From Toxicology to Clinical Application:

Applying Primary Source Research to Homeopathic Practice

Jamie Oskin, ND, DTBRm, DHANP

In a previous NDNR editorial, I gave a review of a groundbreaking new conference at Sonoran University in Tempe, Arizona, that was a collaborative project of the American Institute of Homœopathy (AIH), Homœopathic Academy of Naturopathic Physicians (HANP), Homœopathic Nurses Association (HNA), and Academy of Veterinary Homœopathy (AVH). 

The theme of the conference was: 

Returning to Our Roots: Utilizing Primary Sources to apply Hahnemann’s methodology for consistently exceptional clinical outcomes.

If you missed the conference but would like to view the video recordings, they are available for purchase online. Revenue generated from the conference and post-conference video recording sales go to support the non-profit organizations that helped create this collaborative project. 

In this article, I present an example from the literature of a toxicological report of Arsenicum album to demonstrate the value of examining primary source citations from Hahnemann to better understand substance effects as a method for studying materia medica. I will then share a clinical case effectively treated homœopathically with Arsenicum album to demonstrate how studying these toxicological sources can improve clinical outcomes. This case exemplifies the value of the new, open access, digital online library, the HANP Dimitriadis Literature Collection, composed of homœopathic and historical medical literature housed online at Sonoran University. 

Toxicology Report:
I will present a short example from the literature of a toxicology report of Arsenicum album to demonstrate the value of examining these primary source citations from Hahnemann to better understand substance effects as a method for studying materia medica, which can lead to improved clinical outcomes. One of the great values of these toxicology reports is that they tell a story with a timeline of events that unfold with a person exposed to a substance. These stories of toxicological poisonings are often so richly described that they form an impression of the substance’s effects that are easily remembered in a much more complex way to apprehend simply from the symptom lists in the materia medicæ. 

Unfortunately, we no longer have access to the provers’ day books to see the time course of symptom development that emerged during the original provings (methodical substance trials) because Hahnemann abstracted bits of each provers’ symptoms and rearranged them by their anatomical location in the schema of his materia medicæ because the purpose of Hahnemann’s Materia Medica Pura and Chronic Diseases was meant to be a reference work for the prescriber, but not necessarily a place to study the substance effects in their original sequence in time. Additionally, the toxicological reports extend to pathology in a way that provings do not, since it would be unethical to do a prospective trial on healthy subjects to the point of pathological poisoning. As such, the toxicological reports give us a glimmer of insight into the extension of possible pathologies that may be treated with medicine applied homœopathically (via similars). 

With the digitized PDF, we can now find these Hahnemann sources and examine them ourselves. Now, with the HANP Dimitriadis Literature Collection. Here are screenshots. I searched for this Arsenicum toxicological report in our new online library. 

Here is a retyped extract from William Baylies brief toxicology report of Arsenicum toxicity.^1A

“Dr. Turner quotes an instance from a learned writer, wherein a wound made on the head with a comb wet with oil in which arsenic had been infused, brought on vomitings and purgings that proved mortal: and in the Edinburgh medical essays, we have an instance of a person who by only touching with her tongue the tip of her finger that was all arsenic, to discover what it was; though she was certain she swallowed none of it, that twelve hours after became suddenly vertiginous & was affected with most of the common consequence of taking it inwardly; and which by the several ingenious authors who have wrote on the subject are described to be pricking, twitching, irritating and burning sensations, a cruel pain and heat at the stomach with raging torture of the bowels which it frequently corrodes and ulcerates; a blackness & swelling of the tongue and lips, great distension of the hypocondrias, a dryness of the jaws & throat, tremblings, intermiting pulse, failure of strength, dimness of sight, noise in the ears, hiccough, palpitation of the heart, cold sweats, coldness of the extremities, sownings, convulsions & a bloating of the whole body; a discolouration of the nails, falling off of the hairs, spots on the skin in several parts, a violent discharge both upwards & downwards, which is sometimes black poisonous and filthy like to carrion, and is accompanied with a gangrene & mortification of the stomach & intestines, by some or all of which the scene is generally closed with a painful death.” 

