HOMEOPATHY: A COMPLEMENTARY SYSTEM OF

MEDICINE

BY:- KANDARP.D.PRAJAPATI

GUIDED BY:-

DIPAL MADAM

NAGJA MADAM

“Homeopathy .... cures a larger percentage of cases than any other method of treatment and is beyond doubt safer and more economical and most complete medical science”.

-Mahatma Gandhi

What is Homeopathy?

• Homeopathy is the system of medicine which works on the principle of 'like cures like' (Similia Similibus curanter).

• ‘HOMEO’ means Similar

‘PATHOS’ means Suffering or Treatment by the same.

• This system of holistic healing was founded by Dr. Samuel Christian Hahnemann, a German physician.

HOW HOMEOPATHY CAME INTO

EXISTENCE AS A SYSTEM OF HEALING ?

OR

THE STORY BEHIND THE EVOLUTION OF

HOMEOPATHY

• Hahnemann, who was translating the a book on the medicinal properties of drugs, was reading the properties of the medicine Cinchona,

• When he read that Cinchona cures malaria, because of its bitter taste, Hahnemann was surprised by this statement and when he read on, he found a footnote which said that cinchona poisoning leads to malaria-like symptoms.

• This set him thinking and he decided to test the medicine of himself.

• He experienced the symptoms of malaria, by repeatedly taking the Cinchona medicine and after continuing his experiments found that those medicines which cause disease-like symptoms in healthy individuals are capable of curing the diseased individuals.

• So, homeopathy relies on the Materia Medica - a book containing the properties of medicines, properties which have been proved on healthy individuals.

• Homeopathic doctors rely on the Materia Medica as the authority for it contains not empty theories, but details of symptoms which were experienced by hundreds of provers.

• It is thus a system based on sound principles and as a result of solid experiments.               

How does Homeopathy work?

• The theory behind the working of homeopathy is that the body of every human being contains a vital force within the body which regulates the functioning of the body.

• Due to reasons such as heredity, environmental conditions, stress etc, this vital force weakens causing disease. So, disease is nothing but a complex of certain symptoms observed in the human body.

• The homeopathic physicians make a study of not only the symptoms the patient is complaining of, but of the entire patient himself. This leads to a picture of the patient.

• The physician then prescribes homeopathic medicine, which matches this picture. Now, the medicine so prescribed would have caused the same symptoms in healthy person during 'drug proving'.

• This medicine is given in a highly diluted dose, so as to prevent side effects. This minute dose creates a similar disorder in the vital force and provokes the vital force to react to the symptoms and overcome.

• The same system is used in vaccines, where vaccination against small-pox is done by injecting the small-pox disease-causing organism, so that the body can build up its natural immunity.

PRINCIPLES OF

HOMEOPATHY

1. Similia Similibus Curanter• This is the law of similars.• It states that ‘that which can cause can cure’.• The onion, which produces tears in the eye and

irritation (similar to a cold), can be used as a homeopathic medicine to cure colds which have irritating tears.

• The early Indians recognized this principle and states that ‘Vishasya Vishamevam Aushadam’ and ‘Samaha Samena Shantihi’ , but it was Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, who through his studies and experiments on the various medicines available in nature, practically proved the law.

2. Simplex Similimum Minimum

• This principle consists of three words.

a) Simplex • Simple medicines (not compound) should be

prescribed. • This is the doctrine of single remedy. Mixture

of medicines or polypharmacy is not allowed. • Only one medicine must be given at a time.

b) Similimum• As discussed previously the totality of

symptoms of the patient must be taken.• This will yield a picture which

corresponds to one medicine, the similimum, which must be given.

• That medicine which has been tested on various provers and has produced similar symptoms as that of the patient is the similar remedy.

c) Minimum• A low dosage of medicine is

recommended. • In homeopathy less is more, so

medicines of low potency and given at long intervals have a better impact.

• Hahnemann, in fact used to give just one dose of the medicine and wait to see the reaction over a period of time.

