Homeopathy in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine E-Book

Michael Frass

• Herausgeber: Narayana
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 1376

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

This is a unique work, which documents how homeopathy can achieve predictably successful results in emergencies such as anaphylactic shock, acute abdomen, acute asthma, myocardial infarction of the inferior wall, and oedema of the glottis. The book contains 145 well-documented case histories, similar to those written by the old American homeopathic clinicians. In each case it is clearly demonstrated how to quickly find the best remedy using straightforward Kentian repertorisation. The results are impressive. The authors show that conventional treatment and homeopathy can perfectly complement each other. This work offers also a lot of general information on homeopathy like potentisation, source materials used in homeopathic remedies and methods of administration. It also comprises a stringently edited materia medica of the most important 70 remedies for ICU and emergency situations. Both editors have extensive experience in emergency medicine and homeopathy. Michael Frass is former head of the intensive internal medicine unit at the Medical University of Vienna and Martin Bünder also has long-standing service in rescue and emergency medicine. “At first glance the idea that homeopathy can help in intensive care and emergency medicine seems far-fetched, since we normally associate an intensive care ward with high-tech equipment rather than gentle remedies. So it is all the more surprising to see how sensitively authors Michael Frass and Martin Bündner deal with this controversial field, which is often a matter of life or death. Their main focus is on integration. What stands out here is the high-class presentation of case-related detail, including repertorisation and remedy selection as well as evaluation and criticism of each case. The treatment section remains exceptionally clear, guaranteeing the practical usefulness of the high-quality scientific information in this book. This book is to be recommended not just to homeopaths but also to doctors working in a conventional clinical setting who have so far only used orthodox medical techniques.” Review by the Karl and Veronica Carstens Foundation, Germany “This book is an unusual masterpiece for so many reasons. It manages to succeed in its aims of appealing to both homeopaths, demonstrating the life-saving role of homeopathy for patients suffering many dangerous conditions. (…) I have specialized in acute prescribing for over 20 years and I can say that the editors have done their job really well.” Francis Treuherz in ‘The Homeopath’ (UK)

Leseprobe

Michael Frass, Martin Bündner (ed.)

Homeopathy in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

Authors

Dr. med. Cornelia Bündner Dr. med. Martin Bündner Dr. med. Jayesh Dhingreja Dr. med. Leopold Drexler Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Michael Frass PD Dr. med. Walter Glück Dr. med. Susanne Holtz-Joas Dr. med. Peter König Dr. med. Farokh Master Mag. Ilse Muchitsch Dr. med. Heidrun Pokorny Prof. Dr. med. Edacheril Scaria Rajendran Dr. med. Ana Reiter Dr. med. Gerhard Resch Dr. med. Irene Schwarz Dr. med. Marcus Zulian Teixeira Dr. med. Susan Waag Dr. med. Beatrix Wulkersdorfer Dr. med. Sergio Zajac

Imprint

Michael Frass & Martin Bündner (ed.)

Homeopathy in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

1st English edition 2015

2nd English edition 2017

3nd English edition 2023

ISBN: 978-3-95582-270-5

© 2015 Narayana Verlag

1st German edition 2007

Michael Frass, Martin Bündner (ed.): Homöopathie in der Intensiv- und Notfallmedizin.

This 1st edition of Homöopathie in der Intensiv- & Notfallmedizin by Michael Frass and Martin Bündner is published by arrangement with Elsevier GmbH, Urban & Fischer Munich.

ISBN: 978-3-437-57260-9

Translation made from the German edition by Heather Ferlicchia BA (Hons)

Typesetting: Kösel, Krugzell

Cover layout © Narayana Verlag

Cover illustration © sfam_photo – shutterstock.com

Publisher:

Narayana Verlag

Blumenplatz 2, 79400 Kandern, Germany

Phone: [phone]

E-mail: [email protected]

www.narayana-verlag.com

All rights reserved. Without the written permission of the publisher, no part of this book may be reproduced, duplicated, photocopied, translated or stored in any form by any mechanical, electronic or photographic process, with the exception of short passages for book reviews.

In so far as registered trademarks, trade names and common names are used, the usual protections apply (even if these are not marked as such).

The recommendations in this book have been compiled and checked to the best knowledge of the author and publisher. There is nevertheless no guarantee provided. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be held liable for possible detriment or damage resulting from the instructions in the book.

In accordance with the relevant legal provisions, the publisher excludes any liability for the contents of external links. The owner of the linked pages is solely responsible for the contents, correctness, precision, completeness, quality and usability of the information displayed on such linked pages.

Medical knowledge is subject to constant change in the light of ongoing research and clinical experience. The author and translator of this work have taken special care to ensure that the therapeutic information in this work (especially in terms of indication, dosage and undesirable side effects) corresponds to the current state of knowledge. However, this does not exonerate the user of this work from the duty of checking – with the help of the relevant specialist literature and further written sources of information – whether the information given there differs from this work, and from the responsibility of selecting a prescription accordingly.

The publisher accepts no responsibility for the comprehensiveness and selection of the listed medications. Protected trade names (trademarks) are in general very clearly denoted (*). However, if such an indication is missing, it cannot be automatically concluded that this concerns a non-protected trade name.

For my dear children Albert and Charlotte, my parents Heinrich and Mariele, who have given me unfailing support throughout my medicall career. For my teacher Gerhard Resch, for all my friends and patients who have helped me to gain knowledge in homeopathy

Michael Frass

For my dear wife Peggy, my beloved daughters Franziska, Johanna, Antonia and Paulina, and all those of my patients who have been privileged and grateful to discover the marvellous benefits of homeopathic remedies.

Martin Bündner

Table of contents

I Introduction

1 Homeopathy in intensive care and emergency medicine

1.1 Using homeopathy in a clinical setting

1.2 Principles of classical homeopathy

2 Intensive medicine: development and current status

3 Aspects of adjuvant homeopathic treatment in intensive medicine

3.1 General

3.2 Anamnesis

3.3 Information

3.4 Administering remedies/choice of potency/repeat administration

3.5 Assessment/changing remedies/follow-up

3.6 Indications/contraindications

3.7 Combining conventional and homeopathic medications and viewpoints

3.8 Continuing homeopathic treatment after periods in ICU

3.9 End-of-life care

3.10 Effects on the climate in ICU wards

3.11 Suggestion and placebo effects

3.12 Summary and studies

4 Remedy production and quality

4.1 Pharmaceutical aspects of homeopathy in intensive care medicine

4.2 Source materials used in potentised homeopathic remedies

4.2.1 Plants

4.2.2 Fungi and lichens

4.2.3 Minerals and metals

4.2.4 Animal kingdom

4.2.5 Products of disease, nosodes

4.3 Quality criteria

4.4 Potentisation

4.4.1 Source materials

4.4.2 Potentisation: dilution and succussion

4.4.3 Types of potency

4.4.4 Triturations

4.4.5 Labelling

4.4.6 Prescription

4.4.7 Shelf-life of homeopathic remedies

4.4.8 Drug legislation

4.4.9 Taking potentised remedies

4.4.10 Methods of administration

4.5 Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia

4.6 ICU remedy kit

II Intensive care medicine

1 Infectious diseases

1.1 Sepsis

1.2 Serious local infections

1.2.1 Ludwig’s angina (Quinsy)

1.2.2 Hip joint abscess

1.2.3 Cricoid perichondritis

2 Disorders of Haemostasis

2.1 Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)

