Miasms as Practical Tools: A Homeopathic Approach to Chronic Disease

Table of Contents:
The Historical Perspective The original ideas Concepts of chronic disease Reactions to the theory The clinical context Terminology and context Modern interpretations The Body in Health and Disease Normal physiological function Balance as a prerequisite The maintenance of balance Classifications of body functiocns The origins of miasms Chronic disease A model of 'dis-ease' The creation of miasms The multi-miasmatic nature of disease The multi-miasmatic nature of the patient The effects of treatment The Basic Miasms as Clinical Entities The immune system as a functional entity The creation of miasms The inheritance of miasms Diathesis and constitution Acute and latent miasms System affinities of the miasms Natural outlets for miasms Natural forces in nature Miasmatic tendencies within the kingdoms Limits of imbalance within the model The Newer Miasms The relationship with the basic miasms A recent interpretation of miasms Other claims to miasmatic status Treatment implications of mixed miasms Suppression The nature of suppression The mental dimension The progress of suppression Miasms in neoplasia Preventive suppression Miasms as Therapeutic Tools Perceptions of miasms Recognising miasms The miasmatic overview The miasmatic progress of cure The mixed miasms Miasmatic considerations in disease prevention The 'miasmatic' nature of challenge Psora Basic concepts The terminology of psora Later interpretations of psora Clinical manifestations Hering's Law and psora Psora and allergy Antipsoric remedies Sycosis Basic concepts Clinical manifestations Suppression and the reproductive system Vaccination and sycosis Antisycotic remedies Syphilis Basic concepts Clinical manifestations The syphilitic miasm and the immune system Syphilis in combination Antisyphilitic remedies The Miasmatic Nosodes Psorinum Medorrhinum Syphilinum Tuberculinum Carcinosin Scirrhinum The bowel nosodes Bibliography Index

About the Author :
John Saxton qualified from the Royal Veterinary College, London in 1964. Having become interested in homeopathy in the late 1970s, he obtained his Membership of the UK Faculty of Homeopathy in 1988 and his Fellowship in 1996. He is an examiner for the Faculty and was elected President in 2005. As a core teacher of the UK Homeopathic Professionals Teaching Group he is closely involved with the homeopathic training of doctors, veterinary surgeons and nurses. He is also a recognised teacher and examiner for the International Association for Veterinary Homeopathy. His time is currently split between homeopathic referral practice, and writing and lecturing both nationally and internationally.

Review :
Not long after publishing Textbook of Veterinary Homeopathy as co-author, John Saxton has now produced a book on this difficult and controversial subject. As stated in the preface, 'the purpose of this book is not to rehearse in detail the arguments concerning the very existence of miasms', as the author very much supports the thesis that they do indeed exist. The aim is more to describe - in his own experience - how they work and especially how they can be a great help in the everyday work of a homeopath. It is clear that he has an immense knowledge of his subject and of homeopathy in general, and through many years of practising homeopathy has learned to master prescription in acute as well as chronic disease. He stays true to the classical interpretation as it derives from Hahnemann's discovery of the miasms and as further developed by other great homeopaths in the past. He also covers the more modern views of people like Rajan Sankaran and Jeremy Sherr. Even though many homeopaths now follow new schools in homeopathy that might be more 'in tune' with the time we live in, this book reminds us of the true origin of these new ideas, the basic knowledge that they are based on and which as such cannot be forgotten or ignored. I remember one of the very first homeopathic courses l attended in Denmark in the mid-90's, where John Saxton had been invited to speak for the weekend. One of the subjects was miasms, and as a very green homeopath this was like being thrown in at the deep end! But John managed to pass the information across in a way that made sense to me. The very illustrations he used then are included in this book. A series of triangles describe a model of 'dis-ease' where the author proposes a theory that provides a means of understanding the functioning of the body in disease. The basic forces in the normal healthy body as well as in the diseased body are comprised of three entities: Production, Removal and Control. These three forces are compared later on to the three basic miasms: Sycosis, Syphilis and Psora, and how the presence of these three miasms influences the way in which the remedies are prescribed. According to the author, in any homeopathic remedy the relative proportions of the three forces will vary but will always be unique and constant. Throughout the book numerous cases illustrate the topic in a practical way. Both human and veterinary cases are presented. The first chapter takes the reader through the history of miasms, including the newer interpretations. This is followed by a description of the body in health and disease and especially how the miasms originate in the body, how they are related to chronic disease, and what happens when more than one miasm is present ('multi-miasmatic disease'). Next follows a chapter on the basic miasms as clinical entities, where the author elaborates on the function of the immune system in relation to present miasms, the creation and inheritance of miasms, the presence of acute and latent miasms, and through to the natural outlets of miasms. The newer miasms are described in a separate chapter, where the author discusses Sankaran's views on the subject and how miasms such as those of typhoid and malaria relate to the three basic ones. He touches here on the concept of mixed miasms, although this gets a more thorough treatment in a later chapter. One of the very important topics is the role of suppression and how this can happen due to vaccination, allopathic or antipathic medication, or even homeopathic treatment. From here he arrives on the concept of miasms as therapeutic tools, how to recognise them, the miasmatic progress of cure, and considerations in disease prevention. At the end of the book the three basic miasms are described separately and in detail, including the clinical manifestations and remedies to consider. Again, the text is illustrated with suitable cases. The last chapter describes the miasmatic connections of the bowel nosodes, in which the author has a special interest. The book contains a bibliography and index. We live in a time of great change for homeopathy and a lot of new ideas are sprouting, making it even more difficult sometimes to choose which way to go. This book is very much true to the classical perception of miasms and as such is a perfect reference to the multitude of recent views on the subject. We cannot practice homeopathy without acknowledging the existence of miasms - especially in a modern society - if we want lasting results for our patients, and this book shows the way. Newsletter, British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons