BY TARA PATEL

HOMEOPATHY IS not about placebos, but it is an exact holistic science. In the third session of a continuing series organised by Kamaxidevi Homeopathic Medical College & Hospital, the Taleigao Chess Academy and the Goa International Centre on July 12, 2009, various practicing homeopathy doctors defined the fundamentals of homeopathy and how it plays a useful preventive and curative role in treating patients suffering from a wide range of ailments and diseases.

While Dr. Arvind Kothe (principal of the Kamaxidevi Homeopathic Medical College & Hospital in Shiroda) decried a common perception of homeopathy as a science of placebos (this controversy was put to rest after an article in the prestigious medical journal of Lancet), Dr. Susheel Neogi and Dr. Anjali Chodnekar, both practicing homeopathy, detailed cases when both acute and chronic cases have benefited from the homeopathic medicines which are single remedies at a time as against the “multi-pharmacy” of allopathy which has a reputation of taking care of one ailment while laying the foundation for another one! Homeopathy also has remedies to improve the quality of life of a patient suffering from terminal disease like cancer and this kind of palliative care needs to be studied and documented.

EFFECTIVE

DR. Chodnekar quipped that often times homeopathy has effective cures, “We have more patients now and they are happy, we are happy too!” A shortcoming with homeopathy is that patient’s case papers are little documented and studied or analyzed; but all this is beginning to change now with governmental recognition of the alternative systems of healing and medicine and many schemes afoot to bring together all the healing “pathies” so that there can emerge an integrated system of redressing a patient’s woes at various stages of suffering. Homeopathy, for instance, can oftentimes help improve a patient’s immunity after treatment in a mainstream allopathic hospital. Yoga too is well accepted nowadays as a definitive science, the daily practice of which can improve and maintain good health.

Speaking most eloquently on homeopathy’s cognisance of “subjective and objective symptoms and clinical evidence” before prescribing, Dr. Susheel Neogi detailed cases which had come to him. In the hopeless case of a cranky eight-month-old baby suffering from Down’s Syndrome (and coming from a family history of an asthmatic father, mentally retarded uncle, epilepsy, etc) they had, over three years, been able to bring down lung infection and improve several other parameters to make the child more comfortable, “The baby breathes better, no longer cries chronically…has put on weight.” Perhaps this is paediatric history of sorts vis-à-vis homeopathy even if we know this is a special child in need of lifelong special care.

Dr. Neogi said that in homeopathy they do have a multi-system approach and all tests are done for assessment as in allopathy. Only treatment is different. In a second case they had been able to ease the “attention deficit hyperactivity” of a schoolgoing child with counselling, teachers’ support and homeopathic remedy. He has also seen how homeopathy has answers for baldness, and non-healing ulcers as in the case of a 45-year-old nervous, hardworking housewife who unfortunately had to suppress all her anger against her mother-in-law! Oftentimes disease is psychosomatic and healing held up just for want of the human touch in perception and treatment.

The Central Council of Research in Homeopathy set up in 1969 now has several research projects under way to build up a data base vis-à-vis research and drug trails conducted under standard guidelines. From the sound of it a physicist by the name of Dr. Akalpita Paranjape of BARC has done invaluable primary research to prove that homeopathy is a science of healing for real and no placebo! And, to begin with, she got interested in homeopathy after having failed to find a cure for her own child…some of Dr. Paranjape’s clinical research is worth taking a look at.

The general consensus by the end of this session was that if a practicing homeopath is good in evaluating various factors, including the susceptibility or vulnerability of a patient vis-à-vis medicine and can match correct dosage (or rather correct potency) for an ailment within a time frame… a cure is very likely. Dr. Anjali Chodnekar detailed the case of how a cyst of the size of 2.5 x 1.3 x 1.6 cm in the brain came down to 1.8 x 0.8 x 1.2 cm courtesy homeopathic treatment…all of which indicates that there’s certainly more to the alternative systems of medicine to take cognisance of.