Stop This Plain Cheating
Dr. Thomas A. Kuruvilla

Kerala is going through an advertisement assault in the treatment field through print and visual media. As if the increasing number of hospitals, treatment  facilities and quacks are not sufficient, we are subjected to daily dose of bombastic claims by magic remedies capable of curing any disease under the sun. in a civilized society it is unethical to cheat somebody with false promise. But that is what is happening  here. It seems that as a society we became  gullible blindly believing these claims without bothering to verify the veracity of the claims enabling to be called health illiterates.

Almost all the magical remedies are Ayurvedic claimed to be from some anciet palm leaves or other manuscripts about which none other than the manufacturers know. They lure the people with advertisements including testimonials  of some important people who purportedly benefited from the medicine. They encourage people to buy these medicines over the counter without medical advice. These medicines are for every disease including loss of libido, weight loss, breast enhancement, hypertension, diabetes, asthma etc, etc. even educated people believe that Musli will enhance sexual power or Brahmi will increase memory. Believing these claims or out of curiosity a large number of people fall prey to this, losing their money and health.

There are mainly two laws in India controlling and regulating manufacturing and sale of drugs. They are the Drugs and Cosmetic Act of 1945 and Magic Remedies –Objectionable Advertisement Act of 1945 the DC act is one of strongest and fool proof act in this field. According to this act the manufacturer should specify the ingredients of the drug, the details of preclinical and clinical trials, the authenticity of therapeutic effect, details of safety , side effect, ethics of marketing before getting permission from the drugs controller . Such drugs should be prescribed by a registered medical practitioner and dispensed by a qualified pharmacist. Any drug manufactured in India or imported can be sold only with the permission of the drug controller.

The Magic Remedies Act of 1945 covers those drugs claiming exceptional capabilities without substantiating proof. They are hawked without observing any rules. Their efficacy and curability are doubtful. Yet a large number of drugs are advertised and sold to gullible people. Drugs claiming to cure a wide range of diseases including aphrodisiacs, diseases of heart, lungs, liver , cancer, epilepsy, hemiplegia,  tuberculosis, leprosy, ulcer, vitiligo, sexual diseases cannot be advertised and sold according to this act.

Despite the existence of such rule what we see in Kerala is the very negation of this rule. We are ignorant of many aspects of drugs and blindly believe that health and healthcare means consuming as much drugs as possible.

India is a nation with very stringent laws in every conceivable field of human activity, but the implementation of such laws are lax. We have a laid back attitude. Anything connected with Ayurveda or tradition is lapped up without any questions.  With the apathy of officials (corruption) it is field day for any body to cheat and make money. Mera Bharath Mahan!

Dr. Thomas A Kuruvilla
DMO (Rtd) Calicut
9447140888
Top | Back to Sample Articles

Play; its significance in the development of a child
Dr. Sheetal Adayar

Every one likes to play, children and adults alike. Playing is not only a hobby or pastime but is a great tool for expression and education. In fact play can be termed as man’s most useful preoccupation. The mammoth share of the entertainment industry is ample proof for the importance play in every day life. It may be interesting to note that there are people who work in the entertainment industry for whom work is just play!

In case of babies children play has greater significance. For them it is the beginning of knowledge. Also the much needed steps towards the development of a healthy adult.  For young people play is the work which contributes to all domain of their development. Through playing children stimulate the senses, learn how to use their muscles, co-ordinate sight with movement, gain mastery over their body and acquire new skills. They even learn the skills of socializing, interpersonal relationship etc.

Following is a short description about playing with its different aspects and also its significance in the development

Children have different styles for playing and they also play with different things. Researchers categorize children’s play by its content (what they do when they play) and its social dimensions (how do they play or whether they play alone or with others etc.)

The simplest form of playing, which begins during infancy is active functional play. It involves repetitive muscular movements such as rolling, rocking or bouncing. When they grow up as gross skills improve preschoolers tend to run, jump, skip, hop, throw & aim. Second level of playing i.e. constructive play is seen in toddlers & preschoolers. In this level they may use objects and materials to make something- such as a house of blocks or crayon drawing. Third level is pretend play. This is also called fantasy play, dramatic play or imaginative play. Its incidence increases during preschool years and may decline as school age children become more involved in the fourth cognitive level of play i.e. formal games with known procedures, rules and penalties.

