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  1. One Friday Night - In memory of Dr Prafull Vijayarkar

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    An Urgent case 

    Dr Vijayarkar passed recently. He was an inspiration to many and thousands of homeopaths were devastated to hear of his death. Many years ago he called me from India unexpectedly one Friday night - I thought it might be a good way to remember him if I re-printed this article:

    One Friday Night....David Witko and Dr Pravin Jain

    Every now and again something happens that re-affirms your belief in homeopathy. This is a telling of just one of those times................

    Last Friday at 7pm, at the end of a long day spent testing and re-testing the new (ISIS) Vision I was resting at home when the phone rang. The caller was my wife's sister, Sheila. Sheila is the lovely lady who happens to work in Miccant preparing and shipping all of those Vision and Akiva systems for our customers. She said 'David - Ruth (our tech support ladty at the time) has just been the phone....apparently Pravin from Mumbai just messaged her on MSN - someone has been taken very ill - can you please contact Pravin urgently?' 

    So I logged on right away and Pravin was waiting for me. Pravin is an associate of the Predictive School of Homeopathy in Mumbai. Apparently, a close family member of Pravin's mentor, the renowned Dr Prafull Vijayarkar, had been taken ill while on board a ship near the UK. In fact things were so serious that the man had been taken off the ship and transported directly to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in Scotland. 

    Pravin asked if I was near to Abderdeen as Dr Vijayarakar needed a remedy taking directly to the hospital. I replied that I was at least a 7-8 hour drive away!! A mutual contact was found who had already been contacted, Praveen Kumar who, with his generous and energetic spirit, had already obtained Nux vom 200c somewhere in Birmingham at 8pm on a Friday night and who had set off at high speed up the motorway to Aberdeen with his son.

    I vainly tried ringing all 11 of our Miccant homeopathic customers in Aberdeen to see if we could short-cut an 8 hour drive. I received 11 voicemail messages (understandable on a Friday night).

    Following further dialog with Pravin in Mumbai Dr Vijayarkar called me to explain that the man in question...'was 55 years old working as an engineer on the ship which was docked in the port of Aberdeen. The man developed a fever with shivering coming and going over 4-5 days which did not respond to treatment given on board ship. 

    He had fever with severe body aches and excessive pain in the lumbar region. The captain of the ship had given him Combiflam (an anti-inflammatory medicine) after which the fever suddenly came down and he perspired profusely. He phoned his wife in the USA and told her that after many days illness he felt much better because the fever had reduced so drastically. But he had become cold and clammy. After this his urine output started decreasing, and he had developed swelling on the face and body. On the 3rd day he started to develop breathlessness on talking. 

    He was then taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where he was suspected of having a urinary tract infection. He checked into the hospital at 3.00 pm and by 5.00 pm he had found it more and more difficult to walk and talk. So he was advised that further investigation was required.Scans and x-rays showed pleural effusion and pericardial effusion and he was then admitted to the hospital. He was primarily diagnosed with renal failure as his Creatinine levels were raised up. His serum potassium also was increased. The doctors in the hospital suspected Acute Bacterial Infection spreading to the lungs and heart, leading to borderline cardiac enlargement with cardiac myopathy. 

    As the day progressed he became even worse and he started losing alertness and finally he lost consciousness and went into a comatose state. He was immediately moved to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and was put on life support. 

    The poor man was alone in Aberdeen, and there was no one with him. His wife and son and daughter in law were all in the USA. Only the colleagues on ship who had taken him to the hospital were with him . His wife wanted to get to the UK, but could not do so as she did not have the necessary VISA and the consulate of the USA was closed for independence day preparations.


    Dr Vijayarkar explained that 'only Nux vom was needed in a case like this' and we had to get it to him before it was too late. Feeling a little helpless I called Praveen Kumar, who was further up the motorway, to offer just a few words of advice. I advised him that on arrival he was to say he was a family member who had been alerted to the condition of his relative and that he wanted to be with him. I further advised that he should not introduce himself as a doctor and certainly not to say he was a homeopath! 

    Dr Vijayarkar had advised me that in cases like this he always wanted the remedy to be rubbed into the cheeks of the comatose patient. So the fate of this man rested with the redoubtable Praveen Kumar - who had to drive 8 hours overnight, penetrate the ICU and unobtrusively administer the remedy! 

    When Praveen Kumar arrived he found the man on:- 

    1. Continuous dialysis
    2. Ventilator 
    3. Heart line inserted for monitoring

     And Praveen noted that a mild fever was persisting. Nux-vom 200c was administered on the cheek as instructed. 

    Within 25 minutes – the persisting fever came down. After 2 hours the man opened his eyes. After another 30 minutes – the doctors reduced the ventilator from 14 to 7. After another 30 minutes – the ventilator was stopped and withdrawn. By the evening hemodialysis was stopped and it was given only once more. The man had come to his normal senses in 4-5 hrs and started talking. One day later he was talking to everyone and spoke to Dr. Vijayakar on phone and was eating! 

    Fantastic! 

