Finding the Right Remedy
Homeopathy is an individualized therapy : A practitioner takes a detailed history of your health, lifestyle, preferences and symptoms to establish your symptom profile. The homeopath then carefully matches this information, often using a computer, to a vast data bank of remedy characteristics until a remedy with a profile similar to your own symptom profile is identified. The matching remedy is then given.
Among the most common homeopathic preparations is Arnica, used for patients with bruises and injuries from blunt trauma. Some common remedies for patients with arthritis pain are Rhus toxicodendron (from poison ivy) Bryonia (wild hops), Apis (from bee venom) and Ledum (from marsh tea). A homeopathic remedy for the patient with gout is Colchicum autumnal, the herb from which a prescription drug for gout is made.
In "classical homeopathy," the practitioner seeks a single remedy that’s the perfect fit for an individual and his situation, and then prescribes one remedy at a time. If that remedy doesn’t work on all the symptoms, the practitioner may substitute another remedy. On the other hand, some of today’s homeopaths use combination remedies of two or more ingredients at a time.
Many more people self-treat, especially for minor ailments such as muscle aches, a cold or an earache. There are many books on homeopathy that match symptoms to remedies, and remedies are usually labeled with limited descriptions of their therapeutic uses. Anyone can buy the substances off the shelf in health food stores, pharmacies and even grocery stores. And homeopathic remedies are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as over the counter drugs, unlike herbs and dietary supplements which are not FDA regulated as medications.
But in homeopathic philosophies, self-treating isn’t as effective as a customized treatment for a chronic condition such as arthritis, says Dr. Corey Weinstein.
Practitioners say symptoms sometimes worsen briefly before they begin to get better. Acute ailments such as the flu or a stomach upset may clear up with one dose in a few hours or days, says Jennifer Jacobs, MD, who’s on the faculty at the University of Washington and who’s been using homeopathy for 23 years in her family practice. Chronic conditions such as arthritis may take several months of treatments, she says.
By Judith Horstman
