WHAT IS HOMEOPATHY

The study of homeopathy was founded in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann (1753-1843), A German physician and chemist who had become disillusioned with the conventional practice of medicine. Hahnemann based his innovative medical treatment on the healing power of a good diet, exercise, fresh air, and minimum doses of natural medications. This approach to medicine was a radical concept at the time. Homeopathy was introduced in the United States in 1825, and the American Institute of Homeopathy—the national society of homeopathic physicians—was founded in 1844. Its popularity peaked in the late 19th century when 15 percent of American physicians were homeopaths. With the rise of modern clinical medicine near the turn of the century, homeopathy lost its popularity. However, the growth of alternative medicine since the early 1980s has garnered renewed interest in homeopathy in the United States and the United Kingdom. Homeopathy is based on three principles: the law of similars, the single medicine, and the law of infinitesimals. According to the law of similars—frequently referred to as the phenomenon of “like cures like”—a disease is cured by a medicine that creates symptoms in a healthy person similar to what the patient is experiencing. Hahnemann established this principle when he investigated cinchona, the bark of a tropical evergreen tree and a natural source of quinine used to treat malaria. He observed that a healthy person who took cinchona developed symptoms of malaria, and decided that the effectiveness of the drug came from its ability to cause symptoms similar to those of the actual disease. Using this approach, a homeopathic physician prescribes medication that matches most closely the symptoms presented by an individual patient. Hahnemann used the Greek words homoios and pathos, which mean similar sickness, to name the new approach to medical treatment. The principle of the single medicine is based on a belief that one remedy should cover all physical, mental, and emotional symptoms experienced by a patient to cure the whole person. This practice contrasts with conventional medicine, which usually uses separate medications for the treatment of each symptom. The law of infinitesimals was established by Hahnemann when he observed that large amounts of substances prescribed for treatments caused a wide range of negative side effects in patients. He determined through experiments that taking minute levels of a medication strengthens its potency and increases the length of its effectiveness. Homeopathic physicians use this principle as a guideline in prescribing ultra-minute levels of nontoxic medications, which are prepared from vegetable and animal tissues as well as from minerals and chemicals, to promote safe and reliable cures. The use of minimal doses is one of conventional medicine’s primary objections to homeopathy. Critics note that trace amounts of ingredients used in minimal doses are so small that medications are exempt from United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for scientific proof of a drug’s effectiveness against disease. Practitioners claim that homeopathy offers an effective substitute for antibiotics, is often the best treatment for viral infections, and reduces or eliminates the need for some surgical procedures. However, homeopathy also recommends the use of conventional medical treatment and surgery in cases of severe infections and serious illness.

Homeopathy - Like Cures Like

Homeopathy, from Greek homoeo (meaning similar) and pathos (meaning suffering) is a system of medicine based on treating like with like. The same principle is widespread in mainstream medicine, the most notable examples being antidotes and vaccines. However, Homeopathy takes this premise a step further: if my symptoms produce an effect on me similar to a tarantula's bite, then tarantula venom would be my homeopathic treatment, even though I've not actually been bitten by a tarantula.

The theory that like can be treated with like can be traced back as far Hypocrites (468 -377 BC), but it wasn't until the work of Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) that the theory developed into a usable practice.

Hahneman's provings consisted in giving doses of various substances to both himself and his healthy volunteers, and noting the effects in detail. For safety reasons, the substances taken were very dilute, and it is here that Hahnemann chanced upon one of the more puzzling aspects of Homeopathy. The more dilute a homeopathic medicine is, the more effective it is in treating illness.

Hahneman's work was continued by James Tyler Kent in 1877-78. Kent's interest in Homoeopathic medicine was prompted by his wife's serious illness, which failed to respond to any other form of medicine available at the time. Kent's position as Professor of Anatomy (at the American Medical College, St. Louis) placed him perfectly to observe the effects of substances in precise detail. Kent's research into Homeopathy became his life's work, and he conducted a proving on some 650 materials, observing over 64,000 symptoms. Even today, Kent's is still the most widely used repertory in Homeopathy. The repertory used in this site's remedy finder is based on Kent's, with no additions, but some changes have been necessary in order to make its use easier for the modern day layman, including plain English Terminology, and categorizing symptoms where possible.

Classical Homeopathy - Treating the Whole Person

Classical Homeopathy is a holistic medicine; in other words it aims to treat the whole person. It may seem unusual to those used to allopathic (conventional) medicine, where one medicine is taken for a skin complaint, another for a headache, and yet another for sleeplessness. If you use the remedy finder frequently, you may find that one particular remedy comes up time and time again for your complaints - however diverse they appear to be. For example, in testing the online remedy finder, on my own symptoms ranging from insomnia, headaches, to stomach complaints, Phosphor was frequently the suggested remedy. There is something in my nature, underneath any passing symptoms, which is akin to Phosphor. A common cold, for example, is one virus which produces a myriad of effects, subtly different in different people. Different people with a cold caused by the same virus may exhibit different symptoms. It is for this reason that each case should be assessed by close and careful analysis of all the relevant symptoms.

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