Aphorism 91

Explanation of Aphorism 91

Symptoms appearing during course of medicine do not make true totality. 

When patient is under course of medicine and some symptoms or altered feeling appears, it does not furnish true picture of disease as during that time the organism is under disease along with medicinal power. Thereby, symptoms appearing are due to collective action of disease and medicine going on within the organism - hence it is difficult to know which symptom is due to disease and which one is due to medicine. 

Symptoms which were present before the use of medicines or has appeared after discontinuation of medicine for several days (when it is thought that medicinal action has been exhausted and the patient is apparently in his original diseased condition), are the ones which gives true fundamental idea of original disease which physician has to take note of. 

In case of chronic diseases, when patient has been taking medicine up to the time he has seen the physician, the physician leaves him for some time keeping him on placebo so that the medicinal action is reduced as time pass and his pure and unadulterated symptoms appear. 

 Generally allopathic medicines exhaust their action on discontinuation. But, now-a-days there are many patients who come for treatment after being under homoeopathic treatment for long time. They are sometimes over-drugged and action of homoeopathic medicines if deep acting requires years together to fade off provided vital energy is in full vigour, else it is very difficult to antidote it even if prescription of the former physician is seen; as antidoting medicines in dynamic plane, unlike material plane is tough task and patient cannot be kept on its own. In this type of cases, it is wise to give relief in most problematic symptoms by using superficially, short acting medicines as far as possible until patient comes to such a condition after number of years when he can be treated with deep acting, anti miasmatic medicines.