Illustration of Local Diseases

Important regarding Local Diseases

185 Among the one-sided disease an important place is occupied by the so-called local maladies, by which term is signified those changes and ailments that appear on the external parts of the body. Till now the idea prevalent in the schools was that these parts were alone morbidly affected, and that the rest of the body did not participate in the disease - a theoretical, absurd doctrine, which has led to the most disastrous medical treatment.

186 Those so-called local maladies which have been produced a short time previously, solely by an external lesion, still appear at first sight to deserve the name of local disease. But then the lesion must be very trivial, and in that case it would be of no great moment. For in the case of injuries accruing to the body from without, if they be at all severe, the whole living organism sympathizes; there occur fever, etc. The treatment of such diseases is relegated to surgery; but this is right only in so far as the affected parts require mechanical aid, whereby the external obstacles to the cure, which can only be expected to take place by the agency of the vital force, may be removed by mechanical means, e.g., by the reduction of dislocations, by bandages to bring together the lips of wounds, by the extraction of foreign bodies that have penetrated into the living parts, by making an opening into a cavity of the body in order to remove an irritating substance or to procure the evacuation of effusions or collections of fluids, by bringing into apposition the broken extremities of a fractured bone and retaining them in exact contact by an appropriate bandage, etc. But when in such injuries the whole living organism requires, as it always does, active dynamic aid to put it in a position to accomplish the work of healing, e.g. when the violent fever resulting from extensive contusions, lacerated muscles, tendons and blood-vessels requires to be removed by medicine given internally, or when the external pain of scalded or burnt parts needs to be homoeopathically subdued, then the services of the dynamic physician and his helpful homoeopathy come into requisition. 187 But those affections, alterations and ailments appearing on the external parts, that do not arise from any external injury or that have only some slight external wound for their immediate exciting cause, are produced in quite another manner; their source lies in some internal malady. To consider them as mere local affections, and at the same time to treat them only, or almost only, as it were surgically, with topical applications - as the old school have done from the remotest ages - is as absurd as it is pernicious in its results 194 It is neither beneficial in acute local disease of rapid growth, nor in those of long standing, to use a remedy externally as a local application to the diseased part, even if the medicines were specific and curative in that form. Acute local diseases, such as inflammations of single parts, like erysipelas, for instance, which are not produced by violent external injuries, but by dynamic or internal causes, will usually yield rapidly to internal homopathic remedies selected from our stock of well-tested medicines. 188 These affections were considered to be merely topical, and were therefore called local diseases, as if they were maladies exclusively limited to those parts wherein the organism took little or no part, or affections of these particular visible parts of which the rest of the living organism, so to speak, knew nothing.

An Extract from "A Compend Of The Principles Of Homoeopathy"

by William Boericke

The Local Disease

The Local Disease is Nature's Effort to Relieve by Derivation. "When the system is affected with some chronic disease which threatens to destroy vital organs and life itself, and which does not yield to the spontaneous efforts of the vital force, this endeavours to quiet the inner disease, and to avert the danger by substituting and maintaining a local disease on some external part of the body, whither the internal disease is transferred by derivation. In this way, the local affection for a time arrests the internal evil, without, however, being able to cure it, or to lessen it essentially. The fontanels of the old school have a similar effect, in the form of artificial ulcers upon external parts; they soothe internal chronic complaints, but without curing them". Nevertheless, the local malady is never anything more than a part of the general disease, but it is a part which has become excessively developed in one direction by the vital force, and transported to the surface of the body where there is less danger, in order to lessen the internal morbid process. 201, Organon. The mental state and temperament of the patient are often of most decisive importance in the homoeopathic selection of a remedy, and should never escape the accurate observation of the physician, as the state of mind is always modified in socalled physical diseases.

Definition: It is a Visible change localised to a particular part of the body From the Organon of Medicine by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, Local diseases are classified into: 1. Surgical diseases: which need surgical intervention along with dynamic treatment for the dynamic derangements caused by extensive surgical conditions and to enhance the healing processes after surgical intervention. 2. Non Surgical diseases: which are purely dynamic and which arise due to internal derangements.

Illustrations of local diseases and its treatment:

i) Severe Dislocations:

Clinical Features

Arm held in abduction w/ shoulder lacking normal rounded contour Difficulty (painful) touching ipsilateral arm to contralateral shoulder

Here, surgical intervention is of prime importance followed by homeopathic management. The surgical procedure is done by a surgeon by the following methods:
Arthroscopy

Arthroscopy allows the orthopaedic surgeon to insert a pencil-thin device with a small lens and lighting system into tiny incisions to look inside the joint. The images inside the joint are relayed to a TV monitor, allowing the doctor to make a diagnosis. Other surgical instruments can be inserted to make repairs, based on what is with the arthroscope. Arthroscopy often can be done on an outpatient basis. According to the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, more than 1.4 million shoulder arthroscopies are performed worldwide each year.

Open Surgery

Open surgery may be necessary and, in some cases, may be associated with better results than arthroscopy. Open surgery often can be done through small incisions of just a few inches.

Role of a Homeopathic Physician:

After surgery, some pain, tenderness, and stiffness are normal. You should be alert for certain signs and symptoms that may suggest the development of complications.

Fever after the second day following surgery Increasing pain or swelling Redness, warmth, or tenderness which may suggest a wound infection Unusual bleeding (some surgical wound drainage is normal and, in fact, desirable Numbness or tingling of the arm or hand

And now our role comes in. The above dynamic features appearing after surgery are treated effectively without any harm to the patient thus enhancing the complete healing.

ii) Wide incised wounds:

Treatment: 1. Surgical treatment: The incised wound is sutured. 2. Homeopathic treatment: After the wound is sutured, Homeopathic medicine is employed internally to enhance healing and prevent complications such as: Infection (common) Ugly scar Keloid Incisional hernia Pigmentation Marjolins ulcer

iii) Effusions in organs:

1. Surgical treatment: Evacuation of the effusion by aspiration or other surgical methods.

2. Homeopathic treatment: Is employed internally in order to prevent further collection of fluid and so correct the dynamic status of the body.

iv) Fractures:
1. Surgical treatment: Bringing into apposition the broken extremities of a fractured bone and retaining them in exact contact by an appropriate bandage. 2. Homeopathic treatment: Is employed internally in order to enhance callous formation, reduce pain, increase stability, prevent infection, etc.

i) Eruptions:
In this case, the eruptions arise due to internal derangement of the vital force and so there is no need of surgical intervention or local applications but the remedy have to be employed internally.

ii) Tumour:
It is an over growth of the body soft tissue or bony tissue, thus there is no need of surgical intervention to remove the mass by excision. Employment of the homeopathic remedy internally will help reduce or remove the tumour by correcting the deranged vital force which has led to overgrowth.

iii) Inflammations:
Inflammations such as gastritis, urethritis, conjunctivitis, etc., are the reactions of weakened dynamic plane of the body and so employment of the homeopathic remedy internally will help subside the inflammation.