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The Leprosy Miasm and some of its Remedies
Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases known to mankind, going
back as far as 10 million years ago. The disease is caused by the
Mycobacterium leprae and the newly discovered Mycobacterium
lepromatosis. These bacteria thrives in the animal and human body
but not outside it's host, making it difficult to find a cure for. The
disease attacks the skin and nerves causing skin lesions, facial and extremity deformations, disabilities and in many cases, death. It is also one of the oldest known diseases that causes immense social stigma. The disease can stay dormant anywhere from 5 years to 20 years before it shows itself.
In Homeopathy, there are remedies that have similarities with the Leprosy disease and have been categorized into the Leprosy Miasm. This Miasm falls between the Tubercular Miasm and the Syphilitic Miasm. There can be some signs of romanticism in the remedies in this Miasmatic grouping but it is quickly overpowered by destructiveness both mentally and physically due to the Syphilitic nature of the Miasm.
Persons needing this remedy feel they are too dirty or disgusting to be wanted and so they feel they should be isolated or left in a corner somewhere to die, like an outcast to society. If they don’t hide then they will be hunted down and oppressed or be poisoned so they will no longer offend society with their presence. They have an intense desire for change but there is a sense of doom and hopelessness that nothing will ever change or be fixed and so they feel they should just give up. They will avoid people and become withdrawn to keep from feeling this way and they can become suicidal from the despair; they can self-mutilate themselves by biting or cutting themselves. The despair they feel of never being accepted can lead to a loathing of life or extreme contempt for mankind and possible violence towards them; they can become homicidal and extremely violent towards man. They can have reprehensible behavior and become perverted and sadistic to themselves as well as others. Physically this despair can show as paralysis, gangrene and ulcers or a loss of control in their thoughts or bodily functions.
A few remedies that fall in the Leprosy Miasm group, as characterized by Sankaran, are Aloe, Blatta, Curare, Cicuta, and Iodum.
Cicuta virosa, also called Water Hemlock, is a poisonous plant that acts on the brain,
nervous system, the gastro-intestinal tract and the skin. It is often used for paralysis, cancer, epilepsy, hemorrhages, traumatic head injuries, meningitis. Patients needing this remedy are anxious about their future and are profoundly affected by sad stories and events but are also saddened to see others happy. They can be suspicious and mistrustful of those around them, especially men, and likes to be left alone; they can be very contemptuous and indifferent. With epileptic attacks they have a tendency to sudden convulsions where the back arches or their head turns to one side while their body remains rigid or there is severe cramping and spasmodic movement of the limbs; the convulsions are usually followed by vomiting, pain and unconsciousness. In other parts of the body, they can feel oppressed and so they can’t breathe properly, or release their stool or urine normally-it’s as if the stool or urine were being oppressed and then suddenly released, or their heart stops beating only to start beating fast again causing trembling and abnormal palpitations. On the skin there are crusty eruptions that stand out so everyone can see but suppressing them can cause brain disease. One can see the hopelessness that runs through this remedy and destructiveness in the pathology.
Another remedy that falls in this Miasm is Aloe socotrina, the Common Aloe. In this remedy, there is a fear of death and so the person is restless and on guard for the slightest noise or movement. They are exhausted from this fear and can feel like life itself is a burden to them – they become dissatisfied and angry with themselves for their condition. Like Cicuta, they learn to hate people as a result of their despair and will push them away. In the early stages, these people can be very emotional, laugh a lot and be very chatty until the fear of death starts to build in their minds – they can go from being extremely active to extremely lazy. Unlike Cicuta, this remedy has a tendency to the abdominal region, the lumbar region, the head and the female organs. Body parts feel congested and so there is a sense of fullness, dragging or a static load that won’t move. Instead of feeling oppressed like Cicuta, everything just lets go; stool oozes out, the nose is runny, the rectum prolapses, menses are heavy, dark and clotted, there is an accelerated pulse and lots of pain all over the body.
