Understanding Illness

Understanding Illnesses/Treatment in Tibb

Hippocrates showed us that there is a definite pathway leading from health to disease. When laying the founding principles of Tibb he established a scientific basis for understanding the causes of illnesses and health, which is based on ’cause and effect’. We now know that the human body is equipped with a vast range of self-regulating and self-healing mechanisms, and that illnesses do not just happen – they result from definite cause or, more often, causes.

Tibb maintains that all illnesses arise from one of four distinct sources.

The first two sources are linked to disharmony in our internal environment brought about by changes to the Lifestyle Factors. These changes influence the ideal qualitative composition which is required by our temperament in order to maintain good health.
The third source is infection that takes place when there is an imbalance in the internal environment (homeostasis) which provides fertile ground for the microbe to grow.
The fourth source is the unintended consequence of medication; namely, the side effects and adverse metabolic changes which frequently follow the use of conventional (allopathic) drugs.

Sudden change/excess in qualities from Lifestyle Factors

Sudden or excess qualitative changes often occur from poorly managed Lifestyle Factors. For example, from variations in weather conditions, overeating, enduring disturbed sleep patterns, or trauma, physical or mental.
These sudden changes result in symptoms which could arise immediately. If we go from a warm environment out into the cold without being warmly dressed, we will most likely experience symptoms of the common cold – runny nose, watery eyes, and shivering. Similarly, if we do not get adequate sleep; we may develop a headache; or, in other examples, overeating can lead to indigestion. If these influencing factors are not restricted, then we are at risk of possibly developing more serious illnesses. However, if we counteract these negative factors, then our inner Physis is able to overcome this sudden change to our qualitative balance, and so restore our health.

Natural waste and toxin build up

Accumulation of natural waste gradually takes place mainly as the result of a faulty diet combined with poor elimination. In addition, our living environment is becoming increasingly contaminated by vast numbers of synthetic, new-to-nature chemicals from numerous industrial, agricultural, and domestic sources. This results in a build of toxins affecting bodily functions, tissues, and organs. This accumulation is detrimental to our Physis (our 'inner doctor'), which gradually fails to restore our ideal qualitative balance. On top of this, our normal ageing process takes its toll on just about every activity in the body, including Physis. The ailments that arise from our inability to deal with this waste and toxin build-up are invariably chronic or recurring in nature, such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, and rheumatism.

Microbe Infections

Tibb has a different viewpoint on infection than conventional/Western medicine. Without today’s advanced technology, Tibb physicians were unable to detect and identify actual disease-causing agents – viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc. However, they were well aware of the nature of infection or, as they termed it, putrefaction. They knew that there was something in the air or water which was causing specific ailments like tuberculosis, pneumonia, and meningitis, and this could be transmitted person-to-person. Tibb considers that any ailment due to infection which we succumb to can only happen when our inner healing power, or Physis, is weakened and is overwhelmed, or needs time to deal with a pathogen it is not familiar with.
Infective microbes will thrive, multiply and infect our body when there is a change in the qualitative balance which provides a fertile and welcoming medium for them to survive, multiply and spread through the body. This explains why some people are susceptible to bacterial infection and others are resistant – there is a difference in the strength of their Physis to deal with the invading microbes.

Side Effects of conventional/Western medication

Most of us use conventional drugs to deal effectively with common acute ailments like pain, headache, insomnia, and bacterial infection. However, many of us will be affected by side effects in the short term, such as stomach upsets, dizziness, and nausea, Over the longer term, adverse reactions, there may be an increased risk of developing other complications – injury to the liver and kidneys, diabetes type 2, asthma, and hypertension to name but a few. These days, as patients we increasingly seek healthcare advice for ailments which have arisen purely from the long-term use of medication. The issue is often aggravated when we take other drugs to deal with the original side effects and adverse reactions. For example, when we take an ACE inhibitor to lower high blood pressure, we sometimes develop a chronic irritating cough. This side effect is often treated with theophylline – which itself brings on other side effects. Another example is when we take a water tablet, such as a thiazide or loop diuretic, for heart failure, oedema or raised blood pressure, we may develop gout. This is then treated with another drug – allopurinol – which in turn brings on even more side effects.