Depending on the social dimensions early play has been grouped in to six types- ranging from least to most social in its context. As children grow older their mode of playing tends to became more social- that is more interactive and co-operative. At first they play alone then gradually along with other children etc.

These six types of social plays are as below.

Unoccupied behavior – Here children do not seem to be playing but watches anything with momentary interest.

Onlooker behavior – The children may spend most of the time watching other children play. They tend to talk to others, ask questions about and make suggestions over the play but do not actively take part in it.

Solitary interdependent play – In this type the child plays alone with toys and makes no effort to get close to others.

Parallel play – In parallel play the child plays independently but among other children. They play with toys like those used by others, but not necessarily playing with them in the same way. This is kind of playing besides rather than with others and this does not try to influence the other children’s playing.

Associative play – Here the child plays with other children. They talk about their play and lend and exchange toys. They follow one another and try to control who plays in their group. Also all children play similarly if not identically. One important aspect of this type of playing is that even though each child acts as she or he wishes they are more interested in being with other children than in the activity by itself.

Co-operative / organized supplementary play – This is almost simulating adult behaviour. The children in the group organize themselves and play for some goal- like to make something, play a formal game or dramatize a situation. One or two children control who belong to the group and direct the activities. Other children take different roles and supplement each others effort.

As said earlier the effect of play is deeper than that of a past time. It influences a greater role in the development of a child. From watching a child play one can determine any developing traits of future mental and/or emotional problems. Also note that an other wise physically and mentally healthy child may develop in to an adult contrary to that if he or she has been deprived of opportunities to enjoy normal playing environments. 

Children playing alone may be at risk of developing social, psychological and educational problems. Play is regarded as something the child has a right to do. It warrants not only for healthy childhood protecting them from insecurity and worries but also a healthy adulthood by aiding in the normal development of mental and physical skills for the adult world. It is also the medium for a child to learn and is the natural activity for children through which they make meaning of the world around them.

Dr. Sheethal Adayar
Dpt. of Physiology & biochemistry
Fr. Muller Homoeopathc medical Colleger
Deralakatte, Managalore.
Top | Back to Sample Articles

Questions to be asked for Individualization in a Fever case
Esa Ismail, Final BHMS, Sarada Krishna HMC, Kulasekharam.
 
Introduction
Fever is one of the most common conditions a physician usually encounters. It demands a thorough knowledge in various aspects in the part of a physician. He should be sound in philosophy, symptomatology, individual diagnosis, disease diagnosis, etc… so a astute physician can only excel in treating  an acute condition like fever. Nowadays some homoeopaths are expert in treating major illness &the cases that failed and refered by many doctors, but they facing great difficulty in individualizing and treating lot of fever cases. If you go through these questions in a fever case you should get an exact picture of the individual for the homoeopathic prescription. You can manage all the fever cases easily .These questions are taken from kent repertory  TPB, BBCR knerr repertory  ,repertory of the symptoms of intermittent fever by W A Allen and therapeutics of fever by H C Allen. These questions will cover about all the rubrics of these repertories. Here through my humble work, I am trying to crack these purplexing  questions – THE CURE OF FEVER?

