SYMPTOMATOLOGY IN HOMOEOPATHY

Clinical symptomatology in homoeopathy deals with the scientific study of symptoms of disease or patient himself that are collected by the medical examiner.

The word symptom is a derivation of Greek word “Symptoma” which means “Anything that happens”.

Table of Contents

Definition of symptoms

According to Dr. Hahnemann,

“Any change in the health of the organism which is felt by the patient himself, remarked by those around him and observed by the physician.”

Explanation:

When there is a healthy condition in the organism, our body is able to maintain a constant dynamic equilibrium of the internal environment.

(Understand homoeostasis in detail, by following the link).

In health, we are able to feel a pleasant sensation of well-being.

When there is any disturbance in homeostatic balance, disease or disorder takes place.

These disturbances are reflected outwardly through the material body.

We develop an unpleasant (annoying) sensations and functions.

(Read the CONCEPT OF HEALTH AND DISEASE IN HOMOEOPATHY by following the link).

When patient consult a doctor because of their sickness, the “AILMENTS” they describe to physician are called “SYMPTOMS”.

What the physician observes is called “SIGN”.

What is symptomatology?

Branch of medical science that deals with study of disease symptoms.

Also known as semiology.

What is the importance of symptomatology?

Proper understanding and knowledge of symptoms is necessary for diagnosis and treatment of disease.

What is the importance of symptoms?

Symptoms indicate the disturbance of internal harmony.
Symptoms help to diagnose and differentiate the disease conditions.
On the basis of disease diagnosis physician can prescribe a procedure that will relieve the patient from his illness.

TYPES OF SYMPTOMS

Many different types of symptoms have been introduced by pioneers of homoeopathy.

Subjective symptoms

Symptoms that are only felt by the patient and he speaks about.
Example: different types of sensations like burning, throbbing, tickling, desires, aversions, pain, sleep, dreams etc.
Importance: helps in individualisation of the patient to find out constitutional remedy.

Objective symptoms

Symptoms that can be observed by the physician, attendants or relatives.
Examples: swelling of thyroid, Corns on the sole of feet, psoriatic patches on the trunk.
Physiological findings, laboratory or radiological findings are also considered as an objective symptom.
Importance: helpful to diagnose or differentiate the disease conditions. Useful when patient is unable to narrate his complains like infants, comatose or insane patients.

SUBJECTIVE: felt by the patient.
OBJECTIVE: observed by the physician and others.

Basic/Absolute symptoms

Those symptoms that are told by a patient to his physician regarding his disease in his own language are called the basic symptoms.
They may contain a number of complains, duration of each complain, order of appearance of each complains.

Common symptoms

Symptoms that are commonly found in most of the patients, in many diseases are called common symptoms.
Examples: headache, fever, abdominal discomfort, itching etc.
Importance: useful in diagnosis of disease. Less helpful to individualise the patient.

Uncommon symptoms

Symptoms that are different from other patients who are suffering from the same disease.
Examples: palpitations relieved by exertion, Burning relieved by heat, dryness of tongue with no thirst.
Importance: helps in individualisation of the patient and so to find out exact similar remedy.

BASIC: chief complain.
COMMON: commonly found in most patients.
UNCOMMON: differ from the most patients.

General symptoms

Symptoms that are related to the person as a whole are called general symptoms.
Examples: body’s reaction to environment, mental and emotional state, desires and aversion.
Patient may say I am thirsty, I am angry, I feel week, I am sleepy etc.
Importance: general symptoms help to rule out unfitting particular symptoms. They are useful to form a symptoms totality and, in the individualisation, so helps in the selection of most similar remedy.

(Read DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SIMILAR AND SIMILIMUM by following the link).

Particular symptoms

These symptoms are related to the particular organ, part or system of the body.
Examples: I feel pain in my stomach, my left knee joint is hurting, I hear ringing sound in my right ear.
Importance: useful in diagnosis of disease, therapeutic treatment can be advised on the basis of particular symptoms.

Positive general symptoms

Symptoms that have no reason to exist, if present you cannot afford to miss it are called positive general symptoms.
Examples: presence of prominent veins on thoracic or abdominal wall, presence of two uterus in a lady.

Negative general symptoms

Symptoms that should have existed but missing are known as negative general symptoms.
Examples: male with only one testicle in the scrotum (should have two testicles), hunger with no appetite.

GENERAL: related to the person as a whole.
PARTICULAR: related to the particular organ or system of the body.
NEGATIVE GENERAL: abnormally missing symptoms.
POSITIVE GENERAL: abnormally existing symptoms.

Clinical symptoms

Symptoms that are observed by a physician, examined with his senses with or without use of instruments or with radiological/laboratory methods are known as clinical symptoms.
Examples: increased level of blood pressure, presence of albumin in urine, enlargement of liver (hepatomegaly).
Importance: helps in disease diagnosis, prognosis and progress of recovery can be observed after suitable treatment.

Characteristic symptoms

Symptoms that are striking, singular, uncommon or peculiar in nature which indicate the disease (and so remedy) are known as characteristic symptoms.
Examples: feels better when constipated, asthma getting relieved in damp wet weather, pain in abdomen with loose stool when anxious.
Importance: helps to differentiate disease, useful in selection of most similimum.

