The disease to which man is liable are either rapid morbid processes of the abnormally deranged vital force, which have a tendency to finish their course more or less quickly, but always in a moderate time - these are termed acute diseases
CHAPTER 7 ORGANON
§ 71
As it is now no longer a matter of doubt that the diseases of mankind consist merely of groups of certain symptoms, and may be annihilated and transformed into health by medicinal substances, but only by such as are capable of artificially producing similar morbid symptoms (and such is the process in all genuine cures), hence the operation of curing is comprised in the three following points:
I. How is the physician to ascertain what is necessary to be known in order to cure the disease?
II. How is he to gain a knowledge of the instruments adapted for the cure of the natural disease, the pathogenetic powers of the medicines?
III. What is the most suitable method of employing these
artificial morbific agents (medicines) for the cure of natural disease?
Commentary:
Three proposition comes in this aphorism.
Knowledge of disease (I. How is the physician to ascertain what is necessary to be known in order to cure the disease?). This is covered in aphorism 72 to 104
Knowledge of medicine (II. How is he to gain a knowledge of the instruments adapted for the cure of the natural disease, the pathogenetic powers of the medicines?). This is covered in aphorism 105 to 145
Application of medicinal knowledge to disease knowledge
(III. What is the most suitable method of employing these artificial morbific agents (medicines) for the cure of natural disease?). This is covered in aphorism 146 to 291
With respect to the first point, the following will serve as
a general preliminary view. The disease to which man is liable are either rapid
morbid processes of the abnormally deranged vital force, which have a tendency
to finish their course more or less quickly, but always in a moderate time -
these are termed acute diseases; - or they are diseases of such a
character that, with small, often imperceptible beginnings, dynamically derange
the living organism, each in its own peculiar manner, and cause it gradually to
deviate from the healthy condition, in such a way that the automatic life
energy, called vital force, whose office is to preserve the health, only opposes
to them at the commencement and during their progress imperfect, unsuitable,
useless resistance, but is unable of itself to extinguish them, but must
helplessly suffer (them to spread and) itself to be ever more and more
abnormally deranged, until at length the organism is destroyed; these are termed
chronic diseases. They are caused by infection with a chronic miasm.
Commentary:
This aphorism classify disease into two broad concept
-acute disease.
-chronic disease.
Acute disease :
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The disease to which man is liable are either rapid morbid processes of the abnormally deranged vital force, which have a tendency to finish their course more or less quickly, but always in a moderate time - these are termed acute diseases |
or
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A short-term illness whether mild or fatal. A cold is an acute disease, as is influenza. |
or
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are self-limiting disorders which have rapid onsets. They have a prodromal period, a period of progress and a period of decline, if not so severe as to cause the patient's death Measles, scarlet fever, whooping cough, smallpox, etc., are examples of acute miasms. (Refer aphorism 5). |
chronic disease:
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CHRONIC DISEASE is a disease which have small and often unnoticed in the beginning, which is unable to recover itself, as the vital force whose main function is to defense and fight the disease is unable to do so and will helplessly suffer more and more and ultimately causes the destruction of the organism (death or permanent disabilities). |
[they are diseases of such a character that, with small, often imperceptible beginnings, dynamically derange the living organism, each in its own peculiar manner, and cause it gradually to deviate from the healthy condition, in such a way that the automatic life energy, called vital force, whose duty is to preserve the health, only resist the disease -which is imperfect, unsuitable and useless resistance, and so is ineffective of itself to extinguish them, but must helplessly suffer (them to spread and) itself to be ever more and more abnormally deranged, until at length the organism is destroyed; these are termed chronic diseases].
or
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An illness that lasts for a long time. |
or
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Disease that arise from the dynamic contagion of a chronic miasm. Left to themselves without their specific remedy, they continue to increase indefinitely, despite the best mental and dietary habits. |
As regards acute diseases, they are either of such a kind as attack human beings individually, the exciting cause being injurious influences to which they were particularly exposed. Excesses in food, or an insufficient supply of it, severe physical impression, chills, over heatings, dissipation, strains, etc., or physical irritations, mental emotions, and the like, are exciting causes of such acute febrile affections; in reality, however, they are generally only a transient explosion of latent psora, which spontaneously returns to its dormant state if the acute diseases were not of too violent a character and were soon quelled. Or they are of such a kind as attack several persons at the same time, here and there (sporadically), by means of meteoric or telluric influences and injurious agents, the susceptibility for being morbidly affected by which is possessed by only a few persons at one time. Allied to these are those diseases in which many persons are attacked with very similar sufferings from the same cause (epidemically); these diseases generally become infectious (contagious) when they prevail among thickly congregated masses of human beings. Thence arise fevers1, in each instance of a peculiar nature, and, because the cases of disease have an identical origin, they set up in all those they affect an identical morbid process, which when left to itself terminates in a moderate period of time in death or recovery. The calamities of war, inundations and famine are not infrequently their exciting causes and producers - sometimes they are peculiar acute miasms which recur in the same manner (hence known by some traditional name), which either attack persons but once in a lifetime, as the smallpox, measles, whooping-cough, the ancient, smooth, bright red scarlet fever2 of Sydenham, the mumps, etc., or such as recur frequently in pretty much the same manner, the plague of the Levant, the yellow fever of the sea-coast, the Asiatic cholera, etc.
1 The homœopathic physician, who does not entertain the foregone conclusion devised by the ordinary school (who have fixed upon a few names of such fevers, besides which mighty nature dare not produce any others, so as to admit of their treating these disease according to some fixed method), does not acknowledge the names goal fever, bilious fever, typhus fever, putrid fever, nervous fever or mucous fever, but treats them each according to their several peculiarities.
2 Subsequently to the year 1801 a kind of pupura miliaris (roodvonk), which came from the West, was by physicians confounded with the scarlet fever, notwithstanding that they exhibited totally different symptoms, that the latter found its prophylatic and curative remedy in belladonna, the former in aconite, and that the former was generally merely sporadic, while the latter was invariable epidemic. Of late years it seems as if the two occasionally joined to form an eruptive fever of a peculiar kind, for which neither the one nor the other remedy, alone, will be found to be exactly homœopathic.
Commentary:
This aphorism classify, identify the cause and define the stages acute disease
There have been four types of acute diseases
(1)Individual
(2)Sporadic
(3)epidemic
(4)contageous
Individual: Acute affection that attack individually. These may be caused by the exciting cause such as excesses in food, or an insufficient supply of it, severe physical impression, chills, over heating, dissipation, strains, etc., or physical irritations, mental emotions, bacterial or viral infection that affect individual. e.g. food poisoning from eating stale food, diarrhea resulting from stale food, pneumonia etc. But most of the acute disease that attack individual are generally only a transient explosion of latent psora, which spontaneously returns to its dormant state if the acute diseases were not of too violent a character and were soon subdued or overcome
sporadic: acute disease that affect several persons here and there. e.g. chicken pox, mumps,
Epidemic: many persons are affected with similar suffering from same cause. A sudden large outbreak of an infectious disease rapidly spreading among the population eg. Chikungunya , dengue, cholera, Japanese encephalitis etc. chikungunya has been widely seen in Alapuzha district in kerala in 2006 july- octobar month. Dengue is reported in delhi in same period.
contagious: these disease becomes infectious when they prevail among thickly gathered mass of human being. Example outbreak of hepatitis A in college hostel.
we have discussed exciting causes in detail. Apart from the above mentioned exciting causes there is a miasms which is termed acute miasm which also contribute to cause of acute disease.
Two types of acute miasms are
Generally acute disease has following stage a prodromal period,
a period of progress and
a period of decline, if not so severe as to cause the patient's .