Homeopathy I - Hering’s Law of Cure Flashcards
Hering’s Law of Cure
The Law of Cure (direction of cure) was discovered by Dr Constantine Hering (1800–1880). It states that:
Healing progresses:
1. From inside out.
2. From more serious organs to less serious organs.
3. From above to below
4. The mind gets better before the body.
5. Symptoms disappear in the reverse order to when they arrived.
Symptoms that progress in this direction = healing taking place.
Symptoms that progress in the opposite direction = suppression.
Herings Law of Cure:
1. From inside out
- From inside out: E.g., boil formation ― clears toxins from the inside to exterior away from more vital organs.
Case: A teenage boy presents with chronic cystic acne.
* He has been on two cycles of 6-month antibiotics with a month’s break in between.
* He was subsequently put on to Roaccutane for 8 months with only mild improvement to his acne.
* During a month of cleansing herbs and homeopathy, his acne became worse, then gradually improved.
Herings Law of Cure:
2. From more serious organs to less serious organs:
- From more serious organs to less serious organs: E.g., from lungs (asthma) to skin (eczema)
Case: Teenager presented with asthma since 10 years old.
* It was revealed that he had been ‘treated’ with corticosteroid creams for eczema from aged 3 until 8 years old.
* Once starting homeopathic treatment, asthma symptoms subsided but eczema symptoms resurfaced.
* Homeopathic treatment continued for a further 10 months.
* Over this time the eczema progressively resolved and the patient has not had eczema or asthma symptoms for over 2 years.
Herings Law of Cure:
3. From above to below:
- From above to below: E.g., psoriasis which moves from the back of the ears, down the arm to the hands.
Case:39-year-old female presented with chronic rheumatoid arthritis.
* It had been particularly aggressive, progressing from her distal finger joints, to her wrists, to her elbows.
* With homeopathic treatment, the elbow pain ceased and the wrist pain slowly began to improve.
* After 2 months of treatment, she no longer suffered pain in the wrists, the elbow pain had not returned, and the pain in her finger joints had improved.Herings Law of Cure:
4. The mind gets better before the body:
- The mind gets better before the body: E.g., anxiety starts improving prior to the improvement of IBS.
Case: 58-year-old female presented with chronic joint pain.
* Case taking revealed that the joint pain started soon after the passing of her mother. They had a strained relationship and she had a lot of anger and resentment towards her mother.
* Since her mother’s death, she was left with a very dark depression.
* On starting homeopathic treatment, the depression started to improve and she felt more forgiving towards her mother.
* Shortly after, her joint pain began subsiding. After 9 months of treatment, she was much happier and the joint pain hadn’t returned.
Herings Law of Cure:
5. Symptoms disappear in the reverse order to when they arrived:
- Symptoms disappear in the reverse order to when they arrived: E.g., eczema that progressed to asthma. Asthma resolves first.
Case: 24-year-old male. Presents with frequent diarrhoea, headaches and poor concentration.
* It was revealed that he had been experiencing these symptoms ever since returning from a yoga retreat in India.
* While he was there he contracted numerous parasites, which were treated ‘effectively’ with antibiotics (Doxycyclin).
* One month after the antibiotics he started suffering from excessive bloating and diarrhoea.
* The bloating and diarrhoea progressed to additional headaches, fuzzy mental capacity and mouth ulcers.
* After starting homeopathic treatment, his headaches and concentration began improving.
* Over the next few days, his mouth ulcers cleared completely with no further eruptions.
* At his second follow-up 8 weeks after starting treatment, his diarrhoea and bloating had improved and he no longer required further treatment.
Going against the Law of Cure Vs Aligning with Hering’s Law of Cure:
Case example: Going against the Law of Cure:
* 56-year-old man presented with frequent episodes of pneumonia and rheumatism (joint pain in the hands and shoulders).
* As a teenager he suffered from eczema which was treated ‘successfully’ with a number of suppressive ointments.
* At 23 years of age, he was diagnosed with asthma, which was managed with a corticosteroid inhaler and a bronchodilator.
* Since asthma diagnosis, he had suffered frequent bouts of bronchitis and pneumoniaall treated with courses of antibiotics.
* He subsequently developed rheumatism when he was 52 years old which was being ‘treated’ with painkillers
Vs. Aligning with Hering’s Law of Cure:
* The 56-year-old client sought homeopathic treatment.
* Prescribed sulphur 1M, once weekly for 3 weeks.
* Follow-up 4 weeks later: Rheumatism had improved significantly. His asthma got worse for the first 2 weeks, but then began to improve and he had not needed his bronchodilator at all.
* Eczema had developed around the eyes and on his hands, which he explained was the same presentation of the eczema he had when he was a teenager.
* Prescribed sulphur LM6 taken daily until he reached LM16 (8 months) where the eczema had finally cleared.