    Now - those of you who have attended any of my lectures and presentations may know of my talk on 'Embryology and Homeopathy' which is directly attributable to the pioneering work of Dr Vijayarkar. Normally I restrict my introductory lecture to the explanation of Herings Laws of Cure and Embryology as Dr Vijayarkar has taught me to pass on. With this case however I have a clear opportunity to show you how Dr Vijayarkar analyses such situations and how his great expertise can literally save lives! 

    Explanation and Analysis by Dr Vijayarkar:

    The only 'history' which I could get was from 2 sources:-

    1. The physician attending him in the ICU reported that when he was bought to the hospital that he was cold and clammy

    2. His wife reported how he developed fever and how medication was taken and how he felt instant relief from this anti-inflammatory. She further said that, on the morning of admission, when he was talking to her on the phone, he sounded very irritated when she did not answer his questions properly. This was very unusual for an otherwise calm person. She further stated, that he told her of passing less urine despite his thirst being very good. On that day whilst on the phone, he would talk only about his health and did not even ask about other members of the family. 

    So what was the situation? How do we homeopaths look at such a case? 

    Sudden renal failure – the kidneys and other organs were failing fast. All reports of urine culture and sensitivity were showing no presence of infection. But the CT scan showed necrosis of kidney tissue.  This immediately leads us to the SYPHILITIC Miasm i.e. Onset of destruction in kidney tissue. Our remedy therefore needs to be known as a syphilitic remedy.

    Sudden development of renal failure, pleural effusion and pericardial effusion. Within 2 days, the disease had spread from renal shutdown to cardiac myopathy. So something which started as an inflammatory process (psora - inflammation of kidney tissue) proceeded to the destruction of the tissue (necrosis of kidney - syphilitic) with an intermediate stage of sycosis (pleural effusion and pericardial effusion)

    Therefore SPEED = FAST and therefore the remedy we need to administer also has to be fast (acting).

    Causation? There was no obvious mental causation. The only ascertainable causation was the taking of the anti inflammatory medicine.

    Physical Generals - Thermals = Chilly

    Thirst – his wife said, inspite of his thirst being good, his urine output was reduced.

    Mental disposition – He was irritable and was angry when obliged to answer.

    So which remedies are Angry when obliged to answer and also Chilly?

    Rx to immediately consider: Nux-v, Ars, Phos-ac.

    However he did not have the anxiety and anticipation of Ars. Also he was not dull and sullen as Phos-ac would be.

    Nux-v is a fast remedy that is angry, chilly, thirsty, and overall covers abuse of allopathic medications.

    Before the allopaths could even diagnose what to do, homeopathy had cured him!

    Added Note:
    Prafull was giving this explanation entirely from memory over the phone without consulting any repertories or books. I worked this small case into Vision and present to you the analysis:

    OneFridayNightcase


  2. Covid19 and Homeopathy - Additional Information #2 April 21st 2020

    Posted on

    More information regarding Coronavirus

    There has been a flood of information provided by the homeopathic profession over the past few weeks. In this article I have attempted to condense the information into a format that is more easily 'digestible'.

    The information presented here has all been given freely for me to share. I cannot endorse or recommend any information and I am simply passing this information on to you for further research.

    Miranda Castro (USA)
    Has presented a chart of remedies
    Miranda.Remedies
    Dr Ajit Kulkarni (India)
    Below is a link to an in-depth article by Ajit. I encourage you to also read the contributed questions and comments at the end of that article.

    Ajit suggests Arsenicum album as the 'Genus Epidemicus' for prophylaxis. In his words "There is a tussle between Arsenic album and Sulphur. My mind is also thinking of Carbolic acid and Hippozaeninum as both covering the range from cold to severe pneumonia and septic shock. But yet as GE, I suggest ARSENICUM ALBUM as a homeopathic prophylactic remedy for the COVID-19 outbreak."

    Whatever remedy is given for an actual infection, he suggests giving it in 1M potency frequently, every 3 - 4 hours, or when at a critical stage every 15 minutes.  

    He also suggests a Treatment Plan :-

    Ajit.Treatment.Plan


    Here is a link to the full article:

    https://bit.ly/3aoFJwi

    Isaac Golden (Australia)

    Isaac is renowned in the field of prevention of illness and offers an essay based on his own findings and also his experiences on visits to Cuba. In addition to the prophylactics widely suggested by others, Isaac makes his own suggestion based on complexes. Here is a quote:

    "given that there is some uncertainty regarding the Nosode and that there are many suggested GE remedies, if I was preparing a combination remedy it would look something like the following:  Influenzinum triple nosode M + Pneumococcinum M + Bacillinum M + Arsenicum Album 200 + Justicia Adhatoda 200 + Gelsemium 200 + Bryonia 200 + Antimonium Tartaricum 200."

    Here is a link to the full article:

    https://bit.ly/3ahuvcY

    I am compiling and condensing further information and will release it as soon as possible.

    As said previously above I cannot endorse or recommend any information provided and I am simply passing this information on to you for further research.

