What Is Homeopathy Treatment?

Homeopathy is a medical practice that operates around the idea that large doses of a substance may cause a symptom while small doses will cure the symptom. This idea was developed in Germany and has been consistently used as a form of medicine in the United States since the start of the 19th century. The practitioners of homeopathy are known as homeopaths.

History

• Homeopathy was developed in the 18th century by German doctor Samuel Hahnemann, who established the idea, "like cures like." For example, a doctor uses a substance that causes a given symptom and prescribes it to cure the disease that causes the same symptom. Hahnemann developed a method called "Law of Proving" which is used to test the substances for their healing effect. The result of this law spurred the first law of homeopathy, which is the Law of Similars or "like cures like."

Homeopathic Medicine

• Remedies used in homeopathy are usually made with substances diluted more than a thousand times in water or alcohol. After each dilution, the liquid is shaken vigorously. An example of this procedure is taking a drop of a substance and placing it in 99 drops of water or alcohol. After this, the bottle is shaken and another 99 drops are added. This method is repeated several times until the homeopath is satisfied with the medicine.

Benefits

• Homeopathic medicine is used to address common problems such as arthritis, asthma, colds, flu and allergies. Proponents of homeopathy believe that these are not the only conditions that homeopathy can cure but that there are also actually many other illnesses that this treatment can address. However, homeopaths tend to leave the more serious conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer to scientific medical practitioners.

How It Works

• Supporters of homeopathy believe that homeopathic medicines work by stimulating the individual's own natural defenses. Hahnemann claims that by replacing the illness with a less significant illness similar to the actual one can gradually weaken the body's illness from its "vital force." The term "vital force" is derived from the concept of vitalism, an idea used in medical philosophy. From this concept, it is said that the cause of a disease is the imbalance found in the vital energies of an individual.

How Homeopaths Cure

• During a patient's initial consultation, a homeopath generally asks for the symptoms that the patient experiences. Based on these symptoms, the homeopath will develop a remedy that may produce the same symptom and eventually negate the disease. For example, if a patient experiences stiff joints, the homeopath will then prescribe a homeopathic remedy known as Rhus Toxicodendron. This remedy is made from poison ivy, a plant that contains components that can cause joint stiffness and restlessness.

Speculations

• Even though there are many proponents of homeopathy, this type of treatment is still considered complementary and alternative medicine. Homeopathy has actually stirred a lot of debate and controversy as most of its concepts are not aligned with the law of physics and chemistry. Some studies speculate that the actual effect of homeopathy occurs not because of the medicine provided but from the placebo or non-specific effect produced.