Case Management of the Influenza and Pneumonia Patient with Homeopathy During the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Case Management of the Influenza and Pneumonia Patient with Homeopathy During the COVID-19 Pandemic André Saine, N.D. American Institute of Homeopathy Webinar— Saturday April 4, 2020 TABLE OF CONTENT Introduction Historical evidence of the extraordinary success of homeopathy in times of epidemics: A brief overview The COVID-19 Epidemic—The Perfect Storm A) High reproductive number B) Asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic viral spreaders C) Poor sensitivity of RT-PCR D) Duration of the COVID-19 illness E) Virulence of SARS-CoV-2 F) Beware of being overpromised about a soon-to-come SARS-Cov-2 vaccine, as four vaccines for SARS failed to be safe G) Are we on the verge of changing paradigms? Complicating factors It is not all bad news, as there is some good news Facts to know about epidemics in general and influenza epidemic in particular Courses of epidemics are not predictable Laboratory Our experience so far Results from the American Institute of Homeopathy database The common symptomatology, but peculiar to COVID-19 Characteristic symptoms of COVID-19 Homeoprophylaxis Clinical approach The key to success in homeopathy is strict individualization Extra points to maintain and optimize health Case Management of the Influenza and Pneumonia Patient with Homeopathy During the COVID-19 Pandemic André Saine, N.D. American Institute of Homeopathy Webinar—April 4, 2020 2 Management of the febrile patient Why it is not a good idea to use NSAIDs and antipyretics (and perhaps antitussives) The genius epidemicus Warnings Great advantages of knowing the genius epidemicus The most commonly prescribed flu remedies Materia medica The better indicated flu remedies for the current COVID-19 Other influenza remedies Materia medica of the pneumonia remedies The main first stage remedies The main second and third stage remedies Late stage or asphyxia stage of pneumonia Convalescence after influenza and pneumonia The American Institute of Homeopathy database References Introduction In the current COVID-19 epidemic, homeopaths from around the world are being called upon to treat patients with influenza and pneumonia. Homeopathy has a well-established record of dealing with such patients in a very safe, cost-effective and effective way. One of the main goals of this webinar is give a step-by-step description of the methodology of homeopathy in patients with influenza and pneumonia, including what you should know before examining such patients, what needs to be specifically investigated in each patient, how to value the symptoms of each individual patient, how to choose the most appropriate homeopathic remedy and its potency, how to administer the remedy, how to assess the patient’s response to the prescribed remedy, how to follow-up each patient, and what hygienic measures and natural approaches can be used to complement the homeopathic treatment. In other webinars, I have already presented a brief overview of the success of homeopathy in times of epidemics and specifically review the clinical outcomes and their Case Management of the Influenza and Pneumonia Patient with Homeopathy During the COVID-19 Pandemic André Saine, N.D. American Institute of Homeopathy Webinar—April 4, 2020 3 implications from the perspective of evidence-based medicine of the homeopathic treatment of the patients with influenza and pneumonia (a similar presentation to the one that was presented on March 18 during the American Institute of Homeopathy webinar on the COVID-19 epidemic and on March 28 during a webinar sponsored by the Canadian Academy of Homeopathy). I will also discuss the latest thoughts on homeoprophylaxis and the genius epidemicus specifically related to the current COVID-19 epidemic. This webinar could also be a great introduction to clinicians who are not familiar with homeopathy and its methodology. I am reminded here of Dr. Jean-Pierre Tessier, an allopath of fame, who had the courage to put homeopathy on trial in his department of a Parisian hospital with patients, first with cholera, and then with pneumonia. With self- taught instructions on how to practice homeopathy, he was able to save 23 lives out of 100 patients with pneumonia that were lost in other departments of the same hospital at the same time. Physicians who practice homeopathy have been almost completely barred throughout the world from treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients, despite the fact that the conventional approach has not been able to offer effective and safe prophylaxis and treatment. The great majority of patients who are put on ventilators don’t survive. Ventilators may be harmful according to this NYC intensivist: https://vimeo.com/402537849?fbclid=IwAR0rjwd25qRBfiIQ-bVWLt7pNnojAvA- 3C_ArIswVtQBqPemC2baCH6pDdg Incidentally, during the 2014 Ebola epidemic the WHO concluded, “It is ethical to offer unproven interventions with as yet unknown efficacy and adverse effects, as potential treatment or prevention.”i Has not the