Golden
advice from “Kent”.
Dr. Sayeed Ahmad
D. I. Hom. (London)* Experienced homœopathic observers know very well
that the burning, stinging, enlarged glands, infiltration, hardness of
the part, weakness, loss of flesh in a scirrhus of a mamma will not lead
to a remedy that will act curatively, also that œdema of extremities,
weakness, albumen in urine and heart symptoms, dyspnœa and anxiety
furnish no basis for a remedy for the patient. All know that remedies
given on such symptoms are only expected to comfort, and will not
restrain the progress of disease nor very much prolong life.* The case is incurable until the case can be taken
in a manner to Present what is true of the patient.* It has often occurred that a remedy has made
brilliant cures when it suited the patient, even though it was not known
to possess a strong likeness of the disease ; but let the likeness
be first to the patient and last to the disease. The patient is first
and the disease is last.* Study the patient and everything of the patient.
* The hip-joint patient has pain in the knee, perhaps
some trouble in the uterus, or headache which is said to be due to
constipation.To what is the constipation due ? Perhaps they
had not thought of that.* The center of man is his LOVES.
When the loves go wrong he is sick in his will, the very center. This we
find in dealing with those who threaten to destroy their own life or the
life of another.
EXAMPLE :
A faithful, noble wife has no fault to find with her
husband in her natural life, but finds herself with an aversion to him,
does not want him to touch her. This is a symptom of the innermost of
man, it is not on a par with the skin and the toe-nails.* The second point of consideration in the study of
the patient is the intellectual functions, the reasoning faculties.* Memory disturbances come next in order in the mind
but in study are less important.* Next to the mental symptoms in importance are the PHYSICAL GENERALS. The physical generals
cannot be cured with Remedies that do not have the mental conditions.* First of these to be considered is the patient’s
relation to heat and cold. He may be very warm, desiring cool things,
cool air, cool applications, cool food and light clothing ; or he
may want heat, cannot be too warm. He may be so cold that there is lack
of vital heat.* His desire for MOTION
or REST is the next important
physical general. Perhaps he cannot keep quiet, never comfortable unless
he is walking. At the same time his shoulder may be more painful on
motion of that part ; working the arm from the shoulder, and all
that relates to that part, may be worse from motion.* The patient is first before his parts. Again you
may have the patient himself worse from motions, and all his aches and
pains worse from motion. How he is affected by the air is another
physical general. He may be better or worse in the open air. If the
patient is a woman, her menstruation must be considered.Menstruation is a function of the body, and she will
say that she is worse or better during menstruation, or worse just
before or just after menstruation. The patient as a unit may be worse or
better after eating ; himself all over may be better or worse after
the rectal evacuation, better after stool ; these are important
generals of the body.* As the blood is, so is the love. The colour of the
discharge expresses the condition of the blood when there is a
deterioration which renders them greenish. The greenish colour to
discharge from the vagina, as in cancer, represents the condition of the
blood.* When a symptom is common to all or to many remedies
it is not important. Hahnemann’s emphasis is upon the symptoms strange,
rare, and peculiar. These are most important.* We go first to the generals and then to the
particulars, proceeding from center to circumference.* Then we come to the particulars, the thing for
which the patient comes to be treated. Most cases of hip-joint disorder
cured by me in the past twenty-five years were cured by remedies not in
the hip-joint list. By beginning the investigation in relation to the
patient, you may find none of the particulars in the remedy selected,
but the remedy cures the patient, and the particulars disappear.
EXAMPLE :
DRY HACKING COUGH the patient was steadily emaciating.
Dr. Kent looked at the young man and noticed he had
no overcoat on though it was very cold weather. Asking him why he wore
no overcoat, Dr. Kent found that he was never chilly, but wanted the
cold air, felt better in the open air, wanted to walk and work rapidly. LYCOPODIUM stopped his cough and he increased
in weight and was cured.* You can give different remedies in succession
without holding to any one, and after years, the patient is no better,
they are not curing the patient.* Very sensitive patients should not be given too
high a potency. For oversensitives it is best to begin not higher than
1M. This can be repeated two, or sometimes three times, and then a
higher potency used. Each potency can be used two or three times with
benefit.* Remedies will seldom be found in the lists of all
the particulars ; you must omit some, but be certain to omit the
particulars and not the generals.* Start with the most important, proceed to the less
and less important, on to the least important.* You must get at the thing that is at the bottom.