    David Witko

     

     

  3. Covid-19 and Homeopathy 4th April 2020

    Posted on

    Additional information regarding Coronavirus

    The findings, suggestions and observations listed below are extracted from various sources freely given to me. I cannot endorse or recommend any and I am simply passing this information on to you for further research.

    There is quite of lot of information in this email so please excuse the length! Most of it is from Jeremy Sherr who is working with a large network of homeopaths who are actively working with real Covid-19 cases and patients. I have spoken to Jeremy and he is happy for this information to be shared with you.
     
    Robin Murphy 
    suggests Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) as a preventative tonic to help boost the immune system (note: not as a treatment once infected). This can be taken as a Tea, Wine, Lemonade drink or Tincture). The studies on Elderberry that show its benefits have only been observed in healthy persons.

    He also refers us to books on Pneumonia from classical homeopaths such as Borland, Nash and Pulford which may prove useful. (these books are contained in your Vision system if you purchased the Rhodium Library with your software)

    Remedies for SARS may also prove helpful (as Covid-19 is more accurately referred to as SARS-CoV-02) :

    acon, ars, ars-i, bac, bapt, bell, blatta, bry, camph, carb-v, carbn-s, caust, dulc, eup-per, gels, influ, ip, kali-c, lach, laur, lyc, merc, op, oscillo, phos, pneu, pyrog, samb, sang, seneg, spong, tub, tub-a, verat, verat-v.

    Those of you who are Vision maestros could consider adding this as a new rubric into your system for easy reference!

    Robin also presented this slide of Pneumonia rx to bear in mind:

    Murphy.Pneumonia.Rx
    ARHF recommends the following protocols:

    Herbal Prevention - Astragalus (or any combination that contains this). Optimal if this can be combined with Echinacea,  Vitamin C and Zinc.
    Other herbal suggestions are :  Reishi mushroom, Colloidal Silver, Thyme.

    Homeopathic suggestions based on observed symptoms :
    Justica adhatoda 3x (or 3d) once daily 10 drops in a teaspoonful of water
    Arsenicum album 30c
    BryoniaLycopodiumPhosphorusGelsemium and Eupatorium perfoliatum (ordered in likelihood of being needed)

    A new digital resonance has been created and is freely available for use:
    https://www.arhf.nl/coronavirus/

    Jeremy Sherr
    Cases continue to be submitted to Jeremy for analysis. Now that New York has seen a huge increase many homeopaths are seeing real Covid-19 cases and using remedies to help. As I write this email over 200 cases have already been recorded and analysed and a database of over 350 unique symptoms recorded. All of these symptoms are being qualified and the number of patients showing each symptom counted - this is already highlighting the common symptoms and also, most importantly, those symptoms which we call SRP symptoms that are occurring in substantial numbers of patients. It is the SRP rubrics that really help us focus in on the required remedy.

    The cases received from homeopaths 'in the field' indicates remedies are working. When correct remedies are found, homeopaths are reporting that they seem to be stopping the virus in its tracks or are reducing the severity of symptoms by 30% (i.e. the patient still goes through the illness and recovery but with reduced severity).  These patients are recovering but not in a 'spectacular' way. This makes Jeremy think there are still better remedies to find than the standard ones we are currently giving. The ideal response to a remedy is that they wake up the next day and everything is very much better! An initial small amelioration followed by aggravation is a bad sign. 

    Before I share information on remedies here are a few pointers from Jeremy:

    • At the first sign of any possible infection try ACON in a high potency. May do nothing but may stop it in its tracks.
    • Repeat your remedy often. This is not a time for one dose and wait.
    • Unless you get a 'spectacular' response you will need to use several remedies as the situation changes. Don't be slow or afraid to change if the case changes.
    • Give low potencies for the elderly or those with pre-existing conditions or serious pathology. Go high in the young and (previously) healthy.

    Here are some slides and comments from Jeremy's webinars. The three observed stages are shown here along with the leading rx for each stage: 3

     sherr.Stage2

     sherr.Stage3

    Some observations received from New York. Good results when symptoms clear. Camphor is failing even in collapse. Some patients 'stalling'. Re-inforces to Jeremy that different (better) remedies still need to be found. 

     sherr.1

    Observations about remedies from Jeremy:

    Ant-tart is proving helpful in many cases. The sense of 'drowning' is a big SRP in many cases requiring it. Loss of taste and smell also leads to Ant-tart.

    Possibly the 'sensation' of the pandemic is this - 'Too full! Must expel forcefully'

    The rx Croto-tig can give immediate relief. This is the best kind of reaction! (Although we know this as a remedy for diarrhea and the bowels, it is the 'explosiveness' of the rx and the relation to this forceful expulsion even from the lungs that leads to its consideration - DW) This may be one of the remedies that proves to be invaluable in this pandemic although it is to soon to be certain.

