Thoughts on concomitant symptoms.

The following is Guillermo Zamora’s definition after long talks between us.

Preface of the TPB
“The greatest difficulty to be encountered by those novices in homoeopathy, who do not have recourse to a repertory, is the cure of maladies that shew themselves by a few symptoms which answer to a great number of medicaments. For instance, a malignant whooping-cough was prevalent amongst the children in this neighborhood. In its origin, the indications for the employment of “drosera” were only exceptional, and none of those were developed which call for the other remedies ordinarily employed. However, in all the children affected, swelling and puffiness was remarked, not so much in the face as above the eyes, between the eyelids and eyebrows, where it frequently formed a thick little bag,—a symptom which had never been observed amongst those of any other medicament, except ” kali-carb” (219)*; and, in fact, this medicament was the only one that at the commencement of the epidemy effected a quick and lasting cure. It was only in the last stage that this malady took another form, characterized by cold perspiration on the forehead, and vomitings during the fit, symptoms which require the use of “veratr. alb.”

* Guillermo’s Note: The symptom Boenninghausen refers to is found in “Chronic Diseases” (CD) by Samuel Hahnemann, and reads as follows:

CD, Kali-C, Symptom 219: “- Swelling between the eyebrows and lids, like a little sac.”
See P&W TPB CODE ID: 190

In this case, anyone would think that there is a possibility that a symptom in a given case has not been described in the pathology books due to the individualized way in which each patient reacts, or that a symptom that is well described in the pathology is not find in that patient. However, it will always be very positive for a professional to be aware of the pathology so that he knows what, how and when to expect from a particular case of illness. The same will be positive to be alert in order to detect a symptom that has not been reported in the pathology through the standardization of general concomitance criteria.

The curious thing here is that the Kali-c symptom can be found in pathology books, although not as such, some adenovirus infections are described, which can produce a cough similar to that of whooping-cough, which they can also infect the mucosa of the eyelids. It is also known that pertussis itself produces bloated, edematous face and swollen eyelids.