The Genesis of the
Veterinary Repertory
Sections: 1 | 2
As a veterinarian using homoeopathy, and therefore the repertory, it has been annoying that there are no specific rubrics for animals. I always wondered, which remedies for cats that salivate while purring, which remedies for dogs that ate grass and vomited it out again. Having such references would be a big help in finding a good Simile.
I have experienced the disappearance of some of these symptoms in animals that I treated homoeopathically. I kept statistical records, but the computer makes such a task much easier. In Autumn 1996 I met Frederik Schroyens during a teacher's seminar in Alonissos, Greece. This is where George Vithoulkas lives and has built a wonderful academy for homoeopathy.
During this seminar we discussed my ideas and decided to make a concerted effort. We planned a Veterinary Repertory built upon the human Synthesis. After some organisational issues were addressed, we slowly began working on the project. The database is assembled and we can present you our joint effort.
May it bring some of the Greek sun into your consulting room.
— Marc Bär
Why a Veterinary Repertory?
From Human to Animal — The Translation of Symptomsby Marc Bär, DVM
1. INTRODUCTION
If we look at the state of our planet, it's obvious that humans are the strangest animals living on the surface of the earth. This opinion would probably not be contested, at least not by ecologists. In homoeopathy, this axiom holds true in reverse.
This is not really a surprise, as Homoeopathy itself is strange and peculiar. In homeopathy pathognomonic symptoms are unimportant in finding the simile. It's the other way round in Allopathy. Another peculiarity is that remedy provings are done with humans. That's why we involuntarily impress members of animal protection associations.
All remedy provings have been done with the human race. Consequently, the Repertory is a collection of proving symptoms verified in humans. (Some symptoms come directly out of clinical experience into the Repertory, in cases where a symptom was repeatedly cured by the same remedy.) The Repertory is clearly a book for human medicine. If we examine Kent's Repertory, this book is in reality a collection of symptoms in Americans before the McDonalds Era. Thus, it's a bit restrictive to take such a book as a standard (I am talking of a standard for people of course). Can we use for Indians or Inuit the same symptoms as for Americans? How do we deal with Pulsatilla who should be blond and blue-eyed? Are there any Indian Pulsatillas at all? Can we take the symptom "desire for fish" as a General symptom in an Inuit? In the end we have to ask ourselves if Kent's Repertory can be used anywhere else than in the United States before the turn of the century? Maybe only in the middle class? Some concerns, such as specific symptoms for certain races, or the question of a modern language, are problems yet to be addressed.
2. SYMPTOMS THAT CANNOT BE USED
2.1 Subjective Symptoms
If we look at the symptoms, " Back, heat, dorsal region, scapulae between" and "Abdomen, pain, stones, like sharp, rubbing together", probably all would agree that the first symptom can be used in Veterinary Medicine, whereas the second one cannot be assessed in animals. Even if we limit ourselves to domestic animals, it's impossible to use the Repertory in the same way, rubric for rubric. We have to look at individual symptoms in order to judge their validity. As an aside, it has to be noted that veterinarians have used the repertory for a long time with good results. It's just a question of how to use the book. In order to be successful one has to have a sound knowledge of the repertory. Much too frequently this method is unsuccessful because the structure of the repertory is not known, or because one doesn't know where and how to find a rubric, or which symptoms are relevant in Veterinary Medicine. I want to stress the point again: Without a sound knowledge of the repertory, it's impossible to utilize it.
The best way to learn is to take courses together with your Human Doctor colleagues. If you learn along with a physician, you will examine rubrics that you wouldn't look at otherwise. I remember my first years: In the evening after the course, and later the supervision lessons with Dr. Jost Künzli had come to an end, I always had dinner with two human doctors and we went through all the chapters of the repertory. This work turned out to be fruitful for all three of us. I preferred some rubrics/chapters they preferred others. Without studying together, we would have missed many symptoms that are useful in daily practice. Physicians tend to look at the subjective symptoms closely; veterinarians prefer the objective signs. It is crucial to know both types. That's why a combination of vets and physicians turns out to be a wonderful thing for a course. We stick to this combination for the introductory courses in Switzerland with great success. Of course, specialized courses are useful, but the basics are the same in homoeopathy — be it human or animal.
