By Luc Chaltin, ND DIHom
Introduction
I have been acquainted with homeopathy since 1957. At that time, I lived in Belgium where I was born in the nineteen twenties. During World War II, I suffered from lack of food as well as the bad quality of the food. I survived the war by hiding from the German Gestapo during four years of occupation. After the war, I became an engineer. Several years later, I was sent to Africa to build different factories over a period of six years. I became exhausted by the harsh tropical climate and came back to Belgium suffering with poor health and intestinal problems caused by the tropical climate. I became a scale specialist at a scale factory in Brussels and was responsible for the construction of scales for special uses.
My ill health was still bothering me and my discomfort caught the attention of one of my colleagues. He referred me to an alternative health care practitioner, who were very few in number at the time. I had never been in contact with any before. This healer had been a school teacher and was not a doctor. To my surprise, he used a pendulum to diagnose and prescribe homeopathic medicine for his patients. Although I was not pleased with the way this “doctor” diagnosed, I took the remedy he gave me and saw results very soon. It enabled me to live a normal life again, even if my health was still fragile.
About nine years later, I suddenly and quite unexpectedly became very weak. I guessed that there was something going on that had escaped the pendulum of my homeopathic doctor, so I decided to consult a regular medical doctor. After several months, and as many visits and X-ray scans, the doctor eventually discovered that I had contracted tuberculosis. As expected, he placed me on conventional antibiotic drugs. The antibiotics made me so sick that I decided to consult a medical doctor who was also a homeopath, with the hope he would take me off the toxic drugs.
I found a homeopathic doctor in Antwerp and scheduled an appointment. During my visit, he consulted his books for almost an hour and eventually prescribed a single remedy, Nux vomica 200K. To my dismay the remedy did not help any aspect of my health problem and my condition gradually worsened. I had been instructed to call after eight weeks for another visit, and when I did, the doctor’s wife came on the phone and told me that her husband was in the hospital for a kidney stone operation. Needless to say, I did not trust this doctor anymore! When I consulted a renown homeopathic medical doctor in Brussels, he literally laughed at me while saying ‘Homeopathy cannot cure tuberculosis.’ There was apparently no other way to save my life other than trying to do it myself.
To do that, I needed literature about homeopathy. I was incredibly lucky to find several books written by French homeopaths in a small bookstore in Antwerp (Belgium). These books opened a completely new perspective on homeopathy for me. The authors spoke about “principles” and different ways of cure, but it did not look easy. One book explained what “draining remedies” could do for a patient by eliminating toxins from the body. When I began using such a detoxifying complex that I formulated myself, I finally started feeling better.
Because I was suffering from a chronic disease, I was very pleased to find two other homeopathic books about chronic disease and its treatment, information that was never given in any other homeopathy book that I had seen. One book by the French homeopath Leon Vannier was specifically about tuberculosis, but the focus was on various single remedies, not complexes. Because I had been successfully treated for some time with the complexes made by the healer, I decided to make my own complex remedies based on the information in Vannier’s book. I was able to cure myself of tuberculosis in less than six months.
Prescribing for Clinical Homeopathy
Clinical Homeopathy is different from Classical Homeopathy, the homeopathy that was discovered by Dr. Hahnemann and is followed by Classical Homeopaths all over the world. The Classical approach is based on the “Proving” of the remedies with “healthy but sensitive people.” The theory is that the reaction of a healthy person during the testing of a remedy provides the symptoms for the use of that remedy in curing diseases. This seems to fit well for “acute” diseases such as fever, a cold, etc., but fails to show and cure the metabolic problems that cause the “chronic” diseases.
Chronic diseases are difficult to diagnose because only a few symptoms are visible for the doctor and they are not at all the kind of symptoms that will guide you to the right remedies for the chronic situation if a Materia Medica is consulted.
I discovered a way to overcome this obstacle based on my success in treating myself from tuberculosis and I have used this method in my practice since 1972. It is a different approach to homeopathy, called “Clinical Homeopathy,” using multiple remedies in one prescription, covering all the problems of the chronically ill patient. The Clinical approach can be used for physical as well as emotional problems. It is based on the following:
- When a health problem appears, it is always caused by toxins interfering with the metabolism. All toxins are eliminated by the liver (which has more than 500 known eliminating functions) and the problem occurs because the liver is unable to function properly because it is deficient.
- At the onset, toxins appear as free radicals in the blood stream. If the body is unable to get rid of them, they turn into different metabolic forms and are stored in the tissues, causing permanent malfunctioning of the organ to which the tissue belongs. Typically it is the weakest organ and its tissues that are invaded by the toxic substances, taking advantage of the patient’s weaknesses, creating heart, intestinal, nervous and other problems. It is neccessary to remove the toxins from the tissues to restore normal function, meaning normal health.
