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Homœopathic practice in a south coast town
212
THE
BRITISH
IfoM(EOPATHIC
JOURNAL
I do not particularly want them to: but they never do[ But when they walk to the door, their thanks is all in their handshake: Your hand is gripped and shaken with all their force. I have two Lycopodium men, and I take them half way to the front door, then hand them on to someone else to be shown out! But remember the Lycopodium is a very faithful patient. They remember if you did them good in childhood or a long time ago, and back they come
Homoeopathic practice in a south coast town MARIANNE
HARLING,
B.M., B.CH., M.F.HOM.
Eighteen years ago, as soon as I became a Member of the Faculty of Homceopathy, I put a brass plate on m y gate and waited for the patients to come.
The first was a retired Indian Army colonel. He had had a gastrojejunostomy many years previously, had chronic indigestion, and was exceedingly punctual. After Lycopodium he reported that his indigestion was no better, but that he could now drink gin without ill-effect. My second patient was a healthy-looking spinster whose only complaint was a fungus infection of the finger-nails which she had had for 18 years. I told her that it might take 18 months to cure, and during that time we went into every possible and impossible detail of her life. One day, just as she was going out of the door she told me that her father had been a patient of Sir Johil Weir's. "He treated him for syphilis, you know." (I would never have known. She was a most respectable lady, with false teeth.) So I gave her Lueticum 30 with no result. When the 18 months were up I suggested we should call it a day, but she begged me to continue treatment, and I gave her Fluoric acid 6. Three months later she came back with a perfect set of nails. I have not seen many patients who admitted to a history of syphilis in themselves or their families, but I have found Lueticum to be a very useful remedy in dry, thin, gnarled and undernourished old people. One elderly man of blameless reputation had had an operation for carcinoma of the colon some years previously, and was losing weight gradually without any other symptoms, tie gained a stone after Lueticum 30, and lived altogether 23 years from the date of his operation. When he died, aged 86. it was from cancer of the jaw, at the place where his pipe-stem rested. A lecture given at the Royal London Homceopathic Hospital in October 1977
:HOMeOPAThiC PRACTICE I1~ A SOUTH COAST TOW~
213
Lueticum is also useful in varicose ulcers, and twice I have seen dramatic improvement which seemed directly related to a dose of this remedy. At other times there has been improvement, but not until several months after the Lueticum, when other remedies such as Vipera, Calc. fluor and Hamamelis had been given. I usually give patients with varicose ulcers a dose of Lueticum 30 at some stage, especially if thin, querulous and arthritic, and always if he or she is a liar. The South Coast of England has been well named the Costa Geriatrics. Middle-aged couples come there for holidays in summer and fall in love with the sea and the sun and the shops, and even, Heaven help them, the hilly landscape of Bournemouth. So they buy themselves a bungalow or a modern flat and retire there. Retirement is a lethal occupation, and often, six months later, one of them, usually the husband, is dead. This explains why so many of one's patients are widows in circumstances which become increasingly reduced as inflation progresses. Ignatia has with good reason been called the Widow's Remedy. I t helps to relieve the brittle tension and insomnia experienced by many people in these circumstances, and in m y view is superior to, as well as safer than, Valium. My mother, who became a competent domestic prescriber in the last ten of her 93 years, used to keep several little bottles of Ignatia 12 in store, and send them round to her friends who suffered bereavement. She often reported that they were very grateful and asked for more, sometimes going on to it for life. Whilst I have found Ignatia to be a good acute remedy for bereavement, Natrum tour. is more appropriate for the long-term effects, as when someone has never been well since the death of a partner. Provincial homceopathic doctors usually serve a large catchment area (in m y case, with one colleague, it extends from Brighton to Bath), so that it is impracticable to undertake acute general practice except within one's immediate neighbourhood, and patients are encouraged to register with a local doctor for day-to-day emergencies. The attitude of these colleagues to homceopathy varies