Homeopathic Posology Potency Selection as Perceived from Stuart Close’s “The Genius of Homeopathy”

Many homeopaths while practicing come across many hurdles. Right from the method of convincing people about the depth of homeopathic science, they often face difficulties while applying the different potencies (powers) during treatment process. I have met some homeopathic physicians who have propensity to choose certain potencies all through their practice. I have seen patients, who while self-treating homeopathically choosing 30C potencies invariably, as they think it is somewhat middle potency and will neither do any harm (as high potencies might do according to them), nor will they be too small to elude action!

Well, certainly as you can guess, choosing the potency is a very important decision when you want to give or take any homeopathic medicine. There are many chapters on posology (art of applying dosage) in homeopathic literature. Many views have been expressed in different books and one might find some remarks confusing wile searching for the right tool to believe in.

While reading Stuart Close’s “The Genius of Homeopathy” while in homeopathic college, I felt at ease. The reason behind this feeling was simple. The guidelines given by him are according to the homeopathic principle and are corroborative of Hahnemannian Classical Homeopathy. They are easy to comprehend and one can apply these guidelines in day to day homeopathic practice, rarely facing any failure while clinging to them. Therefore, this is an effort to put forth these guidelines once again in simpler fashion-

Let’s derive some points out of it--

(1)   Simply put, the posology is a science of dosage. In homeopathy, as with its eternal principle, we can add a word “art” too. Thus, it is a science and art of dosage. Many people come forward for homeopathic treatment with the notion in their mind that homeopathy means small doses. It is pleasant way to treat oneself without large tablets to be taken with harsh preparations. In right sense, it is true; however, it is necessary to impart knowledge in public regarding the depth of homeopathic medicines and their smallness of dose implying greater strength should be insisted upon for broader understanding of the science!

(2)   Dose is one thing in homeopathy that needs greater emphasis. Even while teaching homeopathy in schools and colleges, this aspect is not well-stressed. Dose is one of the essential elements of homeopathic system, the other two being the principle and the remedy. Even Hahnemann at one time, in order to bring an end to an endless debate on potency selection, proposes to treat most cases with the thirtieth potency; such was the controversies, confusions, and misunderstandings on the subject. Many homeopaths therefore try to solve this mystery by adopting what can be said as “Self-Law” when it comes to potency selection, which is not good for sure.

(3)   The fact of apt therapeutics however says that every practitioner should be free of prejudice when it comes to potency selection too. This is stated so because- “Under homeopathic principles, any potency may be required in any case. It is as unreasonable to expect to cure all cases with any two or three potencies as it is to expect to cure all cases with any two or three remedies. In either case, those who follow such a course are governed more by the love of ease and their prejudice than they are by their desire for efficiency. One must remember that a well-selected remedy may fail utterly, or even do injury, because of wrong dosage. Dose as well as the remedy must be adjusted to the patient’s need.”

(4)   The drugs in physiological doses create some set of symptoms; the same symptoms are cured by the smaller infinitesimal doses. Therefore, it is stressed that the physiological doses have nothing to do with their homeopathic use. Means, if you are using a drug in physiological dose, you aren’t using it homeopathically, because homeopathic medicines are never used in physiological doses. More appropriately, we can say that the homeopathic medicines are never used for their physiological effect. This is so because; the ‘physiological action’ of a drug is not its therapeutic or curative action. It is exactly the opposite of a curative action, and is never employed in homeopathic practice for therapeutic purposes.

(5)   On the contrary, therapeutic dose means curative, alleviating, healing. Depending upon the size and strength of the dose, susceptibility of the patient and the principle upon which it is given, action of the drug, whether pathogenetic or therapeutic is decided. Pathogenetic doses may be given to healthy subjects in order to make a proving. When we treat patients homeopathically, we do not want to produce the symptoms but want to remove them. This is therefore possible only with the help of a similar remedy in the minimum dose.

(6)   The temporary aggravation after giving homeopathic medicine is truly temporary, so much subtle that many times goes away unnoticed. If there are new symptoms after giving a dose, it is obviously indicative of either wrong medicine or wrong dosage.

(7)   If we come across cure of a particular person after giving certain remedy, we should take it as- ‘The medicine was right and the dose given is the maximum dose consistent with safety.

(8)   Homeopathic dose is always given in sub-physiological or sub-pathogenetic dose (minimal dose), because—

·         We intend to remove symptoms that are already existing and not producing more symptoms

·         Disease already renders the affected part sensitive. Large doses can add to the agony of the patient; however the least dose can modify the affection without any bad effects

·         Also the homeopathic drug is given (or should be given) singly so that the action is complete, unmodified by other drugs; so the small dose!

