What is homeopathy? You may have heard the term but not understood what this approach to health care entailed. You may have confused it with an Eastern art such as aromatherapy. Homeopathy is a European concept that began in the 18th century and was, at one time, more highly regarded than traditional medicine. Today, homeopathy is the second most sought after treatment in the United States next to traditional medicine.
The foundation of homeopathy is the law of similarities. This is similar to the theory behind vaccinations. When you get a vaccination for say, the measles, you get a very small, diluted dose of the disease. Your immune system detects it and fights it off, creating antibodies. The majority of healthy people who get vaccinated will suffer a minor illness which clears quickly. This is because their immune system was stimulated and fought off the disease. Once the disease has been cured by the immune system, you have the antibodies to detect it should you ever come back in contact with it.
Homeopathy is based on those same principals. There are about 30 different remedies that are commonly used in treating a variety of ailments in homeopathy. They are generally a small dose, very heavily diluted, of the same cause of your ailment. Homeopathy depends on the immune system to rally and fight off any disease. This is why any disease cured by homeopathy does not return.
When a patient goes to see a homeopath, the first thing that will happen is the practitioner will take a thorough history of the patient. This history will include the emotional, mental and physical states of the patient, their current life situation as well as any physical or mental illnesses. The homeopath takes all this information and applies it to a formula of all symptoms, likes, dislikes, predispositions and body type. They will then determine the remedy for the problem at hand. You get a tailor made solution for your ailment. An ordinary doctor would just hand out a “one cure all” pill.
Let’s look at cancer, for instance. Traditional medicine uses radiation and chemotherapy to treat cancer. This sickens the entire body in the hope of killing off a few cells, kind of like using a cannon to kill a fly. Homeopathy uses the immune system to fight cancer. It has been shown to be effective in some cases. Studies have shown a medical link between the immune system and cancer. Most people, however choose traditional methods to treat cancer. It is familiar to them. Suzanne Somers, the actress, used homeopathics to treat her breast cancer successfully, even though she was criticized for doing so.
Homeopathy may or may not work on each individual. Most homeopaths believe that disease or ailments come because of a disturbance in the life force. When an ailment refuses the remedies of homeopathy, it is thought that the disease was inherent and would have been unable to be treated even with traditional medicine. This happens often when people, as a last resort, use homeopathy as a way to cure certain diseases after traditional medicine has failed.
Homeopathy is not a new fad, merely it is seeing a resurgance in popularity as more people question the effectiveness of modern medicine.