Ideal Medical Therapeutic System

As per the article published on 6th june 2014 in nagpur today with the heading,

Homoeopathy docs wage wordy war on IMA for opposing Allopathy practice, bitter words

The proposed move by Maharashtra Government to allow Homoeopathy and Ayurvedic doctors practice Allopathy in the State of Maharashtra has triggered a war of words between the practitioners of medicine. The volcanic words used by Indian Medical Association (IMA) Maharashtra while condemning the move have left the Homoeopathy doctors baying for IMA’s blood. The words “Homeopathic doctors are half educated” have hit the alternate branch doctors where it hurts. Subsequently, letters of hard words have started flying with Homoeopathy doctors taking the IMA head on and trying to show their esteemed place in the medical field. 

While talking to Nagpur Today, Dr Arun Shukla, a Homoeopath, minced no words in criticizing the IMA which had sent a letter to Maharashtra Government protesting the move to allow Homoeopathy and Ayurvedic doctors practice Allopathy. Dr Shukla said, “While I respect and understand IMA’s legitimate right to protest against Maharashtra Government decision to allow homoeopathic practitioners to take a one year course in allopathic pharmacology, may I suggest some more effective ways of protest. 

Today IMA doctors may go and take charge of hundreds of PHCs across rural Maharashtra that have not seen a doctor for past many years. The people who are used to being treated by nurses and midwives will actually see the face of a real 24 carat Doctor and not a so called quack whom they routinely visit for their medical needs. The IMA is very fond of discussing various health indices and ratios and statistics inside AC conference halls in cities over 5-course lunch or dinner. But here you will get a real glimpse of malnutrition, infant mortality, maternal mortality, common easily treatable infectious diseases, tuberculosis, diarrhoea, the list is endless. All these are presently managed by the so called quacks. The Health Minister of Maharashtra had famously wept on the floor of the Assembly while saying very few MBBS doctors are willing to go to rural areas. IMA knows that there is a quota of 25 percent for BAMS doctors in PHCs and the rest are practically headless. But this is rural India a land alien to IMA,” said Dr Shukla with anger writ large on his face. 

Dr Arun Shukla further said, “Let us talk about urban scenario which is where IMA’s Allopathy doctors are concentrated. Even in our cities 50% poor and low middle class population depends upon the so called quacks as they cannot afford IMA’s fees and Government health facilities are not geared up to cater to all. There is a growing trend among MBBS graduates to go for specialization. Nothing wrong. But that does not bring family physicians into the system who are an important part of our health system for 100 years. And the Allopathy consultants are simply not affordable for urban masses for routine ailments. The last government medical college was started 23 years back and the state population has increased by 30 million since then. And all new colleges are private. We all know how affordable their fee structure is and on top of that the 20% management quota. Can IMA honestly aver that merit is not compromised here? The poor and middle class students who miss out narrowly in government medical colleges go on to qualify from alternative systems and the rich with no merit get into the private colleges,” asserted the Homoeopathy doctor. 

“But the IMA doctors do not protest these vagaries as it serves them to put their children into medicine with less merit and perpetuate the dynasty as we saw recently,” stated Dr Shukla sarcastically. 

Similarly, Dr Pradeep Bagal and Dr Raj Pandey, both Homoepaths, forwarded an identical letter to Nagpur Today which they have sent to IMA, too. The letter said, “It’s very pain giving experience to all homeopathic doctors in Maharashtra about news by IMA officials. They said that homeopathic doctors are half educated. We want to focus on few things as below: 

1) We have studied all subjects during our college except pharmacology (which is there in MBBS syllabus).
2) Govt is exactly giving us a course of one year of the same subject, which we haven’t studied so far. Course exam will be conducted by MUHS. Allopathy practice will be allowed only to the candidates, who will pass the exam, to a certain extent only.
3) We BHMS fellows have completed 5 1/2 year course, similar to MBBS.
4) Syllabus of BHMS includes following subjects: Anatomy, Physiology, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Preventive and Social Medicine, Parasitology, Biochemistry, Pathology, Microbiology, Medicine (only modern medicine subject Pharmacology is not under our syllabus). Passing limit for all subjects is 50% same as that of MBBS. 

The IMA can confirm above syllabus. Hope you will throw light upon Truth,” said Dr Bagal and Dr Pandey. 

However, a Homoeopathy doctor has toed the IMA line and strongly protested the Government move to allow Homoeopathy and Ayurvedic doctors practice Allopathy in the State of Maharashtra. Dr Anuprita Bhadage, while talking to Nagpur Today, said, “A bus driver cannot become an aircraft pilot just by sitting in cockpit. Maharashtra Government must direct Homoeopathy doctors to appear for Entrance Test for full Allopathy subjects like Anatomy, Physiology, Forensic Medicine and others. There should not be easy options. A course of one year of the same subject would do more harm. Half knowledge is more dangerous than no knowledge. It is a matter of life and death for patients. The Homoeopathy doctors may venture for surgery, anesthesia in future if Government move is accepted. Every expertise is for an expert. A matriculate cannot become a Collector, an IAS post. I would not allow an Allopathy doctor to practice Homoeopathy. Similarly, Homoeopaths should not be allowed to practice Allopathy,” said Dr Anuprita Bhadage. 

