4 6 THE B R I T I S H H O M ( E O P A T H I C J O U R N A L

After ten days there was no improvement and, probably due to the immediate effects of the trauma of the operation, he had deteriorated slightly.

For a while past I had been hinting to my friend that some of my homceo- pathic medicine might help his son, but he was understandably reluctant to accept this as the boy was under the very intensive care of a very able neuro- surgeon and his team. However, when the insertion of the valve had not produced any evident improvement, I more insistently voiced my offer to supply a remedy. My offer was accepted on the understanding that the neurosurgeon must agree also before it was used. The consultant was quite happy to arrange for administration of the remedy and commented that homceopathic treatment would be no more experimental than the Spitz-Holter valve he had inserted!

Natrum sulph. 200 was commenced in late July. One week later a dramatic improvement started. At the present time (three weeks later) the patient is fully conscious, able to move all his limbs, is continent almost all of the time, can take food and drink by mouth, can write simple words, can converse (belt in a whisper) intelligently and with animation and can read and understand newspapers and magazines. He is still at times a little confused and his emotions are labile and he shows fibrillations of his leg muscles and cannot stand without support.

One wonders if this remarkable recovery would have taken place without the intervention of the valve or the administration of the Natrum sulph. Possibly both acted in a synergistic manner, or credit could be given to either alone. One cannot be dogmatic but it is certainly a remarkable coincidence that the real improvement followed the administration of this remedy. Natrum sulph, is known to be indicated in head injuries. I ts particular value in this case might well be associated with the fact that there was clear evidence of increased fluid pressure within the ventricles and the remedy's postulated ability to eliminate such fluid. I t is also, I think, significant that the neurosurgeon has requested some Natrum sulph, for possible future use on his wards.

An introduction to Homoeopathy A . T A Y L O R - S M I T H , B . S C . , M . B . , C n . B . , ~ . F . H O M .

L E C T U R E l

My lectures will be an introduction on the homceopathic way of healing tile sick. To most of you this will mean being introduced to an entirely new system of curing.

Three lectures given to the Medical Faculty of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in May 1972

A N I N T R O D U C T I O N T O H O N I ( E O P A T H Y 47

According to nature it looks as if every living thing is born to live as healthy a life as it can, reproduce and then die. I ts life simply must be as healthy as possible because it is a case of survival of the fittest. This is not the place to talk about the puzzle of the purpose of survival and there must be a purpose-- but to talk about how to give the best means and ability to do' so.

These talks will keep referring to what "healthy" means and especially how to keep it that way. In a nutshell, to maintain health is the very reason doctors exist and why they are needed.

Health is something to do with the whole man. I t could be defined as having a real and complete sense of well-being. Because it concerns the whole man it will embrace the mental, psychological, spiritual as well as the physical. You will notice that our definition is very much wider than what is commonly accepted by the profession, where health is simply defined as the absence of disease. Our definition does not mention disease. You will soon discover that it is possible to cure disease and yet in a great many cases the patient could remain far from being healthy in our definition. This in fact is one of the very reasons for present-day unrest in medical thought the world over. The profession is very busy treating but not curing.

So great is this unrest that medical thinking has reached a frontier in therapy, and this is reflected in high places as you will see in a moment. Long has the hard-working , busy GP felt the need for change. Large numbers feel that the old system has outlived its usefulness. In fact the GP feels that this is the very reason why he is so hard-worked. I t is thus not surprising to find dissatisfaction in therapy becoming rather widespread. I t was in fact this very dissatisfaction that influenced me personally to explore. And after quite a few years in the wilderness so to speak, I discovered the homceopathic system of therapy. I never had the luck that you all have here today. No one here need to do any exploring for I have done it for you. All that is needed is simply to get the hang of the system I am presenting and t ry it out. I t is simple and straight- foward.

Few will quarrel with the statement that the present-day system of thera- peutics has reached a frontier. Like all frontiers, to cross it means progress. My talks will show you the way. I think that you will agree that crossing frontiers to explore new fields is always fun and exciting and crossing this one will be fascinating. Time will be too short to allow more than a mere introduc- tion to this alternative way of healing the sick. I propose to give very short talks so as to allow time for questions.

