A. Definition

 The word Homeopathy is derived from two Greek words:

                        - homoios, meaning "similar", and

                        - pathos, meaning "suffering".

 Homeopathy is based on the principle that "like cures like". We will come back to that principle.

 

B. History

 Dr. Samual Hahnemann (1755-1843), a German physician and chemist, known for his work in pharmacology, hygiene, public health, industrial toxicology and psychiatry, discovered a new system of treatment, which he baptized "Homeopathy" in 1807.

He was very distressed by the barbarous practices of his time, such as the use of leeches for blood-letting, and mercury-based laxatives. He was looking for a more humane way to practice medicine, his idea being "the highest ideal of cure is the speedy, gentle, and enduring restoration of health by the most trustworthy and least harmful way". As he was translating the "materia medica" of Dr. Cullens, a Scottish doctor, his attention was drawn to an article discussing quinine (Chinchona), known to cure malaria. By experimenting on himself, he realized that the Chinchona bark would cause toxicological symptoms, such as fever attacks and various other disorders, similar to those it cured when used in small doses. He was struck by the coincidence and repeated the experiment with other substances, which all produced the same results. What he had discovered was not a mere coincidence, but a General Law. In 1810, Samuel Hahnemann published the results of his findings in "The Organon, or the Art of Healing".

Homeopathy is now practiced around the world. In Great Britain, homeopathy has received the patronage of the Royal Family for four generations, and homeopathic hospitals are part of the national health system. It is widely practiced in Germany, France (where pharmacies are required to carry homeopathic remedies, along with conventional drugs), India, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. The first homeopathic school in the United States was established in Allentown, PA, in 1835, by Dr. Constantine Hering, considered the father of American Homeopathy, who was a student of Samuel Hahnemann. The Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States was first published in 1897. John D. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison and Mark Twain supported it. By 1930, it had almost disappeared, due to the pressure exerted by the AMA. It is now regaining popularity. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recognizes homeopathic remedies as official drugs and regulates their manufacturing, labeling, and dispensing. It is now estimated that about 3000 medical doctors and licensed health care providers practice homeopathy, with the number rising every year. Homeopathic medicines' annual sales has now reached over $ 150 million.

According to the World Health Organization, homeopathy is cited as one of the systems of traditional medicine that should be integrated worldwide with conventional medicine in order to provide adequate global health care by the year 2000.

  

C. How does it work?

 Dr. Hahnemann formulated the following principles or laws: 

            1)         Law of Similars, "like cures like"

            2)         Principle of the Infinitesimal Dose, "the more a remedy is diluted, the

                        greater   the potency"

            3)         Principle of the Totality of Symptoms, "an illness is specific

                        to the individual".

 1)         Law of Similars

 According to Dr. Hahnemann, "Each individual case of disease is most surely, radically, rapidly, and permanently annihilated and removed only by a medicine capable of producing (in the human system) the most similar and complete manner of the totality of the symptoms". Paraphrasing, one can say that, if a substance, taken in large doses, produces the symptoms of an illness, in very minute doses, it will cure it. Hypocrates had recognized this principle in the 4th century B.C., while studying the effects of herbs on diseases.

 A good example of this is strong coffee. Drunk by a healthy person, it will induce sleeplessness, where the person will not feel tired, but be mentally alert, even overexcited. "Coffea", a dilution of coffee called by its Latin name, used as a homeopathic preparation, is a remedy for insomnia.

 2)         Principle of the Infinitesimal Dose

 Dr. Hahnemann discovered this principle by experimenting with smaller and smaller doses, to avoid toxic side effects. It is a fascinating process, in which, after a remedy has been diluted and succussed over 24 times*, no chemical trace of the original substances is left. The best hypothesis given,  so far, is that the water or alcohol with which the substance is diluted gets imprinted with an electro-magnetic "message" or "signature", which matches the frequencies of the plant it originated from. This electro-magnetic message/signature is then conveyed to the body, matching the specific electro-magnetic pattern of an illness, and stimulates the body's natural healing response.

 *See below for "Preparation of Homeopathic Remedies".

