Particular and Common Symptoms.
The generals always rule out non-agreeing particulars. Under the
particular symptoms we find:
“The symptoms that are predicated of a given organ are things
in particular. The symptoms that cannot be explained are often very
peculiar. The more they relate to the anatomy of a part, the more
external they are; the more they relate to tissues the more liable
they are to be particular, although many symptoms of regions are
both common and particular. Symptoms are on a more or less sliding
scale. What is peculiar in one remedy may be in no degree peculiar
in another; of instance, it would not be peculiar to have a fever
patient thirsty. It is common thing for them to want to drink, but
it would be peculiar to have a patient without fever or chill who
wanted to drink all the time, as we find in some chronic cases.”
(Lectures on Homoeopathic Philosophy, pp. 237-240.)
Under common symptoms we find: “All those which are common
to both the drug and disease. That which is
pathogenic is always common. For instance, if we had a pleurisy
(patient) it would be a common thing to want to
keep the chest wall quiet and you would get the symptom worse from
motion, one of the keynotes of Bryonia; but if
there were no other symptoms of Bryonia present we could not make
a prescription on that rubric alone. Again, if we
had abscess it would be a common thing for it to be sensitive, and
if pus was forming we would have throbbing
pains and redness, but Belladonna could not be given on these common
symptoms if there were no other Belladonna
symptoms present. You can readily see how the common symptoms have
no place in our repertory work. You need
not bother with the common symptoms, for when you have worked your
case out from the generals and particulars
turn to your materia medica and you will find the remedy will contain
most of the common symptoms.” (Ibid., p.
238, 245.)
Grades of Particular and Common Symptoms.
After considering the generals we take up the symptoms referring
to various parts or organs of the body. These are
known as particulars, and are of lower value in repertory analysis
than generals.
Running through all symptoms from innermost to outermost, from
mind to skin, from generals to particulars, we
have two divisions:
(a) The strange, rare, peculiar and uncommon symptoms.
(b) The common symptoms.
Be these general or particular, mental or physical, common symptoms
must be considered last in every case of
repertory study. First, we must become familiar with symptoms that
are common, then it will be easy to know what
are uncommon strange, rare and peculiar.
Common symptoms as related to many remedies are found in the large
rubrics in the repertory, such as
constipation, irritability, chill, fever, sweat, weakness, etc.
These common symptoms may become peculiar where
their circumstances are peculiar, such as trembling during stool,
before a storm, during urination, etc. Chilliness, if
constant, is a strong, common general, as it refers to the whole
patient, but if it comes only in bed, or before
urination, or before, during or after stool or in relation to menses
or only at night or while eating, it is at once changed
to a strange, rare, peculiar or characteristic.
Weakness is also common if constant, but may become uncommon,
strange, rare or peculiar if it comes only while
eating, or during a storm or after stool or when cold.
All of these modalities are common to no known disease, and so
they become striking and peculiar and help to
individualize the picture for repertory work.
It is in showing what is common to disease that pathology helps
us,
hence it is important that we make a diagnosis, not that we may
prescribe for the disease, per se, but to know what symptoms are
common, and, therefore, worthless as
individualizers.
The common diagnostic symptoms of typhoid fever are the general
malaise, epistaxis, the peculiar temperature wave,
gurgling and tenderness in the right iliac fossa, rose spots, early
dicrotic pulse, enlarged spleen, Widal reaction of
the blood, Diazzo reaction of the urine. These symptoms you use
to make your diagnosis; you expect to find
them in every case, but among them are no symptoms to lead you to
a remedy.
Pathology through diagnosis helps us to eliminate many symptoms
as result of disease. Stiffness may be a very
troublesome symptom to your patient, but if it is the result of
an ankylosed joint you know that remedies would not
cure, therefore that symptom would be ruled out.
Pains due to pressure of tumors or growths in the abdomen are
very troublesome to the patient, but we know that
when such end products of disease exist, it is beyond the realm
of medicine to cure without the removal of the
offending growth. Thus all symptoms produced by pressure of the
growth must be ruled out of the symptom picture to
be used in repertory analysis.
Kent says: “We must not expect a remedy that has the generals
must have all the little symptoms. It is a waste of time
to run out all the little symptoms if the remedy has the generals.
Learn to omit the useless particulars, the
common particulars - common particulars are generally worthless.
Get the strong, strange, peculiar symptoms and then
see to it that there are no generals in the case that oppose or
contradict.” |