VISION OF A PHYSICIAN: LOOK YOUNGER, LIVE LONGER

-THE HOMEOPATHIC WAY

Gayelord hauser was a rage among the nutrition conscious young folks, four to five decades back. We used to read his books, and discuss his chapters among ourselves; and buy a lot of vitamins to gulp down our throats, along with our meals. He belonged to the school of megadoses of vitamins. His most popular book was entitled: look younger, live longer.

I’m borrowing his caption by appending it with the phrase: ‘the homeopathic way’. The theme of my article is ‘how homeopathy can be used as a forceful and comprehensive means for prophylactic and preventive purposes’. Homeopathy is the only therapeutics in the world that, along with curing diseases, rehabilitates the patients. It is an all-embracing source of preserving health and happiness.

The discovery of ‘local affinity drugs’ is the key that opens this vast field of prophylaxis. Masters in the field were Hohenhein (Paracelsus) and Rademacher. But the most modern representative in this field was their most brilliant disciple, the great Dr. Burnett, in whom we find a wholesome combination of the classical with the most modern knowledge and insight. His way of treatment is faultless and can never be branded as ‘un-homeopathic’.

The discovery of local affinity drugs and the established mores of their application is the result of ages of experience and experimentation by very astute and devoted souls among the naturalists, herbalists and homeopaths. This sound knowledge is based on solid and honest experiences in the field of therapeutics; but many theories (or better say ‘hypotheses or postulates’) have also crept in, or have been hatched by many a great (and overly passionate) people. One of such theories is the doctrine of signatures. Among the homeopaths, Dr. Clarke was a great supporter of this doctrine. But the veracity of the theory is not scientifically well-founded, neither logically or evidentially. It can at best be equated or compared with theory of dreams of Freud.  There are many ridiculous and naïve things in freud’s postulations about dreams as, e.g. ‘dreaming of snakes’ is considered a sexual dream, concerning the phallic region, and ‘dreaming of a well’ is also a sexual dream, concerning the female genitalia. Similarly doctrine of signatures is based on wild speculations: as every plant having heart-shaped leaves or fruits is considered as a candidate for the therapeutics of the heart; and every herb or shrub or roots or fruits that, when expressed, give out yellow or greenish-yellow juice is considered as a hepatic medicine, or specifically promoter of gall-bladder’s functions or as a cholagogue. With the same token if the expressed juice is red, it is considered as blood-promoter or purifier or a heart-tonic. The roots of ginseng, from their shape, are considered aphrodisiac and male sex vitalizer. But i’ve still to find, in the annals of world therapeutic, any mention of the grain of wheat, or the seed of dates, mentioned as the most special gynecological agent, from their apparent morphology. Knowledge should be solidly based and founded on practically verified and verifiable facts.

Now, setting aside the digression, I come to my theme of organ remedies or, succinctly, organopathy. He is not a physician who cannot prescribe for himself and his patients, and forewarn them about the bad turn which they are heading to. Using medicines for the prophylactic purposes is not a haphazard practice, but an organized system of medicine, evolved through ages.

Every choleric patient (or, say a person having warm temperament, or constitutionally a liverish person) should be cared for before the onset of summer, especially in the tropical countries. He should be given one of the various liver remedies, on the nutritional level, for one month or so. In this way you will safeguard his liver from sprouting forth into any liver malady. Berberis vulg. Is one such remedy that should be given in 3x potency, twice or thrice a day, for one month. It will keep the liver young and dynamic and the kidneys clean and well-functioning. Kidneys also suffer in warm weather, as the production of urine lessens, making it more concentrated. Formation of concretions is helped thereby. Other remedies that can thus be employed are: Nux.v., Chel., Chelone-gl., Carduus mar., etc.  For the same reason, these choleric persons should be enjoined to drink lot of water and other cold drinks. Juices, diluted with water and glucose, and diluted cold milk should be freely consumed. The life-line for the choleric individuals is drinks, a lot of drinks.

Choleric persons are hot people who do not tolerate heat well. They can’t sit before the fire, and go in the sun. Most of them have ‘sun-headache’. They should take a dose of Belladonna high, or Glonoin (or Bry. And Nat.m),before going out in the sun of the summer; and also should never forget drinking one or two glasses of water before going out. 

Just the opposite of choleric is phlegmatic constitution. This is a cold personality: aggravated by cold, aggravated in winter, by cold drinks and by phlegm producing foods. They are predisposed to catarrhs: catarrh of ENT, trachea and broncho-pulmonary region. Their cardinal enemy among foods is yogurt, sour-milk, and buttermilk. The first thing that you forbid such patients is the above mentioned three forms of milk, also cold milk and milk-shakes. These are, inter alia, the prime phlegm producing foods. About the related remedies there can be differences of opinions, as the phlegmatic constitution, hydrogenoid constitution and sycosis belong to the same universe, with slight nuances of differences, or shades of distinctions. (About this we will talk sometimes in future.) The most related remedies are: Ammoniacum, Hippozaenum, Aranea d., Hep.s., Sil., Nat.s., Ip., Ant-t., Coc-c., (Thuj., Med.),etc.

Wet spell of seasons, both in summer or winter, and damp environ, as in cellars or rooms cooled by water-coolers, are poisonous for the phlegmatic constitutions. Dry weather and dry atmosphere is benevolent to them. Dry fruits are their succor in all eventualities.

