Acute and Chronic Diseases

The distinction between acute and chronic diseases is essential for a homeopathic treatment.

Acute Diseases

Acute diseases generally run their course quickly and either heal by themselves or could become life threatening.

e.g: Scarlet fever, influenza, intestinal infections, childhood diseases, cholera, …

graph: acute — Acute disease e.g. flu, scarlet fever, cholera

Chronic Diseases

Chronic diseases progress insidiously, in episodes, recur repeatedly or change their appearance.
e.g: Migraine, menstrual cramps, hay fever, allergies, multiple sclerosis, asthma, rheumatism…

graph: insidious — Insidious progess, e.g. arthritis, cancer, Parkinson’s disease

graph: in episodes — In episodes: gout, MS, rheumatism

graph: recurring — Recurring repeatedly: e.g. migraine, hayfever, PMS

graph: disease changes — A disease can change it’s appearance

In the case of acute illnesses, the symptoms can usually be recognised very clearly even by laypeople and, above all, the course of the illness is much easier to assess.

Chronic illnesses require professional treatment by a classical homeopath. The treatment can take months to years. The healing process is much more difficult to follow as chronic diseases usually build up over years and will run through certain stages of recovery that have to be recognised as such.