Homoeotimes organized an interaction between Dr.D.P.Rastogi and faculties, practitioners and students at Hotel Deccan plaza, Chennai. Practitioners Dr. Jagadha, Dr.Kushali, Faculties from Venkateswara Homoeopathy Medical College Dr.A.J.Usha Dr.M.Harikrishna and final year BHMS student D.Mohana Sundari participated along with Sairam Homoeopathy Medical College faculties Dr. Suseela Rufus, Dr. Britto,and N.Sowmiya a third year student.

Dr.D.P.Rastogi

Dr. Usha: Sir, In mental proving…We go very deep, we try to understand what the patient is telling,. We try to know the depth of what he is telling. How reliable is it?

Dr. Rastogi: You see all depends on reality. if you are able to bring out the reality. That’s the most important thing. If you go by the evolution of symptom, particularly by kentian method higher values are given to higher symptoms like will. There’s no doubt mental symptoms are more important because they are manifestation of mind.We should be able to get them and the difficulty arises if the patient is very concised. As per the importance is considered they should be very clear, and should come out naturally and should not be exaggerated.

Dr. Usha: It would be better if you don’t go into rather let the patient say as such...

Dr. Rastogi: Yes…Unless you know some of their occurrences as rubrics in repertory, it will not strike you. There are many instances that the case is solved by only one symptom. Say for example the patient says “I cannot tolerate injustice!”. This great symptom whatever may be the complaint, it may be angina or some other complaint but this ailment from and tendency of the patient to have intolerance to injustice is very important. the scheme of Kent is very useful in practise. But we should not unnecessarily go into it. If you refer section 213, where Hahnemann said the symptom of mind and disposition are very important whether the case is acute or chronic. So they are of great importance. in the footnote he has given instances that he will not give Aconite to quite person. Calmness contraindicates the use of chamomilla. If the person is calm you cannot prescribe Chamomilla. If the person is not affected by emotional change, you cannot think of Ignatia.

Dr. Jegadha: But in our life style some patients for years together do not open their mouth since it is personal and so they do not leave others to interfere with it .Do they know homoeopathy gives importance to mind and related things. But from our part how we can try…

Dr. Rastogi: Well. You have to encourage them to tell these things and make them they come out of it. One very good way is, if you are using computers, you show them that these are some of the things mentioned and they are important. It is my style; That is why the knowledge through Materia Medica or their placement in repertory is very very essential. If we do not have good knowledge on Materia Medica and their placement of rubric in repertory you will not be able to get into the patient. For example, one girl whom I had been treating for last so many years had various problems. She had Renal Calculi. After homoeopathic treatment it dissolved and disappeared. During pregnancy she came for liver complaints. “I cannot eat anything!”

If I eat banana today, the next day if I see banana I have bad odour. if i eat apple i have bad odour from it also. so I wash my hands again and again. I remember one rubric under mind “Delusions – Dirty feeling”. She feels everything is dirty. Only one drug is given under it and it was curare. So, unless I knew that there is such a rubric I could not have found it and cured this case. There are many examples. They obviously come and they have spontaneity.
Dr. Jagadha: We cannot mechanically ask the patient to elicit …how we can proceed? …a rapport can be made to make the patient comfortable

Dr. Rastogi: You have to observe only and encourage the patients to tell. You should have patience. You cannot put direct questions if you are angry or sad or what…
They should say it spontaneously. For new patients you can tell why you go in for temperaments. You can give a brief description. Motivate them. So, if you tell them they will start co-operating.

Dr. Kushali: In the event of mentals… We are not able to elicit or we are going for confusion at times. Probably due to our own prejudices... can we do anything to take off…

Dr. Rastogi: Yes. it is in Boeninghausen’s Method that you should have a complete symptom… you have the location, you have the sensation aggravation and amelioration and concomitant. If mental symptoms are not there, No problem!