It may be recalled, the IMA had sent a protest letter to Maharashtra Government wherein it said, “Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra condemns the proposed move of Govt. of Maharashtra to allow Homoeopathy and Ayurvedic Doctors to practice Allopathy in the State of Maharashtra. We allopaths practicing modern medicine (Allopathy) respect all other branches of medicine namely Ayurvedic, Homoeopathy, Unani etc. We are of the opinion that the person who studies in a particular branch of medicine should practice that pathy only. We know many doctors with Homoeopathy and Ayurvedic qualifications practice using Allopathic medicines. This cross-pathy practice is illegal and many examples can be given to prove that patient badly suffered because of such malpractices. In short many long terms ill-effects has been noted like resistance developed to antibiotics because of irrational use, patient going in chronic renal failure because of long term use of some drugs etc. etc.” 

“We oppose the proposed decision to allow non allopathic doctors to practice Allopathy medicine after doing short course in Pharmacology. In spite of our representation to various concerned authorities with the respective judgments from various courts in India, Govt. has proposed this. This shall be promoting quackery and cause more harm to patients. Govt. of Maharashtra is on one side proposing CEA which promotes better and good healthcare for patients and on the other hand rather than taking effective action against the quackery, they are probably trying to legalize it.”

here i wonder, why there is such war in our medical therapeutic system??

after all, ultimately we all are having a same mission & that is to restore the sick to health, to cure, as it is termed.

isn't it??

If it is so, can't we make a single ideal medical therapeutic system, with sole aim of establishment of cure - IDEAL CURE ??

Master Hahnemann stated in,

§ 54 Sixth Edition

The allopathic method of treatment utilized many things against disease, but usually only improper ones (alloea) and ruled for ages in different forms called systems. Every one of these, following each other from time to time and differing greatly each from the other, honored itself with the name of Rational Medicine1.

Every builder of such a system cherished the haughty estimation of himself that he was able to penetrate into the inner nature of life of the healthy as well as of the sick and clearly to recognize it and accordingly gave the prescription which noxious matter2 should be banished from the sick man, and how to banish it in order to restore him to health, all this according to empty assumptions and arbitrary suppositions without honestly questioning nature and listening without prejudice to the voice of experience. Diseases were held to be conditions that reappeared pretty much in the same manner. Most systems gave, therefore, names to their imagined disease pictures and classified them, every system differently. To medicines were ascribed actions which were supposed to cure these abnormal conditions. (Hence the numerous text books on Materia Medica.3)

1 As if the establishment of a science, based only on observation of nature and pure experiment and experience idle speculation and scholastic vaporings could have a place.

2 Up to the most recent times what is curable in sickness was supposed to be material that had to be removed since no one could conceive of a dynamic effect (§ 11 note) of morbific agencies, such as medicines exercise upon the life of the animal organism.

3 To fill the measure of self infatuation to overflowing here were mixed (very learnedly) constantly more, indeed, many different medicines in so-called prescriptions to be administered in frequent and large doses and thereby the precious, easily-destroyed human life was endangered in the hands of these perverted ones. Especially so with seton, venesection, emetics, purgatives, plasters, fontanelles and cauterization.

§ 55 Sixth Edition

Soon, however, the public became convinced that the sufferings of the sick increased and heightened with the introduction of every one of these systems and methods of cure if followed exactly. Long ago these allopathic physicians would have been left had it not been for the palliative relief obtained at times from empirically discovered remedies whose almost instantaneous flattering action is apparent to the patient and this to some extent served to keep up their credit.

§ 56 Sixth Edition

By means of this palliative (antipathic, enantiopathic) method, introduced according to Galen's teaching Contraria contrariis for seventeen centuries, the physicians hitherto could hope to win confidence while they deluded with almost instantaneous amelioration. But how fundamentally unhelpful and hurtful this method of treatment is (in diseases not running a rapid course) we shall see in what follows. It is certainly the only one of the modes of treatment adopted by the allopaths that had any manifest relation to a portion of the sufferings caused by the natural disease; but what kind of relation? Of a truth the very one (the exact contrary of the right one) that ought carefully to be avoided if we would not delude and make a mockery of the patient affected with a chronic disease1.

1 A third mode of employing medicines in diseases has been attempted to be created by means of Isopathy, as it is called - that is to say, a method of curing a given disease by the same contagious principle that produces it. But even granting this could be done, yet, after all, seeing that the virus is given to the patient highly potentized, and consequently, in an altered condition, the cure is effected only by opposing a simillimum to a simillimum.

