Let me tell you about the skin. It technically is considered a body "organ" because it has functions just like the other organs of the body (brain, liver, stomach, etc). It is the largest organ because, well, what part of you isn’t covered by some form of skin? I suppose the nails and eyes are, except that under the nails is skin.

It is often my findings that people ignore the skin until something happens. People like to have their skin free of blemishes, rashes and bruises, among other things. Women, on the whole, like to feel their skin being soft and wrinkle-free. As for men, maybe they like to be…hairy? I guess it’s hard to say what men like in reference to their skin, aside from having it be healthy.

When a rash or blemish occurs, people want to remove it quickly so they apply something topical (to the skin) to get rid of the unwanted rash right away, especially if it itches madly. And, most people (Medical Doctors included) believe that what is on the skin is very superficial (surface) so it can’t possibly affect anything going on within the body.

In preparation for my next article for a local newspaper, I began to re-read the original founding principles of homeopathy (zzzz I think the doctors of old were long-winded). But the main cause of chronic disease, it stated, was "suppressed itch". Having worked with people with homeopathy for several years now, I’ve seen this to be true.

The "Founder of Homeopathy," Dr. Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) lived at the time when medical treatments were blood letting, purging, drilling holes in people’s heads to release the evil spirits, etc. Hahnemann was new out of medical school when he realized that most of the patients that saw doctors died from the treatments; so he spent some time looking at the history of medicine because the high incidences of death from medical care wasn’t a historical fact—it was common, but not to the high degree of the current age.

In his studies, he came across Hippocrates’ work about how to treat the whole patient: mind, body, spirit and emotions, and that no illness occurred just to the physical body; it also occurred to the mind, spirit and emotions. He also realized that doctors through time didn’t have to look inside a person’s body to see what was wrong—the patient told the doctor all he needed to know to treat him; the doctor had to use all his senses, not just what the patient said verbally.

So Hahnemann sought a different treatment method other than the current destructive means to cure his patients. He used herbs again (something that was banned by the medical community at the time) and began to use what was later called "homeopathy." Most of his patients lived, whereas most died that were treated by his colleagues who used their currently approved methods.

As his learning continued, he saw that most of the illnesses that patients came to see doctors for were skin-related: boils, rashes, leprosy, etc. For those patients that were treated with chemical applications to the skin, they wound up with a disease that occurred deeper within, such as asthma, diabetes, cancer, tuberculosis. Nearly everyone who had eczema or hives treated with a chemical developed asthma. For those that Hahnemann treated with homeopathy or herbs, they healed and didn’t develop a deeper disease.

So Hahnemann looked back through history and found the same thing: those people who treated their skin ailments with chemicals developed a life-long disease within 6 months (now called "chronic" disease); those who were treated with natural medicines didn’t develop a deeper disease.

Hahnemann tried to share this wisdom with his colleagues, that to prevent "chronic" diseases, the skin should be treated with natural medicines, especially homeopathy. But he was ridiculed. He presented them with evidence, but they wouldn’t listen. He even went to the colleges; but the teachers stated that they knew the connection but there was more money in illness, so they would not teach the truth.

So Hahnemann taught his own students and he wrote books to pass along his knowledge. What he taught was that one of the first signs of trouble within the body is a skin disorder; how that skin disorder is treated will determine if the person would heal or develop a deeper, more severe disease.

I find it interesting to look back at the history of new clients. In 99% of cases, a skin condition can be found, sometimes many years before they developed a chronic condition, even as early as "that cradle cap that was treated with a cream." Recently I had a man who suddenly developed throat cancer; he stated he was healthy until that day. In his history, he stated there was nothing wrong with him until he developed the sore throat (then diagnosed with cancer). But on his fourth follow-up visit, he told me about his toe fungus that has "come back". When I asked about when it was there previously, he said about 30 years ago (long before his throat cancer). At the time he had treated it with antibiotics for a month and topical creams. It had gone away so he forgot all about it; but it came back from time-to-time with the incidences of recurrence becoming more frequent and lasting longer each time.

With anti-itch medicated creams and anti-inflammatory agents at every store, and probably in everyone’s bathroom cupboard, every itch and scrape is medicated with a chemical today. If Hahnemann’s words ring true today, the cause of all chronic diseases is medicating the skin with chemicals, thus driving the disease deeper within. The concept of this is staggering!

Nearly all my clients had some form of skin "disease" prior to developing a chronic disease. It usually takes a lot of questioning to discover acne or some skin rash that started the whole disease process because most people have been taught that "it is only skin deep."

So I always get excited when a person calls with a rash or skin blotch or some change on their skin. If the condition can be removed through natural means, then the rash need never to come back; and if it isn’t suppressed, then that might mean one more chronic disease won’t occur.

Looking Below the Skin for the Cause

According to the founding philosophies of homeopathy is that the rash on the skin is not caused on the skin but from within; the rash is only a sign that an imbalance has occurred within. In order to tell you something changed to upset your inner balance, the body gives you a symptom, a sign, of something that can be perceived by one of your senses—in most cases it’s a skin rash or blotch or change of some form.

And, in order to heal the rash or whatever, the person has to heal the imbalance within. When the imbalance is healed within, the rash will disappear and not return. If the rash does come back, or something deeper happens (such as a lung disease) it means the imbalance within still needs to be fixed.

How do you suppress a rash? The most common way is through medical drugs or ointments such as hydrocortisone cream, Benadryl® cream or such. How do you work with the rash naturally so you don’t go nuts? Try something natural such as tea tree oil or a special formulation product that doesn’t have a medicinal component. If not sure, ask a pharmacist.

"Treatment" of skin disorders through non-suppressing methods is SO important in prevention of chronic diseases according to homeopathy; it is probably the most important prevention you can do. It may save you years of suffering.

For more information, see Samuel Hahnemann’s book "Nature of Chronic Diseases".

Best wishes,

Dr. Ronda

Disclaimer: The information provided by Dr. Ronda is for educational purposes only. It is important that you not make health decisions or stop any medication without first consulting your personal physician or health care provider.