Curare woorari is another remedy that falls into the Leprosy Miasm. Here, patients have given up and just don’t want to think or act for themselves; they can start off very excited with life but quickly fall into depression and just wants to be left alone like Cicuta and Aloe patients. Physically even their body wants to give up and there is extreme paralysis and weakness. Like Cicuta this remedy has a picture of epileptic convulsions with rigidity and fainting; they also have a tendency to skin problems similar to Cicuta. They can also have a tendency to thick clotted menses like you see in Aloe. They can lean towards self-abuse by biting and ripping and tearing and can become very irritable and aggressive to themselves and others.
Iodum, also known as Iodine, is another remedy good for convulsions and spasmodic effects of the body like Cicuta. In this remedy the patient is cross and restless. Unlike Aloe, they are anxious about their present condition and can’t even think about the future. They are so worried they’ve forgotten to do something but aren’t even sure of what they’ve forgotten. They are better keeping busy and have a tendency to move from place to place and being hurried in how they do things but this causes exhaustion. They can have impulses to do violence and can think about killing someone or even themselves; this can lead to depression, suicidal tendencies and a need to keep away from people-they don’t even like being looked at. This remedy tends to have a weaker chest than the
other remedies mentioned thus far.
Blatta orientalis, the Indian Cockroach, is also from the Leprosy Miasm and here the patients are anxious about their health and with reason. They suffer from chronic inflammation of the chest, causing asthma, bronchitis and other lung infections that can be detrimental to life. Patients are generally obese and can affect how they seem themselves in today’s “skinny” world.
In Complete Dynamics, the Leprosy Miasm contains the following remedies:
clinical; LEPRA, leprosy (77) : alum., anac., anac-oc., Ant-t., Ars., ars-i., bac., Bad., bar-c., bix., Calc., calo., Carb-ac., Carb-an., Carb-v., Carbn-s., Caust., CHAUL., com., con., crot-h., cupr.,
cupr-acet., cupr-ar., cur., daph., Dip., dulc., elae., ephin., form., Graph., guano, gymn., hell., Ho., hura, hydrc., iod., Iris, jatr., kali-c., Kali-i., kam., Lach., lepro., mag-c., mag-m., mang., Meph., merc., merc-n., merc-s., Nat-c., nat-m., nit-ac., Nuph., oena., petr., Phos., Pip-m., Psor., pyrar., SEC., Sep., Sil., still., SULPH., swer-ch., syph., tarent., thymol., Thyr., tinos., Tub., Tub-k., zinc.
Though each remedy has its own characteristic, we can see the common thread of disgust and feeling unwanted and isolated in each remedy and a feeling of despair and hopelessness that can lead to destruction, mentally and physically. With a rise in Aids, HIV and other incurable destructive diseases, the decline of society and what is now considered to be the norm compared to 50 years ago, the grueling need for beauty and wealth and the introduction of technology that
creates a disconnect amongst ourselves and takes us further and further apart from each other no matter how near we may actually be, it is no wonder that more and more people will start to hold themselves in disgust and contempt or find themselves as outcasts of society. This is the Leprosy Miasm and we should try to study it more because humankind seems to be going towards it willingly with the advent of time.
References:
Complete Dynamics 2012
MacRepertory & Reference Works
Sankaran’s Schema http://www.homeoint.org/books2/bogersyn/index.htm http://www.onlinehmp.com/summit/miasms.htm http://www.naturalworldhealing.com/chronic-miasms-table.htm http://structuralhomeopathy.blogspot.com/2012/02/characteristics-of-leprosy-miasm-in-hiv.html http://abchomeopathy.com/forum2.php/194590/ http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech/science/leprosy-is-the-oldest-ever-human-disease/article/373007 http://www.plosntds.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pntd.0002544
Classical Homeopath - Santa Clarita and the Greater Los Angeles Area