What is homeopathy?
Homeopathy is a system of medicine which involves treating the individual with highly diluted substances with the aim of triggering the body’s natural system of healing. Based on their specific symptoms, a homeopath will match the most appropriate medicine to each patient.
Like with like
Homeopathy is based on the principle that you can treat ‘like with like’,
that is, a substance which causes symptoms when taken in large doses, can be
used in small amounts to treat those same symptoms. For example, drinking too
much coffee can cause sleeplessness and agitation, so according to this
principle, when made into a homeopathic medicine, it could be used to treat
people with these symptoms. This concept is sometimes used in conventional
medicine, for example, the stimulant Ritalin is used to treat patients with
ADHD, or small doses of allergens such as pollen are sometimes used to
de-sensitise allergic patients. However, one major difference with homeopathic
medicines is that substances are used in ultra high dilutions, which makes them
non-toxic.
The science
Homeopathic medicines (which homeopaths call remedies) are prepared by specialist pharmacies using a careful process of dilution and succussion (a specific form of vigorous shaking).
As yet, science has not been able to explain the mechanism of action of ultra high dilutions in the body, but laboratory experiments have repeatedly demonstrated that homeopathically prepared substances cause biological effects.
For example, the hormone thyroxine prepared as a homeopathic ‘30C’ dilution can slow down the process of metamorphosis of tadpoles into frogs.
One theory is that during the production of a homeopathic medicine, the dilution and agitation processes cause an interaction between the original material (e.g. a plant such as Belladonna) and the water and alcohol it is
mixed with. This creates tiny new structures (nanostructures) which are the ‘active ingredient’ and remain present even when the sample has been diluted many, many times.
There is also a growing body of research evidence that homeopathic medicines have clinical effects.
Its origins
The principle of treating “like with like” dates back to Hippocrates(460-377BC) but in its current form, homeopathy has been widely used worldwide for more than 200 years.
It was discovered by a German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann, who, shocked with the harsh medical practises of the day (which included blood-letting, purging and (the use of poisons such as arsenic), looked for a way to reduce the damaging side-effects associated with medical treatment.
He began experimenting on himself and a group of healthy volunteers, giving smaller and smaller medicinal doses, and found that as well as reducing toxicity, the medicines actually appeared to be more effective the lower the
dose. He also observed that symptoms caused by toxic ‘medicines’ such as mercury, were similar to those of the diseases they were being used to treat e.g. syphilis, which lead to the principle he described as ‘like cures
like’.
Hahnemann went on to document his work, and his texts formed the foundations of homeopathic medicine as it is practised today.
Christina Barrett
Homeopathy is a system of medicine which involves treating the individual with highly diluted substances with the aim of triggering the body’s natural system of healing. Based on their specific symptoms, a homeopath will match the most appropriate medicine to each patient.
Like with like
Homeopathy is based on the principle that you can treat ‘like with like’,
that is, a substance which causes symptoms when taken in large doses, can be
used in small amounts to treat those same symptoms. For example, drinking too
much coffee can cause sleeplessness and agitation, so according to this
principle, when made into a homeopathic medicine, it could be used to treat
people with these symptoms. This concept is sometimes used in conventional
medicine, for example, the stimulant Ritalin is used to treat patients with
ADHD, or small doses of allergens such as pollen are sometimes used to
de-sensitise allergic patients. However, one major difference with homeopathic
medicines is that substances are used in ultra high dilutions, which makes them
non-toxic.
The science
Homeopathic medicines (which homeopaths call remedies) are prepared by specialist pharmacies using a careful process of dilution and succussion (a specific form of vigorous shaking).
As yet, science has not been able to explain the mechanism of action of ultra high dilutions in the body, but laboratory experiments have repeatedly demonstrated that homeopathically prepared substances cause biological effects.
For example, the hormone thyroxine prepared as a homeopathic ‘30C’ dilution can slow down the process of metamorphosis of tadpoles into frogs.
One theory is that during the production of a homeopathic medicine, the dilution and agitation processes cause an interaction between the original material (e.g. a plant such as Belladonna) and the water and alcohol it is
mixed with. This creates tiny new structures (nanostructures) which are the ‘active ingredient’ and remain present even when the sample has been diluted many, many times.
There is also a growing body of research evidence that homeopathic medicines have clinical effects.
Its origins
The principle of treating “like with like” dates back to Hippocrates(460-377BC) but in its current form, homeopathy has been widely used worldwide for more than 200 years.
It was discovered by a German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann, who, shocked with the harsh medical practises of the day (which included blood-letting, purging and (the use of poisons such as arsenic), looked for a way to reduce the damaging side-effects associated with medical treatment.
He began experimenting on himself and a group of healthy volunteers, giving smaller and smaller medicinal doses, and found that as well as reducing toxicity, the medicines actually appeared to be more effective the lower the
dose. He also observed that symptoms caused by toxic ‘medicines’ such as mercury, were similar to those of the diseases they were being used to treat e.g. syphilis, which lead to the principle he described as ‘like cures
like’.
Hahnemann went on to document his work, and his texts formed the foundations of homeopathic medicine as it is practised today.
Christina Barrett