Seventeenth Chapter PATIENT AND TREATMENT In homeopathy somewhat altered is the relationship doctor - patient. The patient's role and responsibility comes foremost. First of all - the patient must voluntarily choose the homeopathic treatment, despite of allopathic propaganda. This often happens after numerous unsuccessful attempts to cure the ailment allopathically, the classical way. This, of course, is only the second (though the most usual) way leading to homeopathy. The first one should be based on an active understanding of the homeopathic method. On timely consideration what either of the methods can offer, what are the advantages. On an intelligent assessment, based on knowledge. This means that a person should see the homeopath not only when completely at a loss of what else should be tried, but while still relatively healthy, while beginning to think about effective prevention of disease, wanting to cure the mild symptoms that signal the early manifestation of constitutional disease. The symptoms that can be homeopatically easily and quickly cured, along with future preventative effects. Start Treatment from an Early Age Homeopathy gives the highest hope to children and their parents. With an ailing child, homeopathy can markedly improve his or her entire life prospects. With a healthy child it supports the positive side and ensures a healthy future development. A child that grew up under homeopathic care, would in adulthood convince his or her partner to follow the same way. This has been my experience. And I have no doubt that their children would be cared for exclusively by a homeopath, because their knowledge of beneficial effects of correctly prescribed remedy cannot ever be taken away from them. There is Homeopathy and "Homeopathy" My advice is to go to a homeopath as early as possible. However, all is not that easy. Sometimes you may ran into a "homeopath" who would not want to hear anything about the term "constitutional disease", who does not know the Hering's Laws of Cure, who would not give you one correctly prescribed remedy as a similimum, and who would calmly agree that with homeopathic remedies (possibly prescribed in large quantities and even several together) you should also take chemical drugs. Perhaps he might even prescribe them himself. There are such people in our country. It is so because the entire education of a practitioner up till now has focused on symptomatic treatment, on the suppression of single local symptoms, on a specialist system, which takes away the responsibility for the whole patient. The organisation of our health system is entirely allopathic. This is why many practitioners in the early stages of democratisation of the health system favour the transitional type of allopathy, which also uses homeopathic remedies. They keep suppressing symptoms, as they used to do before, now also using homeopathic remedies. Yes, even incorrectly prescribed homeopathic remedy, repeatedly applied for a longer period, can result in suppression, with all the resultant effects on patient's health. This is also true of all mixed preparations containing several, sometimes up to twenty, different remedies. Such mixed preparations are being used out of ignorance, when the practitioner is unable to determine the correct remedy. Then he fires grains of shot, in the hope that out of twenty one would hit the target. Nevertheless, the remedies interfere with each other and everything turns out different. The end result might be a suppression of some duration of time. Naturally, any practitioner is free to do whatever he likes, as long as his patients agree with him. I only state this because in such cases allopathy might easily be mixed with homeopathy, with disillusionment from the result. Long termed repetitive administering of remedies, meant to treat a limited collection of symptoms, administering more remedies at any time and mixing of remedies - this is not homeopathy. This is not prescribing the similimum on the totality of the symptoms. Such remedies, though homeopatically diluted, have a different picture than the disease - this is in reality allopathy (allos means different). Miasma, constitutional disease, cannot be thus rooted out. Such incorrect treatment usually does not lead to a cure of serious or long lasting chronic ailments. It has no reliable prophylactic effect. It has no reliable effect even on acute ailments. Keeping within the system of specialisation, it is not holistic. Samuel Hahnemann himself strongly warned against such practices, fearing they might discredit homeopathy as such, it appears, however, that they might last for a while yet, at least as long as allopathy stays here. Electronic diagnostic instruments also exist, based on electro-acupuncture. The English, German and Czech practitioners who have experience with these instruments have assured me that predominantly symptomatic treatment is involved. Presently there are hundreds of homeopathic practitioners in our country who follow the classical, purely homeopathic principles of treatment. Some still in the theoretical stage, others already practising. And their numbers will grow. Even though, paradoxically, they have to practice homeopathy within the frame of their existing specialisation, or rather under their cover. Early on many have tried the procedures just described, but