Homeopathy?

The principle was well known to Hippocrates and Paracelsus, but its present-day use stems from the work of Samuel Hahnemann, a doctor of the late 18th century.

Appalled by the medical practices of his day, which so often did more harm than good, Hahnemann sought a method that would be safe, gentle and effective. He believed that human beings have a capacity for healing themselves, and that the symptoms of disease reflect the individual’s struggle to overcome it. Hahnemann and his followers carefully tested small doses of various substances on themselves over long periods, noting the symptoms they produced. Patients with similar symptoms were then treated with those substances.

Having established this principle of similarity, Hahnemann worked to find the smallest effective dose, to avoid side effects. He called his special method of serial dilution potentization, and the dilutions potencies.

Treating the person, not the disease

Homeopathic practitioners consider it better to treat the sick person rather than the disease. The practitioner builds a multidimensional picture of the patient: past health and life circumstances, family health patterns, present condition, personality traits and preferences, hopes, fears and aspirations. That picture is then matched with a remedy.

Because the patient is treated and not the disease, people with the same disease often need different remedies, while people with different diseases may all benefit from the same one.

What are remedies?

Remedies can be animal, vegetable or mineral. Homeopaths do use botanical medicines, but usually only after potentization.

Taking your remedy

• Take remedies at least 5 minutes before or after food, drink, or anything else in your mouth, such as gum or toothpaste.
• Handle the pellets as little as possible (though it may be necessary at times, such as when giving them to children), in case something on your hands counteracts the remedy.
• Adequate rest and an appropriate diet support recovery. Chronic illness may call for patience.

Homeopathy is not a cure-all, nor an elixir of life. Rather, it is a way of looking at people in their surroundings and helping them increase their harmony and well-being. Results can come quickly in acute illness, but if vitality is low, treatment will be long-term. Some of the happiest results of homeopathic treatment are seen in babies and children, whose natural vitality is, or should be, at its highest.