SUSCEPTIBILITY

Susceptibility can be termed as the fundamental quality of a living organism to react to any sort of stimuli that distinguishes the living from the non living. Stuart Close says, “By susceptibility we mean general quality or capacity of the living organism of receiving impressions the power to react to stimuli”. H.A.Roberts says, “We may define susceptibility primarily as the reaction of the organism to the external and internal influences”.

Susceptibility is one of the fundamental attributes of life. All the vital process like digestion, assimilation and nutrition, healing and repair, secretion, excretion, metabolism, catabolism, disease process, all these depend upon the power of organism to react to specific stimuli. Example: As soon as you look at your favorite food, saliva is secreated in your mouth. This is the reaction of your body to the stimulus called food. Unless you have this capacity to react and secret saliva, your physiological function called digestion of food is impossible. So man has to have a balanced state of susceptibility to carry on his vital functions and day to day physiological actions. Susceptibility is responsible for the continuous existence of life in the world. We can understand the susceptibility when the living organism is in the environment and the signs and symptoms are the best examples of susceptibility of the organism to any noxious powers. Depending upon the level of susceptibility, the living organism in the nature is adjusting itself to the surrounding environment. Hence, the aim of the physician is to maintain this normal Susceptibility of the organism and not to alter it or impair it. The susceptibility can be studied under the following headings:

1. Susceptibility in health.
2. Susceptibility and constitution.
3. Susceptibility and diathesis.
4. Susceptibility and disease.
5. Susceptibility and cure.
6. Susceptibility and influence of drug on it.
7. Susceptibility and Posology.
8. Susceptibility and suppression.
   

Susceptibility in Health
Health is a condition of a person where he is perfectly balancing his
functions even in the adverse environmental conditions. An organism in perfect
balance is considered as health. In health we live, we resist, we act without our
subjective awareness. Susceptibility of an organism is equal to the attitude of the
organism to internal and external circumstances. It is the one of the defense
mechanism a method to survive. Balancing the level of susceptibility is
important to maintain the healthy state.

Example:one person can survive in a marshy area whereas the other
becomes seriously ill. One will thrive in the dampness to which the other
succumbs. Altitude affect some adversely and some kindly. Sea shore improves
one person’s health where as the other becomes ill. The problem is one’s
inability to adjust to the environment. This always depends upon the person’s
susceptibility. The rational system always recognizes this fact and conserves and
tries to restore the normal susceptibility and does nothing to impair it.

Susceptibility and Constitution
Individual partly inherits susceptibility from his ancestors and partly
develops it during his life time. Hence, the constitution has a direct role in the
level of susceptibility. Susceptibility controls the reaction to stimuli and
resistance to infection etc. It has a direct relation in the maintenance of health.
Disease is nothing but the symptom collection exhibited by the host as a reaction
to many noxious agents whether they are mechanical, chemical or dynamic in
nature. This nature and intensity of the symptoms produced are directly
dependent upon the susceptibility of the host.

Constitution is also a genotypic inheritance, the ability of the organism to
react to the stimuli and the resistance offered by the host. The exogenous and
endogenous factors have to play a major role in the development of the
constitution. The emotional, intellectual and physical attributes are better
determined by the susceptibility. Hence, constitutional type is determined by the
susceptibility within. By understanding the constitutional type of the person, we
can determine his susceptibility to a certain level.

Susceptibility and Diathesis
Diathesis represents certain deviations in the nature of susceptibility. The
predisposition of certain somato-types to the development of certain diseases
lead to the discovery of doctrine of susceptible constitutions and diathesis. This
concept can be used successfully in the preventive medicine. But, this concept is
not fully understood in its pathogenetic sphere.

Hence, the usage of this concept in predicting and preventing the
development of diseases in a predisposed individual is not fully reliable. In
homeopathic practice, the individuality of a patient is difficult both in
application part and evaluation. The detailed study of the psycho-somatic study
of the diathesis of different miasmatic states simplifies this process a bit.

Susceptibility and Disease
Adjustment of the organism to the adverse environmental states is the result
of normal Susceptibility. A normal level of susceptibility is responsible for the
maintenance of the healthy state. But prolonged exposure to the adverse
environmental effects may lead to change in the state of susceptibility. These
adverse factors can be either mechanical, chemical or dynamic in nature. If such
adverse conditions are not controlled in time, uneasiness is exhibited by the host
which leads to the production of disturbances in the organism in the form of
signs and symptoms, which we call disease. Hence, disturbance in the levels of
susceptibility disturbs the capacity of adaptability of the host and leads to the
development of disease. In disease, the susceptibility may be either decreased or
increased or even destroyed.

Increased susceptibility leads to abnormal and exaggerated responses to
those stimuli which are normal to a healthy person. Thus, leading to the disease
like atopy and allergy etc. the similimum remedy selected based on the
constitutional somato-type, temperament and diathesis satisfies this increased
susceptibility and brings back the normalcy. Along with the constitutional
treatment, removal of those adverse environmental factors that lead to this
altered susceptibility has to be made. This can be done by adequate control of
diet and regimen. “Excessive reaction, irritability, in a condition sometimes met
where the patient seems to suffer an aggravation from every remedy, without
corresponding improvement. There is a state of general hypersensitiveness. For
such state, Boenninghausen recommends Asar, Cham, Coff, Ign, Nux v, Puls,
Teuc, Valer. But the case and remedy must be carefully individualized”, says
Stuart Close. Decreased susceptibility is the opposite state to the increased
susceptibility. The organism poorly responds to any type of stimuli in the
environment. The general condition of the organism will come down. This
further deteriorates the protective process of the organism leading to the effects
of the noxious agents.

