Useful tips to be remembered before prescription – according to Dr JT Kent

Dr Silai Ezhil,BHMS,MD

Many Homoeopathic practitioners today still follow, Dr.Kent’s early method of curing, which was to prescribe remedies using single doses of high potencies. He held a strong belief that homoeopaths must treat patients in their entirety, including the physical body, as well as the  mental/emotional and spiritual elements, using these high potencies. 

Kent is considered to have been a great homoeopath, for his homoeopathic philosophy, homoeopathic interpretations & for developing “pictures” of constitutional types of patients.

Here in this article I have tried to compile few important and useful tips of few important remedies given by DR. J.T KENT in his lectures of homoeopathy, which will be useful in the prescription.

REMEDIES & TIPS ACCORDING TO DR.KENT:

1) ABROTANUM

  • Abrotanum has cured PLUERISY after BRYONIA, which seemed indicated, had failed.
  • Metastasis is a marked feature in Abrot. The changing of one so called disease into another always calls attention to Abrotanum. Inflammation of the parotid (mumps) changing to tests or mammae is generally cured by CARBOVEG or PULSATILA, but ABROTANUM has cured when these remedies have failed.

 2) ACONITE

  • Never give Aconite in blood poisoning, such as we find in scarlet fever, in typhoid fever, etc. We find nothing of the violent symptoms of Aconite in such conditions. The nervous irritation is never present, but the opposite, the stupor, the laziness, the purple skin – whereas Aconite is bright red.

3) AGARICUS

  • Agaricus will cure the most inveterate chronic catarrhs with dryness and crusts, in tubercular constitutions, so deep-seated is it.
  • It has cured many cases of incipient phthisis. It cures old coughs and catarrhs. Red nose, as if frostbitten. It is as good as Ledum and Lachesis for the red-tipped nose in old drunkards.

4) ARSENICUM ALBUM

  • A peculiar asthmatic condition is found in sycosis and ARSENIC appears to be indicated for the symptoms, but it only relieves, it does not control the predisposition, it acts like ACONITE in acute diseases and only ameliorates for a moment. 
  • Asthmatic and many other sycotic conditions seem to call for ARSENIC, but it will do nothing but palliate, the constitutionality is not reached by ARSENIC, its fundamental symptoms are not similar.
  • In syphilis and psora ARSENIC acts a long time and eradicates the complaints, when similar to them, but it is not similar to sycosis. ARSENIC does not go to the bottom of the trouble, but THUJA and NATRUM SULPH will take up the work and cure. NATRUM SULPH and THUJA bring back the primitive manifestation that has been suppressed for years. (NOTE- This is explained under “THUJA”)

5) MERCURIUS  

  • Merc has stinging pain like Apis. All routinists will give Apis for stinging pains, and yet it often is Merc. that the patient needs.
  • Merc. is not deep enough to cure the whole constitution in psoric cases that are constantly taking cold. It cures the cold at once, but implants its own nature and the patient catches cold oftener. It should not be given often, not oftener than twice in a winter. 
  • Kali iod, is better for the same burning in the face, running coryza, and aggravation from heat and warmth of the bed, and it will cure the coryza in a night when apparently Merc. is indicated. It is also an antidote to Merc. Don’t give many doses of Merc. in psoric cases, look for a deeper medicine.

6) MILLEFOLIUM

  • If there has been a history of bleeding it should be given before a surgical procedure (Lach.).

EXAMPLE-a) A haemorrhagic patient should have a dose of Mill. or Lach. before having teeth extracted. 

                  b) A woman predisposed to haemorrhage should have a dose of Millefolium before going into confinement.

 7) PHOSPHOROUS 

  • Phosphorus is a dangerous medicine to give very high in some cases of phthisis, in the last stages of phthisis. In this case they should have received Phosphorus when they were yet curable. In these cases Phosphorus 30th may sometimes be used with safety and it will act as a test in doubtful cases to see whether reaction can be brought about. 
  • In such cases where reaction can be brought about the administration later of a still higher potency may be found useful, but in the beginning with Phosphorus in phthisical cases far advanced it is better not to go higher than the 30th or 200th.
  • Phosphorus very low will act as a poison in really Phosphorus cases and the only safety some patients have had who have received Phosphorus so very low was due to the fact that the Phosphorus was not similar enough to either kill or cure.

