How to Avoid Chasing Symptoms

In the course of chronic prescribing, many symptoms can appear during an extended time of treatment. One mistake that the homeopath can make is to start chasing symptoms. This can lead to a very confusing picture of the disease and extend healing indefinitely for the client. Here are a few reminders that may help you to avoid this mistake.

When a remedy has been selected, we do not know how the vital force will respond until we are able to observe the response. In the evaluation of the response, it is critical that we understand what is being expressed. Many times, the vital force will produce many symptoms during this healing time and one of the most common mistakes is to try to treat each of them. Often, the client will come and beg for a remedy for the symptom. It is imperative we understand what is happening before we treat any symptom.

One possibility is a return of the old symptom and we commonly call this the aggravation. If the aggravation is mild and there is not too much suffering, it is always best to leave everything alone and let the remedy work. If the aggravation is extreme, then either we have given too high of a potency, too frequent repetition of the dose, or if it is a daily dose, we need to modify the dose by either less frequent repetitions or putting the remedy in water, sniffing or stopping the remedy altogether. This will usually change the response and lessen the aggravation. At this time, it is not necessary to treat the symptoms.

When a healing response has been established and we are sure the remedy has been helping, new symptoms can appear. If the new symptoms are not something the person has experienced before, we need to next determine if the symptom is a minor proving of the remedy. If the symptom is clearly from a response to the remedy but not of great suffering, then changing the remedy potency often will help the symptom.

If a new symptom appears that the person has never had before, then the next thing to determine is if the symptom is an acute expression the person has never experienced before. If it is, then giving a remedy is a very delicate proposition at this time. If the suffering is not severe, it is best to wait to treat it and let the vital force continue its healing response to the original remedy. Don’t chase these symptoms with another remedy. It will only confuse the case and make it difficult to understand what is really going on. Always allow the original remedy to continue to work or continue the daily dose of a remedy. The remedy that helped bring these symptoms to the surface will also be the remedy that will resolve them.

If the suffering is very strong in the acute, then it is necessary to find a very well selected remedy for the new acute symptoms. This is a very critical time in the overall treatment because introducing a new remedy that the vital will respond to may alter the original remedies action. At this time it is very easy to lose the thread of the case. It is imperative to continue the treatment of the original remedy when it has been given in a daily dose.

In the course of chronic treatment, there are many new symptoms that appear. If the person has a low tolerance for suffering, they will beg you for something to take. You must be strong and informed before prescribing a bunch of different remedies. I have seen this spoil many very good cases. Don’t chase symptoms with remedies. Eventually, you will find that it feels like a dog chasing its own tail. Round and round we go, with new symptoms popping up regularly. When this occurs, the case is lost. It is then time to stop all remedies and let the vital force return to an original expression of the dis-ease. Sometimes this may take months.

When new symptoms appear, it is very important to know about the disease of the person. If the new symptoms are a further advancement of the disease, you need to be able to recognize this. When this is the case, it is necessary to retake the case and find a better-suited remedy. In the case of serious illness, sometimes a very well-selected remedy will only seem to ameliorate some symptoms and just slow the progression of the disease. Very well-selected remedies can be given but a cure is not initiated. Don’t give up. We never know how a person may heal even when homeopathy seems to fail to cure. These are sometimes cases that will not cure but homeopathy may help very much. When this has been determined, it is good to give remedies that palliate and relive. The idea of a single remedy for the chronic case seems to fade and lessening suffering is the new goal.

Always be careful to not chase symptoms. Be aware of where the person is in their healing. Be clear about the nature of the symptom. Is it new, returning? Is it a proving of the remedy? Is it a progression of the original disease? These questions must be answered and understood clearly. Only then can we know what to do and avoid chasing symptoms.