2.2 Bleeding after therapeutic puncture wound

2.3 Pulmonary embolism

3 Heart, circulation and blood vessels

3.1 Angina pectoris

3.2 Myocardial infarction

3.3 Aortic dissection

3.4 Cardiomyopathy, heart transplant

3.4.1 Cardiomyopathy

3.4.2 Heart transplant

3.5 Pulmonary oedema

4 Lungs

4.1 Lung diseases

4.1.1 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

4.1.2 Pneumonia

4.2 Withdrawal from respirator and extubation

4.2.1 Withdrawal from respiration devices (weaning)

4.2.2 Extubation

5 Kidneys

5.1 Homeopathy in cases of kidney disease

5.2 Acute renal failure (ARF)

6 Gastrointestinal tract

6.1 Homeopathy for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

6.2 Acute abdomen

7 Perioperative care

7.1 Intraoperative blood loss

7.2 Postoperative transitory psychotic syndrome

8 Toxicology

8.1 Homeopathy in case of poisoning

8.2 Death cap mushroom poisoning

III Emergency medicine

9 Traumatology

9.1 Trauma to the extremities

9.2 Spinal trauma

9.3 Thoracic trauma

9.4 Craniocerebral trauma (CCT)

9.5 Abdominal trauma

10 Cardiovascular emergencies

10.1 Cardiac arrhythmias

10.2 Hypertensive crisis

10.3 Pulmonary embolism

10.4 Acute venous occlusion

10.5 Angina pectoris and myocardial infarction

10.6 Cardiac arrest (resuscitation)

11 Lungs

11.1 Asthma bronchiale

11.2 Pulmonary oedema

11.3 Hyperventilation syndrome (tetany)

12 Gastroenterological emergencies

12.1 Acute abdomen

12.2 Homeopathic treatment

13 Intoxication

13.1 Drugs

13.2 Intoxication from medication

13.3 Poisoning with industrial and household substances

14 Neurological emergencies

14.1 Apoplexy and intracranial bleeding

14.2 Epilepsy

14.3 Meningitis and encephalitis

14.4 Disc prolapse

15 Psychiatric emergencies

15.1 Delirium

15.2 Agitation

15.3 Acute psychosis

16 Gynaecology and obstetrics

16.1 Genital bleeding outside pregnancy

16.2 Emergencies during pregnancy

16.3 Birth and birth complications

16.3.1 Normal birth

16.3.2 Birth complications

17 Urological emergencies

17.1 Acute urinary retention

17.2 Renal and ureteral colic

17.3 Urosepsis (UTI)

17.4 Injuries to the urogenital tract

18 Thermal emergencies

18.1 Hypothermia and frostbite

18.2 Burns and scalds

18.3 Heat damage

IV Materia medica

19 Materia medica

19.1 Introduction

19.2 Materia medica

Index of remedies

Index

Foreword

It seems rather strange for scientifically oriented physicians, especially physicians specialising in intensive care and emergency medicine, to use homeopathy as a complementary weapon in their therapeutic armoury. Specialists in intensive care and emergency medicine are commonly believed to have a more mechanistic outlook on the world than most; they analyse people using physical and chemical principles and take action depending on what they find.

Homeopathy with its doubly empirical approach is not an esoteric healing art, but could by all means be a potential healing science.

Martin Bündner and Michael Frass, not infrequently the targets of criticism from colleagues who work on a strictly scientific basis in compliance with the criteria of evidence-based medicine, have taken the trouble to confront taboos in university circles and break new ground for a healing method which is unfortunately only familiar to a few medical opinion leaders. The fact that they do not do this with the fanaticism of a homeopath uncritically convinced of his healing method but instead constantly seek scientific approaches leading to astonishing publications in renowned scientific journals is not only worthy of respect, but also essential for the development of a healing method which is very much on the fringe of medical science.

As specialists in intensive care medicine, we have experienced numerous failures with paradigm changes and methods which were temporarily recognised by the universities. Many of the strategies we have been using for decades looked promising and could be argued for logically, but did not bring about any positive results. Dopamine for nephroprotection, orciprenalin and sodium bicarbonate for resuscitation, large doses of cortisone and endotoxin antibodies for treating sepsis, the contraindication of beta-blockers for treating cardiac insufficiency – all these are well-known and in some cases costly examples of aberrations of the once “pure teachings” of medicine.

Michael Frass and Martin Bündner are constantly seeking new approaches to intensive care and emergency medicine. Michael Frass, inventor of the Combitube, describes the surprising possibilities of homeopathy in well-prepared case reports and controlled clinical studies. Although one renowned medical journal has foretold the end of homeopathy, the authors show that verifiable medical results can also be achieved in areas beyond the Loschmidt (or Avogadro) constant. Physicists have long been teaching us that the transfer of information via medication does not require the presence of a molecule. Anyone who makes the effort to learn about the astonishing construction of homeopathy will gradually come to realise why homeopathy, probably the only unrecognised form of complementary medicine, has resisted the current of social, political and contemporary opinion right up to the present day. They will also understand why most university-trained medics reject this method: firstly because the data available from controlled studies is not exactly overwhelming, and secondly because it is incredibly time-consuming, difficult and challenging to become familiar with the intricacies of this form of healing and to gain corresponding experience. Numerous positive personal experiences will ultimately bring the conviction of having a healing method at one’s disposal which can be used as a complement to the indisputably important progress made in scientifically oriented conventional medicine and which can frequently transform difficult situations for the better.

It was an absolutely unexpected, remarkable surprise for me to discover that this is particularly the case in intensive care and emergency medicine, as I had thought the main strength of homeopathy was in treating chronic disease. A scientific approach is essential for maintaining and improving homeopathy as a healing method. However, researchers are confronted with enormous difficulties, even though this research would be possible in methodical terms. Good controlled studies require large budgets which are only made available if the project is backed by sufficient commercial interest. Michael Frass has made many attempts to set up larger homeopathic studies, but has frequently failed due to a shortage of funds and a lack of interest on the part of the pharmaceutical industry. The fact that he has nevertheless been able to publish interesting results testifies to the persistence of a researcher to whom success may come late but who is sure of it in the end. The long history of scientific dogmatism has shown that today’s heresy can become tomorrow’s truth. If the occasional specialist in intensive care or emergency medicine reads this book in bed at night and quickly hides it when his colleagues are around, Michael Frass and Martin Bündner will have achieved their aim of arousing interest in additional chances of healing via paths which have yet to be charted.

Prim. Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Peter Lechleitner Director of Internal Medicine

Medical Director Lienz District Hospital

Editors’ foreword

Homeopathy is very popular with large parts of the population, and is now also increasingly being accepted by many doctors. However, the ailments treated are usually chronic. The potential of homeopathy for treating acute disease is less well known. Inspired by the astonishing and rapid success often observed when treating sudden illness, many homeopaths throughout the world have begun using this method of healing for life-threatening or seemingly hopeless cases in the fields of intensive care and emergency medicine, either as an accompaniment to conventional treatment or even on its own.

The impulse to use homeopathy in intensive care medicine came from the observation that seriously ill patients often spend days or weeks in intensive care, during which time certain organs stop functioning and are replaced by machinery. During this time, which often seems surprisingly uneventful and monotonous to the non-specialist after the initial spectacular interventions, the patient’s condition can only improve if the body’s own functions are allowed to regenerate; this process can be accelerated by concomitant treatment with homeopathy. One outstanding strength of homeopathy is that it is known to stimulate the body’s powers of self-healing.

In contrast, the special attraction of using homeopathy in emergency medicine is the often rapid and almost incredible improvement in the patient’s condition which frequently cannot be emulated by conventional measures. In many cases, the patient’s state of health undergoes a fundamental improvement by alleviating the symptoms which may cause the patient’s condition to deteriorate again at the next opportunity.

One particular aim of this book is to deepen the dialogue between practitioners of conventional medicine and homeopathy. We also aim to have this form of treatment recognised in a medical field which to date has been almost completely and unjustifiably dominated by conventional medicine.

The many successes achieved by classical homeopathy throughout the world, which to outsiders may seem sensational, have inspired us to make these observations and experiences in a generally unfamiliar area accessible to a wider public. We would like to counter the reluctance to treat acute diseases with homeopathy and motivate colleagues working with these seriously ill patients to use classical homeopathy in intensive care and emergency medicine with the skill required. The book provides case studies to assist with repertorisation and remedy choice. The cases presented by no means claim to be perfect, as the remedy was often chosen under immense time pressure. However, we would be delighted to receive comments, reactions and further case studies to help us pursue this project further.

Each chapter of this book starts by giving a general overview of the respective disease from a conventional viewpoint before introducing homeopathic cases. Only the information required for the progression and assessment of each case is presented, along with a description of any conventional treatment. In this way, we want to achieve two things: firstly to impart knowledge to homeopaths who are not so experienced in the fields of intensive care and acute medicine, and secondly to awaken the curiosity of colleagues who mainly work with conventional medicine and motivate them to consider using homeopathy with critically ill patients. The value of conventional diagnosis is undisputed; however, homeopathy has proven its efficacy as a sole or concomitant treatment in many cases.

