The Principles that Homeopaths Follow While Classifying Symptoms

Before the professional homeopaths get on with the treatment, they have tasks cut out. At first they will note down the details of the case that the patient in question has and then they will segregate the symptoms into various categories.

Here on this page, let us discuss the different categories that the professional homeopaths in Sydney will segregate the symptoms into.

Complete Symptom Picture:

Homoeopaths have their own particular way of treating while maintaining the fundamental principles of homeopathic practice. One type of symptom that can be important are more unusual symptoms. It could be anything at all, but is something that is not common. For example, coughing only when lying on your left side. This could be related to a particular, diagnosed  condition or it could be something that is hard to explain. Either way it can help the homoeopath to determine what medicine is going to help. Another important feature is the character of the symptoms – what do you feel, what are the sensations, does it remain in the one place or does it radiate, for example. Is the condition relieved by heat or cold, or walking or being still? Again, the character of the symptoms may indicate the medical diagnosis or they may be inexplicable and they will help indicate the homoeopathic medicines to be used. Our Sydney homeopath will take all the different symptoms into account and during your case taking, a complete symptom picture will be carefully understood.

The idea of a complete symptom was advocated by Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homoeopathy in the 1800’s. He stated:

• The way to diagnose a medical conditions is through a thorough understanding of symptoms
• It is the whole person that becomes ill. It is not the organs or individual parts in isolation.
• Accurate and thorough understanding of the symptoms can be the only dependable guide when it comes to selecting an appropriate medicine.
• A medicine is not indicated by a single symptom, but a series of symptoms or a complete symptom picture.

Evaluation of Symptoms:

As the patient narrates his or her concerns, the homeopaths take note of them, including every minute detail, no matter how trivial that may seem. Other areas of interest to the homoeopath include the patient's likes and dislikes, food desires, dreams, sleep, family history, medical history, general habits which further builds the complete symptom picture. Based on this, the homoeopathic diagnosis is decided. All of the symptoms of homeopathy can be further classified under various groups. Some very common symptom classifications include:

• Common and Characteristic symptoms
• Uncommon symptoms
• Primary Symptoms, Concomitant or Associated symptoms
• General Symptoms and Particular Symptoms
• Complete and Incomplete Symptoms
• Old and Recent Symptoms

Now all of that can sound a little confusing but for the Hahnemannian homeopathy, these classifications provide the foundation to understanding the health of the person in front of them and this is exactly how the homeopath in the Newtown clinic, looks at every case.

Now let’s look at a few more examples of the types of symptoms.

General Symptoms:  These are symptoms common to the disease process. For instance, fever, diarrhea, headaches, loss of appetite are common symptoms of an individual suffering from typhoid. These symptoms are present in typhoid patients and hence are regarded as common or general symptoms.

Uncommon Symptoms:  These are the more unaccountable and unexplainable symptoms during an illness. They can seem strange or unimportant and not really related to the disease at hand. For example, the feeling that the bed is very hard even though the bed is soft! This is not a common symptom for a typhoid patient, but for the homoeopath this can help indicate the medicine of choice.