Direction Of Cure - FROM INSIDE TO OUTSIDE

What is 'DOC - from Inside to Out'?

When a patient undergoes homeopathic treatment, a phenomenon called 'direction of cure - from Inside to Out' is often observed. This occurs when the patient's symptoms change in nature and location as part of the overall healing process, moving from inside to outside, referring to either the mind or body, or both.

Symptoms may change considerably so that it seems that there is a separate disease process going on, but that is rarely the case. It is simply that the patient's system is clearing the disease out through natural channels, reversing the accumulated disease processes, unsuppressing, and so producing different symptoms on the way. It is a healthy sign that the patient's self healing mechanisms are back in action, and therefore is much more likely to result in complete cure if not interfered with.

Patients will usually not be familiar with this holistic perspective as it is outside of the allopathic model they're used to, however it is important not to treat these shifting symptoms as a separate illness because that would be to revert to allopathic principles which are inappropriate and nearly always counter-productive in homeopathy. Homeopathy does not cure by suppressing the condition but by eradicating it in the direction of cure.

If the more internal symptoms (which usually include mental/emotional symptoms) improve before the more external symptoms then this is direction of cure, moving in from inside to outside. Once this process begins it usually goes on to resolve of its own accord, without a new homeopathic prescription, and results in a clearing of all symptoms in the direction of cure.

There are many examples of this direction of cure in homeopathic literature, the important thing is that the patient is questioned to determine that the previous deeper seated condition has improved. If it hasn't then it isn't direction of cure.

It is very important therefore that the patient understands and has confidence in this process: its importance cannot be overstated.

E.g.,
Asthma may improve after a remedy yet a skin condition like eczema, might subsequently appear (i.e. lungs outwards to skin). This is direction of cure.

If a skin eruption develops after a remedy for an internal condition, this is a sign that a remedy is progressing in the direction of cure; (obviously this won't apply when the condition the patient requires treatment for is a skin condition itself as in that case the symptoms are already on the outside). There may be more than one DOC happening at the same time, e.g. from top to bottom may also be in the reverse order of the appearance of symptoms (ROS)