Understanding Homeopathy

Jemi Fischbach

• September 12, 2020

Have you ever received treatment for a sickness or illness only to have it come back the next month? Often western medicine only treats patients when symptoms arise rather than looking for a way to increase the body’s ability to protect itself from the sickness again. For this reason, many people tend to shift their gaze towards holistic practitioners like naturopaths and homeopaths. Homeopathy has been around for centuries and is found to be an effective and popular course of action to take to help increase the body’s ability to heal itself. The primary mandate of homeopathy is to stimulate parts of the body with the goal of whole-body healing.

When someone receives a homeopathic treatment, it consists of small diluted doses of plants, minerals, and animal substances. These remedies help heal the body and make it better capable of handling sicknesses when they come. Even though homeopathy is an old treatment method, many people today still trust in its practice.

Homeopathy Through The Ages

Homeopathy originated with the story of Samual Hahnemann, who chewed on Cinchona bark to discover that it caused the symptoms of Malaria. As Cinchona bark was deemed a treatment for Malaria, he believed that if any plant could cause the symptoms of a disease, then maybe it could also cure that disease. So thus, he began researching and found that his theory proved to be true. He also found that even if someone didn’t have the condition, just symptoms like fever, these plants could also be effective treatments.

The word homeopathy is derived from the Greek words “homoios” and “pathos” which roughly translates to “like disease.” Hahnemann firmly believed that if the essence of plants and minerals could be diluted and administered in extremely low doses that it could have a profound impact on the body, helping to stimulate its ability to heal and protect itself from the symptoms. The doses of these medicines must remain low as too much could cause severe sickness.

Like all holistic treatments, it was met with scrutiny. At the time, many of the practices by western doctors included drastic procedures like bloodletting, which could potentially harm the patients. In contrast, homeopathy did not cause any side effects, and thus even if the patient wasn’t getting better from homeopathy, they were not being put at considerable risk.

Full Body Remedies

When it comes to the remedies that homeopaths prescribe for sickness, they are all derived from nature. Many plants and minerals have extreme benefits on the body, and homeopathy makes use of these. People can see a homeopath for a number of reasons, and usually, the homeopath will have a practical course of action for a recommendation. Whether you have terrible seasonal allergies, chronic pain, a distressed liver, or gut issues, homeopathic remedies can be extremely beneficial in curing your ailment while also protecting your body from it in the future.

The three principles of homeopathy are what regulate the treatments and allow them to be the most effective. If these principles are not followed, the treatments may not work, or the patient may end up getting sick. The first most essential principle is that the cure for the ailment must cause symptoms similar to the symptoms of the disease. This principle often confuses people, but it is the basis of homeopathy and has been successful in many situations. The second principle is that the homeopath must administer the remedy at the lowest dose possible. Higher doses can often cause sickness as some of the plants that remedies are derived from can be poisonous in high amounts. In recent years, the final principle has come into question, which is that one remedy should be used at a time. The reason it has entered into question is that homeopaths have found that sometimes combining particular remedies in a specific order can be a much more effective course of action.

Comparing Homeopathy To Western Medicine

As western medicine is the primary form of healthcare within the United States and what most doctors and healthcare professionals support, holistic treatments can often be deemed invalid. Usually, western medicine professionals believe there is a lack of scientific evidence to support homeopathy claims; however, millions of people swear by it.

When comparing them against one another, it is important to recognize three distinctions. The first being that the symptoms experienced by patients are addressed individually in western medicine, whereas in homeopathy, a homeopath assesses the patient and finds a single cure to help the body as a whole. The second distinction is that homeopath strives to limit the number of side effects, and western medicine often prescribed medications with tons of side effects. If they are experienced, they offer up additional medicines. The third distinction is the source. All homeopathic remedies are sourced from nature, whereas many western drugs use a combination of synthetic and natural chemicals.

Kratom is an excellent example of a natural substance that can be used in addition to homeopathic treatments. While some legislators try to enforce strict rules around homeopathic medicines, they remain popular treatments. You can speak to your homeopath about Kratom to figure out if it is a product that will be helpful for you.