- Removing toxins is the role of the liver and kidneys, accompanied by a healthy pancreas and digestive system. Dr. Hahnemann discovered this fact when he had to use several remedies at once in his practice later in life when he moved to Paris, treating the chronically ill noble people of his entourage, but he never wrote about it.
The next important fact in the healing process is the elimination of the poor diets and their replacement with the right nutrition as a healing factor.
The Role of Nutrition
Today’s regular food is toxic and unfit to sustain health because it is loaded with toxic agricultural chemicals, preservatives and color-enhancing substances. This kind of food is the main cause of the diseases of our time. It is impossible to cure a chronic illness when eating this kind of food, and the patient needs to change exclusively to organically grown food.
This necessity is the stumbling block for both doctors and patients. I have always wondered why doctors, even those who call themselves “alternative,” still eat regular food when everybody knows that it contains toxins produced by the methods used in modern agriculture. It is grown by using chemical fertilizers in a soil that lacks humus and the necessary beneficial bacteria. It also lacks the trace minerals necessary to sustain healthy plant life. The result is that the plants grown with chemical fertilizers are assaulted by insects and bacterial diseases. To “protect” the crops, toxic chemicals are used to kill the insects and the bacteria that attack the plants. Part of these chemicals stay in the plants although they cannot be found when the plant is analyzed. This is misleading because the toxic substances were assimilated by the plants and are now in a different form, but they are still disrupting a healthy plant life.
If the soil is healthy no spraying is necessary. Organic growers do not spray. I have my own organic garden and I never use any spray because it is not necessary.
The problem with modern chemical farming is that the produced food is not only toxic but is also lacking necessary trace elements. This is why people that eat this kind of food become deficient and ill.
When such a person consults a classic/allopathic doctor, he or she prescribes toxic drugs which will add to the toxic load. This can go on for years without serious warning signs, but eventually the body is so toxic that it is completely undermined. Now serious chronic diseases appear, such as rheumatism, circulatory problems, and later cancer, but classic medicine has only more toxic “cures” to treat these diseases.
I believe that the classic doctor knows that there is no hope of cure, I mean real cure, creating vibrant health. Even if the patient is in “remission,” the expectation and the reality is that after a few years or less, the patient will be sick again. Because many of these patients will die from a kind of disease different from the first diagnosis, the doctor may even cry victory and classic doctors will argue that they “cured” the patient from the initial disease. The classical sentence may go as follows: “I cured him or her from such or such disease, but than the patient died from a heart attack.”
I believe this is nonsense, because a disease can only be declared “cured” when the health of the patient is restored completely and medicine is no longer necessary. The problems caused by the “disease” of a chronically ill patient go much deeper and are much more subtle than the symptoms that are visible to the regular doctor.
I had a typical case of a patient who was a well known writer and a friend. He was successfully treated for circulatory problems and heart disease with homeopathy for several years, but continued smoking in secrecy (He never told me that he was a smoker and I never caught any cigarette smell). At one moment he got throat irritation and consulted a classic doctor who diagnosed throat cancer. In the confusion that followed the cancer diagnosis, he omitted taking the homeopathy. He was given chemotherapy and lost his vocal cords in the surgery that followed. Within the year he died, not from the throat cancer but from a massive heart attack because he forgot about his homeopathy and the doctors overlooked the heart problem.
This points to one of the big differences between classic and alternative medicine, particularly homeopathy. The homeopathic doctor needs to look at all the symptoms presented by the patient, including the mental-emotional, and they must be used to determine the kind of remedies that are prescribed. When healing of the diagnosed disease is obtained, the attention of the alternative doctor turns to other possible symptoms if they were not visible at the beginning, until all discomfort is gone and complete healing is obtained. With chronic diseases, this may take many months, even years, because even alternative medicine can go only as fast as nature and the special health situation of each patient allows us to go.
Treating Acute & Chronic Diseases
The Use of Complexes in Acute Disease
Acute diseases more typically appear in babies, children, adolescents and young adults in good health. These types of diseases are due to a sudden accumulation of toxins in the body. Because the vitality is strong, the body reacts violently which allows the doctor to make the right diagnosis and to recognize the corresponding remedy or complex.
Alarming symptoms such as fever, pain, inflammation, etc. accompany these diseases. Fever is the main symptom and is the sign of a healthy body response. Acute diseases may appear in the form of the common cold, a simple flu attack sometimes occurring periodically, sudden indigestion, occasional diarrhea, or a sudden skin rash or eczema.