To attempt to cure by means of the very same morbific potency (per Idem) contradicts all normal human understanding and hence all experience. Those who first brought Isopathy to notice, probably thought of the benefit which mankind received from cowpox vaccination by which the vaccinated individual is protected against future cowpox infection and as it were cured in advance. But both, cowpox and smallpox are only similar, in no way the same disease. In many respects they differ, namely in the more rapid course and mildness of cowpox and especially in this, that is never contagious to man by more nearness. Universal vaccination put an end to all epidemics of that deadly fearful smallpox to such an extent that the present generation does no longer possess a clear conception of the former frightful smallpox plague.

Moreover, in this way, undoubtedly, certain diseases peculiar to animals may give us remedies and thus happily enlarge our stock of homoeopathic remedies.

But to use a human morbific matter (a Psorin taken from the itch in man) as a remedy for the same itch or for evils arisen therefrom is - ?

Nothing can result from this but trouble and aggravation of the disease.

§ 57

In order to carry into practice this antipathic method, the ordinary physician gives, for a single troublesome symptom from among the many other symptoms of the disease which he passes by unheeded, a medicine concerning which it is known that it produces the exact opposite of the morbid symptom sought to be subdued, from which, agreeably to the fifteen - centuries - old traditional rule of the antiquated medical school (contraria contrariis) he can expect the speediest (palliative) relief. He gives large doses of opium for pains of all sorts, because this drug soon benumbs the sensibility, and administers the same remedy for diarrhoeas, because it speedily puts a stop to the peristaltic motion of the intestinal canal and makes it insensible; and also for sleeplessness, because opium rapidly produces a stupefied, comatose sleep; he gives purgatives when the patient has suffered long from constipation and costiveness; he causes the burnt hand to be plunged into cold water, which, from its low degree of temperature, seems instantaneously to remove the burning pain, as if by magic; he puts the patient who complains of chilliness and deficiency of vital heat into warm baths, which warm him immediately; he makes him who is suffering from prolonged debility drink wine, whereby he is instantly enlivened and refreshed; and in like manner he employs other opposite (antipathic) remedial means, but he has very few besides those just mentioned, as it is only of very few substances that some peculiar (primary) action is known to the ordinary medical school.

§ 58

If, in estimating the value of this mode of employing medicines, we should even pass over the circumstance that it is an extremely faulty symptomatic treatment (v. note to § 7), wherein the practitioner devotes his attention in a merely one-sided manner to a single symptom, consequently to only a small part of the whole, whereby relief for the totality of the disease, which is what the patient desires, cannot evidently be expected, - we must, on the other hand, demand of experience if, in one single case where such antipathic employment of medicine was made use of in a chronic or persisting affection, after the transient amelioration there did not ensue an increased aggravation of the symptom which was subdued at first in a palliative manner, an aggravation, indeed, of the whole disease? And every attentive observer will agree that, after such short antipathic amelioration, aggravation follows in every case without exception, although the ordinary physician is in the habit of giving his patient another explanation of this subsequent aggravation, and ascribes it to malignancy of the original disease, now for the first time showing itself, or to the occurrence of quite a new disease1.

1 Little as physicians have hitherto been in the habit of observing accurately, the aggravation that so certainly follows such palliative treatment could not altogether escape their notice. A striking example of this is to be found in J. H. Schulze's Diss. qua corporis humani momentanearum alterationum specimina quoedam expenduntur, Hale, 1741, § 28. Willis bears testimony to something similar (Pharm. rat., § 7, cap. I, p.298): Opiata dolores atroscissimos plerumque sedant atque indolentiam - procurant, camque - aliquamdiu et pro stato quodam tempore continuant, quo spatio elapso dolores mox recrusescunt et brevi ad sol itam ferociam augentur. And also at page 295: Exactis opii viribus illico redeunt tormina, nec atrocitatem suam remittunt, nisi dum ab eodem pharmaco rursus incantuntur. In like manner J. Hunter (On the Venereal Disease, p.13) says that wine and cordials given to the weak increase the action without giving real strength, and the powers of the body are afterwards sunk proportionally as they have been raised, by which nothing can be gained, but a great deal may be lost.

§ 53 Sixth Edition

The true mild cures take place only according to the homoeopathic method, which, as we have found (§§ 7-25) by experience and deduction, is unquestionably the proper one by which through art the quickest, most certain and most permanent cures are obtained since this healing art rests upon an eternal infallible law of nature.

The pure homoeopathic healing art is the only correct method, the one possible to human art, the straightest way to cure, as certain as that there is but one straight line between two given points.

Take Care Of Your Body,

It's The Only Place You Have To Live In.

With Best Regards, Karnav Thakkar :) :)