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“The most expert healer is the man who knows how to handle his
Materia Medica”
The words of CM Boger highlight the importance of Materia Medica
in practice. Needless to say, where most of us, especially the
beginners have problem is in the “handling” of Materia Medica.
Applied Materia Medica is quite simply the art of
applying Materia Medica (“handle”) in practice. We have before
us a wide range of Materia Medicae, and each one of us may have
a favourite – Allen’s key note, Boericke etc. But many have
found that it is one thing to “study” Materia Medica for the
exams, and quite another to apply this knowledge in practice.
This article examines the common problems faced and possible
ways to overcome these.
Difficulty in applied Materia Medica arise due problems at two
levels
i.
The way we study and understand our Materia Medica
ii.
The way we apply this knowledge in practice
Problems at the second level are strictly not problems with
Materia Medica – It has to do with application of case
processing methods, including case taking, analysis and
evaluation, erecting totality, repertorisation etc. Needless
to say, any amount of Materia Medica knowledge will come to
naught if these crucial areas are ignored!
We will focus on the first level, as a major share of the
problems in application arises because of faults in the way we
study and understand our Materia Medica.
What is
the objective in studying Materia Medica?
Similia
similibus is about comparison of natural and artificial disease,
and perceiving the latter is a crucial step. Dunham has put it
quite clearly that we study Materia Medica “In order to select
from a number of candidates one which most nearly resemble a
given standard”. And to be able to select one from a group of
very similar candidates one should perceive
“……. Peculiarities of each drug which are not met with in any
other, and which therefore serve to individualize and give
character to the drug”
We should study Materia Medica in such a manner therefore, that
individual remedy pictures are clearly brought out.
What are
the problems in achieving this objective?
There
are difficulties in the very nature of our Materia Medica, and
in the methods of study
-
 No
Standardisation
Quite simply there are too many, too
voluminous, and too different Materia Medica available. As
opposed to our allopathic counterpart, we don’t have one
book which gives us all or nearly all the information. The
structure and writing styles are different as well, adding to
the confusion. We wish our beloved “key notes” will be nearly
enough, but practice teaches us differently!
 Moreover,
the kind of information included depends on authors’ school of
thought – and these have been many and often opposed to each
other. So we find ourselves choosing between the”
pathological” school, the “keynote” school, the constitutional
school (not to mention Indian variants – Dr Sankaran's “Bombay
school”, Dr Sehgal's “mind only” approach, Dr Vijayakar's
approach etc) etc. These differences have been always there
since the beginning of homoeopathy, but there have been
especially sharp divisions between the so called “modern
masters”. The protracted and public spat between Vithoulkas
and Sankaran in recent times comes to mind.
All this puts the beginner (and often those with “experience”)
in a dilemma – Which school / Materia Medica to follow? All of
them claim that they are right?
Problems in studying /method
-
Language – Perhaps the most critical problem face by many -
purely because we are mostly a group of non-native speakers of
English trying to understand the eighteenth and nineteenth
century English translation of what provers and patients have
said in mostly eighteenth century German (not to mention
really obscure medical terminology) ! So we have doubts
about “indignation”, “vexation” and “reserved displeasure”,
apart from “zymosis” and “fungus hematodes”
-
Disbelief - Some of the sensations mentioned in our Materia
Medica is so wonderful and “out of this world” that it beggars
belief. Would a patient really experience a pain as if “a
slipknot has been tied to the intestine which has been
gradually tightened and suddenly released (Chionanthus)?
-
“Usual Reading” – Self explanatory – what is usually done
twenty four hours before an exam!
-
Prejudice – We think of being ”unprejudiced” as a necessity
in case taking and case processing etc, but what is true of
forming portrait of natural disease is also true of artificial
disease. Prejudice can interfere with successful application
of Materia Medica in different ways.
-
Fixed “Images” – Arsenic album has to be squeaky clean and
fastidious, Sulphur has to be dirty and “ragged”, Calcarea has
to be obese etc
-
Favourite remedy – a form of prejudice affecting many. A
simple exercise will bring forth the degree of prejudice – Go
through all the case records of the past six months / one
year, and list the no. of chronic acute prescriptions made.
It can be guaranteed that for most the number will not exceed
25 – 50. That is less than one-fourth of the BHMS syllabus!
-
“Useless” remedy – A corollary of the last prejudice. Also
is a reflection of how well we know a remedy – the less we
understand a remedy, less chances there are of us prescribing
it. This applies for rarer uses of common remedies as well -
For e.g. Drosera is a “cough” remedy for many of us, for ML
Tyler it was a frequently indicated remedy for any
condition when h/o TB is present
How to
remedy these problems?
No
Standardisation
 As
confusing as it may sound, the diversity in our Materia Medica,
writing styles etc can actually be a boon. It gives us diverse
experiences and views about each remedy (besides preventing the
boredom of having to read one book all the time!). Each author
completes parts of the whole picture, and a thorough reading of
various authors gives us the whole story. At the same time
each author by themselves may give an incomplete picture. It
is especially important that we don’t get “stuck” in one school
of thought, nor should we reject something because it appears at
first sight to be useless or nonsensical.
“Anekantavad”
and homoeopathy
To
put things in a better perspective, it may be helpful to recall
the concept of “Anekantavad” (a tenet of Jainism). Anekantavad
prepares us to the possibility of “manyness of truth”, to the
fact that there can never be only one point of view. Problems
occur because of inability to see the other’s point of view, to
acknowledge that one’s version of truth is just that - one
version! In the homoeopathic context it asks us to be more
broadminded in our outlook to methods different from our own.
