Homeopathy is one of those medical terms that brings quizzical looks to most people's faces. As a practicing homeopath, it is clear to me that the majority of my new clients still look at this medical art as a form of herbal medicine or just another name for holistic medical care. Many are surprised to learn that the tiny little pellets they were given to take under their tongues are their entire homeopathic remedy. Moreover, they are perplexed and somewhat incredulous when, in many cases, no more than two doses are prescribed until a return visit, perhaps five to six weeks later. I have to admit that even as a practitioner, it was difficult for me to adjust to this, but in many cases results have been nothing short of miraculous. So let's take a closer look at homeopathy.
The History
During the late 1700's, a German doctor, chemist, and medical translator named Samuel Hahnemann became increasingly frustrated with the medical practices of his day. In fact, he even stopped practicing for a period of time and simply focused on his medical translations.
In his studies, Hahnemann was astute enough to realize that Cinchona bark - which was used in the treatment of intermittent and remittent fevers - actually brought on these fevers as well. Hahnemann verified this hypothesis by experimenting on himself. He began to test many other substances on himself as well, and also used his family and friends as subjects. From his initial discovery the name homeopathy was born - it means: like cures like.
Potentization
Hahnemann did not believe that testing medicines on animals was an accurate way to prescribe for people. However, many of the medicines Hahnemann wanted to test on people were toxic. He developed a process called potentization which put him at odds with much of the scientific community, both in his day as well as the present. Potentization calls for the successive dilution of a small amount of an original substance. You might begin with the tincture (alcohol solution) of a particular plant, but then use only one part of this to mix with ninety-nine parts of an solvent solution. After vigorous shaking of this mixture, the process is repeated with one part of the new mixture being suffused with ninety-nine parts of more of the solvent solution. Through this progressive dilution process, the ratio first yields a one to one hundred dilution (or '1c'), then a one to ten thousand dilution (or '2c'). In homeopathy, this dilution process can continue well past 1000c or 1m - an extremely dilute solution. Homeopaths generally consider the higher potencies, 200c and above, to be more powerful in that they seem to reach deeper into a person's constitution.
The placebo
Most doctors and scientists have looked at this process and called the resultant medicine a placebo (substance containing no medication) because once you dilute past 12c, you can not find a molecule of the original substance in the solution. Therefore, there will be no obvious substance in a solution diluted to 1000c. Recent advances in science have ushered in technology that can now document that these "placebo" solutions have other, energetic properties that make them unique and may explain their effectiveness.
In Hahnemann's day, homeopathy had the best record for dealing with the then deadly streptoccal infections (strep throat), and later with various epidemics. At the turn of the century, 20% of the physicians in the United States practiced homeopathy. As pharmaceutical interests increased their grip on medical education, homeopathy was deemed unscientific and medical schools stopped offering its instruction.
In recent times, the tides have started to turn. Clinical studies have appeared in respected medical journals documenting the effectiveness of homeopathic medicines in a variety of clinical situations.
Fundamentals of Homeopathy
When homeopaths comes up with new ideas for remedies they must first test them, or in homeopathic terms perform a proving. Provings are well monitored studies involving people taking the remedy. The symptoms the patients develop - whether they are physical, mental or emotional - are recorded and become part of the body of information (materia medica) about that particular remedy. Homeopathic practitioners then use this information when they look to prescribe a given remedy. While homeopaths might have a working knowledge of a hundred or so remedies, computers give them access to the symptom patterns of thousands of remedies.
While the medical establishment has argued about the value of homeopathy, you cannot tell a person that homeopathy does not work once they have experienced the effect of a properly chosen remedy. Homeopathy has survived not because of pharmaceutical interests or academicians, but because of its clinical success with patients.
An Example
I remember one of my first experiences in prescribing a homeopathic medicine. A woman had come to me for the treatment of eczema, characterized by weeping lesions on her legs. In conventional medical thinking, she was clearly a candidate for high dose oral steroids. However, I chose to give her two doses of a homeopathic medicine made from mercury. Here is where homeopathy drastically differs from allopathic (conventional Western) medicine. I chose mercury as a treatment not because she had eczema, but because of key information she gave me about herself. She had recurrent dreams in which water somehow posed a threat to her. By researching this symptom, I discovered that mercury is one of the homeopathic remedies that has, in provings, been associated with threatening water dreams. I also learned that it would treat her eczema as well. My patient reported that soon after taking the remedy she had the overpowering urge to sleep, which she did for about twelve hours! In two days, when she came back to my office, the swelling in her legs had completely resolved and her skin was no longer oozing. I remember my excitement in seeing this result. I thought to myself, "If homeopathy could work this quickly in such a compromised patient, imagine what it could do for other disease states if my skills were up to the challenge."
