Homeopathy Papers

Update of the prior study of Homeopathy for Coronavirus Covid-19 Infection in Iran by Dr. Aditya Kasariyans and Dr. Rajan Sankaran

Dr. Rajan Sankaran shares updated reports of homeopaths in Iran on their treatment of 30 COVID-19 patients. Camphora and Phosphorus were the most frequently indicated remedies.

29th March 2020

Dr. Rajan Sankaran shares updated reports of homeopaths in Iran on their treatment of 30 COVID-19 patients.

Which homeopathic remedies did you use in the patients?

  • Camph: For 26 patients out of 30, Camph 1M was prescribed upon the analysis of collective symptoms gathered and the confirmation in every patient. Two of the patients didn’t have any peculiar symptoms pointing to a specific remedy or a distinct eliminating symptom or modality for Camph. So in these two also I started with Camph upon the general features of the disease manifestation with prostration and decreased O2 Saturation in one and nocturnal fever and chill in the other, both patients from the same family.
  • Ars-alb: One patient was prescribed Ars-alb as the picture of his acute phase matched with the picture of his chronic state and not with the epidemics. He was prescribed Ars-alb 1M dry doses, initially every 6 hourly and raised to 1M divided doses; and with consumption of totally 8 doses, later with longer intervals, his health was back to his regular healthy baseline. The full recovery happened within 4 days.
  • China: One patient was prescribed China 1M before the idea of Camphor had set in. Within 3 days of using China every 4 hours for the start and later increased to every 6 hours, all symptoms were ameliorated on the 4th day, except the prostration and weakness which were still present. Camph 1M was prescribed in water every 4 hours and after a total of 5 doses, the prostration also completely went away. The full recovery happened in 6 days.
  • Phos: One patient was visited during the time the idea of Camph had already confirmed its efficacy, especially in those cases with prominent prostration and weakness; but the picture of his acute state didn’t match with Camph and on further query, this patient’s acute picture also matched his chronic state. He was prescribed Phos 30C. (I gauged the potency to be 200 and above but we only had phos 30C at hand). Phos 30C was prescribed in divided dose form every 3 hours due to the intensity of the symptoms.

Despite intense prostration and severe digestive issues, the patient had, in his words not eaten a mouthful for the last 15 days. After the 2nd dose, the intense heaviness he felt on his stomach plus the want of appetite decreased significantly so that he could eat a proper bowl of light food after 15 days.

These doses were prescribed in the evening and the treatment followed on the next day with the same potency and same interval and after 2 more doses, his prostration completely changed to a normal energy state. The doses’ interval was increased to 5 hourly and later to 8 hourly and after a total dose of 9, complete recovery happened.

  • Phos: One more patient was referred to us after 18 days of hospitalization. Despite being on medication, he had severe cough and also extreme weakness. His presentation also didn’t match with Camph and upon the totality of the symptoms he was prescribed Phos 30 right from the beginning.

A dramatic response occurred within 24 hours and on the 2nd day of the treatment he was almost symptom free with a very well improved energy level. Homeopathy treatment stopped on the 3rd day.

What was that duration of recovery with homeopathy?

Once they started homeopathic treatment, the recovery time for almost all cases, irrespective of their health situation, has been between 5-6 days.

Had all cases tested positive?

The cases have either positive lab test/ Corona test or positive CT scan.

We have also seen patients who were direct family members of the confirmed positive cases, and had the full-blown presentation of the disease, and as they were clinically highly suspicious, they were put on conventional treatment without being tested. These cases are also included in this study.

We had 5 more cases that we were not clinically highly suspicious of the Covid, so despite the intensity of the flu like symptoms, we have not included them here.

Did you have any patients whom you treated with homeopathy only?

5 out of 30 patients were/are on Homeopathy only, and were referred on the first day or the first days that their symptoms commenced or diagnosis took place.

One of the patients started Homeopathy 24 hours before starting Hydroxychloroquine and Tamiflu. She was a very well controlled hypertensive patient who had not experienced any crisis of hypertension within the last 15 years.

The manifestation of her acute state of Covid was a hypertension crisis; nausea and intense weakness. The homeopathic treatment started in a few hours after the diagnosis and her symptoms of deathly nausea, extreme prostration very quickly and significantly improved. The conventional medication was started upon the family’s decision as they experienced severe Covid scenarios in the family with one death. She also gained full recovery within 6 days.