    One SRP that has been observed is that sometimes the mucus in the lungs is like 'honey'. When patients lie down they can feel it almost 'trickling down' inside the lungs just as honey would. Sticky and trickling. This leads Jeremy to the remedy Ars-i. When repertorising the most commonly seen symptoms of Covid-19 we see Ars and Iod near the top of the chart and so these two substances together in ars-i seem ideal!  This SRP is also a good indication:

    honey

    Another smaller remedy that shows very promising signs of being one of these 'spectacular' remedies is SPIG. It has the SRP's relating to 'needles, stabbing eyeballs', 'pressure skull' and 'spear-like pains'.  It is too early to confirm but shows great promise when these SRP's are present.

    Spig.Needles

    The final rx to remind ourselves of is our old friend KALI-BI which is proving useful. We see patients are better at night but they wake up in the morning drowning in mucus. (c/f ant-tart of course). Also they are seen to have the loss of taste and smell. > lying down is very unusual when there is a lot of mucus in the lungs and leads to this remedy!

    Jeremy has also identified the most commonly occurring symptoms for this pandemic. As you may need to reference these rubrics regularly in any cases you see, I have taken his rubrics and created a Vision case file of them. Then, when I have a new case, I can open up this case of common rubrics and all of the potential rubrics have already been selected and are on clipboard 1. No need to search and find them again in the repertories. All I need to do is drag those common rubrics presenting in the case onto clipboard 2 - and also add any new rubrics for the current case onto clipboard 2 and repertorise together.

    Should be a good time saver! If you want a copy of this case email [email protected] and request it. I can provide the case file so you can use it in your own Vision system. Here are the common rubrics identified by Jeremy:

    sherr.Common.Rubrics

    I hope this information has proven to be of interest to you. We continue to be grateful to these homeopaths for freely sharing their findings with the community

    Kind Regards from David Witko and the team at Miccant Homeopathic Software.

     

  4. Pediatrics Case #1

    Posted on

    If you have not yet read the first article in this series on Pediatrics please do so by clicking here:

    http://www.miccant.com/blog/read_177716/case-taking-and-analysis-with-children.html

    Case - Bone Curvature

    Presented with softening of bones of leg in a boy aged 18 months. Initially came in shortly after dislocating elbow and also complaining of knee pain.

    Suffers from recurrent diarrhea and asthmatic breathing. Observed to be very restless. Loves music. Cheerful and happy. Hot. Mother says he wants to be carried everywhere.

    Rx : Cham 200c

    4 months later returned with no improvement. Increased knee pain prompted return visit. Now affecting both knees. No evidence of any trauma. 

    Time to re-evaluate !

    Here is an xray taken before homeopathic treatment which clearly shows curvature of the bone of the leg:
    Rickets.Xray

    Here is a blood test confirming the likelihood of 'Ricketts'. An ALP test can be used to determine weakness and softening of the bones:
    Rickets.Start.Blloods

    Observations of the child:

    Never sits still. Mischevious, cheeky little boy. Stubborn. Ignores being told off. Has been known to hit his grandmother back after she smacked him for being naughty. Pinches you if you refuse to do what he wants. Bored easily. Mum says he laughs naughtily if he sees anyone get dressed. Dominant when playing with other children (not a bully though). Knocks toys over rather than allow another child to play with it

    Kept coming round the homeopath’s desk to see what he was writing. Observant. Touching everything. Pressing keys on homeopath’s computer! Mother couldn’t control him. She shouted at him and he got angry and waved his fist at her.  The homeopath decided to intervene  and asked the boy sternly to stop – the boy threatened to punch him also.

    Watch for yourself in this brief extract:https://youtu.be/UpJRRWi85I4



    So what do we know already? Quickly and easily? We have reliable indicators from:observing the child, the nature of child and the generals of the child.

    Using the S.E.A. approach described in the previous article we know the boy is:

    Sociability :Approaching   (no hesitancy, totally forward and approaching)
    Energy : Hyperactive  (cannot keep still, always moving)
    Anger response : Destructive (punching, pinching, threatening)

    From the case taking we also know the following :

    Thermal : Hot
    Thirst : Thirstless

    Constitutions and Character : Disobedient  -  Mischevious

    Here is a repertorisation in Vision:

    Rep1

    Rx : Tarentula 200c (one dose)

    Xray after 6 months with before for comparison:
    After.xrays

    The ALP blood test was re-run after 6 months:

    Rickets.Bloods.6.months

    The ALP test now reveals normal levels. Success! But would you ever have considered Tarentula? Or would you have also gone for Chamomilla? This observational approach allows you to work cases out quickly through observation and at a deep level.

    Our little patient is no longer Destructive and Hyperactive as the indicated remedy brings about a state of balance. However this is still an active outgoing little boy with restless tendencies – that is his real nature!

    Has since twice needed Ars for acute conditions.

    The observational approach and use of the S E A axis is a very practical way to observe children and not to get bogged down with simple rubric chasing. This can be seen by the first (failed) prescription of Chamomilla probably based on superficial 'symptoms' e.g. desire to be carried!

    In the final article in this series I will present an additional case from Dr Jain in which the remedy was much harder to find.