Hahnemann recruits the following eight symptoms into Arsenicum album from this account from Baylies:

• 154. Falling out of the hair of the head. [B₁₅]
• 228. Obscuration of sight. [B₁₅]
• 255. Roaring in the ears. [T₆; B₁₅]
• 289. The lips are bluish. [B₁₅] [blackish]
• 319. The tongue is bluish. [B₁₅] [blackish]
• 587. Black, acrid, putrid stools. [B₁₅]
• 817. Discolored nails. [B₁₅]
• 1038. Spots here and there on the skin. [B₁₅]

Case Example: 

Herein is a case from the authors’ practice to illustrate the application of the law of similars from toxicology reports to symptom inclusion in the materia medicæ to clinical application in praxis. 

An 11-year-old female presented to me on February 14, 2024. Her parents were seeking homœopathic treatment for symptoms related to autism spectrum disorder. Below is a list of the main symptoms in her case: 

• History of greenish-blue spots on the back of hands and back at birth due to lack of oxygenation (lasted 6 months after birth). 
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): regression after vexation with shock at 11 months old after a religious head shaving ceremony/ear piercing followed by when Dad moved from India to the US and temporarily left the family behind until they could follow. It was as if it was a PTSD-like reaction with regression and speech delay due to separation anxiety from Dad. 
• Separation anxiety specifically from Dad ever since the initial shock at 1-year-old (e.g., she was constantly checking for Dad, must sleep next to Dad nearby, and touching his ear to make sure he’s there). 
• Poor focus and short attention span (better when acutely sick). 
• Difficult comprehension. 
• Speech delay (constant speaking, repeating questions before answering, echolalia, better when acutely sick). 
• Repetitive speech (anxiously repeats the same thing 100-200 times daily – e.g., “Tuesday is a school day”). 
• Hyperactivity (running, jumping, sitting still when acutely sick). 
• Hypersensitivity to noise to certain particular sounds (e.g., a specific sound in a song, shrill sounds, blowing sounds). 
• Sensitive to touching hair, combing hair, and cutting hair (worse after ceremonial head shaving at 11 months old). 
• Stimming (tapping fingers, flapping hands). 
• History of frequent ear infections and fevers when Dad left for the US. 
• Aversion to socializing with strangers and desire to spend time alone on her media device (e.g., not afraid of strangers and not shy, but at a party, she will find a room to go off to be alone while watching media on a smartphone). 
• Thirst for large quantities of room temperature water. 
• She wants things to be clean and is a perfectionist about things being as she wants them to be. 

The case was analyzed using the computerized version of Bönninghausen’s Therapeutic Pocketbook through its most accurate English translation, TBR_2.1²_.

I prescribed Arsenicum album Q1 (L) daily. This remedy is well known historically for its applicability in cases with anxiety, perfectionism, restlessness, and thirst, which are similar to my patient’s case. In addition, there is evidence from the materia medica of symptoms of Arsenicum toxicity causing dark spots on the skin to confirm the match via similars. 

Arsenicum album in The Chronic Diseases, Their Peculiar Nature and Their Homœopathic Cure. CD³

• 271. Earthy and leaden complexion, with green and blue spots and stripes. [Knape, l.c.]
• 291. Black-spotted lips. [Guilbert, l.c.]
• 1038. Spots here and there on the skin. [Baylies, l.c.]
• 1039. Blue spots on the abdomen, on the genitals, and in the white of the eye. [Kaiser, l.c.]

The family returned for the first follow-up on Arsenicum Q1 (L) once per day four weeks later. They reported that she was less restless and could now sit for fifteen to twenty minutes at a time. She was also experiencing improved comprehension. For example, she was now paying attention to the family’s conversations—whereas, in the past, she would leave the room. After a conversation, she would repeat some words. She had a trip to her new middle school the day prior, and when asked about the experience, she said she liked the school, “bus ride, black school, black school, like school, swimming pool, playground.” Typically, she would repeat only the last two or three words her parents said, but this time, she responded with three to four words. Since she appeared to be responding to the medicine, we continued at the same potency and frequency.

