Aggravation – What is it?

One needs to define aggravation, in order to discuss it. Normally people seem to take the line that after the administration of a remedy the conditions get worse. In my practice I had a standard sheet warning that this may be so, but that this was part of the cure! The mechanics of this, is the release of pent up problems on the road to cure.
The older homeopaths often maintained that without aggravation of some kind, the selection of the remedy was probably inaccurate.
At this point one needs to look at the uses and concepts of potency. For me low potency starts at 1x [where the origin is not highly poisonous] and up to 6x. Medium potency runs from 6c to 200c [or 1m] and high potency runs from 5m to cm [and beyond]. In fact if I want a low potency, I use either 3x or 6x, for medium potency either 30c or 1m and for high either 5m, 10m or cm. This is a rule of thumb, in practice one uses finer judgement.
` The point is that high potencies are of narrow application. If they are accurate they work fine and normally without aggravation. A single divided dose – 3 increasing potencies – will often work for 6/16 weeks. If inaccurate they do not work and nothing happens.
Low potencies are “ broad band “ and work to a greater or lesser degree. Here aggravation can occur, where there is a reaction that is partly curative and partly a “proving” of the remedy. If care is taken this should not happen but it can rapidly be put right and another remedy closer to the case, selected.
Medium potencies are almost foolproof – which is why they are on sale at Boots the chemists and health shops, in 6c & 30c. N.B 30c is very useful in many cases and nosodes can be used at this potency [i.e. Tuberculinum, Psorinum, etc.]
In discussion or lectures I often used the analogy of a tape recording that contains a record of all our illness. The objective of homeopathic treatment is to clean up that “tape “.
Practically all the old masters agree that cure is only attained by reproducing the symptoms that have been suppressed by orthodox medication. Symptoms which have been driven inwards and now act to the detriment of general health. When this suppression is removed by the appropriate remedy, and in this often means the selection of a remedy that will cure the original condition [a condition that was suppressed by orthodox medication]. It is now that the chronic condition created by pharmaceutical driving inwards, returns to the surface. Here it will vanish without further treatment [if, as Kent advises “ the homeopath will ‘sit on his hands ‘ “].
In the above there will be a return of old symptoms, which will be part of the road to health. This is curative and should not be termed aggravation. Read up on some of the rheumatology that has been created by the use of antibiotics in the treatment of gonorrhea – and the almost miraculous cure of that problem by the use of Medorrhinum.
I personally dealt with a case of agoraphobia, which seemed very difficult until I realised that, on deeper study, the problem arose some months after eczema on the back of the hands had been ‘cured’ by a dermatologist, with the application of a steroid ointment.
Using the above as a guide I reproduced the eczema – at which point the agoraphobia vanished – and later the eczema also disappeared [without further treatment]. Often the body will turn physical symptoms – which are driven inward – into psychological phenomena. This is a possible explanation for some of the violence that afflicts our society.

Thank you, Passkey, for an excellent post. Since the vital force is producing the symptoms we prescribe on and since we are stimulating the vital force with the remedy, it would seem logical the the symptoms would increase a bit before the vital force begins to stabalize and balance. Also, based on Hering's direction of cure, it's also logical that when physical symptoms get supressed, they will eventually turn into emotional symptoms and eventually mental symptoms. It's the vital force's way of keeping the person alive, which is it's main purpose.

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Shirley Reischman

And of course is it not also true that when emotional conflict is surpressed...it will turn into physical illness. I see remedies as pushing for "confession"...the body confesses what it has been holding back and may bring back the original conflict on the emotional level..where it may with some aggravation resolve itself.

When the emotional response is brought to the surface...then it appears that something has changed in the disposition of the patient...and while it may reflect the remedy that was given and disappear in a shorter or longer period...it may also indicate that a new remedy is needed.

Carol , Shirley - thank you for more understanding of my views than I generally meet. Rarely do people realise the transfer mechanism that can turn stress/emotion into cancer or physical symptoms {when suppressed} into psycholoical/mania phenomena.