About Homeopathy

Recent years have seen an unprecedented growth of interest in homeopathy. This has been part of the surge of interest in complementary therapies driven by worries about environmental problems such as chemicals in food and anxieties about the side-effects and failings of many conventional drugs and treatments. People would like to be treated as individuals and want their practitioners to take time to listen to them.

The Benefits of Homeopathy

Homeopathy is a complete system of medicine. It has been in worldwide use for over 200 years. Samuel Hahnemann, a German doctor, organised it into a formal science in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, although the notion of 'like cures like' can be traced back to Hippocrates two thousand years ago.

Homeopathy is the second most widely used form of medicine for primary care in the world today. Many doctors now refer patients to professional homeopaths and many private health companies consider homeopathic treatment a good investment.

Homeopathy is safe. Homeopathic remedies act by stimulating your own defence mechanism and healing system. They do not have any chemical action, so they do not have the potential to cause any sustained damage. Homeopathy is an excellent aid through pregnancy, birth, childhood illnesses, puberty, menopause and old age.

Homeopathic treatment is good value. With proper treatment, your immediate complaints improve, but you also get a decrease in your susceptibility to disease, so that general health improves. In the long run, there is better health, fewer medical consultations and the cumulative cost is very low.

Homeopathy is an important form of preventative medicine, which corrects functional disturbances before signs of disease have an opportunity to develop so that more serious conditions are avoided. It can also help if you 'just don't feel right' (even when conventional medical test results are clear). Homeopathy strengthens your immune system and reduces your chances of catching infectious diseases.

Homeopathy is not just a placebo. It is proven to be effective in the treatment of babies and animals, who have no preconceptions. Remedies are gentle acting with no known side effects or interactions and are non-addictive.

Homeopathy considers the complaints of a patient in totality. You are considered to be a whole entity, not a mere collection of body parts, so you don't have to visit ten different specialists for your ten different body parts. Thus homeopathy saves time, money and health.

Homeopathy is a system of healing which uses the body's own powerful capacity to heal itself. The remedies stimulate that process.

Homeopathy aims to provide a high standard of care for those wishing to improve and maintain their health and well-being. Homeopaths want to help their patients achieve freedom from limitations in their lives and, ideally, to reach a level of health where they are no longer dependant on medicine or therapy.

Homeopathic treatment is individualised and considers a wide range of aspects of your condition - physical, mental and emotional states, personality traits, physical features, the effects of a variety of environmental influences, lifestyle, patterns of disease within your family, and relationships. The range of conditions that can be treated is limitless, including those without a name or known cause.

The aim of homeopathy is rapid, gentle and permanent cure. It can often cure many of the various ailments which people take for granted or have been told to put up with, such as hayfever, asthma, constipation, migraine, eczema, menstrual problems, chronic exhaustion, etc. The use of homeopathy often avoids surgery. It is particularly useful in conditions for which conventional medicine either has nothing to offer or offers only palliative approaches of 'symptom control' or 'disease management', such as allergic complaints, arthritis and digestive problems.

Homeopathic remedies can be used alongside conventional drugs. Treatment can help reduce or even remove the need for many drugs, but this must be done gradually under the supervision of the GP.

The results of good homeopathic treatment can improve your mental outlook on life, increase your energy level and remove physical problems that have been bothering you for years.

Homeopathy is a long-term solution to maintaining a good standard of health, not a quick fix. It is much better to be cured of both the cause of the illness and its symptoms, rather than merely obtaining relief.

A consultation with a professional homeopath can be the turning point that will lead to a restoration of your health and vitality.

List of conditions commonly treated by homeopaths:

• ADD, ADHD for children and adults
• Autoimmune disorders including MS
• Addictions and eating disorders
• Acne, eczema and other skin disorders
• Allergies, chemical sensitivity and food intolerance
• Asthma and Hayfever
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• Back and neck pain
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Common cold and flu
• Coughs and bronchitis
• Childhood problems including glue ear, colic, sleeplessness, teething problems, etc
• Childhood diseases
• Depression
• Digestive disorders including IBS
• Fears and phobias
• Headaches and migraines
• Heart and blood pressure problems
• Infertility
• Insomnia and sleep disorders
• Memory and thought disorders
• Menstrual and hormonal imbalances
• Motion sickness
• Thyroid problem
• Osteoporosis
• Pelvic pain
• Premenstrual syndrome
• Traumas and operations
• Uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts
• Urinary disorders

Does it work?

