Encyclopedia of Homeopathy

20 •THEORY & PRACTICEDR. JAMES TYLER KENT This hugely influentialUS homeopath was responsible for establishinga clear framework on which to judge theefficacy of prescribed treatment (see page 19),and also carried out a great deal of researchinto new substances to enlarge the materiamedica of homeopathic medicines.stress or emotional distress, overworking, exposure to pollutants, orintake of drugs (see page 177). Underlying “miasmatic” factors mayalso affect the ability of the vital force to withstand any onslaught(see below). Some homeopaths place great importance on thepatient’s “constitutional type” when they are prescribing treatment,choosing remedies whose “symptom picture” (see page 23) exactlymatch the individual’s psychological and physical makeup whenhealthy. These remedies are taken when healthy to strengthen thepatient’s vital force and build up resistance to developing symptomsthat may occur in the future. Health problems generally fall into twocategories: acute or short-term illness, arising rapidly and potentiallyclearing up quickly (such as a cold or minor digestive problem); andchronic, long-term ill health (such as rheumatoid arthritis ordiabetes), which has a tendency to be recurrent, deep-seated, orprogressively degenerative. Homeopathic remedies work to supportthe self-healing powers of the vital force in its response to illness: tospeed recovery from acute illness and make the duration of theillness less debilitating; or to aid recovery from recurrent illness or prevent it fromrecurring altogether. Remedies must be carefully chosen, however, if they are to work atoptimum efficiency, and chronic conditions are best treated by qualified homeopathsrather than left to self-diagnosis.Miasms & predispositionAfter many years developing his ideas, Hahnemann noticed that some patients still didnot seem to respond to the remedies prescribed for them, or that they relapsed after ashort time. He studied these cases all together as a group, and concluded that general,inherent, higher-level themes of ill health were to blame. These he called “miasms.”They can be described as the chronic effect of an underlying disease or diseasesusceptibility, present in an individual or in previous generations of that person’s familyhistory. Three particular miasms were identified by Hahnemann—Psora (which relatesto scabies), Sycosis (which is linked with gonorrhea), and Syphilis(which is based on syphilis). Cancer and tuberculosis areregarded by some as further potential miasms. He developedremedies called “nosodes,” made from the diseases themselves,to combat these miasms. Since all infected material is sterilizedbefore the potentizing process of dilution and succussion, it iscompletely safe to use.The concept of a miasm proposes a model of people’shealth that has layers of predisposition or imbalance. In someNOSODESHahnemann developed nosode remediesto counteract the miasms he believed tobe responsible for sometimes “blocking”treatment. They were made from infectedtissue or bacteria, but were perfectlysafe, since the substances were sterilizedand potentized. Psorinum, for instance,is made from scabies-infected tissue,while Carcinosin is derived fromcancerous tissue.