This book is designed as a type of repertory, but is unique in that it is arranged by conditions rather than by symptoms. As an example, there are approximately 200 remedies listed in major repertories as having burning pain in the stomach, an all too common modern-day complaint. But, since this symptom can be indicative of many different conditions, the practitioner who is looking for a remedy specifically for excess stomach acid would find the listing Hyperchlorhydria most helpful. In addition, among the distinctive remedies listed there for this condition, Acetic acid, Chininum arsenicosum, Grindelia and Robinia are not well known remedies which would ordinarily come to mind for this condition, and would therefore generally be overlooked. In this book you will find definitive consideration of such therapeutic subjects as Fibromyalgia, Hyperactivity, Aneurism, Mitral Valve Problems, Bronchitis, Lazy-Eye Syndrome, Anemia, Macular Degeneration, Psoriasis, Emphysema and many more. More importantly, it offers the reader a way to access the experiences of a select group of master homeopaths in specific clinical therapeutics.
There is also a Blood Chemistry and a Urinalysis section which information may aid in the final confirmation of specific remedy indications. As an example: suppose you are debating between two or three strongly indicated remedies, and one of them is well known to have a strong effect on the liver. The fact that a blood chemistry work-up in this case happens to indicate significant elevated liver enzymes may be just the needed information for an effective remedy choice.
The book ends with an extremely helpful Appendix, where you will find specific remedies listed for their known effectiveness on body systems and individual organs, such as those remedies which appear to target the Circulatory, Digestive, Nervous, and Reproductive systems, etc. For example, while Bryonia is listed as the only remedy under chest, aching, sternum in most repertories, in this Appendix, under the Musculoskeletal System Bones, you will find an even more specific indication aching pain at the end of the sternum, a relatively unusual symptom found under an equally uncommon remedy, Trillium pendulum. Where else would you expect to find an effective remedy for chronic fallopian tube disease? Would you ever think of the remedy Eupion, as listed under the female reproductive system, or of Palladium, a rare specific ovarian remedy? Thus, you will find, with relative ease, many small and/or rare remedies that you would not normally even consider.
- Author: Sandra Perko
- ISBN: 9780965318730
- 615 pages
- Paperback
- Published in 2008
- Printed in United States
Reprinted with the permission of The Society of Homeopaths (from "The Homeopath" Journal Winter 2008). Reviewed by Jean Duckworth.
The Homeopathic Therapeutic Subject Reference, a paperback, just over A5 size, has 615 pages, printed on good quality paper. Perko says that this book has been developed over a long period of time, and is the one that she wished she could access whilst in practice.
For me the tension about when we use therapeutics in our practice is evident, and Perko acknowledges this when she quotes Elizabeth Wright Hubbard as stating "One fundamental principle drilled into every good Kentian homoeopathic student is that one must not prescribe pathologically ... We realize that pathology is an ultimate, exteriorization, a protective out-throwing, an excrescence, or discharge on the part of the organism. Our tendency is, then, to throw pathology overboard and to disregard all such symptoms and organic facts that we class under this heading. If we do not take great care we find we are not succeeding as we should, that we are giving remedies on functional symptoms only, and that these remedies do not have the power to produce, and so cure, the given pathology... So, little by little, our own experience, as well as that of many master prescribers, will bring it home to us that pathology is to be considered in prescribing - not as a sole basis, but as an important factor in the totality of symptoms."
Perko is also at pains to highlight how this book should be used, and more important how it should not be used. This element is important and this book is not simply a list of remedies for specific conditions but is to be used for guidance and to provide insight into the use of some of the smaller or less well-proven remedies. The entries are referenced so it is possible to track down the source of the entries if further information is needed, although much of the information is from Boericke. There are omissions however, and just because a remedy is not listed does not mean to say that it should not be considered. One example of this is that neither Calcarea sulphurica nor Myristica are listed as remedies for abscess.
This notwithstanding, some homeopaths may find the book a very useful resource to confirm remedies or to choose a remedy that they may otherwise have overlooked.
Reprinted with the permission of The Homeopathic Links Journal, volume 22, Spring 2009 Reviewed by Francis Treuherz, UK.
Here is a new book of therapeutics by an experienced homeopathic practitioner and author. The book is an alphabetical compendium of clinical terms and sub-terms with short listings by remedy under each heading. Her reference sources are briefly mentioned in the introduction but there is no comprehensive bibliography. These sources are limited to authorities which are few in number but very reliable: Bod-man, Boericke, Blackie, Dewey, EA Farrington, Foubister, Roberts, Shepherd, Wright-Hubbard and the Central Council Homeopathic Research (CCHR) of India. The book is simply laid out in two columns in Times font and looks as if it has been exported from a word processor with no further attention paid to layout or design.
The use of a limited number of source books is an advantage in that we can imagine that this book is reliable, and this is the author's experience. But it is also limiting as the strict criterion for inclusion is a clinical term. Chickenpox, for example, has Urtica Urens as the sole remedy listed as it is so mentioned in Boericke and no other book uses the clinical term. Ergo, the criterion has become a straitjacket. As an example I looked up Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which has been exercising my mind and wrist recently, and find again only one entry, which includes prescribing two remedies together, Graphites and Thiosinaminum on the suggestion of Foubister. On the other hand from the Metrorrhagia entry I learned something from the remedies listed. I have perused many more and very valuable entries. Then I discovered another section not mentioned anywhere, on Page 557: for organ remedies. This is also useful but you would not expect it after Z, and with Burnett not used as a source it is very partial.
The lack of good design matters in a reference book as it hinders quick navigation. There are no headers or footers, so in a large entry, Headache for example, there are no signposts, there is no letter of the alphabet visible, or any noticeable cross-reference. There is no further index, and no comprehensive remedy reference list, and no mention of which author is responsible for each section. So the simplicity is deceptive. I would contrast the lack of organisation and aesthetic found here with the accessible approach of Asa Hershoff in his Homeopathy for Musculoskeletal Healing (North Atlantic Books, 1996).
So my verdict on this book is simple: there are some extremely valuable references here, all in one place, but with insufficient tools for easy navigation. The book has to compete with computer software. It would be great if it were accessible on my laptop, so why not look for a shell program and redesign it not only as a book but as a Mac and Windows, program? This book could be gem for every consulting room as it stands, and even better with more development.