from being glad to unload their chi-onic patients, at one extreme, to removing them from their list at the other, with a mean opinion of "at least it can't do them any harm". Patients come for a variety of reasons. Some have been brought up on homceopathy and have already taken most of the remedies one can think of. In such cases it may be necessary to persuade them that another form of treatment is appropriate. Many are vegetarians, nature cure enthusiasts, or just d o n ' t like taking drugs, and they usually respond well to homceopathic remedies. Others come as a last resort, having tried every kind of orthodox and unorthodox treatment. They may be on a formidable battery of d r u g s - hypotensives, diuretics, antidepressants, tranquillizers, sleeping pills and steroids. One has to decide whether and how to wean them (it is not wise to stop everything suddenly) and a knowledge of the "proving symptoms" of the currently popular dl-ugs is valuable. Most of m y patients are retired people; the conditions for which they most frequently seek help are arthritis, constipation, depression, headaches, indigestion, insomnia, menopause, piles, pruritus, chronic respiratory disorders, shingles, tinnitus, varicose ulcers and vertigo. Many of t h e m of course are just lonely and want to talk. And what should one do about patients with incurable and fatal conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, progressive muscular atrophy, who come to homceopathy as a last resort? I take refuge in
214
T~v,
:BRITISH
HOM(EOPATItIC
JOURNAL
explaining, to myself as much as to them, that homceopathy treats the patiem, and not the disease--no miracles, but perhaps one can make them more comfortable, and indeed, we have remedies which do just this. Hypericum 20~ helped to heal bedsores, Causticum relieves urinary incontinence, Carbo veg brings up the wind (never mind about reviving corpses), Arnica strengthens a flagging heart, and Arsenicum relieves the nausea and anguish of a termim~ patient. With the whole materia medica to choose from it is inevitable t h a t one should ~cquire a list of favourite remedies, and here for the record is mine: Arnica for injury, exhaustion or shock. Apis for oedema. Arsenicum album for gastroenteritis, nausea, anxiety or insomnia (also fo~' insomnia, Coffca or N u x vomica). Bryouia for dry cough and pain worse movement. Carbo veg. for bringing up the wind. Causticum for incontinence, especially stress incontinence CheIidonium for gall bladder pains, Cocculus for travel sickness. Conium for vertigo. Gelsemium for trembling, stage fright and the early stages of 'fll~. Hamamelis for piles, nose bleeds and varicose veins. Ignatia for bereavement, and itclfing without a rash. Lycopodium for m a n y forms of indigestion and wind downwards. N u x vomica for indigestion, constipation and creeping chill. Pulsatilla for catarrh, also Kali bich. Rhus tox. for shingles, and musculo-skeletal pain better for movemcm:. R~ta for other aches and pains. g u t a and Calendula ointments. These I would call remedies for acute conditions, or acute episodes in chronic conditions. The constitutional remedies which I use most often are Sulphur, Natrum tour. (especially in hypertension), Calc. carb., Lycopodium and Silicea My favourite nosodes, for this age group, are Lueticum and Psorinum, and also Nelson's cold and 'flu prophylactic to protect chronic bronchitics. I give Crataegus r almost routinely to cardiac patients, and Ti Sabai seruIata 3x to patients with prostatic trouble. Finally, an important aspect of the homceopathic doctor's work is teaching the patient to look after him or herself, especially when doctor and patient. m a y live more than 50 miles apart. My basic self-help kit is the set of Biochemic Tissue Salts, which can b~" obtained with a little book on how to use them from the local Health Store. These safe remedies could with great advantage replace most of the patent medicines sold b y chemists. And it is very useful to be able to say on the telephone, "Come and see me next week, but meanwhile take Mag. p h o s . . . " Then I give most patients a bottle of Arnica labelled "for Shock, Injury or Exhaustion", and over the years they collect other acute remedies. They are quick to learn when they need another dose of N u x vomica, Rhus tox. or Carbo veg., but it is important too to teach them when to stop taking it, i.e. when s y m p t o m s improve. Patients have been conditioned to the habit of taking pills three times daily, with a warning never to omit a dose, and are often incredulous when I say, " I f you forget your homoeopathic medicine it means you don't need it a n y more."