(9)   To all those people who ridicule the smallness or infinitesimal scale of homeopathic medicines, Stuart Close reminds that infinitesimal is a quantity and it cannot be thought as nothing. He quotes Hahnemann who says, “How so? The smallest possible portion of a substance, is it not an integral part of the whole? Were it be divided and re-divided even to the limits of infinity, would there not still remain something,- something substantial,- a part of the whole, let it be ever so minute> What man in his senses would deny it? And if this be in reality as integral part of the divided substance, which no man in his senses can doubt, why should this minute portion, as it is certainly something, be inactive, while the whole acted with so much violence?” Truly Hahnemann’s statement is indisputable!

(10)                      To stress the importance of proper dose, he states further that any curable disease may be cured by any potency, when the indicated remedy is administered; but the cure may be much accelerated by selecting the potency or dose appropriate to the individual case.

(11)                      Thus, in conclusion, five considerations are stated that influence the choice of the dose—

·         The susceptibility of the patient

·         The seat of the disease

·         The nature and intensity of the disease

·         The stage and duration of the disease

·         The previous treatment of the disease

Thus, one who masters the art of dose selection along with the remedy selection in homeopathy is the true healer!

Yoga Lowers Heart Disease Risk as much as Conventional Exercise

by Nina

Walk Along the Banks of the Seine Near Asnieres by Van Gogh

“A recent review of yoga and cardiovascular disease published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology indicates that yoga may help lower heart disease risk as much as conventional exercise, such as brisk walking.” — Julie Corliss, Harvard Health Blog

Well, that sentence from More than a stretch: Yoga’s benefits may extend to the heart certainly merits a closer look, don’t you think? Because even though we’ve written extensively about the benefits of yoga for cardiovascular health (see About Yoga for Heart Health), I’ve never actually seen scientific proof that yoga really is as good for heart health as—as this quote says—a brisk walk.

The report on the Harvard Health blog was referring to the study The effectiveness of yoga in modifying risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. This turns out to be one of those review studies that assesses other existing studies, in this case, 37 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the systematic review and 32 in the meta-analysis, which can provide a very good picture of what the current research is turning up. The review study itself says:

“Whereas previous reviews have looked at a single or a few risk factors, our review updates the existing literature and encompasses numerous CVD and metabolic risk factors that can be used to calculate overall CVD risk.”

The studies that were reviewed looked at different types of yoga, including both gentler and more energetic styles, and the participants ranged from young, healthy individuals to older people with health conditions. Interestingly, there were no restrictions on the frequency of yoga practice or its duration. (Although I guess we can assume no studies were done with people practicing yoga just once a month!) In the review, the control groups used in the studies were divided into aerobic exercise (physical training, aerobic exercise, cycling, running, brisk walking) and non-aerobic exercise groups. This allowed the researchers to estimate the effectiveness of yoga practice compared to both active controls and versus non-active controls.

Overall, the people who did yoga improved in several factors that affect heart disease risk: losing an average of five pounds, lowering blood pressure by five points , and lowering their levels of harmful LDL cholesterol by twelve points. And no significant difference was found between yoga and exercise!

For those of you who are interested in more detail, the study itself concluded that compared to non-exercise controls, yoga showed significant improvement for:

• Body mass index (−0.77 kg/m2 (95% confidence interval −1.09 to −0.44))
• Systolic blood pressure (−5.21 mmHg (−8.01 to −2.42))
• Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (−12.14 mg/dl (−21.80 to −2.48)) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (3.20 mg/dl (1.86 to 4.54))
• Body weight (−2.32 kg (−4.33 to −0.37))
• Diastolic blood pressure (−4.98 mmHg (−7.17 to −2.80)), 
• Total cholesterol (−18.48 mg/dl (−29.16 to −7.80)), 
• Triglycerides (−25.89 mg/dl (−36.19 to −15.60)
• Heart rate (−5.27 beats/min (−9.55 to −1.00))

The original review study concluded: 

“Our review finds emerging evidence to support a role for yoga in improving common modifiable risk factors of CVD and metabolic syndrome.

“We believe that these findings have important implications for the acceptance of yoga as an effective therapeutic intervention. This review demonstrates the potential of yoga to have an impact on concrete, physiological outcomes that represent some of the greatest health burdens today.”

The Harvard Health blog interviewed Dr. Gloria Yeh, a co-author of the review and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She said, “Yoga is unique because it incorporates physical activity, breathing, and meditation.” And she explained that each of these elements positively affects cardiovascular risk factors, so combining them was bound to show a benefit. 

See About Yoga for Heart Health for an overview of and links to all the posts—including practices designed especially for heart health—that we have on our blog.