At this point, we would like to express our warmest thanks to Elsevier and its ambitious personnel. We were more than a little surprised to be asked to edit this book: Rolf Lenzen, Stefanie Regensburger and Elisabeth Harth all cordially invited us to pursue this project. Sonja Frankl was the perfect mastermind behind the creation of this book and was invariably ready to offer encouragement.

From the Austrian side, I would specially like to mention Dr. Gerhard Resch, without whose constant support and deep insight into homeopathy the intensive care medicine section of this book would never have been written. I would also like to thank Dr. Beatrix Wulkersdorfer for her patient, unfailing assistance. We would never have been able to carry out our homeopathic treatments without the support of graduate nurse Christoph Dielacher in our intensive care unit and Gabi Ujfalusi in the secretarial office of our clinic. I would also like to say a big thank you to the director of my clinic, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Christoph Zielinski, who along with my colleagues has been supporting my homeopathic work for many years. However, the greatest joy and satisfaction in this work comes from the healed patients – may their stories be an inspiration to all my colleagues!

May this book achieve one thing above all: help improve the situation of seriously ill patients. Aude sapere!1

Michael Frass

Martin Bündner

Vienna,

Tübingen,

February 2007

February 2007

1 “Sapere aude” (as translated by Kant): “Have the courage to use your own understanding!”. Hahnemann also prefaced his “Organon of the Healing Art”, the manual of homeopathy, with these words.

List of authors and editors

Editors

Intensive care medicine

Michael Frass, MD

Professor of Medicine Internist Additional specialisation in intensive internal medicine Special Outpatient Clinic: Homeopathy for malignant Diseases Medical University of Vienna

Department of Medicine

Division of Oncology

Währinger Gürtel 18-20

A – 1090 Wien, Austria

Emergency medicine

Dr. med. Martin Bündner General Practitioner Homeopathy – Emergency Medicine Kronenstr. 7 72070 Tübingen, Germany

Authors

Dr. med. Cornelia Bündner Klinikum Konstanz Luisenstr. 7 78464 Konstanz, Germany

Dr. med. Martin Bündner General Practitioner Homeopathy – Emergency Medicine Kronenstr. 7 72070 Tübingen, Germany

Dr. med. Jayesh Dhingreja Homoeopathic Health Center Tukaram Javji Road Bombay-400007 INDIA

Dr. med. Leopold Drexler Zeughausgasse 3/27 6800 Feldkirch, Austria

Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Michael Frass Special outpatient clinic: homeopathy for malignant diseases Department of Oncology Internal Medicine Clinic I Vienna Medical University Währinger Gürtel 18 – 20 A-1090 Wien, Austria

Dr. med. Walter Glück Mayerhof Gasse 1/24 A-1040 Wien, Austria

Dr. med. Susanne Holtz-Joas Schulstr. 22 86928 Hofstetten, Germany

Dr. med. Peter König University Lecturer Esterhàzyplatz 5 7000 Eisenstadt, ‚Austria

Dr. med. Farokh Master Homoeopathic Health Center Tukaram Javji Road Bombay-400007 INDIA

Mag. Ilse Muchitsch HomResearch – Interdisciplinary Homeopathic Working Group Pharmacy – Medicine – Physics – Biochemistry – Psychology; Österreichische Apothekerkammer c/o Landesgeschäftsstelle Wien Lerchenfelderstr. 124/2/9 1080 Wien, Austria

Dr. med. Heidrun Pokorny University Clinic for Cardiothoracic Surgery Medical University of Vienna Währinger Gürtel 18 – 20 1090 Wien, Austria

Prof. Dr. med. Edacheril Scaria Rajendran Dean Vinayaka Missions Homeopathic Medical College & Hospital Ariyanoor Salem-636308 INDIA

Dr. med. Ana Reiter Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Medicine Hanusch Krankenhaus Heinrich-Collin Strasse 30 1140 Wien, Austria

Dr. med. Gerhard Resch Mariahilferstr. 74 b 1070 Wien, Austria

Dr. med. Irene Schwarz Halalistr. 1 13469 Berlin, Germany

Dr. med. Marcus Zulian Teixeira R. Teodoro Sampaio 352 cj. 128 Sao Paulo/SP-05406-000 BRAZIL

Dr. med. Susan Waag Carl-Benz-Str. 96 68167 Mannheim, Germany

Dr. med. Beatrix Wulkersdorfer Stumpergasse 11/2/10 1060 Wien, Austria

Dr. med. Sergio Zajac Alameda Suiça 111 Jardim Europa Braganca Paulista-SP-12919-170 BRAZIL

Case histories and prescriptions

I Introduction

II Intensive care medicine

III Emergency medicine

IV Materia medica

Section

Case study

Prescription

Author

Page

I Introduction

–

Transmural anterior myocardial infarction

Naja tripudians

Gerhard Resch

4

II Intensive medicine

1.1-1

Sepsis from perforated duodenal ulcer

Pyrogenium

Marcus Zulian Teixeira

90

1.1-2

Sepsis from bilateral interstitial pneumonia

Arsenicum album

Marcus Zulian Teixeira

92

1.1-3

Meningococcal sepsis

Veratrum viride

Marcus Zulian Teixeira

94

1.1-4

Glomerulonephritis, sepsis

Lachesis

Belladonna

Arsenicum album

Michael Frass

96

1.1-5

Multiple organ failure, sepsis

Lachesis

Arsenicum album

Michael Frass

99

1.1-6

Rejected kidney transplant, sepsis

Lachesis

Arsenicum album

Phosphorus

Michael Frass

101

1.1-7

Sepsis following Caesarean

Lachesis

Pulsatilla

Michael Frass

103

1.1-8

Sepsis following snakebite

Arsenicum album

Secale cornutum

Peter König

105

1.1-9

Sepsis with cardiovascular shock and cerebrovascular insult with subsequent hypoxic brain damage

Opium

Farokh Master Jayesh Dhingreja

107

1.1-10

Sepsis caused by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)

Pulsatilla

Farokh Master Jayesh Dhingreja

107

1.1-11

Gram-negative sepsis in a case of cerebral malaria

Camphora

Farokh Master Jayesh Dhingreja

109

1.2-1

Ludwig’s angina - an atypical form of treatment

Lachesis

Myristica sebifera

Hepar sulphur

Anthracinum

Michael Frass

113

1.2-2

Abscess close to an artificial hip joint

Phosphorus

Arsenicum album

Lachesis

Michael Frass

116

1.2-3

Dyspnoea in a case of severe cricoid perichondritis

Belladonna

Michael Frass

119

2.1-1

HELLP syndrome

Lachesis

Natrium chloratum

Crataegus

Michael Frass

123

II Intensive medicine

2.2-1

Bleeding after puncture

Lachesis

Michael Frass

127

2.3-1

Pulmonary embolism

Lachesis

Michael Frass

130

3.1-1

Angina pectoris

Muriaticum acidum

Michael Frass

137

3.2-1

Acute myocardial infarction requiring resuscitation

Carbo vegetabilis

Gerhard Resch

140

3.2-2

Cardiogenic shock after a myocordial infarction

Carbo vegetabilis

Walter Glück

141

3.3-1

Multiple organ failure following replacement of ascending aorta and aortic valve implantation

Crotalus cascavella

Phosphorus

Hepar sulphur

Michael Frass

144

3.4-1

Heart transplant in a case of dilated cardiomyopathy

Staphisagria

Michael Frass Brigitte Bunzel

150

3.5-1

Acute pulmonary oedema following self-medication with a sympathomimetic drug

Arsenicum album

Antimonium tartaricum

Sergio Zajac

157

3.5-2

Cardiac decompensation after quadruple coronary bypass operation

China

Arnica montana

Sulphur

Irene Schwarz

161

4.1-1

Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)

Baptisia

Bovista

Michael Frass

170

4.1-2

Postoperative ARDS

Carbo vegetabilis

Peter König

172

4.1-3

Laryngeal carcinoma with pulmonary metastases and compression of the trachea with breathlessness

