"He is, likewise, a preserver of health if he knows the things that derange health and cause and sustain disease, and how to remove them from persons in health."
To stay healthy has become a constant struggle ..a farfetched dream for all of us. The present pandemic of Covid-19 has made us realize the compromised health condition and low immunity we possess. As a homeopath we know that if the inner terrain is weak we are bound to be more sick and diseased.
There have been epidemics in the past and there will be more in the future too we cannot control them. Seeing the incredible rate of mutations in microorganisms'species and their increased virulence along with their resistance to antibiotic treatment we can only fear the future outbreaks. The only solution lies in strengthening the arsenals that we have i.e. working on increasing our immunity, this will lead to reduced predisposition toward certain diseases. If one removes the seeds and roots of the complaint, the trunk and branches never develop, and one does not suffer the fruits of predispositions.
Now here comes the part of Homeoprophylaxis or Prevention of disease by using Homeopathy. Dr A. Pulford wrote, "No disease will arise without an existing predisposition to that disease. It is the absence of the predisposition to any particular disease that makes us immune to it. Homoeopathy alone is capable of removing these predispositions"
The first documented use of Homeopathic medicine for prevention of disease comes by Dr. Hahnemann himself in the epidemic of Scarlet Fever in 1801. It was during Scarlet fever outbreak in Germany, Dr. Hahnemann observed that three children in a family contracted the disease, but the fourth remained unaffected. The fourth had been treated with homeopathic Belladonna for an unrelated joint problem. Dr. Hahnemann reasoned that perhaps the dose of Belladonna had protected the child from scarlet fever as well as treated the joint affliction. Soon afterward, he was able to test his theory when, in another of his patient's families, three children in a family of eight contracted scarlet fever. Hahnemann administered homeopathic Belladonna to the remaining un-afflicted five people, and all five remained symptom free. Dr. Hahnemann continued using Belladonna during this epidemic, and soon conventional physicians took note and began using the same protocol. Of 10 allopathic physicians who were reporting their results with Belladonna, 1,646 children were prophylactically treated and then exposed to scarlet fever, but only 123 children (7.4%) developed symptoms (during the same time, disease from exposure ran as high as 90%).
History is brimming with references of Effectiveness of Homeoprophylaxis in epidemic outbreaks of the past 2 decades. Chief among them being:
1849: Dr. Clemens von Boenninghausen used homeopathy for cholera infections during the 1849 European epidemic with the homeopathic remedies. While a death rate of 54-90% occurred with conventional treatment, Boenninghausen's patients had a mortality rate of only 5-16%.
1850: During an epidemic of poliomyelitis, Dr. Taylor Smith of Johannesburg, South Africa protected 82 people with homeopathic Lathyrus sativus. Of the 82 so immunized, 12 came into direct contact with disease. None were infected.
1902: Dr. Eaton of Iowa, USA reported that during a smallpox epidemic in Iowa, 2,806 patients were treated prophylactically with homeopathic Variolinum. Of the 547 patients definitely exposed, only 14 developed the disease. The protection rate on these numbers was 97%.
1957: A severe poliomyelitis epidemic occurred in Buenos Aires, Brazil. The majority of homeopathic doctors prescribed Lathyrus sativus. Drug stores distributed thousands of doses to the public. None of those who used the prophylactic registered a case of contagion (Eizayaga).
1975: During another poliomyelitis epidemic in Buenos Aires, Brazil, 40,000 were given the homeopathic prophylactic Lathyrus sativus. None developed poliomyelitis (Eizayaga).
1996: The homeopathic nosode Dengueinum 30C was administered to at least 39,200 people in the Delhi area of India during an epidemic of Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever. Follow-up of 23,520 people 10 days later showed only 5 people (0.125%) had developed mild symptoms, with the rest showing no signs or symptoms of the disease (CCRH).
1998: During an outbreak of meningococcal meningitis type B in a region of Brazil, doctors used the HP meningococcal nosode on 65,826 children. Another 23,539 children in the region were not immunized. The doctors followed the two groups for 12 months. The efficacy of Homeoprophylaxis was 95% after six months and 91% after 12 months.
