“The highest ideal of cure is rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of the health, or removal and, or annihilation of the disease in its whole extent, in the shortest, most reliable, and most harmless way, on easily comprehensible principles.” — Samuel Hahnemann, a great experimenter
Homeopathy is a well defined system of medical therapy based on natural regulatory principles. The homeopathic medicines stimulate and control auto-regulation. Samuel Hahnemann, a german physician, evolved the principles of homeopathy early in the 19th century, after abandoning what he considered to be the crude and inhuman practice of his learned colleagues.He became especially interested in references to similers by Paracelsus, a 16th century swiss physician and alchemist who concluded that the same substances, which cause illness in large amounts, would cure it in small doses. After conducting experiments, Hahnemann announced his findings, in 1810, and a list of some proven remedies appeared in 1821. The principles of homeopathy state that:
- Medicinal substances should be tested on healthy human subjects, what is known as true homeopathic proving.
- Substances that produce symptoms similar (but not identical) to those experienced by the patient will produce the true cure. In other words (similia similibus curentur) like cures likes, the law of similars.
- The comparable simile is to be found from among the characteristic symptoms produced in proving on the one hand and totality or sum and essence of the symptoms individual to the patient on the other hand. Comparison of these two sets of symptoms leads to selection of the remedy showing the greatest similarity in the individual case. The symptoms, (but, not a collective disease concept) related to the emotions and intellect rank particularly high in homeopathy, being specific to man, medicine must base itself on what is specifically human. Anatomy and physiology relate to the animal world in general; emotional and intellectual contents in their specific form mostly belongs to the humans.
- The least possible amount of the single and simple curative substance is the most effective for relieving the sufferings of a patient and need not be repeated that frequently.
Medicinal substances are often not sufficiently active or curative in the crude or unprocessed state. Hahnemann also evolved a method of potentization; where successive triturating or attenuating by shaking energetically a substance reduces the dose and its toxic effects, if any, and awakens the latent and medicinal power of the substance, by making it more dynamic. Hence, potencies prepared like this are called dynamizations. Shaking between each dilution is essential; substances diluted otherwise do not work or give homeopathic effects. First of all the extract of a plant or chemical is taken. Then 1 part of the extract is dissolved in 99 parts of a preservative (water, sugar or alcohol), and then potentised by succussion, giving us mother tincture. Again 1 part of this tincture or potency 0c is dissolved with 99 parts of preservative and so on giving us potencies 1c, 2c, 3c etc. If we use decimal scale i.e. mix 1 part with 9 parts of preservative we write 1x, 2x, 3x etc. successively with these potencies.This reduction of dose or potentization could generally be confusing to chemists, pharmacists and doctors of other systems, on the other hand, if we look at the latest concept in nuclear physics, molecular theory, crystal structures and behavior clearly shows us attenuated homeopathic remedy associated with lactose to form new energy-rich lattices under the influence of physical grinding. Avogandro’s law states that the number of molecules in 1 gram molecule of substance is 6.0243×10-23 generally. This means that theoretically if we dilute something to 10-24 (that is 0.0 … 23 zeroes and then 1 part i.e. 12c potency), may make it difficult to trace the original molecules in such a dilution for practitioners of other systems. However, recent work has shown that the water and, or alcohol in which they were originally dissolved still might carry sufficient information (in the form of energy) about the characteristics of original substance.
Hahnemann further explored the chronic diseases and provided us a magnificent basic theory, which is critically asserted, deepened and developed further in the light of present-day knowledge. Some of his theoretical expositions were era bound and therefore limited, because of non-availability of tools and technology. This does not, however, reflect on the genuine merit of his work, which is as important today as it was in his time, that is about two centuries ago.