She returned for her second follow-up on Arsenicum Q1 (L) once per day three weeks later. The restlessness maintained the same improvement, with her able to sit for fifteen to twenty minutes before getting up. Additionally, her parents reported that she had been using new words. For example, when they asked her what happened in school, she would list all the activities: “school bus, recess, break, lunchtime, go home, writing, math.” When they asked, “What in class?” for more detail, she responded, “Math, writing.” Despite these improvements, she slightly worsened in asking obsessive, repetitive questions. Since the case was still well covered by the same medicine, we increased the potency to Arsenicum Q2 (L) once per day.

They returned for a four-week follow-up on Arsenicum Q2 (L) once per day. The parents reported that she could now sit and focus for up to twenty minutes at a time. Her speech had improved from one-word phrases to two- to three-word phrases with more depth in her communication. The obsessive, repetitive speech had reduced to thirty to fifty repetitions, down from the previous one hundred to two hundred repetitions of a phrase. Her thirst was normal, and her perfectionist desire for things to be clean was no longer present. She had been improving, but slowly. However, since her parents were familiar with homœopathy and wanted to try a higher potency for more marked improvement, we agreed to begin Arsenicum 200c (L) daily.

At her subsequent one-month follow-up on Arsenicum 200c (L) once per day, she showed improvement in being less hyperactive, less tapping (stimming), better comprehension in following directions, reduced separation anxiety from her father (not needing to touch him while sleeping), and allowing her mother to comb her hair with less crying. She was also more engaged at a recent social event and was okay with having her picture taken. Her repetitive speech had improved but was gradually returning, so we increased the potency to Arsenicum 1M (L) once daily.

She followed up seven weeks after starting Arsenicum 1M (L). At that appointment, her parents reported that she was trying new foods, whether she liked them or not. They took her to a wedding, where she could sit in her seat without inappropriate behaviors for about three hours—without any aid from media devices. On another occasion, they went to the park, and she responded to a social cue from her brother without prompting, indicating increased social awareness. Her parents also reported she was using more new words and still spoke in one- to two-word phrases but with a broader vocabulary. She continued to tap and talk continuously. Notably, she saw a pregnant woman and approached her, saying, “baby inside,” demonstrating improved awareness of others and expressive speech. However, she began experiencing intense sweating with marked body odor, prompting a remedy change to Baryta carbonica, which later proved effective—but that is another story.

This case demonstrates gradual improvement in symptoms experienced by a young female on the Autism Spectrum with the homœopathic medicine Arsenicum album, selected via similars and supported by evidence from primary source literature.

Conclusion: 

This brief Arsenicum toxicology report and case example demonstrate the value of examining these primary source citations from Hahnemann to better understand substance effects as a method for studying materia medica, which can lead to improved clinical outcomes. 

We hope that our profession will widely use the HANP Dimitriadis Literature Collection and will inspire a new generation of homœopaths to utilize this tool to create a revival of interest in source literature research that can be used for a wide variety of purposes such as personal study, group materia medica study groups, research to update and correct our materia medicæ sources, publications, future conferences on related topics, and much more. 

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References:

1. Baylies, William: Practical Essays on medical Subjects by a member of the Royal College of Physicians of London and Edinburgh, London, 1765, p.85.
2. Dimitriadis G.: The Bönninghausen Repertory-therapeutic pocket book method, Hahnemann Institute Sydney, 2010, 2^nd edition [TBR₂]. Analyses shown using TBR_2.1 software version (of TBR₂) which is now available as cloud based online platform, available by annual/monthly subscription.
3. Hahnemann S.: The Chronic Diseases, Their Peculiar Nature and Their Homœopathic Cure. 2^nd ed. Translated by Tafel LH [1895]. Indian Reprint, New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers; 2011.