Concept of Acute Disease in Homoeopathy and different Approaches of its Management - homeopathy360

Concept of Acute Disease in Homoeopathy and different Approaches of its Management

 

Concept of Acute Disease in Homoeopathy and different Approaches of its  Management

Abstract:  Acute disease, described as sudden onset and less duration, varying from common colds and fevers to more serious conditions like gallbladder stones and rheumatic arthritis etc. In Homeopathic views acute diseases manifest as an imbalance of the body’s vital force and aim to restore harmony by treating the underlying causes.  Most of the time, patients consult an allopathic physician for acute disease,  this is because they have the wrong concept that Homoeopathy is a slow-acting therapy meant only for chronic diseases and not for acute conditions. These are their own limitations, not those of science.

Introduction: Acute diseases are started suddenly and last for a short time, often only for a few days or weeks. Acute diseases are often caused by a virus or an infection but can also be caused by injury resulting from falls or accidents or mis-use of drugs or medications. Acute diseases are conditions to which man is liable are either rapid, morbid processes of the abnormally deranged vital force, which have a tendency to finish their course more or less quickly, but always in a moderate time. (Aphorism 72) 

Classification of Acute diseases:

  1. Allopathic concept of disease classification. 
  2. Homoeopathic concept of disease classification. 

Homoeopathic Concept of Acute Disease Classification 

                                                                          ACUTE DISEASES                                                                             

Disease attacking                                               Disease attacking                                                       Disease attacking

Individually                                                               Sporadically                                                                Epidemically

  • Forms of acute crisis: As it is mentioned in the Organon teaches that there are three forms of acute crisis: 
  1. Indisposition
  2. Acute exacerbation of chronic miasm. 
  3. The acute Miasms
  4. Acute Indisposition: Indisposition is slight alteration in the state of health manifestation by one or more trivial symptoms that have been observed only for a short time. This is not the fully developed disease, hence it does not require medicinal aid. A slight alteration in the diet and regimen is sufficient to control it.
  5. Acute exacerbation of chronic miasm: The second type of acute crisis attacks individuals ‘Sporadically’, which is caused by atmospheric, meteoric and telluric influences. These are true acute indispositions and if severe should be treated with acute remedies. These diseases form acute layers, which represent the constitutional picture until they have run their course or are removed by homoeopathic remedies. 
  6. The Acute Miasms: The Third type of acute disease is’ Acute Miasm’. They are caused by microorganisms, which are self-limiting but tend to form quick crises and end with complications, death or convalescence. They are of two types: those that provide immunity after one attack and those, which re-occur like flu, cold etc. They should be treated with remedies, which reflect the picture of the acute miasms only. 

History taking of Acute cases: Acute diseases are caused by exciting cause or acute miasm. The acute miasm comes on either with sufficient violence to cause death of the patient, or with less violence, wherein there is a period of progress and a tendency to recover. While attending to a case, the physician should inquire to the recent deviation from health. Since acute diseases require immediate medical intervention one should not waste time in collecting details of a constitutional state and should confine himself to the presentation of the disease. Therefore in acute diseases, the physician should be able to collect two main important aspects of the case. 

  1. Presenting complaints: These can be described in four components, i.e., Location, Sensation, Modalities and Concomitants. 
  2. The feature at general level:
  3. Changes on the physical plane like appetite, thirst, thermal reaction, respiration, etc. 
  4. Changes on the mental plane like irritability, confusion, fear, restlessness etc. 

Case Processing of Acute Disease: 

  1. Disease Diagnosis. 
  2. Diagnosis of Phase of disease.
  3. Diagnosis of Miasm: A Dominant Miasm
  4. Diagnosis of Susceptibility. 
  5. Erecting an Acute totality.

Diseases Diagnosis: One of the popular misconceptions about Homoeopathy is that it has little to do with diagnosis and that a Homoeopathic physician does not require various facilities like Laboratory Investigations, X–ray, Sonography, etc.

 Importance of diagnosis in Acute conditions:

  1. To know the type of disease: Individual/Sporadic/Epidemic.
  2. Affected Tissue/system / organ can be known.
  3. To know the individual characteristic symptoms, which form the basis of prescription. 
  4. Pathology: Type, degree, and extent can be known. 
  5. To know the Prognosis of disease.
  6. Management: Auxiliary mode of treatment. / Medicinal treatment.
  7. Prophylactic measures.