May I stress that the whole purpose of my talks is to introduce a very prac- tical extension of modern medical thought - -a new idea. Not only this but I shall go on to show how this new idea can be put into practice. Now this purpose will detract nothing at all from your present thinking and nothing from your Varsity tuition. Rather will it enlarge your horizon and broaden the whole outlook on how to heal sick people.

The idea I am talking about was recently put into words by Prof. Swan who is principal of Edinburgh University. He says that medicine may have become too absorbed in the treating of human organisms and too little concerned with human beings. He goes on to say, and I quote: "Lest I seem to be eriticising the practising profession let me hasten to say that university medical schools mirror or perhaps help to create just these very attitudes. There would have t o be changes." Prof. Sir Michael Woodruff, also of Edinburgh University, underlines these sentiments. He makes a practical start by suggesting that the

4 8 T H E B R I T I S H H O M ( E O P A T H I C J O U R N A L

pat ient should remain under his own doctor right through. This is an excellent suggestion. After all, it is the sick person's general physician who knows all about him--including his home and his job. This is the doctor who should accept the final responsibility for all decisions about the management of the case. This would mean that the general physician would call on the help of any specialist he considered helpful and maybe several would be needed before he would be satisfied. This of course would stop the specialist taking over the case entirely as is usually the practice today. Such a system would shift medical concern from bits and pieces of a pat ient to a patient himself as a whole human being. You will note an interesting thing which is actually being adopted in some countries. This is tha t the GP is not referred to as a general practitioner but as a general physician. One can anticipate this adoption reaching specialist status.

Many have thought of this idea of wholeness. But I quote Edinburgh University to show that i t is entertained at a high level. In fact the idea may not be new to a great many of you here. But what could quite easily be entirely new is ways and means of how to develop and put it into practice. Obviously this application will have to be something entirely new in the sense tha t i t would mean something quite new outside present-day university training. Don ' t for a moment misunderstand me---there is nothing wrong with present- day university tuition. What is actually called for is an enlargement. Like all things in life it will have to start with an idea first. The very idea in fact that Edinburgh University stresses. This means a shift of the whole question of healing the sick. This approach will mean a shift from what could be called medical science to more use being made of medical art, i.e. a shift from labora- tory and microscope to consulting room and patient, and this means from the fragment to the whole.

Science could be defined as a process of fragmentation. Cells are the ult imate fragmentation of man. Nearly all research today is confined to cells and micro- organisms. Not much thought is given to the owner himself. But remember you cannot separate disease from the diseased person. There is no quarrel with the study of disease, the more one can know about it the better, especially for exams. What is being lost sight of is that it is the reaction of a person to his disease tha t concerns a doctor trying to heal tha t person, and the whole person is sick, not merely a bit of him.

Advances in medical science have progressed so rapidly since the war that i t has quite outpaced the medical ar t of t reatment. Records of these advances lag behind and they keep falling out of date. I t is only natural tha t this pro- duces a feverish rush to get up to date. But data accumulated at such a rate tha t books become volumes. The hard-worked physician trying to keep up soon finds tha t he is fighting a losing battle and gives up. The only chap who has a hope of keeping right up to date is the laboratory scientist, and only in his own specific line. This of course would be some fragment or other of the entire person or organism or virus or other.

The whole business is a race to t ry and describe current concepts and the way they could affect our understanding of disease processes. Now the processes will depend on what could be called man 's immunity mechanisms, i.e. reactions to his internal and external environment. These are the very things you will be called on to deal with as doctors. But I would like you to bear in mind tha t success in therapy entails much more than a knowledge of processes. There is the man in whom these processes are taking place and after all this it is your

AN I N T R O D U C T I O N TO H O M ( E O P A T H Y 49

patient. This new approach is to give maximum help to the mechanisms of this man- - so tha t he himself can cope adequately with the disharmony causing disease. You are called on to give the best help possible, and in the best way you know.

The word best of course implies comparison. In the system taught at the moment it would mean comparing known drugs, nearly all of them very potent and dangerously toxic in their side effects. So much so that the purpose is to weigh things up so as to take a calculated risk and then hope things turn out all right.

