About Homeopathy

What is homeopathy?

It is a system of medicine that was devised over 250 years ago, and is based on the principle of ‘like cures like’. It draws its medicine from the animal, plant and mineral worlds.

Hippocrates, also known as ‘The Father of Medicine’, said there were two laws of healing: the Law of Opposites and the Law of Similars. Conventional medicine often uses the Law of Opposites to treat illness, e.g. anti-biotics, anti-inflammatories, anti-histamines, and anti-depressants.

Homeopathy uses the Law of Similars, often described as treating ‘like with like’. In other words the same substance that in large amounts can cause symptoms, in small amounts can be used to treat them.

According to this principle, coffee, which can cause restlessness and insomnia, can be used in homeopathic potency to aid restful sleep, and onion, which can cause streaming eyes and runny nose is suggested to relieve hay fever symptoms.

The ‘Law of Similars’ can also be seen in conventional medicine. For example, Ritalin, a stimulant, is prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The difference with homeopathy though, is that the medicinal dose is so small any possible toxic side effects are avoided.

How homeopathic remedies are made

Extracts from plants and animals, and triturations from minerals are taken, made into a tincture, serially diluted in water and succussed, (vigorously shaken), in a process that it is known as potentisation. Experiments have shown that the more times a substance goes through this process, the more powerful it becomes. The serial dilution also renders the substance non-toxic, and safe for all to use. A few drops of the tincture are then usually added to sugar pills to create the Homeopathic remedy.

Is homeopathy effective?

The homeopathy critics, backed by vested interests in the media, will tell you there’s no evidence for homeopathy, or, that it’s just placebo. This is simply not true.

On the Homeopathy International’s website you can find a ‘Research Evidence Base List’ with references to over 5,000 pieces of research.  Even more evidence is to be found on the website of the Homeopathy Research Institute, a charity which exists solely to promote high quality research into homeopathy.

For those who say homeopathy is just placebo, I wonder how they would explain it’s successful use in farm animals?

The best way to find out if homeopathy is effective though is to book an appointment and try it out for yourself.