The decreased susceptibility does not exhibit the symptoms because of lack
of sensitivity and responsiveness. Hence, in such conditions selecting the
similimum is difficult. Decreased susceptibility may result by indiscriminate use
of steroids or sedatives. “Deficient reaction or decreased susceptibility may
exist in a case or appear during treatment constitute a condition requiring
special treatment. This is especially true in the treatment of chronic diseases,
where improvement ceases and well selected remedies do not seem to act. Under
such circumstances, it may sometimes be necessary to give a dose of what is
called the “intercurrent remedy”. Boenninghausen mentions as appropriate in
such cases: Carbo-veg, Lauro, Mosch, Op, and Sulph. To these, may be added
the typical Nosodes: Medor, Psor, Pyrog, Tuber, Syphilis, and also Thuja. The
choice of any particular one of these remedies must be governed by the history
and symptoms” says Stuart Close.

Susceptibility and Cure
Cure is nothing but the result of satisfying the morbid or altered
Susceptibility. “When Susceptibility is satisfied, there is cessation of cause, and
when cause ceases to flow in to ultimate, not only do ultimate cease but case
itself has already ceased”, says Kent. As hunger demand food, so disease
demands medicine. But the demand is always consistent with universal law. It is
for the symptomatically similar medicine, because that is the only thing that
really satisfies the susceptibility. In satisfying the susceptibility the fundamental
homeopathic principles are to be followed. “The similar remedy or the similar
disease satisfies susceptibility and establishes immunity” says H.A.Roberts.
When a homeopathically selected remedy is administered to a sick person, the
disappearance of symptoms indicates that the person is susceptible to the
curative remedy and the powerful similar remedy is capable enough to replace
the weaker miasmatic disease. Stuart Close says, “The kind and degree of
reaction to medicines depends upon the degree of susceptibility of the patient”.
Hence, cure is brought by simply satisfying the morbid susceptibility of the
patient by the similar remedies.

An expert homeopath satisfies this susceptibility and cures the patient by
giving the exactly similar remedy. But the bugler can do this by administering
several more or less remedies in succession. After careful selection and
administration of the similimum, sometimes elimination of the toxicities in the
form of diarrhoea, profuse sweating etc may result. If such changes are
observed, they should not be interfered and further repetition of the indicated
remedy or any other remedy has to be stopped immediately.

Susceptibility and Drugs and Remedies
Drugs are the substances which have the capacity to alter the state of a
healthy individual. This capacity to alter the state of health is dependent on two
factors. The first factor is the Susceptibility of the prover to that particular drug
substance and second factor is the specific capacity of the drug substance to
affect the health of the individual. These two factors differ from drug to drug
and individual to individual. When we prove a remedy, the array of symptoms
that follow represents the reaction of the susceptible organism to the specific
drug stimulation administered.

Hence, while proving the drug; we prove this drug substance on both sexes,
various constitutions, and on all age groups to make the drug picture most
perfect and more reliable. This is by studying the action of same drug on
different individuals with different levels of susceptibility. The action of drugs
on the patients differs from that of the healthy persons and even varies from
individual patient to individual. One individual at one time will be always
greatly susceptible to only one remedy. That remedy will become his
homeopathic remedy. Expert homeopath always tries to identify this remedy and
tries to cure the patient with such remedy.

Susceptibility and Posology
Doctrine of Posology always revolves around the degree of susceptibility of
the patient. Several factors influence the degree of susceptibility. The general
rule “higher the susceptibility higher will be the potency” has been derived by
the experiences of the pioneers.

Susceptibility and Suppression
The susceptibility cannot be destroyed, but it can only be modified by the
power of medicines or noxious agents. The curative homeopathic remedy
modifies this susceptibility and satisfies it, thus cure results with the
disappearance of symptoms. Instead of taking such step, when the susceptibility
of one channel is suppressed the energy flows into another channel, i.e. the
reverse order of the Hering’s law of cure leading to suppression. Example:
Suppression of eczema may result into expression of asthma, the foul sweat
replaced by neuralgic headache, the suppression of leucorrhea lead to the
development of abdominal cramps and arthritis in some patients.

All the treatments which cannot satisfy this susceptibility level of the
patient, can be termed as the suppressive treatments. According to H.A.Roberts,
removal of the end products of the disease without prior constitutional treatment
based on the law of similia is also a form of suppressive treatment. The
physician has to identify the emotional side of the disease, tries to find out the
cause and tries to prescribe a remedy that suits to his individual problem.

Susceptibility and reaction are the fundamental, characteristics of an
organism. Preservation of this normal level of susceptibility is very much
essential for maintenance of health. The rational system always aims at bringing
back this normal susceptibility of the sick.