Homeopathy

Homeopathy is a method of medical treatment which stimulates the body's own healing processes in order to cure illnesses. The science of homeopathy was developed by German physician and chemist, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, in the early 1800's. Through numerous experiments, he furthered the known theory that "likes are cured by likes." Dr. Hahnemann then determined that the effects of the remedies he tested on himself were too toxic at the conventional dosage level. He found that when a remedy is properly diluted, healing is achieved without the severe side effects.  

Origins of Disease:
Like cures like, or the law of similars, became Hahnemann's first law of homeopathic medicine. It states that any substance that normally causes a healthy person to become ill will cure a person who is already sick, if given in infinitesimally small doses. The second of Hahnemann's laws, the law of infinitesimals, states that a repeatedly diluted remedy is exponentially more powerful with each dilution. Hahnemann's third law of homeopathy, the law of chronic disease, states that any herb or drug treatment taken to cure disease, unless it was a homeopathic dilution, would worsen the illness. This third law has been largely abandoned. Currently, homeopathic remedies frequently are given with dietary or other herbal therapies.This approach is often critisized by practitioners of classical homeopathy. Known as Homotoxicology it represents a bridge between classical homeopathy and conventional pharmacology. In homotoxicology, diseases are ultimately caused by toxins, whether toxic chemicals, bacterial exotoxins, biological endotoxins, or post-traumatic cellular debris. Furthermore, disease symptoms are the result of the body's attempt to heal itself and should not necessarily be suppressed.In general, homotoxicological products are designed to facilitate the body's elimination of toxic substances and not merely to suppress symptoms. They are combination formulations which contain measurable amounts of homeopathically-prepared active ingredients and are used to treat specific indications. Homotoxicological products are easy to understand and use for health care practitioners trained within the conventional medical paradigm, as well as those trained in nonconventional medicine.

Intake and Treatment:
Homeopathic diagnosis involves a long intake interview, which allows the practitioner to formulate the correct, patient-specific simillimum, or homeopathic prescription. The simillimum may have one ingredient or many. However, an effective homeopathic remedy cannot be prescribed without knowing the patient's simillimum. Homeopathic treatment targets every facet of a patient's physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being, which are believed to play a central role in disease. The remedies are dilutions of plant, animal, or mineral substances. The basis of homeopathic treatment is the law of similars. So, for example, a person suffering from poison ivy, will be cured by a homeopathic preparation of poison ivy. The preparations are infinitesimal dilutions the more dilution, the more powerful the cure.

Rhus Tox 8X is a homeopathic remedy for poison ivy diluted by a factor of ten, eight times. A 20X dilution is diluted by a factor of ten, 20 times and is even more potent than the Rhus Tox 8X. Yet, there is no measurable amount of poison ivy left in the preparation. The dilutions are mixed with sugar, hence the nickname "sugar pills" for homeopathic medicines.

Regulation:
Currently, Connecticut and Arizona both grant M.D.s and D.O.s homeopathic licensure, and in Nevada, following state certification, homeopaths may practice as assistants to medical doctors. In all other states, homeopathy is practiced as a medical specialty by conventional medical practitioners. The National Center forHomeopathy (NCH) in Alexandria, Virginia, provides training to physicians and others who are interested in this therapeutic modality. Homeopathic remedies are regulated by the FDA and are prepared according to the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States.
According to one source, almost one-third of British physicians make referrals to homeopathic practitioners, as do almost half of French physicians. However, in the United States, homeopathy is not generally well accepted. Although many types of alternative medicine are considered controversial, homeopathy is regarded to be more so in that it appears to provide medications that contain no discernable substance. While some studies indicate positive outcomes ( see our page regarding Vertigo Heel) with homeopathic treatment of a variety of disorders, scientific evidence for the outcomes is not available. Some theorists explain that homeopathic remedies are effective because of molecular "memory" or electromagnetic energy. In spite of the lack of scientific research, homeopathy appears to be safe. Of approximately 6,000 complaints logged in 1994 at the FDA's Division of Traditional and Nontraditional Drugs, only 20 involved homeopathy.

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