HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINE CAN BE SUCCESSFULLY

INTEGRATED INTO ALLOPATHIC MEDICINE

Monika Pichler, MDMichael Frass, MDProfessor of Medicine

Dept. Internal Medicine IIntensive Care UnitUniversity of Vienna

PREFACE -1

• Successful integration of

homeopathy into allopathic medicine

• Homeopathy doesn´t want to replace allopathy but it can be very effective when used in conjunction with traditional medicine

• necessary check- ups

and medical tests have to be taken upon initial examination

• diagnostic evaluation

• life- sustaining drugs and therapies must not be withheld

PREFACE - 2

Founder of homeopathy:

Dr. Samuel Hahnemann

born in 1755 in Germany died in 1843 in Paris/ France

Dr. HAHNEMANN SAMUEL

• Hahnemann studied medicine.

• He had his own practice but he closed it because he was so disappointed with the inadequate therapeutic possibilities of his time.

• He also worked as a chemist, pharmacist and as a translator.

• 1790: translating of the Materia Medica of Cullen

• Cullen had described that the effects of ingesting Peruvian bark are similar to the symptoms of intermittent fever

• Cullen explained this by the bitterness of the bark, but Hahnemann doubted

Selftest with Peruvian bark

• Daily intake of 15 grams of Peruvian bark• Intermittent fever-like symptoms appeared.

Hahnemann wrote down:´ the feet, the

finger tips became cold, I became weak

and tired, then my heart began to

palpate, my pulse became hard and

quick;

…an awful anxiousness, a trembling

(however without shivering), all limbs

were tired out, then a throbbing in my

head, redness of the cheeks, thirst,

in short all symptoms of intermittent

fever appeared following each other.

….this paroxysm lasted for 2 to 3 hours each and came again only when repeating the dose.

I stopped and became healthy again.´

Provings

• Hahnemann performed provings with many other remedies, mainly minerals, plants and animal substances, in healthy volunteers.

• He wrote down all the symptoms in a head to foot scheme in Materia Medica books.

Basic principle in homeopathy

THE LAW OF SIMILARS:

„SIMILIA SIMILIBUS CURENTUR“

„LET LIKES CURE LIKES“

„homoios = similar“

• Since 1807 the term homeopathy is used.

• ´homeo´ comes from the Greek word ´homoios´ and means similar.

1. Law of Similars 2. Provings in healthy volunteers3. Single homeopathic remedy

PRINCIPLES OF HOMEOPATHY

ORGANON

• The whole homeopathic system is formulated in the „Organon of the rational art of healing“ in 291 paragraphs.

• Hahnemann finished this 6th edition in 1842 but it was published only 79 years later.

Case taking

• The totality of symptoms is important.

• Mind, generals and local symptoms have to be considered

• Mind can concern the intellect, the memory, the character, the social behavior

• Generals can concern the sleep, aversions and desires for food and drinks, the weather, the time, the sexuality, discharges, etc.

Single symptom:

• A single symptom should be described as precisely as possible.

• the etiology, the sensation, the intensity and the modalities

• Modalities are circumstances or situations that can aggravate or ameliorate the symptoms.

§ 153

Common symptoms are pathognomonical.

…the more striking, singular, uncommon and peculiar (characteristic) signs and symptoms are chiefly and most solely to be kept in view…. as it is written in § 153

Lasting of case taking

• About 1 hour for complicated cases

• About ½ an hour for follow-ups

• In acute cases prescriptions in 5 minutes

• Homeopaths make notes, try to interrupt rarely, make only few additional questions

• Homeopaths match the symptoms of the patients to the effects of the remedies.

• i.e.: ten different patients who suffer from the flue but with different symptoms may get different remedies.

Reaction to the remedy

• The healing follows the ´Herings law´: symptoms must disappear from internal to external, from head to toe, from the important to the less important organs, in the reverse order of their appearance.

• The totality of symptoms has to be taken into consideration

Repertories

• For the practical finding of the remedy Repertories are used.

• In the Repertory symptoms and the relating remedies are summarized.

• After taking the remedy the symptoms might get worse for a short period of time but the patient feels better almost immediately.

• Usually this initial aggravation or initial reaction is a good sign.

Initial reaction

Remedies

• Remedies are derived from plants, animals, minerals, metals, nosodes and imponderables.