* The man himself is prior to his organs, more
interior than his organs. The condition of the organs is the result of
disorder more interiorly.* You become expert in the use of the repertory,
increasing from year to year, as long as you live. It is a life work, a
beautiful work, worth living to perform.* In the woman the menstrual symptoms, of all
particulars, are nearest to the generals ; they are close to the
life of the woman.* Sexual symptoms, especially desires and aversions,
are analogus to loves and aversions.* The condition of the blood is analogus to the
loves. Few remedies have recorded the condition of the blood, that it
will not coagulate, but it is a high grade symptom. It is common for
blood to clot, and rare for it not to clot.* The study of man as to his nature, as to his life,
as to his affections, underlies the true study of homœopathics.* The more interior first, the mind, the exterior
last, the physical or bodily symptoms.* The doctor who violates the law also violates his
conscience, and his death is worse than the death of the patient.* Removing symptoms may not restore health to the
patient. Curing the patient will remove the symptoms and restore his
health (Organon No. 8).* We must be guided by the symptoms that are strange,
rare, and peculiar.* However, some of the common symptoms may become
peculiar where their circumstances are peculiar — i. e. — Trembling
before a storm, or during stool, or before menses, or during urination,
is rare and strange.— Weakness is also common if constant, but it comes
only before menses, or before stool, or during a storm, it is at once
quite uncommon, and changes the view of the case.— Chilliness, if constant, is common to many
people, but if comes only before or during menses, before or during
stool, or while urinating, or only when in bed in the night, or only
while eating – then it is strange and peculiar, or uncommon.* The mental symptoms, composed of his reasoning
powers, loves and hates, and memory. And then his general bodily
symptoms and their circumstances, such as worse from cold, from warmth
of every kind, from weather, wet and dry, from motion or rest, time of
day, etc. These are of highest importance when they apply to the whole
body.— The pain in the shoulder was worse before a
storm.
DULCAMARA
cured at once.
— Cold air may aggravate the patient but ameliorate
the headache.— The patient is often better by motion, but his
parts, if inflamed, are worse from motion.— Parts are better by heat when the patient is
better from cold, and vice versa. The headache is better from cold, and
the body is better by heat.If we do not consider these circumstances, we do
injustice to the Patient and his parts.* Common symptoms alone will lead to failure of the
prescription.We might as well attempt to prescribe for nervous
dyspepsia, gastritis, jaundice, gallstone colic, enteritis,
constipation, or a bilious temperament. The beginner often fails because
he has secured only the common symptoms.* Many cases coming for advice express the
particulars, and fail to give the symptoms that characterise the
patient. This must be one of the most frequent causes of failure with
the young physician.
EXAMPLE :
With menses too late or suppressed or scanty, the
patient weeping, with aversion to fats, nausea, vomiting, weight after
eating, the young man will say PULSATILLA
at once ; but wait a moment.The patient is very chilly, likes the house, never
needs the open window, is worse from motion, wants to keep very
quiet ; now you change your mind and give her CYCLAMEN. Or, if she is better in motion and
in open air, and craves it, and is too warm, then PULSATILLA. The physician cannot be careless,
and cure as Hahnemann did.* I (Kent) seldom administer medicine until the
paroxysm has been completed. When the first dose is followed by a
perceptible aggravation, a second dose should never be administered
until the amelioration, which follows the aggravation, has ceased.* An amelioration that begins forthwith also demands
that all medicine be stopped, but such amelioration is seldom so
striking as when the amelioration has been preceded by a slight
aggravation. Immediate amelioration often indicates the absence of
deep-seated disease.* The law seems to fail where the selection has been
perfect, and the potency suitable by meddling with the action of the
remedy. This fault is a common one and depends upon ignorance of the
philosophy of Homœopathy.* A deep seated trouble changing under the action of
a remedy, coming to the surface, though the suffering be increased ten
fold the remedy must not be disturbed or the cure may never be realised.
