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Swaziland Homeopathy Project

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The first thing that really caught my eye in Swaziland was a box of condoms. I had flown into Johannesburg that morning, hopped on a minibus headed to the Swazi capital, Mbabane, a four hour drive eastward. As we approached the South African – Swazi border, the bus began climbing steadily and finally stopped at the crossing that was nestled in a low mountain pass.   We were instructed to disembark to present our documentation to the immigration officials.

The driver led us into a low-slung building where we queued up at a window, handing over our passports to be stamped one by one. It didn’t take long. I hardly had time to read the few posters on the wall reminding one and all of the deleterious effects of graft and corruption on the Kingdom.   When my turn came and I approached the window, there it was on the shelf in front of me – a big box of condoms free for the taking.

A Case of Hypothyroidism

Looking back on all the consultations I’ve given over the years, there are some that stick in my mind as being especially instructive – where I learned something new or had a particular insight into the homeopathic process.   One such case occurred about 10 years ago at a time when there was a great deal of excitement amongst a certain segment of the profession about some novel ideas about the relationship between the patient and the ‘simillimum’ - the remedy most reflecting his or her inner state.

When we met, the patient, a woman I’ll call Eliza, had recently been to see a physician complaining of feeling inordinately fatigued and subsequently been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid. There was nothing unusual about either the diagnosis or the main presenting symptoms. Hypothyroidism, especially amongst women, is common – one could almost say epidemic in the modern world, and, low energy is perhaps the premier symptom associated with it.

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Going Against the Tide

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Not long ago, I was talking with a young couple, a relative and his wife, who were expecting their first child sometime next spring. After inquiring into how the pregnancy was going, plans for the birth and offering some congratulatory chitchat, I asked about their thoughts on vaccinations. Not that surprisingly, the father-to-be replied that they were intending to vaccinate, but what was surprising were the reasons he articulated for doing so.

To paraphrase his reply, he said that it was ‘tough out there’ if one doesn’t vaccinate a child. Not tough in the sense that the child might suffer from illness, but that the societal pressure is difficult to resist. The issue wasn’t whether vaccines were safe or necessary, but a fear of being ostracized and isolated.   Presumably they were referring to pressure being exerted by medical authorities and schools, and perhaps even extending to friends, work colleagues and family as well.

The Bothersomeness of Sciatica

 I came across some a study, called the ‘Sciatica Bothersomeness Index’1, that evaluates how patients suffering from sciatica subjectively rate the ‘bothersomeness’ of various symptoms associated with the condition.

 My first thought was whether ‘bothersomeness’ is a real word. It is not to be found in any dictionary. My spell checker rejects it. Would it be acceptable to plunk that down on the Scrabble board?

Anyhow, sciatica is definitely not a joking matter. At any given point in time somewhere between 2 to 5% of the population suffers from the condition. It can be experienced as a single, brief episode, or as reoccurring incidents at varying intervals or a permanent affliction lasting months or years.

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Homeoprophylaxis

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  The outbreak of measles in California reported with great alacrity in the mass media has been a useful punctuation point for a campaign of the national medical and pharmaceutical industries to force multiple mandatory vaccinations nationwide as well as stigmatize those who withstand the pressure to participate.

People are increasingly faced with the prospect of losing jobs or educational opportunities based on their vaccination status. The FDA is currently unveiling a ‘Mandatory Adult Vaccination and Electronic Tracking Program’, and supposedly social media will be monitored for ‘anti-vaccine chatter’. Word has it that an alarm system is in the works which will identify non-vaccinated individuals and send out ‘Bio-Safety Alerts’ via text messages to cell phones in their vicinity.

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