The new system could greatly help and could even entirely replace the old existing system. I t is possible to use a bit of both sys tems- -a t the same time. This is so because the aims are different. The old deals with l~ilHng bacteria, viruses, etc., with substituting deficiences and so on, while the new deals with antidoting and preventing and helping the body's vital forces to restore har- mony. These techniques are very different in conception and in applicat ion-- yet they do not clash. I t could be said that the old tackles the problem of therapy only after there is some disease well on its way to produce pathology while the new is concerned with the sick man ideally before all this happens, but of course it can cope at any stage. The homceopathic system aims to prevent by stimulating the "preventing" mechanisms in a man, i.e. to build up immu- ni ty and restore constitutional harmony. In other words, it deals with restoring what could be called the conditioning state and thus restore it to normal, the very thing that will not allow factors to cause trouble. There must be two things to cause trouble in a sick man. The sick man must be in a favourable condition and then because of this some factor can cause t rouble--whatever that factor may be.

Quite true, the old system does a t tempt to do this to some ex t en t - -bu t it must be admit ted tha t it does not go far enough. There is hardly any need to stress tha t the art of healing the sick is open to great improvement. There is much dissatisfaction with our old stock of therapy and a new alternative is hoped for. Rather vaguely, I am afraid, at the m o m e n t - - b u t the hope is there. Unfortunately in many cases the position has come about where our old system simply has no therapy--medical thought is no longer satisfied with this at t i tude and so the alternative system I am about to offer should really be very welcome. This is the homceopathic system which has nearly two hundred years of practice behind it and so has stood the test of time. The only true scientific at t i tude towards any new proposition is one of experiment and inquiry. As scientific men this experiment is open to you all in your duty to help suffering humanity. You will be faced with the problem of guiding the sick back to health and happiness.

What Homceopathy offers is an advance in knowledge and a tremendous step in the progress of the whole question of healing. The public may be right in wondering if they have a right in expecting you as future doctors to acquire this knowledge.

L E C T U R E 2

A little thought will convince you tha t this healing must be in the hands of the clinician, the general physician. He will be the only person who really knows the patient, his home, his job, his worries and joys. He will deal with a whole man and much tha t will be outside the scientific laboratory. Any illness or sickening for trouble will call for a concern of the pat ient ' s fears, loves, hates,

5 0 T H E B R I T I S H H O M ' ~ O P A T H I C J O U R N A L

likes, dislikes, his ambitions and frustrations and many other aspects of behaviour.

The GP could even be called on to cope with some angle of religious philo- sophy. Let me illustrate. This is an actual case. I t is a lovely illustration of how the non-clinician was dictating what had to be done to cure this patient. I must say he was quite dogmatic and from his point of view you will agree justified. The X-rays were good, showing an established D.U., quite a big one, in fact. He said operation and no alternative. This was recommended also by two old-school GPs. A second surgeon's opinion was of course a foregone conclusion. One refers a patient to a surgeon for surgery. She was obviously full of worry and said she hated the whole idea of losing haft or more of her stomach. This was of course a very natural and human reaction; but she was just as obviously fighting the whole business and frustrated. You will find that ther e is one tremendously strong factor in all D.U. sufferers, and that is a psycho- logical one. I t must be sought and eliminated before there can be much hope of a cure. So I waited; I had obviously to allow her time to hatch, so to speak. I quietly put my hand on hers resting on my table and said there could very well be a way out. I asked her to tell me, no matter how simple or stupid she might think it was, I asked her to tell me what really was troubling her and behind it all. She suddenly began to cry; between her sobs she burst out with "God has forsaken me." I must admit I was surprised. I did not expect this angle in the least. But I managed to explain it sufficiently to satisfy her and and give her our rememdy that gives ability to overcome a sense of "raw deal". Some six or seven weeks later she reported back saying she felt a new woman. What may surprise you is the fact that the X-rays were quite normal. In fact the radiologist could not believe it was the same person.

Now it is pret ty certain that gastrectomy would have failed to bring about a cure. Here then you see art replacing science almost entirely.