 3)         Principle of the Totality of Symptoms

 Being treated with homeopathy is quite a different experience from being treated in a conventional manner.

 When one is faced with a cold, or the flu, a conventional practitioner will prescribe a general drug known to alleviate the symptoms of the cold or the flu. The treatment for a cold will usually consist of using a syrup, with a formula based on codeine, that quickly relieves the patients' cough. However, there may be toxic effects.

 In Homeopathy, there are more than one hundred effective remedies against cough. Symptoms, physical, mental as well as emotional, are carefully analyzed. Do you have a stuffy nose? a runny nose? thick or thin mucus? what color? Do you feel better sitting or lying down? Are you thirsty or not? Do you prefer cold or hot? Do you feel depressed, exhausted,...This interview is called "profiling". The practitioner then consults repertories and materia medicas, to find the remedy that most closely match the symptoms described. As an example, a baby having a ruddy cheek on one side, and a pale cheek on the other side, is a indication for "chamomilla". A very runny nose, leaving burning red marks under the nose, and watery eyes may call for a dilution of "Allium Cepa", the Onion plant.

 

D. Results and Scientific Research

 During the 1849 cholera epidemic in Cincinnati, Ohio, only 3 percent of the patients treated homeopathically died. 40 to 70% of those treated by conventional medicine died.

 During the 1879 epidemic of yellow fever in New Orleans, 1945 cases were treated homeopathically, with a mortality rate of 5.6%. With standard medical treatment, the mortality rate was 16%.

 The British Medical Journal published an article on 107 controlled clinical studies performed between 1966 and 1990. Out of those, 81 showed that homeopathy was beneficial in treating headaches, respiratory infections, diseases of the digestive system, ankle sprains, postoperative infections and symptoms, as well as other disorders.

 A double-blind study was done on the effects of homeopathy on influenza. Twice as many patients were cured within 48 hours using homeopathy, as opposed to those who took a placebo.

 Double-blind clinical studies have also been conducted checking the effects of homeopathy on hay fever, dental neuralgic pain, Parkinson's disease, bronchitis, sinusitis, migraines and motion sickness, all showing the efficacy of the treatment.

 I quote George Vithoulkas, Director of the Athenian School of Homeopathic Medicine in Athens, Greece: "Homeopathy has been of tremendous value in reversing diseases in conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, bronchial asthma, epilepsy, skin eruptions, allergic conditions, mental or emotional disorders, especially if applied at the onset of the disease. The long-term benefit of homeopathy to the patient is that it not only alleviates the presenting symptoms, but it reestablishes internal order at the deepest levels and thereby provides a lasting cure."

(from "Alternative Medicine, Burton Goldberg Group")

 Experiments have been conducted on plants and animals to check the validity of the high homeopathic dilutions.

 Grains of peas were intoxicated by a solution of copper sulfate, then given a homeopathic dilution of the same substance. The plants had an almost normal appearance. The experiment was repeated with seaweed, with the same results.

 Trained rats were intoxicated with a massive chemical dose of Thuja, known to cause mental problems, then given a high homeopathic dilution of the same. Their symptoms disappeared and they recovered their equilibrium.

 Rats were intoxicated by carbon tetrachloride, which causes hepatitis. They were then given dilutions of phosphorus, which showed to have an action in repairing their damaged liver.

 To check the effects of homeopathic in drainage therapy (where the body excretes toxins), guinea pigs were injected with arsenic. They excreted about 35% of the dose injected within 90 hours. After this, no trace of arsenic was found in the urine. By giving them an injection of a dilution of Arsenic 3 weeks later, they eliminated another 39% of the trapped Arsenic. Distilled water injection did not produce such elimination. A similar experiment was conducted on pigeons.

 

E. Preparations of Homeopathic Remedies

 Homeopathy uses natural substances such as plants, animals and minerals to prepare its dilutions.

 The preparations are labeled by their Latin name, followed by an number indicating the frequency of successive dilutions and letters indicating the method of dilution, such as Allium 6X.

