2010 December

Book review: Miasms and Nosodes by Louis Klein

by Pat Deacon

It was a delight to open Louis Klein's long - awaited first volume on Miasms and Nosodes.  This new book will fill a huge gap in our homeopathic Materia Medica.

As always, Klein stretches our homeopathic brains to accommodate new understandings of well- known remedies like Tuberculinum and introduces us to some completely new ones, such as Clostridium Perfringens. Firstly, Klein lays out the context for prescribing nosodes, including an excellent history of miasms, a microbiological classification model, and a cogent argument on why we now need more than three miasms to effect cures for our patients. From there, he classifies the nosodes according to their biological families. The groupings, themselves, are a revelation.We discover, for instance, that both the bacteria responsible for acne, Propionibacterium acne nosode and Diphtherinum are in the same family! Who knew that? Klein gives us a scientific understanding of the nosode and then follows on with his own clinical stories and indications for use, ending with references from the traditional homeopathic literature. I find this format very helpful when considering prescribing these remedies for my patients. Klein connects other remedies - from plant, mineral or animal sources - to the nosodes that underpin them. He shows, through a case example, the link between the nosode Yersinia (the Plague) to both remedies Ignatia and Rattus.

It is critical that homeopathy evolves with the time we are living in; new remedies are needed. Old remedies, too, are resurfacing but in a new context. Klein describes situations where he has successfully prescribed Leprominium (or other related remedies in the Leprosy miasm) to young people who feel too ugly to show their faces and hide in their rooms, relating to the world only through their computers ("social connection without contact"). At the same time, he has unearthed some old texts, with very relevant information; John Young, MD, in the Homeopathic Recorder, 1891, for example, talking about cases of Bacillinum. The proving of Johneinum is included in the section on Actinomycetales. This is a remedy Klein sought out, and Hahnemann Pharmacy made it, because he believed (correctly) that in this mycobacteria lay the elusive cure for many of our unsolved cases of Crohn's Disease.

The clinical gems in Miasms and Nosodes are to be found nowhere else. Even for those of us who have been lucky enough to attend Klein's Homeopathic Master Clinician classes and lectures, there is here plenty of new material to delve into. The book itself is a beautiful edition, well bound and artistically laid out, with an intriguing cover photo.

I urge you to buy this book, enjoy the treasures it holds, and solve some of your most intransigent cases in the process!

 

Miasms and Nosodes by Louis Klein
Narayana Publishers, 2009
528 pages, €49

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: Reviews
Keywords: miasms, nosodes
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Posts: 11
Comment
Lou Klein's books
Reply #5 on : Sat April 09, 2011, 20:09:23
I love this book and all the experience that Lou Klein has to offer. It is valuable and sadly a bit rare in North America to have someone with sooo much experience.
Thank you Lou and Pat Deacon for the awesome review.
Sincerely,
Elena Cecchetto DCH, CCH, RSHom(NA)

Posts: 11
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Reply to Question - Miasms and Nosodes
Reply #4 on : Wed December 01, 2010, 12:41:38
You're right, Helen. I could have added " I believe" in front of " it is critical.....". I guess there are many different homeopathic communities. In mine, a statement like that is a given and perhaps I shouldn't have made the assumption that everyone else would see it the same way.

Hahnemann's 200 remedies were a great start, but 100 + years later, we are living in a completely different world with new disease conditions to address. The experience of myself and of my colleagues is that the " old" remedies are often not enough. I know the frustration of trying to treat an autistic child or a person with MS using the old tools. To truly cure (and to not just palliate) these and other patients, we need a much - expanded materia medica. As I have used these remedies, my results have changed dramatically.

Hahnemann was, above all else, an innovator. He spent his life pushing the boundaries of common medical thinking and was continually researching and experimenting and seeking new remedies. He revised the Organon over and over, trying to get it right! I believe, were he alive today, that he, too, would be applauding Louis Klein for this work.
Last Edit: December 01, 2010, 20:06:45 by *  

Posts: 11
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Louis Klein
Reply #3 on : Wed December 01, 2010, 01:40:54
Lou Klein rocks........he is an original thinker and takes homeopathy to a level way beyond what we have imagined. I feel sorry for any homeopath that refuses to embrace his work. If they did and experienced a cured case, they would feel the absolute joy of pioneering spirit!

Posts: 11
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Book review: Miasms and Nosodes by Louis Klein
Reply #2 on : Wed December 01, 2010, 00:07:30
Now, I have a question for the author of this review.
Pat Deacon states: “It is critical that homeopathy evolves with the time we are living in; new remedies are needed.” I would like to know why it is critical and why homeopathy needs “to evolve”. No explanation is given to this statement. In regular scientific and academic literature, it is a custom to give at least “I believe so” explanation, not even mentioning an explanation that is logical and based on facts. Why should a reader believe Ms. Deacon? Because she says so? Since this statement is hardly an accepted belief in the homeopathic community, it needs to be defended properly.
Last Edit: December 01, 2010, 04:13:14 by *  

Posts: 11
Comment
Miasms and Nosodes
Reply #1 on : Tue November 30, 2010, 22:47:45
I have poured over this book many times and at each turn I find new levels of understanding and integration. Not only does the book present a lot of brand new information, but also places many well-known remedies within new contexts, enhancing and enriching our understanding of remedy relationships.