Homeopathy is based on the principle that substances that are poisonous
in large doses can be very beneficial in small doses. Homeopathy
is a form of medicine that treats the body as a whole and helps
it to heal itself. It can be used for the short term (acute) illnesses
and long term (chronic) illnesses. The objective is to prevent the
patient from getting the illnesses again (prevention). The name
homeopathy comes from the Greek word "homios" which means
"like" and the word "pathos" meaning "suffering".
Thus homeopathy simply means treating like with like.
In the fourth century B.C., Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine,
observed that large amount of certain natural substances can produce
symptoms in healthy people resembling those caused by the disease,
while smaller doses of these same substances can relieve those symptoms.
in 1790's Samuel Hahnemann, a German doctor, amplified this concept
and proposed the practice called homeopathy. He proposed that "Let
like be cured by like". Homeopathy uses animal, vegetable and
mineral preparations to cure a person's illness. Millions of people
in Britain, Europe and America uses Homeopathy.
Homeopathy looks at each patient and develops a remedy or treatment
plan strictly for him or her. It invokes the powers of healing inherent
in individuals (our immune system) to develop a successful therapy.
The more one knows about the patient, the symptoms, likes and dislikes,
what makes them better or worse, it helps in developing a "symptom
picture" of the patient that can lead to a successful treatment.
If we think about the principle of homeopathy, it has a lot in
common with our present understanding of immunizations. To prevent
us from catching small pox, a vaccine is prepared which is a mild
form of the virus that causes the disease. The principle is that
introduction of this small amount of the virus in our body system
will set out our body's defenses so that when the actual virus shows
up, our body will have enough barriers or fighting power to prevent
the virus from entering our body. Homeopathy practitioners believe
that when we introduce a very very small amount of the deadly material
into the body, our body will unleash enough defenses to prevent
the disease from recurring again. However, there are significant
differences between the concepts used in Western medicine and those
of homeopathy. Vaccines are not rendered more potent when they are
diluted like homeopathic preparations. In conventional treatment,
there is a minimum dosage that need to be given before the medication
becomes effective in treating the underlying problem. For example,
when taking antibiotics, we have to take the whole course at regular
intervals to maintain a potency level in the bloodstream to kill
the bacteria.
Homeopathic remedies, which are made from naturally occurring plant,
animal, or mineral substances, are recognized and regulated by the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are manufactured by established
pharmaceutical companies under strict guidelines. There are over
2000 homeopathic remedies that are usually referred to by their
abbreviated name. (For example Arg nit. stands for Argentum nitricum).
These are derived from such exotic sources as bee stings, snake
venoms, arsenic, gold and silica, and even compounds from diseases
tissue. Homeopaths also prescribes tissue salts. Tissue salts are
prepared from mineral sources. Homeopathic remedies are diluted
to such an extent that there can be no possible side effects from
even the most toxic substances. The dilution process is known as
'potentation' Taken in this ultra diluted form, Homeopathic remedies
have no side effects and are perfectly safe, non-toxic and non-addictive.
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