Prescribing on the basis of Dowsing

Dowsing was an old method to locate underground water. This was used in India and other parts of the world for digging wells. It was confined to some gifted people only. The method used was a bifurcated stick of a certain tree was used and was taken to different places where they wanted to dig the well. The two bifurcated branches were held in both hands and the conjoined stick was kept in a horizontal position. If the horizontal part of the stick showed slightest dip towards earth that is it bent downwards, it indicated underground water.

Dr. Guy Becley Stearns, M.D., applied this principle for the selection of homoeopathic remedy. He called this "Principle of Prescribing on the Basis of Pupil Reflex". He cured many patients in very serious acute conditions, malignant and chronic diseases in whom there was paucity of symptoms or the patient was unable to describe his symptoms. He used all sorts of proved and unproved remedies on the observation, the effect of such remedies on the reactions of the remedy on the pupils of the patient even if the patient was in unconscious state.

Pupil Reflex Dowsing

In his paper on "Sea Remedies" he says "some years ago; I read a description of the effect on a fisherman, he stepped on string ray and was struck in the leg. Two cases of boils on the nape of neck were cured by high potencies of the string ray; the relief from pain occurred within half an hour and resolution was well advanced in 24 hours. Another case of gall bladder infection was quickly relieved of distress and symptoms cleared up within three days. 

Some species of jellyfish are poisonous. A few years a go I reported a case of severe vomiting of pregnancy in which one of the jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) cured the woman, after Sepia, which appears to be indicated, had failed. 

A 4-year-old boy·, who had always been frail and with chronic stoppage of nose (never having breathed freely through the nostrils), was taken violently ill with pains in abdomen. They came suddenly every half hour, lasted a minute or two, and then went suddenly. Accompanying the pain, there was profuse sweat on the forehead and neck and drowsiness between the pains. In the beginning, he had a hectic flush but became pale in the afternoon. Temperature was 104°F. There was no tenderness of the abdomen; heart and lungs were normal; the tongue was white with red papillae showing through. History was given of child's having drunk two glasses of milk at 7 in the morning. Three hours later, cramps began and they continued until I saw him in the late afternoon. The other had given an enema at 10 in the morning, which had produced an offensive stool. She gave one again at two which produced an offensive stool. At 5 p.m. she gave another which produced a stool with curds, but which had no odor. Milk poisoning was the tentative diagnosis and Homarus was the remedy that I had in mind, but from Boger's synoptic key I picked out the remedies listed under aggravation from milk and tested them one at a time, with the pupil reflexes, Sepia and Nit Acid both caused dilatation but sepia's was more pronounced. A powder of 200 was given producing relief almost at once. The subsequent effect was interesting. From that day, he began to breathe normally through the nose, which he had never done before and began to pick tip weight. From a pindling child he became well nourished and rugged. Here was a remedy given for an acute condition that cured a chronic condition.

A patient had left-sided pneumonia complicated by empyema. It is not necessary to describe the extreme seriousness of the situation because all such cases are serious. Under homoeopathic prescribing in due time there was a discharge of pus through the bronchi with a drop of temperature. However the temperature did not remain down but for several weeks oscillated daily one or two degrees above normal and the clinical picture was that of mild sepsis. Finally there was a sharp rise of temperature and a pus sac was suspected but the exploratory needle failed to find it. The clinical reasoning after the failure to find the pus was an unresolved area that was getting ready to break down. The only symptom, except clinical ones, was perspiring of the head. Iodine is often indicated in unresolved pneumonic conditions but rarely has perspiring of the head. Reasoning that one of the Iodine's might be better and since the sea remedies all contain iodine; all these that we have were tested. Mussel came through best. The 500th potency was given. The temperature fell to normal in 24 hours and from that day on the recovery was uneventful.

Method of Pupil Reflex Dowsing

Method of Testing Pupil Reflex: I have the patient seated, facing you. Have an assistant stand three or four feet at one side or behind the patient with the remedies that are to be tested convenient on a stand where they can be easily picked up. Have an electric light with a shade (I use an ordinary gooseneck lamp with a 55 watt bulb) with which to contract the pupils. Fold the lamp at the level of your lamp with the shade turned up so that the light is not reflected into the patient's eyes. Direct the patient to look straight ahead over one of your shoulders. Now turn the lamp until the light shines on the eyes. The pupils will immediately contract and then dilate slightly until the light effect is balanced. Now direct the assistant to pick up a remedy and move it quickly toward the patient, not necessarily touching the patient. The picking up and moving the remedy must be in one motion and done quickly because if the remedy affects the pupil, dilatation begins the moment the remedy is touched. The remedy is then immediately put aside. If the pupils are going to dilate they will do so at once. If the remedy is brought up slowly the dilatation begins as soon as the remedy is picked up and is slow and the result is confusing. The object is to have such dilatation as takes place, occur quickly so as to be definite.

The first few remedies usually cause a psychic reflex so that with each of them the pupils dilate, but after the patient becomes adjusted to the test, this reflex does not occur; so the first few remedies must be tested again. Also go over several times all the remedies with which dilation has occurred so as to eliminate those that are not positive.

There is a reflex of the pulse that can be used but this is not as useful for cases coming to the office. If you have a patient ill with a fever, where the pulse is more rapid than normal, a remedy homoeopathic to the case will cause the pulse to become slower. To observe this reflex, first count the pulse a full minute so as to get its rate. Select the remedies that are to be tested so as to contain as few as possible. Now place one of the remedies on the patient's hand and count the pulse for a quarter of a minute. If the original pulse-rate is a hundred per minute and with a given remedy the quarter minute count is 22 or 23, you may know that the remedy is a good one. Go through the list that you are working with and you will note that the remedies that are not useful will affect the pulse not at all or only slightly, but a remedy that will help the patient, will cause the pulse to drop two or three points in 15 seconds. You will also find that, among the effective ones, one will produce a little greater effect than any of the others and that one is always the preferable remedy.

Some physicians say they have trouble in observing this effect. There this occurs, the technique is wrong in someway, probably because the remedies selected are not adapted closely enough to the case. Dr, Guy Beckley Stearns, M.D.

Updated on: 01 Feb 2010