3. Principle of Individualization

• Treat the patient, not the disease. • This is the most important doctrine of

homeopathy. • Not two human beings are alike and so the

medicines used for their treatment need not be alike.

• Homeopathic medicines are prescribed based on the totality of symptoms of that individual.

• So, the name of the disease is not important to the doctor who tries to get a complete picture of the patient - his symptoms, the modalities of symptoms, his likes and disliked, his environment, etc. to arrive at the individualized remedy - which is the similimum.       

4. Principle of Potentisation• Homeopathic medicines are diluted in alcohol or

milk-sugar (lactose) to make them more palatable and also to reduce the harmful effects.

• It has been found that the more the medicine is diluted, the more effective and powerful it becomes. So, the process of the dilution is called as Potentisation and the medicines are referred to as potencies.

• The crude homeopathic medicine (e.g. :

Cinchona/ Lachesis) is triturated in alcohol to yield the mother tincture. The mother tincture is denoted by the symbol ‘ø’.

Potency • 1x potency of the medicine signifies 1 part

of mother tincture diluted with 9 parts of alcohol / milk sugar.

• 2x potency is 1x of medicine diluted with 9 parts of sugar milk / alcohol.

• 1C potency is mother tincture diluted with 99 parts.

• 1M potency is mother tincture diluted with 999 parts.

• Low potency : 1x, 3x , 6x (3c), 12x (6c)

• Medium potency : 12x, 30x, 30c

• High potency : 200c, 1M, 20 M , CM, LM, etc.               

5. Law of Direction

• The law of direction of cure proposed by Dr. Constantine Hering states that –

“As a patient recovers from a disease, the symptoms move from within outwards, from above downwards, from center to circumference and disappear in the reverse order of their appearance”.

• A patient suffering from a skin disease may use various medicines which suppress this disorder and send it into the body and it may manifest as asthma. So, when this patient takes homeopathic medicine, the asthma is replaced with the skin infection and then finally the skin infection leaves to yield a cure.

6. Three-legged stool

• This principle attributed to the elder Lippe (Dr. Adolph Lippe) states that while prescribing a medicine, three leading symptoms of that medicine should match the symptoms of the patient.

• Just as a stool with three legs is more stable than a stool with one leg, medicine given on the basis of atleast three key symptoms is more reliable than that treated with one symptom.

• Thus, a careful study is required to apply this law.

7. Use of Materia Medica

• The Materia Medica is a dictionary of homeopathic medicines and their symptoms. It is a book which is the final authority on homeopathy.

• The Materia Medica contains the list of symptoms experienced by provers of the medicine. The symptoms are arranged in a systematic order - Mind (symptoms related to mind/mental), Head, Eyes, etc..

• It is not required for a doctor to memorize or remember all the contents of the Materia Medica. What is required is to understand the nature / keynotes of each remedy.

• A number of materia medicas have been authored. Prominent among them are Kent's Lectures, Hering's Guiding Symptoms, Allen's Keynotes, etc.

8. Repertorisation

• The repertory is an index to the Materia Medica. It is a book containing all possible symptoms arranged in alphabetical order for each of the organs of the body.

• The physician has to regularly refer this book to find out the medicines which have produced in a prover, the symptoms of the patient.

• Only, through correct usage of the repertory, can the job of prescription be made easier.

QUESTIONS WHICH MAY BE ARISING

IN YOUR MINDS REGARDING

HOMEOPATHY

Does Homeopathy rely on placebo treatment?

• Generally, there is a canard against homeopathy, that it relies on placebo treatment, which is totally false.

• While the medicines may contain so less of the substance that it cannot be detected in a lab, it has been proved that these medicines are highly effective.

• While, it is easy to say that men who take the medicine may feel that they are getting better due to auto-suggestion, homeopathy has just as effective in curing animals.

• Can anyone say that animals can be cured by placebo treatment?

Is Homeopathy of use in treatment of all types of diseases?

• Homeopathy is the best way to cure both acute and chronic diseases. Right from fever, cough, cold to asthma, skin diseases, cancer and diabetes. All these are not only just curable but the cure is mild (without side effects) and permanent.