Ailments from: 1. What is the reason for commencement of fever?
Eg:- Whether sun exposure drenching of rain mental emotion any lnjury, fear etc
Alternation: 2. Some fever patient feels that days hot with night cold , like that what about you?
3. Does the fever alternate with any condition? Eg: In coryza, diarrhea, tonsillitis,etc..
Atmosphere: 4.What is about the walking or fever in open air,in closed room, in warmth or in cold is there are any>/<ain relation to atmosphere
Accompaniment: 5. Give all about the complaints that accompany the fever
Appetite: 6. How the appetite is?
Abdomen: 7. What is about your abdomen? Eg: Cold sensation,distention,labour like pain in general, pain in any part of abdomen etc..
Bone pain: 8. What is about the bone pain in your fever?
Back & Joint: 9. What is about the back and joint pains (describe all about location, sensation modality and accompaniments)
Bleeding: 10. How the bleeding whether normal on abnormal? Eg:- Nature, consistency, amount etc..
Bathing: 11. What is about the bathing in cold or warm or normal water?
Covering: 12. What is about covering? Eg:- Only leg, only abdomen etc..
Constipation: 13. What is about the constipation and its nature during fever?
Continuous: 14. Do you feel the fever continuously? Otherwise?
Chest: 15. What is about chest? Eg:- cold sensation, distension, indoor like pain in general etc
16. What is about chest? Eg:- Congestion, constriction, cramp in etc
Chilliness: 17. Whether the chilliness is external or internal?
18. Whether the chilliness in whole body or side of body or in part?
Diarrhea: 19. What is about the loose motion if any and its character or nature during fever?
Dreams: 20. What is about your dreams?
Desire & Aversion: 21. What about desire and aversion in food and in all in fever?
Eg:-  Desire salt, fish, egg aversion warm food, milk etc
Delirious: 22. Whether you feel any delirium, describe about it?
Eye: 23. What is about the eye problems? Eg:- Blue circles, burning dryness, itching, protruding etc..
Ear: 24. Whether you have ear complaint, tell about it? Eg:- Roaring, deafness etc
Food: 25. What is the relation of fever with food in any type and in any form?
Fan: 26: What is about fanning in your fever?
Fears: 27. Describe about your fears?
Face: 28. What is about the hot flushes or cold flushes in face after fever?
Fingers: 29. What is about fingers and nails. Eg:- cold, deadness of , blue nails etc..
Gas trouble: 30. What is about gas trouble and flatulence? < / > by belching or flatulence.
Head: 31. What is about the head ache in fever?
Hair: 32. Describe about hair complaint in your fever. Eg: Hair falling, dryness, lusterless, etc..
Hearing: 33. How is your hearing? Eg:- Distant noises, cocks rowing rushing, raring etc..
Hot: 34. What is about hot or high hot feeling?
35. Whether this hot feeling is inside, out side all body or parts of the body or any side of body?
Loquacity: 36. Describe about your talkativeness or silent often fever?
Mind: 37. What is the mental state of you after the occurance of fever? Or the fewer comes after a mental exertion. Eg:- Anger, anxiety, sad, crying, loquacity, crying, after fright, after emotion etc..
Modality: 38. How feel you when bending, standing erect or in any position whether the fever and complaints aggravates or ameliorates.
39. Describe all about that aggravates or ameliorates this condition.
Mouth: 40. Describe your mouth complaint in  fever?
Menses: 41. How the menses after fever. Eg:- Amenorrhea, too soon menorrhagia, suppressed.
Noise: 42. Describe about your tolerance of noise in fever?
Nausea: 43.What is about nausea and vomiting in fever?
Nerve: 44.what isabout nervous function. Eg:- Jerking, nervous, irritability with sleeplessness.
Nose: 45.what is about the nose complaints, sneezing and said discharges or fever?
Noise: 46.Describe about your tolerance of noise in fever?
Order: 47. What is the correct order of commencement of hot, cold sweat stages
Pain: 48. Describe about your pains in fever? Eg:- Bunning, stitching etc..
Recurrent: 49. What is about the fever comes at reccurent intervals?
Respiratory: 50. What is about the respiratory complaint and its nature and all about it during the fever
Sweat: 51. How the sweat is a of special parts? Side? Relation of sweat with thirst and covering? Cold or hot?
52. odour of sweat with associated symptoms?
Shivering: 53. How the shivering, if any describe. Eg:- Alternating with heat, perspiration with heat, drinking from, motion from uncovering from etc
Season: 54. Whether this type of fever come at particular season. Eg:- Spring, summer etc
55. What is about season and seasonal variation. Eg:-  cold, warm winter, rainy etc
Sleep: 56. How is your sleep and describe the relation with its position of lying for sleep
Eg:- Lying on back, on sides on right side, left side on abdomen etc
Smell: 57. What is about the smell from any park of body during fever. Eg:- Acrid, bloody, burnt etc
Skin: 58. What is about the skin complaints?
Swelling: 59. What is about the swelling is it in whole body on parts?
Sexual: 60. What is about the sexual parks and sexual complaints in fever?
Salivation: 61. What is about the salivation. Eg:- Increased, decreased etc
Sensitive: 62. What is about the sensitiveness to light sound touch and all external impressions
Sensation: 63. There are person with fever they feel body full of heat on cold on sweat on anything like that, what is about your? 64. Are you feel the fever in any part of body or any local area of body only?
65. What is about the hot, cold, sweat sensations, or feeling whether they comes at intervals?
66. Some fever patient feels externally cold and internally hot on vice versa or like that What is abut you?
67. Describe about any abnormal special sensation or feeling of you before, during and after fever?
68. Some fever patient feel severe cold, heat sensations recurrently what is bout you?
69. What is your feeling and sensations that is differ from others?
70. Are you feel any paralysis, numbness like that in any part of body: if describe its nature?
Time: 71. In which time the fever is coming? Eg:- Morning, night, evening etc
72. Whether you can tell an enact time for the aggravation of fever. Eg:- 1pm, 1 to 4pm, 2pm, 2am etc
Thirst: 73. What is about thirst, thirsty, therstess, no change? if thirsty is it for hotly or cold,warm,icy cold etc
Travel: 74. Describe about the traveling in fever? Whether </> the complaint
Tongue: 75. How the tongue is after fever? Eg:-coated, dry
Taste: 76. What is about the different taste sensations. Eg:- Bad, bitter, putrid, sulky after fever
Teeth &Gums: 77. What is about your teeth and gums etc?Eg:- Chattering teeth, bleeding gums etc
Throat: 78. What is about your throat. Eg:- Burning, dryness etc
Ulcer: 79. Whether there is any ulcer, tell about its nature. Eg:- Gangrenous, arising from small vesicles etc.
Urine: 80. How the urine is? Eg:-  Brown, fetid, pale, turbid frequent, painful, scanty etc  
Uterus: 81. What is about the uterine complaint in fever and what is about your delivery
Eg:- merits, ulcers on os ,retroversion ,fever after delivery etc
Unconsciousness: 82.Are you feel any unconsciousness in fever tells about it
Vertigo: 83. Whether you have any type of vertigo tells its nature Eg:- With dizziness, heaviness of head etc
Vision: 84. How is your vision? Eg:- Fiery appearance before, darkness flickering, green
Voice: 85. What is about the change of voice? Eg:- Hoarse, lose of voice etc
Washing: 86. How the fever at washing?
Weakness: 87. How the weakness during fever? Describe about it?
Top | Back to Sample Articles

