Using Homeopathy For Your Ailments

Homeopathy is a form of medicine where ultra-dilute amounts of plant, mineral and animal substances are used to stimulate the healing systems of the body.

Throughout its 200 years or more of history, this healing art has proven effective in the treatment of ailments, including those that conventional medicine had been ineffective.

Studies attesting to the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies in the treatment of various physical and mental conditions have appeared in the British Medical Journal, The Lancet, and the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. [1, 2]

For example, in a 1991 review published in the British Medical Journal on 105 controlled clinical studies on homeopathy, it was found that 75 of them had double-blind designs. And in 81 of the studies, homeopathic treatment was found to be significantly more effective than a placebo, and as effective as standard medical treatments. In a 1997 review of 89 placebo-controlled studies of homeopathic therapy, published in The Lancet, homeopathic treatment was found to have powerful statistical and clinical effects. [2]

Unfortunately, given its low cost and divergence from conventional medical theory, homeopathy poses a potential threat to pharmaceutical profits and the conventional medical establishment. As such, it has constantly been attacked, especially for its seemingly “implausible” mechanism of action [2]. Funding for research (which often comes from pharmaceutical companies) in this area is also understandably limited, as compared to pharmaceutical drugs [1].

Nevertheless, homeopathic treatment continues to be widely practiced around the world. It is recognized by the World Health Organization as one of the systems of traditional medicine to be integrated worldwide with conventional medicine so as to provide adequate global health care in the 21st century [1]

Homeopathy is well-established in Europe [1, 3, 4].

In Germany, the birthplace of this alternative medicinal art, homeopathy is one of the most common alternative therapies [3] and is taught to all medical students there [1]. In Britain, homeopathic therapy has been adopted by the Royal Family for the treatment of their health conditions [3], and homeopathic outpatient clinics and hospitals comprise part of Britain’s national health system [1, 4]. Homeopathic therapy is also recognized as a post-graduate medical specialty in the British Parliament [1].

Homeopathic treatments are also very popular in France, the Netherlands, Greece, South Africa, South America and India [1, 4]. Popularity of homeopathic remedies in the United States is also growing. Homeopathic remedies are now recognized as official drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and regulated when it comes to manufacturing, labeling and dispensing. [1]

How homeopathy works

The founder of homeopathy, Dr Samuel Christian Hahnemann, believed that the human body is fully capable of combating diseases that inflict the body, and the role of medicine is to support this “internal healer” in fighting off the diseases. In turn, disease symptoms are a sign that the body’s immune system is fighting an illness. [3]

Subsequently, based on these beliefs, followed by years of experimentation with substances at different dosages and carefully noting down the response of healthy and ill people to these substances, Dr Hahnemann arrived at his cornerstone laws of homeopathy and other relatively more minor laws of homeopathy, which include:

- the Law of Similars
- the Law of Infinitesimal
- the Law of Chronic Disease
- holistic view of individuals [1, 4]

In combination, the first two laws define the method of creating homeopathic remedies.

The first Law of Similars, or “like cures like” states that “a substance that produces a certain set of symptoms in a healthy person has the power to cure a sick person manifesting those same symptoms” [4]. For example, the substance ipecac causes vomiting in healthy individuals, while diluted ipecac could potentially be used to treat vomiting [4].

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