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We need another and a wiser
and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals…
We patronize them for their incompleteness,
for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves.
And therein we err and err greatly.
For the animal shall not be measured by man.
In a world older and more complete than ours,
they move finished and complete,
gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained,
living by voices we shall never hear.
They are not brethren; they are not underlings;
they are other nations,
caught with ourselves in the net of life and time,
fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.
Henry Beston 1888-1968 |
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DEFINING AND CLARIFYING
ACUTE AND CHRONIC DISEASE
In conventional medicine, disease is most often conceived of as something contracted from the outside - an external noxious influence like a pathogen or a toxin. Disease is then classified by temporal duration. When a "disease" is first contracted and for the first (arbitrarily determined) period of time, it is classified as acute. Once the disease has lasted beyond this cut off period, it becomes classified as chronic.
In Homeopathic medicine, "acute" and "chronic" take on entirely different meanings - meanings that have nothing to do with duration of symptom.
An "acute" disease in Homeopathic terms is one that has a period of onset, a period of symptom, and a period of resolution, even without treatment. Unless the symptoms are so severe as to cause the death of the patient, the patient will recover from an acute disease. Acute diseases are external or extrinsic in origin, coming from a source outside the body.
Briefly an acute disease is from trauma, poisoning, or overwhelming epidemic contagion in which the entire population is similarly affected.
"Chronic" disease on the other hand is intrinsic and has it's origins in the susceptibility, disharmony, and imbalances in the body. Chronic disease has a period of onset and a period of symptom but the body cannot free itself from chronic disease without an outside dynamically curative influence.
Chronic disease is manifest in the continuum of symptoms seen through the life of the patient, excluding those of acute origin (as defined above). In this continuum are trends and patterns of symptoms unique to the patient and often manifest in different/multiple systems during the life of the individual. Chronic disease may wax and wane over the life of the patient between periods of latency and active chronic disease. Sometimes the symptoms are really dramatic and "in your face" as in seizures or migraines or ear aches or hot spots, but these are just exacerbations of the chronic disease of the patient - a dramatic aspect of the continuum of chronic disease.
Chronic disease is best treated in its totality by a trained professional Homeopath since the influences of the treatment will be reflected through the remaining days of the patient. There is very little latitude or forgiveness in chronic disease for mediocre or incompetent treatment. Chronic disease is often slow to respond and requires exact assessment of the effects of the remedy on the patient.
Acute exacerbations of chronic disease are a bit more forgiving. These episodes have distinct and dramatic symptoms and will respond dramatically to the correct remedy. You can return chronic disease to latency fairly easily and can get the patient out of crisis with a well chosen remedy. However you must recognize that you are dealing with chronic disease and that the treatment of the patient must be pursued if you are to truly help the patient in the long term.
An acute crisis or an exacerbation of chronic disease can be treated on a first aid basis but the follow up and the long term care of the patient should be entrusted to someone with the training and experience to treat the depth of chronic disease.
Acute disease is much more forgiving and is easier to treat than chronic disease. An acute disease will respond to a wider range of remedies and potencies than will chronic disease. The symptoms are usually more distinct and dramatic so the remedy is easier to find. Response to the remedy is usually within minutes so you can assess your remedy quickly. Often acute disease can be treated in a more cookbook manner with a "this remedy for that problem" approach.
Remember the patient will recover from an acute disease without our intervention but we can lessen the suffering of the patient and speed the recovery if we intervene with a well chosen remedy.
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