25. SOME MANIFESTATIONS OF LATENT PSORA

In the last chapter you learned something of the acute mani­festations of the psoric stigma. Besides the manifestations of the acute diseases, which are all directly traceable to the erup­tions of psora, the vital energy often places the psoric poison in a latent state, where it may lie for a long period, sometimes for years, without manifesting much disturbance, except that the observant physician may read its peculiar characteristics, even in that latent state, and even though the patient is not dis­turbed to any degree.

During this latent state it requires only a slight shock to the vital energy to bring this miasm, or stigma, to the fore and make its presence actively manifest in an acute disturbance. This acute manifestation may be due to any one of many different causes; it may be due to an accident, to an exposure, or to any other seemingly slight cause; but whatever the direct cause of the acute manifestation, it will show the poisonous effects of the stigma, and it is well for the physician to be conversant with the characteristics of the latent state so that he may sure the underlying dyscrasia in the latent condition and thus head off the acute manifestations, thus protecting the resistant power of the vital energy against the sudden strain and helping to eradi­cate the psoric poison.

One of the strongest characteristics of psora in its latent state is the mental condition. Psoric patients are mentally alert; they are quick and active in their motions. This activity is very pronounced, and especially pronounced is the keenness and activity of the mind. They will work like Trojans for a short time, but they are easily fatigued, both mentally and physically, and a profound prostration follows. This prostration has such a profound effect upon them that they soon come to the pass where they dread to undertake any exertion, mental or physical, because of the fatigue which they know will follow.   The fatigue is accompanied by the desire to lie down, and this desire is quite characteristic of this type of patient.

A peculiar characteristic of the mental irritation is that it produces a sense of bodily heat, and these patients will have flushes of heat while they are working. The heat of the room oppresses them.

Another peculiarity of the mental state is anxiety. This symptom is written all over them; they are anxious to the point of worry and fear: fear that they will not be able to accomplish what they attempt; that they will not be able to carry through their plans; fear that their health will fail in doing what they set out to do. If they get sick they fear death, or that they will be incurable, and they become depressed with the fear that they will be dependent. There is sudden anxiety, and anxiety about the heart, particularly when stomach conditions are present.

In children the sense of fear is manifest oftentimes in fear of the dark, fear of strangers, fear of imaginary things; fear that they will not get on in school, timid about going to school, fear­ful that they will be late at school; these fears work upon the child life so intensely that they soon wear themselves out and become thoroughly exhausted.

In adults, they find difficulty in concentrating upon their work and their thoughts keep changing about, shifting from one thing to another; they cannot concentrate because their thoughts get ahead of their work and they become confused. They are not direct thinkers except for a very short time, for the thoughts come so fast that they are entangled by them. This appertains to mental work, but in physical work they have much the same manifestations; they cannot keep themselves at work steadily; the cannot "stay put" in one channel for any length of time. They are restless; they complain that they want to do something but they do not know what it is they want to do. They start tasks they cannot finish, because they tire of them. In their uneasiness, anxiety and restlessness they are compelled to move about, because they cannot keep still. This restlessness is par­ticularly noticeable at the new moon, or if in women, at the approach of the menses.

The change of temperament without any apparent cause is part of the cycle. They become hysterical and go into fits of temper. Young people particularly become hysterical, especi­ally after acute weakening diseases. Psora has fits of anger, yet with these fits of anger there is seldom any desire to harm others in the purely psoric case; but if the psoric base is united with sycosis or syphilis, there is a decided tendency to harm, or even to kill others.

The greatest force to rouse the evils of the psoric dyscrasia is grief or sorrow. These emotions seem to have particular power in bringing out the exacerbations, and people under the influence of grief and sorrow will often develop immediately some acute sickness.

Psoric patients have much depression of spirits. If the patient is a woman, she will suddenly burst out crying, which relieves the whole condition. When they get into this depress­ed condition everyone knows of their troubles, because they are not accustomed to silent grief. Melancholy patients on awaken­ing from sleep have heart palpitation, and they become nervous and anxious, with a sense of constriction about the heart; then they will have flushes of heat. In these conditions they will pass from depression of spirits into moodiness, sulkiness or fits of temper, then suddenly come out of these moods and act like entirely different persons.

The psoric disturbance possesses the very life force, and it is so fundamental in the patient that in order to meet the dis­turbance a remedy having a marked similarity in the mental traits must be used to overcome the stigma. Psoric manifesta­tions are ameliorated by the eliminative functions, and condi­tions such as diarrhoea, perspiration, or even a free urination may ameliorate the condition. (In sycotic manifestations we find a general amelioration from eliminations, but not through perspiration, diarrhoea or urination; sycosis is ameliorated by the unusual eliminations through the mucous surfaces, such a leucorrhoea or free nasal discharges).

Pathological developments very rarely take place under a purely psoric manifestation. It is only when this taint is united with another stigma that pathological conditions arise; and when the two (or three) are united in the same individual the vital energy is not powerful enough to overcome the pathological formations. Malignancy is developed in the presence of the combined stigmata, and for that reason these conditions are difficult to treat, and are impossible of real cure under any form of treatment except by stimulating the vital energy. Other con­ditions difficult of treatment, such as epilepsy and true insanity, are also manifestations of the combined stigmata. These are usually tubercular in their origin, being a grafting of the syphil­itic on to the psoric fault.

The vital force or vital energy cannot long endure disturb­ances to remain latent where more than one stigma is present. Psora seldom if ever develops pathological manifestations when it is alone, and the trouble may remain quiescent, but where there is more than one basic dyscrasia, one is at once inflamed by the other, and disturbances manifest themselves. When one of the latent conditions is psora, it is stirred in all its power, and all that is destructive, hateful and menacing in the psoric stigma will be the first to appear.

In treating the combined stigmata, the most outstanding must be treated first, since we base our method of treatment upon symptom similarity, and where psora is present, psora will be the most outstanding in the symptom totality in the earlier manifestations. This manifestation must be treated first; then after that is eradicated or considerably lessened, the next most potent dyscrasia, as it expresses itself in the symptoma­tology, must be treated, until this, too, is eradicated. The treatment should continue in this way, each time treating the most dominant stigma, as expressed by the outward manifesta­tions, until cure is attained.

We are fortunate that many of our most deeply acting remedies have the ability to meet and deal with more than one of these deep underlying conditions; therefore it is not always necessary, if a remedy be carefully selected, to zigzag a chronic case toward cure. Nevertheless, our treatment must always be based upon the totality of the symptoms as they manifest them­selves.

Due to Hahnemann's great discovery of this basic stigma, psora, and his pointing the way in which it can be met, the homoeopathic physician has the power to forestall the destruct­ive processes of many chronic diseases and to stop the development of conditions that would inevitably lead to fatal termina­tions. It is the study of these things and the knowledge of them and of the way to meet them that gives the homoeopathic physician the opportunity and the privilege of correcting in childhood and youth these devastating scourges, and develop­ing the future child into his full strength with all of his vital power intact.

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