Homeopathy : What is Homeopathy? Homeopathy is a scientific and effective system of medicine that has been in use for over 200 years. Homeopathic medicine works by stimulating the body’s own natural tendency to heal itself. It recognises that all symptoms of ill-health are expressions of disharmony within the whole person and that it is the patient who needs treatment, not the disease. Homeopathic treatment is based on the philosophy that the body, mind and emotions are not separate parts of a person, but are all affected by each other; therefore the homoeopath seeks to observe a pattern in the disharmony which is reflecting the complete individual. As such, it is a truly holistic medicine that treats the individual on all levels – mind, body and emotions. Homoeopathy can be used to treat three different scenarios of ill-health:
Constitutional Homeopathy: This type of Homoeopathy refers to the treatment of the whole person taking all their symptoms and characteristics on the physical, emotional and mental planes. When well prescribed, homeopathic medicines and remedies can cause a profound healing response in an individual and be very effective in treating long-term and chronic problems. First Aid Homeopathy: Homoeopathy is highly effective and safe in treatment of common ailments such as bruising, inflammation, minor burns and minor skin reactions (such as nappy rash or insect bites). Acute Homeopathy: Acute health problems are self limiting disease states that will eventually get better on their own such as the common cold. Homoeopathy seeks to minimize the impact of the more severe symptoms (such as alleviating a dry, painful cough) and is very safe without any harmful side effects. What are homeopathic remedies made of? Homeopathic remedies are made of natural substances – plants, minerals or animal products. They are made by a special process of dilution (called potentization) and vigorous shaking (called succussion). The more potentized and succussed a remedy is, the more powerful a treatment it becomes.
How can such small doses of homeopathic medicine be effective? Homeopathic remedies are very small doses. This is one reason why homeopathy does not cause you to experience additional new symptoms on top of the ones you are trying to eliminate (side effects) as is the case with many conventional medications. They gently stimulate the body to adjust the underlying imbalance that is causing your symptoms. This eliminates the need for your body to produce these symptoms.
Is it true that symptoms can occasionally worsen briefly after taking a homeopathic remedy? Symptoms are the body’s method of drawing your attention to the underlying imbalance that exists. After taking a well prescribed single remedy the body responds in one of the following ways:
An immediate improvement of physical and mental symptoms
An increased sense of well being although the physical symptoms remain initially
Sometimes old forgotten symptoms recur briefly as part of the healing process
Occasionally there is a temporary worsening of symptoms before overall improvement occurs
How does the homeopath know which remedy is right for me? There are thousands of homeopathic remedies so it is important that the homeopath selects the appropriate one for you. This involves understanding of the patient as a whole which is why the initial consultation takes 1-1.5 hrs. The homoeopath must work to understand you on all three levels – physically, mentally and emotionally. Once she has this information, the homeopath can then combine it with her knowledge of remedies and find which one is right for you. Some patients need only one remedy to get better; others need several different remedies as they progress towards whole health.
Can I take homeopathic remedies along with my conventional medication? It is fine to take homoeopathic remedies alongside conventional medication. Due to their re-balancing action, homoeopathic remedies may reduce your symptoms and therefore your need for the original medication should diminish. In a few cases where medication levels are very high and prolonged it is more difficult for homoeopathic remedies to work so results may take some time. You can take advice from your homeopath on this issue.
Do I have to believe in homeopathy for it to work? No, of course not! Homoeopathy works on small babies and animals where a placebo effect cannot operate. It also is used by millions of people across the world especially in Europe and India. Here are some statistics of conventional doctors using homoeopathic medicine for their patients:
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