Hydrocyanicum acidum

Farokh Master Jayesh Dhingreja

173

4.1-4

Acute pneumonia with pleural effusion

Chelidonium

Michael Frass

176

4.1-5

Nosocomial pneumonia with coronary heart disease

Phosphorus

Nux vomica

Belladonna

Michael Frass

177

4.2-1

Weaning problem after heart operation

Sulphur

Causticum

Lycopodium

Hyoscyamus

Michael Frass

180

4.2-2

Severe hypoxic cerebral insult while under general anaesthetic

Laurocerasus

Farokh Master Jayesh Dhingreja

183

4.2-3

Difficult extubation

Kalium bichromicum

Michael Frass

186

5.2-1

Acute kidney failure

Calcarea carbonica

Berberis

Michael Frass

193

6.2-1

Acute abdomen during a long-haul flight

Arsenicum album

Michael Frass

197

7.1-1

St. p. intraoperative blood loss

Arnica montana

China

Irene Schwarz

201

7.2-1

Postoperative transitory psychotic syndrome after aortic valve replacement

Hyoscyamus

Heidrun Pokorny

205

7.2-2

Postoperative transitory psychotic syndrome

Hyoscyamus

Heidrun Pokorny

207

II Intensive care medicine

7.2-3

Postoperative transitory psychotic syndrome in a case of aortic dissection and aortic valve insufficiency

Hyoscyamus

Heidrun Pokorny

209

7.2-4

Transitory psychotic syndrome with st. p. polytrauma and aspiration pneumonia

Stramonium

Peter König

210

8.2-1

Death cap mushroom poisoning

Arsenicum album

Phosphorus

Helleborus niger

Michael Frass

215

III Emergency medicine

9.1-1

Threat of gangrene following a cut

Vipera berus

Martin Bündner

232

9.1-2

Distorsion of the left shoulder

Sulphur

Martin Bündner

232

9.1-3

Distorsion of the left knee, lower leg and ankle

Phosphorus

Martin Bündner

233

9.1-4

Distorsion of the right ankle

Phosphorus

Martin Bündner

234

9.1-5

Fracture of the left metacarpals

Ruta graveolens

Martin Bündner

234

9.1-6

Closed distal intraarticular comminuted fracture of the lower leg, II°

Symphytum

Martin Bündner

235

9.1-7

Fracture of the left lateral malleolus

Pulsatilla

Martin Bündner

236

9.1-8

Bad fall downstairs

Arnica montana

Martin Bündner

237

9.2-1

Whiplash injury in a patient with cervical syndrome

Calcarea carbonica

Natrium muriaticum

Martin Bündner

239

9.2-2

Bruised coccyx

Hypericum

Michael Frass

241

9.3-1

Severe thoracic bruising

Ranunculus bulbosus

Martin Bündner

244

9.4-1

Severe craniocerebral trauma

Cuprum metallicum

Farokh Master

247

9.4-2

Periorbital haematoma

Symphytum

Michael Frass

248

9.4-3

Commotio cerebri

Arnica montana

Martin Bündner

249

9.5-1

Blunt abdominal trauma during pregnancy

Aconitum napellus

Martin Bündner

251

10.1-1

Right ventricular conduction disorder

Aurum metallicum

Martin Bündner

257

10.1-2

Bradycardia

Veratrum album

Martin Bündner

258

10.2-1

Hypertensive crisis with diabetes mellitus

Nux vomica

Martin Bündner

261

10.2-2

Allergic reaction to hornet sting – hypertensive crisis

Belladonna

Martin Bündner

262

10.2-3

Severe hypertensive crisis – imminent apoplexy

Belladonna

Martin Bündner

262

10.3-1

Exclusion of pulmonary embolism

Spigelia

Martin Bündner

266

10.3-2

Suspected pulmonary embolism

Pulsatilla

Martin Bündner

268

10.3-3

Pulmonary embolism with deep vein thrombosis in the right leg

Bryonia alba

Martin Bündner

269

10.4-1

Deep vein thrombosis in the left leg

Bryonia alba

Martin Bündner

275

10.5-1

Unstable angina pectoris

Kalium carbonicum

Martin Bündner

276

10.5-2

Unstable angina pectoris after myocardial infarction

Alumina

Martin Bündner

277

III Emergency medicine

10.5-3

Recurrent angina pectoris with myocardial ischaemia

Phosphorus

Sulphur

Lachesis

Martin Bündner

278

10.5-4

Post-infarction angina following acute posterior wall infarction

Arsenicum album

Martin Bündner

281

10.5-5

Acute posterior wall infarction

Carbo vegetabilis

Nux vomica

Susan Waag

283

10.6-1

Cardiac arrest in newborn

Opium

Aconitum napellus

Susanne Holtz-Joas

288

10.6-2

St. p. myocardial infarction with subsequent cardiac arrest

Bryonia alba

Cocculus

Martin Bündner

290

11.1-1

Asthma attack

Carbo vegetabilis

Edacheril Scaria Rajendran

295

11.1-2

Asthma attack with psychological decompensation

Apis mellifica

Martin Bündner

296

11.1-3

Asthma attack and interminate abdominal problems

Sulphur

Martin Bündner

298

11.1-4

Allergic reaction with breathlessness

Mercurius solubilis

Martin Bündner

299

11.1-5

Allergic asthma

Bryonia alba

Martin Bündner

300

11.1-6

Infectious asthma

Lycopodium

Martin Bündner

300

11.1-7

Spastic bronchitis

Pulsatilla

Martin Bündner

301

11.1-8

Spastic bronchitis

Calcarea carbonica

Martin Bündner

302

11.1-9

Bronchiolitis

Tuberculinum

Martin Bündner

303

11.1-10

Status asthmaticus

Apis mellifica

Edacheril Scaria Rajendran

303

11.2-1

Pneumonia with decompensated cardiac insufficiency

Belladonna

Martin Bündner

306

11.2-2

Acute cardiac decompensation and urinary tract infection

Lycopodium

Martin Bündner

308

11.3-1

Hyperventilation tetany with hysterical convulsions

Ignatia

Martin Bündner

313

12.2-1

Acute abdomen with suspected closed stomach perforation

Sulphur

Martin Bündner

323

12.2-2

Acute abdomen

Belladonna

Sepia

Martin Bündner

326

12.2-3

Ileus

Bryonia alba

Martin Bündner

327

12.2-4

Acute biliary colic

Sulphur

Martin Bündner

328

12.2-5

Unclear abdomen cholestasis with choledocholithiasis

Rhus toxicodendron

Martin Bündner

329

12.2-6

Cholecystitis followed by laryngitis

Pulsatilla

Sulphur

Pulsatilla

Martin Bündner

331

12.2-7

Acute biliary pancreatitis

Iris versicolor

Edacheril Scaria Rajendran

334

III Emergency medicine

12.2-8

Acute appendicitis

Bryonia alba

Edacheril Scaria Rajendran

335

12.2-9

Acute appendicitis

Belladonna

Martin Bündner

336

12.2-10

Subacute peritonitis with terminal renal insufficiency

Sulphur

Martin Bündner

337

12.2-11

Severe abdominal colic

Sulphur

Colocynthis

Martin Bündner

338

12.2-12

Unclear abdomen – pneumococcal sepsis

Phosphorus

Martin Bündner

339

12.2-13

Ruptured ovarian cyst and ectopic pregnancy

Sulphur

Belladonna

Martin Bündner

341

13.1-1

Cannabis intoxication with circulatory dysregulation and hyperventilation tetany

Pulsatilla

Martin Bündner

349

13.1-2

Severe alcohol intoxication

Nux vomica

Martin Bündner

351

13.2-1

Slow atrial fibrillation from intoxication with amiodarone and digitalis, concomitant organic psychosyndrome

