Homeopathy
What is
homeopathy? (back to top)
Homeopathy is the essence of the art of
healing. When homeopathy is well practiced, it is the medicine of choice to
recover one's health from the great majority of acute and chronic problems.
Homeopathy is a scientific method of treatment that is based on the application
of the law of similars. For thousands of years, man searched for a method to
promote healing which is efficient, gentle and permanent. Samuel Hahnemann, a
German physician who lived between 1755-1843, pursued this philosophical and
scientific quest by developing an ideal system of therapeutics, which brought
together a number of discoveries and reflections found throughout the history of
medicine. After years of perfecting this therapeutic method, he called it
homeopathy, by uniting two Greek roots, homoios meaning "similar," and pathos
meaning, "what one feels." Homeopathy consists of treating sick people with
remedies that, in crude doses, would produce in healthy people symptoms similar
(homoios) to those of the disease needing to be overcome.
Remedies used by homeopathic physicians
come from natural sources and are prepared in such a way that they are devoid of
all chemical toxicity. In conventional medicine, drugs are generally given for
their effects on the organism, while in homeopathy, the unique remedy is given
to provoke a reaction of the organism. Since only the living organism can heal
itself, the homeopathic remedy is merely an influence used to provoke a reaction
to bring about recovery. The greater the degree of similarity between the
symptoms that are provoked by the remedy on a healthy person and the symptoms
displayed by the person who is sick, the greater will be the recovery reaction.
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.
The person who suffers, afflicted by an acute disease (due to an infection, a
poisoning, an accident, an emotional shock, etc.) or by a chronic disease (of a
psychological, emotional or physical nature), is in a state of imbalance, which
is unique to him or her. The role of the homeopath, following a complete
examination of all the symptoms and aspects of the patient, will be to seek the
remedy that will be the most specific for the individual in that state.
Which diseases can be treated with homeopathy? (back to top)
Strange but true, in homeopathy we do not
treat diseases, but the person who is sick. Whether a person has a chronic or an
acute disease, all of their symptoms, whether physical, mental or emotional,
form a whole representing a state of imbalance very specific to the individual.
The goal of the doctor is to recognize through the unique expression of symptoms
of a patient the pattern of disturbed energy and identify among a great number
of remedies available the one most homeopathic, or most similar to the patient's
disease. Homeopathy is “medicine of the individual” par excellence.
Can a pregnant woman or a newborn baby benefit from
homeopathy? (back to top)
Since homeopathic remedies are devoid of
all chemical toxicity, homeopathy is the ideal medicine for people of all ages,
even the most sensitive like a newborn baby. Difficulties during pregnancy and
the delivery or its aftermath as well as all the problems experienced by the
newborn can be dealt with very effectively and without side effects with
homeopathy.
How does homeopathy deal with mental or emotional
problems, resulting from trauma, deep grief, or the consequence of mood
disorders such as anger, depression or anxiety? (back to top)
As incredible as it may be, the majority of
such problems normalize with the application of the homeopathic remedy that is
the most similar to the state of the patient. Patients who are under
psychotherapy will recover as a rule far more rapidly after they begin
homeopathic treatment.
How does homeopathy address patients with infectious
diseases? (back to top)
Homeopathic treatment is ideal to optimize
the body's natural defenses against microbes. With the appropriate homeopathic
treatment, people recover from infectious diseases, even the most serious ones,
gently and rapidly. During great past epidemics such as those of diphtheria,
scarlet fever, typhoid, cholera, yellow fever, malaria, etc., homeopathy
decreased mortality 10 to 30 times versus conventional medicine. During the
infamous Spanish flu epidemic of 1918-19, it has been estimated that between 25
to 50 million people died worldwide. In the United States alone, 550,000 died,
approximately 10% of the people afflicted. Homeopathic physicians have
documented more than 62,000 patients treated with homeopathy resulting in a
mortality rate of 0.7%. Speaking just of people who were sick enough to be
hospitalized, conventional medicine had a mortality rate of 30%, while with
27,000 documented hospitalized cases, homeopathy was reporting a mortality of
1.05% (Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy 1921; 13:1028-43).
Which conditions are outside the scope of homeopathy? (back to top)
If the person has a problem that
necessitates a surgical intervention, the homeopathic physician will be the
first to refer this patient to a surgeon. But as surgical interventions are a
shock to the organism, homeopathic treatment will be 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 orthopedic doctor but
homeopathy will be of great assistance to diminish pain and enhance healing. For
less serious mechanical physical problems, patients will be referred to
chiropractors, osteopaths, massage therapists or other appropriate therapists.
Generally, people afflicted with genetic, congenital, or metabolic diseases or
with very advanced degenerative diseases cannot always expect full recovery, but
more often palliative relief following the homeopathic treatment, free of the
side effects usually associated with modern drugs.
