Homeopathy

About Homeopathy

Homeopathy was developed in late 1800’s by the physician Samuel Hannemann as an approach of natural medicine in which the whole person is treated. According to this system, three principles were applied. These include:

1) The idea that like cures like: a substance eliciting a specific symptom in a well person can cancel out the very same symptom in a person who suffers from this exact symptom. Balance is restored.

2) Only a very minute amount of a substance is required to have a notable effect. To achieve this, a piece of a plant or other substance will be taken, diluted and shaken 100 times in distilled water, 1 drop of this mixture will be taken and placed into a bottle with distilled water and shaken 100 times, 1 drop of the last dilution will placed in distilled water and shaken 100 times, and so on and so forth. In the end, the actual amount of the plant or used substance will be equal or less than 1 to1.000.000.000.000 parts of distilled water. In fact, the plant or used substance will be existent mostly based on its remaining energy signature in the water - more so than any actually measurable physical substance itself. Therefore, homeopathy is also regarded as a form of energy medicine. The idea of using minute amounts of substances to create an effect is familiar to western medicine through the use of allergy treatment and in the use of vaccination. However, the amounts of substance used in homeopathy are significantly more minute. The resulting medicines created from the described process are called ‘remedies’.

3) Only a single remedy is given. A remedy is associated with a composite picture of symptoms. These can span across the mental, emotional, and physical spectrum. The symptoms can be acute or chronic. A plant /or the substance from which the remedy is prepared will have a specific effect on a healthy person. In order to verify the effect of remedies, healthy people have tested remedies and report on the symptoms they create. This strategy is called a ‘proving’. Based on many provings, remedies were then catalogued and used to identify symptom pictures with which they were helpful.  A remedy will affect the whole person, including their mind, body and emotions, it can have effects at very specific times of day, promoting very unique tastes, likes, dislikes, interests, symptoms and ailments. Well and uniquely matched to a sick person who experiences these same symptoms, this remedy will then be helpful in canceling their symptoms out and treating the cause of the underlying imbalance.  

In order to understand a person’s unique symptom picture, a Homeopath will take a complex history. Based on the symptoms reported by the patient, a remedy which matches these symptoms will be chosen. Remedies are commonly taken in the form of small white tablets which dissolve under the tongue. They can also be provided in liquid form and taken as drops or as cream and applied topically. Remedies are not addictive and do not interfere with medications. If they are well matched however, they can promote greater health. This can mean that medication doses may need to be adjusted under the prescribing physician’s direction at some point in the course of treatment.

The benefits of homeopathic remedies can be blocked by the use of certain common substances. These involve mint including toothpaste, strong aromatic oils, camphor and coffee. It is recommended to avoid these substances during treatment.

Homeopathic remedies can be used for acute and chronic symptoms and conditions. Several approaches to homeopathy exist. In classical homeopathy, a person’s constitutional remedy is identified and used to treat presenting symptoms. In medical homeopathy, symptoms which are acute are treated with the matching remedy. Following a complex system, other homeopathic strategies have been developed which use compounds containing minute amounts of multiple remedies for cellular detoxification, strengthening and rebalancing of organs, mind and body.

About Homeopathic Practitioners

As a discipline of natural medicine, homeopathy is included in the training and practice of licensed naturopathic physicians. Additionally, several schools of homeopathy provide licensable training to homeopaths who are not naturopathic physicians. A homeopathic practitioner/naturopathic physician will review a patient’s symptoms in the progression of recovery following the initial comprehensive interview. Symptom presentation will be evaluated, the treatment monitored and adjusted to the unique needs of the patient. The end result involves the return to balance of the patient’s life force and resolution of symptoms. Whereas the recovery of a person from a chronic long standing illness can take time, acute symptoms can frequently be resolved with greater speed.