• Nosodes are products of diseases

(i.e.: tuberculinum is prepared from the discharge of a TB- case)

• An example for an imponderable is water treated with x- rays

Dosage

• The dose is only a secondary principle in homeopathy

• Remedies are prepared by a method of dilution and succussion called potentiation.

• C-, D- and LM- potencies are differenciated.

Preparation

• C: centesimal dilution

1 part of the substance is added to

99 parts of water

-> shaken for ten times -> C1

1 part of C1 and another 99 parts of water

-> succussion for ten times ->C2

• In similar ways other potencies get prepared.

• D- potencies are diluted in a ratio of 1:10 with 10 shakings.

• LM- potencies are diluted in a ratio of

1: 50 000 with 100 shakings

Globules

• Mostly remedies are taken as globules. Globules are made from saccharose impregnated with the remedy.

• They get dissolved underneath the tongue.

58 year old male patient, travelling to Mexico received all the recommended prophylactic treatment for epidemio-logical diseases. However, after 5 days in Mexico: acute diarrhea with watery stools which were partly bloody and painful. The odor of the stools was offensive.

CASE REPORT

• The patient was prostrated and felt anxiety of death. He had a burning thirst for small quantities of water and was very restless. As a reason for diarrhea he named meat which had tasted strange.

• He had received instructions for these situations, so he started to take Acidum arsenicosum C12 every 30 minutes.

He felt relieved after 2 hours and diarrhea stopped after 4 hours completely.

Treatment of acute childhood diarrhea with homeopathic

medicine

J Jacobs et al.

Pediatrics 1994; 93:719-25

Result

• Significantly shorter duration of

the diarrhea (p < 0,05)

• Significant less stools on day 3

(p < 0,05)

Is evidence for homoeopathy reproducible ?

Reilly D et al., Lancet 1994; 344:1601-6

Testing of reproducibility in patients with allergic asthma.

Daily visual analogue scale:

Homeopathy significantly better

(p < 0.003)

Metaanalysis: homeopathy does more than placebo (p <0.0004)

Although many studies have already produced positive results, there is still a need for further evaluation of the basics of homeopathy as well as for clinical studies.

• Many allopathic professionals remain sceptical as to the benefits of homeopathy because there have never been any effective studies which reveal the functional mechanism which causes the homeopathic healing to occur.

Homeopathy in Austria

• known by almost everybody

• Homeopathic medicine is often

used in babies, pregnant women

(also during delivery)

and in chronic diseases.

Homeopathy, University of Vienna

Prof. Frass, Head of the Intensive Care

Unit of the Department of Internal

Medicine I at the University of Vienna

uses homeopathic medicine in several

cases.

Homeopathy, University of Vienna

Recent Case Report: A 72 year old female patient with a poisoning of deadly amanita was admitted to the ICU in a comatose state. Sheneeded controlled mechanical ventilation,hemodynamic support with vasopressors (nor-epinephrine), and continuous veno-venouspump-driven hemofiltration. An acute liver dystrophy started.

• Despite a poor prognosis she survived with homeopathic support.

• Also patients who suffer from

sepsis are treated with homeopathic

medicine in addition to conventional

medicine by Prof. Frass.

• Prof. Schlappack, Department of

radiation therapy at the University of

Vienna uses homeopathy for patients

undergoing radiation- therapy. He has

very good results as confirmed by

visual analogue scale.

• At the outpatient‘s department for pregnant women of the Department of Gynecology at the University of Vienna, homeopathy is administered by Dr. Bitschnau.

• At several other hospitals in Vienna and Austria homeopathy is integrated into allopathic medicine.

Homeopathic postgraduate education in Austria

• In Austria there are two Medical Homeopathic Organisations:

Doctor´s Association for Classical

Homeopathy (AEKH; aekh.at)

Austrian Society for Homeopathic Medicine (OEGHM; oeghm.at)

• The two societies offer postgraduate courses lasting for at least three years with a theoretical and a practical part under supervision.

• Since 5 years the Student´s Initiative Homeopathy (SIH; www.sih.at) provides

courses at the University of Vienna.

The term ´Homeopathy´ is not

protected by law, therefore

homeopathic medicines can be

prescribed by every medical doctor.

1st paragraph

• Homeopathy is an effective method of healing and I ´d like to close with the 1st paragraph of the Organon:

• ´THE PHYSICIAN´S HIGH AND ONLY

MISSION IS TO RESTORE THE SICK

TO HEALTH, TO CURE, AS IT IS

TERMED.´

End

Materia Medica (Vermeulen)