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| Hpathy Ezine - March, 2004 | ||||
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A Flurry of Questions -- Elaine Lewis |
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People often write to me and say, "I'm sick! What do you have for the flu?" People are used to dealing with "regular" doctors, and don't know how to give their symptoms to a homeopath. We have no remedies for "flu", or any other disease name. We can only prescribe after hearing the whole case. If you tell a homeopath you're sick, the response will be a flurry of questions. I send this list of questions to people so often, I've finally decided to just publish them in the hopes that you will save this, and when you need help from your homeopath in the future, you will save precious time by presenting a complete case at the beginning. To that end, I offer you your very own... Acute Case Questionnaire 1. Onset--did the complaint come on suddenly or gradually? 2. Etiology--the cause. What happened? What was going on at, or about, the time of the occurrence? 3. Sensation--describe the pain or other feeling. Does it extend anywhere, does it shoot anywhere? For instance, "It feels like there's a crumb in my throat, I'm constantly trying to swallow. The pain shoots to my left ear." 4. Appearance--what does the person, or the part that's bothering the person, look like; anything remarkable? Red skin, droopy eyes, etc.? 5. Location--where on the body? 6. Modalities--what makes the complaint better or worse? Consider: heat or cold, bathing, warm rooms, fresh air, drafts, motion, time of day when person gets worse, what position is best/worse, stimuli--conversation, noise, light, touch, pressure, massage, music, company, consolation, etc. 7. Concomitants (additional symptoms that came with the main complaint)--for instance, pain with crying; pain with excessive salivation; pain with nausea--the things that have come along for the ride, fellow-travelers, in other words. 8. Discharges--color, odor, consistency. (A discharge is anything liquid that's coming out, oozing out, etc. So, for instance, runny nose, diarrhea, lacrimation and so on.) 9. Generals--these are all the "I" symptoms: I'm hot, I'm cold, I'm thirsty, I'm tired, I'm sad, I'm irritable, I'm hungry, I want pickles, etc. 10. The mentals: Have the mentals changed from normal, in what way? What's different mentally and emotionally? 11. What does the person say? For instance: "I'm fine, leave me alone." "Don't leave!" "I wanna go home!" "I want ice", etc. 12. Thirst--is the person thirsty, not thirsty, what temperature drinks, what kind of drinks, does he only want sips, or gulps, does he drink a little bit frequently or a lot infrequently, and so on. 13. Fever? 14. Sweating? 15. Odors? Are odors an issue, such as bad breath, foul odors of any sort? 16. What is most striking about the condition? What is most peculiar--for
instance, person is cold but heat and covers aggravate; person has
burning pains but is better for being covered and hot drinks like
tea. Please save this acute prescribing questionnaire and have it by your phone or stored in your computer for the next time you ask your homeopath for help. This questionnaire enables us to take a complete case. Even if you've already given a complete case and it is now a month later and you have called to report that you are depressed, or anxiety-ridden or have low back pain; even so, we still need a complete case; we cannot prescribe on "depression"; we cannot prescribe on "low back pain". Homeopathy is very particular. We don't treat "colds", we treat your cold. Consider that the last time you had a cold it was nothing like the cold you have now. We treat each ailment as though it were a stranger we'd never met and need to get to know. You wouldn't say to us, "I'd like you to meet my friend, the human being." That tells us nothing, right? But similarly, saying, "I have the flu," tells us nothing too, eventhough we acknowledge that to a allopathic doctor, it would be all the information he'd need to know. Are you restless with your flu? Anxiety-ridden? Thirsty for sips of water? Do you need company? Are you chilly? Weak? Do you have diarrhea? This is an Arsenicum flu. On the other hand, do you want everyone to leave the room so you can be quiet and still? Are you worse from even having to answer questions? Are you very dry and very thirsty? In your delirium do you say, "I wanna go home!" eventhough you already are home? Is your headache the worst part of your illness? If so, you need Bryonia! One diagnosis, 2 remedies. We couldn't do it without a complete case. |
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