Pathognomonic symptoms

These are the symptoms which are common to the certain disease condition from which a diagnosis can be easily made.
Or we can say that they are the characteristic symptoms of the disease.
Examples: intense pain in right or left flank region between lower rib and hip, which may radiate to the back, groin or lower abdomen, pain comes in waves and may accompany with nausea, vomiting or urinary troubles– these are the sure signs of presence of renal calculi.
Importance: helpful to diagnose the disease. Homoeopathic therapeutic medicines can be prescribed.

CLINIC: observed or examined by physician.
CHARACTERISTIC: striking, singular, uncommon or peculiar symptoms.
PATHOGNOMIC: common symptoms of disease.

Acute/Recent symptoms

Symptoms that are of sudden and severe in onset with recent origin are called acute symptoms.
Examples: asthmatic attack, broken bone after an accident, diarrhoea due to food poisoning.

Chronic/old symptoms

Symptoms or syndrome that commonly originated from past 5 to 6 months or longer which may be recurrent or getting worse over time.
Example: constipated stool, heart diseases, psoriasis etc.

Accidental symptoms

Symptoms that are found by the physician while routine clinical examination.
Patient did not have complaint related to those pathology (symptoms have no relationship with disease).
Patient may not be aware of those symptoms either.
Examples: presence of uterine polyps while routine examination of a pregnant lady, presence of umbilical hernia found while palpating abdomen for gastric discomfort.

Relapsing symptoms

Symptoms that were present in the past, resolved (with or without medicine) and then reappeared are called relapsing symptoms.
Examples: mental depression, ring worm.

Periodical symptoms

Symptoms those relapses or reappear at fixed or definite interval are known as periodical symptoms.
Examples: weakness in stomach at every winter, evening rise temperature, weariness before menses.

ACUTE/RECENT: sudden and recent origin.
CHRONIC/OLD: originated gradually for more than 6 months.
ACCIDENTAL: accidentally found.
RELAPSING: repeatedly reappearing symptoms.
PERIODICAL: relapse of symptoms at fixed and definite interval.

Complete symptoms

Symptoms that clearly defines location, sensation, modalities and concomitants are called complete symptoms.
Help to confirm the disease diagnosis.
Useful in differential diagnosis of diseases.
Important to form symptom totality and so to individualize the patient in order to find the exact similimum.

Incomplete symptoms

Group of symptoms that are not able to guide to definite location or sensation or modalities or concomitants.
Incomplete history taking or inability of patient to narrate his complain (Illiterate patient, idiotic patient, paediatrics) may be the cause.

Indefinite symptoms

Symptoms that are more of general in nature and deserve a little attention unless they are more prominently described by the patient.
They are present in almost every disease.
Examples: decreased appetite, exhaustion, headache, disturbance of sleep.

COMPLETE: containing location, sensation, modalities and concomitants.
INCOMPLETE: not able to define exactness.
INDEFINATE: more general in nature.

Concomitant symptoms

In Latin, ‘Con’ means ‘Along with’ and ‘Comitant’ means ‘Present’.
So, word meaning concomitant is existing, present or occurring at the same time.
Symptoms that do not appear to be related to the disease condition, those cannot be justified on physiological or pathological grounds, still they happen to exist in same individual along with the disease.
Dr. N Harihar says, “Concomitant symptoms are the symptoms that always accompany the main symptom but have no pathological relation to the chief ailment.”
Examples: relief in headache by profuse urination, stoppage of menstrual flow after cold water bathing.

Contradictory symptoms

In some patients, there are symptoms that are opposite in nature of disease pathology but always present together with main disease are called contradictory symptoms.
Examples: sleepiness but cannot sleep, pain in throat gets better by swallowing of solid foods, Headache relieved by direct sun heat.
Importance: these symptoms are unique, rare, peculiar and uncommon. They help to individualize the patient and to find out exact homoeopathic similimum.

CONCOMITANT: accompanying symptoms of main disease.
CONTRADICTORY: opposite in nature to disease pathology.

Associated symptoms

Symptoms that are always present with certain disease conditions due to they have got pathological relationship with main disease.
They are found commonly.
Less important to find homoeopathic similimum.
Examples: complain of vomiting and nausea while renal colic, pain in distant part of body associated with coughing.

Accessory/associated symptoms

They are of two types

1. Accessory symptoms of disease

Symptoms from which a patient suffering for a long time and gets used to it and considers them as a part of their daily habits.
So, he forgets to mention them to physician during case taking.
Importance: they may be the most characteristic symptoms of the disease. Often very useful while deciding the homoeopathic similimum.

2. Accessory symptoms of medicine

If there is appearance of the new symptoms that are not of disease origin, that were not previously present, that appeared only after administration of the medicine. These new symptoms can be the accessory symptoms of the medicine.
They may be mild or severe.
If they are mild, there is no need to change the medicine.

But if they are more acute and severe, new medicine needs to be selected considering the original disease symptoms plus newly developed symptoms of medicine.

ACCESSORY SYMPTOMS OF DISEASE: patient got used to from long time.
ACCESSORY SYMPTOMS OF MEDICINE: appears after administration of medicine.
ASSOCIATED SYMPTOMS: always present with certain disease condition.