The widely accepted 'gold standard' for assessing the efficacy of a treatment is a meta-analysis or systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Since 1991 there have been five published meta-analyses of homeopathic RCTs, and all conclude that homeopathy has a positive and specific effect beyond that of placebo.

"Homoeopathy ... cures a larger percentage of cases than any other method of treatment and is beyond doubt a safe and economical, and a most complete medical science." - Mahatma Gandhi

Why use Homeopathics?

Homeopathy is the second most widely used system of medicine in the world. Its growth in popularity in the United States has been around 25 to 50 percent a year throughout the last decade.

This success is fueled by several factors:

• Homeopathy is extremely effective. When the correct remedy is taken, results can be rapid, complete and permanent.
• Homeopathy is completely safe. Even babies and pregnant women can use Homeopathy without the danger of side effects. Homeopathic remedies can also be taken alongside other medication without producing unwanted side effects.
• Homeopathy is natural. Homeopathic remedies are normally based on natural ingredients.
• Homeopathy works in harmony with your immune system, unlike some conventional medicines which suppress the immune system. (For example, cough medicines suppress the cough reflex, which is your body's attempt to clear the lungs.)
• Homeopathic remedies are not addictive - once relief is felt, you should stop taking them. If no relief is felt, you are probably taking the wrong homeopathic remedy.
• Homeopathy is holistic. It treats all the symptoms as one, which in practical terms means that it addresses the cause, not the symptoms. This often means that symptoms tackled with homeopathy do not recur.

A Brief Summary

In the early 1800s a German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann, was motivated by what he saw as the barbaric medical practices of his day to begin his search for "rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health...in the shortest, most reliable, and most harmless way". He experimented upon himself and formulated the principles of homeopathy. He was tireless in his efforts and greatly antagonised many of the conventional medical practitioners of his day, but the queue of patients he saw at his practice in Paris right up until his death thought differently and were very grateful for the beneficial results of his treatment, whilst a number of other doctors saw the sense of his approach and were inspired to train with him, going on to bring homeopathy to a wider audience in other countries and establishing homeopathic clinics and hospitals.

The term 'homeopathy' comes from the Greek 'homeo' meaning 'like', or 'similar', and 'pathos' meaning 'suffering' or 'disease'. The law upon which homeopathy is based is that of 'like is cured by like', a concept introduced by the ancient philosopher, Hippocrates. We can understand this if we think about a person who has perhaps just suffered a great loss and is in a state of grief. At this point, it would not be very comforting or appropriate to walk up to the person and tell them a joke. It would be far better to be empathetic and perhaps show your own grief to help console them.

The 'Law of Similars' states that a potentised substance can cure whatever symptoms it produces in a healthy person. Imagine for a moment that you are chopping up an onion. Your eyes are probably stinging and watering freely, and your nose is running. Because Allium Cepa (the onion) causes these symptoms, in its highly refined homeopathic form it may be indicated for the treatment of head colds and hay fever. Remember how it feels when you have drunk too much coffee? Perhaps you lie awake, heart racing and head buzzing, because Coffea Crudum (coffee) is a stimulant which in its potentised form can be helpful for insomnia.

Hahnemann discovered that the curative effects of substances were greatly enhanced by potentising them. Homeopathic medicines are prepared by a series of successive dilutions, alternating with shaking or succussion. This process renders the medicine non-toxic and very safe to use for any age, as well as in pregnancy.

Classical homeopathy traditionally uses single remedies that are specific to certain symptoms and prescribed according to the whole picture presented by the patient. This can make it very difficult for the lay person to know which single remedy should be used without the intervention of a trained homeopath.

Common sense should always prevail and, for chronic conditions, a trained homeopath should be consulted as the treatment would be specialised. However, a range of remedies which can safely be used for first-aid and acute situations are available in health shops and chemists. The homeopathic pharmacies often offer telephone advice when you order. See Resources.