Belladonna

Stramonium

Martin Bündner

355

13.2-2

Medication-induced Lyell syndrome – severe allergic reaction

Sulphur

Martin Bündner

358

13.2-3

Vaccination complication

Lachesis

Martin Bündner

360

13.3-1

Acetic acid burns

Nux vomica

Lachesis

Martin Bündner

370

13.3-2

Conjunctivitis caused by dye contamination

Pulsatilla

Martin Bündner

372

13.3-3

Anaphylactic shock

Belladonna

Martin Bündner

374

13.3-4

Food poisoning

Phosphorus

Martin Bündner

376

13.3-5

Acute glottal oedema

Apis mellifica

Walter Glück

378

13.3-6

Infected bee sting – tendency to collapse

Sulphur

Martin Bündner

379

14.1-1

Apoplectic insult

Opium

Leopold Drexler

386

14.1-2

Basal ganglia and thalamus infarction, left side

Arsenicum album

Martin Bündner

389

14.1-3

Unconsciousness of unclear origin

Arnica

Martin Bündner

391

14.1-4

Subarachnoid bleeding

Belladonna

Sulphur

Martin Bündner

393

14.1-5

Temporary cerebral hypoxia

Cuprum metallicum

Michael Frass

395

14.1-6

Apallic syndrome

Opium

Belladonna

Martin Bündner

396

14.2-1

Grand mal attack

Cuprum metallicum

Martin Bündner

406

14.2-2

Status epilepticus

Kreosotum

Edacheril Scaria Rajendran

407

14.3-1

Herpes encephalitis and herpes pneumonia with subsequent multiple thromboses

Hyoscyamus

Martin Bündner

411

14.4-1

Cervical disc prolapse

Phosphorus

Martin Bündner

415

15.1-1

Delirium of unclear origin

Stramonium

Martin Bündner

420

III Emergency medicine

15.2-1

Agitation

Nux vomica

Martin Bündner

422

15.2-2

Acute exacerbated bipolar disorder

Calcarea carbonica

Martin Bündner

423

15.2-3

Psychological decompensation

Staphysagria

Martin Bündner

424

15.3-1

Psychotic disorder and peripheral circulatory disorder

Lachesis

Martin Bündner

428

15.3-2

Acute jealousy

Lachesis

Martin Bündner

429

16.1-1

Severe genital bleeding

Sabina

Arnica montana

Carbo vegetabilis

Martin Bündner

434

16.2-1

Impending premature birth

Sepia

Martin Bündner

441

16.2-2

Impending miscarriage

Pulsatilla

Martin Bündner

442

16.2-3

Intrauterine foetal death – early pregnancy

Sepia

Martin Bündner

442

16.2-4

Intrauterine foetal death at end of 2

nd

trimester

Pulsatilla

Martin Bündner

443

16.2-5

Allergic reaction during pregnancy

Arsenicum album

Martin Bündner

444

16.3-1

Dystocia

Pulsatilla

Martin Bündner

450

16.3-2

Home birth

Gelsemium

Caulophyllum thalictroides

Pulsatilla

Martin Bündner

451

17.1-1

Acute urine retention with urinary tract infection

Arsenicum album

Martin Bündner

459

17.1-2

Acute urinary retention

Hyoscyamus

Martin Bündner

460

17.2-1

Renal colic

Nux vomica

Edacheril Scaria Rajendran

464

17.3-1

Pyelonephritis on both sides

Belladonna

Nux vomica

Pulsatilla

Muriaticum acidum

Martin Bündner

465

17.3-2

Recurrent urosepsis and pneumonia following early stages of multiple organ failure

Apis mellifica

Lachesis

Martin Bündner

467

17.4-1

Sterilisation

Ledum palustre

Martin Bündner

473

17.4-2

Imminent prerenal kidney failure caused by stomatitis

Dulcamara

Mercurius solubilis

Martin Bündner

473

18.1-1

First-degree frostbite of the hands

–

Martin Bündner

483

18.2-1

Second-degree burns to the right hand

Cantharis

Martin Bündner

487

18.2-2

Burns on the sole of the left foot

Causticum

Martin Bündner

489

18.2-3

Burns from x-rays

Phosphorus

Martin Bündner

489

18.3-1

Heatstroke

Carbo vegetabilis

Martin Bündner

496

IV Materia medica

Abbreviations

A

A./Aa.

Arteria(e)

ACE

Angiotensin Converting Enzyme

agg.

aggravated

amel.

ameliorated

AMG

German Drugs Act (Arzneimittelgesetz)

AO

2

available oxygen

ARDS

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

ARF

acute renal failure

ASS

acetylsalicylic acid

AST

aspartate transaminase (formerly SGOT)

ATP

adenosine triphosphate

B

BC

blood count

BGA

Blood Gas Analysis

BS

blood sugar

BW

body weight

C

caO2

arterial oxygen content

CEE

conjugated equine oestrogen

CH

C potency of Hahnemann

CHD

coronary heart disease

CK

creatine kinase

CLIS

Carcinoma lobulare in situ

CMF

Cyclophosphamide + Methotrexate + 5-Fluorouracil

CO

cardiac output

cond.

condition

cont.

continuation

CRH

corticotropin releasing hormone

CRP

C-reactive protein

CT

computed tomography

CTG

cardiotocography

CVVH

continuous veno-venous haemofiltration

D

d

day(s)

DHEA

dehydroepiandrosterone

DIC

disseminated intravascular coagulation

Dil.

dilution

DNA

deoxyribonucleic acid

dr.

drops

E

EDTA

ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid

EEG

electroencephalogram

EMG

electromyography

ESR

erythrocyte sedimentation rate

EUG

extrauterine gestation

ext.

external

F

FC

fluxion potency

fct

film-coated tablet(s)

G

glob.

globules

GnRH;

gonadotropin releasing hormone

GRH

GOT

glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (now AST)

GPT

glutamic pyruvate transaminase

H

h

hour(s)

Hb

haemoglobin

HCG

human chorionic gonadotropin

HCT

haematocrit

HDL

high-density lipoproteins

HDR

high dose rate

HELLP

haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets

HLA

Human Leucocyte Antigen

HP

Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia

HR

heart rate

I

i.m.

intramuscular

i.v.

intravenous

IgD, IgE,

immunoglobulins D/E/G/M

IgG, IgM

IGT

impaired glucose tolerance

IHD

intermittent haemodialysis

int.

internal

K

K

centesimal potency of Korsakov

L

LDH

lactate dehydrogenase

LD

lethal dose

LDL

low-density lipoproteins

M

M

1000 potency in the centesimal series

mg

milligram

mil.

million

min.

minute(s)

Mm.

muscles

N

N.

nerve

neg.

negative

Nn.

nerves

NSAID

non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs

O

OGTT

oral glucose tolerance test

op.

operation

P

p.d.

daily

p.o.

per os (by mouth)

Ph. Eur.

European Pharmacopoeia

poss.

possibly

post-op.

post-operative

PRBC

packed red blood cells

pred.

predominant(ly)

PVC

premature ventricular contraction

R

RR

Riva-Rocci (symbol for blood pressure measurements with Riva-Rocci apparatus)

S

s.c.

subcutaneous

sec.

second(s)

ssp.

subspecies

st. p.

status post

susp.

suspected

T

T

3

triiodothyronine

T

4

(levo)thyroxine

tab.

tablet

TM

mother tincture

TRH

thyrotropin releasing hormone

TSH

thyroid stimulating hormone

TTP

thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura

X

10M

10 000 potency in the centesimal series

Symbols

↑

high, raised

↓

low, decreased

>

more than, better from

<

less than, worse from

cf. (reference)

trade name

Ø

mother tincture

List of illustrations

I.

4.4-1

,

4.4-2

,

4.4-3

,

4.4-4

Dr. rer. nat. Andreas Grimm, Tübingen

II.