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect

Yoga Effective as An Adjunct to Western Medicine for Treating Depression

by Nina

Morning Glories in Flowers and Buds by Hokusai

Just a quick note today about a study Adjunctive yoga v. health education for persistent major depression: a randomized controlled trial on depression and yoga I just learned about that showed that yoga is effective as an adjunct for improving depression in individuals who are taking anti-depressants. Because anti-depressants are not always effective on their own, these researchers decided to study the effectiveness of hatha yoga as an adjunct treatment. According to sciencedaily.com, the lead scientist, Dr. Uebelacker, said:

"We hypothesized that yoga participants would show lower depression severity over time as assessed by the Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomatology (QIDS), as well as better social and role functioning, better general health perceptions and physical functioning, and less physical pain relative to the control group," said Dr. Uebelacker. "We found that yoga did indeed have an impact on depression symptoms. 

In the largest study of yoga for depression to date, the researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial on individuals who were taking anti-depressants but were still experiencing symptoms of depression. Sixty three of the subjects were given a weekly yoga class. The control group of 59 subjects were given health education classes (the Healthy Living Workshop). All the subjects were assessed after ten weeks, with follow-up assessments after three and six months. Although they did not find significant differences between the two groups after the initial ten-week assessment, the follow-up assessments showed that the yoga group had lower levels of depression and improved in other ways as well.

In their abstract, the researchers reported:

"At 10 weeks, we did not find a statistically significant difference between groups in depression symptoms (b = −0.82, s.e. = 0.88, p = 0.36). However, over the entire intervention and follow-up period, when controlling for baseline, yoga participants showed lower levels of depression than HLW participants (b = −1.38, s.e. = 0.57, p = 0.02). At 6-month follow-up, 51% of yoga participants demonstrated a response (⩾50% reduction in depression symptoms) compared with 31% of HLW participants (odds ratio = 2.31; p = 0.04). Yoga participants showed significantly better social and role functioning and general health perceptions over time. "

Although we did not see a difference in depression symptoms at the end of the intervention period, yoga participants showed fewer depression symptoms over the entire follow-up period. Benefits of yoga may accumulate over time."

According to sciencedaily.com, Dr. Uebelacker put it this way: 

"We did not see statistically significant differences between hatha yoga and a control group (health education) at 10 weeks, however, when we examined outcomes over a period of time including the three and six months after yoga classes ended, we found yoga was superior to health education in alleviating depression symptoms." 

I have a couple of observations about this. First, it’s good to hear that yoga does work well as adjunct with western medicine for improving depression! We’ve been recommending that for a long time (see No Shame, Please! (Western Medicine and Yoga are Complementary)). 

Also it’s not at all surprising to me that the effects of yoga are cumulative (see Take Your Time: Results from Yoga Practice). Most of yoga’s effects do take time. After all, whether you’re talking about improving flexibility, quieting the mind, or fostering emotional healing, a single hatha yoga class is not a magic pill that works with just one dose! It’s actually quite impressive to me that only one yoga class per week had significant effects, as most yoga teachers would recommend three classes per week (or one class plus regular home practice) to see benefits. 

Unfortunately I’m unable to access the full study, so many questions remain. For example, what were the students learning in their yoga classes? Were they just learning everyday yoga or was the program specially tailored for them? And did they continue practicing at home after the study was over? 

But all in all it’s definitely encouraging to hear about yet another study showing the benefits of yoga for emotional healing. 

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect

Imperfection as Completion What a Concept!

Recently, I read about Marcel Duchamp's artwork at the Philadelphia Art Museum. The story goes that when he shipped it to the museum, the glass cracked in transit. When the museum told him about the damage he said, "Now it is complete." I've seen this Duchamp piece in the past, and I had assumed that the cracks were made intentionally, not because of an accident.

I started thinking about Duchamp's flexibility of mind, his willingness to accept what came his way. Most artists wouldn't have reacted like Duchamp I suspect. He was a pioneer in conceptual art, and was famous for putting a ready made urinal on display as sculpture. His art doesn't appeal to everyone, but I like this incorporation of imperfection into the whole.

I can just imagine that if I were Duchamp, and my perfectionistic OCD was in gear, I would've spent a lot of energy checking the cracks, visualizing how the piece looked before it broke and comparing it in my mind, reassuring myself that the fractures did enhance the piece, going over all the conversations with the museum curator verbatim, wondering if I really did believe the cracks completed the work, or whether I was a bad person for presenting myself as a conceptual artist when in fact I wasn't sure if it was truly conceptual. . .and on and on.

Checking perceived flaws consumed a lot of my time from my teens onward, from slightly off center buttons to one stitch bigger than the others or a tiny scratch. No matter how small the "flaw" it appeared huge in my mind, and took over my whole field of vision, and became all I saw. Exposures for this kind of perfectionism included wearing the shirt, and not checking the buttons, or listening to scripts I wrote about maybe never enjoying my item because of the scratch, that it would haunt me, and always be the first thing I saw, and then listening to it until I could tolerate it, and even accept it. Marcel Duchamp would've needed a script about whether art critics would degrade his work because the cracks were too disfiguring. . .but I don't think he had OCD, and there's even a photo of him standing proudly in front of the glass.

