Homeopathy Frequently Asked
Questions Page1
What
is Homeopathy?
Although it was first described by Hippocrates 2,500 years ago,
Homoeopathy as it is practised today evolved 200 years ago.
The word comes from the Greek and means similar suffering. This
refers to the central philosophy that a substance that can produce
symptoms in a healthy person, can cure those symptoms in a sick
person.
For example a person suffering from hayfever, might be given
a remedy prepared from an onion, because a healthy person chopping
an onion usually experiences watering eyes and irritation. Similarly,
someone suffering from insomnia might be given a homoeopathic
dose of coffee.
Is
homoeopathy safe?
Yes. As long as the 2 basic principles of Homeopathy are followed,
The
Law of Similars and The Law of the Minimum Dose,
homeopathic remedies are safe. Since the substances are given
in minute doses unwanted side-effects are avoided, making them
safe to use even in situations where conventional drugs would
be dangerous or inadvisable, for example during pregnancy or
when treating infants.
How
does it work?
Although there is a great deal of empirical evidence that homoeopathy
does work, nobody yet knows how. Those who are sceptical point
out that homoeopathic remedies are often so dilute that not
even a molecule of the original substance remains and so conclude
that any beneficial response is probably due to the placebo
effect. This explanation seems unlikely as experiments have
shown homoeoapthic medicines to be equally effective in the
treatment of animals.
The answer to this mystery is likely to be found by those studying
so-called "new Physics" and electro-magnetism. The
production of homoeopathic medicines involves two processes;
namely dilution and succussion (shaking and bashing!). It is
thought likely that these combined processes leave an imprint
of the original substance's energy pattern in the dilutant.
This energy imprint, given in homoeopathic medicine, somehow
stimulates the body's own healing energy to start working.
How
does homoeopathy differ from conventional medicine?
Homoeopathy is an holistic medicine. This means that it focusses
on the whole person and believes that spiritual,mental, emotional
and physical factors are all completely inter-connected and
should not be regarded in isolation. It is based on the idea
that symptoms are not the cause of disease, they merely show
that "dis-ease" exists. Symptoms are the body's way
of warning us that all is not well and attempting to restore
balance.
A simple analogy is to imagine that you are driving your car
and the red oil warning-light comes on. You know nothing about
cars so you decide to take it to the garage. When you come to
pick up the car, the light is no longer on, so, having paid
the bill, you drive off quite happily. You naturally assume
the problem is fixed, but would you feel so satisfied if you
later discovered that the garage had merely unscrewed the warning-light
bulb?
Homoeopathy is a truly holistic medicine because it uses symptoms
as helpful indicators which can be used as guides to treating
the individual and their "dis-ease". Instead of merely
removing the symptoms, it removes the central disturbance in
the individual's energetic balance. Once this has been done
the symptoms disappear anyway, because the warnings they were
trying to give have become unnecessary.
Can
I take homoeopathic medicine if I'm already taking other medication?
Yes, it is perfectly safe to do so. However, you should not
attempt to reduce your other medication without supervision
from your doctor.
What
kind of things can I treat myself?
As you will see from this booklet, with very little effort,
the home-prescriber can treat a wide variety of injuries or
acute illnesses. To qualify as "acute" an illness
should develop quickly and have three phases. At first, you
just don't feel quite right; then there are strong recognisable
symptoms; followed later by the convalescent stage where the
symptoms begin to improve. Examples of acute illnesses are coughs;
colds; conjunctivitis; cystitis; food poisoning; flu; gastric
flu; measles; mumps; chickenpox; travel sickness etc.
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