    Please consider integrating this approach into your practice by purchasing Dr Pravin Jain's excellent work  - click for details:

    http://www.miccant.com/ourshop/prod_6118350-Jains-Essence-Of-Pediatric-Materia-Medica.html

    Essence_of_Pediatric_Materia_Medica
     

     




     

  5. Case taking and analysis with children

    Posted on

    Introduction
    For many years I have supported and used an approach to case taking with children developed by my colleague and friend Dr Pravin Jain of Mumbai, India.

    I have found his approach practical and immensley rewarding. To me, it feels like a refreshingly authentic approach to homeopathic case taking, rather than the almost academic theorising that seems to typify a lot of our normal case taking and analysis.

    In this series of articles I am pleased to share this information with you for the first time as I think it deserves a wider audience. Feel free to comment and make suggestions below!


    The Problem
    Historically many homeopaths seemed to prescribe only a limited range of "commonly known child remedies". This is because information on Pediatric materia medica was limited and there was no clear approach as to how to take the case in pediatrics. So everyone seemed to be observing children in their own way and using their own interpretations of these observations. There was no methodical, scientific approach and hence, consistent results were often lacking. Senior homeopaths, because of  their experience, were achieving good results, but the rest of us were perhaps not so successfull!

    In Pravins own words:

    "Not surprisingly, in my initial days of practice I found pediatric cases to be very difficult to treat. Shivers used to run down my spine on seeing a mother accompanied by a child at my clinic. Even before a customary “hello!”, questions like “What do I ask? How do I ask? How does one judge the constitution of a child?” would jump into my mind. Unlike adults a child doesn’t tell you about its problem. The evaluation of these cases is usually based on the history that is provided by the guardian and on the physician’s INTERPRETATION. There is no definite method to understand and prescribe for a child.

    So awkward was my state that whenever a mischievous child came into my clinic, I would instruct the mother to leave the child in the waiting room and come inside alone, so that I could completely concentrate on the case taking and avoid distraction by the hyperactive child. After the information from the mother was gathered, I called in the child, and then too my focus would be more on the expensive furnishings and trinkets in the clinic than the child, for fear of those being damaged by the tiny rogue."

    In summary the problem was:

    1. No special pediatric repertory/rubrics to make the task easier

    2. No specific pediatric case taking approach

    3. Very little pediatric MM

    Dr Pravin Jain decided to specialise in the area of pediatrics. He was initially inspired by reading the famous 1977 study of Thomas and Chess who identified different Temperaments in children. This approach confirmed to him that there was a way of getting to homeopathic remedies in a more structured way then simply 'rubric hunting' in the repertory based on the words of the parent.

    Over the years, he has tried to streamline the 3 major aspects of prescribing as follows:

    1. Formulation of a scientific method of casetaking using consistent language

    2. When taking and then analysing the case - using the same language/terminology (as used during casetaking) also used in repertory rubrics

    3. When arriving at a group of remedies, once again using the same language/terminology in Materia Medica to help differentiate remedies.

    Again in Pravin's words:

    "The birth of my own daughter raised my anxiety. There were many questions in my mind …What about vaccinations? What is her constitution? Is she chilly or hot? How is her thirst? Common questions, the answers to which a homeopath ought to know seemed to me like an abyss I feared to look down into. My anxiety led me to refer the pediatric books in great detail. Simultaneously I started honing my observation skills, observing my daughter closely. After observing her, and correlating her behavior with the pediatric psychology books, I found the key to many of my questions. The same child who used to scare me in my clinic became a joy to observe.

    Now I started asking the mother to wait outside, so that the mother did not distract from my observations!"


    About Pravin


    PravinJain

    Pravin first developed this way of working and analysis after many years in practice and since decided in 2002 to specialise in child care. He has opened 15 branches across India each with its own Child Observation Area (COA). Pravin places great importance on being able to observe and interact with our little patients to gain a true understanding of their nature and problems. Although you may not be able to have a dedicated COA in your clinic setting I hope that the techniques and system explained here can be taken and adapted to your own situation.


    At time of writing this article Dr Jain estimates that his clinics have treated over 10,000 little patients and have been achieving consistently good results

    Clinic COA's
    Mumbai.COA

    Chandigarh

    Clinic.COA


    The Approach
    Dr Jain finds it most important to observe and interact with children and not simply engage with the parent in 'rubric hunting'. He also analyses his pediatric cases in a very practical and straightforward way - using what is actually observed in the child's behaviour.

    This article will explain in overview the approach Dr Jain takes. Subsequent articles will be cases to explain and support the approach.

    For a detailed explanation and materia medica please consider purchasing Dr Jain's book 'The Essence Of Pediatric Materia Medica' which I am proud to support. To order please click on the image below :

    Essence_of_Pediatric_Materia_Medica

    Here is an overview of the method used to observe and interact with children to arrive at well indicated remedies.

    Each section will be explained in more detail below:


    OverviewOfMethod


    The idea is that by observation and interaction you decide on all of the above - with the 3 most important factors at the top - these are the SEA axis (Sociability, Energy, Anger).

    Step 1 : Determine Sociability of child - is the child 'Approaching' or 'Withdrawing'?

