Homeopathy has gained a very wide following in the world today, due to the permanent treatment it effectuates, even though it is a slow Main Page

acting therapy. This is perhaps substantiated by the estimated 500 million people receiving treatment all over the world, and the more than 100,000 homeopathic experts giving their medicines. This article tries to discuss homeopathy in an objective manner.

Definition of Homeopathy

Homeopathy is a branch of alternative medicine which tries to treat diseases by introducing a substance in the body which would produce a similar set of symptoms in the sick people.

In homeopathy, the medications are provided to the patient in an extremely diluted form. If that same medication were to be given to a healthy patient, then it would cause similar symptoms as in the person suffering from the disease. Hence, it is very necessary to provide the medications very expertly and in the proper dosage, or the treatment could have drastic repercussions.

The word homeopathy also elucidates the meaning. ‘Homeo’ is a Greek word meaning ‘similar’ and ‘pathy’ stands for ‘suffering’. Therefore, homeopathy indicates treatment of suffering by treating it with an agent similar to the causative factor.

Theory and Principles of Homeopathy

The unconventional theory that underlies homeopathy was postulated by Samuel Hahnemann, who is also referred to as the Father of Homeopathy. The theory can be also called as the Principle of Medical Similars.

Hahnemann explains in detail about the Principle of Medical Similars in his various books, notably the Materia Medica Pura. He states that every disease is some morbid disturbance of the human body. This disturbance is experienced outwardly by various symptoms. The quest of homeopathy is to find a suitable drug and introduce it into the patient. The drug in question would otherwise have a similar set of symptoms in a healthy person. In short, homeopathy attempts to treat a person with the principle of ‘like treats like’.

Though homeopathy does believe of morbid disorders in the body producing disease (a concept similar to that adopted by conventional allopathy), it also believes in a vitalist nature of all diseases. The vitalist theory was much in vogue before the conventional medicines were discovered. The vitalist theory believes in the soul, which is the cause of all diseases. However, most homeopaths of today do not give much thought to this aspect of homeopathy.

The main intention of homeopathy is to treat the disease at its root, i.e. sanacio in radice. Homeopathy does not want to just patch up the symptoms for temporary relief – it aims at eliminating the very factor that has caused the disease. Due to this, symptoms could aggravate slightly immediately after starting homeopathic treatment, but this is a sign that the treatment is going the right way. The end product would definitely be that the factor would express its symptoms fully, till no more would be left, resulting in a permanent treatment.

Allopathy versus Homeopathy

Conventional medicine is known as allopathy. This method of medicine uses the opposite agent to the symptoms that are produced. This is the method it adopts for treatment and therein lies the first and most major difference between allopathy and homeopathy. Homeopathic principles are ‘like treats like’, while allopathy uses contrary elements for treatment.

For instance, if a person has vomiting, then an allopathic doctor would give him/her an anti-emittent drug, which would have an opposite reaction to the patient’s symptoms. But a homeopathic doctor would give an emittent drug in a very diluted form, which could produce vomiting in a healthy person.

Allopathic medicines provide treatment by suppressing the symptoms. If an anti-emittent drug is given, the vomiting will go away, but there will be a factor remaining within the body which could cause the vomiting to surface again. This is where homeopathy comes in. Homeopathic exponents believe that allopathic treatment leaves a gap within the system; i.e. it obstructs the symptoms but does not treat the underlying factor. It is this gap which is filled by homeopathy.

Since homeopathic medicines are like medicines, they will cause the symptoms to exacerbate till they reach their maximum limit. Once this is done away with, the body will return back to its normal state.

Another contention with allopathy is that several of the drugs prescribed in it are addictive. Take aspirin for instance. A person may pop in some aspirin each time he/she has a headache. The result will be an instant relief. However, it is the symptom that has been stopped, not the factor that has caused the headache in the first place. The result is that the headache will occur again and the person will take a pill once more. Every time the person gets a headache, he/she would take aspirin, and finally get addicted to it.

Sources of Homeopathic Medicines

Most homeopathic preparations are herbal in nature. Plant extracts such as those of aconite, belladonna, rhubarb, etc. find a very common place on the homeopath’s shelf. But apart from these plant originated remedies, there are also animal sources used. Duck liver is an example. Some rare homeopathic remedies also use human extracts, called as nosodes. Several homeopathic medicines are mineral in origin, such as cali phos and sodium.

