Monument to Dr Samuel Hahnemann in Washington DC, USA
Similia similibus curentur is the Latin for Let like be cured by like.
The above is one of the three pillars of homeopathic philosophy.
HOMOEO Greek for ‘same’ or ‘similar’ PATHOS Greek for ‘suffering’.
Dr Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), the founder of homeopathy, was translating some ancient texts and came across writings on cinchona bark (China bark)from which quinine is derived and used extensively to this day for the treatment of malaria. The reason mentioned for helping malaria didn’t make sense to him so he decided to take the crude form himself internally and started to get symptoms of Malaria.
He gave it to some people from his entourage and they too produced symptoms of malaria. He was intrigued to stumble and prove the Greek father of medicine Hippocrates’s statement as true, that a substance that can create symptoms in a healthy individual, can actually induce healing of those same symptoms in a sick person. Similia similibus curentur in latin.
After this finding Samuel never stopped delving, searching, researching, documenting, experimenting and proving on himself with new remedies until his death at age 88.
The law of similars states: A substance that can cause suffering in a healthy person can also cure it if someone is suffering in a similar way.
Hippocrates (460-377BC), the Greek father of medicine, before him had stated this particular law of similars, and it was Hahnemann that explored and worked with it profoundly, rendering it safe to use. He noticed remedies actually became more powerful and effective the more diluted they were through a specific process of triturations and dilutions called potentisation.
Thus he created the minimum dose, which is the second pillar of homeopathic philosophy.
The 3rd principle is the totality of symptoms. This is needed to tailor the treatment to each individual. Emotionally, mentally, physically, making it holistic. This is the reason why one homeopathic remedy may be suitable for one person, while a totally different medicine may be needed by another person for the same condition.
There are many examples that can be used to illustrate the above.
It reminded me about a video clip from the show Family Guy by Seth MacFarlene where they do a drink contest with ipecacuanha root or ipecac for short. Traditionally, ipecac herbal tincture is used to induce vomiting. But when made into a homeopathic remedy it is one of our best treatment if there is horrible constant nausea or vomiting AND the totality of symptoms fits.
While we are on this topic, homeopathic arsenicum album 30c, or 200c invaluable with children gastric bugs.
Personally I can recall eating in a restaurant, not the freshest scampi under those breadcrumbs and the next day the most horrendous nausea, accompanied by gut-wrenching to die feelings of anxiety and that remedy truly saved the day as I was away and it would have ruined my weekend.
It is excellent for food poisoning. Homeopathic arsenicum album200c is wonderful to have on hand in these situations and I use it routinely in practice.
Some of the homeopathic remedies traditionally used for treating symptoms of nausea and vomiting are:
Ars album: horrid nausea and vomiting from tummy bugs or food poisoning accompanied by gut-wrenching anxiety, great anguish. Fear when vomiting. Restlessness. Prostration. Burning pain relieved by heat. Worse cold air cold drinks, cold applications, night time. Vomiting and diarrhoea may be simultaneous. Vomiting immediately after eating.
Phosphorus: craves cold drinks to soothe stomach but there is vomiting as soon as food or drink warms up in stomach. Very thirsty for cold drinks/water. Burning in stomach (ars.alb). Weak empty gone sensation. As if stomach/abdomen removed. Pains better >cold food, ice cream, rubbing. Worse
Nux vom: ahh the auold remedy for hangovers. Very cranky with a bursting headache from excess, over indulgence in alcohol or food, ‘debauchery’ as described in our old materia medicas. Indigestion, stress, too many irons in the fire, anger, impatience in driven business people. Nausea usually with cramps and painful vomiting or ineffectual attempts to vomit. Feels like ‘if I could only vomit I would feel so much better’. Is irritable and over sensitive during nausea.
