LESSON IN THERAPEUTICS
REPETITION OF DOSES
Dr. M. A. Usmani
Dorothy Shepherd wrote: “Magic of the Minimum Dose”, and then she wrote “More Magic of the Minimum Dose”. Both are bewitching books, revealing the miracles that Homeopathy performs. I’ve read these books long, long times ago. But times and again one witnesses the magical feats that Homeopathy accomplishes. Seeing daily miracles is apportioned to him who has the knack to find the indicated remedy. All charms and magic ensue forth from the indicated remedy. All virtues and praises to Hahnemann who discovered and invented homeopathy. God bless his memory, an author of immutable law of therapeutics.
One finds that some environs and some weather elements create a morbid situation in which a relevant sickness prevails and continues in spite of treatment. Such is the wet spell of weather that ails the relevant constitution; or better say, awakens the relevant Miasm. Here and in such circumstances repetition of acute remedy is required, because the force of the morbid elements (i.e. weather) is such and so extensive that the force of the homeopathic dose gets spent up so soon. And the modern gadgets, as electric fans and room-coolers and air-conditioning, are against the environs that are needed for the good working of the homeopathic remedy. So the repetition of the dose is imperative and required to keep the body tolerant of the clemency of the elements. (Here it is that the edict: ‘the single dose and least repetition’ would look primitive. More of it in my next article: Cure Mania). In such situations of continuous prevailing elements even the chronic remedies become acute agents and bear repetition well.
The spell of wet weather, here in Pakistan, is prevailing from the mid of July and still it is going in full rage. Related ailments: i.e. rheumatism, arthritis, asthma, catarrh of chest and sinuses, etc. are the large percentage of daily cases. There is such an oppressing warm and humid atmosphere that one cannot sit even for a moment without fan and air-conditioner, which adds fuel to fire. To ask people to switch off their A/Cs would be a capital punishment to them. So my strategy is: repeat the indicated medicine, day in and day out. In ninety five per cent of cases the indicated remedy these days, in rheumatic and arthritic ailments, is Rhus Tox. I repeat it every four hours. It only keeps the sufferings in abeyance, not advancing to cure even a little bit of it. You stop it, and pains reappear again. The chronic of Rhus-t. is Calcarea Carb., which I intersperse here and there, but without any visible benefit. I started saying to my patients to bear the abated trouble for as long as the wet spell prevailed. It was just like Paracetamol, that admirably kill pains, but for a short time.
In September I myself came down with myriad pains in whole of my body: bones, tendons and muscles, all. Twice checked, the medicine was the ubiquitous Rhus-t. I started taking it in watery solution, four to five times daily, with impressive amelioration, but no permanent relief. Thrice or four times, I took Calcarea 200. in four weeks, but without any impact. I searched my notes; and found that ‘Lycopodium should be given, in case Rhus-t is indicated but does not lead to cure’. I took 2 doses of Lycopodium 30+200, 2 globules of each potency in every dose, at the interval of half an hour. The graph of the disease started falling, with a definite impact of the disease being in control. Only I regretted why I didn’t take a third dose of Lyco.1m. within another half hour.
Quite a few remedies in the whole material medica bear repetition well. Rhus Tox. is one of them. Carbo.Veg., Hep.Sulph., Bry., Bell., and many others also bear repetition well. Deep acting medicines, that are usually used for chronic treatment, and are not usually repeated easily, are repeated when used for acute cases. Among them are, inter alia, Silicea, Pulsatilla, Merc.Sol. etc. Merc. Sol. is the king of the Syphilitics; but is used very frequently for acute ailments, as gingivitis, tonsillitis and cold in the head. My dictum is:
In acute diseases always repeat, or face failure. Wind up your acute case with a dose of the remedy that has helped, in the next higher potency. Or if the acute remedy only mitigates, but does not cure, in spite of the repetition, find the complementary and chronic remedy.