“He is Likewise a Preserver of Health…:” Homeopathic Doctor Samuel Hahnemann’s 4th Aphorism

“He [the physician] is likewise a preserver of health if he knows the things that derange health and cause disease, and how to remove them from persons in health.” Samuel Hahnemann, the Founder of Homeopathy, included the above statement as the fourth aphorism in his Organon of Medicine—the book that contains the guiding principles from which Classical Homeopaths work.

So, not only are physicians supposed to cure their patients (his first aphorism); a physician is also supposed to remove the factors that cause disease. In essence, the phrase that best states the actions of a physician (or “Healer,” as most “physicians” are in the medical system and they do not follow Hahnemann’s guiding principles): “Restoration & Preservation of Health & Vitality.”

Restoration & Preservation of Health and Vitality

Healers work to select the best Remedy and/or Supplement(s) and make recommendations regarding diet, lifestyle and daily choices. The focus is to assist you in the RESTORATION of your health and vitality. However, if there are Factors in your life that Derange Health and weaken the body’s ability to heal, even the best recommendations to restore health will likely not work as effectively to produce complete health and vitality. For example: if a person has bronchitis but continues to smoke, even the best-selected Homeopathic Remedy and/or Supplements will not completely heal the bronchitis so long as the person continues to smoke.

PRESERVATION of your health and vitality are equally important in your care as the restoration process. For example, you can get into a car accident; the car can be taken to a mechanic and the dings and damage from the accident can be removed to where no evidence of the accident is seen or known. Your injuries can also be taken care of so that in the end there are no signs that the accident had occurred. In essence, the mechanic and the doctor are like the Healer who recommends a Homeopathic Remedy and/or makes recommendations; once the illness has been healed, you’re as good as new—as if you hadn’t been ill.

However, as with the car, if you still drive crazy, there is a high likelihood that you will have another car accident. In health terms, if you do not alter the destructive patterns that can cause illness to occur (the Factors that Derange Health), you will likely get ill again. You can be given another Remedy, which can help you heal, but the illness can come again if the destructive pattern is not changed. And each time you get ill, it will be harder to treat; and the body is not as likely to be restored to its optimum health status.

After too many auto accidents, even the best mechanic will not be able to restore the car back to its original condition; and the doctor may not be able to restore the driver to his/her original status either. For both the car and the driver, signs of multiple accidents will remain.

So, both the RESTORATION and PRESERVATION of health and vitality need to be addressed when healing is the goal; the focuses are for the person to be restored to health and to stay as healthy as possible once health has been restored.

Factors that Derange Health

These include the primary causative factors that decrease the Vital Force and predispose us to various disease states. The Vital Force is the body’s ability to heal and maintain a healthy state.

1. Mental & Emotional Factors: like unusual mental strain due to studies, worries, exposure to too much obscenity or violence through media, a heart break, exposure to family violence, separation or death of a loved one, suppressed anger, harassment, a shock, physical or psychological abuse, etc.

2. Physical Factors: unusual physical strain or trauma (such as a car accident, fall, etc.).

3. Environmental Factors: like exposure to extremes of heat or cold; cold, damp, or dry wind or atmosphere; changes in the moon’s cycle; exposure (or lack of exposure) to sunshine, poor air quality, pollution, contaminated water, etc.

4. Social Factors: unhygienic surroundings, poverty, unhealthy peers, stressful job, exposure to second-hand smoke, etc.

5. Dietary Factors: unhealthy diet, consuming foods that contain alterations, genetically-modified foods, highly processed foods, drinking tap water, etc.

6. Bad Habits: lack of physical exercise, irregular sleep cycle, addictions, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, unhealthy sexual practices, etc.

7. Suppressive medicines, treatments or actions of any kind: medical drugs, medical procedures; ignoring symptoms or keeping distracted by playing loud music or always having noise in the background; etc.

All these Factors can decrease the vitality of the person and predispose him/her to a variety of disease conditions. Usually the diseases start as occasional acute episodes, then they become frequent acute episodes (which often require more frequent and/or stronger medical drugs to manage), and then the disease moves to a chronic state. What conditions the person will acquire depend a lot upon their genetic susceptibility with which a person was born.

Factors that Cause Disease

The Derangement of the Vital Force provides the fertile ground for the diseases to grow. Often, a microbe (virus, bacteria, etc.) works as a secondary cause of the disease condition in a large majority of cases. Although the microbe may be removed by the body, the damage often remains as the body is often left in a weakened state if suppressive care was received; hence a chronic condition takes root.

1. Microbes: the viruses, bacteria, parasites, mold/yeast work as the Factors that Cause Disease in nearly all acute cases, and a large proportion of chronic cases too.

2. Factors that Derange Health: those Factors listed earlier can also be Factors that Cause Disease in many chronic disease conditions/states which are not always dependent upon the microbes.

Removal of Such Factors

A Healer is not just supposed to help the sick patient to heal; he/she is also responsible for giving advice to his/her patients by which they can maintain their level of optimum health and vitality. Therefore, it is said that the Healer is also a “Preserver of Health.”

When looking to Restore and Preserve your Health and Vitality, seek the care of a Classical Homeopath. As with all professions, research the practitioner prior to initiating care; if he/she does not work to restore preserve your health and vitality, consider finding a different practitioner. Many practitioners work to help you manage your symptoms, but they do not work to restore health and preserve it too.

Best wishes,
Dr. Ronda

Disclaimer: The information provided by Dr. Ronda Behnke Theys is for educational purposes only. It is important that you not make health decisions or stop any medication without first consulting your personal physician or health care provider.