I have cases on Multi Resistant Tuberculosis. The Doctors who are in charge, working for this, often complaint that there are no symptoms. So I tell them, if cough is there. Try to find out about the cough if it is dry, at what time it comes, if it comes in one paroxysm, two paroxysms or three paroxysms and so on, is there any expectoration, what is the consistency; what is the colour of it, what is the taste of that, and what time it is aggravated. Even on this limited data you can prescribe. So, mental symptom is not a must. And that’s why Boeninghausen’s method shines in those cases where mental symptoms are not there, where the strange peculiar symptoms are not there, where we have only the symptoms of pathology, and in those cases where the particular modalities are marked and where you have marked concomitants.

Dr. Kushali: In Boeninghausen’s Method…when we take a case… say for cough…we take aggravation, amelioration, type, nature, whatever the other symptom occur in like skin itching of the chin.will you get the whole symptom. What about other symptoms like, in general I perspire a lot. That could be a general Symptom. Would it be…

Dr.Rastogi: No! No!! It will become a concomitant !

Dr. Kushali: General Concomitant to the person…

Dr.Rastogi: Yes! Yes!! There is a Rubric partial sweat. Go to partial sweat and in which area the sweat is. It will be helpful. In Boeninghausen’s method I take the chief complaint or main complaint, as every thing is available. If we don’t get any mentals, usually the people have desire for salt or aversion to salt, desire for sweets or aversion to sweets…that should be marked…that thing should be there...

Dr. Jagadha: Suppose by nature they may be having some desire and aversion through out life. Whether to consider that or deviation at the particular time should be considered?

Dr. Rastogi: Deviation of earlier is always important. Any person who is fond of sweets, but now as a result of illness he develops aversion for sweets that is also important. But if he has got desire for sweets right from the beginning, it becomes a constitutional symptom. This is also important. We cannot ignore it. In fact it can be used as an eliminating symptom. In that person, if saliva starts dribbling from mouth, that is very important. Since the thought of sweets brings dribbling of saliva, it can be used as eliminating symptom because you will not consider a remedy if he is not having desire for sweets.

Dr.Britto: In Boeninghausen’s repertory, in aggravation chapter and amelioration chapter,there are many rubrics For example aggravation for cold is not there;we go to amelioration chapter. How much it is true?

Dr. Rastogi: No, It is entirely true. Boeninghausen ‘s Repertory, is based on Materia Medica Pura. And in proving we may have contradictory symptom. There may be a person both worse by cold and heat, both worse at morning and evening. So, it has been placed. You have to keep in mind, the aggravation or amelioration, which are given in particular chapter. There are special chapters as aggravation or amelioration in general. To begin with Boeninghausen did not include aggravation and amelioration in particular chapter. It was the work of Boger later on. But you look for both certainly in special chapters you find more drugs more rubrics and more aggravation and amelioration.

Dr. Suseela: Now-a-days, more importance is given to miasm in prescription! What is your opinion?

Dr. Rastogi: My opinion is Miasm is theoretical. So the practical aspect is more important. As mentioned to you there are persons who have really taught the practical aspect like Dr. R. B. Patel. He has classified each and every symptom as Psoric, Sycotic, or Syphilitic in his Repertory. Software is also there. He spent several years in cross checking. But Hahnemann ‘s direction is that which ever is most prominent based on that you should give. If the manifestations are more sycotic, for example piles; if it is a thrombosed piles give him anti sycotic drug; if it is bleeding it is more syphilitic. Give him anti syphilitic drug.

Dr. Suseela : How it is applicable with constitution?

Dr. Rastogi: Constitution is a very big thing! Constitution includes everything, even the miasmatic constitution. In fact the totality of symptom, the concept of total symptom also includes the miasmatic consideration. Miasm is very intimate. This is very unfortunate that the real significance is not understood. But if you go to the whole sequence of what Hahnemann was doing and particularly if you look to his work which he did from 1835-1843, that was the best part of his life. He became a miasmatic prescriber. For prescription you have to make your choice.

You see! You must give importance to Psora. Very good reference comes from Aphorism 80, Hahnemann had given more importance to psora. He said that if you keep away the venereal miasm the sycotic and syphilitic the rest is psora. In section 80 many people do not understand it. They find it controversial because Hahnemann when he started giving the name of diseases, he included everything, osteomyelitis, osteomalacia, insanity, infertility, cancer everything he included under psora and even sarcoma. It is a very practical help. When I have understood the miasm, in all my cases when I select the remedy with reportorial proof and do not find the progress, I determine the miasm and mostly anti psoric medicine and clear the case.

