Homeopathic System of Medicine

HOMEOPATHIC SYSTEM OF MEDICINE

Homoeopathy is a specialized system of therapeutics, developed by Dr Samuel Christian Friedrich Hahnemann (1755–1843), a German physician, chemist and a pharmacist, based on natural law of healing: Similia Similibus Curantur, which means ‘Likes are cured by likes’.

Homois means like (similar) and pathos means treatment. Thus, Homoeopathy is a system of treating diseases or suffering by the administration of drugs that possess power of producing similar suffering (diseases) in healthy human beings. Dr Hahnemann believed that symptoms are no more than an outward reflection of the body’s inner fight to overcome illness: it is not a manifestation of the illness itself. This law of similar for curing diseases has being in use since the time of Hippocrates, father of medicine. But it was Dr Hahnemann who developed it in to a complete system of therapeutics enunciating the law and its application in 1810.

Fundamental Principles of Homoeopathy

Every science has certain basic principles that guide the whole system. Homoeopathy as a science of medical treat-ment has a philosophy of its own, and its therapeutics is based on certain fundamental principles that are quite distinct and different from those of other school of medical science. These fundamental principles were discussed by Hahnemann in different sections of his medicine and philosophy.

They are as follows:

1. Law of Similia.

2. Law of Simplex.

3. Law of minimum.

4. Drug proving.

5. Drug dynamization or potentization.

6. Vital force.

7. Acute and Chronic Diseases.

8. Individualization.

9. Direction of cure.

Law of similia

The therapeutic law on which homoeopathy is based is Simillia Similibus Curentur, which means ‘Let likes be cured by likes’. In this art of healing, the medicine administered to a diseased individual is such that if given to a healthy person it produces same sufferings (diseases) as found in the diseases individual. Thus, the symptoms of the diseased individual are to be matched with the pathogenesis of the medicine, and the medicines which are most similar, viz. Simillimum is selected and administered with certainty to cure.

Law of simplex

Simple and single drugs should be prescribed at a time. Thus, medicines are proved on healthy human beings singly and in simple form without admixture of any other substance.

Law of minimum

Drugs are administered in a minimum quantity because of hypersensitivity in disease and the action of drug is always directed towards normal by virtue of altered receptivity of tissue to stimuli in disease. The medicines are just required to arouse a reaction in the body. If they are given in large doses, they cause physiological action producing unwanted side effects and organic damage. The minutest quantity of medicine helps it to reach the disease, which is of very subtle in nature. The curative action of drug can only be expected without any unwanted aggravation by using minimum quantity of medicine.

Drug proving

To apply drugs for therapeutic purposes, their curative power should be known. The curative power of a drug is its ability to produce disease symptoms when employed on a healthy person. The curative power of a drug is known by its pathogenesis and is ascertained by proving the drug singly on healthy human being. This serves the only true record of the curative properties of drug.

Drug dynamization or potentization

Disease is a disturbance or deviation in the normal har-monious flow of life force which is dynamic in nature. Now medicine used to encounter disease should also have dynamic action to act on the dynamic disturbance of life force. Therefore, the drugs are dynamized or potentized liberating their dynamic curative power which lies dormant in them. This dynamization is done by the process of Trituration (in case of insoluble substances) or Succession (in case of soluble substances).

Preparation of potencies

The potency can be prepared by three different scales, like decimal scale, centesimal scale and millesimal scale.

Decimal scale

This scale was introduced by Dr Constantive Bering. In this scale, the first potency should contain 1/10 part of original drug. The second potency will contain 1/10 part of the first potency, and so on. The potency in this scale is denoted by suffixing the letter ‘X’ to the number indicating the potency, i.e. the first potency is 1X, the second potency is 2X, and so on.

Centesimal scale

In this scale the first potency should contain 1/100 of original drug and the second potency will contain 1/100 of the first potency, and so on. The potency in this scale is denoted by suffixing the letter ‘C’ to the number indicating the potency. In practice, it is generally denoted by a simple numerical 1C potency equivalent to 2X potency and 2C potency is equivalent to 4X, and so on.

Millesimal scale

In this scale, the first potency should contain 1/50,000 part of the original drug and second potency will contain 1/50,000 of the first potency, and so on. Potency in this scale is denoted by I, II, V, X, etc., or 0/1, 0/2, 0/5, 0/10, etc. In this scale potency 0/2 is equivalent to 4C = 8X, 0/4

8C = 16X and so on. Preparation of potency through trituration is made by either decimal or centesimal, and the preparation of potency though succession is made by decimal, centesimal and millesimal.

Vital force

Disease is nothing but the disharmonious flow of the vital force giving rise to abnormal sensation and functions (symp-toms and signs). In order to restore the health, the disor-dered vital force is to be brought back to normal. Disease and health are two different quantitative states of this vital force of living being, and cure is to be affected here. Vital force has the following characteristics: spiritual, autocratic, automatic, dynamic, unintelligent and instinctive.

Acute and chronic diseases

The diseases are classified into these types depending upon their onset, nature of progress and termination of diseases.

Individualization

No two individuals are alike in the world, so the diseases affecting individuals can never be the same assuming the unique individual picture in each diseased individual. Thus, medicines can never be prescribed on the basis of the name of the disease without individualizing each case of disease.

Direction of cure

Dr. Hering states that ‘cure takes place within outward from above to downward and the symptoms disappears in the reverse of their appearance’. If the direction is reverse of that stated then it is not cure but suppression which has occurred.