‘World Health Organisation’ celebrates 7th April every year as ‘World Health Day’ to raise awareness of health, disease and cure. Let us review each of them. 

HEALTH:

Health is not just merely an absence of disease but a dynamic entity where a state of equilibrium keeps the constitution of an individual whole in harmony [1]. Constitution means a person’s state of health, including their temperament and any inherited and acquired characteristics. Genetic code genome is responsible for what’s going to constitute the make-up of a resulting individual.

DISEASE:

A disease is a dynamic disposition in harmony with constitution due to either non-maintenance of equilibrium or physio-chemical alteration of tissues. Symptoms are the language of a disease. The genetic code map is responsible for physical, mental and emotional symptoms, which are a result of both functional disorders and structural changes in the body.

CURE: 

The single purpose and highest ideal of the medicine is a cure. 

The Physician’s high and only mission is to restore the sick to health, to cure, as it is termed

— Samuel Hahnemann, Aphorism 1, Organon der Rationelien Heilkunden (Organon of Rational Art of Healing), 1819

The cure is “the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health, or removal and annihilation of the disease in its whole extent, in the shortest, most reliable, and most harmless way, based on easily comprehensible principles” [2].

The direction of cure was first mentioned [3] by Hippocrates. In the 49th of his aphorisms he wrote, “In a person suffering from angina pectoris, the appearance of swelling and erythema on the chest is a good sign, for it shows that the disease is moving towards the circumference”. And in aphorism 26 of section 6, he writes, “If erysipelas moves from the outside to the inside, it is a bad sign, but if the opposite happens it is a good sign.”

The progress of cure in chronic diseases was mentioned [4] by Dr Hahnemann where he stated that during the course of treatment the cure progresses from above (top of the body) downwards (head to chest to abdomen to legs), from within (inside of the body) outwards (exterior, often as skin eruptions), center to periphery, from more important organ to less vital one (brain followed by heart, liver, kidney and lungs followed by muscle and skin), in reverse order of coming of the symptoms (presenting symptoms disappear in the reverse order of their appearance i.e. first in last out, so old symptoms might resurface).

MEDICINE: 

Albrecht von Haller had postulated as early as 1771 that the effect of a drug ought to be tested on healthy persons before it was given to the sick but it was Hahnemann who in 1790 first tested the effect of drug (Cinchona) on healthy human being [5] and published [6] the results in 1796.

WHO THEMES on World Health Day:

  • 2018: Universal Health Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere
  • 2017: Depression
  • 2016: Diabetes
  • 2013: Healthy Heartbeat, Healthy Blood Pressure
  • 1998: Safe Motherhood
  • 1997: Infectious Diseases
  • 1995: Polio

CONCLUSION

Real and fundamental improvements in healthcare management with patient’s health in focus should be the central theme [7].

REFERENCES

[1] Nancy Malik. Basic Principles of Homeopathy Explained. Version 25. Science-based Homeopathy. 2016 Jan 6. https://drnancymalik.wordpress.com/article/homeopathy-explained/

[2] Samuel Hahnemann. Organon da arte de curar. 6th edition. São Paulo: Robe; 1996.

[3] George Vithoulkas. Homeopathic Medicine for the new millennium

[4] Samuel Hahnemann. The Chronic Diseases: their nature and homoeopathic treatment, 1st edition, page 135, 1828 https://sites.google.com/site/drbidani/knowledge-bank/TheChronicDiseases.pdf?attredirects=0

[5] B.K. Sarkar. History of Medicine with special reference to Homoeopathy, Sept. 1949, Essays on Homoeopathy, Hahnemann Publishing Company Pvt. Ltd, Calcutta, India, 1968. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0b69JqzK_44ODNhYWQ3OGYtYzE3ZC00MjYzLTkyNjEtZjNjYTFiZWY4ZjBj/view

[6] Samuel Hahnemann, “Experiments concerning a new principle for the discovery of the healing forces of drug substances besides a short review of what is known so far”, Zeitschrift für Praktischen Medizin (Journal of Practical Medicine), Vol.1, Issue 1, 1796.

[7] Nancy Malik. World health Day on 7th April. Science-based Homeopathy. https://drnancymalik.wordpress.com/2016/04/07/world-health-day-on-7th-april/

Image Courtesy: https://blog.cincinnatichildrens.org/