Scope of Homoeopathic Materia Medica
According to the aphorisms of Organon of Medicine, the Homoeopathic materia medica is undeniably rational and accurate. It is constructed uniquely compared to other materia medica. Qualitative synoptic drug experiments on healthy individuals are essential for obtaining comprehensive knowledge of drug action. This approach enables a holistic understanding of the psychosomatic aspects, allowing the Homoeopathic materia medica to offer vast potential in the field of medicine.
• Holistic approach: Holistic and individualistic approach is found only in Homoeopathic materia medica.
• Drug Proving: The construction of Homoeopathic materia medica is based on symptoms recorded through drug provings on diverse groups of healthy individuals, encompassing various ages, genders, and locations. It captures precise sensations, locations, modalities, and accompanying symptoms. This unique approach to proving is unparalleled in other medical systems.
• Miasms: Miasmatic evolution of Homoeopathic drugs can be studied with the help of materia medica.
• Rationality and Accuracy of Symptoms: As mentioned in the aphorism no. 106, 143, 144 and 145 of Organon of Medicine, the accuracy and the rationality of Homoeopathic materia medica is beyond any doubt that authenticity of symptoms of Homoeopathic materia medica is perfect, as the symptoms are extracted from human pathogenetic trials.
• Relationship of Drugs: Relationship between various drugs can be ascertained with the help of materia medica.
• Prophylaxis: Prophylactic drugs can be selected by determining the temperament, diathesis and disposition of a person through the materia medica.
• Case Taking : Homoeopathic materia medica is stable and not supposed to change. It helps to formulate the questions at the time of case taking.
• Large number of drugs: The Homoeopathic materia medica comprises of a large number of remedies for the physician to determine or select the correct similimum for the disease condition. Such type of scope of the materia medica is not found in other system of medicine.
Symptoms are confirmed by reproving and are verified on sick individuals.• Symptoms similarity: In Homoeopathy, drugs are applied on the patient, on the basis of symptom similarity. As per the law of individualisation, no two humans are alike. Also susceptibility differs from person to person.
Prevention & cure of any epidemic diseases: During Hahnemann's time and afterwards, rapid control of epidemics such as chikungunya, flu, conjunctivitis, and more was achieved through the use of genus Epidemicus, showcasing its effectiveness.• Large Number of Symptoms : We get a large number of symptoms during drug proving which can be applied on sick individuals in different disease conditions.
• Pathogenesis: Without knowing the pathogenesis of a drug substance and its effect upon healthy human beings, it is not rational to apply it on human beings for curative purposes.
• Choice of Drugs: There are many deep acting remedies in Homoeopathic materia medica with a broad sphere of action. Hence, there is no problem in choosing the similimum. The materia medica has a large number of drugs with many symptoms. So it is possible to find a simillimum without any problem.
• Organic changes: Drugs are used to cure the structural changes before irreversible pathology is established. During drug proving, the drug is withdrawn before any organic changes take place. The altered symptomatology is purely functional. Hence, Homoeopathy is useful for treatment before any pathological changes can take place.
• Subjective Symptoms: In Allopathy, drugs are tested on lower animals, yielding primarily objective symptoms. Subjective symptoms, which are experienced by the patient themselves, play a crucial role in their treatment as they are derived from drug provings. When a patient presents a case, they often describe their subjective symptoms.
Limitations of Homoeopathic Materia Medica
Just like any other science, Homoeopathic materia medica has its own limitations alongside its scope. While we explored the scope of Homoeopathic materia medica, let us now delve into its constraints and boundaries.
• Vast Number of Drug Symptoms: A human brain cannot remember all the symptoms of Homoeopathic remedy as the number of symptoms in the materia medica are very vast.
• Lack of female provers: During Homoeopathic drug proving there were fewer female provers. Hence, female symptoms are less.
• Limitation in Pathological Condition: No dynamic Homoeopathic drug is proved with an intention to get pathological changes. There are no drug proving records for pathological changes in Homoeopathic materia medica. Very often we come across pathological symptoms, but these are not of great importance. In many instances of cure, like very difficult advanced pathological conditions, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, hemiplegia, tumours, etc., are cured by Homoeopathy. But Homoeopathic drugs are not proved to such an extent applying higher potency for prolonged period on susceptible provers to produce such state, and are to be dependent upon clinical symptoms for prescribing such cases.
• Acute Emergency: There is a very limited scope for Homoeopathic drugs in an acute emergency case.
• Complete Books : There is no materia medica which we can claim to be complete and contains all the information.
• Sensation: During Homoeopathic drug proving, sensation holds an important place. For example, sensation of pain is described using words like, tearing, tingling, aching, boring, etc. But practically in many cases, the patients rarely represent the sensation in words.
• Irreversible pathology: There is a lack of characteristic pathological symptoms in Homoeopathic materia medica. Pathological symptoms can be obtained from records of poisoning or from clinical practice after being cured, as there is no proving of dynamic drugs with an intension to get pathological symptoms. It has no scope when advanced structural damages take place or when irreversible organic changes take place.
• Rare Remedies: Utilisation of some remedies is very difficult as in Homoeopathic materia medica some drugs are partially proved. These remedies are called rare remedies.
• Lack of Authenticity: Most provers who participated in Homoeopathic drug proving were non-medicos and laymen. Thus, many symptoms lack authenticity in drug proving.
• Drugs in Surgery: In Homoeopathic materia medica, there are no dependable specifics or of pre-operative, post-operative or preventive drugs available. Hence, there is very little scope in the field of surgery, anesthesia, contraception, drug induced abortion, etc.
• Imperfect Materia Medica: There are hundreds of venomous snakes and thousands of scorpions, but only few have been properly proven.
It is evident that there is a very thin line of demarcation between the scope of Homoeopathy and its limitations. The physician may very well understand the scope and limitations of Homoeopathy, but each physician must also be governed by his own individual judgment and the circumstances of the case. Hence, there will always be differences of opinion between individual physicians under such circumstances.
Reference:
- Group Study in Homeopathic Materia Medica
