What is it about?
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder with no known organic cause, which is assuming epidemic proportions worldwide. Applying the concept of pathological general to a diagnosed case of IBS, of 7 years duration, Nux vomica was prescribed and the patient recovered remarkably in span of less than 2 months with regular bowel movements and no relapse.
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Why is it important?
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder characterised by abdominal pain or discomfort and altered bowel habits in the absence of detectable structural abnormalities. Though nowadays it is one of the most commonly encountered functional bowel disorders as it impacts nearly 10 to 25% of the population worldwide, many patients suffering with this do not seek medical intervention because of ignorance or disillusionment with available treatment options. Although IBS is not associated with the development of serious disease or excess mortality, it may cause a significant negative impact on the quality of life and social functioning of the individual. We share with fraternity a diagnosed case of IBS of 7 years duration was successfully cured in less than 2 months with homoeopathic remedy Nux vomica by the application of Boger’s concept of pathological general.
Perspectives
Most patients of IBS having mild symptoms usually improve with the counseling and changes in diet and lifestyle. Those with more severe symptoms are treated with allopathic medicines viz. gut-acting pharmacologic agents such as antispasmodic, stool softeners, fibres supplements, laxatives in constipation predominant cases and antidiarrheal medication in diarrhoea-predominant cases and the newer gut serotonin modulators. Patients with severe and refractory symptoms, such as constant pain and psychosocial difficulties, are managed with antidepressants and psychological treatments. Homeopathic therapeutic approach requires a thorough ‘psycho-somatic profiling’ of the personality presenting with any diagnostic/diseased condition and incorporates a thorough assessment of not only the clinical complaints but also the pathologic evolutionary history (if possible, right from the moment of conception, the intrauterine history), the familial pathologic tendencies, the physiognomy and demeanor, the social and occupational biosphere, triggering/maintaining factors (causa occasionalis), psycho-emotional experiences and makeup etc. Thus it may be rightly claimed that the phenomenon of homeopathic case perceiving, besides guiding the treating physician towards the right (curative) remedy, will also prove to be therapeutic for the patient because of psycho-emotional unburdening. Every individual responds to external stimuli in a unique manner. This tendency of the individuality of the patient to react in that particular manner is often manifested as pathologic changes at the tissue level. These tissue changes, which tell us about the state of the whole body and its changes in relation to the constitution, are referred to as pathological generals. It may be a structural alteration in the tissues or a particular sensation or a local pathology, which becomes a pathological general or a physical general sensation when interpreted in the light of underlying constitutional state, predictive of a generalised disturbance in the human economy. Nearly a century back, a well-renowned homeopathic physician, Cyrus Maxwell Boger, first named this concept as pathological general. Even in cases with advanced pathology, where tissue changes are marked pathological generals, this often leads us to the indicated homeopathic remedy.
Dr Gyandas G Wadhwani
Holistic Homoeopathic Clinic & Research Centre
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Ineffectual Desire, Homœopathic Links, September 2015, Thieme Publishing Group,
DOI: 10.1055/s-0035-1558844.
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