Homeopathy has much to contribute to medicine as a whole. It has proved itself both safe and effective over a period of 190 years. Above all it treats the sick individual as an integrated unity of body, soul and spirit, seeing him as someone playing an active part in life, who is partly determined by his individual inheritance, constitution and human environment and subject to the conditions and stresses of his period and biography. Moreover, the disposition or diathesis of a patient, that is the inherited or acquired weakness and systematic inferiority which leads to the morbid nature and specific pathological process in evaluation of disease is also taken care of. Whereas, the traditional physician for example has nothing to do with the thirst, heat, perspiration and rash or eruptions in a fever and a surgeon, who removes any defective or infected organ, tumor and, or cancer has nothing to do with underlying cause as well.
A homeopath treats the individual, not a disease, the disease in itself or kind of diagnosis referred to the registration of name of disease from pathological data or findings, is a no concern of a homeopath. So, he takes the sick person in a different way. He makes minute observations and never suppresses or interferes with natural healing process, but cares much in hastening the cure, by gentle, most reliable and least detrimental route to achieve an ever lasting restoration of health or annihilation of maladies and, or eradication of the disease in its entirety. Whereas the name of the medicine and what potency is requisite for a particular individual, is none of a concern of the patient. Because, a competent homeopath knows best; whether the medicine selected by him from a vast homeopathic materia medica will give desired results and what could be a cause and, or obstacle in the true cure.
Hahnemann and his followers were of an opinion, that every individual has so many natural variations such as lifestyle, attitude and reactivity in particular. Why give the same medicine in standard and even such heroic doses to almost all patients? Where from this standard have evolved? Are you not aware of the side effects; curing one disease at the cost of acquiring one or probably more ailments or syndromes and that too resulting in some more and unwanted complications?
Homeopathic practice became a rage in Europe and North America and, in 1844, the American Institute of Homeopathy was established by a group of distinguished doctors. When the American Medical Association was formed a few years later, it took a hostile position against its predecessor. In a short time, homeopathy declined in the United States, but it never went out of style in Europe. Homeopathic pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics abound throughout Europe today and the services are covered by most of the national health insurance plans.
In North America, Africa, Arab, Australia and Asia, homeopathy is enjoying a revival, because its adherents consider it a natural approach and its treatments do not cause the side effects like many of the drugs used in conventional medicine.
According to the Ontario Homeopathic Association, there are some 2000 homeopaths in Canada, about a half of them are physicians. Because homeopathy is not regulated, canadian homeopaths need no accreditation. Homeopathic remedies or preparations have been legal in Canada since the 1980s.
Homeopaths claim to treat virtually all conditions such as catarrh, headache, migraine, neuralgia, myopia, cataract, allergies, intestinal, ovarian and, or uterine disorders including sterility and impotency in men and, hemorrhoids, diabetes, renal failure, heart troubles, paralysis, cancer and even amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or what else you can name. The abundance of case histories collected over centuries, have hundreds of thousands miraculous and eye opening examples are enough to testify them.
The homeopathic system of medicine requires more skill than any other system with which we are acquainted. A homeopathic physician must prepare himself for such a work in the same manner that he would for any special profession, which requires many specialization’s. He has to take every care of his patients himself, because he does not repair vehicles, thereby sending them to discrete specialists. Where an engine specialist takes only engine work, an electrician only electrical work and some denter cum painter some denting or painting work only. He must not only know his materia medica from A to Z, but must have a working knowledge of the materia medicas of all other schools. He must be an all rounder, must have an excellent judgment and a perfect confidence in himself and be an absolute believer in the curative powers of his medicine.
From the above it shall be noticed that all doctors are not suitable for becoming a successful homeopath. The secret of achieving results in homeopathy lies in the assiduous study and should never be attempted by a lazy man, for it means determination, devotion, dedication and constant attention like meditation to ‘win out’ under all conditions or difficulties.
Excerpts from:
- Guide to Medical Cures & Treatments, A complete A-to-Z source book of medical treatments, alternative opinions, and home remedies, ISBN 0-88850-518-3, Reader’s Digest, Canada.
- Homeopathy: How it works, An article appeared in ‘The Tribune’, Sunday Reading, Chandigarh, on March 28, 1999 by Dr Kuldip Dhiman
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