 Linda McDonald M.A., A.A.P.C.H. |
Homeopathy is a natural approach to health care and healing. Developed by German physician Samuel Hahnemann, homeopathy is a holistic therapy in which very dilute doses of naturally occurring substances are used to stimulate a person’s normal defenses and innate healing ability. These homeopathic remedies, as they are called, are derived from plant, mineral, or animal sources. Homeopathic remedies come from natural sources and are prepared in such a way that they are devoid of all chemical toxicity. When traditional medications are given, they are often given to suppress symptoms, while with homeopathy the specific remedy is given to provoke a healing reaction. |
| Studies have appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) showing homeopathy’s effectiveness against ailments such as arthritis and allergies. Today, homeopathic medicine is widely practiced in Europe and India; one-third of the French and German populations use homeopathic remedies. Homeopathy is recognized worldwide and has been verified experimentally and clinically for over 200 years. |
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Homeopathy is an effective natural and holistic therapy which can help a variety of conditions in people of all ages including children. In addition to accelerating healing and recovery in self-limiting conditions such as colds and flu, appropriate use of homeopathy can improve chronic physical conditions such as arthritis, asthma, allergies and recurrent ear infections. Homeopathy has also been effective in treating emotional and behavioral imbalances such as depression and ADHD.
Homeopathy can help conditions such as:
- Allergies
- Arthritis
- Injuries
- Back and musculoskeletal pain
- Skin conditions
- Recurrent sinus infections
- Recurrent ear infections
- Children’s Health Issues
- Emotional imbalances such as anxiety
- Women’s concerns such as PMS & menopausal symptoms
- ADD & ADHD
Which conditions are outside the scope of homeopathy?
If the person has a problem that necessitates a surgical intervention, the homeopathic practitioner will refer this patient to a surgeon. But as surgical interventions are a shock to the organism, homeopathic treatment is ideal to prepare patients for surgery and to help them recover from the operation. Similarly, cases of dislocation and fracture will be dealt with by an orthopedist but homeopathy is of great assistance in diminishing pain and enhancing recovery. For less serious physical problems, patients will be referred to chiropractors, osteopaths, massage therapists or other appropriate therapists. Generally, people afflicted with genetic, congenital, metabolic or very advanced degenerative diseases cannot always expect to become free of these conditions with homeopathy, but are likely to receive effective palliative relief, free of the side effects usually associated with modern drugs.
Homeopathic remedies work with, rather than against a person’s natural defenses. Therefore, it is a natural and holistic alternative to traditional health care and healing. Because the remedies are very dilute, they are extremely safe. Despite being dilute, the electromagnetic information of the original plant or mineral is still contained in the diluted remedy. It is this ‘message’ which gently nudges the person back to balance.
The FDA has given full approval to these remedies, and they are registered in the Homeopathic Pharmacopia of the US (HPUS)
With homeopathy, symptoms of disease are recognized as an expression of imbalance in a body’s response to various stresses, whether physical, emotional or pathogenic (viral or bacterial). Every individual has a unique profile of reaction or susceptibility to these influences. This profile or pattern of symptoms is used by a homeopathic practitioner to identify a remedy that will support the body’s inherent effort to restore balance and effect healing.
The remedies are chosen based on the Law of Similars, or “like cures like.” This means a substance that causes symptoms in a healthy person will alleviate those same symptoms in a sick person when given in very dilute doses.
With few exceptions, people affected with chronic diseases do not expect their level of health to improve with the years when treated with conventional medicine. This is not the case with homeopathy because homeopathic treatment, in the majority of cases, directly targets the fundamental cause of the disease. This fundamental cause is the basic susceptibility of the individual to be sick. Susceptibility is determined by heredity, by environmental influences and all factors of stress, and by the general lifestyle of the person that affects physical, emotional and mental health.
The imbalanced or diseased state is in fact only the expression of this susceptibility or predisposition to be sick. With the most similar remedy (or in other words, the most homeopathic), the organism rebalances itself globally or holistically so that the tendency to be sick is greatly decreased. This overall rebalancing explains the extraordinary results achieved by homeopathy!
The person who is afflicted by an acute disease (due to an infection, a toxic reaction, an accident, an emotional shock, etc.) or by a chronic disease (of a psychological, emotional or physical nature), presents a state of imbalance unique to him. The role of the homeopathic practitioner, following a complete investigation of all the symptoms and aspects of the patient, is to seek the remedy that will be the most specific for the individual in that state.