Abstract: Infectious disease which affects individual of all ages, all sexes, can take life of many at a time can be treated as well as prevented by proper homeopathic treatment.
Introduction
The word infectious disease means disease took place by infection. Before onset of disease, no one is aware and concerned about this source of infection. But once one is infected, we all are concerned to find its source and do preventive measures, so that in future we again will not become the victim of this source of infection. Actually we are exposed to too many sources of infection daily and also many organisms are natural habitant inside our body. They are not affecting us but once we become susceptible we become diseased by these organisms.
Our master Hahnemann told cessus effecta, cessus causa i.e. if we treat the effect, cause will be removed by itself. Once we become unsusceptible to any such kind of infection, we are not being diseased if they enter inside our body.
In our country there is hardly any individual who is not exposed to Mycobacterium tuberculae, but how many of us actively suffer from tuberculosis, which can be easily understood if we see the chest x-ray of any individual.
About Infectious Diseases
Infectious diseases are disorders caused by infectious agent include viruses, bacteria, nematodes, arthropods and other micro parasites such as tapeworm and other Helminthes.
According to WHO – Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganism, such as bacteria, virus, parasites or fungi, the disease can be spread directly or indirectly from one person to other.
· Active Infection: Symptomatic infections are apparent.
· Latent Infection: Does not produce noticeable symptoms e.g. – Latent Tuberculosis
A short term infection is an acute infection and long term infection is a chronic one.
Common Symptoms of Infection are:
· Fever
· Diarrhoea
· Fatigue
· Muscle ache
· Cough
Infectious disease spread from person to person, bites from an insect, ingesting contaminated food and water, being exposed to organism directly or indirectly.
Homeopathy and Infectious disease
In Infectious diseases there are two components, one is microorganism and other is individual. Hahnemann discussed in his book Organon of medicine about three different causes i.e., Exciting cause, maintaining cause, and fundamental cause. Microorganisms can be exciting as well as maintaining cause but fundamental cause is present with individual. Hahnemann said exciting and maintaining cause is to be removed and treatment should be based on totality of symptoms, So a patient of infectious disease should be sensitized to make himself away from the source of infection by process of isolation, sterilization and disinfection.
Susceptibility of an individual is main point to be considered, one microorganism cannot affect all individual at a time, those who all become susceptible become the victim of these microorganism. Susceptibility can be only satisfied by Homoeopathic treatment on the basis of totality of symptom. In acute infectious disease the temporary excitement of latent psora will again go back to latent state but in chronic infectious disease the secondary manifestation of miasm can only be satisfied by proper anti miasmatic homeopathic treatment.
Hahnemann in his early days of practice had an idea that removal of cause is not necessary, only proper homeopathic treatment is enough to restore healthy state. Later, he realized on the basis of his clinical experience that only treatment is not enough but removal of exciting cause is mandatory to restore health in sickness as early as possible.
Our master Kent said microorganisms are not the cause but end product of disease. In his book, Lectures on Homoeopathic Philosophy he justified his statement by giving example of tuberculosis. He said sickness started by an uneasy feeling, lack of energy and comfort and gradually other manifestation started like evening rise of temperature, chronic cough, and loss of weight. Microorganisms were not found in initial stage but later on when the disease is fully manifestated.
In acute individual disease sometimes but in sporadic and epidemic disease are mostly types of infectious diseases. The microorganisms create an artificial susceptibility in sporadic and epidemic diseases because of virulence and environment which helps in there rapid growth in a specific time and area.
Homeopathic medicine became very effective in preventive as well as curative aspect during the epidemic.
Preventive aspect of Infectious diseases
As we discussed earlier, disease is to be treated on the basis of totality of symptom, but so far preventive aspect of infectious disease is concerned, we do not have diseased but susceptible individual. Before hand it is very difficult to understand who is susceptible and who are not, so it should be applied to all.
Medicine prepared from diseased product that is Nosodes can be helpful
Measles Morbilinum
POX Variolinum
Whooping Cough Pertussin
Mumps Parotidinum
Influenza Influenzinum
Definite data and research work is needed to claim about the preventive value of homoeopathic medicine.
Some homeopathic medicines which are very useful in a case of infectious diseases based on clinical experience of author and his teachers:
Aconite , Belladonna, Arsenic album , Gun Powder, Crotalus horridus, Mercurius solubilis, Hepar Sulph, Syphilinum, Nitric Acid, Carbo animalis, etc
Conclusion
Every disease is a challenge to physician, but in infectious disease the physician and patient is more worried because of its fast progress and very rapid fatality, if not controlled in a right time. Since long back and today also homoeopathic medicine has shown its place and importance so far treatment of infectious disease is concerned. The most important thing is to prescribe right medicine in right strength at a right time. So proper knowledge of medicine, its potency and proper repetition play a very important role in successful and failed cases.
References
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