Almost without a doubt the most universally accepted form of alternative therapy, homoeopathy is a treatment system developed in the late 18th century by Samuel Hahnemann, a German doctor. The basis of the therapy is enshrined in two main guiding principles: first, that ‘like cures like’; and, secondly, that ‘less is more’. What this means in practice is that homoeopathic remedies for a given condition are often derived from the very elements believed to have brought on the ailment in the first place, and that these remedies will be administered in an extremely minimal dosage. Homoeopathy also embraces two further beliefs:
Symptoms are signs produced by the body as part of its efforts to ward off or reduce the effects of infection or disease; and
The body has the ability to cope with most illnesses, and the doctor’s main job is to help strengthen that ability.
To aid and stimulate the body’s natural defence systems, treatments are usually administered as very small doses of various preparations, these being taken either as tablets or as liquids, which are prepared from natural substances and originate from various herbal, animal, mineral and metallic sources. In keeping with the principle that ‘less is more’, the remedies are invariably supplied in so diluted a form that just about none of the original healing ingredient can still be detected in the final mixture, something which, of course, has raised the question of how can a remedy possibly have any useful therapeutic effect is there is nothing – or very little – left in it of the active ingredient? Homoeopathic practitioners are the first to admit that they, too, can’t fully explain why such highly-diluted preparations should work, but point out that there’s plenty of accumulated scientific evidence to prove beyond a doubt that it does in many cases.
Because they are so diluted, you don’t need a prescription to buy homoeopathic remedies, and you can get these over the counter in most pharmacies and health stores. Although this easy availability of homoeopathic preparations might tempt someone to choose his own remedy, practitioners caution against this, pointing out that it takes a great deal of skill and experience to choose the right one for any given situation.
In fact, a quick look in The Prescriber, which is a kind of mini-Bible listing the main homoeopathic preparations, will give some idea of how many different remedies there are for what is essentially the same ailment. For example, under the heading ’sciatica’ you will find many different suggestions, according to whether the condition is ‘in young people, and from cold draughts’, or whether ‘the pain increases when sitting, is relieved somewhat by walking, or entirely by lying down’. Other factors taken into consideration are whether the symptoms are better or worse at night or when resting, what times of day it occurs, whether chronic or acute, accompanied by cramps or alternating with numbness, or felt as a drawing, tearing, shooting or paralytic pain. Check under ‘back pain’ and you’ll find that the recommended remedy also depends upon a similarly wide variety of factors. Clearly, faced with such a multitude of potential remedies, selecting the right one is something beyond the scope of most laymen and best left to an expert.
You can get more information about homoeopathy from: The British Homoeopathic Association, 27a Devonshire Street, London WIN 1RJ; The Homoeopathic Society, Hahnemann House, 2 Powis Place, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3HT; The Society of Homoeopaths, 2 Artizan Road, Northampton NN1 4HU.
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