Self help books about Homeopathy can be a valuable aid for beginner folks looking for a homeopathic remedy for their family member or pet.  But what does one do when the first and then the second choice remedy does not really help the individual feel better and there is no easy access to a professional practitioner of homeopathy ?

Before proceeding any further in attempting to treat at home using homeopathy, one is wise to assess if the person is showing symptoms that are acute or chronic. If acute, are they life threatening – does the person need to seek ER care ?

During our January Homeopathy Delaware meeting attendees learned how to differentiate acute symptoms from chronic symptoms – a helpful distinction since addressing chronic symptoms with homeopathy is best left to a professional and life threatening acute situations are as well.

Samuel Hahnemann, MD, the father of Homeopathy, differentiated between acute and chronic diseases in his Organon of Medicine.  Aphorism 72 says, “Acute diseases are rapid illness- processes of abnormally mistuned life principle which are suited to complete their course more or less quickly but always in a moderate time.”

“Chronic diseases are those which dynamically mistune the living organism with small, often unnoticed beginnings… The life force, which cannot extinguish these diseases by its own power, in and of itself, must allow them to proliferate and it must allow its tuning to be more and more abnormally altered up to the final destruction of the organism.”

When a person is presented with an acute sudden stress – new infection or sudden emotional trauma, they usually see a dramatic response – fever, chills, intense pain or wide changes in emotions. These reactions are notable because they are intense and the symptoms lie outside the norm for the patient. The body recognizes the new threat – the person might become quite ill but in short time will recover more or less completely.  If the person’s vital energy  is unsuccessful, acute diseases have the potential to cause death. A rapid non responding acute disease of a non responding patient needs urgent care by a professional medical person.

A person dealing with chronic symptoms may also experience a new stress and develop new, acute symptoms. Many times the symptom picture contains elements of both chronic and acute symptoms.  In taking the case you need to ascertain which symptoms are the new strong ones that are atypical for the patient and are of a relatively short duration.

In all prescribing, one must ascertain what needs to be treated. The remedy is chosen based on the characteristic symptoms present at the time of the treatment. Always take the whole case, determine if the symptoms are part of a longer chronic disease or represent a true acute case.

Two acute paper cases, each about persons suffering from quick onset recent sore throats, were presented. Characteristic symptoms were chosen using Boenninghausen’s schema of C.L.E.M.S. – Concomitant, Location, Etiology, Modalities, Sensations.

Rubrics describing these symptoms were located in Kent’s Repertory of the Homeopathic Materia Medica. A few remedies were chosen from the rubrics based on their probability of being similar to the person’s characteristic symptoms (Hahnemann’s Law of Similars states that the remedy that can create certain symptoms can also cure similar symptoms in an ill person). The final remedy was selected after reading about it Boericke’s Materia Medica.

The homeopathic repertory is the tool for finding rubrics, which are descriptions of symptoms. The group examined Kent’s Repertory, noting how it is organized according to parts of the body and general symptoms.  This made finding the rubrics easier. A few remedies were written down as possible similars (Hahnemann’s Law of Similars) to the person’s symptoms.

The final selection of one remedy was made after reading about all the possibilities in Boericke’s Materia Medica (a book containing detailed descriptions or symptom pictures of proven remedies). The analysis of the case was discussed including some tips about the one homeopathic remedy that cured the mistuned person.

Reading about remedies in Boericke’s Materia Medica will help one decide which is the most likely to cure the person. It is important to always choose the best remedy by reading the remedy profiles in a homeopathic materia medica.

Finally, keeping good notes about the ill person’s characteristic symptoms, the chosen rubrics, the chosen remedy and the person’s response is really the best support you can give yourself in learning to use homeopathy effectively. It will help you see patterns and will advance your next efforts at finding the best remedy.