POSSIBLE REACTIONS TO ANY MEDICINAL SUBSTANCES:
SUPPRESSION
This is what happens when a medicinal substance is used, a symptom or symptom complex gets better, but the patient becomes worse on a deeper level. This is a very common scenario in conventional medicine when a steroid is used, for example, during a skin flare-up. The skin gets better (temporarily), but the liver becomes involved due to the action of the steroid. With repeated steroid administration, the skin may even stay better (suppressed), but the patient becomes depressed or less energetic.
One of the things that we have seen with increasing frequency in recent years is the rise of asthma cases in children who have had a diaper rash or some other skin problem suppressed with steroid creams. The lungs being the next organ in contact with air (an "internal skin", you might say), may bear the brunt of skin symptoms which have been "sent away."
In suppression, we are essentially telling the organism to "be quiet - don't show us these symptoms" rather than accepting the presentation of the symptoms as an expression of the patient's chronic disease. These symptoms are present for a reason - they present themselves so that the organism can be healed. They are a vent for the chronic disease. To simply send them away without actually addressing the underlying disease results in suppression, or deeper disease.
PALLIATION
Palliation occurs when a medicinal substance used for a particular symptom alleviates that symptom for as long as it is used; when it is discontinued, the symptom returns. This scenario is often seen when we use non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, or even nutritional supplements. While less dangerous than suppression, it is not as desirable as cure.
CURE
Cure is the goal of every homeopathic case. When moving toward cure, the patient has more energy, is more flexible and adaptable in coping with daily stresses, is more satisfied and happier with life in general. During cure, the gamut of symptoms improve (albeit at different times and to different degrees), rather than just a particular symptom.
Cure follows Hering's Rules of the Direction of Cure, to wit:
  1. Cure goes from the inside to the outside (i.e., there is an increase in energy, an improvement in attitude before skin symptoms improve). A corollary to this is that cure goes from more important to lesser important organs.
  2. Cure goes from the top to the bottom. So we generally see that, if there are skin lesions for example, the ones about the head and neck will improve before the ones around the hips.
  3. Cure goes from the center to the periphery. Thus shoulder joints will improve before wrists, for example.
  4. Cure goes in reverse order of appearance of symptoms, so that the most recent symptoms to appear are the first to leave. This sometimes will result in old symptoms from the past coming back, especially if they had been suppressed in the past.