Alternative medicine: homeopathy

Most of us will not seek alternative medicine when we get sick. In fact, alternative medicine such as homeopathy is not the first choice of treatment for many of us.


It’s only when we are desperate, and doctors have basically tried all methods, then we look into alternative medicine.

I get to know about homeopathy under this desperate situation.

That was the time when my father was in the late stage of lung cancer. The doctors had essentially gave up on him, and further treatment was to endure that he lived in relatively painless existence till his death.

Out of desperation, we sought alternative medicine, both traditional Chinese medicine and homeopathy. In fact, the homeopathy practitioner was fantastic. My father managed to walk after a few session. It’s just too bad that we sought alternative medicine a bit too late.

By then, the immune system of my father was completely destroyed by all the cancer drugs. An infection killed him.

If only we had sought out homeopathy earlier, my dad would live.



The story of homeopathy

Homeopathy is a system of alternative medicine introduced by a German doctor Dr Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. Dr Samuel Hahnemann was essentially an allopathic doctor who turned away from medicine due to the side effects and temporary relief of symptoms of allopathy.

To make a living, Dr Samuel Hahnemann started to translate the medical books to different languages. While Dr Samuel Hahnemann was translating a medical book, he came across a herbal medicine known as cinchona.

The medical book mentioned that cinchona can cure malaria. However, cinchona can also produce malaria-like-symptoms on healthy persons.

This important sentence clicked Dr Samuel Hahnemann’s brain. Dr Samuel Hahnemann prepared an extract of cinchona bark and used his body as an experiment.

To his surprise, he did develop some symptoms of malaria such as chills and achings. Dr Samuel Hahnemann started to do experiment on different persons. The result proved that cinchona induced symptoms of malaria.

By this experiment, Dr Samuel Hahnemann realized that a drug which can produce a set of symptoms on a healthy person could be used to cure the similar symptoms in a sick person.

He used cinchona to treat malaria patients, and the result was wonderful. That is the story of how homeopathy came about.



What is homeopathy?

The word homoeo means similar, and pathy means suffering.

The fundamental principle of homeopathy is 'similia similibus curantur' which means “like cures like”.

Dr Samuel Hahnemann prepared other drugs from herbs using alcohol as a vehicle. He started to experiment on persons of different age groups.

Dr Samuel Hahnemann kept a detailed record of the symptoms produced in the healthy persons. He experimented with nearly 30 drugs. The symptoms produced were noted down systematically. He recorded the symptoms produced by the drugs and categorized them into a book known as materia medica pura.

Dr Samuel Hahnemann noted that when he diluted the herb in spirit, a dynamic power was developed. This diluted herb was responsible for producing the symptoms of sickness on healthy people.

Dr Samuel Hahnemann started to give treatment to many sick people, using the medicines he prepared.

By applying the principle of “like cures like”, he performed many wonderful cures. Homeopathy started to spread all over the world.



When Dr Samuel Hahnemann noticed that symptoms were returning, he realized that the root cause of the disease must be treated.

After he did some experiments and observations, he realized that diseases were caused by some dynamic forces. Dr Samuel Hahnemann called them the miasms.[psora ,syphilis,sycosis].

He found that in order to cure a person completely, he must eradicated the root cause of the disease using a similarly powerful force.

This idea lead to anti-miasmatic drugs that are drugs having the power to produce disease. He developed anti-miasmatic drugs and used them on patients. His experiment was successful.



Development of homeopathy

The principles of homeopathy was written first in a book.

From the very beginning of homeopathy, many doctors opposed the concept of homeopathy.

Some of them who were against homeopathy came to understand homeopathy better. They even started to practice homeopathy.

Physicians such as Dr J T Kent, Dr Hering, Dr Boenonghausen etc developed the system of homeopathy.

They started to prepare many other drugs based on the preparation method of Dr Samuel Hahnemann.

When they realized that by diluting the herb essence in spirit in a systematic manner, the medicinal power increased even though the quantity of drug decreased.

They found that by increasing the potency, the penetrating power of medicine increased too. This unique nature of homeopathic medicine is the reason for the many wonderful cures of diseases.



General principles of homeopathy

Homeopathy takes a holistic approach to treating the patient. That means homeopathy treats the patient, rather than treating the diseased parts or organs.

The physical, emotional, mental and social aspects of a person is considered in homeopathy.

Homeopathy is based on the system that the diseases are results of the derangement of vital force. This vital force is an invisible power in each of us.