The rest were referred at least a week after the clear symptoms of the acute state had commenced and they were already on medication with not a significant response or full recovery of the acute state’s symptoms.

Did any of the patients need an increase in the dose or a change in their allopathic prescription?

None of the patients except one underwent any change in the allopathic medication regime or an increase of the doses, as with Homeopathy the recovery significantly speeded up.

This specific patient was visited 10 days after she was in her sickbed with severe symptoms despite being on the medications for 11 days. She was very prostrated (sitting more than a minute or two was an impossible task); she had cough, she was breathless, and her severe nausea also impaired her appetite which was already diminished.

She showed a dramatic response within less than 24 hours and in daily follow up she showed reasonably good improvement considering the length of the time she was in sickbed.

The family obtained her first CT scan on the 4th day of Homeopathy treatment. The reason that CT scan was delayed was the patient’s own dismay as she had a nursing child, and as they didn’t have a previous CT to gauge the improvement, despite the clinical improvement, the family decided to give one injection of Kaletra which itself helped her a lot.  She stayed two more days on the remedy and afterwards no doses were needed.

How do you see the overall response to Camph? Didn’t you change your prescription until the end of the treatment?

We started the treatment with Camph in patients who were in different stages of the disease, from the ones who had just started having symptoms to the ones who were very sick or complicated cases.

Almost without exception, there was a dramatic response to Camph considering the general energy level, extreme prostration and nausea. Body aches and soreness, breathlessness and cough happened within the first 24 hours. This was in 25 out of 26 patients. It includes a genuine and significant lift in the state of health and energy and an increase in O2 Saturation level in the ones with a more severe condition. Generally, the symptoms improved by 40% at least within the first 24-30 hours of prescription. But in 4 cases we needed to change the remedy either to continue the treatment or to complete the cure.

Case 1: This patient did not show any initial improvement; and despite waiting for more than 48 hours on Camph no change was seen. The case was retaken and Phos was prescribed. His initial symptom picture was extreme prostration and body pain, but when I saw him he had heaviness of the chest when walking more than necessary and also diminished sense of taste and smell. Upon further inquiry, his chronic state also showed itself in dominance, but due to the lack of time, based on the quick repertorization of the symptoms left from the acute layer, I prescribed Phos 30C.

Case 2: One of those patients who didn’t have any very peculiar symptom pointing to a specific remedy, showed a reasonably good initial response to Camph. Considering his old age and chronic diabetes, his prostration got better by 30% and he started to take care of his own personal needs and also his  O2 Saturation level o increased but in the 48th hour follow up, things turned to stay plateau without any further improvement.

Case 3: The other patient who also didn’t have any very peculiar symptom pointing to a specific remedy initially, also achieved slight improvement but that also plateaued with the symptoms of perspiration and fever recurring, as if the picture of the disease just started to fully surface.

For both, Phos 30C was prescribed, as it was the second remedy which covered the totality of the symptoms homeopathically. The improvement afterwards has been significant and steady. O2 saturation level in the one who was Oxygen dependent also increased further after the 2 doses of Phos.

In both of the last two cases the treatment is ongoing.

Case 4: This case showed a dramatic response to Camph and can be counted among those in whom Camph removed all the morbidity of the new layer. In her past history she was hypertensive and also had hypothyroidism for years, both not well controlled despite being under treatment, so that the normal systolic BP was 150.

She also suffered from deeply rooted depression since childhood. When I visited her, her hypertension and hypothyroidism were both suspended. She had to put the medications aside since the beginning of the new infection. The only thing that persisted severely was depression.

She started homeopathic treatment about 10 days after the commencement of the disease and despite the conventional treatment, her disease symptoms prevailed. With Camph in 4 days she was back to her normal life; still with the Hypertension and Hypothyroidism symptoms being suspended the depression was back to its normal level.  Three days after we stopped homeopathy treatment she started to have post-midnight fine chills along her spine  a few times every few days despite the repetition of the remedy.

I could see the chronic state was not completely suspended during the acute phase. For the sake of her chronic issues I took her case as a normal chronic case, starting from the remaining symptoms; the remedy I came to was Crotalus Cascavella and that was prescribed to take care of this symptom as well as the chronic state.

