Susceptibility 3rd Yr 2 (1) (Read-Only)

SUSCEPTIBILITY
OBJECTIVES :
At the end of the class learner shall be able,

 To know what is susceptibility in Homoeopathy
 To know view of different stalwarts
 To know role of susceptibility in Health, Disease and

Cure
DEFINITION OF SUSCEPTIBILITY
The general quality

or capability of the The power to react
living organism of to stimuli.
receiving
impressions.
WHAT IS SUSCEPTIBILITY…?
 Susceptibility is one of the fundamental attributes of

life.
 All the vital processes like digestion, assimilation and
nutrition, healing and repair, secretion, excretion,
metabolism, catabolism, disease process, all depend upon
the power of the organism to react to specific stimuli
 Susceptibility is responsible for the continued existence
of life in the world
 Depending upon the level of susceptibility, the living
organism in nature is adjusting itself to the surrounding
environment.
Susceptibility is one of the fundamental attributes of life.
Digestion
Assimilation
Secretion
Nutrition
Excretion
SUSCEPTIB
ILITY
Repair
Metabolis
m& All disease
Catabolis processes
m
VIEWS ON SUSCEPTIBILITY ACCORDING TO
DIFFERENT STALWARTS:
1.Hahnemann’s view on susceptibility : There are three aphorisms

which we can relate to susceptibility
 IN APHORISM 30 He mentions :
 The adverse external environmental stimuli, which could be
biological, physical, chemical or emotional cannot by themselves
affect the health of the human beings unless we are prone to or
disposed to be affected by them, and if we are, then alone, these
affect us adversely and produce abnormal sensations and alteration
in bodily functions. That is the precise reason diseases do not
affect all of us equally, and at all the time. Further, diseases are
merely spirit-like (conceptual) dynamic derangements of life.
APHORISM 32 he conveys :
 In brief, contrary to the natural diseases, as has been said

earlier, the artificial drug diseases affect all of us, at all the
times and without any exception, and each and every
medicine is capable of producing abnormal sensations and
disturbed functions peculiar to its own, in all of us,
particularly when the dose is strong enough, to cause
disequilibria in the functioning of the vital energy within
Kent’s view of susceptibility:
 Kent describes susceptibility as influx or flow of cause,

hence the disease is caused due to the influx of cause
of disease.
 If man continues to receive the influx without any limit it
can cause the death of the man.
 And if cause ceases to flow it’s because resistance is
offered, influx ceases and cause no longer flows in.
 Thus when susceptibility is satisfied there is a cessation
of cause and cure is achieved
Roberts view on susceptibility:
 He defines susceptibility as the reaction of the

organism to external and internal influences resulting
in the development of protective immunity against their
environmental conditions.
 According to him, susceptibility is a void in the
individual due to constitutional weakness. In order to
fill this void, the body attracts the things most needed
that are on the same plane of vibration.
 Therefore the similar remedy or the similar disease
satisfy susceptibility and establishes immunity
1. SUSCEPTIBILITY AND HEALTH:
 Health is a condition of a person where he is perfectly

balancing his functions even in adverse environmental
conditions.
 An organism in perfect balance is considered as
“Healthy”. In health we live, we resist, we act without
our subjective awareness.
 The susceptibility of an organism is equal to the attitude
of the organism to internal and external
circumstances.
 It is one of the defense mechanisms and a method to
survive, so balancing the level of susceptibility is
important to maintain a healthy state.
 For 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
affects some adversely and some kind. Seashore
improves one person’s health whereas the other becomes
ill.
 So 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
2. SUSCEPTIBILITY AND 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 disease like atopy and allergy, etc.
 The similimum selected based on the constitutional
somatotype, temperament and diathesis satisfies this
increased susceptibility and brings back the normalcy.
 Decreased susceptibility is the opposite state to increased
susceptibility, here 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 a lack of sensitivity and
responsiveness. Hence, in such conditions selecting the
similimum is difficult.
 Decreased susceptibility may result from 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”.
3. SUSCEPTIBILITY AND CURE:
 While proving a remedy, the remedy produces an

artificial susceptibility which is similar to the
susceptibility of the sick individual.
 Homoeopathically selected medicine satisfies this
natural susceptibility which results in the cure of the
patient.
 The similar potentised remedy is always stronger than
the susceptibility so that it can fully satisfy the morbid
condition.
 Thus, the most similar remedy to which a patient is
highly susceptible need to have less medicinal quantity
thus higher in potency.
 It is through the exaggerated increase in the
susceptibility during the illness which helps to find a
similar remedy.
 Therefore, the similar remedy or a similar disease satisfy
the susceptibility and establishes the immunity
HOW SUSCEPTIBILITY IS REPRESENTED UNDER
FOLLOWING CONDITIONS:
When a drug is given to healthy When a homoeopathically selected Homoeopathic aggravation
person during homoeopathic proving. medicine is administered to a sick
person.
Represent the reaction of susceptible

The train of symptoms that follows • Disappearance of symptoms organism to impression of curative
• And restoration of patient remedy.
Represent the reaction of susceptible Represent the reaction of susceptible Represents that it was inactive or
organism to specific irritant or organism to impression of curative acted improperly previously because
stimulus administered. remedy. of lowered susceptibility
THE DEGREE OF SUSCEPTIBILITY:
 The kind and degree of reaction to medicines depends upon the
degree of susceptibility of the patient.
 The kind and degree of susceptibility, in any particular case or
patient, depends largely upon how the case is handled by the
physician; for it is in his power to modify susceptibility.
 This power to modify susceptibility is the basis of the art of the
physician.
 Cure consists simply in satisfying the morbid susceptibility of the
organism and putting an end to the influx of disease-producing
causes.
SUMMARY :
 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.
 In the state of health, the body maintains the vital
operations and this regulation is possible when an
organism exhibits a normal response to any given
stimulus
 Morbid susceptibility constitutes diseases
 The similar remedy or a similar disease satisfy the

susceptibility and establishes the cure
REFERENCES :
1. Kent, J.T. Lectures on Homoeopathic philosophy. New

Delhi: B. Jain Publishers, p.113-118.
2. Sarkar, B.K. Hahnemann’s Organon of Medicine.
Delhi: Birla Publications Pvt Ltd. P.128-129.
3. Robert H.A. The Principles and Art of Cure by
Homoeopathy. 19th ed. Noida: B. Jain Publishers (P)
LTD; 2017.
THANK
YOU…

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SUSCEPTIBILITY

At the end of the class learner shall be able,

 To know view of different stalwarts

 To know role of susceptibility in Health, Disease and

The general quality

 Susceptibility is one of the fundamental attributes of

1.Hahnemann’s view on susceptibility : There are three aphorisms

 In brief, contrary to the natural diseases, as has been said

 Kent describes susceptibility as influx or flow of cause,

 He defines susceptibility as the reaction of the

 Health is a condition of a person where he is perfectly

 While proving a remedy, the remedy produces an

Represent the reaction of susceptible

 The similar remedy or a similar disease satisfy the

1. Kent, J.T. Lectures on Homoeopathic philosophy. New

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