CHRONIC DISEASES AND MIASMS

Modern Homoeopathy

Monthly E- Newsletter August 2008

CHRONIC DISEASES AND MIASMS

Dr. Poonam Godbole (Thane, India)

Chronic diseases are the diseases which persist for a prolonged period. In the Kents Lectures of Materia Medica, he states that any sickness which persists longer than six weeks is called as sub-acute and any sickness which runs on indefinitely is called as chronic. Hahnemann realized that some diseases persist for long time in individuals due to some cause. From this observation, he came to the conclusion that these chronic diseases are resulted due to the chronic miasms in contrast to the acute diseases which are caused due to the acute miasms. Miasm is an obnoxious disease producing agent. It is the fundamental cause which leads to derangement of the vital force. The effect of the deranged vital force causes the change in interior of an individual which is then manifested outwardly in the form of symptoms of the disease.

Chronic diseases are the diseases which have an insidious onset and slow progress; they generally persist in an individual for a longer period. In these diseases, the indicated remedy acts very well for a certain period and then the case comes to a stand still. There is neither aggravation nor amelioration of the symptoms; its kind of a block in a case. At this time, the chronic miasm comes into picture which is the cause of this blockage. Hahnemann himself also spent a considerable amount of time to understand this concept and reach to the conclusion of chrnoic miasm. This chronic miasm leads to the weakning of the vital force which then results in the expression of the disease symptoms which present the portrait of disease.

Hahnemann found out three miasms which were the fundamental causes of the chronic diseases- Psora, Sycosis, and Syphilis.

EXPRESSION OF MIASMS:

In Hahnemann's Chronic Diseases he describes "Psora is the oldest miasmatic chronic disease known". Psora is called as the mother of all diseases and goes back to the farthest in human history. Psora or "itch" is the fundamental cause and producer of all numerous diseases. It is manifested on the skin in form of of erruption or rashes. Psoric conditions always itch a lot and it is the hallmark of all the psoric infections.

Sycosis generally represents the miasm in which the diseases are caused due to various infections like gonorrhea. It is a miasm of proliferation of tissue. It is expressed on the skin in form of warts, chancres, vesicles, gout etc.

Syphilis is the miasm which is manifested by destruction. This miasm is a result of contagious and destructive organism which causes death of areas of tissue and loss of tissue integrity. Gangrene, chancre etc are the expression of syphilitic miasms.

NATURE OF MIASMS:

Psoric miasm generally has symptoms of itching, inflammation, congestion, burning.

Sycotic miasm has symptoms of excessive production of the tissue attacking the fibrous tissue.

Syphilitic miasm has symptoms like ulceration, fissures, fistulas, gangrenes.

TYPES OF PERSONALITIES:

Psoric personalities are persons with constant anxiety, fear, lack of confidence, dirty and ugly look, living in his own imaginations, easily fatigued. Sour discharges. Pains are neurologic, sore type of pain. Complaints of digestive troubles, defective bone development, circulatory and heart problems.

Sycotic constitutions are secretive, suspicious, jealous, try to hide weaknesses, selfishness, well built, irritable. They suffer from colitis, warts, kidney diseases, peptic ulcers, reproductive problems. Joint pains, rheumatic pains, stitching, wandering pains.

Syphilitic personalities are very cold mentally, hateful, destructive to relationships, ruthless, homicidal, necrotic tissues, ulceration, loss of tissue integrity and breakdown of immune system.

Bone pains, tearing, bursting.

TREATMENT OF THE CHRONIC DISEASES:

To treat the chronic diseases, one has to identify the root cause and treat it accordingly. Many a times, there is a miasmatic block in the treatment and the case neither progresses nor regresses. This is the time to start the miasmatic remedy taking into consideration the individual's totality of symptoms and constitution. Once this miasmatic block is removed the case starts progressing and helps to reach cure. To remove this block, one has to understand the constitution of the indivdual. Individual's constitutional remedy may be the same or different from this miasmatic remedy. Taking patient's history into consideration and by understanding the general characteristics of the miasms, the physician can correlate between both these things and prescribe accordingly. Unfortunately, people opt for the homoeopathic treatment of the diseases very late and hence when a case comes to the homoeopathic physician it is already spoiled and is already chronic in terms of the length of the period the symptoms are persisting in the individual. That is why to attain cure, the homoeopathic physician has to take some extra efforts to look into the details of the case, get the totality of the symptoms, form the portrait of the disease and then prescribe the exact similimum. Hence, chronic diseases are a challenge for the physicians but by understanding and having the thorough knowledge of the miasms which is the basic cause for these diseases, one can cure the individual with good results.

B.H.M.S.