When it comes to treatment of the whole man one must keep him whole, i.e. the physical, psychological, mental and spiritual. Any one of these aspects may block cure unless adjusted and brought back to normal. When ill it is the whole person that is sick. His reactions are abnormal and they speak to you by way of signs and symptoms. For this reason it can't be overstressed that patience and approach as well as interest are of the utmost importance. Take time to listen carefully to your patient, after all, this is the only one in the whole world who can tell you all about his troubles. Never short-circuit his discourse and, it could easily sound irrelevant, but this is the only hope of getting the vital clues without which you could miss the essence of his story and cure.

The tendency to be resisted is to get it over with by intelligent guessing, for this is short-sighted. I t saves time, money and energy to have listened in the first place, so we underline the vital importance of taking an exhaustive history right at the beginning. This is one of the big differences in the homceo- pathic approach. I must stress again that another great difference is never to lose sight of the fact in concentrating on his disease that you are really dealing with the individual owner. Just because there are mighty few things individuals react to in the same way, the history must cover as many points as possible of individualization; hence it can be quite exhaustive. All treatment will be specific for the individual you are dealing with. I t goes without saying that no two treatments are exactly the same. Note is made of constitutional diathesis or weaknesses, e.g. TB, cancer or heart trouble and so on, also of any previous

A N I N T R O D U C T I O N T O H O M ( E O P A T H Y 51

trouble, as it is quite likely the effects will still be present till antidoted, i.e malaria, rheumatism, typhoid, measles and so on. Remember tha t modern troubles must also be overcome, i.e. such things as the effect of shock, drug therapy, stress and so on. History must cover all such items and in depth.

So we return to three really important things when facing a patient:

i. H I S T O R Y ii. H I S T O R Y

iii. H I S T O R Y

I t may surprise you to know tha t the homceopathie system is based on very strict principles. I t is highly scientific. Every remedy in its materia medica is based on experiment. Mark you, not on animals but on healthy human guinea pigs. There can be vital differences.

The remedy most likely to cure a particular disease is that drug whose characteristic symptom-picture corresponds most closely to the symptom- picture of the particular disease present. This in fact is really the basis of all systems of medical therapy today, including Homceopathy.

Don ' t forget tha t there is a tremendous variation in individuals yet they may have exactly the same diagnosis. There is no time to refer to this in detail, but let us quickly take rheumatism. "Doc, i t 's one of my bad days, i t 's raining." Another follows. "Look, my joints are free and I have no pain, I ' m always like this when its pouring." We see the patient behind his disease. These patients obviously call for quite different remedies.

Now let me outline the basic principles of the homceopathic system of therapy. 1 The opt imum remedy is one where dosage is the very minimum. This is

exactly opposite t ~ the old school where the maximum of tolerance is the aim. 2 Stop as soon as there is obvious improvement. 3 Wait until this improvement fades, or looks like fading, before repeating

or giving another remedy. 4 All remedies are based on the Arndt-Schultz law. This law is no stranger

to your own teaching. I t says tha t the minimum will antidote the gross. This in fact is the very principle of all immunization. Homceopathy is really an exten- sion of this very principle. I t is of course a principle the whole world accepts.

5 The agent used need not be the same thing, because a similar one works just as well. For instance, cowpox is used against smallpox, as you all know. The practice of Homoeopathy is based on this law of using similars.

6 The homceopathic materia medica could be said to embrace remedies tha t act as antidotes.

For instance, the homoeopathic preparation of an arsenical salt could very well be the very antidote you need to control a case of diarrhoea and vomiting; and i t is quick-acting. Many other preparations act as preventatives. They stop the disease happening. When it comes to prophylaxis, Homceopathy is really good.

7 All remedies are tested out on healthypeople. The trials are called provings. This means tha t before acceptance every remedy is based on actual experiment. Nothing can be more scientific and each proving of a remedy gives the symptom- picture of tha t remedy. This is matched against the symptom-picture of the disease process. There is a second type of proving, called simply clinical proving. That is to say, symptom pictures are obtained from clinical experience. These can give complete pictures or merely provide valuable additions. The materia medica includes such provings and additions.

52 T H E B R I T I S H H O M ( E O P A T H I C J O U R N A L

For instance, long before a sick child shows any pathology or even enough data for a definite diagnosis it is obviously sick and gives plenty of data to establish a similar drug symptom-picture, which then is the remedy to antidote the process, whatever it might be. All this eliminates trial and error which, as you all know, is one of the troubles of presentpday therapy.

