Treatment of geriatric illnesses

Elderly people suffering from some long standing, multiple, chronic illnesses  or from any serious incurable ailment tend to generally develop certain concomitant emotional setback like anxiety, fear, sadness, melancholy, depression, restlessness, irritability etc. Hence, they need to be treated with homeopathic medicines with psychiatric taints which include Aconite, Ignatia, Natrum mur, Aurum, Causticum, Argentum nitricum, Arsenicum, Calcarea phos, Opium, Hyoscyamus, Stramonium, Arnica, Rhus tox etc. Symptoms of these remedies are often  elicited in geriatric illnesses as found in clinical follow-ups. Application of these  medicines not only take care of their emotional well being but also improve their physical diseases. For instance, symptoms of Stramonium or Argentum nitricum are often found in brain stroke patients who developed paralysis in one side of the body.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and homeopathy

A person is considered to have chronic kidney disease (CKD) and kidney dysfunction if eGFR value is less than 60 (units)  on  two occasions over a period of three months. Other markers for kidney disease are also  there, including ACR greater than 3 mg/mmol. Structural damage of kidneys if any can be assessed by ultrasonographic imaging. CKD is mainly  due to hypertension, diabetes, infection or at rare occasion polycystic kidneys. There are five stages of kidney dysfunction  like Stage-1 to Stage-5. Homeopathy medicines can well manage chronic kidney disease in all stages including the stage where dialysis is advised in allopathic medical system and where kidney transplant is not feasible due to old age or other factors. The CKD patients can live a better quality of life and longevity with the aid of homeopathic medicines.

Clinical experience shows that such patients do not develop further complications, who are on homeopathic medication. Essential requirement is that the patient's condition of  cardiovascular parameters, blood sugar, electrolytes, urea,  Creatinine and GFR should be monitored at two weeks interval and reviewed for medication or advice.

Homeopathic medication has so far remained underestimated for the management of CKD, which provides a less expensive and an effective management for such a chronic health problem. A case example which was meticulously followed up for a long period of time is mentioned here. A 69 years old person with chronic hypertension and Type-2 diabetes was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD) at Stage-4 and advised dialysis by  nephrologist. His eGFR  value varied from 17 to 19 . He was managed with homeopathic medicines and followed up for about  four years without any further complication, deterioration or dialysis. Other Stage-3 and Stage-4 cases of CKD are also well managed with homeopathic medication. One interesting find is that majority of the CKD  cases respond to medicines with tubercular miasm.

Aurum metallicum in psychiatric illnesses

Psychiatric illnesses include mental disorders like depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia etc. Depression has low mood, low motivation, low energy and low interest in day to day activities. Bipolar disorder is characterized by depression and manic state, extreme mood swings from low to high or high to low mood. In manic state, there  are extreme talkativeness, sleeplessness, high energy, delusion, suspiciousness and even  quarrelsomeness. In schizophrenia, there is inability to think, feel or behave appropriately. They are out of touch with reality.  There are extreme paranoia, delusion or hallucination. There is laughing or crying inappropriately.

Aurum metallicum person may develop all these psychiatric states or any other constitution may change into these states of Aurum depending on genetics, environment, stress and imbalance in brain chemicals. In Aurum state, there is very deep depression, much deeper than Natrum mur or any other remedy and there is often talk of suicidal thoughts. Aurum state is aggravated in the evening hours while Natrum state is aggravated in the morning hours. Aurum depression is caused by business loss, any other financial loss, lack of achievement in life's ambition, fall in social status,  loss of relationship, disappointed love, unbearable insult. It has also manic state. When paranoid, they go into manic state, they are suspicious of any body and everybody including most loved ones,  they become hyperactive, slightest of opposition or criticism or effort to give logical reasoning make them irritable, angry, even violent, at this stage they  also talk of suicide. They usually commit suicide by jumping off from buildings or bridges. Constitutional Aurums are very conscientious, hard working, responsible, ambitious, introverted and serious minded people  but any one can transform into Aurum's psychiatric pathology with time, being battered by causation. Suicidal thoughts in deeply depressed Aurum are not usually expressed and thus remain difficult to follow. Aurum in manic state frankly express their suicidal thoughts and thus warrant immediate medication to ensure relief of the harmful ideation.

At physical level, Aurum has special affinity for the organs of emotion and reproduction  like heart, breasts,  uterus, ovaries and testicles. There are inflammation, induration, ulceration, tumours and cysts in the reproductive organs. There are ovarian cysts and ammenorrhoea in young girls. There are ulcerative malignancies in women's breasts, painful inflammation and atrophy of testicles.
There are rheumatic heart, aortic sclerosis, hardening, stiffening and narrowing of blood vessels in any part of the body including brain, hypertension, autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis. It reduced angina pain, hypertension and tachycardia. There are inflammation and ulceration in the nasal bone, decalcification, pain, weakness, deformity, degeneration  and destruction of bone in joints or any part of the body.

More observations on Arnica Montana

There have been more observations on
on the efficacy of Arnica and they were clinically verified. Arnica reduced foamy urine and albuminuria. It was effective in prodromal symptoms of brain stroke a few days before and prevention of the actual event. It was efficacious in angina pain. It was effective in mild stroke and associated symptoms of vertigo, facial deviation and  confusion of mind. It is effective wherever there are problems of blood circulation. It increased physical strength, mental energy and clarity, and motivation to do activity, physical or mental . It relieved hypomania, OA and RA aggravation during New Moon.

Some facts about Arnica montana

These facts about Arnica have emerged from clinical observations over a long period of time and have been clinically verified repeatedly. When studies are carried out about the symptomatology of various  homeopathic remedies and their clinical applications, it is observed that every remedy has its special affinity for body's location, tissues, cells and organs. In the materia medica, these aspects have not been dealt with in details although mention has been made in generalised way about their affinities. For Arnica it has been observed that it has special affinity for left knee pain, right thigh spasm, right hip joint pain, left neck spasm, right side toothache and right side dry eye and sticky discharge. It is also found to be mainly a New Moon remedy.

Post-chemotherapy management of lung cancer

A patient in early fifties had chemotherapy treatment for  bilateral lung carcinoma which metastasized and developed severe side effects of chemotherapy. He had history of smoking.  The remedies needed to effectively manage the side effects and control the disease were found to be Nux vomica, Ipecac, Arsenicum album, Phosphorous, China, Belladonna, Rhus tox and Cadmium sulph.