We have mentioned two symptoms. One is an objective and palpable sign, the other one a subjective feeling. Even if animals do possess the latter, it's impossible to sort them out. The absence of the human language results in a loss of roughly half of the existing rubrics. If we look at the "Head" chapter for instance, we see that out of 94 pages, 71 deal with headache alone. Rarely can we utilize a headache rubric in a repertorization of animals and we can never be 100% sure about it's validity. Maybe when the case is cured we will know that it was really pain in the head; before the first prescription, we cannot be sure. With the qualities of pain, it's even more extreme: We can never find out if the patient suffers from stitching or boring pains if they don't say so. Of course, there are exceptions: In a headshaker for example, it be from a neuralgia of the Nervus trigeminus, and we would look under shooting or drawing pains. It's due to these exceptions that vets have to know all of the repertory, even the subjective symptoms. Some cases can only be solved in this way. If you find a simile like this, it will be a case to remember.
Let's consider the average case: Practically all sensations cannot be used in Veterinary Homoeopathy. However, this is no reason to neglect studying the entire repertory. You would otherwise miss rubrics such as Fear from heights ("Vertigo, high places"), or colic during the female estrus ("Abdomen, pain, cramping, menses, during"). Therefore, it would be counterproductive to remove half of the repertory for veterinary purposes, even if the book becomes less heavy and bulky. Any of us may discover important symptoms that nobody else thought of previously. I would like to have an international network to communicate quality symptoms in veterinary homoeopathy. This would enhance the further development of the Veterinary Repertory.
2.2. Species- and Breed Specific Disposition
We know that most subjective symptoms are of little value for animal patients. The second problem is demonstrated by the Inuit/Indian example. The difference between these peoples and Americans is definitely less than between animals and people. Of course, we cannot lump all animals together. It's of no relevance to ask ourselves if dogs are closer to horses or to humans, or horses closer to humans or dogs. There is the problem of Species-Specific Differences. Within a species we encounter clear Breed-Specific Variations, which result in the fact that certain symptoms are peculiar in one breed and common in another breed. Accordingly, we have to order symptoms according to genus, species, and breed. This order is dependent on the animal's Anatomy and Physiology.
Here's an example: We treat an unspayed female Dachshund. The dog dislikes thunder, likes to be tickled, sleeps lying on it's side, likes to eat during the night, shows pseudopregnancy with milk and has an aversion to fish (with the exception of tuna) and fruit. These symptoms may be appropriate for a repertorization:
A) Peculiar Symptom1) Pseudopregnancy: Chest, milk, nonpregnant women
B) Mind Symptoms
3) Likes to be tickled: Mind, affectionateC) Generals
5) Likes to eat during the night: Stomach, appetite, increased, night
6) Small Breed: Generalities, dwarfishness
7) Aversion to Fish: Stomach, aversion, fish
8) Aversion to Fruit: Stomach, aversion, fruit
If we repertorize we get the following result:
From this repertorization, Phosphorus fits best. However, let's talk about the symptoms in detail:
Milk in nonpregnant women was taken as a peculiar symptom. If we know the ethology of wolves, it becomes evident that this symptom is not peculiar at all, it's common. In a wolf pack, the leading female alone gives birth to the puppies, but the other females, which are all lower in rank, nurse them. The real mother doesn't feed them, the other ones get pseudopregnant synchronous to the birth animal and act as wet nurses. Because of the dog's physiology, the symptom is not peculiar anymore. Hence, the symptom provides only a hint that our patient is not very domineering. Of course, it's different if a dog in such a state loses milk because it drips to the ground. Here we would take the symptom "Chest, milk, flowing", as this is very unusual. Therefore, the rubric "Chest, milk, nonpregnant women" in dogs is usually of very little value.