Treating the person, not the disease
Another distinguishing feature of homeopathy is that the same homeopathic remedy can treat a variety of clinical situations. In my own practice, I have used homeopathic mercury to successfully treat tonsillitis, vaginitis, ulcerative colitis, cystitis and depression. This is because the treatment is directed at the person, and not the disease itself. In other words, a practitioner of this form of homeopathy looks at the distinguishing features of a disease - its physical, mental, and emotional expressions - and finds a remedy that resonates with the key features of the case. This is why professional homeopaths will spend a considerable amount of time talking with you about things that do not seem to relate to your problem. They are attempting to develop an accurate picture of who you are and the full extent of the physical, mental, emotional changes that characterize your illness.
Having been on the receiving end of this type of information, I have been repeatedly amazed at the trials and tribulations that humanity endures. In homeopathic thought, many deep-seated illnesses can be traced back to relationships from childhood and even the physical and emotional health of the parents at the time of conception. There are so many life situations, both physical and non-physical, that serve as the kernel around which a disease process begins. But in the hands of a good homeopath, true curative medicine can be experienced.
An energetic blueprint
Homeopathy is able to act in such a profound way because it utilizes the energetic blueprint of a material substance, which interfaces with the mind and body on a sub-molecular level. Each remedy carries energetic information to which certain "susceptible" people will react. The deeper we penetrate into the sub-molecular organization of a person, the greater the potential for a profound life-changing effect. This is why many homeopaths feel that the more dilute substances (1m and 10m) are more effective. Even remedy provings use 30c potencies.
Different Approaches to the Practice of Homeopathy
Not all homeopathic medicine is practiced or prescribed in the manner which I have described thus far. What I have been outlining is an approach to using homeopathic principles called classical homeopathy. Four other widely used forms of homeopathy are:
- First aid homeopathy
- Health food store homeopathy
- Clinical homeopathy
- Polypharmacy
First aid homeopathy constitutes a body of information concerning remedies that are related to specific first aid situations. For example, Arnica Montana - a plant growing at the base of certain mountains - is eaten by billy goats to offset injuries due to falls. When this plant is prepared and administered homeopathically, it is unparalleled in its treatment of blows and bruises resulting from blunt trauma. Swellings and bruising, which would take the body two days to respond to on its own, can be helped or alleviated in hours with the use of this remedy. There are many first aid homeopathic books available and this type of homeopathy is often a person's first exposure to homeopathic medicine.
Clinical homeopathy is very similar to first aid homeopathy, but requires a little more skill because there are larger numbers of remedies from which to choose. Usually, professional help is needed to evaluate whether information beyond the immediate clinical picture must be considered in order to make an accurate prescription. There are training programs and tape series for professionals who wish to master this level of homeopathic practice.
Health food store homeopathy is another way that many people are introduced to homeopathic medicines. Single remedy vials labeled with clinical indications may be found on the shelves of health food stores. For example, the remedy nux vomica might be labeled for diarrhea. However, this is often misleading, since not everybody with diarrhea will benefit from nux vomica.
This labeling system was imposed on homeopathic manufacturers by the FDA. To get around this, many homeopathic manufacturers have developed products that are composed of more than one remedy. This is called polypharmacy. While these products generally have not gone through rigorous testing on people, they are composed of remedies whose material medica indicates that they should be of some benefit for a specific clinical problem.
Homeopathy, the Final Analysis
In the final analysis, the utility of homeopathy is determined by the level of expertise of the practitioner. Homeopathy is truly a medical art and needs to be used in conjunction with other modalities that quantify and qualitate the clinical status of a patient. Because homeopathy relies so much on subjective impressions of both the patient and the practitioner, important physical signs can be undervalued or not fully explored. It is essential that a practitioner determine whether a patient's clinical condition poses an immediate threat to his or her health. Furthermore, in judging the reaction to the remedy, the practitioner must be able to recognize that the actual disease process is improving - not just that the patient "feels better". With these caveats in mind, I strongly urge anybody who is interested in getting a "third opinion" about their health to seek out the services of a professional homeopath. A national directory is available through the National Center for Homeopathy, at 703-548-7790 or online, at: www.homeopathic.org.
