What is Homeopathy?
Homeopathy is the healing discipline established by Samuel Hahnemann in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. According to Hahnemann, the proper remedy for a symptom or illness is the substance that would, in a healthy person, produce the same set of symptoms exhibited in a sick patient. It is widely used in Europe and is making a comeback in the United States.
Homeopathy is a therapy based on the theory of treating like with like. Homeopaths treat patient’s symptoms by giving a highly dilute form of a substance, which if taken in a crude dose, would causes similar symptoms when given to a healthy person. In assessing the patient, homeopaths often take into account a range of physical, emotional and lifestyle factors. Homeopathy was developed over 200 years ago and is now used worldwide. It is acknowledged by the World Health Organisation as a valid form of healthcare. Its effectiveness has been clearly established by over 200 years of clinical experience and has a pharmacy of over 3000 medicines, which are non-toxic and non-addictive.
Homeopathy is the healing discipline established by Samuel Hahnemann in the late 18 th and early 19 th centuries. The cornerstone of Hahnemanns’s homeopathic doctrine is the ancient natural “Law of Similars” – like cures like. For instance, poison ivy creates rasher and itching eczema, but when taken in homeopathic doses it can help the body overcome those same symptoms. Homeopathy sees symptoms as the body’s natural response in fighting illness. Homeopathy sees symptoms as the body’s natural response in fighting illness. Homeopathy seeks to mobilize the innate healing powers of the individual so that all physiological systems function at their best, and the body’s innate curative powers are put to full use. All symptoms are taken into account to find the substance that would produce the most similar symptom picture. The substance, prepared homeopathically, would then stimulate the body to eliminate the underlying cause of the toxic response.
Homeopathy was developed by Samuel Hahnemann, a Germany physician, some 200 years ago. It involves the prescription of often very dilute, indeed in some cases ultramolecular, doses of usually herbal products that have been shaken and serially diluted. The first principle of homeopathy is that of similars or “like cures like”: this states that patients who present with particular signs and symptoms can be cured if they are given a homeopathic medication that produces the same signs and symptoms in a healthy individual. A homeopath will thus look at the total picture of the individual patient’s symptoms and match this with the picture described for a particular homeopathic remedy. The second, and probably the most confusing principle to western physicians, is that of serial dilution of a medication. Often the medication is diluted to the point where it has no molecules of the original product left. In homeopathy these remedies are considered to be the most powerful. The interesting chall