Case 5: A lady was also among the patients who was in a severe state of prostration and breathlessness with attacks of shivering. Her discharge from the hospital was twice canceled as in both situations her condition had suddenly started to deteriorate.

I started the treatment with Camph and her initial response was among those very dramatic, as the main morbid state literally lifted up and she showed steady improvement for 5 days after commencement of homeopathy.

She had an unreported complaint since a few days prior, a pain on her left upper back, which quickly became so severe that it affected her breathing capacity which was already improved to half chest; she had spasms in her calf muscle as well.

All tests were done and came out negative, so with the advice of taking O2 aid at home she was discharged on the 6th day. The pain had already shifted to the right upper back with the same severe intensity. Her symptoms were retaken and due to her significant desire for refreshing drinks like fresh and cool fruit juices, Phos was the remedy covering the totality. It was prescribed every 4 hourly in 200C potency,

The patient was followed up after 48 hours and then the pain was only minimally remained, and that only sifted to a small portion of the right lateral trunk.  Her the overall energy was more that 50% better and her breathing capacity had again increased to mid chest. She had a significant increase in her ability to take care of her personal needs as well as being able to walk a significantly longer distance at home without falling short of breath or tired. The treatment was completed with Phos.

The rest of the cases were all managed till the end of their recovery from the acute state with Camph 1M in different repetition intervals suited to each case’s presenting state.

How do you know the patients have really improved?

For now, our main criteria is clinical symptoms, and that doesn’t mean we consider the absence of the complaints equal to cure. However we observed an objective and subjective betterment of the overall state and the energy level and a distinct and steady improvement in the ability of activity along with improvement of all physical symptoms that were presented at the initiation our treatment .

Also, as with the nature of the disease there are fluctuations and relapses of the symptoms. This also has been a significant criteria for judging our treatment, as in all cases the number and severity of the relapses steadily decreased per our expectation until the full recovery set in.

We have a few cases in whom CT shows improvement but as our cases were mostly on allopathic treatment days before homeopathy, it is unfair and also not certain to say that the improvement happened only because homeopathy came into picture. We firmly believe that the main goal and the first priority of professionals in all medical fields is the recovery of the patient.

Hence we decided to follow the same idea of our allopath colleagues that it will take at least a month for the lungs to get really cleared objectively and also as the safety of the patient comes first. We don’t intend to push our patients to undergo a control CT scan in designated centers for the patients just to further understand the efficacy of our treatment on the lung tissue, and increase the risk of re-infection in the patients whose lungs and immunity is still fragile.

How old were these patients?

The main age range was between 40 to 70 years old.

How many cases had underlying health issues?

6 patients had underlying chronic diseases, namely Hypertension, Diabetes, Disability due to h/o Myelitis, Hypothyroidism, Depression and Fatty Liver.

There is an understanding of Genus Epidemicus based on Hahnemann’s teachings. Is the new understanding of the genus epidemicus based on the expansion of homeopathic systems and is this new pandemic disease aligned with the old teachings of Hahnemann?

We have to prescribe always on the individual state of the patient. However, in an epidemic, the individual state can be suppressed by the common state of the epidemic. Hahnemann advised us to take the cases of a reasonable number of patients of the epidemic to see if there is a common pattern or patterns that matches one or more remedies.

From our observations in this epidemic we can see that the remedy Camphor took the edge off the intensity of the disease in nearly all the patients. Some of them then presented with symptoms which were not of Camphor, but were probably their own individual symptoms thus needing another remedy.

While we are still open to other remedies. The results with Camph so far have been very good.  We hear reports from other respected colleagues that they found other remedies to help. We really value what they say.

We have had communication with other reliable and reputed homeopaths in the world whose experiences are different and they have used different remedies. We fully acknowledge what they are saying. We are just presenting here our cases, observations and thoughts, while remaining very open to the observations of others.

Some colleagues have the notion that one single remedy especially if it is called genus has to take care of all stages of the disease and if it doesn’t, it cannot be called genus or considered to be correct. What is your idea about this?

It is possible that there could be different remedies in different stages of the disease as some colleagues have pointed out. We need more data to know if this is true. However, we found that Camphor has in its pathogenesis: pneumonia with collapse and other respiratory symptoms especially in old people. So, we think that this remedy has the possibility to address many stages of the disease. However, as we see from some of the cases above, Phos was called for in a few cases when the symptoms indicated, and it helped. So, we keep our minds open.