XXX1V
INTERNATIONAL
CONGRESS
215
Research Register Tile Faculty of Homceopathy is compiling a list of doctors and other professional persons who are interested in participating in an objective evaluation of homceopathie principles and practice. Readers who would like to be included in this register are requested to write to the Faculty Secretariat, Hahnemann House, 2 Powis Place, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3HR, giving the following details: Name Qualifications and date of primary registration Address Type of practice (NHS, private, consultant, etc.) Length of homceopathic experience Special research interests
XXXIV International Congress for Homoeopathic Medicine May 1979--Hamburg C. O L I V E R
KENNEDY,
B.SO., I~I.B., F.F.HOM.
Hamburg proved to be a good centre for the Congress, being the second city in West Germany, with a population of 1.7 million. I t is a port lying on thc River Elbe and extends inwards around the two Alster or lakes and canals Unfortunately the climate tends to be cold and wet, presumably due to the prevailing winds from either the North or Baltic seas. The Congress Centre lies in the Botanic Gardens, making both a colourful and educational surrounding. Children are well catered for with amusement grounds which include games and water cannon and the lake. The official opening session was given by the vice-Mayor, Helga Elstner, Senator of the Health Department, on behalf of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. She was joined by Dr. Buchmann, Chairman of the Professional Association for Schleswig Holstein, Hamburg and Bremen. They explained the importance of ensuring that only qualified doctors were admitted to the League, sentiments which were endorsed by Dr. Gebhardt, Chairman of the German Central Association of Homceopaths, and Dr. Illing who is the Congress President, and Dr. Eenhoorn. This approach was confirmed by Professor yon Essen of Freiberg and Dr. Braum.
THE
BRITISH
IfoM(EOPATHIC
JOURNAL
I do not particularly want them to: but they never do[ But when they walk to the door, their thanks is all in their handshake: Your hand is gripped and shaken with all their force. I have two Lycopodium men, and I take them half way to the front door, then hand them on to someone else to be shown out! But remember the Lycopodium is a very faithful patient. They remember if you did them good in childhood or a long time ago, and back they come
Homoeopathic practice in a south coast town MARIANNE
HARLING,
B.M., B.CH., M.F.HOM.
Eighteen years ago, as soon as I became a Member of the Faculty of Homceopathy, I put a brass plate on m y gate and waited for the patients to come.
The first was a retired Indian Army colonel. He had had a gastrojejunostomy many years previously, had chronic indigestion, and was exceedingly punctual. After Lycopodium he reported that his indigestion was no better, but that he could now drink gin without ill-effect. My second patient was a healthy-looking spinster whose only complaint was a fungus infection of the finger-nails which she had had for 18 years. I told her that it might take 18 months to cure, and during that time we went into every possible and impossible detail of her life. One day, just as she was going out of the door she told me that her father had been a patient of Sir Johil Weir's. "He treated him for syphilis, you know." (I would never have known. She was a most respectable lady, with false teeth.) So I gave her Lueticum 30 with no result. When the 18 months were up I suggested we should call it a day, but she begged me to continue treatment, and I gave her Fluoric acid 6. Three months later she came back with a perfect set of nails. I have not seen many patients who admitted to a history of syphilis in themselves or their families, but I have found Lueticum to be a very useful remedy in dry, thin, gnarled and undernourished old people. One elderly man of blameless reputation had had an operation for carcinoma of the colon some years previously, and was losing weight gradually without any other symptoms, tie gained a stone after Lueticum 30, and lived altogether 23 years from the date of his operation. When he died, aged 86. it was from cancer of the jaw, at the place where his pipe-stem rested. A lecture given at the Royal London Homceopathic Hospital in October 1977
:HOMeOPAThiC PRACTICE I1~ A SOUTH COAST TOW~
213
