Homeopathy & Herpes

never one size fits all ...

The use of individualized homeopathy has been reported to quickly resolve cases of Herpes zoster (HZ) aka shingles, without subsequent Post herpetic neuralgia (PHN) development¹²³ and relieve individual cases of HZ,⁴⁵ Ramsay Hunt syndrome,⁶ Trigeminal neuralgia⁷⁸ and PHN.⁹

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Within Aphorism 5, Hahnemann tells us that the most significant aspects of an individual’s history allows for discovery of the cause of disease, which is usually due to a chronic miasm;¹⁰ however, advancements in homeopathic theory state that Hahnemann’s miasms are but a glimpse into understanding genetic predisposition, and it is descent through the Levels of Health which enables the miasms to start effecting the individual.¹¹

Table 1 Figure 1: The Ladder of Health by George Vithoulkas. Adapted from ‘scale of the Levels of Health,’ from Level 1 to Level 12, and divided into four groups A, B, C, and D. The healthiest level is at the top. This illustration depicts the genetic predisposition of the individual and the degree of strength of their defence mechanism. REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION from Vithoulkas, G. Levels of Health – the second volume of the science of homeopathy. 4^th revised ed. International Academy of Classical Homeopathy; 2022.

An individual can be classified within a Level of Health to help glean better understanding of their disease state - a person with many hereditary predispositions and a history of poorly treated infectious diseases descends down through the levels becoming chronically ill - being greatly affected miasmatically / encumbered by genetic predisposition - and usually further convoluted by medical interventions.¹²

Vithoulkas states that since allopathic drugs are never selected according to the Law of Similars, they inevitably superimpose upon the organism a new drug disease which then must be counteracted by the organism.¹³

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It must be stated here that non-homeopathic administration of homeopathic medicines i.e., a ‘protocol’ does exactly the same.¹⁴

INDIVIDUALIZATION is necessary to homeopathy.¹⁵

Unsurprisingly, researchers find ‘the reliability of homeopathic prescriptions may increase through resource to objective signs and guiding symptoms with significant positive likelihood ratio (LR)’

estimating that

‘LR for six objective signs attributed to the homeopathic medicine Natrum muriaticum included recurrent herpes’

concluding

‘objective signs with significant positive LR might increase the reliability of homeopathic prescriptions.’¹⁶

As any homeopath worth their salt practices and knows that to quantify the tapestry of experiences and sufferings of an individual it is only the totality which leads to the similimum,¹⁷ and that to construct the correct totality, every included symptom must be of proportionate importance comprising the mental, physical and local symptoms significant to the individual.¹⁸

For an example of how this should look in homeopathy practice you are encouraged to the following four part PHN case report (spanning seven years);

The management of neuropathic pain is often challenging, and when attempted in accordance with the therapeutic similitude principle, the homeopathic medicines Gelsemium sempervirens,¹⁹ Hypericum perforatum²⁰ and Rhus toxicodendron²¹ are all well-known in its treatment. However, there is never, ever a one size fits all homeopathic medicine.²²

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‘In contrast to frequent claims, the available Meta Analyses of homoeopathy in placebo-controlled randomised trials for any indication show significant positive effects beyond placebo. Compared to other medical interventions, the quality of evidence for efficacy of homoeopathy was similar or higher than for 90% of interventions across medicine. Accordingly, the efficacy evidence from placebo-controlled randomised trials provides no justification for regulatory or political actions against homoeopathy in health-care systems.’²³

1

Guess, G. 2023. The Homeopathic Approach to the Treatment of Acute Herpes Zoster. Altern Ther Health Med. Jul;29(5):90-96. http://alternative-therapies.com/oa/index.html?fid=7763

2

Das, T., Bhowmick, S., Chowdury, D, et al. (2022). An evidence based individualistic homeopathic approach in a case of herpes zoster in geriatric patient: A case report. Int. J. Hom. Sci. 6(2):09-12. doi.org/10.33545/26164485.2022.v6.i2a.529

3

Shraddhamayananda, S. (2017). Successful treatment of post herpetic neuralgia and herpes Zoster (Shingles) with homeopathic medicines. J Clin Invest Dermatol. 5:4. https://scholar.archive.org/work/iqcueuoq7rgjjemam5zhprqm2m/access/wayback/http://www.avensonline.org/wp-content/uploads/JCID-2373-1044-05-0040.pdf