There is this debate going on that in epidemics we should not in any circumstance prescribe the remedy of the chronic state as the chronic state goes into suspension. What is your thought regarding this issue?

We should prescribe according to the state of the patient. If the patients current state has only his original symptoms, then no other remedy will help except that one. However, if that state is not prominent now and only the state of the infection is perceived, then an acute remedy is called for.

What do you think the role of homeopathy should be in this epidemic?

We still might be researching for the best possible remedies which can address the disease in different stages of the disease. But, upon this study and upon the accounts from our respected colleagues from all around the world we can certainly say that Homeopathy has played a great role in decreasing morbidity of the cases.

Still upon this study solely we can’t say that it reduces mortality as well, because we don’t really know what would have happened if Homeopathy had not come into the picture for these cases. But as we received many of our patients in an already very sick state of health, we can surely say that homeopathy has played a great role in decreasing the morbidity. As stated in the update of the cases, there has been a dramatic response in most cases to homeopathy treatment.

What are the further steps? 

We will continue to treat and report cases as they are. We are also pushing for a randomized double blind study in India. Such a protocol has been given by the Central Council of Research in Homeopathy and also approved by the Ministry of AYUSH, the Govt of India.

We are seeking for approval by the Indian Council For Medical Research (ICMR). If this happens, we can conduct a trial of Homeopathy officially in Hospitals. We will treat each case individually and study if a common pattern is emerging.  We think this is a good opportunity for Homeopathy to prove its efficacy and also for its wider use in this pandemic. We will report progress on this in the next update.

In any case, we think it is time to pool our experiences, to take stock of the situation and see if we can come to a consensus and to speak in one voice. Even if we have differences, we should learn to trust the experiences of each other and to respect others’ thoughts.  May we suggest this continue even after this crisis? Can we allow ourselves to use this point in time to really come together?

One suggestion we have is to have a closed-door Zoom meeting of the leaders of the profession from across the world. There is a lot of confusion and different individual voices in the public domain. It is time to come together and discuss this and then share our findings with other colleagues. We suggest someone neutral take a lead in this and organize this meeting.

At the same time, we need a central forum where homeopaths can write their experiences with cases; this will be very useful. Let us dissolve our differences and come together and rise to the occasion at this vital hour with  trust, with respect, with unity, with love .

About the author

Rajan Sankaran

Rajan Sankaran, MD (Hom), is reputed to be a clear and original thinker and is best known for his path breaking concepts in Homoeopathy. His understanding of ‘disease as a delusion’ followed by his discovery of newer miasms, classification of diseased states into kingdoms and the seven levels of experience, brought in much more clarity into understanding diseased states. The Sensation method has now evolved into a more comprehensive and synergistic approach, which strongly advocates to encompass and integrate the old, classical and traditional approaches with the latest advances.

Dr. Sankaran heads ‘the other song—International Academy of Advanced Homoeopathy’, in Mumbai. This academy primarily focuses on imparting advanced clinical training to students and practitioners, integrated with a homoeopathic healing centre. Also he has his own personal clinic at Juhu area of Mumbai, India. He is also the President of Synergy Homeopathic, which is dedicated to the development of reliable, comprehensive homeopathic software and teaching tools. www.theothersong.com www.sankaransclinic.com www.synergyhomeopathic.com

About the author

Aditya Kasariyans

Dr. Aditya Kasariyans is a medical doctor, a homeopathic physician and a researcher in the field of homeopathy, complementary medicine, ancient modes of treatment and contemplative traditions like Qigong and Yoga.

She graduated from Azad Ardabil University of Medical Sciences; Iran, in 2008 and soon joined the Hyderabad School of homeopathy; the Faculty of Homeopathy (UK) accredited teaching centre in India which provides postgraduate courses for medical doctors in homeopathy and qualified as MFHom (Member of Faculty of Homeopathy).
She is also a registered member of Iranian Homeopathic Association.

1 Comment

  • china case dealt by edmund carleton md,no desire to live feel as pursued by business enemies,scalp sensitive to touch humming ears,saliva pillow morning imp symptom,thirst cold water,nerves on fret worse touch any where,sweats during sleep.feeble digestion.business rivalry these days major cause ailments,china200 brings hope.instead of dealing emergent cases by homeopathy,major role is preventive health maintenance.i have read about 50 articles on china, no where such gist is recorded.

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