In a healthy person, the vital force maintains the equilibrium of mind, soul and body.

When the vital force is disrupted, there will be an external manifestations in the form of signs and symptoms. The imbalance in the body functions allows the bacteria and viruses to proliferate and produce sickness.

Homeopathy system believes that the real disease comes before the invasion of bacteria and viruses, hence the root cause of the disease must be treated in order to get a permanent cure. The antibacterial and antiviral medicine remove the secondary causes of sickness.

In homeopathy belief, diseases are produced by noxious morbific agents called Miasms. Miasms are dynamic influences that affect the vital force of life. There are three main miasms, namely the Psora, ,syphilis and sycosis.

Psora causes functional disturbances. Syphilis are structural changes in the form of destructions. Sycosis produces changes in the form of overgrowth.

These three miasms can act independently or combined to form different types of diseases.



Preparation of medicine in homeopathy

In homeopathy, medicines are prepared from different sources such as minerals, animals, plants, toxins, diseased parts etc.

Medicines are prepared from these substances using a special process known as potentization. The soluble substances are potentized by diluting (mixing with alcohol with a downward stroke) with spirit. The insoluble substances by grinding(trituration) with sugar of milk.

The crude drug substance is first mixed with a measured quantity of spirit and water. The mixture is kept for a few days .

From this mixture, extract is taken and is called mother tincture. From this mother tincture, dilutions are prepared by potentization.

Potentization is essentially a systematical process in which the quantity of original drug substance decreases but the medicinal power increases.

Depending on the ratio of quantity of drug substance and vehicle (spirit or sugar of milk), there are a few scales for this process of dilution in homoeopathy. Each scale represents a different potency to indicate the power of medicine.

Some example in homeopathy is when the drug substance vehicle ratio is 1/10, and the available potencies are 3x,6x.12x and so on. In some cases, the ratio is 1/100, and the available potencies are 30c,200c.

Potency of drug in homeopathy is written after the name of the medicine

Same drugs are available in different potencies. The homeopathy practitioner will select the potency by considering many factors such as severity, condition of the patient, depth of disease, age of patient, nature of disease, type of symptoms, and so on.



Taking up homeopathy course

If you want to take up a course in homeopathy, you will learn the following subjects of homeopathy:-



1. History of medicine

2. History and development of homeopathy

3. Pioneers of homeopathy

4. Organon of medicine

5. Homeopathic philosophy

6. Materia medica

7. Homeopathic pharmacy and pharmacognosy

8. Homeopathic case taking

9. Homeopathic repertory

10. Homeopathic therapeutics



If you learn general medical subjects in relation to homeopathy, that will help you to become a better homeopathy practitioner.

The medical subjects in relation to homeopathy are Anatomy, pathology, physiology, microbiology, toxicology, parasitology,forensic medicine, social and preventive medicine, ENT, surgery, gynecology and obstetrics, dentistry, opthalmology, orthopedics, surgery, dermatology, general medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry and others.



Case taking and prescription in homeopathy

The effect of a homeopathic medicine is fast. You will experience rapid ,gentle and permanent if the right correct remedy in the correct dosage is given.

When homeopathy practitioner gives one drug for one disease, the result will not be good.

The homeopathy practitioner has to consider the total symptoms of a person. That will include mental health, general health, physical health, particular symptoms of diseases etc.

All symptoms, including mental and physical, of the patient is taken into consideration. The homeopathy practitioner will want to know about past illness, family history of diseases, causes of diseases, food and bowel habits, relation to climatic changes and other details are noted down in a systematic order.



More on case taking in homeopathy

The homeopathy practitioner will note the mental symptoms, such as fear, depression, anxiety, anger, and jealousy.

The homeopathy practitioner will observe the physical symptoms, such as body makeup, thirst, appetite, desires, bowels, aversions, urination, taste, sleep, nature of smell, unusual sensations in discharge such as like pain, climatic change, burning, and thermal relations.

The homeopathy practitioner will observe uncommon symptoms. This is the part that makes homeopathy a holistic alternative medicine. For a given sickness, the symptoms displayed by each patients are very important. Common symptoms which are seen in all the patients are the least important consideration in homeopathy.

This is the reason for giving different medicines to different persons suffering from same disease. For example, when five people suffering from typhoid, all five of them get five different remedies because of the individual symptoms.



Conclusion on homeopathy

Homeopathy treats the person, rather than treating the sickness. The homeopathy practitioner aims to restore health to the patient, and not just cure the person of a particular disease.