Chronic disease is defined as ‘when the disease persists for 3 months or more’. World Health Organization (WHO) reported that chronic disease has contributed 46 % of the global burden of diseases. Diabetes, heart disease, obesity add up to half of the total chronic diseases in population over the world.
The rate at which they are increasing is substantial enough to know the burden of it on people and the healthcare system. The first choice of treatment for the majority is conventional medicine.
Chronic diseases create a financial burden and more importantly the quality of life. The healthcare costs for an individual with chronic diseases is more than compared to a person without a chronic disease.
The burden increases with the conventional method of treatment with the higher costs of medicines. Comparatively complementary mode of treatment has a lower price. Though conventional medicines are fast in acting, they produce mild to severe side-effects if not taken as per the instructions. The habit of over-the-counter medications increases the risk of side-effects.
Homeopathy, a part of the alternative system of medicine is considered to be having only “placebo effect” and no therapeutic uses. Due to lack of medical research surrounding Homeopathy, it has been constantly bombarded for its ‘no curative effect’.
It is high time not to remain blindfolded in the era where the healthcare costs are sky high and emerging side-effects and complications due to modern medicines.
If you look into the statistics, it states that “Homoeopathy is the second largest system used in India and in the world.” World Health Organization (WHO) has unveiled that Homeopathy is the fastest-growing and second-most widely-used system of medicine in the world. More than 200 million people use homeopathy regularly worldwide.
A physician with utmost homeopathy knowledge must be aware of its scope and limitations in diseases. Even Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy has noted this in Aphorism 3 of Organon of Medicine. He says that a physician must have the knowledge of the disease, knowledge of medicine and the knowledge of curative action of the medicines. This will ensure that a homeopath is on the right path of treating his patient with rapid and gentle treatment.
As the volume of chronic diseases grows so are the challenges of homeopathic physicians. As homeopaths, we face the burden of analyzing the data and prescribing the right remedy. To improve the speed of decision making and deliver the best outcome to patients, Enlightenment Education recently conducted its first two sessions of Online Course – Soul of Repertory & Repertorisation on Chronic case-taking (Part 1 & Part 2) by Dr. Manoj Patel and Dr. Anoop Nigwekar.
This course will help you to:
- Understand the purpose of case taking
- How to approach Case -taking in different age groups
- Understand the homeopathic concept of Chronic disease
- Obtain knowledge of the disease
- Understand the importance of clinical diagnosis
Learn the concept of symptoms analysis and evaluation for repertorisation.
Following is a brief look based on the session of Chronic case-taking.
Chronic case-taking in homeopathy
Case taking is an art and science in Homeopathy in which doctors collect information of patient regarding his complaints. This is done by getting into a unique conversation with the patient as well as those around him and through observation so that the disease and the patient can be defined.
Criteria to prescribe in any chronic cases:
- Individualization
- Totality of symptom
- Chronic miasm
- Constitutional remedy
Dr. Samuel Hahnemann in Aphorism 94 of the 6th edition of Organon of Medicine has spoken about case-taking in chronic disease:
“While inquiring into the state of chronic disease, the particular circumstances of the patient with regard to his ordinary occupations, his usual mode of living and diet, his domestic situation, and so forth, must be well considered and scrutinized, to ascertain what there is in them that may tend to produce or to maintain disease, in order that by their removal the recovery may be prompted.”
Furthermore, Hahnemann talks about the importance of case-receiving not only from the patient but from his friends, accompaniments to ascertain the true picture of the disease. This he has mentioned in aphorism 98 –
“Doctor should listen particularly to the patient’s description of his sufferings and sensations, and attach credence especially to his own expressions wherewith he endeavors to make us understand his ailments because in the mouths of his friends and attendants they are usually altered and erroneously stated, so certainly, on the other hand, in all diseases, but especially in the chronic ones, the investigation of the true, complete picture and its peculiarities demands especial circumspection, tact, knowledge of human nature, caution in conducting the inquiry and patience in an eminent degree.”
In chronic diseases of females, it is especially necessary to pay attention to pregnancy, sterility, sexual desire, accouchements, miscarriages, suckling, and the state of the menstrual discharge.
Hahnemann has also emphasized on inquiring about the long-standing symptoms which a patient might not mention because he is habituated to have them. This he has focused in the aphorism 95 –
“It is also necessary to investigate the signs of disease as carefully and circumstantially as possible, and the most minute peculiarities must be attended to, partly because in these diseases they are the most characteristic and least resemble those of acute diseases, and if a cure is to be affected they cannot be too accurately noted; partly because the patients become so used to the long sufferings that they pay little or no attention to such symptoms, which are often very characteristic in determining the choice of the remedy.”
Besides this, patients themselves differ so much in their dispositions, each case is unique in all aspect, and only individualizing can help us determine the true portrait of disease.
Some hints on chronic case taking:
- Always observe gestures of a patient while taking history if that matches with his words.
- Give your full attention to the patient without judgment, gazing here and there or writing while the patient is speaking. This may make him feel neglected and he might not open up.
When you can get the symptoms which do not depend on patients age, occupation or pathology such symptoms without any clue becomes the most important or characteristic symptom in prescribing.
Henceforth, if you are worried about “how can I relieve my patients from chronic cases?”, do not procrastinate, register for the course.
If you have any doubt regarding the quality of the content, visit our Facebook page and watch the glimpses of the first two sessions of ‘Soul of Repertory & Repertorisation’ course.
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