Diagnosis of the Phase of disease: Acute diseases require immediate attention and treatment. They are   Sudden, Intense, Sharp and Unpredictable conditions. To know the Phase they are further classified into-

  1. Individual 
  2. Epidemic
  3. Periodic 
  4. Acute exacerbation of chronic

 Diagnosis of Miasms: Theory of “Miasms” remains a point of controversy for so many years. On the basis of a theory written by Dr. Hahnemann, different authors have tried to explain the theory and its application. Without doing theoretical discussion here we should try to understand about the practical application of miasms in cases particularly acute. After taking the history we have to decide about the miasms in the case. 

Susceptibility: Criteria: Low / Medium / High 

  1. General level: characteristic /common
  2. Mental level: Expression/disposition, Emotional /intellectual /subconscious 
  3. Physical level: Appetite /stool /urine /sleep
  4. Vital functions: TPR, BP, Resp., Heat etc. 
  5. Immunity level. 
  6. Tissue/organ/system level:
  • Depth intensity or pathology.
  • Which miasm is active at present? 
  • Common or characteristic expressions. 

Formation of acute Totality: 

We should make Acute Totality in following way: 

  1. A/F – Maintaining / Exciting cause 
  2. Location (Tissue / Organ / System)
  3. Sensation and Complaints. 
  4. Modality. 
  5. Concomitant.

 Pick up characteristics or P.Q.R.S, Keynote expressions and write in order of importance as follows.

  • A/F 
  • Concomitant
  •  Modality 
  • Sensation and complaints
  •  Location. 

In case of individual and sporadic type of acute diseases, the patients are inquired into the above mentioned scheme. 

In case of epidemic type of acute cases– case taking of few patients is done in a Systematic manner. Through that physician comes to know the characteristics of individual features of that particular epidemic disease at that particular time. On the basis of this totality of symptoms is formed under the above mentioned schema. This totality is considered as the totality of mass of the patient.

 Fever totality: Incorporating the three distinct stages of Chill, Heat, and Sweat, as well as the Apyrexial phase. It also includes compound fever with indistinct phases of Chill, heat and sweat, or irregular or mixed phases, the following items have to be noted carefully:

  1. Ailments from – Cause
  2. Aggravation And Amelioration. – Especially time 
  3. Characteristics – Descriptive
  4. Concomitants – Before, during, after

Formation of Totality in an acute exacerbation of chronic diseases 

  1. The remedy should be chosen by the location, sensations, modalities & concomitants of the active layer.
  2. The remedy chosen should be more superficial so that it will not disturb the chronic condition and will calm the symptoms immediately without acting too deeply on the case. It becomes a complementary remedy to the constitutional remedy that follows. 

Acute prescribing:

  • Acute miasms: Genus epidemicus as curative and Prophylactic. 
  • Acute exacerbation of chronic diseases
  1. Acute prescription based on presenting totality. 
  2. Indicated constitutional remedy at the end of the acute phase which prevents relapses.
  •  Acute episodes periodic disorders:- Acute Prescribing based on the presenting totality. 

Unusual Prescribing: On rare occasions, in acute cases physician has to follow the following path of prescribing in case of the absence of clear pointers of acute prescribing. 

  1. Nosodes 
  2. Organ remedies 
  3. Pathological prescribing 
  4. Alteration of remedies

References:

  1. Hahnemann S. 2002 Organon of Medicine. Sixth Edition. Translated by W. Boericke. B.Jain Pub. Ltd. 
  2. Hahnemanns’s Organon of Medicine by  B.K.Sarkar.
  3. Allen J.H.The Chronic Miasm, 1921, Reprint Edition 2006, B.Jain Publishers, Pvt.Ltd. New Delhi.
  4. Hahnemann S. The Chronic disease, their peculiar nature and their homoeopathic cure.
  5. International journal of trend in scientific research and development, Homoeopathic Management of Acute Cases.

Author

Dr Jayapriya Beniwal (Pg  Scholer Part -II), Dr Sunil kumar (H.O.D., Organon of Medicine), Dr Vinay Kumar (Professor Homoeopathic Materia Medica)

 Sri-Ganganagar Homoeopathic college, Hospital and Research Institute, Sri-Ganganagar, Rajasthan, India 

 

About the author

Dr Jaya Priya Beniwal

Dr Jaya Priya Beniwal - pg scholer of Sri ganaganagar homoeopathic college , Sriganaganar, Rajasthan