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INFECTIONS
7
Karim Adal
¦ CALCIUM CARBONICUM ¦ FERRUM METALLICUM
SPECTRUM OF HOMEOPATHY
path, I have a goal, I’m forging ahead to find a job and organise
my life and my daughter’s life. I feel positive and feel that I will
be successful. I don’t miss my husband’s support at all. I don’t
need him near me. I don’t need any support. I can solve my
problems on my own.”
ANALYSIS
The mental and emotional picture that emerged, as well as the
physical characteristics of the headaches, are consistent with
Ferrum
metallicum
, which is well-known for long continuous
headaches often lasting two to three days. The second repertory
table
shows the rubrics corresponding to our patient’s descrip-
tion of her headache, and
Ferrum metallicum
is found in those
rubrics in grade 3 or 4.
She responded within two hours of a dose of
Ferrum metallicum
200C with complete disappearance of the headaches, which
never returned: “I am very good, excellent, full of energy, no
pain anywhere.”
Her need for support that she manifested so intensely in 2007
at the first casetaking has totally vanished. She is now confi-
dent, hopeful and strong. She has no more fears for her future
and her daughter’s future despite a critical situation. One can
say with a fair degree of certainty that, had she found herself
in this same critical situation without having been previously
treated with
Calcarea carbonica
, she would have completely
decompensated.
We also feel quite clearly the energy of ‘perseverance’ that
characterises remedies in column eight of the periodic table.
DISCUSSION
This case is quite straightforward, needing a simple polychrest.
There is no ‘special twist’ or particular difficulty in the prescrip-
tion, and it probably does not deserve being published in this
wonderful journal. But this case touches me a lot for many rea-
sons, and this is the reason why, after some hesitation, I dared
to write and submit it to the editors of Spectrum for publication.
The first reason is that this case illustrates beautifully how a
deep-acting remedy can transform a person’s life in such a pro-
found way, not just physically but at all levels of their life and
being. We all know that and have witnessed it in our clinics but
it is sometimes good to dwell on these cases that compensate
for all the difficult cases we also see.
Our polychrests are worth their weight in gold: The second
reason may seem a bit strange, but sometimes, after a semi-
nar, one feels that one should know about the latest newest
remedies to be a good homeopath, forgetting that most of
HOMEOPATHY FOR CHRONIC SINUSITIS
A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY
Author: Jürgen Hansel
Both the cases of chronic sinusitis described by Karim Adal and Heiner Frei in this edition of SPECTRUM OF HOMEOPATHY tellingly
support the effectiveness of homeopathic treatment for this illness. A research study published in 2009 by Claudia Witt, Rainer
Lüdtke and Stefan N. Willich shows that such success is not restricted to individual cases. The authors evaluated the outcome of
the homeopathic treatment of 134 patients who had been suffering from sinusitis for at least twelve weeks.
62 doctors with certified training in classical homeopathy and at least three years experience contributed to this multicentre
study. Patients were admitted to the study after comprehensive initial casetaking. The progress of treatment was checked with
regular follow-ups for two years and then again after eight years using patient reports. Patients evaluated the intensity of their
symptoms on a numeric scale and filled out a questionnaire on their health-related quality of life.
Over a period of 24 months the symptoms of sinusitis significantly improved and the use of conventional medication as well as
other measures could be greatly reduced. The evaluation of the intensity of the illness and the health-related quality of life indi-
cated significant improvement. Even though this recovery occurred mainly in the first three months of homeopathic treatment,
it was still in evidence at the follow-up eight years later.
In the first two years the patients were given 8.3 ± 6.2 homeopathic prescriptions. Almost half of the prescriptions were of the
following ten remedies (in decreasing frequency): Sepia,
Pulsatilla, Lycopodium, Phosphorus, Carcinosinum, Nux vomica, Sulphur,
Natrum muriaticum, Staphysagria
and
Silicea
– with the remaining 51% of prescriptions, 135 further remedies were prescribed.
In 83.8% of prescriptions high potencies beyond Avogadro’s number were administered. The following potencies were most
frequently used: 200C: 35.7%; 1M: 23.0%; 30C: 14.2%; 10M: 7.6%; Q1: 3.5%; 12D: 3.3%.
The authors stress that their outcome study does not provide evidence about the part played specifically by the homeopathic
remedies in treatment success. Rather the study encompasses the overall package of homeopathic treatment – together with the
actual effect of the remedy, this package includes the context of the homeopathic practice with the time spent on each case, the
care and personal engagement of the homeopath plus the expectations of the patients. The part played by the placebo effect
in treatment success cannot be differentiated from the direct effect of the remedy with this particular methodological approach.
Claudia M. Witt, Rainer Lüdtke, Stefan N. Willich (2009): Homeopathic treatment of patients with chronic sinusitis:
A prospective observational study with 8 years follow-up, BMC Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders, 9:7