FG Blames Govs as Lassa Fever Hits 17 States

The Federal Government has blamed poor response from state governments for the spread of Lassa fever from 10 to 17 states in the country.

The Federal Government accused some states of hiding some suspected cases in their states while some others failed to take proactive measures to follow up patients.

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said this in Abuja during the emergency National Council on Health meeting on Lassa fever outbreak on Tuesday.

Adewole, identified Ebonyi State as one of those that did not inform the Federal Government about some cases.

The minister also told the council of a patient referred from Ebonyi State to Irrua Specialist Hospital in Edo State for treatment, who he said, absconded with a relative.

He directed that the patient should be traced and treated

The minister told the 418 delegates that the United Nations Children Fund would support with more ribavirin medication to treat persons suffering from the disease.

He expressed surprise that many Nigerians had refused to believe that the epidemic was real.

Adewole said, “Ordinarily, we would not have called this meeting. We are worried and we should be worried. This is why this meeting is important. This battle is not for us alone. It is a nationwide exercise.”

He thereafter named renowned virologist, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, as the Chairman of the 19-man committee set up by the Federal Government to help proffer solution to the disease.

Adewole, who reiterated the capacity of the country to contain Lassa fever, explained that there were enough health professionals to manage the disease.

He, however, denied claims by the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, that there were not enough diagnostic laboratories in the country.

According to him, the Federal Government would establish new treatment centres for Niger, Bauchi, Niger and Taraba, Plateau, Ondo and Ebonyi states “in addition to the six that are active.”

Adewole said, “We currently have testing capability in 14 testing centres some of which are in Maiduguri, Kano, Iddo, Irrua, Lagos, Port Harcourt and the FCT. We have treatment centres all over the country. We have enough personnel for managing Lassa fever. Unlike Ebola Virus Disease that is untreatable, Lassa fever is treatable. But we must start treatment on time to enable us to save the patients…”

He emphasised that all the states in the country should be regarded as hotbed of Lassa fever.

The minister said 17 states in the country were battling Lassa fever while 212 suspected cases in 62 local governments had been in existence since last year August.

He also promised that the Federal Government would establish 109 Primary Healthcare Centres on Lassa fever in each of the six geo-political zones of the country in the next three months.

Adewole said that government was determined to have a functional PHC centre in each ward across the country, and assured Nigerians that there was enough drugs to treat patients suffering from the ailment.

He, however, warned that state governments should “not be under the illusion that the Federal Government alone can take care of the health needs of this nation because we must all drive it.”

The Federal Government, he said, must not be the only one buying drugs for states, adding, “The Federal Ministry of Health cannot be producing everything. Health is on the concurrent list. We must do it together.”

In his update on the disease, the Director of Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, Prof . Abudulsalami Nasidi, expressed fear that 50 per cent of all suspected Lassa fever cases in the country were not Lassa fever but might be symptoms of a new virus.

Nasidi said, “We are worried whether we are dealing with another virus. The cases are different from Dengue, Ebola and Lassa fever,” Nasidi said.

He added that all confirmed Lassa fever cases were tested in two different laboratories.

In his submission, the Niger State Commissioner for Health, Mustapha Jibril, called for the inclusion of traditional healers and health practitioners in the fight against the disease, as done in his state to stop the spread of the disease.

However, residents of Osun State panicked on Tuesday following the death of a medical doctor at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile Ife who was suspected to have died of Lassa fever on Tuesday.

One of our correspondents gathered that the deceased, who returned from Ondo State with an illness, was admitted at the intensive care unit of the hospital before he died.

He was said to have been vomiting blood and showing other symptoms associated with the disease before he died on Monday.

A source at the hospital said, “The doctor just returned from Ondo State and he became ill. He was admitted on Sunday and he died on Monday. I was told that he showed symptoms similar to Lassa fever.

“The hospital has started contact tracing and some of the nurse and workers have been placed under observation.”

The chairman of a committee set up by the OAUTHC on Lassa fever, Prof. Adedeji Onayade, when contacted on the telephone by one of our correspondents said although a resident doctor died, the hospital had yet to confirm if he died of Lassa fever.

Onayade said, “A resident doctor died and we are suspecting Lassa fever among other causes. We cannot say it is Lassa fever until test confirms it. “

The Chairman of Osun State Association of Medical and Dental Officers, Dr. Isiaka Adekunle, when contacted on the telephone said the association would suspend its strike in case of an outbreak of disease.

Meanwhile a 65-year-old lady from Ifiogwari Village, Ayamelunu, Anambra State, has died of Lassa fever in Delta State.

By: Friday Olokor, Femi Makinde and Bukola Adebayo

Punch News.