Specifics in Hom (Eopathy

THE BRITISH ItOM(EOFATIIIC JOURNAL 85
" SPECIFICS " IN HOM(EOPATHY

B y DR. H. HENDERSON PATRICK
THE E d i t o r has a s k e d me for a s h o r t article on " Specifics " in H o m c c o p a t h y .
Sir J o h n Weir, in a recent address to t h e F a c u l t y o f H o m c e o p a t h y , drew our
a t t e n t i o n to the work of t h e All Union I n s t i t u t e for E x p e r i m e n t a l Medicine o f
l~ussia. The first conclusion of this body, carryin~ on research work into t h e
cause of disease, is as follows : " There is no panacea. T h a t is, there is no d r u g
or medicinal f o r m u l a of a n y k i n d which is u n i v e r s a l l y c u r a t i v e either in a general
sense or in a p a r t i c u l a r disease." H a h n e m a n n t o l d us the same thing 150 y e a r s
ago. E v e r y good homceopathist knows it to be true. How, then, can we
s p e a k of " specifics " in H o m c e o p a t h y ? The t r u t h is t h a t while no r e m e d y is
or ever can be l()0 per cent. a c c u r a t e in all cases of a p a r t i c u l a r disease or
condition, in a few diseases or conditions the disease s y n d r o m e so a c c u r a t e l y
fits a k n o w n drug picture t h a t it is o n l y in a small percentage of cases we require
to go p a s t this r e m e d y . I t is little wonder, then, t h a t t h e disease a n d t h e
r e m e d y get so i n t i m a t e l y associated in t h e m i n d of the p h y s i c i a n t h a t he is a p t
to t h i n k of t h e r e m e d y as specific. The most t y p i c a l e x a m p l e of this is scarlet
fever a n d belladonna. B e l l a d o n n a poisoning a n d scarlet fever are n o t easily
distinguished, hence we find t h a t Belladonna will cut short t h e g r e a t m a j o r i t y
of cases of scarlet fever. We need n o t e x p e c t it to cure t h e m a l i g n a n t case,
b u t how often do these occur ? I can r e m e m b e r only one. This one, with a
w i d e s p r e a d m a r k e d l y hsemorrhagic rash, m a d e a good recovery u n d e r Lache~vis.
A n o t h e r e x a m p l e of the same k i n d is found in the relationship of whooping
cough a n d Drosera although, so far as m y experience goes, t h e p e r c e n t a g e o f
cases requiring Drosera is n o t so high as the p e r c e n t a g e of scarlet fever cases
requiring Belladonna.
As t h e r e m e d y for the relief of a c c i d e n t a l d a m a g e to the soft tissues Arnica
s t a n d s o u t a t a l m o s t 100 per cent. I t is n a t u r a l t h a t t h e p e r c e n t a g e here
should be high, as we are n o t dealing with a disease in t h e t r u e sense a n d no
o t h e r r e m e d y need be considered. Arnica m a y be a d m i n i s t e r e d either inter-
n a l l y or e x t e r n a l l y . I n m y opinion t h e former is more efficacious. W e find
one r e m e d y s t a n d i n g o u t also for t h e effects of accident in the psychological
sense. Ignatia is n e a r l y always the r e m e d y for t h e shock following u n e x p e c t e d
b a d news in p r e v i o u s l y h e a l t h y persons.
I n Lac caninum we have a r e m e d y which is a l m o s t specific for d r y i n g off
the secretion of milk in women who, for a n y reason, wish to s t o p feeding t h e i r
infants before the usual time.
Acne, I used to find one of the m o s t t r o u b l e s o m e things to t r e a t ; m o s t
p a t i e n t s suffering from this c o m p l a i n t were so c o m p l e t e l y void of a n y s y m p t o m s
on which to base a prescription. W h e n one finds c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s y m p t o m s
these m u s t , o f course, guide to t h e prescription. W h e n t h e r e are no s y m p t o m s
give S.S.C. I u s u a l l y s t a r t with a v e r y low potency, 6x trit., give it t.i.d, for
t h r e e days, t h e n wait. Very few cases will n o t respond.
Consideration of " specific " remedies leads on n a t u r a l l y to the question of
p r o p h y l a x i s . I n a l e t t e r w r i t t e n r e c e n t l y b y the B.M.A. to the F a c u l t y o f
H o m c e o p a t h y the s t a t e m e n t was m a d e t h a t P r e v e n t i v e Medicine was t h e
medicine of the future. The inference behind t h e s t a t e m e n t seemed to m e to
be t h a t P r e v e n t i v e Medicine was m o r e or less a m o n o p o l y of the o r t h o d o x school
a n d h a d n o t h i n g to do with H o m o e o p a t h y . E x a c t l y the opposite is t h e case.
Surely t h e homceopathist whose life work is t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of his p a t i e n t ' s