4

Ashok, J., Dominin, R., Bhuvaneswari, d., et al. (2024). A Case of Herpers Zoster Treated with Individualized Homoeopathic Medicine - Case Report. International Journal of Science and Research,13:7;1308-1312. doi.org/10.21275/SR24722214248

5

Gupta, Y., and Pandey, K. (2021). Evidence-Based Homoeopathic Treatment of Acute Herpes Zoster (Shingles): A Case Report. Homœopathic Links. 34(04): 307-310
doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1736227

6

Bhakta, P., and Dutta, A. (2023). Homeopathic Treatment of Ramsay Hunt Syndrome: A Case Report. Complement Med Res. Sep 1. doi.org/10.1159/000533849

7

Assiri, K., Alyami, Y., Uyanik, JM., et al. (2017). Hypericum perforatum (St. John's Wort) as a possible therapeutic alternative for the management of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) - A case report. Complement Ther Med. Feb;30:36-39. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2016.10.014

8

Mojaver, YN., Mosavi, F., Mazaherinezhad, A., et al. (2007). Individualized homeopathic treatment of trigeminal neuralgia: an observational study. Homeopathy. Apr;96(2):82-6. doi: 10.1016/j.homp.2007.02.006

9

Parveen, S., and Das, S. (2021). Elderly patient with post-herpetic neuralgia treated with homoeopathic medicine: A case report. Indian J Res Homoeopathy 15(4). doi: 10.53945/2320-7094.1034

10. Hahnemann, S. 2005. Organon of Medicine. Sixth edition. Translated from German by W. Boericke. New Delhi. Indian Books and Periodicals Publishers. (Originally published in 1842).

11. Vithoulkas, G. (2022). Levels of Health – the second volume of the science of homeopathy. 4th revised ed. International Academy of Classical Homeopathy. (Original work published 1995).

12. Vithoulkas, G. (2022). Levels of Health – the second volume of the science of homeopathy. 4th revised ed. International Academy of Classical Homeopathy. (Original work published 1995).

13. Vithoulkas, G. 2014. The Science of Homeopathy; Seventh edition. Alonissos: International Academy of Classical Homeopathy.

14.

15. Mathie, 2022. Individualisation: The Heart of Homeopathy. Homeopathy. Feb;111(1):1. Available from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35100648/

16. Eizayaga et al., 2021. Prevalence and Likelihood Ratio of Six Objective Signs among Good Responders to Natrum muriaticum: Multi-centre Observational Assessment. Homeopathy. Feb;110(1):36-41. Available from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33482668/

17. Kaur, H., Jain, S., Katarmal, D. et al. (2024). The Patient Population at Homeopathic Outpatient Clinics across India: A Clinical Data Collection Study. Homeopathy. May 31. doi: 10.1055/s-0044-1782221

18. Master, F. and Fernandes, N. 2008. How to study Materia Medica? Templom köz: Remedium.

19. Jin, GL., Su, YP., Liu, M., et al. (2014). Medicinal plants of the genus Gelsemium (Gelsemiaceae, Gentianales)--a review of their phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and traditional use. J Ethnopharmacol. Feb 27;152(1):33-52. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2014.01.003

20. Assiri, K., Alyami, Y., Uyanik, JM., et al. (2017). Hypericum perforatum (St. John's Wort) as a possible therapeutic alternative for the management of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) - A case report. Complement Ther Med. Feb;30:36-39. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2016.10.014

21. Shinde, MD., Patil, SA., Mukherjee, A., et al. (2023). Revisiting the therapeutic potential of homeopathic medicine Rhus Tox for herpes simplex virus and inflammatory conditions. J Ayurveda Integr Med. Jul-Aug;14(4):100739. doi: 10.1016/j.jaim.2023.100739

22. Guess, G. 2023. The Homeopathic Approach to the Treatment of Acute Herpes Zoster. Altern Ther Health Med. Jul;29(5):90-96. http://alternative-therapies.com/oa/index.html?fid=7763

23. Hamre HJ, Glockmann A, von Ammon K, Riley DS, Kiene H. (2023). Efficacy of homoeopathic treatment: Systematic review of meta-analyses of randomised placebo-controlled homoeopathy trials for any indication. Systematic Rev. 2023 Oct 7;12(1):191. https://systematicreviewsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13643-023-02313-2#Abs1