§ 160
But as the dose of a homœopathic remedy can scarcely ever be made so small that it shall not be able to relieve, overpower, indeed completely cure and annihilate the uncomplicated natural disease of not long standing that is analogous to it (§ 249, note), we can understand why a does of an appropriate homœopathic medicine, not the very smallest possible, does always, during the first hour after its ingestion, produce a perceptible homœopathic aggravation of this kind.
11 This exaltation of the medicinal symptoms over those disease symptoms analogous to them, which looks like an aggravation, has been observed by other physicians also, when by accident they employed a homœopathic remedy. When a patient suffering from itch complains of an increase of the eruption after sulphur, his physician who knows not the cause of this, consoles him with the assurance that the itch must first come out properly before it can be cured; he knows not, however, that this is a sulphur eruption, that assumes the appearance of an increase of the itch.
"The facial eruption which the viola tricolor
cured was aggravated by it at the commencement of its action," Leroy tells us (Heilk,
fur Mutter, p.406), but he knew not that the apparent aggravation was owing to the
somewhat too large dose of the remedy, which in this instance was to a certain extent
homœopathic. Lysons says (Med. Transact., vol ii, London, 1772), "The
bark of the elm cures most certainly those skin diseases which it increases at the
beginning of its action." Had he not given the bark in the monstrous doses usual in
the allopathic system, but in the quite small doses requisite when the medicine shows
similarity of symptoms, that is to say, when it is used homœopathically, he would
have effected a cure without, or almost without, seeing this apparent increase of the
disease (homœopathic aggravation).
When I here limit the so-called homœopathic aggravation, or rather
the primary action of the homœopathic medicine that seems to increase somewhat the
symptoms of the original disease, to the first or few hours, this is certainly true with
respect to diseases of a more acute character and of recent origin, but where medicines of
long action have to combat a malady of, considerable or of very long standing, where one
dose, consequently, must continue to act for many days, we then occasionally see, during
the first six, eight or ten days, the occurrence of some such primary actions, of the
medicine, some such apparent increase of the symptoms of the original disease (lasting for
one or several hours), while in the intervening hours amelioration of the whole malady is
perceptible. After the lapse of these few days the amelioration resulting from such
primary action of the medicine proceeds almost uninterruptedly for several days longer.
§ 161 Sixth Edition
When I here limit the so-called homœopathic aggravation, or rather
the primary action of the homœopathic medicine that seems to increase somewhat the
symptoms of the original disease, to the first or few hours, this is certainly true with
respect to diseases of a more acute character and of recent origin, but where medicines of
long action have to combat a malady of, considerable or of very long standing, where no
such apparent increase of the original disease ought to appear during treatment and it
does not so appear if the accurately chosen medicine was given in proper small, gradually
higher doses, each somewhat modified with renewed dynamization (§ 247). Such increase of
the original symptoms of a chronic disease can appear only at the end of treatment when
the cure is almost or quite finished.
Sometimes happens, owing to the moderate number of medicines yet
known with respect to their true, pure action , that but a portion of the
symptoms of the disease under treatment are to be met with in the list of symptoms of the
most appropriate medicine, consequently this imperfect medicinal morbific agent must be
employed for lack of a more perfect one.
In this case we cannot indeed expect from this medicine a complete,
untroubled cure; for during its use some symptoms appear which were not previously
observable in the disease, accessory symptoms of the not perfectly appropriate remedy.
This does by no means prevent a considerable part of the disease (the symptoms of the
disease that resemble those of the medicine) from being eradicated by this medicine,
thereby establishing a fair commencement of the cure, but still this does not take place
without those accessory symptoms, which are, however, always moderate when the dose of the
medicine is sufficiently minute.
The small number of homœopathic symptoms present in the best
selected medicine is no obstacle to the cure in cases where these few medicinal
symptoms are chiefly of an uncommon kind and such as are peculiarly distinctive
(characteristic) of the disease; the cure takes place under such circumstances
without any particular disturbance.
If, however, among the symptoms of the remedy selected, there be none
that accurately resemble the distinctive (characteristic), peculiar, uncommon symptoms of
the case of disease, and if the remedy correspond to the disease only in the general,
vaguely described, indefinite states (nausea, debility, headache, and so forth), and if
there be among the known medicines none more homœopathically appropriate, in that
case the physician cannot promise himself any immediate favorable result from the
employment of this unhomœopathic medicine.
Such a case is, however, very rare, owing to the increased
number of medicines whose pure effects are now known, and the bad effects resulting from
it, when they do occur, are diminished whenever a subsequent medicine, of more accurate
resemblance, can be selected.
Thus if there occur, during the use of this imperfectly homœopathic remedy first employed, accessory symptoms of some moment, then, in the case of acute diseases, we do not allow this first dose to exhaust its action, nor leave the patient to the full duration of the action of the remedy, but we investigate afresh the morbid state in its now altered condition, and add the remainder of the original symptoms to those newly developed in tracing a new picture of the disease.