A whole list of homeopathic remedies is mentioned in the various versions of Materia Medicas. One of the earliest Materia Medica was the Materia Medica Pura, which was authored by Hahnemann himself. Apart from the Materia Medicas, there are the Homeopathic repertories, which are also valuable sources from where to get information about homeopathic cures based on the causative agents.

The following is a list of some of the common plant and mineral sources of homeopathic treatments:-

Preparation of Homeopathic Medicines

Homeopathic medicines require very careful methods of preparations. Going by the theory of homeopathy, the remedies need to be used in highly diluted forms. One thought of homeopathy is that the medicines are more effective if they are used in diluted amounts, even as less as the molecular level.

The method of doing this is called as potentization. To potentize a substance, it is first diluted with water or alcohol and then given ten vigorous shakes in an elastic closed vessel. This mechanism of dilution is called as succussion. This mixture could be mixed with sweetening pills and given to the patient.

Treatment with Homeopathy

Homeopathic treatments are generally oral. They are in the form of pills moistened with the potentized solution, or in the form of liquid mixtures. These medications are to be taken as prescribed by the homeopath – generally four times a day – after the meals, keeping a half hour gap between the meals and the medicine. Also, the quantity of the medicine should be strictly followed for it to have better effects.

When one visits a homeopathic doctor for a treatment, it is more like a session. The doctor would like to know several details about the person, even several personal facts and points from the past. This would help the homeopath to make a drug picture of the individual, and it would act as a blueprint for providing the correct medicine. This shows that homeopathy doesn’t treat any two individuals similarly. Even if the symptoms are similar, the method of treatment may not be similar.

This is also the only aspect in which the vitalist principle of homeopathy can be seen today. The homeopath would believe that every person has some internal vital force that governs the regulation of the body. This is understood in better detail by asking questions, and the homeopath would provide his/her medicine going by that information.

Giving multiple remedies is something that the homeopaths are following widely today. When a set of symptoms is unclear – as indeed most symptoms are – then the homeopath may prescribe several alternate remedies to be taken simultaneously. However, this could make some of the symptoms to exacerbate, while others would diminish. Patients do lose heart when this happens, but in actuality it is a means of judging that there is some effect being created in the body with the medication. Hence, a person when going to a homeopath for treatment needs to keep an open mind.

Effectiveness and Controversies with Homeopathy

This is a very controversial issue, since the premise of homeopathy is so unconventional. There are people who swear by the method and wouldn’t try anything else, while there are also people who denounce homeopathy as a kind of quackery.

But only a person with a deep knowledge of homeopathic principles would be able to fully realize how the treatment goes. Due to its unconventional practice of bringing out the symptoms, there could be a temporary aggravation. Most people get apprehensive at this juncture and discontinuing the homeopathic treatment, they look for alternatives. However, those who persist in the treatment get positive and permanent results.

It is due to the people who back out that homeopathy is getting a bad name. A majority of the people in the world today believe that treatment should be quick, no matter if the factor remains persistent within the body. Even doctors from conventional branches of medicine take this as a point in their arguments against the validity of homeopathic modes of treatment. They would question if it is wise to exacerbate the symptoms in a patient who is already sick.

Add to this, homeopathy uses several hitherto unused ingredients in their medications. There was even a misunderstanding at a time that homeopathy used snake’s venom and mercury. The use of nosodes, i.e. human extracts has also come under heavy fire from conventional therapists.

Popularity of Homeopathy

Homeopathy is extremely popular in Britain, Germany, Belgium and India. In Britain, homeopaths are using several unconventional forms of homeopathy and are more evolving than their counterparts elsewhere in the world. Hence, it can be said that Britain is currently the hub of homeopathic development. However, homeopathy is almost nonexistent in the US and Canada. Only about 3% of the 500 million people of the world using homeopathic treatments come from these countries.

In India, homeopathy is extremely popular. Here, several allopathic doctors also give homeopathic medicines. Along with the other popular Indian therapy, Ayurveda, homeopathy has also gained a very firm footing.