Four signs allow recognition of an acute disease. The person was healthy prior to the attack, the onset of the disease is sudden, the symptoms are intense, and the duration is short.
Acute situations like these are easy to relieve with the NEWTON complexes. The appropriate complex (e.g. Fever-Infection, Cold-Sinus, Flu Care) is recommended at the onset of trouble and repeated several times during the day. A common usage mistake is not repeating the dose frequently enough. The leading symptom is the degree of fever or the lack of it. When the symptoms subside, the doses should be continued for some time, though less often, to prevent the return of the problem, and finally stopped. Generally the administration of the medicine is forgotten because it is typical to forget to take the medicine as the course of the illness comes to an end and the patient feels better. In the case of fever, the dose is repeated more often when the fever is rising, even as often as every 20 to 30 minutes, and then at longer intervals as the temperature comes down.
The Use of Complexes in Chronic Disease
NEWTON homeopathic complexes are very effective to use in daily practice. They allow any health professional, even those not familiar with homeopathy, to integrate homeopathic medicines immediately into their pharmacy and daily practice. Their use is easy and ideal for the health professional who cannot devote years of study to master the rules of classical homeopathy practice. Taking a case by the classical homeopathic approach requires between 45 minutes and two hours. This amount of time is not available in most practices today.
In Clinical Homeopathy this time is greatly reduced. Newton formulations allow you to assist your clients in a short time with a high degree of efficacy. The complex remedies are formulated for specific diseases. But even if the disease is known, attention should go first to establish perfect function of the organs of elimination: liver, kidneys, and pancreas as explained before. This approach will prevent possible aggravations as well. It is also necessary to assure that the circulatory system is working normally so that the blood can fulfill the role of oxygen carrier and toxin remover.
The following remedies should be used to start the cure for a new patient:
- The liver complex, called Detoxifier (or PRO Drainer), is the first remedy that is recommended to a patient. The Detoxifier (made by NEWTON Homeopathics) focuses on the ability of the body to stimulate the excretory organs to better eliminate toxins and free radicals. Since the liver rejuvenates during periods of sleep, we suggest taking the Detoxifier at bedtime.
- To remove free radicals from the circulatory system, the complex Rheumatic~Joint Care (or PRO Joint Care) is recommended. This remedy is to be taken in the morning before breakfast.
- In order to assure normal function of the digestive system, the complex Bowel~Digestive Care (or PRO Digestive Care) is recommended before each meal during the day. This complex stimulates the proper function of the digestive tract and the pancreas, which is the master gland for the digestive function, having a metabolic connection with all parts of the body and assuring or restoring the energy flow in the body.
These three complexes can help restore normal functions. Once that is achieved, attention can then be focused on complexes associated with chronic disease symptoms. But first, we will explain how to handle possible homeopathic aggravations.
Aggravations
When homeopathic remedies are given to a chronically ill patient, the way to health is often not without problems. Some patients may react violently to the homeopathic remedy. These cases are very rare when the precaution is taken to start with the Detoxifier first. The reason for the reaction is that the body, helped by the action of the homeopathic remedies, becomes stronger and starts fighting the toxins. The result is often more awareness of symptoms and often more suffering before improvement is obtained. This is known as an “aggravation.” It is a good sign of course, but the patient who does not know what is happening may think otherwise and fear that you as a doctor have made a mistake. In fact, you may never see the patient again.
On the other side, informing the patient that “something painful” may be part of the healing process may cause fear. Because in many patients something painful may not appear at all, it would create fear where it is not needed. The best advice is to tell the patient to call your office immediately if there are any problems.
To treat aggravations, stop all homeopathic remedies and after the symptoms are gone (which is maximum about three days) start with the Detoxifier (PRO Drainer) remedy alone. This time, only one drop is taken in the morning. After three days two drops are taken for another three days. Then three drops are taken, and so on, until the amount of six drops is reached. Then, the Detoxifier is switched to the evening and the other remedies are taken in the morning and during the day as was prescribed before. This approach will work for practically all aggravation-prone patients.
Make sure that the patient is following your instructions and is also eating organically grown food. Even if they promise to do so in your consultation room, some patients think that they can ignore your advice and eat regular food because they do not know that their problem is caused by the toxins in the food. They will call you to complain about unusual symptoms caused by the homeopathic remedies, whereas the symptoms are caused by the body fighting the toxins in the regular food. The symptoms are now worse because the body fights harder, sustained by the homeopathy. In the end, the patient suffers more.
