Fundamental homoeopathic approach for the treatment of asthma .

Homoeopathy reco gnises Asthma as a Hereditary susceptibility in which abnormal sensitivity to ou tside influences causes a periodic construction of the breathing tubes with whee zy and difficult breathing. The Fundamentalist School of Homoeopaths, do not ge neralise and term it as Asthma. They are abhorrent, of naming any disease. They insist that disease is the result of the Psycho-Physical disturbances of the ind ividual. In this method the patient sits in a long session with the physician. He narrates, all his symptoms, the timing of the attack what aggravates the symp toms, what ameliorates them, his grief, other emotions, his hereditary taints, h is phobias his reactions, longings, in short everything about himself has to be told. The physician takes down the case in the patients own words, On the basis of the totality of the picture presented, the physician selects the remedy. The physician should be a keen observer in the homoeopathic sense and note down the details that are left out by the patient, his relatives or attendants, by his o wn observation. Hence to illustrate this method of treatment, we can only quotes examples of cases treated by eminent Homoeopaths. In one case a U.P. Homoeopat h took a case for one hour but could not find a single pointer that could lead t o the selection of the remedy. But the keen sense of observation of the physicia n helped him to select the remedy in the next few days. He noticed that every at tack of Asthma was associated with nausea. He selected Ipecac and the patient wa s cured. Dr. E. Harris Ruddock, has recorded a cure achieved through his keen sense of ob servation. A lady was seized with a severe attack of Asthma. The tightness of th e chest and dysponea were extreme. The patient could not lie down. She had just come after sudden exposure to cold. Dr. Ruddock prescribed Aconite. On visiting the patient the next morning he found the patient in the breakfast room relaxed and comfortable. The doctor who had seen her in her violent distressed state co uld not even recognise the cheerful relaxed lady. 'Aconite' had acted so fast. He states that the lady had suffered from repeated attacks earlier and each time the recovery was very tedious. The patient suffered another attack a few months later and one more dose of Aconite completely cured her. After a second dose th ere was no recurrence. The factors that lead to the selection of Aconite in this case were "Anxiety" and "Exposure". As the eminent homeopath Kent puts it the A conite Asthma, will show itself on the face. There is great "Anxiety". Aconite is a great remedy for dysponea from fear, such as occurs in nervous women. Howev er to take a case like this, and find the characteristic symptom and prescribe a suitable remedy, the physician should have the speed of recollection and memory of the computer. James Tyler Kent, the doyen among homoeopaths has cured some longstanding cases of nervous asthma by giving potentised Arsenic. It is treat t o study how Kent arrived at the characteristic symptoms of the patient. His des cription of Asthma of nervous character is unique. Asthma that comes on , after midnight in patients who suffer from cold, dry wheezing cough must sit up bed an d hold chest, anxious restless with prostration. It will take a genius to observ e the symptoms so keenly and recollect a matching drug picture and administer it in proper potency and dose. H.C. Allen indicates Sambacus Nigra in Milier's As thma. His description of a typical case is vivid. "The child awakes suddenly nea rly suffocated, livid blue, sits up in bed turns blue, gasps for breath which it finally gets, child inspires but cannot expire". John H. Clarke, M.D. suggests 'Cuprum Met' when spasm is very prominent all ove r the body and there is vomitting after the attack. For Asthma associated with s kin symptoms Dul Camara has been successfully prescribed by many. In such cases attacks come during the rainy season or brought on by sudden changes in hot weat her. A reputed homoeopath of Hyderabad has good success in treating some cases of Asthma, associated with stomach disorders and flatulence by administrating Nu x Vomica. But in all these cases the patient, has to be very communicative and c ooperative. The physician should be very persevering, a keen observer and should have a photographic memory of the Materia Medica. John H. Clarke has mentione d the difficulty he faced in the selection of the remedy in one of his cases. A patient consulted him. The symptoms narrated by the patient were quite an amazin g collection. The physician was baffled. Only after three or four attempts Clark

e could get at the characteristic symptom. The patient at last confided that the greatest trouble was the thoughts that came into her mind unbidden of a blasphe mous order. Clarke was able to find the solution for the chief trouble in anacar dium. Dr. Mukesh Batra has published two cases of allergic Bronchitis due to as thmatic tendency. The first is that of one year old child suffering from serious bouts of sneezing. Various medicines were tried with little effect. On visiting the house it was noticed that the child was sleeping on a cotton mattress. His head under silk pillow, his body was covered with a fur blanket. After removing the suspected allergens (cotton, silk and fur) the child improved miraculously. The second case was that of a four-year child. [patient - Asthma] He used to sneeze often and enough. After treating unsuccessf ully for a few months and taking the case in greater detail, it was found that t he child used to get the attack every time the parents went out, leaving him alo ne at night. A case of allergic bronchitis triggered off by an emotional insecur ity. Once the parents stopped going out at night the problem disappeared. But many Homoeopaths in modern days are baffled. The patients now-a-days are in great hurry. They have no time, for the psychiatric type of Homoeopathic couch. The fast pace of modern urban life makes it difficult for the patient or the phy sician to follow the fundamentalist method. There is another type of patient. He has respect for the physician. He tells plenty about his illness. When the pati ent Fewis years goneago, the a physician patient came findsto nothing the author. but anHe impenetrable was very intelligent verbal forest. and cooper ative. But every day he came up with new symptoms. To really assess his symptoms the author prescribe a "Placebo". He reported cure of his symptoms but narrated a fresh bunch of symptoms. Later the author learnt, that the patient wad studyi ng the Materia Medica to supply the author with symptoms at the encounters. He w anted all attention for himself and also wanted to show that his illness was bey ond Even the Hahnemann skill ofsuffered, Homoeopathy. the same difficulty. For he says "observe and discount the temperament of your patient". Some are hypochondriacs and other very sensit ive and intolerant. Such persons are apt to represent their complaints in too st rong The hypochondriacs a light hoping are thereby recognised to gainby the the physician's following traits attention. by the physician. The y make a blueprint of the disease they want in the hidden recess of the mind. Th ey select symptoms in much the same way that healthy people select clothes choos ing carefully for style fit and effect upon others. In many cases the process is wholly Thus hypochondriac unconscious.has an excessive perpetual anxiety about his health. He feig ns illness to escape responsibility or win sympathy of others. The modern pace o fBetween life has these generated two types a high of patients percentage the ofHomoeopathic this type ofphysician patients.feels helpless. Especially the plight of the new entrants in the initial stages of practice is a lmost frustrating. Further handicap is the background knowledge of Homoeopathic basic principles is not at all dissiminated among the general public.