Strange, Rare and Peculiar Symptoms

A strange, rare or peculiar symptom is pretty much like it sounds. We don’t see them all the time, and they can be a symptom that fits any of those descriptors, so they may be rare, or strange, or peculiar, it doesn’t have to be all of them. These less common symptoms can help us match a remedy to the individual. We need to take account of both these and common symptoms.


They can be a real gift to the practitioner when presented with them during a case session and can help us pinpoint a remedy to help the individual.


‘Homeopaths have a phrase for what is most useful in the study of materia medica, and so also in the study of patients in an effort to help them, ‘strange, rare and peculiar’. The clues to a cure lie in what are uncommon and characteristic in both the properties of the medicine and the symptoms of the patient.’

http://www.homeobook.com/pdf/strange-rare.pdf
 
Strange symptoms are those which defy our logic and make no sense to us, yet still exist – e.g. pain in rectum, eructations, during empty.
 
Rare - those which we rarely encounter in our patients or remedies. They’re found in very few patients, and very few remedies.
 
Singular symptoms – so rare that they’re found in one remedy in our materia medica and repertory.
 
Peculiar symptoms are different to what is normal or expected. Symptoms that are against our expectation. E.g. pain in knees better by walking – if there is knee pain, we may expect to be worse for moving. Or painful throat better for cold drinks – most patients find a warm drink more soothing with a sore throat.
 
Common symptoms are not to be ignored – a good remedy usually covers both the common and uncommon symptoms. We decide on our remedy based on the characteristic symptoms, but that doesn’t mean the common symptoms never have any value.