2001: The Department of Indian Medicine and Homeopathy used homeoprophylaxis for Japanese Encephalitis and the mortality rates which had touched a high of 638 deaths from 2,038 cases in 1986, fell to four (4) cases from 33 cases in 2001. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Medical and Health Department acknowledge that homeoprophylaxis has been a vital factor in the sharp decline of Japanese Encephalitis in India.
2007 and 2008: Cuban medical researchers successfully averted the outbreak of Leptospirosis in Cuba among a population of 5 million people across two regions using homeopathy in both 2007 and 2008.
These are just some references to remind us of the effectiveness of Homeoprophylaxis. This is important in the present pandemic of Covid-19 which has challenged the global public health system. The mortality rate is increasing, the tentacles of death have shrouded the entire earth and we are waiting for some miracle to happen... for some medicine or vaccine to develop. But the solution lies with us alone, there are reports of some random trials and experiments of homeopathic prevention/treatment for the disease but we lack in strategical portrayal of scientific evidences of our controlled studies.
So dear readers I present to you the June Issue of Homeopathic Horizon Ejournal on UNDERSTANDING HOMEOPROPHYLAXIS.
In this Issue we will share with you the basics of Homeoprophylaxis by the greatest contributor to the field, Dr.Isaac Golden in his Interview. We also have an introductory article on the subject by Dear Dr. Cathy Lemmons, President HPWCC who consented to write on Homeopathic Prophylaxis – the Nontoxic Immunisation Option inspite of her busy schedule. Dr. Fran Scheffield has shared her wonderful work on the subject, Homeoprophylaxis: Human Records, Studies and Trials where she enlists all the major researches and trials on HP. Then there is critical analysis of Homeoprophylaxis and Vaccination done by Dr. Thomas Kruzel in his work Homeopathic Vaccination and Prophylaxis.
We have also included Dr. Renu Bala's work on Epidemics and Homeoprophylaxis which very proudly discusses the contributions of Central Council of Research in Homeopathy (CCRH) to the role of HP in Epidemics. A paper by Dr. Anand on Guidelines for Epidemic management in Homoeopathy is a work dedicated to enaction and strategy planning of Epidemic Management. Dr. Aparna shares with us her pilot study on Typhoid Epidemic which explores the concept of Genus Epidemicus in treatment and prevention of Epidemics.
We also share the research papers of Dr. Isaac Golden on HP, Large Homoeoprophylaxis Interventions by Government Institutions and A Reevaluation of the Effectiveness of Homoeoprophylaxis Against Leptospirosis in Cuba in 2007 and 2008. These are priceless first hand reports of Effectiveness of Homeoprophylaxis, worth reading and sharing as they help us understand why's and how's of the subject. The Issue would have been incomplete if we would have missed the lecture of Dr. Vithoulkas, the legend of Homeopathy on HP, Homeoprophylaxis: The Great Misunderstanding. Herein he clarifies the views of Dr. Hahnemann regarding HP and how it is a misunderstood concept.
I would also like to mention with gratitude Dr. David Levy, Editor: Similia - Journal of the Australian Homoeopathic Association and Dr. Bindu Sharma, EiC, Homoeopathic Links who have helped me in shaping up this Issue.
In bringing forth this Issue I have primed you all with the content and shared our 3 fold responsibility as a homeopath in the present time. We have to Accept it, Apply it and Advertise it, that's it. Prejudice or ignorance are not valid reasons to rule out homeopathic prophylaxis as an adjuvant tool in the fight against epidemics. Time has come to accept that Homeopathy can help in the reduction of mortality and morbidity of ongoing pandemic. And, I strongly believe that Homeopathy shall rise up to meet the challenges and renew the faith in its glory that all of us cherish.
With this I present to you all dear readers the June Issue on UNDERSTANDING HOMEOPROPHYLAXIS
