The Organon in Practice – “The Exciting Cause”
By Willa Keizer, CCH
Published in the June, 2002, issue of Homeopathy Today

Since Hahnemann’s time, homeopaths have always been interested in “exciting causes” of disease. As Hahnemann says in paragraph 5 of the Organon, “

He (the physician) is likewise a sustainer of health if he knows of the things that disturb health, that engender and maintain disease, and is aware of how to remove them from healthy people.

And in paragraph 5,

“It will help the physician to bring about a cure if he can determine the most probable exciting cause in an acute disease”…

In other words, an “exciting cause” is the factor that triggers a person’s decline from health into sickness. The homeopathic repertory (index of symptoms) is full of “exciting causes”. Although not all cases have exciting causes, understanding them when there is one can help us find the right remedy.

 Exciting causes can be physical, mental, or emotional. We can get sick from not taking care of ourselves and getting too cold, hot, damp, or wet—just as grandma always said! Lifestyle causes, such as eating or drinking too much, or not getting enough sleep, can lead to disease. Vaccination can also cause problems, which can respond well to homeopathic treatment. All of these physical stressors are indications for certain homeopathic remedies, many of which have been used for almost 200 years to heal ailments. A well-taken case will reveal whether or not there is an exciting cause that should be considered in the selection of the remedy.

 Emotional and mental causes can be crucial in remedy choice as well. We’ll find listings for ailments from excitement, grief, jealousy, anger, and even excessive joy! Too much of anything, even good things, can disrupt the harmony of the vital force and lead to disease.

I had a case recently that illustrates this concept of exciting cause. Julie was a healthy, happy 5 year old girl. She was very sweet and sympathetic and loved to play with other children. Her mom observed that when people say mean things, even in movies, she falls apart. She wants everything to be fair.

One day she went to a routine medical appointment and was given five vaccinations. Four days after the vaccinations, she developed a bad rash at the vaccination site which her mom attributed to a bite by a fire ant. Soon after, she started developing some strange habits. She said to her mom, “Mommy, my butt has to STRETCH!” and became restless and uncomfortable. Circle time at school became difficult as it was hard for her to sit still with such discomfort. A twitch would go up her back and cause her to throw her head back to relieve it. She then began having a nervous tic of constantly clearing her throat and sniffing. She would twitch all over in her sleep all night long as though a current were going through her. She had even been complaining that she felt like bugs were walking on her skin.

Of course, her mother was very concerned, especially as  the girl’s maternal aunt has a severe tic disorder.  It seemed that the vaccination may have been the exciting cause that  awakened an existing hereditary predisposition to nervous disorders. In other words, her nervous system took the hit from the trauma of the vaccination, which was causing these peculiar and disturbing new behaviors and sensations.

When I took her case, I also discovered that Julie has a fear of the dark. She said that when it’s dark “I think there’s a ghost in there.” She loves chocolate and sweets, as most children do. She had had a hyperactive gag reflex as a baby and would throw up food if the texture didn’t agree. She would get would get wound up at night and had a hard time falling asleep. This trait had gotten worse when the neurological symptoms started. The gag reflex and the being wound up at night also pointed to a touchy nervous system that could be set off, given an exciting cause.

Her acupuncturist, who knows some homeopathy, had given her Thuja, the first  remedy homeopaths think of when vaccination is the exciting cause. The Thuja had helped somewhat but wasn’t holding, so the child was referred to me. After taking the case, I chose Causticum based on the nervous tics, desire to stretch, restless legs, and the sensation of bugs crawling (formication) as well as her sympathetic personality, sensitivity to injustice, and fear of the dark and ghosts. Although Causticum is not listed in the vaccination rubric, it is listed in “convulsions after vaccination”. Although she was not having full convulsions, she was having strong neurological symptoms, and Causticum covered those symptoms. It is also a remedy for stings of insects. The ant bite may have contributed another trigger into this neurologically hyperactive state.

Her mother reported the response to the remedy as “dramatic.” Within a week of starting on a daily dose Causticum LM2, the muscle twitching and throat clearing disappeared. She isn't as wound up at night and falls asleep more easily. As of this writing, she has been on the remedy for four months. As the symptoms began to return, although milder, and the mother wished to not have to repeat the remedy so often, I gave her a dose of Causticum 1M and had her stop the LM . She has been symptom - free for the past month, since taking the dose of Causticum 1M.

This case illustrates how homeopathy is able to resolve symptoms after an exciting cause, which in this case was apparently the vaccination, has triggered them. However, giving the most common remedy for the exciting cause in a routine fashion is not always going to work. The Thuja was not able to resolve the symptoms completely the way a well-chosen remedy did. As always in homeopathy, taking a complete and thorough case is the best way to guarantee success.

In addition to giving the remedy, I advised the mother to learn more about the risks of vaccinations, so that she could make an informed decision about pursuing them in the future.

As Hahnemann says, we must know how to recognize what brings about disease, and how to remove it. This is as much a part of homeopathic philosophy as our remedies are. It’s important to stop doing whatever it was that caused the problem, in addition to giving the remedy. Understanding all the concepts in the Organon, including the exciting cause, is key to the successful practice of homeopathy. It’s exciting to see these principles in action, and help a person return to a state of health!