 Allium is an onion. The Onion is turned into a "mother tincture" during a three-week process of maceration in a water/alcohol base. Usually, tinctures correspond to one-tenth their weight in dehydrated drug. The macerated plants are then filtered out or expressed by means of high power hydraulic presses.

 In X (or D) dilutions, one part of the mother tincture is mixed with 9 parts of water or alcohol.

 In C dilutions, one part of the mother tincture is mixed with 99 parts of water or alcohol.

 The number 6 in our example (Allium 6X) represents the number of times the process of dilution is repeated. After the first X dilution, we would have 1/10 of the mother tincture in the water/alcohol. The solution is then succussed, which means it is shaken and impacted vigorously (it is believed that it is at that time that the molecules of the tincture imprint their "signature" or "message" on the water/alcohol molecules). One tenth of that solution is then taken, mixed with 9 parts of water/alcohol, which is then succussed. We have now 1/100 of the mother tincture in the solution, which is then succussed. One tenth of that solution is then taken, mixed with 9 parts of water/alcohol, which is then succussed, We have now 1/1000 of the mother tincture in the solution, which is then succussed, and so on...

 If we are talking about C dilutions, the process is the same, except that 1 part of the mother tincture is diluted into 99 parts of water/alcohol. After the first dilution/succussion, we have 1/100 part of the mother tincture in the solution. After the second dilution/succussion, we have 1/10000 part of the mother tincture in the solution. After the third dilution/succussion, we have 1/1,000,000 part of the mother tincture in the solution, and so on...

 

F. Side-Effects/Precautions

 The concept of strength of a remedy does not exist in homeopathy. The effectiveness of a remedy depends on its ability to provoke a cellular reaction, not on the quantity of medication taken. The correct dilution will provoke a cellular reaction by sending specific messages to each cell.

 The homeopathic remedies have, therefore, no side-effect, such as allergic or toxic problems. However, symptoms of an illness can sometimes appear worse for two or three days after a homeopathic remedy has been taken. It is a sign that the body has "read the message" and is reacting positively. The process of healing has started. Most people feel an overwhelming sense of well-being. 

It is advisable to stay away from alcohol, coffee, tea, and strong stimulants. It is also necessary to completely avoid the use of camphor, mint (watch your toothpaste!) and chamomile during the homeopathic treatment, as those might interfere with the "message". However, if for some reason, you feel that you are getting an unwanted side-effect from a homeopathic preparation, a cup of mint tea will stopped it immediately.

  

G. Homeopathy for Today

 Samuel Hahnemann practiced what is considered "Classical Homeopathy". After a lengthy interview, where all the symptoms were recorded, a "match" would be found, and tried. After a few weeks, the patient would return, and the process would start again, if no reaction had been noticed. It was, however, pretty easy to match symptoms with remedies.

 Today, however, with the advent of vaccinations, antibiotics, air, water and food pollution, the picture is somewhat "cloudy".

 For that reason, new preparations are making their apparition to address this problem. Before THE remedy can be found, the "cloud" needs to disappear. Remedies combining different dilutions of different raw materials are being used quite effectively, to detoxify and energize our bodies, by draining our modern toxins and regenerating our fatigued organs and/or minds.

 Interviews have sometimes been replaced by Modern Bio-Energetic Testing (also called Muscle Testing or Applied Kinesiology), where the practitioner will check what problem is most challenging at the time, what organ/organs it affects, and what remedy/remedies would be the most beneficial. This process allows the practitioner to find the root cause of the problem and treat it, rather than treat symptoms only.

 Resources:

 Alternative Medicine, The Definitive Guide - compiled by the Burton Goldberg Group.

 Living Healthy with Homeopathy, by Pascale Frochisse

 Dolisos Catalog 1998-99 

Be Well, Living Healthy with Homeopathy, Spring-Summer, by Dolisos 

Apex Energetics & IAMB, videos and seminars

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To find the root cause of a problem or condition, I use the IBS-INTEGRA system and support the bodymind with complex homeopathic remedies, meaning that several dilutions of several tinctures are blended together to form a powerful symphony.

To get more information, or for a consultation, click on the link below.