With increasingly elaborate research, homeopathic medicine continues to evolve
and yesterday’s limits are continually pushed further. Homeopathy makes the most
of the organism's capacity to heal itself. The limits of homeopathy are in fact
only those of the organism to heal itself, which are extraordinary when put to
work. With credible scientific approach, homeopathy continues to fully explore
the greatly underestimated organism's capacity for self-healing (Incidentally,
it was reported in an editorial of the British Medical Journal that only 1% of
articles published in the 30,000 biomedical journals in existence is
scientifically sound. (British Medical Journal, 1991; 303:798-9)).
What has been the position of conventional medicine
towards homeopathic medicine? (back to top)
Although a small number of medical doctors
use homeopathy, conventional medicine as an institution has tried to halt the
progress of homeopathy. It accuses homeopaths of giving "placebos" despite
double blind studies demonstrating the absolutely undeniable efficacy of
homeopathic treatments. Fortunately, there are many medical doctors who are
willing to share the care of their patients with a homeopath when they see the
remarkable results that can be attained.
If homeopathy is so
extraordinary, why is it not recognized universally? (back to top)
Although homeopathy has been practiced for
more than two hundred years, it is still in its early period of growth. It is
probably the most difficult medical discipline to master because it is based on
the pure observation of nature, and the strict application of a natural law.
Until very recently, of all the physicians who studied homeopathy, only a very
small minority succeeded in mastering the discipline. Today homeopathy is
beginning to bloom again and spread throughout the world. People find in
homeopathy a medicine that not only displays more common sense by its respect
for the whole person, but which is also more efficient in restoring health to
the sick since it optimizes the extraordinary innate self-healing powers of the
organism. With the advent of modern communications, the teaching of homeopathy
has improved and better comprehension and practice of homeopathy has been
observed.
Homeopathic remedies are to be found in almost all pharmacies in Europe. At
least 40% of the British population receives a homeopathic prescription every
year and more than one third of the French are treated with homeopathy. Famous
people that have used homeopathy include John D. Rockefeller (who lived 99
years); three American presidents; James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur and Warren
Harding; Mahatma Gandhi, Mark Twain, Samuel Morse, and European royalty (i.e.:
members of the British royal family such as the Queen mother, the present Queen
Elizabeth II, her son Prince Charles) and a number of popes including Pius X and
the current pope, John Paul II.
In some countries, homeopathy is taught at universities and is recognized as
official medicine. In Germany, by a mandate of the government, all medical
students must now learn the basics of homeopathy. In other countries such as
Canada, homeopathy has until now been reserved for the elite. In Montreal, the
Queen Elizabeth Hospital was formerly called the Montreal Homeopathic Hospital.
In Toronto, the Princess Margaret Hospital was once a homeopathic hospital. In
almost all pharmacies of Europe and Quebec, one can find a homeopathic
department. Hopefully, one day, high quality homeopathic care will be accessible
to all. Choosing homeopathy for our families or ourselves should not be a
question of belief, but a decision based on knowledge acquired through
experience. One does not believe in homeopathy, one experiences it.
How does a visit to a
homeopathic practitioner take place? (back to top)
You will be asked to describe all your
problems in detail as well as a complete description of everything that
characterizes you, especially your feelings, sensations, sensitivity, psyche,
and all that concerns your organism in terms of energy, sleep, hunger,
digestion, etc. The homeopath will complete this study with a physical
examination. This initial general examination is thorough and requires
approximately two to three hours. The better the homeopath understands the
patient and his/her problems, the easier it is to individualize and find the
specific and most similar remedy for this patient's disease state.
This remedy will often be administered in a single dose, once, until the next
follow-up visit. During the follow-up visit, which generally takes place two to
six weeks after the original consultation for people afflicted with chronic
diseases and earlier in more urgent cases, the homeopathic physician will review
all the changes which have occurred since the initial homeopathic remedy was
taken. A follow-up visit lasts between 20 or 30 minutes on the average. If the
patient reacted favorably to the remedy, the homeopathic physician will choose
the ideal moment for the second dose to rekindle the healing reaction. A
well-prescribed homeopathic remedy is like a spark that triggers the furnace to
go on. When the furnace goes off, it is time to re-spark it. As long as the
patient improves, there is no need to re-dose. Similarly, there is no need to
restart the furnace that in on.
Are homeopathic medicines
regulated by the FDA?(back to top)
Yes. Homeopathic remedies are prepared by
homeopathic pharmacies in accordance with FDA approved guidelines.
(Adapted from Andre Saine’s article, “Homeopathy – The Art
of Healing” see
http://www.homeopathy.ca/articles/what_is.html)
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