    This refers to the initial response to a new situation or a new stimulus. How a child responds to a new experience, such as meeting a person (guest, doctor, stranger), tasting a new food, or being in an unusual situation (doctors clinic). Observe the ease with which the child accepts and adjusts to changes in his environment and lifestyles. Some children move easily into new settings, taking very little time to join a new group of playmates, while others may observe the scene for a long time before going into a new situation or simply stay away.

    Approaching children jump right in. Withdrawing children hold back cautiously until they feel comfortable.

    Observation of the interaction between the child and mother, between the child and the doctor (you), between the child and a stranger, between the child and a new stimulus will help find the sociability of a child. Record this and use remedies reliably indicated and proven in practice as per this chart:

    Sociability.Rx


    Step 2 : Determine Energy level of child - is the child 'Energetic and Restless' or are they 'Lacking energy'?

    Make sure to differentiate between Mental energy/restlessness and Physical energy/restlessness as the remedies indicated for both vary!  Does the child rush around the COA flitting from activity to activity? Do they engage in the more mental activities or do they stick to physical things such as running, skipping, jumping, climbing? And also look for lower than expected levels of energy.

    Again there is a chart of well indicated remedies for each:

    Energy.Levels

    Step 3 : Determine Anger/Frustration response

    If the child does not get their own way or what they desire, how do they react? You may need to interact personally with the child to make this determination!

    Destructive reaction : smashing, ripping, knocking over/down, tearing paper / clothes often directed at the nearest available target

    Non-destructive reaction : temper tantrum, throws themselves to floor, rolling around, writhing around, screaming loudly. Not directed at anyone or anything (unless further provoked)

    Once again there is a chart of the remedies associated with each reaction:

    Anger.Reaction

    Brief example of 'Billy' and how he was analysed
    A very friendly and affectionate toddler. Trouble is he’s a running and walking disaster zone! Rushes around everywhere. Throws terrible tantrums when he doesn’t get his own way and rolls around the floor shouting. He’s definitely on the ‘tubby’ side. His mother tells you he is very ‘picky’ about everything....his food and his possessions have to be ‘just so’. Can’t get to sleep at night. Wets the bed. Ezcema on hands. Mild asthma. 

    So Billy is:

    S  Approaching

    Hyperactive 

    A  Non-Destructive

    Once you have decided on the SEA axis you can quickly repertorise/cross these 3 'rubrics' to arrive at a small group of well indicated remedies. The following articles will show you real cases and analysis arrived at.

    This approach allows you to spend far more time observing and interacting and less time on the technique of repertorisation - using just the 3 rubrics SEA will save you lots of time and guide you towards the indicated remedy!


    Step 4 - Find the TT's!

    What are the TT's? These are very reliable general modalities that help you narrow down the choice of remedy - Thirst and Temperature

    Is the child thirsty or thirstless or neither? Are they hot or chilly or neither? Knowing this can be really helpful in case analysis.

    HotandColdRx

     

    Step 5 - Find the CC's!

    What are the CC's? These are the Constitution and Character of the child. Often called the Disposition and vitally important in helping you make the final choice of remedy. The Disposition or CC's either confirm or reject the remedy prescription as the disposition of the child absolutely must correspond with the known disposition of the remedy.

    Examples - is the child : Happy?  Neat and tidy? Do they do as they are asked e.g. could you please tidy up all these toys? (obedient) Are they Shy or Bashful? Are they a Bully? Are they Confident? Are they Rude? Do they Complain or Moan a lot? And so on.

    Conclusion to First Article

    In the next article I will present a worked case with repertorisation and follow up so you can see the approach in action!

    Please comment on this article below.  I read every comment personally and will reply if appropriate and I am sure Dr Jain would appreciate your feedback also.

    Thank You
    David Witko
    FSHom UK (Hon) 



     

     

  6. Meditative Provings

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    The Meditative remedies have been in use since the 1990's. These are a set of over 80 remedies drawn from a variety of sources. Each of these was proven using a new approach. The author of these proving volumes is Madeline Evans. (alternative books have also been published by Colin Griffiths). The remedies can be purchased from Helios Pharmacy in UK. Before discussing the Meditation Provings in more detail a quick review of the more traditional proving methods is warranted:

    Provings are a foundation stone of homeopathy. From provings comes a basis on which to determine what symptoms and illnesses substances cause and therefore cure in potentised form and they are the source of much of our information. The original provings were a mixture of recorded poisonings (toxicology) and the effects of crude substances originally tested on animals and later taken by human volunteers. 

    Nowadays provings are almost exclusively conducted with homeopathic potencies not crude substances. In an attempt to improve the quality of provings many modern provings are conducted double or even triple blind in an attempt to remove 'bias' from the findings. However our original bedrock provings were not done in that way. Many homeopaths experimented on themselves in the full knowledge of what they were taking - and they faithfully recorded their findings and published them in materia medicas as provings. Many of the things they experienced have become entrenched in our homeopathic literature and form the basis of much of the information we still use today!

