INTEGRATIVE MEDICAL PRACTICE

HOMEOPATHY

Homeopathy is a curative system of therapeutics based upon fundamental laws of nature.

The principles on which homeopathy is based were formulated in the late 18th Century by Dr Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician. He discovered that by taking natural quinine (the bark of the Cinchona tree), the symptoms of malaria were simulated. This led him to formulate the law of similars = “like cures like” i.e. the remedy needed to cure the symptoms of an illness will cause the same symptoms when administered to a healthy person. This led to researching the effects of thousands of natural substances – minerals, metals, plant and animal substances – and recording in a reference text –the Materia Medica -the symptoms produced by these substances on healthy subjects.

This relationship between the symptom picture of the remedy and the symptom picture of the illness allows the homeopathic practitioner to find the ideal remedy to cure the illness on the psychological, predisposition or physical level. This substance known as the “simillimum”, has the power to produce a symptom picture and a resonance frequency most similar to that occurring in the sick person. The symptoms and signs of disease are regarded as a self healing expression, i.e. as an appropriate response of the immune system and the similimum is the appropriate remedy to augment the immune system and bring about healing.

Homeopathy also uses exceedingly small doses according to the law of the infinitesimal dose which states that the healing power of a homeopathic remedy increases in direct proportion to its dilution and succussion. These remedies are diluted serially in a ratio of 1 to 10 or 1 to 100 parts water plus alcohol or milk sugar whereby each step of the serial dilution is followed by vigorous shaking, agitation or stirring of the mixture for a certain time period. This process of “succussion” results in an active interaction between the molecules of the remedy and that of the solvent leading to the essential signature of the remedy being imprinted into the solvent. This process of dilution and succussion amplifies or “potentises: the curative effect and is known as “potentisation”. The individual potentised levels are called potencies and are available up to levels of thousands of potencies. Thus Belladonna D3 is a 3rd potency in a decimal dilution of 1 part of Belladonna tincture with 10³ parts solvent. And Belladonna C3 is a 3rd potency in a centesimal dilution of 1 part of Belladonna tincture with 100³ parts solvent.

Homeopathic Remedies are derived from mineral, plant or animal origin. Botanical sources make up more than 60% of the basic “mother tinctures” which are prepared from the whole plant, the roots, leaves, stems, blossom, fruit or seed. These tinctures are then used to prepare the potencies. It follows from this process of potentisation that the remedies are essentially non toxic and relatively inexpensive to manufacture. They also do not mask disease by suppression or synthetic palliation.

Homeopathy can be used for most acute or chronic illnesses or conditions which are not hindered by structural impairment such as fractures of bones, hernias etc.

There are different schools of Homeopathy: The classical school uses mainly single remedies; the French school tend to use lower remedies, the English school higher remedies; others schools use a combination of remedies called complex remedies.