Lueticum is also useful in varicose ulcers, and twice I have seen dramatic improvement which seemed directly related to a dose of this remedy. At other times there has been improvement, but not until several months after the Lueticum, when other remedies such as Vipera, Calc. fluor and Hamamelis had been given. I usually give patients with varicose ulcers a dose of Lueticum 30 at some stage, especially if thin, querulous and arthritic, and always if he or she is a liar. The South Coast of England has been well named the Costa Geriatrics. Middle-aged couples come there for holidays in summer and fall in love with the sea and the sun and the shops, and even, Heaven help them, the hilly landscape of Bournemouth. So they buy themselves a bungalow or a modern flat and retire there. Retirement is a lethal occupation, and often, six months later, one of them, usually the husband, is dead. This explains why so many of one's patients are widows in circumstances which become increasingly reduced as inflation progresses. Ignatia has with good reason been called the Widow's Remedy. I t helps to relieve the brittle tension and insomnia experienced by many people in these circumstances, and in m y view is superior to, as well as safer than, Valium. My mother, who became a competent domestic prescriber in the last ten of her 93 years, used to keep several little bottles of Ignatia 12 in store, and send them round to her friends who suffered bereavement. She often reported that they were very grateful and asked for more, sometimes going on to it for life. Whilst I have found Ignatia to be a good acute remedy for bereavement, Natrum tour. is more appropriate for the long-term effects, as when someone has never been well since the death of a partner. Provincial homceopathic doctors usually serve a large catchment area (in m y case, with one colleague, it extends from Brighton to Bath), so that it is impracticable to undertake acute general practice except within one's immediate neighbourhood, and patients are encouraged to register with a local doctor for day-to-day emergencies. The attitude of these colleagues to homceopathy varies from being glad to unload their chi-onic patients, at one extreme, to removing them from their list at the other, with a mean opinion of "at least it can't do them any harm". Patients come for a variety of reasons. Some have been brought up on homceopathy and have already taken most of the remedies one can think of. In such cases it may be necessary to persuade them that another form of treatment is appropriate. Many are vegetarians, nature cure enthusiasts, or just d o n ' t like taking drugs, and they usually respond well to homceopathic remedies. Others come as a last resort, having tried every kind of orthodox and unorthodox treatment. They may be on a formidable battery of d r u g s - hypotensives, diuretics, antidepressants, tranquillizers, sleeping pills and steroids. One has to decide whether and how to wean them (it is not wise to stop everything suddenly) and a knowledge of the "proving symptoms" of the currently popular dl-ugs is valuable. Most of m y patients are retired people; the conditions for which they most frequently seek help are arthritis, constipation, depression, headaches, indigestion, insomnia, menopause, piles, pruritus, chronic respiratory disorders, shingles, tinnitus, varicose ulcers and vertigo. Many of t h e m of course are just lonely and want to talk. And what should one do about patients with incurable and fatal conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, progressive muscular atrophy, who come to homceopathy as a last resort? I take refuge in
214
T~v,
:BRITISH
HOM(EOPATItIC
JOURNAL
explaining, to myself as much as to them, that homceopathy treats the patiem, and not the disease--no miracles, but perhaps one can make them more comfortable, and indeed, we have remedies which do just this. Hypericum 20~ helped to heal bedsores, Causticum relieves urinary incontinence, Carbo veg brings up the wind (never mind about reviving corpses), Arnica strengthens a flagging heart, and Arsenicum relieves the nausea and anguish of a termim~ patient. With the whole materia medica to choose from it is inevitable t h a t one should ~cquire a list of favourite remedies, and here for the record is mine: Arnica for injury, exhaustion or shock. Apis for oedema. Arsenicum album for