1. Our health rests in our hands, because we choose those whom we trust to guide us along the various paths to health, such as:.
a. Drug therapy: Homoeopathy, Allopathy.
b. Drugless therapy: Osteopathy, Chiropractic, Naturopathy (Lindlahr), A.B. Tahar, Diet (and Fasting), Exercise.
c. Psychological therapy: Psychiatry, Christian Science, Mental Science, Faith Cure, etc.
2. Historical as to drug therapy.
a. Hippocrates (Greek, about 400 B.C.). Stated from observation that a drug could cure the condition it could cause. His chief therapeutic agents; diet, medicinal waters, fresh air, gymnastics.
b. Gallen (Greek, between 100-200 A.D.) Theory of evil “humours”, or excessive bile, phlegm, or blood, to be cured by bleeding, salivating, blistering, or purging. (Note survivals nowadays).
c. Paracelsus (German-Swiss, 1490-1541) Denounced “humours” theory and ignorance, pomposity and greed in orthodox practice of his day. Pioneer in studying natural phenomena.
d. Hahnemann, (German 1755-1843). Rediscovered and extended research into action of drugs in curing symptoms and diseases they could cause. Stated that drugs should be tested on healthy humans. Discovered effectiveness of small doses of single remedy. Enunciated as a natural law that “Likes should be treated with likes” Similia similibus curantur.
e. Pasteur (French 1822-1895). Discovered that administration of an attenuated virus of a germ diseases will produce relative immunity, and will also cure. Thus “antitoxins” work according to the same law enunciated by Hahnemann.
3. Nature of Disease.
a. Life activity is seated in “protoplasm”, which produces cells and tissues. When these function in balance and proportion, we have health. When the proper balance and proportion is disturbed (as by germ, or poison, or waste) we have disease. The over or under-activity needs some sort of modification by some sort of stimulus to restore normal functioning (health).
b. Protoplasm reacts to stimuli. Rudolf Arndt (biologist) discovered that to any given stimulus (e.g., thermal, electric, chemical) protoplasm reacts according to the dose).
A small dose encourages life activity.
A large dose impedes life activity.
A very large dose destroys life activity.
E.g., Fermentation (Life activity of yeast grown in sugar solution can be measured. Arsenic administered in proportion of
1 to 1,000 stops the life activity.
1 to 5,000 impedes life activity.
1 to 10,000 or more, encourages life activity.
c. Modern biological and chemical research have taught us much, and shown the reasonableness of the effectiveness of small, almost infinitesimal doses. It is axiomatic that a dose should never be large than necessary to produce curative result.
d. Diseased cells are more sensitive to stimuli than are healthy.
The administration of any drug in sufficient quantities to the healthy human organism will produce a particular set of symptoms peculiar to that drug. When that particular set of symptoms shows itself in disease, sufficiently small quantities of the same drug will alleviate or cure the disease. This seems to be a natural law which is capable of repeated demonstration. It is the essence homoeopathy, expressed as the “Law of Similars.”.
ALLOPATHY.
1. Empirical treatment of disease based on trial-and-error experience and experiment.
2. Treats disease as entity, often waiting for treatment until diagnosis is determined, thus often wasting precious time.
3. Tends to treat effects rather than causes. E.g., “Aspirin” for colds, headache, pneumonia, any pain.
“Gargle” for sore throat.
“Castor Oil” for constipation.
“Sal Hepatica” for acidity and constipation.
“Nose drops” for running nose.
4. Gives strong doses, often repressive to Natures healing effort, and with bad after-effects of drugs used. E.g. “Quinine” and Calomel”.
5. Gives combinations of drugs in prescriptions. (How to tell which drug did what?) Cf. “Anacin” as advertised over ratio.
6. Has a few standard remedies (one allopathic M.D. said 7 or 8) to cover most varieties of disease, and tends to rely on patent medicines. E.g. “Aspirin” for colds.
7. Drugs tested on the ill. (How distinguish drug effects from disease effects?).
8. Drugs tested on animals. (What fallacies may arise between animal and human reactions?).
9. Requires long training, with degree of M.D.
10. Tends towards “specialists,” the patient being handed from one to another, no one of whom is responsible for the patient as a whole, whose medical costs mount steadily. Medical advice becomes increasingly complicated and expensive.
11. Tends towards surgery as a short-cut to cure.
12. Prescriptions: for centuries a “racket” of the apothecaries, costly to the patient. Patient can seldom wisely and safely prescribe for self, and helpless when M.D. not available.
HOMOEOPATHY.
1. Treats disease with a precision proportional to accurate application of Law of Similars.
2. Treats symptoms as they occur and develop, thus frequently effecting cure in early stages before disease has obtained serious hold.
3. Symptoms are indicative of causes, and the remedy which a particular seat of symptoms indicates cures by getting at the seat of the trouble, whether known or not.
4. Gives smallest possible dose enough to affect healthy cells. Therefore especially important for babies and children.
5. Gives single remedy, effects of which can be intelligently studied.
6. Has over 1400 standard remedies each with its proven combination of symptoms; does not rely on or often approve patent medicines. E.g., has more than 100 remedies applicable to various kinds of colds.
7. Drugs tested on the healthy, producing definite groups of symptoms.
8. Drugs tested on humans.
9. Requires similar training, with degree of M.D., and in addition painstaking training in more extensive homoeopathic materia medica.
10. Tends towards general practitioner, fully responsible for results; with simplicity, growing understanding and co-operation, and economy for the patient.
11. Tends away from surgery as reliance on remedies brings better results in most cases. (E.g., tonsils, appendix, teeth, etc.).
12. Dispenses own medicine, simple and economical for the patient. Patient can often wisely and safely prescribe for self, without needing M.D. for minor ailments.
This was not intended for publication. It was the explanations of a father to his son as to why he had a homoeopathic physician.-Ed.