Dr. Britto: Sir some doctors say that this particular condition is coming under some particular miasm. Under nosological classification also tried in classification. Which we have to adopt sir?

Dr. Rastogi: You should get the basic conception of psora., sycosis and syphilis. There are some basic things for psora. One of the common thing of psora is tendency to get tired and easily affected by emotional changes, They are very emotional.. Similarly in sycosis, there is a tendency for slow recovery. If there is attack of flu, the person will not recover quickly. They will take some time, cough will remain or pain will remain for sometime. Discharges are of fishy odour. Right from perspiration and from stool; and in temperament they are suspicious, mischievous, hurts everyone. That is sycotic. there is no modern type compartment. If the patient is in syphilitic stage and if he is improving, he will come to sycotic stage and if you are treating a sycotic person he should come back to psora. You have to explain that this way the medicine is acting. The concept is true; if you go by nosological in classification it will make some confusion.

Dr.Britto: Yes. That’s what I am thinking.

Dr.Rastogi: For example constipation as a rule it comes under psora. But for few persons like Dr.Praful Vijayakar constipation is placed under sycosis. Some differences are there. But again…you go by totality.

Dr.Britto : All deficiency disease come under psora, so if there is any hormonal deficiency do they fall under psora?

Dr. Rastogi: Pure psoric case is difficult to get, and Pure sycostic case is also difficult to get So, it will be a mixture of psora and sycosis . How much is the content of psora and how much is the content of sycosis depends upon the case. So in some Mexican schools, they teach miasmatic Materia Medica. And one of their way of telling is, they draw a circle and for miasmatic representation they give by dots of three different colours; Some colour blue for psora, yellow for sycosis and red for syphilis . So particular drug they give to those spots, which is a predominant miasm; and when you give this Medicine change takes place.

Dr. Suseela: OK sir!. Hahnemann said only three miasm psora, syphilis and sycosis, later tubercular and now many...

Dr. Rastogi: You are right! Hahnemann said of only three miasms and mixtures of it. There are some modern authors who have some other miasm. I do not want to name them… particularly they classify Malaria miasm; typhoid miasm. There is a confusion but we can explain everything by these three miasms and their combinations.

Dr. Suseela:Tubercular miasm. Sir!

Dr. Rastogi: It is a combination of psora and Syphilis. In combined miasm you have to judge whichever miasm is predominant. Tackle them first, Tackle serially.

Dr. Harikrishna: What is the role of homoeopathy in treating autoimmune disease.

Dr.Rastogi: Best! Because of our constitutional approach!. Constitution involves diathesis, temperament, miasmatic dealing. It is best to deal it with homoeopathy. There is no other way. There is no separate management for then, but the usual method of treating the person as a whole.

Mohana Sundari: Now-a-days patients are coming with Diagnostic labels; they give mostly the common symptoms of the disease. In some cases we are not able to get the peculiar symptom of the disease. In such cases how to proceed?

Dr. Rastogi: If rare, peculiar symptoms are not there, use clinical Repertories.Clinical repertories are becoming more important now- a -days. One of the repertory is by Dr. Robin Murphy. He has included those indications for those drugs for a clinical condition. when you come to a group again you have to differentiate. I give you one example, infertility is very difficult to treat. I got a case in which there was very scanty menses. Even it was found before marriage. But one important symptom was when she got menses she was very sleepy. She could not go to office. So, scanty menses with sleepiness there is only one drug in the repertory – Helonias. Within very short time she conceived.

Sowmiya: In a case of epilepsy a patient taking allopathic treatment, is coming for homoeopathic treatment, we cannot stop the allopathic medicine. Is there any interaction between our drugs and allopathic medicines?

Dr.Rastogi : No. There will not be any reaction! If you are able to select the right drug and right approach, you do not stop the drug particularly in epilepsy cases. if you stop, first day there will be aggravation and the person will leave your treatment .So the best plan is to give the right medicine and observe, gradually it will go off.

The video recording is transcribed byDr.D.Maheswari
and photographed by S.Bharathi Ganesh