1.2-1

,

1.2-2

,

1.2-3

Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Michael Frass, Vienna

List of tables

Page 38:

Tab. 4.2-1: Medicinal plants

Page 39:

Tab. 4.2-2: Fungi and lichens

Page 40:

Tab. 4.2-3: Minerals and metals

Page 41:

Tab. 4.2-4: Animal kingdom

Page 42:

Tab. 4.2-5: Examples of nosodes

Page 43:

Tab. 4.4-1: Ph. Eur. Regulations on the preparation of potentised remedies

Page 56-83:

Tab. 4.6-1: Remedy kit

Page 129:

Tab. 2.3-1: Stages in Pulmonary Embolism according to Grosser (1980)

Page 135:

Tab. 3.1-1: Risk Factors for Angina

Page 135:

Tab. 3.1-2: Differential Diagnosis Angina Pectoris

Page 138:

Tab. 3.2-1: Typical Clinical Test Values for Cardiac Infarction

Page 142:

Tab. 3.3-1: Types of Aortic Dissection according to DeBakey

Page 142:

Tab. 3.3-2: Types of Aortic Dissection according to Stanford

Page 147:

Tab. 3.4-1: Classification of RCM by Cardiac Localisation

Page 153:

Tab. 3.4-2: Transplantation Types

Page 154:

Tab. 3.4-3: Indications for Transplantation

Page 169:

Tab. 4.1-1: Clinical Stages of ARDS

Page 190:

Tab. 5.2-1: Classification of Acute Renal Failure (ARF) by Localisation

Page 191:

Tab. 5.2-2: Stages of Acute Renal Failure

Page 192:

Tab. 5.2-3: Parameters to Differentiate Pre-Renal and Intrinsic Acute Renal Failure

Page 229:

Tab. 9.1-1: Classification of open fractures (Gustilo 1976)

Page 230:

Tab. 9.1-2: Classification of closed fractures (Tscherne 1982)

Page 238:

Tab. 9.2-1: Criteria of complete spinal paraplegia

Page 245:

Tab. 9.4-1: Classification of craniocerebral trauma

Page 246:

Tab. 9.4-2: Glasgow Coma Scale

Page 247:

Tab. 9.4-3: Indications for computed tomography

Page 271:

Tab. 10.4-1: Stages of thrombosis

Page 272:

Tab. 10.4-2: Indicators of thrombosis

Page 293:

Tab. 11.1-1: Differential diagnosis – asthma bronchiale and bronchitis

Page 293:

Tab. 11.1-2: Differential diagnosis – asthma bronchiale and pseudocroup

Page 294:

Tab. 11.1-3: Differential diagnosis – asthma bronchiale and laryngospasm or breathlessness caused by laryngeal diseases

Page 294:

Tab. 11.1-4: Differential diagnosis – asthma bronchiale and pulmonary emphysema

Page 294:

Tab. 11.1-5: Differential diagnosis – asthma bronchiale and dyspnoea with renal/cardiac causes

Page 309:

Tab. 11.3-1: Various types of breathing during hyperventilation

Page 310:

Tab. 11.3-2: Symptoms of hyperventilation tetany

Page 324:

Tab. 12.2-1: Progression of laboratory parameters

Page 330:

Tab. 12.2-2: Progression of laboratory parameters

Page 343:

Tab. 12.2-3: Laboratory findings

Page 354:

Tab. 13.2-1: Degrees of severity of theophylline intoxication according to Sessler (Sessler Severity Score)

Page 354:

Tab. 13.2-2: Antidotes

Page 362:

Tab. 13.3-1: Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning

Page 363:

Tab. 13.3-2: Antidotes

Page 363:

Tab. 13.3-3: Antidotes

Page 364:

Tab. 13.3-4: Antidotes

Page 364:

Tab. 13.3-5: Conventional treatment of toxic pulmonary oedema

Page 365:

Tab. 13.3-6: Antidotes

Page 365:

Tab. 13.3-7: Antidotes

Page 438:

Tab. 16.2-1: EPH gestosis index for evaluating the severity of advanced gestosis

Page 446:

Tab. 16.3-1: APGAR (asphyxia index), points system for evaluating the condition of newborns immediately after birth

Page 470:

Tab. 17.3-1: Progress of parameters following initial administration of Lachesis

Page 477:

Tab. 18.1-1: Clinical signs of a tolerated cardiovascular arrest

Page 478:

Tab. 18.1-2: Classification of frostbite according to severity

Page 484:

Tab. 18.2-1: Stages

Page 485:

Tab. 18.2-2: Wallace Rule of Nines for assessing the extent of burns and scalds

Page 485:

Tab. 18.2-3: Calculating burns in children

Page 491:

Tab. 18.3-1: Guiding symptoms of dehydration

Page 491:

Tab. 18.3-2: Infusion therapy

Information

Organisations for physicians

Germany

Deutscher Zentralverein homöopathischer Ärzte e.V. (DZVhÄ)

Am Hofgarten 5 D-53113 Bonn Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] Internet: www.homoeopathy.de(see website for state organisations)

Hahnemann-Gesellschaft-Arbeitsgemeinschaft klassisch homöopathisch behandelnder Ärzte e.V.

Sacrower Allee 65a D-14476 Gross-Glienicke Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] Internet: www.hahnemann-gesellschaft.de

Austria

Ärztegesellschaft für Klassische Homöopathie (ÄKH)

Südtiroler Str. 16

A- 4020 Linz, Austria Tel.: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]: www.aekh.at

Österreichische Gesellschaft für Homöopathische Medizin (ÖGHM)

Billrothstraße 2/8. Stock

1190 Wien, Austria Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]: www.homoeopathie.at

Interdisziplinärer Homöopathischer Arbeitskreis

Pharmazie – Medizin – Physik – Biochemie – Psychologie Forschung Österreichische Apothekerkammer Landesgeschäftsstelle Wien Lerchenfelderstr. 124/2/9 A-1080 Wien E-mail: [email protected]

Switzerland

Schweizerischer Verein Homöopathischer Ärztinnen und Ärzte (SVHA)

Sekretariat SVHA Dorfhaldenstrasse 5 CH-6052 Hergiswil Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]

Manufacturers of homeopathic remedies

Germany

Arcana Dr. Sewerin GmbH & Co. KG

Austernbrede 7 – 9 D-33330 Gütersloh Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone]

E-mail: [email protected]: arcana.de

Deutsche Homöpathische-Union (DHU)

Postfach 41 02 80 D-76202 Karlsruhe Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]: www.dhu.de

Homöopathisches Labor Gudjons

Brita Gudjons Höfatsweg 21 D-86391 Stadtbergen-Deuringen Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]: www.gudjons.com

Neckartor-Apotheke Dr. Zinsser

Haus Neckartor D-72070 Tübingen Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]: www.q-potenzen.com

Staufen-Pharma GmbH & Co. KG

Postfach 1143 D-73011 Göppingen Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]: www.staufen-pharma.de

Austria

Apotheke zum weissen Engel

Homeocur Dr. Leisser GmbH Hauptplatz 29 A-2070 Retz Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]: www.homeocur.com

Dr. Peithner GmbH & Co.

Richard Strauss-Strasse 13 A-1232 Wien Tel.: [phone] – 0 Fax: [phone] – 18 E-mail: [email protected]: www.peithner.at(DHU representatives in Austria)

Maria-Treu-Apotheke

Josefstädter Strasse 68 A-1080 Wien Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]: www.maria-treu-apotheke.com

Remedia Homöopathie

Hauptstrasse 4 A-7000 Eisenstadt Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]: www.remedia.at

Spagyra GmbH&Co KG

Marktplatz 5a

A-5082 Grödig

Tel.: [phone]

Fax.: [phone]

E-mail: [email protected]

Internet: www.spagyra.at

Belgium

Homeoden-Heel

Kasteellaan 76 B-9000 Gent Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]: www.homroden.be

France

Laboratoires Boiron SA

20, Rue de la Liberation F-69110 Sainte-Foy-Lés-Lyon Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] Telex: Boirexp 33 4 31 02 39 Internet: www.boiron.de

Great Britain

Ainsworths Limited

36 New Cavendish Street London W1G 8UF Tel.: [phone] Fax: + 44 20 74 86 43 13 Internet: www.ainsworth.com

Helios Homeopathic Pharmacy

97 Camden Road Tunbridge Wells Kent TN1 2QR Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] Internet: www.helios.co.uk

A Nelson & Co. Ltd Broadheath House

83 Parkside Wimbledon London SW19 5LP Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]

Switzerland

Laboratoire homéopathique Schmidt-Nagel

Rue Pré Bouvier 27 CH-1217 Meyrin/Geneve Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] Internet: www.schmidt-nagel.ch

Spagyros AG

Tannackerstr. 7 CH-3073 Gümligen Tel.: [phone] Fax.: [phone] Internet: www.spagyros.ch

Students organisation

StudentInnen Initiative Homöopathie c/o Universitätsvertretung Medizin General Hospital (AKH), Floor 6M Währinger Gürtel 18-20 A-1090 Wien Tel.: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]@sih.atInternet: www.sih.at

I Introduction

1 Homeopathy in intensive care and emergency medicine

Gerhard Resch

1.1 Using homeopathy in a clinical setting

1.2 Principles of classical homeopathy

Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker: “Science is right about the statements it makes but wrong about what it keeps secret.”