Homoeopathic Research Past, Present &Future
Dr. N. Harihara Iyer

Research – Past

To comment on the Researches made in the past, an in depth study of evolution and development of Homoeopathy along with the pioneers in general and the reformations and renovations made by Dr. Hahnemann since the inception of cinchona bark experiment in particular has to be carefully scrutinized and analysed.

Dr. Hahnemann claimed that Homoeopathy is a therapeutic system which is evolved through observations and experience rather than lab findings and experiments. One can perceive that Hahnemann’s conclusions were made not on speculation and intelligence, but it was woven out of an insight and philosophical vision. No intelligent brain in his time can think of anything besides material out look on diseases. But Hahnemann had a superior intuition to think of dynamical state of health and disease.

Secondly Hahnemann in the initial years of his Homoeopathic practice was using the same quantity of medicine as in the allopathic practice. Later, as he observed aggravation with that quantity of medicine, started to minimize the same.

The modification of crude drug to dilution, dilution to potentisation, potentisation to higher attenuation then to 50 millesimal, water potency and to the statement that the vital force will accept the homoeopathic medicine only if the preceding and following potencies are different, is a clear instance of Research made on the field of Homoeopathy to make the medicinal action speedy.

Human proving to drug substance for human being and his dictations on diet and regimen and various articles proves Hahnemann’s research and analytical mind.

Lastly when chronic disease treatment has curtailed by blunt edges of symptomatology alone, by twelve years of untiring study searched out the roots of obstruction, Hahnemann has shaped and sharpened the tool by introducing miasm theory.

Who else beside Hahnemann, the master, can make such dedication and conviction.

Later Dr. Boenninghausen and Dr. Kent, Dr. Richard Hughes, Dr. Hering, Dr. Allen and many others has made their own contributions by systematizing the proving records, made clinical verifications, preparation of Materia Medica and Repertory etc. This can be reckoned and recognized as a research work enabling a homoeopathic physician to make the drug selection easy.

Research – Present

The present scenario on research in India unveils the meritorious works done by CCRH, CIRH and other Govt. organizations. Drug proving, reproving researches in effective and efficient management of cases, setting up of modalities and parameters for the same, necessity of setting up statistical data’s  are some of the works done.

