Derived from homeo (similar) and pathy (disease), Homeopathy is based on the idea that substances causing specific symptoms in a healthy person can cure these symptoms in someone who is sick.
Homeopathy is used by millions of people around the world. In Africa, England, France, Germany, Holland, India, Pakistan, Israel, Italy, and South America, hundreds of thousands of medical doctors treat with homeopathy on a daily basis. Over 5 million Americans visit homeopaths each year.
History of Homeopathy
Although the use of homoeopathy dates back to the time of the ancient Greeks and was written about by the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, it wasn't until the eighteenth century that a German physician, Dr Samuel Hahnemann, rediscovered the principles of homoeopathy. He developed a method of preparing remedies by diluting small quantities of herbs, minerals, and animal extracts in a water alcohol solution. The results convinced him that using increasingly smaller amounts of a substance in dilution not only eliminated unwanted side effects but actually boosted the remedy’s potency.
How Does Homeopathy Work ?
When we are ill it is as if the body has gone out of balance. The symptoms that the illness produces, such as a raised temperature or a rash are indicators that the body is using all its strength and vitality to fight the illness and get itself back to normal health. When we take a homoeopathic medicine to help in treating the illness we are taking a substance that can produce symptoms similar to those of the illness. That is, it imitates the effects of the illness and by doing so it adds to this fighting ability of the patient to combat the illness.
Treatment is very individualized and addresses the whole person; the mental, emotional and physical aspects of a human being. As each person is truly unique, the same remedy, diet, or even the same general advice will not necessarily help everyone with the same ailment.
