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EDITORIAL
Christa Gebhardt & Dr Jürgen Hansel
Chief editors
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EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
SPECTRUM OF HOMEOPATHY
Dear readers,
The development of vaccines and antibiotics is one of the
most significant milestones in the history of medicine. Many
life-threatening epidemics have lost their horror and life expec-
tancy has risen as a result. Does homeopathy have a rightful
place in the treatment of infectious disease in view of this in-
disputable success of scientific medicine?
The cases in this issue of SPECTRUM offer an unequivocal an-
swer to this provocative question. The many patients in these
cases were not helped by antibiotics alone. When infections of
the sinuses, bronchi or bladder recur despite repeated antibiotic
treatment, another approach is required. Homeopathy is not
directed against the pathogen, rather it strengthens the terrain,
milieu, immune system or the body‘s defenses and vital force. It
therefore has a special role to play in the treatment of chronic
recurrent infections, especially when antibiotics have failed.
A typical indication is chronic sinusitis. Karim Adal and Heiner
Frei present two similar cases involving many years of suffer-
ing and ineffective treatment with antibiotics, corticosteroids,
antihistamines and even surgical interventions. The two Swiss
homeopaths follow very different paths – the sensation method
and polarity analysis – to arrive at constitutional remedies that
promptly relieve the patient‘s symptoms, leading to complete
healing. Frei’s successful treatment is even documented with
computer tomography.
Like chronic sinusitis, recurrent urinary tract infections are also
a bane of conventional medicine. Trisha Curtis reports on the
special value of Populus tremuloides for this illness and notes
that Jan Scholten’s plant theory can retrospectively confirm her
prescription. With virus infections, the targeted strengthening
of the vital force and therefore the immune system has a special
role to play due to the lack of alternatives. For the human pap-
illomavirus infection, the gynecologist Ute Bullemer shows how
treatment with homeopathic sycotic remedies such as Thuja or
Acidum nitricum not only causes the condylomas to disappear
but can also help normalize pathological cervical smears with
dysplasia. The Indian authors from the homeopathic academy
“The Other Song” in Mumbai are similarly successful in their
treatment of the herpes virus.
Particularly in the developing world, homeopathy is also used
for infectious diseases that are solely treated with antibiotics in
Europe. This is true, for example, in India of tuberculosis, which
often appears there in a multi-resistant form. Many of those
affected do not respond to standard treatments or they suffer
massive side effects from the powerful drugs of last resort – or
they simply cannot afford them. Dinesh Chauhan’s case clearly il-
lustrates the promise of homeopathy in such situations. His case
shows the use of a reptile remedy, as do the three cases from
Susan Sonz. Originally intended for publication in the previous
SPECTRUM issue on Reptiles, these cases beautifully illustrate
the homeopathic treatment of various deep-seated disorders,
including chronic cystitis.
Comparable with tuberculosis in India, though on an even larger
scale, is the problem of the HIV virus in Africa. There, too, peo-
ple are becoming more experienced in the use of homeopathy
and SPECTRUM has already reported several times on Jeremy
Sherr’s dedication in this area. In our current issue, Jan Scholten
describes his pilot study with AIDS patients in Africa using a
homeopathic complex remedy which is given in many cases
alongside antiretroviral medication. A pronounced increase in
the vital force was accompanied by a noticeable reduction in
opportunistic infections.
Kate Birch, with her extensive experience in the treatment and
prevention of infectious diseases, describes the importance of
infections for the development of the immune system, and
various homeopathic approaches to infections, as well as the
issue of vaccine damage.
Whereas nowadays homeopaths are frequently disqualified from
treating epidemics such as tuberculosis or AIDS, it was precisely
the success of homeopathic treatment of an equally deadly
plague, cholera, that helped homeopathy to a breakthrough in
the 19th century. We highlight this episode in medical history
to plead for constructive cooperation between conventional
medicine and homeopathy in the treatment of epidemics. With
the genius epidemicus already described by Hahnemann, we
have the potential to target the patients’ bodily defenses at an
early point in the outbreak of infectious disease. Franz Swoboda
discusses the costs and benefits of using the genius epidemicus
based on his experience with Antimonium tartaricum and the
mycoplasm nosodes. In the best-case scenario, this even helps us
find the simillimum for a chronically ill patient. But even without
such strokes of luck, homeopathy has earned its rightful place
in the treatment of both acute and chronic infections.