At the same time it is equally important to avoid the trap of
becoming the jack of all trades!
Which
material medica to read ?
Lord Bacon said “Some books are to be tasted, others to be
swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested”. It is for
each one of us to decide which of our Materia Medica are to be
tasted, swallowed or chewed! But as a very broad suggestion
the
author would like to especially recommend in addition to usual
Materia medicae like HC Allen, Kent, Choudhury, Nash, Tyler etc
While reading…..
-
Try to
reflect on what is read to understand fully or imagine the
symptoms / totality
-
“Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and
writing an exact man” – says Bacon. Very often
putting it on paper helps in fine-tuning our understanding of
a symptom / remedy. Take notes whenever you read a book or
hear a speaker on Materia Medica
-
Do not
hesitate to consult language dictionaries / Medical
dictionaries to get to the true meaning of a symptom.
 For
understanding older medical terminologies, specialized
dictionaries or websites can be consulted (e.g.
http://www.antiquusmorbus.com/)
-
Consulting source books for ambiguous or contradictory
statements of authors can be useful e.g. Euphrasia in Allen’s
key note gives >open air as a modality, making it very similar
to Allium cepa. A reference to the source books confirms
that many of the symptoms are < open air, and what is > open
air is the headache
-
Mental
symptoms – Try to get the true meaning from classical authors
(refer dictionary, source books as needed). Then and only
then one may look into the experiences of modern authors
like Vithoulkas etc
-
Expaaaaand!
– Key notes are indeed very useful, but can be more useful if
the symptom can be made complete especially with regard to
modalities. A sensation or location by itself has little
value. Boger says “A
concise view not only includes the time and order in which
symptoms arise, but also the things which modify them - the
modalities”. E.g. Allen’s Keynote stresses on the acrid
lachrymation and bland coryza of Euphrasia. Reference to
the other Materia Medica gives the modality of coryza < night
and lying down
(with cough > night and lying down!)
-
Note
small remedies – and try to get characteristic indications to
expand its utility. E.g. Robinia is routinely prescribed for
“reflux” symptoms, heart burn etc. Reference to Materia
Medica gives Heart burn < night on lying down and heartburn
associated with headache as characteristic indications.
-
Use
repertory – not for repertorisation, but as a tool to study
Materia Medica. Especially useful for studying smaller
remedies or unusual symptoms
-
E.g. If
asked about the mental symptoms of Aethusa many will recall
the “idiocy” or “examination funk”. A reference to Kent’s
repertory gives a more peculiar symptom, “fear to close eyes
lest he should never wake up” where Aethusa is the only
remedy!
-
Use
software library – E.g. Electronic libraries like Encyclopedia
Homoeopathica can make searching for symptoms, source books
etc very, very , easy.
-
Note
relationship of remedies – One of the most practical but most
neglected aspect of remedies. Studying a chronic remedy’s
satellite remedies may give us a clue on the possible remedies
needed in acute situations e.g. Calc is complementary of
Aethusa, and follows well after Pulsatilla, Rumex and Drosera.
A Calc child with vomiting may need Aethusa, with
respiratory symptoms may need the other three remedies
A
question of “Tips”……..
“Tips” as it is known, has a bad reputation! Many advise
completely disregarding tips given by other homoeopaths while
some blindly follow it. This author would like to tread a
middle path and propose
-
“Tips” or clinical hints are essentially experiences of
authors / other homoeopaths and are inherently valuable
-
Tips of classical authors are of course most valuable. Many
authors have published their unique experiences, cases etc.
Books on therapeutics are a good place to search for
particular authors’ experiences. Some examples are given
below
-
Pointers to common remedies – ML Tyler
-
Therapeutic pointers to some common diseases – EA Farrington
-
Testimony of the clinic – EB Nash
-
New Remedies, Clinical cases,……….. – Dr. JT Kent
-
Some of the above books also give a fairly good idea on the
expertise of our classical authors . E.g., a case of ring
worm from Kent’s ”Lesser Writings” had the totality of
-
Ringworm
/ Craves meat, refuses everything else / Grinds teeth, rolls
head during sleep
-
Many of
us would have prescribed Tuberculinum, Kent cured with one
dose of Helleborus 1M !
-
Tips from contemporary homoeopaths – Do not ignore, but try to
get a confirmation from the Materia medicate or source books
if possible. Also try to expand the “Tip” into a small
workable totality with A/F, sensation, modality and
concomitant as possible
-
E.g. the author got a tip from a senior homeopath that
Mezerium is a “good” remedy for Peptic ulcer. The
information by itself may not have much value – Referring to
other Materia Medica the single symptom can be developed to
give the following totality for peptic ulcer.
-
Stomach pains – corroding, raw, burning > eating. Anxiety
felt in the stomach < slightest noise. Pains with
chilliness. A/F or H/O Suppressed skin eruptions.
-
As an aside, one also learnt that many “skin” remedies have
stomach pain > eating – Graph, Petr, Mez, Anac etc.!
Conclusion
The
suggestions given above is only one approach to learning Materia
Medica, and is necessarily colored by the authors experiences.
The one rule which is applicable to all – beginner or expert -
is to keep reading !. Maybe we can try to emulate ML Tyler who
said “read a drug every day, and two on Sundays”
References
1.
Kopikkar Sk. “Koppikar’s Clinical
Experiences of 70 Years in Homoeopathy”
2.
Dr. Ajit Kulkarni - “Anekantavad and the Study of Materia
Medica” accessed from
http://www.similima.com/mm51.html
Send your comments to : Email: appoo.ap@gmail.com
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