Homeopathic Medicine
Homeopathy, a Medicine Ahead of Its Time.
Homeopathy is system of medicine which is based on
natural laws which have always existed but which were
only discovered, understood and applied therapeutically
some 200 years ago. 'Similia similibus curentur' is the
Latin phrase which was then chosen to describe the 'law
of similars' which underpins homeopathy's application -
put simply it means 'like cures like'.
The
way of similars, the homeopathic way, is to give the
suffering patient who has a set a of particular symptoms
which characterize their condition, a minute dose of a
substance which in large doses causes similar symptoms
of an artificially inflicted disturbance in a healthy
person. e.g. homeopathically prepared doses of onion (allium
cepa) will treat certain cases of hayfever where the
symptoms match those of someone suffering the effects of
inhaling the fumes of a fresh chopped onion,
homeopathically prepared coffee (coffea tosta) is used
to treat certain types of sleeplessness which resemble
the sleeplessness caused by drinking coffee.
The
symptom expression of each remedy is discovered
primarily through a standard procedure called a
'proving' where a substance is tested on a group of
healthy volunteers for its effects and the symptoms
recorded and compared to produce the information which
defines that particular remedy. Each homeopathic
medicine has its unique symptom expression recorded in
the homeopathic 'materia medica'
The
Practice of Classical or Unicist homeopathy involves a
detailed case-taking by the homeopath where the patient
is examined and listened to while they explain in as
much detail as possible their present symptoms, thoughts
and feelings and the past history which has led up to
the present reason for consulting the homeopath. After
recording the patient's case the homeopath will analyze
the whole picture and by comparing the symptoms to the
known remedies in the 'materia medica' seek to find the
single remedy which best covers the patient's expressed
symptoms mental, emotional and physical. This one remedy
will be given to the patient in an appropriate potency
and frequency of repetition according to the homeopath's
assessment of their need. After a suitable interval the
patient will return to see the homeopath to assess the
effect of the treatment and receive more treatment as
and when appropriate. The number of appointments, number
of remedies and amount of treatment will vary for each
patient according to their condition and its severity.
Homeopathic medicines
Homeopathic medicines are prepared from source
substances derived from all three of nature's kingdoms,
vegetable, mineral and animal as well as from the realm
of energy where medicines have been produced from
different forms of radiation for example. The
standardized process of 'potentisation' involving
repeated serial steps of dilution and succussion by
which all homeopathic medicines are prepared renders all
original source materials innocuous to the human system.
The potentised medicine maintains the curative
properties of the original source substance which are
effective when a chosen medicine is applied
homeopathically to a particular patient according to the
'law of similars'.
Potentised medicines are prepared according to the
instructions recorded in homeopathic pharmacopea.
There are currently some 3000+ remedies listed in the
homeopathic materia medica. This list is continually
being added to as new medicines are 'proved' i.e.
tested, for their therapeutic potential on groups of
healthy humans.
