Thermal in homeopathy

    Importance of thermal in Homeopathy

Master Hahnemann has given the wonderful tool of similium to serve the mankind .He gave the theory of Similia Similibus Curantur . It means that   pathology or sickness produced by drug on a healthy person if given to a sick person having similar symptoms ;the drug will have the potentiality to cure the sick .Now the big issue what symptoms can form the basis of selection of medicines .

The polycrests  are  full of symptoms. They cover vast areas of human sickness and pathologies .Many a time it becomes difficult to choose  between them .One will have to have a scientific , analytical and deep  knowledge of homeopathy to find out the similium. Many stalwarts of homeopathy have given us guidance for how to reach a similium. Hahnemann in aphorisms 153 asks for more striking, singular, uncommon and peculiar symptom to individualize a patient. Kent emphasizes on totality of symptoms in selection of medicine. Boger has suggested for generalization of symptoms .Dr. M. Sehgal asks for mental symptoms as the chief guiding factor while many others suggests for totality of symptoms as the basic tool for selection of a remedy. Among the totality comes mental and general symptoms, aggravation and ameliorations, miasms, thermals, foods and drinks ,perspiration,dreams, pathology or causative factor etc. We are here focusing on the thermals only.

          In our materia medica we have several remedies categorized as chilly remedies while many others as hot remedies. Chilly remedy means that the patient of this remedy has great sensitivity to cold. They either become sick due to cold or in winter season or their symptoms are aggravated due to cold. Similarly  hot patients develop sickness in hot summer seasons or their symptoms aggravate due to warm .Chilly patients generally show liking for closed and warm room ,heavily clothed, warm drinks ,warm wash, warm climate and weather while hot patient shows  preference for open room and windows ,lightly dressed, fresh cold open air ,cold drinks ,cold water wash, cold weather and climate .cold application give ameliorations to hot patients while warm applications give ameliorations to chilly patients.  There are some patients who are sensitive to both cold  and  hot .Thus, on the thermal basis we categorise medicines in (a) hot remedies ,(b) chilly remedies (c) both hot and chilly remedies .For examples Pulsatilla , Sulphur, Belladonna, Alum, Apis,  Ars –I   iodine, Ledum, Secale cor, Lachesis, Glonoine , Kali sulph, Drosera, Natrum mur ,Natrum sulph, etc have great sensitivity for warm and they are called hot remedies. Similarly Arsenic, Baryta carb ,Calcarea,Causticum, Heper sulphur, Nux vomica, Rhus tox, Sepia, Silecia , Graphites, Psorinum, Phosphorus, Spigelia etc are cold remedies . some remedies like Natrum mur , Lycopodium, Floric acid , Carcinosin, Sulphur ,Sepia,Tuberculinum ,Merc sol etc are  sensitive to both heat and cold .It is humbly submitted here that this is generally accepted view ,however, variations may not be ruled out.

 While determining the similium we tend to keep out the remedies which don’t match the thermal of the patient .In my practice I have observed that this rule is true so far it is a chronic case, but it has failed to deliver in acute cases .To me, the reason for this is that the thermal of the patient in the chronic cases is not that much deranged as it is affected in the acute cases. Acute disease does allow enough time to the human reactionary mechanism to fight back   .Vitality is very much estranged at this time and moreover it has to act fast. Acute disease appears faster than the chronic disease so by the third law of Newton it should be met with the vital forces of the body with equally fast speed. It is a emergency situation and body musters up all its forces to fight the sickness .In doing so the thermal axis of body is affected .In this condition a cold patient may show signs of hot patient or a hot patient may show sign of a cold patient .If the thermal changes are strongly noticeable so better so good and we should take notice of it in our prescription .After all Hahnemann has asked us not to treat the disease  , but to treat the patient in disease. But where the thermal changes are not strong enough ,we need not to align our selection of remedy on thermal lines .I am citing some  example here to illustrate the case .

1.     In cases of injuries of bone particularly peristoneum Ruta works splendid notwithstanding the thermal of the patient. Similarly the action of Symphytum in joining the bones is beyond doubt .No thermal of the patient is considered important here. Arnica mont heals muscle injuries without any differentiation for cold or heat.

2.     Many cases of corn of sole has  been cured by Antim  Crud notwithstanding the thermals of patient .Heper Sulphur which is well known chilly remedy has healed wound of hot patients also and it has a reputation of surgeons knife.

3.     A patient suffering from acute diarrhea came to my clinic. In a day she had to go to toilet almost 15 to 20 times. On query the case was detected one of sun stroke .It was summer and the mercury was about 48 degree Celsius. The stool was watery and coming with a force .The colour was rice water with a slight mixture yellow. It was offensive .There was no tenesmus. She complained of severe throbbing headache. Thirst was normal with dryness of mouth .Head, palms, soles were hot while rest of body was cold .She wants doors and windows closed, normal water to drink. She asked that she has a tendency to catch cold easily particularly in winter .She usually develops cough and tonsillitis in winter. All her troubles aggravate in winter .On this basis the patient was considered as chilly patient. It was a case of sun stroke and I was expecting patient to be hot at least during this period. Among many things which I queried I noticed one remarkable thing that the patient asked of a peculiar sensation. She said that she is experiencing her head bigger than normal. The   case was repertoried and Glonoine was  selected . I was however suspicious about Glonoine as it was not a similium from thermal point of view. Glonoine 200 was given and she was asked to take a lot of water mixed with sugar and salt to maintain hydrostatic balance of the body.  There was no result for the next two days .Now I gave her Glonoine 1000. There was no result. Her condition was worsening as her strength was deteriorating fast. I now changed remedy and gave her Belladonna 200 .My assumption was that Glonoine is not matching her thermal . Kent does not put Glonoine in list of cold in general aggravates. But  Belladona also did not give any positive result. Now,her family members asked me to take her to allopathic doctor. I suggested them some good homeopathic paractioner instead. I asked them to keep me informed about her treatment. I was told that the patient was given Antim crud and Bryonia for the next two days but there was no improvement however. The patient had become very weak and she did not have the strength to stand on by herself. Her family had now decided to take consultancy of allopathic practioner. I asked them to give me one more chance.  I realized that neither the cold axis remedies nor the hot axis remedies were giving result. The idea came to my mind that in acute cases the body thermal are severely affected and so on this basis remedy need not be selected. This realization gave me confidence for Glonoine. Now I gave her Glonoine10 M. It was a miracle. The lady which was so severely suffering from diarrhoea for the last seven eight days was cured almost instantly. There was no diarrhoea after that. After an hour she said of itching on her back which was very mild in nature .I was happy as it conformed to the Herring law of inside out and a slight itching at the termination of sickness.

It  shows that thermal are important in chronic cases but there is no need to stick to them in acute case.

                                                    Dr.Ritu kumari

                                                       (B.H.M.S.)        
                                        contact no-9852725380

1.     At Thana chowk , Hajipur

2.     Dr Ritu clinic ,East of St Karens school, Jankpuri,East Gola road Danapur ,Patna-801503