    Other Approaches

    Sankaran has used dream provings and especially a 'collective consciousness' approach to help understand the sphere of action of a substance. As Sankaran himself said "My own personal contact with Jurgen Becker inspired me to start group-provings in Bombay, especially after I had noted seemingly indifferent results with the Hahnemannian method. " and also "the effects of the substance seem to multiply when it is given to a group, rather than to a set of individuals having no contact with each other."

    Sherr is perhaps renowned as being responsible for the resurgence of a more traditional proving approach. In his book Dynamic Provings he says "During a proving, strange and wonderful phenomena occur, events which defy conventional scientific reasoning but which are in total accordance with the broader wisdom of homeopathic perception."

    Of course it is important to remember that Hahenmann himself and other contemporaries did not adhere to what some call the ‘strict Hahnemannian’ style of proving. They regularly experimented on themselves and admitted their experiences into the proving materials.

    Scholten employed a Group Analysis for new and existing remedies in his Minerals, Elements and Lanthanides books. This controversial method allowed homeopaths to inspect groups of remedies and predict the symptoms they might be useful in. Using this information in practice proved quite successful although many remain unconvinced to this day. It is very interesting to note this statement in his book Lanthanides : "The information in this book comes from a mixture of sources. The first source is provings. Most provings in this book are meditation provings instead of classical full provings"

    Some homepaths consider the 'original' proving data to be sacrosanct. "Why do we need new provings they ask? What we have already is plenty and good enough". Whilst revering Hahnemann they refer back to the seminal works of Allen and Hering constantly. To them I offer a quotation from Hughes and Dake in the under-appreciated work 'Cyclopedia of Drug Pathogensy'  published in 1885 referring to Allen's Index of Materia Medica (10 volumes of collated provings) he says  "It has laid the foundation of the Materia Medica of the future, though itself cannot be so regarded; ....... let us repeat - a large part of the Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica is untrustworthy, and the work must be done over again".

    In my opinion all new material should be examined, put to the test and evaluated in practice in order to arrive at a conclusion. Nothing should ever be ridiculed or ignored simply because of dogmatic thinking.

    Having set the scene regarding provings and admitting differing approaches that have proven successful in every day use I would like to introduce the Meditation Provings that arose in the 1990's.

    About the Meditation Provings

    The remedies that arose as a result of these meditative provings have been in use for many years gradually growing in popularity as awareness of them grew within the homeopathic community.

    Method of Meditation Provings

    All of these remedies were examined by meditation circles. The leader of a circle knew what the source of the remedy was.  In the beginning all participants knew what the remedy was as the purpose of the meditation was not to conduct a remedy proving as such but was done for the group’s own spiritual healing and intuitive development. As the provings progressed and as people started to hear about them and other homeopaths started to use them, the provings started to be conducted 'blind'.  Without wishing to alienate those with differing belief systems but in the interests of full disclosure it is significant to note that sometimes 'channelled information' was also received and recorded as directed.

    At the time none of the participants realised that these new remedies would become as widely known and used as they have become. They did not keep the records that tell us when the provings changed from a known to an unknown remedy. But what was evident was that for most provers, knowing or not knowing the remedy made no difference at all, whilst for others, and one in particular,  there was a difference in the nature and quality of the information on the remedy. 

     “The remedies presented have been drawn solely from provings and do not include anything intuited by individuals outside the parameters of the provings. No extrapolations have been included as to states, conditions or diseases the remedy might treat based on the proving symptoms. I have also deliberately included spiritual teachings related to the remedy pictures, as reading the remedies is in itself a constant reminder of our spiritual selves.” Madeline Evans

    Should any eyes have glazed over at the use of the word ‘spiritual’ could I perhaps remind you of Hahnemann’s words?

    “Nevertheless the incredible variety among patients as to their irritability, their age, their spiritual and bodily development, their vital power and especially as to the nature of their disease, necessitates a great variety in their treatment, and also in the administration to them of the doses of medicines.” Chronic Diseases

    “This dynamic action of medicines, like the vitality itself, by means of which it is reflected upon the organism, is almost purely spiritual in its nature..” Lesser Writings

    List Of The Meditative Remedies

    Colours
    Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Rainbow, Red, Yellow

    Gems, Crystals
    Amethyst, Ametrine, Chalcancite, Emerald, Jade, Jet, Moldavite, Moonstone, Peridot, Phantom quartz, Obsidian, Rhodocrosite, Rose quartz, Ruby, Sapphire, Tiger’s Eye

    Minerals
    Caesium, Clay, Natrum flouratum, Plutonium, Selenite, Slate, Spectrolite, Strontium

    Flowers and Trees
    Almond, Apple tree, Ash, Ayahusaca,  Banyan Tree, Bay leaf, Bog asphodel, Brown rice, Buddleja, Chestnut Red, Chestnut White, Conium, Copper beech, Cotton, Forget-me-not, Frankincense, Goldfish, Hazel, Himalayan Blue Poppy, Holly, Holly Berry, Hornbeam, Kigelia, Lotus, Mimosa, Nettle,  Oak, Okoubaka,  Olive,  Rose (pink), Sandalwood, Sea Holly, Sea Salt, Sequoia, Silver birch, Snowdrop, Strawberry, Sycamore seed, Viscum album, Willow, Wych-elm

    Animals and Insects
    Butterfly (Red Admiral), Earthworm, Silverfish,

    Human
    Lac humanum, Medorrihinum, Thymus gland

    Other energies
    Berlin Wall, Chalice Well Water, Ether,  Milky Way Galaxy

    For all of these remedies the usual mental and physical symptoms are given but also "each remedy's spiritual aspects and the way in which it can be used to clear psychic or spiritual blocks and to further spiritual development. The provings bring to the forefront the spiritual potential of Homeopathy and give to practitioners and patients who are ready and willing to work at this level the possibility of using homeopathy as a tool for spiritual advancement." Madeline Evans.