ORGANON

Samuel Hahnemann

“By nature, the true healing art is a pure science of experience which can and must rest on clear facts and on the sensible phenomena pertaining to their sphere of action, for all the subjects it has to deal with are clearly and satisfactorily cognisable by the senses through experience. Knowledge of the disease to be treated, knowledge of the effects of the medicines and how the ascertained effects of the medicines are to be employed for the eradication of diseases: all this experience alone teaches adequately. Its subjects can only be derived from pure experiences and observations, and it dares not take a single step out of the sphere of pure well-observed experience and experiment if it would avoid becoming a nullity, a farce.” (Preface to the Organon of the Healing Art, 1819)

1.1 Using homeopathy in a clinical setting

In a modern scientific context, it may initially seem strange to publish a book devoted to the use of homeopathic remedies in the fields of emergency and intensive medicine. After all, intensive medicine is based on a logical, unambiguous way of thinking originally founded on the cognitive structures of Descartes and now anchored in our persisting modern understanding of science. From here, there appears to be no bridge to the mindset and world view of homeopathic medicine; ultimately, homeopathy can only be comprehended by analogy.

While practitioners of emergency and intensive medicine focus primarily on the fundamental vital processes essential to existence, and the treatment administered aims to preserve these at all costs, homeopathic medicine invariably focuses on the whole person, the individual and all his expressions of life – even when treating emergency cases and patients receiving intensive care.

From a homeopathic viewpoint, for example, it is not decisive whether or not the individual is aware of these expressions of life, whether they are imparted by the patient himself or observed by relatives, medical staff etc., whether the corresponding indications are established by laboratory tests or other sources, or whether or not they are immediately relevant for the emergency or intensive treatment of the patient.

Interestingly, the nature and power of homeopathic medication is often observed most clearly when it is used for emergency and intensive treatment. In the next section, I would like to give a brief description of my practical experience of homeopathy in everyday life in the clinic.

Right at the beginning of my still very cautious experiments with the use of homeopathic remedies to treat acute and chronic disease, I was frequently confronted with extremely severe, acute and life-threatening diseases and conditions which required immediate medical treatment. Intensive care medicine as we understand it today did not exist in our hospital back in the 1960s. There was no way to keep patients under observation using monitors, no 24-hour laboratory, no specially trained personnel; many of the drugs at our disposal today had not yet been developed; much of the knowledge taken for granted in present-day intensive care medicine was not yet available. The patients were admitted to and cared for on normal wards, and frequently received their initial treatment in the passages – all without the aids available today. In appropriate emergencies, I started giving doses of a homeopathic remedy which seemed to me to fit the case as well as administering the usual treatment. The scope of the healing reaction left me much impressed with the early successes of my homeopathic approach. I was particularly struck by the speed at which the remedy began to work, especially in acute and traumatic cases, and above all in a wide variety of potentially life-threatening conditions. In such instances, it was completely irrelevant whether the person administering the remedy had a positive or negative attitude towards homeopathy, whether the patient was responsive, unconscious, intubated or not intubated, whether or not recovery was to be expected from a conventional viewpoint.

Case study: 60 year old male patient brought to the clinic unconscious after collapsing in the street. The paramedics who transported him to the clinic reported that according to information gathered from passers-by, the patient had collapsed as though struck by lightning and fallen into a state of deep unconsciousness. The patient was immediately connected to an ECG monitor, which indicated that his collapse had been caused by an extensive transmural anterior myocardial infarction. During the initial clinical assessment, it was noted that his eyes were rotated outward, his pupils were rigid, his pulse and reflexes could not be found and that his breathing was weak and shallow. The patient’s condition seemed to show that centres deep in the brain had already ceased to function. This in turn indicated direct involvement of the central nervous system in an acute myocardial infarction. The ECG was dominated by a plateau-like ST segment showing no other differentiation. Thrombolytical treatment was to be started immediately.

• A similar acute condition is described in J. H. Clarke’s materia medica in the remedy description for the venom of the monocled cobra (Naja tripudians). Here he describes the case of a man who while skinning a rat which had been killed by a cobra bite had himself absorbed the poison through a tiny injury at the base of his fingernail. Frank Buckland described the consequences of this careless action as follows: “I had not walked a hundred yards before all of a sudden I felt just as if somebody had come behind me and struck me a severe blow on the head and neck, and at the same time I experienced a most acute pain and sense of oppression at the chest, as though a hot iron had been run in and a hundredweight put on the top of it.” (Clarke 1962).

• Clarke also mentions another interesting indication for Naja tripudians. The Indian homeopath Majumdar saved the lives of a number of seemingly hopeless cholera cases who had reached a state of collapse with respiratory difficulties and no pulse by giving them Naja.

The patient was given one dose (2 globules) of Naja tripudians 30C orally. Within minutes, the ECG became normal, complete with sinus rhythm, P, Q, R, S and T waves; there was no longer any indication of an “acute myocardial infarction”. Shortly afterwards, the patient woke up, was responsive and stated that he felt well and had no pain or any other symptoms. The prepared injections were dispensed with and the patient was admitted to a normal ward, where he was kept under observation for eight days. He enjoyed a full recovery without complications, and was discharged with no medication or suggested treatment. Naja tripudians has repeatedly proven its efficacy in treating heart attacks, and has also prevented heart attacks before they occur.

This case from my early years of working with homeopathy aims to give an insight into the use and effectiveness of homeopathic medicine when treating the most serious cases of acute disease and invites the reader to enter into a critical discussion of how homeopathy works. Chapter II, III (Case Studies).

1.2 Principles of classical homeopathy

Homeopathic medicine was developed by the German physician Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann, born in Meissen on April 10, 1755, the highly gifted child of poor parents. The award of a scholarship allowed Hahnemann to attend the Prince’s School of St. Afra in Meissen, which at that time enjoyed great renown. From here, he went to Leipzig to study medicine. As there was no hospital, the faculty at Leipzig University offered no practical tuition whatsoever, which is why Hahnemann moved to Vienna at the end of 1776. Here he became the favourite of Joseph von Quarin (senior physician at the hospital run by the Brothers of Mercy), who invited the talented student to accompany him on visits to private patients, the only one of his pupils allowed to do so. After a short stay in Transylvania (now Romania), where he contracted intermittent fever, Hahnemann completed his studies in Erlangen and opened his own practice shortly afterwards. Disappointed by the prevailing methods of treatment, which according to his observations caused the patient’s condition to worsen rather than improve, Hahnemann turned away from the conventional medicine of his day. His great interest in chemistry soon led him to become one of the leading chemists of his time. He also earned his living by translating medical and scientific works from various languages into German.

Discovery of homeopathic medicine

In 1790, Hahnemann began translating a treatise by his famous contemporary William Cullen, which had just been published in England and contained extensive descriptions of all materia medica known at that time (Cullen 1789). As per his habit of adding his own comments to various aspects of the works he translated, he reacted to an opinion of Cullen’s which seemed to him to be nonsensical – i.e. the author’s supposition that the specific effect of cinchona bark in cases of intermittent fever was due to the fact that cinchona bark was bitter, astringent and consequently had a tonic effect on the stomach – by performing an experiment on himself, the results of which were to inspire a new way of thinking.

Hahnemann’s self-experimentation

Hahnemann took 15 g cinchona bark twice a day to form his own judgement of the direct effects this drug had on the body. In doing so, he found an indication that such a drug proving can cast a whole new light on the drug’s spectrum of activity. With regard to Cullen’s ideas, he wrote: “I took, for several days, as an experiment, four drams of good china twice daily. My feet and fingertips etc. first became cold; I became languid and drowsy, then my heart began to palpitate, my pulse became hard and quick; an intolerable anxiety and trembling (but without a rigor), a prostration through all the limbs; then pulsation in the head, redness of the cheeks, thirst; briefly, all the symptoms usually associated with intermittent fever appeared in succession, yet without the actual rigor. To sum up: all those symptoms which are typical to me of intermittent fever, as the stupefaction of the senses, a kind of rigidity of all joints, but above all the numb, disagreeable sensation which seems to have its seat in the periosteum over all the bones of the body – all made their appearance. This paroxysm lasted from two to three hours every time, and recurred when I repeated the dose but not otherwise. I discontinued the medicine and was once more in good health.” (Cullen 1790)

It was only this observation that the effects of a certain drug and the symptoms of a specific disease which can be healed by this drug are remarkably similar that drew his attention to the possibility of using the law of similars in medicine.