8 All drugs and other substances from plant, animal and mineral sources are put through a special process of manufacture. This process is not used at all by drug houses unfortunately. I say unfortunately because this process would eliminate all side actions. There would no longer be any dangerous drugs, either toxic or habit-forming. There is nothing toxic or habit-forming in any homoeopathic remedy in the whole materia medica. Nearly all the latest research in this direction indicates tha t the process is gaining some recognition. Many call it the "cavitat ion process".

I t is a process of progressive dilution and succussion, i.e. air is forcibly pulsed through the solution for a number of times at every dilution. I do not intend to launch out into speculation and discussion of the theory of this. The results of this process are used in a very practical way and it always works.

Let me stress tha t Homceopathy is not based on theory or opinion but is a most practical way of giving practical therapy to a sick person to restore him to normality and a sense of well-being; which means health.

L E C T U R E 3

Up to now I have been giving you an outline of the homceopathic conception of therapy. I am afraid tha t I have rushed things because of the pressure of time, but I hope you were able to follow in spite of the speed.

My last talk stressed tha t the whole system is based on fixed principles which were sketched out for you. At the same time I reminded you that it was all very scientific as well as having a philosophy which is practical. Let me draw your attention to some very favourable factors of the system. 1 I t is very cheap, in fact no medicinal therapy could be cheaper. 2 Extremely safe even in the hands of a novice. 3 Complete absence of any side effects. 4 Total lack of toxicity. 5 Impossible to overdose. 6 Never clashes with analgesics, vitamins or physical therapy. 7 Can never cause any pathology. 8 Speed is matched with the speed of the trouble. All chronics are slow to develop and slow to heal. The speed of the remedy action has to match the speed of the disease. Nothing works faster in fast things, like burns, for instance, where all pain could disappear in a mat ter of seconds. 9 Can be given to all ages. There is no need to work out the dosage, as required with drug therapy today, a thing that is not free from mistakes. 10 I t could be used in conjunction with ordinary drug therapy for instance, antibiotics, tranquillizers, analgesics and so on. But as you become proficient, you will find tha t they are no longer needed. 11 All t reatment is entirely individual.

B y way of actual illustration let us start with some practical applications. Prophylaxis, you will agree, is a good place to start when we think of starting to t reat sick people. Ideally, t reatment would be to stop whatever is trying to develop. I f sickness does not occur, then of course there is none to treat. The sick man does not fall victim. Hence it is only common sense to begin treat-

AN I N T R O D U C T I O N TO H O M G ~ O P A T H Y 5~

ment at the very earliest indication of any departure from health. Health is defined as a sense of weN-being, physically, mentally or psychologically. I t will of course mean starting treatment before there is any pathology. This idea could be a little difficult for you to grasp because as yet no diagnosis can be m a d e .

I f I illustrate what this means you will all easily get the idea. For instance, there is no difficulty in recognizing a sick child. There is no need to wait to see what develops, i.e. what sickness you can label. The child is obviously sick and to the homceopathic school even at this early stage presents ample data to prescribe on. So treatment can be started then and there.

You could for instance see a red flushed restless child who is obviously feverish. Pupils are dilated and he feels hot to the touch but is not thirsty and there seems to be no anxiety or fear and he is off his food. I f the mother tells you that sleep is restless and he seems to want to sleep with hands under the head, grits teeth and often cries or shouts in his sleep and hates light or noise, you have plenty here to safely expect Belladonna to nip it all in the bud. I t usually acts quickly and efficiently. I t ' i s a wonderful preventive. (When I mention a drug or remedy I mean of course the homceopathic preparation.)

Now this is the picture of a child heading for almost any of the childhood illnesses. No matter what pathology is struggling to start, and it 's easy to think of scarlet fever in this particular case, it simply gets antidoted, so to speak, and never develops. This illustrates the tremendous help Homceopathy offers in tackling the problem of prophylaxis. As you can see, there is no need to have to tell the mother that you will be back to see what has developed, that the child is sickening for something and that treatment will be started as soon as the sickness declares itself. At the moment you cannot make a diagnosis. The mother wonders why you can't see that her child is sick and needs some treatment right away. I t is no use the doctor wondering what 's cooking or even thiifldng that it looks as if it could be serious. This is not satisfactory to either mother or doctor. But in Homceopathy both doctor and mother talk the same language, and both share the delight of his therapy next day.