But it is grace or otherwise for Homoeopathy, absolutely deviations form the principles are taking place by putting their own justifications for patent specific medicine and combination tab and mixtures, which Hahnemann objected vehmently. We have different “schools” on different outlooks on treatment but all have a goal of identifying a genuine working principle for chronic disease.

What is the reality today?

In spite of different methods of treatment parameters, a statistical and methodical study is lacking in the clinic of individual physician or in the Govt. /group institutions. Study should be done on the success rate, failure rate, visits, revisits, of patient’s aggravations, effect of first prescription, reverse order of appearance of symptoms etc.

Research – Future

Tomorrow’s era will be of challenges and threats to Homoeopathic system. This will come in the way of scepticism on the efficacy of Homoeopathic system in one hand from the same forces who opposed since Hahnemann’s time and the shattering weakness and lacunae’s we have on the other.

It is our duty to convince the common public that Homoeopathy is a therapeutic system, as a scientific or more scientific than other system, because there is calculated and calibrated move with strong vigor and enthusiasm to prove otherwise. This goal can be achieved by coping with international standards of Research methodologies and publication of data’s incorporating with national and international research centres.

To rectify the pit falls before said we have to redeem ourselves with clear analysis and evaluation and a common platform on research should be set up to share novel ideas.

The new researches in the medical field will be aiming at the areas of molecular biology and nano technology. It now gives and hypothetical idea that a particle divided even at a billionth level will preserve the identifiable characteristics of that substance. If the technologies are advanced to that extend, our modus operandi can be explained and Homoeopathic medicinal substances can be identified at cm potency level as well.

To conclude, the sincere and prudent endeavors to fulfill the vision of Hahnemann as said in the first and second aphorism comes under the true and faithful research.
Top | Back to Sample Articles

Recent Advances in Homoeopathic Pathogenetic Trials
Dr.A.B.Ram Jyothis.M.D (Hom)

The Background

Pioneers in Human Drug Proving:
Albrecht von Haller (1708-1777)
Anton Storck (1731 – 1803)
Samuel Hahneman (1755-1843)

Post - Hahnemannian Drug Provings:
Johann Christian Jorg
Hartlaub & Trinks
Nennings
Stapf
Austrian provings

Methodological flaws in Hahnemannian Drug provings

New Drug Development

HPT vs. Phase I trials -Similarities

Non- patient volunteers.
Observation of Subjective & Objective changes.
Multiple or more specific end-points.
Controlled experiments.
Small number of subjects (20-100).
HPT vs. Phase I trial- Differences

Sources of Current Proving Protocols

The development of proving methods since Hahnemann (Demarque, 1987).
Provings – planning & protocol (Nagpaul, 1987).
The Dynamics & Methodology of Homoeopathic Proving (Jeremy Sherr, 1994).
A Protocol for provings (Sankaran.S,1995).

Current Protocol

The Test Substance
The Proving Team
The Methodology
The Proving Team:
Project Director
Advisor / Expert
Proving Supervisors
Provers

Methodology of Proving:

The Pre-proving Protocol
The Proving
The Post Proving Protocol 

Pre-proving protocol
Study of Test substance.
Selection of Supervisors
Selection of Provers
Primary coding of remedy.

The Proving Protocol

Multicentric Trials
Nature of Trials
Randomized
Double Blind
Cross Over
Recording of Proving
IMRP
Log book
RMP
Criteria for Including Symptoms
New symptoms, unfamiliar to the prover.
Usual or current symptoms those are intensified.
Current symptoms modified or altered. 
Old symptoms that have not occurred for at least one year.
Present symptoms that have disappeared during the proving. 
If a symptom is in doubt, it is included in brackets.  

Post Proving Protocol

Extraction
Collation
Analysis
Theming into Materia Medica
Repertorising

Recent Advances

Sensitive designs:
Double blind, placebo – controlled, randomized, four period cross - over design.
Triple blinding.
Revised proving time - line.
Symptom selection criteria: 9 item pathogenetic index.
Rating of Symptoms: Four point scale.
Meta – analysis of HPT: Methodological quality Index.
Concept of PPR Entanglement.
Top | Back to Sample Articles