reviewing the results of the treatment, they became convinced that there is no other homeopathy than homeopathy true to its name, holistic homeopathy treating the whole person, curing the inner cause of disease, the homeopathy of Hahnemann, Kent, Blackie, Vithoulkas. The practitioners of holistic homeopathy should be beheld. They are people noble in spirit and in their practice, who encounter many obstacles on their way, within themselves and in their environment, as always happens when something new is being created. The Patient's Responsibilities The method of treatment is largely determined by the patient. There is competition among practitioners, therefore if the patient asks for strictly constitutional treatment, the practitioner usually complies, even when he does not suggest it himself. Health service is a service, in true meaning of this term. The patient should be served and he has the right to determine how the service should be performed. This is why it is so important that the patient knows what he wants. How would the patient know that he has found a homeopath: a) The first examination to determine the constitutional remedy lasts at least half an hour, often it is much longer. b) The examiner is not interested only in local symptoms of illness, in pathology, but conspicuously in the psychological picture, in other aspects of illness, in social environment of the patient, etc. c) He will not prescribe two or more remedies at a time. d) He will not prescribe mixed preparations, marked as containing several, though homeopathic, components. How would the patient know that the word homeopathy on the door is incorrectly placed: a) The examiner is interested solely in the pathology, in the patient's ailment. b) The examiner prescribes more homeopathic remedies at the same time, usually asking the patient to take them for many days, even weeks, several times a day. c) A mixed preparation was prescribed. It is essential to state however, that such a superficial, symptomatic, "allopathic" homeopathy still bears two advantages over the classical allopathic treatment or school medicine. To many practitioners and patients it is a transitory form of treatment to holistic homeopathy. It also significantly reduces the intake of chemical drugs. "Some homeopathy is better than no homeopathy", as Hahnemann once said. Even incorrectly prescribed homeopathic remedy can improve the state of patient's health for some time. The symptomatic homeopathy is also more ecological than the good old allopathy. It remains to say that the very optimistic numbers concerning the percentages of patients treated in various countries, which appear at the beginning of this book, are largely influenced particularly by this symptomatic homeopathy, less so in England than for instance in France. Its rate of occurrence in Bohemia is also large. The times when the military maintained that the ordinary citizen, non-soldier, had no say in the armament industry, are gone. Gone are also the times when health topics were the exclusive domain of experts. The health industry, like the armament industry, is also business. In business everybody has to protect their interests. The patient his own, the health worker his own. The health service, just like the military, to a large degree is a political matter. Homeopathy badly needs political support. Another domain, belonging predominantly to patients. In homeopathy the patient is here to be shoved about by "wise men". He should also put in some effort. Unfortunately, a difficult situation might arise, when the patient cannot find a homeopath to put his trust in. What to do? Does it mean that homeopathic treatment is forever denied to him? Not at all. Let's bear in mind that to practice homeopathy, one does not need to have the knowledge of classical medicine. The doctors who study homeopathy have to start from scratch. Their previous study of allopathy is often more of a hindrance to them. Do not hesitate to start yourself. With homeopathic treatment you can begin at any time, from childhood till an advanced age. Restrictions During Treatment There are no significant restrictions in homeopathic treatment. Some homeopaths do not recommend drinking coffee or taking menthol during treatment, while others say that it does not matter. The fact is that sometimes it matters, sometimes it does not. With patients Nux vomica or Lycopodium coffee might be harmful, as an anti-dote to homeopathic remedy. Other types can try out if coffee is detrimental to their health or not. Start Now In homeopathy personal experience is most important. Only through personal experience, the incomprehensible becomes intimately known. Only your personal testimony will be proof to people near you. Be consequential - if you have found the arguments in this book to be interesting or logical, take practical steps. Homeopaths of ten or fifteen years ago called homeopathy medicine of the twenty first century, the medicine of the future. Not because of a lower level of proficiency, but because the outer influences working adversely against homeopathy at the time were still too strong. Nowadays it is however evident that homeopathy is the treatment of the present time.
[Post-script] [Table of Contents] © Jiri Cehovsky, 1994 |
poslední aktualizace: 30.08.2006 |
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