gastroenteritis, nausea, anxiety or insomnia (also fo~' insomnia, Coffca or N u x vomica). Bryouia for dry cough and pain worse movement. Carbo veg. for bringing up the wind. Causticum for incontinence, especially stress incontinence CheIidonium for gall bladder pains, Cocculus for travel sickness. Conium for vertigo. Gelsemium for trembling, stage fright and the early stages of 'fll~. Hamamelis for piles, nose bleeds and varicose veins. Ignatia for bereavement, and itclfing without a rash. Lycopodium for m a n y forms of indigestion and wind downwards. N u x vomica for indigestion, constipation and creeping chill. Pulsatilla for catarrh, also Kali bich. Rhus tox. for shingles, and musculo-skeletal pain better for movemcm:. R~ta for other aches and pains. g u t a and Calendula ointments. These I would call remedies for acute conditions, or acute episodes in chronic conditions. The constitutional remedies which I use most often are Sulphur, Natrum tour. (especially in hypertension), Calc. carb., Lycopodium and Silicea My favourite nosodes, for this age group, are Lueticum and Psorinum, and also Nelson's cold and 'flu prophylactic to protect chronic bronchitics. I give Crataegus r almost routinely to cardiac patients, and Ti Sabai seruIata 3x to patients with prostatic trouble. Finally, an important aspect of the homceopathic doctor's work is teaching the patient to look after him or herself, especially when doctor and patient. m a y live more than 50 miles apart. My basic self-help kit is the set of Biochemic Tissue Salts, which can b~" obtained with a little book on how to use them from the local Health Store. These safe remedies could with great advantage replace most of the patent medicines sold b y chemists. And it is very useful to be able to say on the telephone, "Come and see me next week, but meanwhile take Mag. p h o s . . . " Then I give most patients a bottle of Arnica labelled "for Shock, Injury or Exhaustion", and over the years they collect other acute remedies. They are quick to learn when they need another dose of N u x vomica, Rhus tox. or Carbo veg., but it is important too to teach them when to stop taking it, i.e. when s y m p t o m s improve. Patients have been conditioned to the habit of taking pills three times daily, with a warning never to omit a dose, and are often incredulous when I say, " I f you forget your homoeopathic medicine it means you don't need it a n y more."
XXX1V
INTERNATIONAL
CONGRESS
215
Research Register Tile Faculty of Homceopathy is compiling a list of doctors and other professional persons who are interested in participating in an objective evaluation of homceopathie principles and practice. Readers who would like to be included in this register are requested to write to the Faculty Secretariat, Hahnemann House, 2 Powis Place, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3HR, giving the following details: Name Qualifications and date of primary registration Address Type of practice (NHS, private, consultant, etc.) Length of homceopathic experience Special research interests
XXXIV International Congress for Homoeopathic Medicine May 1979--Hamburg C. O L I V E R
KENNEDY,
B.SO., I~I.B., F.F.HOM.
Hamburg proved to be a good centre for the Congress, being the second city in West Germany, with a population of 1.7 million. I t is a port lying on thc River Elbe and extends inwards around the two Alster or lakes and canals Unfortunately the climate tends to be cold and wet, presumably due to the prevailing winds from either the North or Baltic seas. The Congress Centre lies in the Botanic Gardens, making both a colourful and educational surrounding. Children are well catered for with amusement grounds which include games and water cannon and the lake. The official opening session was given by the vice-Mayor, Helga Elstner, Senator of the Health Department, on behalf of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. She was joined by Dr. Buchmann, Chairman of the Professional Association for Schleswig Holstein, Hamburg and Bremen. They explained the importance of ensuring that only qualified doctors were admitted to the League, sentiments which were endorsed by Dr. Gebhardt, Chairman of the German Central Association of Homceopaths, and Dr. Illing who is the Congress President, and Dr. Eenhoorn. This approach was confirmed by Professor yon Essen of Freiberg and Dr. Braum.