i m m u n i t y b o t h in h e a l t h a n d disease should be in a b e t t e r position t h a n his
o r t h o d o x b r o t h e r to practice P r e v e n t i v e M e d i c i n c ! Are n o t p r o p h y l a x i s a n d
t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of i m m u n i t y one a n d t h e s a m e thing .~ P r e v e n t i o n is b e t t e r
t h a n cure. I t is also easier ; easier because it m u s t , of necessity, be routine.
T h e e x a c t s y m p t o m complex which a n y o n e will develop a f t e r infection by a
86 THE BRITISH IIOMO]OPATHIC JOURNAL
particular disease virus can never be foretold with any degree of accuracy,
hence we must use for the stimulation of immunity the drug which produces
the most likely ones.
Tuberculosis in young children. This, I think, is not so common as it
used to be, but is still much more frequent than it ought to be. I shall never
forget one case which occurred in m y practice many years ago. The father of
the child was one of the earliest producers of Certified M_ilk and possessed a herd
of cattle of which he had every reason to be proud. Tile boy was brought up
under ideal conditions, had never been off the farm and had never had a day's
illness. When about three years old he was taken for a few days with his
parents to stay with friends in another part of the country. A very short time
after that he became ill, developed T.B. meningitis of which he died. I think
all children should be given Tub. bov. 12 or 30 on at least two occasions before
they are exposed to raw- milk. Some may say, of course, that the remedy is to
pasteurize the milk. I don't agree, but this is not the time to argue the point.
Smallpox. I am afraid I may bc on thorny ground here also when I say
I do not believe in the efficacy of cowpox vaccination as a prophylactic. Apart
from that it is sometimes definitely harmful and may even be the cause of death.
Variolinum is the natural prophylactic. It certainly has two advantages over
cowpox. It has a definite relationship to smallpox and it is not harmful.
l)uring the last two outbreaks of smallpox in Glasgow- many thousands of people
took Variolinum instead of being vaccinated. None of these took smallpox.
I am aware, of course, that the total number of cases was not large enough to
put much stress on this, but the fact should be noted all the same, and also the
fact that many of the people who did take smallpox had been recently vaccin-
ated.
Sea sickness. Tabacum is probably the drug with symptoms most like
this distressing condition. A dose of the 30th potency every few hours the day
before sailing will usually prove helpful.
Exam. funk or undue anxiety before public speaking, etc., can best be
prevented by one of two remedies, Arg. nit. or Gelsemium. The experienced
physician will be able to tell which of these is the better in any particular
individual.
Surgery opens a wide field for homeopathic prophylaxis. Phos. 30 given
the day before the operation will prevent the sickness which commonly follow,s
the administration of chloroform. Properly given, chloroform is not a danger-
ous anaesthetic. Practically nothing else was used for general anaesthesia in the
Glasgow Homceopathic Hospital for thirty years. There was one death out
o f over 5,000 cases. Where ether is the anaesthetic give Ant. tart. To promote
rapid healing of wounds use Calendula during the operation. Apply to any
tissue where rapid healing is desired, e.g. bowel anastomosis ; about 20 minims
o f the mother tincture to a pint of water is strong enough. After the operation
the prophylactic remedy should bc given at once. Anticipate the symptoms
and get the remedy in first. After the ordinary abdominal operation, e.g.
simple appendix, give Rhus fox. I m . or Arnica. I f the appendix has ruptured
and one is afraid of a septic spread give Pyrogen. After septic conditions
involving the liver, Crotalus. After amputations, circumcision, removal of
nails, Hypericum. After tonsillectomy the remedy is Calendula either in
potency or as a gargle or both.
I t cannot bc claimed, of course, that, using those remedies as prophylactics,
one will never get any post-operative trouble, but I think it can be said with
confidence that those troubles will be reduced to a minimum.
After punctured wounds, don't rush for antitetanic serum. Give a few
(loses of Ledum 30 and you will have no cause for worry.

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THE BRITISH ItOM(EOFATIIIC JOURNAL 85

" SPECIFICS " IN HOM(EOPATHY

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