Page 12 - Spring 25

Report of the BAHVS Spring Meeting
by Ilse Pedler
On a sunny day in March, twenty-four of us met in person and on Zoom in a bright - windowed room in a building not far from the British Museum. It was a day of insights, sharing and discussion, of cases that had been cured by the therapeutic power of homeopathy and cases that had responded then relapsed or developed new symptoms and needed help to rebalance again.
First off was Stefan Kohlrausch with a case of an epileptic dog helped by Pulsatilla. It was not only a clear case of how epilepsy can respond to homeopathy but also challenged our view of Pulsatilla as the soft yielding remedy we all thought we knew by illuminating another more unusual side of it.
Edward De Beukelaer presented two cases of dogs with serious pathology, one with peritonitis and one with abdominal sarcomas where there was a clear response to homeopathy when there had only been limited improvement with conventional medicine. We learnt that the remedy Iridium has its root in the Latin for rainbow and that one of its rubrics is fear of shiny objects.
Emily McAteer revisited her case of a dog with 10
behavioural problems that had responded really well to Theridion. She presented this case at the Faculty conference last November as a brilliant example of how insect remedies can often help animals with behavioural problems. She brought the case to the meeting as an example of how other remedies may be needed after an initial good response. Asking the combined wisdom and experience in the room for a way forward, the answer seemed to be Hyoscyamus.
I [Ilse Pedler] presented a case of ear polyps in a cat that had responded really well to Kali sulph, saving the cat from a total ear canal ablation. I had treated the cat successfully for four years but it had recently developed nasal symptoms of a blocked nose and discharge that had partially responded to Hydrastis after trying several different potencies of Kali sulph. Reassurance from the group and a reminder of Hering’s law was very welcome.
After lunch we had Geoff Johnson’s proving of heart with its themes of polarity, time perpetual and ever flowing, great power and a physical affinity to the neck.
We then had a discussion of atopy in dogs and a case presentation from Brendan Clarke. As always treatment of allergic skin disease provokes extremes of reactions, from those that find treatment of them fascinating (we
had Lise Hansen in the room!) and those who dread them coming through the consulting room door. As is often the case in meetings with the sharing of knowledge, new insights emerged. We learnt about mast cell activation syndrome, the appropriate use of histamine in potency and the advice never to give up and that treatment often needs to be persistent and adaptable to help these animals. We also strayed into discussions about single source proteins, vaccinosis and probiotics.
We also had a really interesting discussion on LM potencies and how useful many people found these, this circled back to Hahnemann and the last edition of the Organon and his theory of chronic disease. This seems an appropriate place to stop, all things beginning and ending with the man himself.
The effort involved in organising a meeting is always repayed a thousand-fold by gathering together with friends and colleagues and discussing homeopathy in all its fascinating and glorious complexity. I know I came away from the meeting feeling reinvigorated and am looking forward already to our annual conference in September in East Sussex where we can all meet up again
We are hugely grateful to Helios for their sponsorship of this meeting.