    Mediative Provings within the Vision software

    There are 3 books connected with meditative provings contained within Vision, namely :

    • Meditative Provings volumes 1 and 2  (Madeline Evans)
    • Contemporary Repertory of Meditative Provings (Karan Main & Paula Leszczuk)

    which are collectively referred to in Vision as the Meditative Pack.  

    The repertory is contained in entirety.  You can choose to work exclusively with this repertory which is very nicely presented in a modern appealing design. Alternatively you can integrate its use alongside all the other repertories in your system.  The style of the repertory is similar to that of Knerr’s Repertory of Hering’s Guiding Symptoms, i.e. rather than breaking up proving expressions into individual word parts, the full expressions have been preserved as rubrics.

    In addition to the standard chapters you will find in all repertories you will find chapters and rubrics in this repertory that you will not find elsewhere. Example chapters are : Astrological, Environment, Esoteric, Miasms and there are other useful chapters such as Diseases & Conditions, Dying, Emergency, Sensations and Toxicity. Here is an example taken from the Emergency chapter:

    Med.Rep.Emergency

    Another good example of the use of the meditative remedies is when searching materia medica for specific words. Let’s say you were looking for more information about a child with AUTISM that you were treating. Perhaps you had repertorised in the usual way but it was ineffective. A search for AUTISM quickly reveals information contained within the meditative remedies that you would otherwise not have access to!

    Here is an example in Vision clearly showing how the modern language used in these remedies can be very helpful:

    Med.Autism.MM

    The remedy displayed is the beautiful flower ‘Forget-Me-Not’ (Myosotis symphytifolia).

    One of most common queries I receive when new remedies are added into the repertory is this: “This new remedy is displayed in my case analysis....how can I read up about it?” And the answer is usually ‘You cannot – please reference the original proving!”

    When using the Meditative Pack you always have access to the data in the 2 volumes of materia medica. So whether simply browsing the repertory or directly from a repertorisation you have quick access to the original text.

    Here is an example of  Chalcancite:

    Med.MM.Chalcancite

    Summary

    The remedies within the Meditative Provings offer an alternative approach to homeopathic prescribing. For those used to a very traditional approach to case analysis these remedies may seem unusual and the description of their use may not be familiar to you. As Madeline Evans has said “The provings bring to the forefront the spiritual potential of Homeopathy. Many of the older remedies do not have this aspect as they were needed at a time when the level of humanity's development was different.”

    In my experience it can be most helpful to use these remedies separately to the usual repertories. Use the Contemporary Repertory as a direct index to find the exact rubric(s) you need, cross one or two rubrics to see if a remedy runs through and then consult the proving volumes to read in detail about each. Use your own intuition and feeling to make the final selection.

    When you are ready to work in this way and should you wish to consider a different approach when your usual approach does not give the hoped for outcome, why not try these remedies?

    If you are a user of the Vision software you can easily add these remedies to you system. Click here to learn more

    Comments Received About The Meditative Provings and Repertory

    I LOVE this meditative repertory...incredible stuff!  I will use this so often I can’t even begin to tell you.....thank you thank you thank you!!!  Kim Kalina

    Thank you so much for the repertory. What a tome! What dedication you both have had to spend three years at it. Well done! I have not had much time to get into it with anything like the attention it deserves but what immediately strikes me is the clarity of the typesetting, the ease with which one can find one's way about and unfussiness of the whole enterprise. It is refreshingly unpretentious.  Colin Griffith

    Many many thanks for the repertory. It is wonderful, a real timely asset to our prescribing of new remedies. A wonderfully dedicated work, well presented and beautifully illustrated. I am very impressed with this book. It certainly presents all that I could have wished for in a repertory when I first set out on the adventure of meditative provings many years ago. The work and dedication put into this should be an inspiration to us all. May all who use this work be blessed with much insight and healing. Janice Micallef

    This is a refreshing piece of work – the cover and end papers are young and vibrant, and speak of the global aspects of the provings. The rubrics are written in modern English and have been neither interpreted nor translated from the provings. Having sentences [rubrics] that read as we speak, instead of the usual inverted rubric form, makes easy reading and clear comprehension. There are many cross-references to facilitate one’s search. Jenni Tree

    We use this Repertory along with the Meditative Provings at Dhanvanatari College of Homeopathy. It is a wonderful book, and such an easy to use repertory! Well done " Dhanvantari Dasi