Faculty of Homeopathy Malaysia

How Small Homeopathic Medicine Works

Beginning from the days of primitive medicine to the advent of Dr Samuel Hahnemann from Germany ( the founder of homeopathy ), the medical science was tumbled with multiple, variegated and divergent thought and theories, with metaphysical speculation ignoring the spiritual concept and its scientific and artistic aspect. The then medical scientists were meticulously and hurriedly busy in studying pathological changes occurring in various diseases and their cause along with physiological effects of crude drug substances and hence neglected the spiritual aspects of life and drugs. But Dr Hahnemann, the erudite scholar and genius, was the first man who wanted do divulge the efficacy of spiritual aspect of drug and thereby established a relation to the spiritual and dynamic aspect of the organism both in health, disease and cure with dynamic drug.

    Let us now discuss how the theory of dynamisation came to the homeopathy. We know that ' Necessity is the mother of invention'. In 1799 when Dr Hahnemann was in active practice with his new system of medicine, the persecution of the apothecaries began and it was probably a desire to evade their harassing annoyance that led Hahnemann to try such as to diminish the dose to such an extent it was beyond the keen of chemical or other research, but the medicine still possessed of the power influencing the organism. No doubt he was encouraged to make those experiments by certain analogies that must have presented themselves to his mind and particularly by theoretical views he began at this time to entertain respecting dynamic character of the disease.

    But another pertinent reason in that he found crude drugs when applied on the law of similar resulted in violent reactions. His ever searching mind thought of reducing the drug substance. This gave him surprising result. Encouraged by this experiment he established this theory of minimum dose and drug dynamisation.  Hahnemann told that it is neither because of preconceived idea nor because of the love of singularity but he came to it after repeated observations and experiments.

    In his essay on the cure and prevention of scarlet fever which he published in 1801 he referred to his treatment in 1799. We have the first indications of the infinitesimal posology which is now looked upon as forming an essential part of the Homeopathic system. The preparation of Opium he there recommend for the treatment of scarlet fever is prepared by adding one part of pulverized opium to twenty parts of week alcohol letting it stand in a cool place for a week and shaking it occasionally to promote the solution. A drop of this tincture is to be added to five hundred drops of diluted alcohol and well shaken and of this last and drop is added to other five hundred drops of alcohol of this diluted tincture which contains in every drop the five millionth part of a grain of opium. One drop is suffice for a child of four years of age and two drops for the ten years. For still younger children one drop of this dilution is mixed with ten tea spoonful of water and one, Two or more spoonful is given.

     Similarly for cure for scarlet fever and prevention he was prescribing 432000th part of a grain of the extract. Again chamomilla in 800,000th part of a grain of the extract such were the first infinitesimal doses mentioned by Hahnemann in his works.

     In this paper on scarlatina he indeed says, respecting Opium that larger doses than those he prescribes will produce occlusion, raving hiccough, peevishness weeping etc., but he does not state how much larger they must be to have these awkward effects.

    Argument Hahnemann gave in favour of this that greater power of medicines in solution than dry hard state, several effects are developed by giving the same quantity in divided doses to the greater susceptibility to the discussed organism for its medicinal stimulus. But he doest mention what it was that produced the  complete revolution in his own posomological motion.

    However Dr. R. E. Dudgeon of United States has mentioned in his article 'Posology in Homeopathy' the reasons as follows :-

(a) An observation of the greater power of a medicine when given in solution then when taken in the dry state.

(b) An observation of the greater power of the certain quantity of medicine when given in divided dose than all at one.

(c) An observation of the greater susceptibility of the diseased organism for the medicine having a special or homeopathic relation to the effect part or parts

(d) A desire to avoid aggravation of the diseases by the larger doses; for he says to any aggravation occur during the use of a small dose they will not last long and are easily removable by some antidotes.

Different Views

Dr Hart of Belgium, was one of the scientists to touch upon posology for the first time. He believes that in acute diseases, a very small dose, once given may suffice but in chronic diseases larger doese are necessary.

While Dr P. Wolf of France considered that the range of each medication should be rather between pure tincture and 30th potency.

Dr. Rummel has given opinion that low dilutions act well when high dilution had no effect. He says dilutions from 3rd to 15th are generally sufficient for all cases and that they act without producing any injurious consequences. Again he admits that medicines are still efficacious in the 30th dilution.

Dr. Kurtz of Germany speaks, the dose is comparatively a very indifferent matter. He says it is the quality and not the quantity that produces a curative effect.

Dr. J. E. Veith, France acknowledges that the remedy when minutely subdivided, acts much more excellently and much more suitably to the functions of the capillary and nervous system than the medicine in the grosser material forms. In his practice 18 is the highest dilution he uses.