General and historical review of the long term and historical use of homeoprophylaxis over the last 200+ years

• 1799: Scarlatina epidemic in Germany was managed successfully by Belladonna.
• 1801: Hahnemann wrote an article, “The prevention and cure of scarlet fever” in his lesser writings. Also published a pamphlet called ‘Cure and Prevention of Scarlet Fever’, along with each pamphlet, a vial containing Belladonna was distributed. In his footnote to § 73, he wrote, “scarlet fever founds its preventive and curative means in Belladonna.”
• 1808: In the subsequent scarlatina epidemic in Germany, Aconite was proved effective.
• 1808: Published a paper, “Observation on the scarlet fever,” in which he described the individual features of the two previous epidemics.
• 1813: Hahnemann mentioned in his ‘Chronic Diseases’ about Bryonia and Rhus tox for the acute miasm of typhus.
• 1831: Hahnemann selected Camphor, Cuprum and Veratrum album for the prevention and cure of Asiatic cholera.
• 1849:  Boenninghausen  successfully used preventives during the cholera epidemic in Europe. The mortality rate was 54-90% in conventional medicine, whereas homeopathy had only 5–16% mortality. In his lesser writings, he had mentioned about his experience on Thuja for the prevention of small pox. Once he said, “Variolinum 200 is far supreme to crude vaccinations and absolutely safe.”
• 1833, Constantine Hering: He  suggested Psorinum to prevent an infection of itch miasm.
• 1884, J C Burnet: He suggested Vaccinum 30 as a preventive for small pox.
• Dr. H. C. Allen: He used Diptherinum for 25 years as a preventive
  of Diptheria.
• William Boericke: In his Materia Medica, under Baptisia, he writes, “Baptisia in lower dilutions produces a form of antibodies to the bacillus typhosus. It raises the natural body resistance to the invasion of bacillary intoxication.”
• Dorothy Shepherd: Confirmed the effectiveness of Pertussin in the prevention of whooping cough.
• Francisco X. Eizayaga. His protocol of homeopathic prophylaxis was successfully used for four decades in Buenos Aires.
• 1820 – 1904, Dr. Dudgeon: He reported that 10 allopathic doctors  used homeopathic doses of Belladonna on 1646 children as a preventive for scarlet fever, and only 123 cases had the infection. At the same time, 90% of people who had not taken Belladonna got the infection.
• 1838, Dr. Hufeland: He supported the use of Belladonna as a preventive against scarlet fever, hence, the government of Prussia made its use mandatory in 1838 during an epidemic of scarlet fever.
• 1907, Dr. Eaton: In 1907, he collated the results of several doctors in Iowa during a smallpox epidemic. As a prophylaxis to small pox, 2806 persons were given Variolinum 30. Out of these 2806 people, 547 persons had definite exposure to small pox. The response was very encouraging. Only 14 cases got the infection, which means the prophylaxis was 97% effective.
• 1918, W. A. Pearson:  W. A. Pearson of Philadelphia collected 26795 cases of influenza treated with Gelsemium by various homeopathic physicians. The mortality was only 1.05%, but the mortality of cases treated by conventional medicine was 30%.
• 1988 – 1994, Dr. Isaac Golden:  Conducted a survey among the customers who had purchased his prophylactic kit against diseases like pertussis, diphtheria, mumps, measles, influenza, tetanus, and poliomyelitis. He then conducted a follow-up survey by sending a questionnaire between 1988 to 1994 to each of the parents. He received 879 replies, out of which, only 2% of the children got the infection. Out of 188 children who had definite exposure, only 20 got infected, that too with fewer troubles. There were no adverse effects from the program. The repeated doses actually helped for the long-term prevention.
• 1974, Brazil: Guarantingueta in Brazil had faced an epidemic of meningitis. As a prophylaxis, Meningococcinum 10C was given to 18640 children. At the same time another group of 6,340 children did not receive the nosode, hence used as control. Out of 18,640, only 4 cases developed meningitis. And, among 6,340 children, 43 cases developed the disease.
• USA: The homeopaths who worked for the public health departments in USA gained great experience by using the nosodes against smallpox epidemics.
• 2007, Cuba: In October – November 2007, researchers at Finlay institute, Cuba, reported on their successful use of homeopathic remedy for the prevention of Leptospirosis. They prepared a 200C nosode from various strains of the organism, which was given to 2.4 million people. There was a dramatic decrease in morbidity and reached to zero mortality of hospitalized patients.
• India: In almost all states in India, homeopathic preventive medicines were distributed during the epidemics of Japanese encephalitis, Swine flu, Chinkungunya, Chickenpox, Conjunctivitis, Dengue fever, etc. The responses from the various sources are quite favorable. The success story of prophylaxis from Andhra Pradesh was a much-discussed topic in the public media. The Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (CCRH) is always vigilant on the outbreak of epidemic. They have special research centers to conduct studies on prophylaxis. CCRH also conducted studies on the efficacy of prevention of Japanese Encephalitis in states like UP,  WB, AP, Assam (1986-1999). The result was excellent. In India, homeopathic preventives are also distributed by NRHM, State Government departments, Homeopathic colleges, organizations and practitioners. The Government of Kerala has got a special body called RAECH (Rapid Action Epidemic Control cell Homeopathy), which is under the control of the department of homeopathy. It includes medical officers, members from various organizations and also private practitioners in each area. The RAECH has conducted many studies on the efficacy of HP.

Adapted from an article on Homeoprophylaxis by Dr. Muhammed Rafeeque, BHMS, India, Presented for the first time at LIGA 1st – 4th December 2011
Article Published in the March 2012 issue of Homeopathic Heritage, http://californiahomeopath.com/issue/the-california-homeopath-volume-17-3/article/an-attempt-to-solve-the-controversies-in-homoeopathic-prophylaxis1