Homeopathy can take care of you in all eventualities and circumstances. It can prevent you from contracting seasonal diseases, as for example, spring or autumn diarrhea (Bry., Iris.v., etc.); autumn dysentery (Colch., Iris., Ip., Sulph., etc.), and complaints germane to hot weather. It can fore-control your allergic reactions. E.g. If you are intolerant of milk, and have partaken of it, timely use of Podo., Calc. or Nux.m., can save you, or Sulph.— if Sulph. is your remedy—will prevent diarrhea to occur. Similarly intolerance of spices, especially red chillies, and having been compelled to use them, as, e.g. at some sumptuous dinner; take a dose of Nux.v. or Phosphorus, before or after the meal, to save yourself from dysentery or an attack of piles.

If a person is heading towards baldness, his constitutional remedy, if timely dispensed, prevents or, at least, slows down the pace of the onset. May be that patient would require Medorrhinum or Thuja, as such cases mostly are sycotic. Prematurely graying of hair can also be warded off by the constitutional remedy, or giving a course of phos-ac. 3x, t.d. for a month.  For the second month, b.d.; and once daily for the third month. It will give a universal boost-up in his general health with, of course, keeping the hair from becoming gray prematurely.

To save the eyes of the people who do fine work of knitting, or reading and writing, an occasional dose of Ruta Grav. will save them the eye-fatigue and also keep their sight from deteriorating. A person who gets his eyes fatigued easily, and suffers, at the same time, from ptyalism, will be helped by Jaborandi (Pilocarpin). A regular strategy like this may keep the eyes cataract-free for long. Other remedies to stop the progressive asthenopia are Onosmodium and Senega.

Mention of ptyalism reminds me of persons who have excessive salivation, even soiling the pillow during sleep. They should be saved from early softening and detachment of the gums and thus loosening of the teeth with careful and regular use of Merc.sol., or Jaborandi, with a sagacious selection and restriction of foods. 

Accidents sometimes leave life-long scars, disabilities, and sometimes create chronic tendencies to malignancies. Homeopathy has an impressive list of vulneries that combat ill-effects of injuries, wounds and contusions, even those incurred years ago. Arnica, Bellis-p., Hypericum, and Symphytum off. Have universal fame.

• For contusion of abdomen, breasts and pelvic organs: Bellis-p., Arnica, Hypericum.
• For injuries to eyes: Ledum, Symphytum, Euphrasia,  Staph., Arn.
• Trauma to breasts: bellis-p., arnica.
• Trauma of surgery (or post-operative disorders): Staph., Arn., Bellis-p., Hyper., Raphanus.,  Stront.c.
• Accidently biting a hard substance as bone and giving a feeling of shaky and painful tooth can set right with one dose of Arnica 30. Your tooth will be saved.

For tiredness during journeys Arnica is the best remedy. I usually give a vial of globules moistened with arnica 30 to pilgrims who go to Mecca for Hajj. 2-3 globules to be taken daily when retiring in bed at night; and remain fatigue-free the next day. People praise this prescription as most effective and energizing. They even share these miracle pills with other pilgrims.

To give a dose of Petroleum or Cocculus to people who embark on a car or wagon journey, to save them from nausea and vomiting which they are wonted to have in such circumstances. Fear of air travel, I’ve removed with one dose of Aconite.

To every new individual who has wholesale family history of hepatitis, ‘C’ or ‘B’ I, interspersely administer relevant hepatic medicines in mother tinctures or in 3-6x potencies to save them falling prey to such ailments. Usually employed are: Carduus.m., Chelone gl., Myrica cer., Chel., Chionanthus.  In this way I save them from contracting their family miasm.

Similarly to cases going toward heart problems, trusted homeopathic medicines are used to ward off their shift to that dreaded territory. Digitalis, which the dominant school has totally discarded as positively injurious with its cumulative effects, is quite a beautiful remedy and a heart tonic, in the hands of homeopaths, in 3-6x potencies. It is a wonderful remedy even for the hypertrophy of the prostate, in which case it kills two birds with one stone: prostate and heart problems, both belonging to the aged. That is the beauty of homeopathy!

Other cardiac drugs which I usually employ in low potencies or mother tinctures are: Adonis-v., Cact.gr., Craeteg.ox., Conval.maj., Strophanth, Laur. etc.

I use uterine tonics to fight infertility: Alet.f., Helon., Frax.am., Asoka., etc. These medicines propagate their over-all well-being, along with the fine-tuning their pelvic organs.

For tendency to miscarriage: all the above mentioned tonic medicines, plus Caulophyllum and Thuja.

For sterility: Agnus., Aswagandha, Asoka, Alet.f., Solanum xanth., Helon.

For frigidity: Agnus, Onosmodium, Helon., Kali-br., and of course Sepia.

For promoting breast milk there are: Agnus-c., Ricinus-c., Stict.p. as galactogogues.

Spermagogue: (i.e. Semen producing), Agn., Sabal-s., Calad., Damiana, Aswag.

For renal problems, e.g. calculi or gravel, especially the tendencies there of, renal affinity drugs are employed. They are: Berb.v., Solid.v., Ocim.c., Stig.m., Frag.v., Eryng.aq., Canth., Epig. Etc.

Skin care: acne, pimples of young people: Berb,aq., Jug-r., Sabina.

Black  spots left after healing of wounds and ulcers: Ledum-p.

To fatten the patient after cure from long-lasting diseases, as typhoid or TB.: Hydrastis

Here I end my article. The prophylactic uses of homeopathy are legion. Homeopathy is a friend of mankind, and unrivalled in upholding the health and wellbeing of people. Let’s not fear old age. Homeopathy makes every stage of life delectable. Years do not matter much when the health is dynamic. Old age should be welcomed with grace, dignity and optimism. Let’s die young in the ripe old age, as the young is he who lives a devoted life infused with a mission.  The mission keeps the spirit young, and homeopathy keeps the body young and working, and sex (proper or sublimated) supplies the raw energy (or vitality) to both.  A devoted person with a burning mission always dies young, may he be a centenarian.