• While allopathy makes use of strong medicines to

cure, which cause severe side effects, homeopathic medicines are not only sweet and easy to take, they work highly effectively without any side effect.

• The danger of allopathic medicines is that they do not cure but suppress. For e.g., a cough and throat infection is not cured by allopathic drugs, but is suppressed and the disorder may move to the lungs causing asthma and other severe problem.

• Homeopathy works on the principle of 'Cure the person, not the disease'. It takes into account the totality of symptoms of the individual and treats each individual separately.

• For e.g., there may be two patients suffering from fever.• While an allopath would prescribe the same medicine for

both, the homeopath observes the overall symptoms. • The first patient may be suffering from fever caused due to

exposure to cold wind, also the patient is full of anxiety and fearful of death. This corresponds to a homeopathic medicine Aconite, which when given results in immediate cure.

• The other patient suffering from fever, has his conditions worse after midnight. Despite the high fever and thirst, he wants to drink just little quantities of water. This corresponds to a homeopathic medicine Arsenic. So, the same medicine may not cure two cases of the same disease.

• Homeopathy thus, treats the individual and not the disease. The name of the disease is not important to the homeopathic physician. 

Isn't Homeopathy too slow as a system of treatment?

• Cases of acute diseases/disorders like headache, fever, cold, cough, etc can be cured within minutes through the proper selection of the homeopathic remedy.

• However chronic diseases like asthma, heart problems, cancer etc need time to cure. There is a belief that allopathic medicines give immediate relief, but at what cost ? The use of strong medicines and steroids weaken the body's natural immune system.

• Homeopathy restores the body to it's original state of health. If a disease is chronic in nature it means that it would have been in the human body for a long time, so it requires some time to be cured. This can vary depending on the problem and the patient.

If Homeopathy is so effective, why has it not overtaken allopathic?

• The failure is not of the system, but of the physician.

• Also, the homeopathic colleges have totally failed in teaching homeopathy as per the principles laid down by Hahnemann. This has resulted in doctors prescribing compound drugs.

• In fact the number of doctors who properly apply the scientific principles of homeopathy are but a few. This is the only reason why homeopathy has not overtaken allopathy.

What are the different types of medicines used in Homeopathy?

• Homeopathy uses an array of medicines whose source ranges from animals to plants and chemicals.

• Plants like Onion (Alliums), Capsicum, Belladonna, Cactus, etc are used for preparation of homeopathic medicines.

• A large number of chemicals like Nitric acid, Arsenious acid, Iron, Phosphorous are popular homeopathic remedies.

• There are also a large number of animal sourced medicines like Naja & Lachesis which are snake poisons.

• Medicines are also prepared from substance like milk (Lac def) and sand (Silica).

• The products of diseases are used to prepare homeopathic medicines called as ‘Nosodes’.

• These ‘nosodes’ include Carcinosin (prepared from the cancer cells), Tuberculinum (prepared from the cells of the lungs of cow infected by tuberculosis), etc.

• While there may be a few people who are apprehensive of taking such medicines, they need not fear, because the process of preparing homeopathic medicines ensures that they are diluted such that they lose their original form and are rendered harmless.

Products which Interfere with Homeopathic Remedies

Coffee often cancels the effects of homeopathic remedies

Aromatic substances Avoid camphor, eucalyptus, menthol

Dental work Anti-doted by dental drilling

Prescription drugs Interfere with remedies

Citronella oil Interfere with remedies

All recreational drugs like cocaine

Should be avoided

Immunizations Interfere with remedies

Electric blankets Alter body's electromagnetic field

What Do Not effect Homeopathic Remedies ?

• Aspirin, Tylenol, Advil, Motrin, Ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, when used infrequently, will usually not interfere with homeopathic treatment.

• Dental examination and cleaning (except when ultrasound is used).

• Personal care products: Most toothpastes (except Vicco), deodorants that are not strongly aromatic, aftershaves without menthol. Soaps, perfumes, and colognes.

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