When patients call back after one or two weeks, it is almost always because they did not follow the rules. In this respect, it is sometimes silly to hear their reaction when you ask them if they are eating organically grown food. They will say that it is too expensive, or that organic foods are not available in their neighborhood. The patients who think of themselves as being smart will tell you that they eat “almost everything” organic. In reality they will eat 95% regular and some organic if they remember it. This is often the case with the patients that come to you as a kind of alibi. They need to do “something” about a certain problem and are pushed to do that by their spouse or other relatives, and are unwilling to go to a doctor. They come to you, a homeopath, because they may know that you only ask some questions and will not undress them, and they know also that the remedies are not much more than some water and are not toxic. They do not expect to be “cured” or to have any reaction, and in most cases they do not even take their remedies regularly. It is impossible to predict how they will react when the homeopathy is doing something to them.
What is Chronic Disease?
A chronic disease is a condition that has existed for a significant period of time, and may last from several months to many years. Most cases are many years old and have evolved or changed over the years. This makes it more difficult to diagnose the cause and nature of the disease. In the chronically ill person, several problems may occur simultaneously because several body systems are involved at the same time but the patient does not see the connection between the symptoms.
Chronic disease is a manifestation of an accumulation of toxins not adequately eliminated from the body. The modern understanding of the biological functions shows us that the liver is always implicated in chronic diseases, a fact that is known in Chinese Medicine since a very long time. This is why, in the case of chronic disease, the Detoxifier complex is always recommended first, even in conjunction with any other complex.
Digestive problems often accompany chronic conditions as well. They may be so subtle as to be almost imperceptible, even to the person suffering with them. Gas, burping or bloating, especially after overindulging or when eating certain foods, are key symptoms to observe. One bowel movement a day, or less, is also a common sign of sluggish digestive and excretory functions. Another indication is being underweight. Chronic digestive problems also make a person more tired than would normally be expected. If a person has a very strong digestive system, pain may be the only sign of a chronic disease, as this is the case with rheumatism, for which pain is the leading diagnostic symptom.
In persons with a strong digestion, the most difficult chronic condition to identify is arteriosclerosis, because there is no sign of impending trouble due to its painless nature, especially at the onset. Here, the only symptoms may be excessive weight, some breathing difficulties, or some unexplainable tiredness. Arteriosclerosis is dangerous because thrombosis may occur (even in the early stages) and cause a heart attack or a stroke. Phlebitis in the legs is a possible indication for this disease.
A major sign of chronic disease, even in the absence of pain, is fatigue or lack of energy for no clear reason. This situation can continue for years before any other sign of a chronic condition appears.
In chronic as well as in acute diseases, accumulated toxins are the underlying cause of the problem. With chronic diseases, the role of toxins is much more important as a large part of the body is permeated by the toxins, especially the connective tissue. It is more difficult and takes much longer to remove toxins from these tissues in chronic diseases, because the metabolism has become compromised and is weaker than in persons suffering from an acute illness.
Overweight persons store high amounts of toxins in the adipose tissues. These patients with their intoxicated connective tissues are often very much overweight, which can cause problems as they try to loose weight and the toxins need to be eliminated. That is the reason why some of them “cannot loose weight” because the body will not use the fat of these tissues for the body’s metabolism as long as the toxins are there.
Lean persons, on the contrary, keep the toxins in the blood, thereby adversely affecting the function of the glands, excretory organs and digestive organs. Enzymes, which underlie all metabolic activities and especially those for digestion, then fail to function properly. This causes fermentation of the food in the intestines, which creates inappropriate and excessive metabolic by-products. As a consequence, aberrant metabolic activities begin. An improperly functioning metabolism causes fatigue and introduces more toxins into the system. Because of low enzymatic levels, the liver cannot detoxify the blood and remove metabolic waste produced by the metabolism of proteins. The tissues then become repositories for even more toxin accumulation, especially excess uric acid from the digestion of protein. Thus, a chronic condition creates negative feedback mechanisms that grow worse with time.
Excess uric acid accumulation ultimately results in two major conditions: rheumatoid-arthritis and arteriosclerosis. The term “rheumatoid-arthritis” is used here to include all diseases which cause pain and deformity in the muscles, joints and tendons, such as rheumatism, bursitis, arthritis, disc hernia, decalcification, osteoporosis and polyarthritis. It ranges from simple stiffness or pain in the knee or shoulder, to complete immobility of the damaged joints caused by rheumatoid arthritis. Eventually, the degeneration and demineralization becomes so severe that the immune system turns against the body and destroys the affected tissue (osteoporosis and/or rheumatoid arthritis).
