Translating symptoms into rubrics

Translating symptoms into rubrics
A Ready Reckoner for Students, Teachers, and Practitioners of Homoeopathy Based on the Repertories of Kent, Synthesis, Complete, and Murphy

Dr Mansoor Ali KR BHMS MD PhD
Professor, HOD Department of Repertory
Govt Homoeopathic Medical College Calicut

This work is an earnest attempt to bridge the gap between the patient’s language and the language of the repertory. Every patient narrates his suffering in his own words, often reflecting his unique perceptions, feelings, and reactions to life situations. For a homoeopathic physician, the challenge lies in carefully listening, interpreting, and then converting those narrations into meaningful rubrics that can be traced back to the repertory and subsequently to the materia medica.

In daily practice, we encounter numerous mental and physical symptoms during case taking. Many of these are valuable expressions of the patient’s individuality, yet they often go unnoticed or unutilized because of our inability to translate them into repertorial language. This gap not only restricts our analysis but sometimes limits the degree of relief we can offer to the patient.

This work is designed to guide students, practitioners, and teachers of homoeopathy in sharpening this skill of “translation.” By drawing on the rich resources of Kent, Synthesis, Complete, and Murphy’s repertories, this work attempts to provide practical pathways for converting common patient expressions into corresponding rubrics.

The endeavor is not merely academic but deeply practical, aiming to make repertorization more accessible, precise, and meaningful. When mastered, this art helps the physician to see beyond the superficial complaint, to understand the patient in his totality, life situations and to arrive at a remedy that resonates with his inner state.

One of the main problems we encounter in practice is the conversion of the patient’s symptoms in the proper language of the repertory. To overcome this problem, we should understand exactly the meaning of each rubric, sub rubric with cross-references and remedies. The mental rubrics especially are difficult to understand by dictionary meanings alone. We should understand the correct meaning assigned to a particular rubric from the mouth of great teachers and by constant practice

 Translating symptoms into rubrics – how to find out the appropriate rubrics during case taking itself

I fear and suspect that I might get Corona
FEAR – disease, of impending – contagious, epidemic diseases; of
MIND – FEAR – infection, of

Lost job due to corona
AILMENTS FROM – job; having lost his

I am infected with corona, I will die from it
Delusion disease incurable he has, Delusion dying he is

Intense fear and stress during Corona pandemic
Throat – anxiety and apprehension in throat

I sacrificed everything for my son, but now he doesn’t take care of me at all.
A/F Disappointed

I brought up my son with much hardships; I have a better status in the society. But my son married out of the caste/religion and is staying in a separate house
A/F Honour wounded

“I silently suffered the domestic violence in my husband’s house, now I have migraine”
A/F Indignation

“I took all treatments, but got no relief at all”
Despair Recovery of

“I took all treatments, but got no relief at all, now I stopped the treatment itself”
Disgust

“I believe that my religion, my political affiliation and my caste is only right. I won’t agree or allow anything else”
Fanaticism

12 years old child watches pornographic film, but doesn’t do masturbation. He got addicted to it, once he saw it in his father’s phone
Diagnosis is OCD
Rubrics: Thoughts persistent (Synthesis), Compulsive disorders (Complete), Obsessive compulsive disorder (Murphy) Thoughts compelling

Pet dog won’t eat when the master is not present
Stomach – appetite wanting owner absent when. Anorexia nervosa- owner absent when

Body feels bloated up during menarche or menopause
DROPSY – external dropsy – menstrual disorder during puberty or menopause

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