Consider the Mind Symptoms. Is the rubric "Fear of thunderstorm" correct? We have to discriminate between fear of noise and fear of thunderstorm. In the first case we have to take the rubrics "Mind, fear, noise, from" and "Mind, anxiety, noise, from". Only if we are sure that the thunderstorm is responsible for the fright can we use this symptom. By the way, this is the reason Pulsatilla can cure "Fear of Thunderstorms". The remedy is not in the rubric, but in the rubric, "Anxiety from Noise".
The next rubric, "Mind, affectionate" cannot be used without more information. It's certainly incorrect to take it as a symptom if a dog likes to be petted. Only if the strokes are sought actively is it a valuable symptom. A passive toleration of affection is not the meaning of this rubric.
Let's look at the first General Symptom. How should a dog sleep, if not on it's side? This symptom is obviously a poor choice and not worth thinking about. If, on the other hand, an animal (maybe not a turtle) predominantly sleeps on the abdomen, this would be a good general symptom. The symptom in the repertory is: "Sleep, position, abdomen, on". One remedy that doesn't show in the original Kent (but is in Synthesis), and is frequently encountered in connection with this symptom, is Medorrhinum.
The next rubric in our repertorization is "Dwarfishness". What Dachshund isn't small? In symptoms that are related to specific breeds, we have to consider the Indian/Inuit Rule. I know this topic is frequently discussed in Veterinary Medicine. There are good homoeopaths who say that, in small breeds, this rubric has to be taken into consideration in order to find a simile. However, what about small species? Does the same argument hold there as well? Don't Phosphorus or Pulsatilla Dachshunds exist (two remedies that are not in the rubric)? The reason why people try to take these symptoms is bound to our anthropocentric philosophy. Through the knowledge we have in ecology, we know that mankind is not the centre of the earth. We have to give each species and breed it's space and it's own normality - this is especially true in homoeopathy. Otherwise, you would use the rubric "aversion to fruit" in carnivores.
"Appetite which is increased during the night" is also misleading. Any animal that seeks shelter will favourably eat and digest during it's rest time. Of course, the rubric is appropriate if a dog only eats in the nighttime. Domestication has changed animal eating patterns; they usually eat when they get something. The last rubric, "aversion to fish" cannot be taken into consideration if the dog eats tuna. If the symptom were characteristic, no fish would be eaten.
What's normal for humans cannot be taken for granted in animals. What's peculiar in a horse, doesn't have to be special in a cat. Always consider the value of the symptoms chosen and don't just take a rubric because you found it. How would you perceive masturbation in male dogs ("Genitalia Male, masturbation, disposition to"). If a dog exaggerates this sexual activity, it's certainly a general symptom. If the masturbation occurs from time to time this is normal, most dogs have no other way to explore their sexuality. How would you treat horses that sleep with the head on their feces? Can one take the rubric "Dirty"; "Skin, filthy"? Probably not, as they tend to do this in winter, perhaps to feel warmth. The same holds true for coughing after drinking in a river ("Cough, drinking, after") with dogs. Too many dog species do this, thus it is not a peculiar symptom. An eversion of the lids ("Eye, eversion of lids") in Great Danes is a breed specific point and unimportant for homoeopathy.
If symptoms have a genetic or social cause, they cannot be taken into consideration for the analysis of a case. As homoeopathic veterinarians, we have to understand about ethology, species and breed specifics. If one is unsure, it's always possible to ask the owners, often they know a lot about their type of animal. It's never a sign of stupidity not to know everything. The more you know, the better you will be able to discriminate between valuable or worthless rubrics.
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Veterinary Synthesis Repertory
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$200 | |||
| Disk Space: 50MB
Prerequisite: RADAR Essentials (Pkg 1) | |||||
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