Homeopathy

Homeopathy is an alternative system of medicine that was discovered in 1791 by a German Physician Dr.Samuel Hahnemann.

Homeopathy is a Greek word "Homeos" meaning "Similar", "Pathos" meaning "suffering" in other words "like cures like- Similia Similibus Curentur" i.e. is the main principle of similarity on which Homeopathy is based. Dr.Hahnemann first coined homeopathy.

Homeopathy is based on law of similars, which states that all substances in nature produce a symptom profile when given to healthy individuals. The same substance when given in diluted form stimulates healing of the same set of symptoms that the substance has originally caused.

Classical Homeopathy advocates 3 principles:

• Law of Similia
• Law of Single Medicine
• Law of Minimum dose

Law Of similars:
According to this law a disease is cured by a particular medicine that creates symptoms similar to those the patient is experiencing in a healthy person. Homeopathic Doctor conducts lengthy / expounded/diligent and penetrating interview in order to understand the state of each individual. The interview is conducted in way that the Homeopath elicits primary symptoms of the patient and all other concerns, on all the three mental, emotional and physical planes.

Each symptom is further completely constructed with details as to what makes it better/worse, the time correlation, the different circumstances which produce it, what stresses seem to lead to it and any history of hereditary traits etc. This enables the Homeopath to arrive at diagnosis of the illness and personality of the patient as a whole, that which is very unique to him/her. Best possible remedy is selected (out of 2000 and odd remedies) based on this picture, which is peculiar, which is very individual to the patient. There are more than 2000 homeopathic medicines and each person will benefit most at any given time from one single specific medicine that best matches his symptoms.

Here the treating physician is not matching the single symptom but the whole pattern producing a comprehensive meaningful portrait of the patient's personality /constitution as a whole, known as the grand gestalt.

Law of Single Medicine:
In Classical Homeopathy the Homeopath selects one single medicine that covers the entire symptomatalogy the patient is experiencing at a given time. He wouldn't prescribe different medicines for different ailments in the same patient. Basically one remedy is curative at a given moment of time. If the correct remedy is given there will be a brief healing crisis within few days -few weeks followed by gradual and sustained improvement over a period of months/years depending on the severity and the pathology of the case.

If the prescribed remedy is incorrect nothing at all happens.

Law of Minimum Dose:
Medicine is given in very minute and infinitesimal doses. A special process of series of dilution and sucussion (violent shaking) augments the curative power of the medicines and the term potency is used to denote the strength of the medicine. This process of successive dilution and sucussion makes the medicine capable of affecting health in a much deeper way than the remedy could do without this process.