A simple and careful introduction to Hahnemann's most discussed theory.
In the book ‘Chronic Diseases’, published in 1828, Hahnemann proposed that behind many chronic diseases there work three deep tendencies or ‘miasms’. In long observation he had seen that even when the visible symptoms were cured, the illness of many patients returned in another form — this theory was his search for an explanation of that recurrence.
The three miasms are: Psora — the most ancient and widespread, with which he connected a history of itch-predominant skin disease; Sycosis — the tendency following a gonorrhoea-like infection, in which wart-like growths are noticeable; and Syphilis — the destructive tendency following syphilis infection. Later, many teachers including Kent expanded this framework further.
The classical teachers themselves have urged caution about the use of this theory: a miasm is a conceptual map, not a diagnosis seen with the eyes. Selecting a medicine merely by ‘matching the miasm’ is not the method of this teaching — the totality of the present symptoms is the basis of every prescription, and miasm thinking is only a background aid there.
For the general reader, the message is simple: an old illness returning again and again, a tendency to the same kind of illness in the family — such information is important history for the physician. So when giving your case, recount all past illnesses and their treatment in an organised way; leave the decision to the physician.
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