8) SYPHILINUM

  • When a syphilitic patient has suffered from a course of typhoid he may be very slow in convalescing, but a single dose of Syphilinum high will cause him to eat and feel stronger and gain rapidly.

9) SULPHUR

  • Sulphur is a very useful remedy WHEN THE PATIENT DOES NOT REACT after a prolonged disease, because of a condition in the economy, a psoric condition. When a patient is drawing near the end of an acute disease he becomes weak and prostrated. 
  • The inflammatory state ends in suppuration and infiltrations; the patient is in a state of weakness, much fatigued and prostrated, and has night sweats. He does not convalesce after a typhoid or other acute disease. 
  • There is slow repair and a slow, tired economy, and order is not restored after the acute disease. Sulphur often becomes very useful in such conditions. 
  • Old drunkards become debilitated and have violent craving for alcohol; they cannot let liquor alone. They crave strong and pungent things, want nothing to eat, but want cold water and alcoholic drinks. They go on drinking till greatly exhausted and then their complaints come On. Sulphur will for a while take away this craving for drink and build him up.
  • If the infant does not develop properly, if the bones do not grow, and there is slow closing of the fontanelles, CALCAREA CARBONICA may be the remedy and Sulphur is next in importance for such slow growth.
  • Sulphur, like SILICEA, is a DANGEROUS MEDICINE to give WHERE THERE IS STRUCTURAL DISEASE in organs that are vital, especially in the lungs. 
  • Sulphur will often heal old fistulous pipes and turn old abscesses into a normal state, so that healthy pus will follow, when it is indicated by the symptoms. It will open abscesses that are very slow, doing nothing, it will reduce inflamed glands that are indurated and about to suppurate, when the symptoms agree. But it is a dangerous medicine to administer in advanced cases of phthisis, and, if given, it should not be prescribed in the highest potencies. 
  • If there are symptoms that are very painful, and you think that Sulphur must be administered, go to the 30th or 200th potency. 
  • Do not undertake to stop with Sulphur the morning diarrhoea that commonly comes with phthisis. Do not undertake to stop the night sweats that come in the advanced stages, even if Sulphur seems to be indicated by the symptoms; the fact is, it is not indicated. A remedy that is dangerous in any case ought not to be considered as indicated, even though the symptoms are similar.

10) SQUILLA

  • Pneumonia: Stitches when inhaling, jerking pains; always right side; catarrh of the chest and threatened pneumonia after haemorrhage from the lungs. Soreness in the chest, worse from motion. BRY. will often palliate and the case will go into Squilla.

11) GRINDELIA ROBUSTA

  • Cardiac affections accompanied with thick, green or yellow expectoration like pus and dyspnoea on falling to sleep so that he must keep awake as long as he can, fear of sleep in advanced chest troubles. GRINDELIA ROBUSTA will palliate such a case and if the condition is only catarrhal and not tuberculous, it will cure.(NOTE- THIS IS EXPLAINED UNDER ‘SPONGIA’)

12) SILICEA

  • Silica is not suitable for the irritability and nervous exhaustion coming on from business brain-fag, but more for such brain-fag as belongs to professional men, students, lawyers, clergymen.
  • There is no deeper remedy than silicea in eradicating the tubercular tendency.

13) VERATRUM ALBUM

  • Remedy that would keep many women out of the insane asylum.

14) ZINCUM METALLICUM

  • Zinc. is not suitable in those who are naturally feeble-minded, when the child is in a state bordering upon idiocy. Baryta carb. feeds such a mind.

15) TARENTULA HISPANICA

  • Itching and burning. It has cured a dry itching eczema of the extremities and other parts of the skin after Ars. and Sulph. have failed. It is a very deep acting, long acting remedy and a most useful remedy in skin affections.

BIBILIOGRAPHY

  • JAMES TYLER KENT- LECTURES ON HOMOEOPATHIC MATERIA MEDICA.

DR. SILAI EZHIL.BHMS,MD(HOM)
Assistant Professor, Department Of Anatomy
Anuradha Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital,
Hegganahalli Cross, Bangalore

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