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When the psoric miasm is present, evidence of its presence is known by the signs and symptoms, depending on which of the five function(s) of prana is (are) deranged, and also on the etiological factors of the derangement. Depending on the intensity and duration of the disturbance, interference with the actions of the pranic forces will manifest in three different stages: latent, secondary and tertiary psora.
As psora is generally considered to be an overall functional disturbance of the organism, we would expect the major signs and symptoms of psora to primarily reflect disturbances of the nervous system and endocrine system, the two physiological systems that determine the functioning of the other systems of the body. When the force of prana becomes deranged, the earliest responses in the organism are functional and sensational disturbances of the most basic processes of the body. These are expressed through the mind and the central nervous system in what we call the latent stage of psora. The latent stage may maintain its dormancy for many years, but any trauma or shock to the subtle levels of the organism can activate the sleeping miasm, causing it to manifest as acute illness or as chronic disease. In the latent stage, symptoms do not refer to any particular organ or tissue but rather reflect changes in the organism as a whole.
If the psoric miasm is not treated and brought under control during its latency, after some time secondary manifestations of functional disturbances of particular tissues or organs will express. In this stage, psora still maintains its functional nature and the disturbances are those that reflect derangement of the autonomic nervous system and the processes and systems under its direction. If psora is allowed to progress to the tertiary stage, gross pathology appears. This does not mean that those symptoms of the other two stages are no longer present. Rather it is an additive process, indicating involvement of more systems and development of chronic diseases. In other words, each stage is not mutually exclusive but represents a more complicated stage of the morbific process. Therefore, the symptoms of latent psora may also be part of secondary and tertiary psora, and secondary part of tertiary.
Tertiary psora can be described by one word—stasis. The normal movements of prana have become so obstructed so as to nearly come to a standstill. The gross pathological changes of the tertiary stage will manifest first as disorders of the skin, including the famous “itch” that is considered to be the signpost of psora. This is only logical as the skin is derived from the same primary germ layer as the nervous system. The pranic forces, in the attempt to rid the organism of the unwanted invader, since they are not able to complete their work along the normal routes, will only naturally follow an alternative path, from the subtle nervous system to the grosser aspect of the same germ layer tissue, the skin. This is exactly what happens in the psoric miasm.
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Dr. Barbara Bova, HOD, Dept. of Homeopathy