May I repeat: prevention or prophylaxis is doing something before there are any signs or symptoms of disease or pathology. I t prevents the sickness happen- ing at all. First aid on the other hand is doing something that prevents anything further happening after there are signs and symptoms of trouble. First aid could be called the second stage of prevention. The results of the homceopathic school in dealing with both will delight both doctor and patient.

Considering the importance of prophylaxis, i.e. prevention generally and first aid, it is surprising that university training dismisses them so lightly; until you realize that under their system there is little or nothing that can be done. When therapy is based on laboratory tests of pathology it is no wonder, because here we talk of things long before pathology. But as far as the homoeo- pathic school is concerned prophylaxis and first aid arc of utmost importance and can be handled most satisfactorily.

After all, prevention and first aid is the actual beginning of trouble. Homceo- pathy so often works wonders at this stage that it has to be seen to be believed. A doctor trained in this sytem makes an ideal front-line doctor in war. Only first aid can be done, and done with speed and efficiency, as I personally can vouch for.

All sickness has a beginning. Rightly you are told that the earlier diagnosis

5 4 T H E B R I T I S H H O M ( E O P A T H I C J O U R N A L

can be made the better, so tha t the sooner therapy can be started the better. What is better still is starting therapy before diagnosis is possible, i.e. before the sickness can be named. Remember always tha t Homceopathy treats the sick man and not a label; so there is no need to wait for labels.

There is a very important angle to the problem of prevention which is usually rather slurred over. In fact i t is not limited to prevention but can find a vital place in the t reatment of the chronic.

I am introducing this angle because you as students will see very little of the very beginning of sickness. Such cases are not admit ted to hospitals and so it is not surprising. This vital angle I refer to is the important place nutrition plays in healing the sick. This is one of the biggest factors responsible in con- trolling what, you will remember, I call the "conditioning" process. By this is meant tha t a person must first be in a certain condition before he can fall victim to any factor causing illness. You will recognise this conditioning process in what we all call immunity. By complete control of this process one could become immune to any sickness. Put another way it could be said tha t it is possible to be so healthy tha t no sickness could manifest. Dr. McCarison a t Oxford has shown by practical experiment tha t this idea is quite possible. A knowledge of nutrition with its minerals, vitamins, acids and so on has a vital place in the handling of a sick person to restore him to health and happiness.

Above all remember tha t you will deal with sick individuals with their own set of peculiarities and that no two individuals are the same, although what could be the same is the labels of their illnesses. Like everything else in life it is true to say that there are exceptions to rules and this can apply to this individualization of treatment. Think of burns. At the start of the trouble all victims react in a similar way. There is no individualization needed and it follows that therapy will be specific and identical in all acute stages of burns. Later stages could easily have to rely on individual reactions for further therapy, and so individualization would assert itself one again for cure. In fact it could be quite essential.

When the black plague swept over Europe and England there was no need to individualize. Victims all showed the same syndrome. There were no differ- ences in their pictures. Here one could get statistics, because it was a case of not people, but plague. ]It is interesting to note that the results of the London Homceopathic Hospital were so remarkably good tha t the London Board of Heal th 's medical committee suppressed their own investigation results; but Parl iament forced publication, showing two-thirds cured compared to two- thirds dead in the other hospitals. This in fact is the usual reaction when bias outstrips common sense and fair play. I t is far easier simply to condemn and pooh-pooh than to investigate and this applies to anything, not only medicine.

As far as I can see, much of the opposition to Homceopathy stems from bias and prejudice. I t is astonishing tha t these very critics pride themselves on being highly scientific and yet refuse to t ry the experiment.

My three talks should have given you a grasp of the idea of this alternative system of therapy; enough to go o n to some practical illustrations and these will be dealt with a later date. After all, Homoeopathy is a very practical therapy and can best be seen from actual practical aspects.

To those of you who really want to find out more about the whole business of Homceopathy in private practice I extend an open invitation to spend what t ime you can in m y consulting rooms. You will be very welcome.