next saw him in 1998, after a pneumonia treated with Allopathy. Hair was bushy, with 1 bald patch just beginning to appear, lip blisters, no App. Again Syph 10 M- 1 dose >3

CASE 2 The Cool one:
Girl 20. Chilly, Tall, Prominent Wart on face +
High Myopia; Excimer LASER for the same.
Colds
Cravings Spices3
HAIR FALL
Local factors:
- straightening/ tying bun
Gen factors:
- overwork/ shift duty; consuming hotel food; lack of sleep & poor GC - Hb 8.69 Gm%
ALLERGIC constitution, both Urticaria and Sneezing < Fish< Evening> Cold
Colds < Dog-bath
Mentals:
FRIENDS³ EXTROVERT
2 Affairs broke. Not unduly perturbed
Fa: strict; but she manages to get round him
Cool; Bold no brooding. But never forgets.
Remedy:Nat-phos 200 single dose. Stopped her hair fall. Came once again some months later when it had started due to stress. Again one repetition sufficed to set her right.
So these 2 cases demonstrate the importance of linking all the data on our radar to get the right constitutional and repetition.

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