time come for governments, health agencies and physicians to seriously consider opening the door to homeopathy, as morbidity and mortality from influenza and Case Management of the Influenza and Pneumonia Patient with Homeopathy During the COVID-19 Pandemic André Saine, N.D. American Institute of Homeopathy Webinar—April 4, 2020 4 pneumonia could be dramatically lessened by the simple application of homeopathy in the current COVID-19 epidemic? If we take Italy, one the hardest hit countries, as of April 3, 119,827 cases with confirmed COVID-19 had been reported, of which 14,681 persons have died (a 12.25% mortality rate of all confirmed cases), with 4,068 or 34% still remaining in a serious or critical condition. The fact that only 19,758 (16%) have so far recovered and 85,388 or 71% are still actively ill shows that recovery can be long and difficult. A New York City anesthesiologist, whose husband intubates Covid-19 patients stated that only 20% of patients get extubated in private hospitals and none in public hospitals. This 20% difference between private and public hospitals is explained as being greatly due to the lack of health care givers, personal attention given to each patient and general expertise in the art of keeping an intubated patients alive in public hospitals. She said that out of 251 hospitalized patients with Covid-19 in her hospital, 90% are ventilated and 75% are transferred to the ICU. It is known that homeopathy can greatly speed up the recovery time without leaving patients weakened by the treatment. For instance, homeopathy was found beneficial when it was used as an adjunct treatment in recent clinical trials during epidemics of two severe viral diseases, that is in a dengue hemorrhagic fever epidemic, hospital stay was decreased by 2 days,ii and in acute encephalitis syndrome/Japanese encephalitis epidemic, mortality was 14.8% with adjunctive homeopathy versus 29.8% without homeopathy.iii In neither of the trials, adverse effects from homeopathy were observed. Aside from the current COVID-19 epidemic, the knowledge on how to properly manage influenza and pneumonia patients with homeopathy would save a great number of lives every year by its systematic application on an ongoing basis in every hospital, community clinic and village in the world. Case Management of the Influenza and Pneumonia Patient with Homeopathy During the COVID-19 Pandemic André Saine, N.D. American Institute of Homeopathy Webinar—April 4, 2020 5 Close to one million children under the age of five years die every year from pneumonia—more than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined, and which accounts for 18% of all deaths of children under five years old worldwide. This doesn’t need to be so, as even the most severe cases of pneumonia recover quickly and gently under homeopathic treatment. Historical evidence of the extraordinary success of homeopathy in times of epidemics: A brief overview Likely the most compelling evidence for the effectiveness homeopathy is found in its extensive records in times of epidemics. The homeopathic literature is very rich in reports on the results obtained in the homeopathic treatment during times of epidemics, as close to 10,000 references have so far been found. The main finding in a review of this vast literature is that the results obtained by homeopathy during epidemics consistently reveal an extremely low mortality rate. This observation holds true regardless of the physician, the time, the place or the type of epidemic disease, including diseases that are known to have very high mortality rates, such as cholera, smallpox, diphtheria, typhoid fever, yellow fever and pneumonia. I will now present a few striking examples to illustrate this constancy of astonishingly low mortality rates. It is well recognized that infectious diseases have often made more casualties among armies than combat and have thus shaped the destiny of nations more than any other factor. Napoleon left France in June 1812 to conquer Russia with 600,000 soldiers, and only 3,000 of these were still alive one year later. It is estimated that he lost close to 220,000 soldiers solely to epidemic typhus. In 1813 in his second attempt to conquer Russia, Napoleon retreated with his army to the city of Leipzig where he was surrounded by the Allied armies and where the largest Case Management of the Influenza and Pneumonia Patient with Homeopathy During the COVID-19 Pandemic André Saine, N.D. American Institute of Homeopathy Webinar—April 4, 2020 6 battle in European soil would occur prior to WWI, what became known as the Battle of the Nations. Incidentally, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, was living in Leipzig during its siege in the fall of 1813. Typhus became thus epidemic in Leipzig and every physician was obliged by the authorities to be in charge of a makeshift hospital to treat its population infested with epidemic typhus. In general, mortality from typhus tends to exceed 15%, but can be much higher, even up to 100% in a famished and stressed population, as it was the case in Leipzig during its siege.