Ipecac: Horrible nausea or hanging down sensation in the stomach unrelieved even temporarily by vomiting. May be from gastritis, coughs or respiratory problems with vomiting, or haemorrhage especially uterine/headache/pregnancy/ during threatening or miscarriage/labour, also during itching. Nothing gives any relief. The tongue is clean despite nausea and vomiting. Any condition where nausea and vomiting accompanies Ipecac should be thought of as a suitable match.
Cocculus: from motion sickness/ with vertigo/ pregnancy/migraines. Loathing of food. From severe vertigo. Car or sea sickness.looking at a boat in motion. Watching moving objects causes dizziness and nausea. Worse motion, rising up from the bed. Nausea merely looking at food. From smell or thought of food.
colchicum: nausea with a burning stomach, distension of abdomen, worse odors of food and thinking and looking at food especially eggs and fish also compare with sepia)
Sepia: during pregnancy, menses, side effects of chemo (ipecac/nux/ars), from motion sickness, horrible nausea with empty sensation in stomach (petroleum,phos). Nausea thought and smell of food
Tabacum: deathly nausea. May have a greenish or very pale look. Weak and maybe sweating more heavily with nausea and faintness. Motion sickness ( tab, cocc, sepia, petr ) dreads movement (bry)as it brings on nausea and faintness. Worse < morning, before breakfast, seasickness, motion, pregnancy Better> open-air/ fresh air, uncovering the belly, closing eyes. Yellow yellowish green vomitus
Veratrum: gastro/ vertigo/ pregnancy menstruation. Severe projectile vomiting can be simultaneous with diarrhoea. Cold perspiration especially forehead, cold breath chills, collapse Worse < after sleep, painful periods ( sepia, coloc, mag-phos), vertigo, pregnancy, drinking.
Aethusa: vomiting especially newborns, dehydrated from vomiting. Vomiting causes sleepiness, drowsiness and prostration. Vomits then gets hungry, so eats which causes nausea and vomiting again, creating a cycle. Vomits curds, especially milk. Intolerance to milk (lac-d) in any form even breast milk. Milk is forcibly ejected. Will regurgitate food after about an hour but milk is ejected as soon as swallowed.
Ant-tart: with respiratory illness with a lot of mucus rattling difficult to breathe, coughs. Food intolerances. Eating provokes coughs which ends in vomiting and retching. Often used with babies children and the elderly. Difficult to vomit. Weak or faint and coldness after the vomiting.
Arg-nit: nausea, faintness with loud explosive belching and loud flatus. Palpitations from nausea. < sweets which may be craved for.
Chamomilla: gastroenteritis. Nausea and vomiting with marked irritability before each attack. Worse < anger, coffee, 9 am narcotic use opiates or morphine.
Bryonia: gastro, vertigo. The nausea and vomiting is made worse by any movement, must lie perfectly still or vomiting comes on. Worse raising head, sitting and rising up in bed, coughing and headache bear with a sore head. Usually thirsty for large amounts of cold water which ameliorates. Wants to be left alone. General dryness tongue may be dry with dirty white brown coating.
Kreosotum: pregnancy-related, or before periods with vomiting of undigested food hours later after eating.
Petroleum: motion sickness from car or boat. Nausea from any kind of rocking or undulating motion. The mouth fills up with watery saliva during the nausea. Horrid empty sensation in stomach.
Symphoricarpus: Specific often used in pregnancy. Vomiting and nausea continual ending in dry heaves. Worse motion,rising menstruation, smell of food, pregnancy.
Podophyllum: there I see gagging and retching during acute diarrhoea. Gurgling through bowels followed by profuse putrid stools gushed out painlessly. Camp diarrhoea. ‘Delhi belly’ recurrent.
Sanguinaria: from migraines, respiratory illness. The vomiting ameliorates in general.
Lycopodium: nausea with bloating, big digestion remedy. Full of wind. Hypoglycaemic attacks with faintness perspiration and nausea. Worse fasting, cold drinks, warm room. Better warm drinks and open air.
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