Though the patient say “I am so much worse, just see how I
suffer”, he must have sac lac.* The ulcer may close and a diarrhœa appear as
intractable as the ulcer. This shows that the proper disease has no
tendency to recover.* Nature operates under fixed principles. Now it must
be known first of all that diseases recover from above downward from
within out and in the reverse order of their coming. When the phenomena
of disease do not follow this circumscribed limit of directions the
disease is growing worse or at least progressing.* It is so common for a patient to return after a
correct prescription saying, “I am much worse today”. The
physician must now look into the case. If the new symptoms are such as
were noticed in the early progress of the disease the cure is certain if
properly conducted.* If the new manifestation is felt on deep organs
that have not heretofore been touched or given rise to symptoms, the
disease may be known to be deep seated and most likely incurable.* Sharp aggravations after a prescription the
direction being from within out is a sign of speedy recovery.* Following a prescription for chronic rheumatism, if
heart symptoms intervene the patient never will recover.* If the acute symptoms following a careful
prescription are prolonged, the recovery will be slow.* The law will fail to be of service to him who knows
not how to apply it.* When you do not know what to do, why do you do
anything ?The great mistake rests in the ambition to do
something. No man should consent to do a wrong as a substitute for an
unknown right way. Be sure that you are right, then go ahead.* When we have to do with an art whose end is the
saving of human life, any neglect to make ourselves thoroughly masters
of it, becomes a crime. (Hahnemann).* There are physicians who call themselves homœopaths,
but are so only in name, as they do not follow the methods worked out by
Hahnemann.* The name of the disease does not reveal the
symptoms in any case of sickness ; the symptoms are the sole basis
of the prescription.* The intelligent physician does what law and
principles demand and nothing more ; but the ignorant one knows no
law and serves only his wavering experience, and appears to be doing so
much for the patient, in spite of which the patient dies.* You cannot depend on lucky shots and guess work,
every thing depends on long study of each individual case.* Science ceases to be scientific when disorderly
application of law is made.* The physician spoils his case when he prescribes
for the local symptoms and neglects the patient.* It is better to do nothing at all than to do
something useless ; it is better to watch and wait than to do
wrong.* Large doses really aggravate the disease, high
potencies aggravate the symptoms of the disease.* A man who cannot believe in GOD cannot become a Homœopath.
* Repeated doses may suppress the symptoms but will
not cure ; you are getting only the primary action, the curative
action is not at work.* It is worse than useless to give a second dose
until the effects of the first dose have ceased.* Pathology has no place in an effort to select a
medicine for the sick.* When a remedy has benefited a patient
satisfactorily, never on your life, change your remedy, but repeat that
remedy so long as you can benefit the patient. Do not regard the
symptoms that have come up.* Never prescribe for a chronic case when you are in
a hurry ; take time. Never give a dose of medicine until you have
duly considered the whole case.* A keynote prescriber is but a memory
prescriber ; he has memorised only and has not made it a part of
his understanding.Such prescribers are almost useless and it is among
them that we find “falling from grace”.* If a cure is made in the course of two or three
years it is indeed a speedy cure. It takes from two to five years to
cure chronic diseases.* In advance phthisis with pathological symptoms, if
you prescribe for the old symptoms which should have prescribed for some
years before, you kill your patient.* A sycotic is never cured unless a discharge is
brought back.* Treat the cause and not the effects of disease.
* The mind symptoms, if you can know them, are the
most important. If the pathological symptoms seem to contra-indicate a
remedy, and the mental symptoms to indicate it, these are to be taken.* In cases without symptoms, the patient must be kept
on sac lac until you can discern some general, such as aggravation of
symptoms in the morning, or at midnight. If the patient is only
“tired”, without guiding symptoms, you may know that it is
liable to terminate in some grave disorder. Consumption, Bright’s
Disease, Cancer, or the like.* The healthier the patient becomes the more
likelihood there is for an eruption upon the skin.* Never leave a remedy until you have tested it in a
higher potency if it has benefited the patient.
Reference :
“New Remedies – Clinical Cases Lesser Writings
Aphorisms and Precepts” of J. T. Kent.Copyright © Dr. Sayeed Ahmad
2004