Arteriosclerosis starts when excess uric acid attacks the inner wall of the arteries causing inflammation. The body then uses cholesterol and calcium to patch and repair the damaged vessel walls. These repairs become the places for a buildup of cholesterol that eventually hardens and may block the arteries.
To restore health and reduce pain, homeopathic medicine helps the body restore vital enzyme function. Vitamins, minerals and trace minerals are used to strengthen the metabolism. A person in this situation must follow a vegetarian diet, low in protein. It should necessarily be organic, so that there are no chemical additives, and will help eliminate the toxins.
This approach combined with the appropriate kinds of homeopathic remedies is effective for rheumatism, arthritis and arteriosclerosis by relieving pain and restoring normal function. It also treats hypertension, a frequent result of arteriosclerosis, and will improve weak circulation and arterial blockages.
How to Use Complexes
Acute Disease
In acute diseases the choice is simple because there is only one affliction – for example a cold, a flu, a fever, etc. The use of a separate fever complex may not be necessary if the flu or cold is accompanied by a low fever. The Detoxifier complex and a specific complex (either the Cold-Sinus or the Flu Care complex in this example) will relieve the condition quickly. The Fever~Infection complex is usually only be used when the fever rises above 101°F.
Chronic Disease
The process is more complicated in chronic disease. Symptoms usually include exhaustion, pain and digestive problems. Often the person has headaches and is depressed. The patient may also suffer from hypotension, which accompanies the exhaustion. Even more symptoms may be present as well. Although there may be multiple symptoms, no more than two additional complexes and the Detoxifier are suggested to be used at the same time in order to maintain awareness of the healing process. However, it is safe to use more than three complexes.
In establishing a homeopathic protocol, the order of importance of the different ailments must be established; address the most serious first. When present, relieving pain is almost always the highest priority for a suffering person. By helping reduce pain, some of the other symptoms will disappear as well. Not only will your client feel better, the body will function better as well in the next stages of recovery.
For example, if a person is suffering from arthritic pain, low blood pressure and digestive problems, the different symptoms and signs must be prioritized. Because the problems are related, an improvement of the blood pressure will help the digestive problems. Likewise, helping the digestive system will also be of benefit for low blood pressure. But because arthritic pain is the most discomforting symptom, this should first be addressed by utilizing a Rheumatic~Joint Care complex every morning over a long period, probably for several months. The Detoxifier complex is used every evening to eliminate toxins as long as the Rheumatic~Joint Care complex is taken. At the same time, a Bowel-Digestive Care complex should be taken when the symptoms of indigestion occur, or the remedy can be given on a prophylactic basis once or twice a day for a period of two to three weeks until the symptoms subside.
The protocol looks like this:
To detoxify,
Detoxifier complex, every night before retiring.
For the pain,
Rheumatic~Joint Care complex, first thing in the morning or as needed for pain relief.
To help balance/improve digestion,
Bowel~Digestive Care complex, twice a day before a meal, or on a prophylactic basis for two weeks, later only when needed.
After being on this protocol for a while, your patient will probably experience a change in the pattern and symptoms of the disease. Due to this process, the underlying cause of the disease will become clearer and its identification will become more accurate. At the next consultation, the symptoms are reevaluated and the protocol modified accordingly.
How to Take NEWTON Drops & Pellets
Drops are counted directly on or under the tongue and kept in the mouth for a while (15-30 seconds) before they are swallowed. If the taste of the alcohol is objectionable, drops may be diluted in a tablespoon of good quality warm water (pure well or spring water) or pellets may be used instead. An adult dose is six drops or pellets. For an infant or child, the dose is one to three drops or pellets.
Pellets are counted in the hollow cap or stopper of the bottle or vial and taken directly in the mouth to dissolve.
For infants and children, put 2 or 3 drops in half a teaspoon of water. It is easier to place the drops directly in the baby’s mouth by pulling the under lip, and many actually like it. If administration of the drops is difficult (due to taste, etc.), mix the drops with some organic quality non-acidic fruit juice or add them to baby’s bottle.
Pellets (an infant’s dose is 1 or 2 pellets) are difficult to give to a baby. They should be dissolved in about half a teaspoon of good quality water. Because the remedy is present only in the outer layer of the pellet, it is not necessary to dissolve the entire pellet. When the pellet volume has come down to two-thirds, the rest of the pellet is discarded and the liquid is poured into the baby’s mouth.
If for some extreme reason (injury of the mouth or throat, etc.) oral administration of the drops is impossible, then give the remedy via colonic irrigation. In this case, the dosage should be at least doubled and diluted with sufficient water.