Law of similars

Hahnemann went on to test other substances on himself, and later also on his friends and members of his family. Again and again, he demonstrated the ability of the substance in question to influence a healthy subject in a certain way unique to that substance. He then began to take a new approach to medical treatment using those substances which had been tested on healthy persons. Over the six years following the year of discovery (1790), he became convinced that the traditional method of “contraria contrariius” could not be the best way forward. The law of similars, i.e. like cures like (similia similibus curentur), means that a sick person will be healed by the remedy which produces the same symptoms in a healthy person.

All clinical experience gained in his re-opened medical practice confirmed the theory which had been suggested by his experiment with cinchona bark: a medicine can only bring about a complete cure if it creates symptoms in a healthy person similar to those suffered by a diseased person.

Over the next few years, Hahnemann continued to expand his method and became increasingly successful in treating his patients. The theories he developed from his experience and research went against the spirit of the times, were radically new and incomprehensible to contemporary thinkers. An outburst of opposition from the medical establishment was therefore inevitable.

At the end of his life, Hahnemann left behind a largely complete new form of medicine, the most important elements and aspects of which he had been developing from the age of 35 onwards and which can still be applied to patients today.

Hahnemann’s writings

In 1810, Hahnemann published the first edition of his “Organon of the Healing Art”, in which he described his theories in depth and presented them to a wider public. The changes made throughout the six editions (Hahnemann compiled the last version in 1842, but it was not published until nearly 80 years after his death) reflected his struggles with the challenges confronting him while developing the theory of homeopathic medicine. The “Organon” (Greek for “tool”) is structured hierarchically; the basic principles are dealt with first and the work proceeds step by step to expound the practical knowledge required for homeopathic healing.

Hahnemann’s next major work was the “Materia Medica Pura” (Dresden 1811–1821; Dresden, Leipzig 1822–1827; Dresden, Leipzig 1830–1833; all during Hahnemann’s lifetime), which summarised the results of the drug provings on healthy subjects.

Hahnemann’s third major work, “The Chronic Diseases, their Peculiar Nature and their Homeopathic Cure” (Dresden, Leipzig 1828–1830; supplemented and improved edition 1835–1839) presents a new approach to treating chronic disease. When treating chronically ill patients, Hahnemann discovered that besides considering the totality and peculiarity of the signs and symptoms shown by the patient, it was necessary to take causal considerations and thought concepts into account in order to tackle the various manifestations of the disease in question. By performing extensive studies and conscientiously following the progress of chronic diseases, he came to the realisation that there had to be a causative factor at work, a process responsible for triggering and maintaining the disease. In keeping with his times, Hahnemann distinguished between three basic forms of chronic miasm encompassing the manifestations and the major fundamental characteristics of various chronic diseases; he called these psora, sycosis and syphilis. Hahnemann subsequently incorporated this knowledge into his evaluations, diagnosis and treatment of chronically ill patients and into his assessment and classification of homeopathic remedy profiles. And his therapeutic successes proved him right.

With regard to the large number of other works compiled by Hahnemann, special mention must be made of the “Pharmaceutical Lexicon” (Leipzig 1793–1799), which is still a useful standard tool for pharmacists even today.

The curative successes of homeopathy, which have been constantly observed ever since the life and times of Hahnemann and his first pupils and imitators, have largely been ignored by the field of academic medicine and are hardly ever studied. One reason for this may be that Hahnemann’s method is difficult or impossible to comprehend from our present-day understanding of medicine, and is therefore dismissed as insignificant. However, for homeopathic doctors, Hahnemann’s therapy is a healing art of far-reaching significance constantly confirmed by successful cures which in their scope conform with the requirements made of any medical science.

Elements of homeopathic medicine

The homeopathic method is founded on three major areas; homeopathic practice is based on the correct use of these. The homeopathic healing art is the synthesis of these three areas, with cures depending on them being correctly linked:

•Materia medica (with the repertory as an aid in finding one’s way through the wealth of information available)

•Homeopathic diagnostics (rule of the totality of symptoms; rule of specific individual symptoms peculiar to the subject in question)

•Establishing the simile and practice.

Pharmacology

Homeopathy is based on the “materia medica”, the homeopathic pharmacopoeia made up of all known drug symptoms induced by proving on a healthy subject. It also formed the historical foundation of Hahnemann’s homeopathic teachings. In his “Organon of the Healing Art”, he wrote:

ORGANON

Materia medica

“From such a materia medica, everything that is conjectural, all that is mere assertion or imaginary should be strictly excluded; everything should be the pure nature of nature carefully and honestly interrogated.” (Organon of the Healing Art, §144)

In the words of the Swiss homeopath and philosophical thinker Rudolf Flury, the materia medica is the heart of homeopathy. Every major homeopathic remedy can have hundreds of effects on the human body. Without this wealth of information, it would only rarely be possible to find the simile (if at all), as the actual patient usually only shows a few clear symptoms (Flury, unpublished manuscript, undated).

When proving a remedy, the signs and symptoms manifesting in the healthy tester after taking the remedy must be observed precisely. Only the phenomena occurring in a healthy person are valid when exploring the substance’s specific capacity for change as per the laws of nature. The phenomena observed by the prover when the remedy interacts with a diseased organism are not universally valid; they will only apply to that prover and not to other patients in general. The often very abundant “harvest” of such remedy provings shows not only the range of symptoms which the specific remedy can induce in a healthy subject, but also supplies information about the possible variety of symptoms which may come to light when taking the patient’s case history and which may point to the correct remedy. The starting point and foundation of homeopathic medicine is therefore the complete materia medica. Above all, the materia medica makes it possible to allocate a certain remedy to the patient’s disease by finding the similar (formal equivalent) between the disease and the drug profile (law of similars).

Homeopathic diagnostics recognises two ways of finding the right remedy for each patient.

• The first, which was codified by Hahnemann and which is based almost exclusively on the results of the remedy provings, is a highly experience-based form of diagnostics. However, it was not enough even for Hahnemann and some of his pupils, particularly Clemens von Bönninghausen (1785–1864). This is because medicine, like every other art, needs science to become complete, so that it can be supplemented by an analytical, scientifically deductive form of diagnostics from case to case. There is nothing to add to this remedy-based form of diagnostics; Hahnemann took it to its highest form.

However, we also need to recognise the connections, something that is only possible when employing a scientific approach. The first remedy provings were a more or less accurate representation of the results of the provings themselves; the phenomena were documented in the way they had been formulated by each prover, usually in order of appearance. However, the information available on each remedy is now drawn from so many sources (the prover’s notes, experience gained in the field of toxicology, medical and historical literature, coincidental observations by physicians and laypeople, reports of cures etc.) that it can by no means be structured simply by adding individual elements. This also makes it clear why a poorly structured materia medica is not a solid resource for successful homeopathic treatment; instead, it is more likely to lead to confusion. The earliest materiae medicae had no structure whatsoever; the authors contented themselves with listing facts. Later, particularly as knowledge about the effects of the remedies grew, various authors attempted to introduce some form of order according to their personal preferences. This variety of structures has become familiar to us from perusing older and more recent materiae medicae. Most experienced homeopaths have one or more authors who appeal to them more than others; beginners are particularly recommended to consult the classical materiae medicae of William Boericke (1849–1929), James Tyler Kent (1849–1916), Eugene B. Nash (1838–1917), S. R. Phatak (1896–1982) and Julius Mezger (1891–1976).

Repertory

The wealth of indications established in the remedy provings and by other sources is so great and the records available so extensive that practising homeopathy on the basis of these alone would be extremely complex and time-consuming. Attempts to redress this situation were made at an early stage by grouping the individual indications common to various remedies; these in turn were arranged and organised in various ways. These collections were called repertories. The various repertories were structured according to a wide variety of principles which invariably reflected the philosophical orientation of the respective author. Many homeopaths consequently concluded that the best repertory was the one they compiled themselves. The need for repertories arose from the difficulty of finding a symptom manifested by a patient among the wealth of indications established. The practising physician starts with the patient and his symptoms with the aim of proceeding to the cure. The repertory cannot replace the drug profiles but can guide the practitioner to possible remedies more quickly.

The first person to attempt to develop a repertory in the modern sense was one of Hahnemann’s first and best pupils, Clemens von Bönninghausen