Introduction to Homeopathy

Now You're Wondering What Homeopathy Is?

Throughout the course of civilization, medicine has played a massive role that it defined the boundaries between terminated breathing and extended breathing. It has also furnished for itself various faces that if one were not careful enough, he might find himself confused between what is considered traditional, folk, alternative or conventional medicine.

Developments for medical science provide us more options for treatments and cures on the numerous diseases and illnesses that trouble men. Among these is homeopathy.

Not surprisingly, the word "homeopathy" first appeared in print during the turn of the century, the age when men seem to have particular interest on advancements. The idea of homeopathy was not new though. In fact, 2000 years back, Hippocrates (the father of medicine) has already laid paths towards its later appearance in medicine. He suggested that medicine, in fact, divided in two major divisions-antipathic medicine or cure using the principle of contraries or opposite sensations and second, homeopathy or cure using the principle of similarities. Only, Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician, dealt explicitly on it and produced various writings exploring the extent of uses homeopathy has.

To create a distinction between antipathic form of treatment and homeopathic form of treatment we have included some examples in this article.

In line with the principles of opposites, antipathy uses various treatments that are directly opposing the source of illness. Say for constipation, laxatives are used. For inflammation, substances with anti-inflammatory properties are applied to the body so as to create the effect of healing. And lastly, for acidic stomachs, people use antacids.

However, with homeopathy, similar sufferings are utilized to produce a curing effect.

For example, people with hay fever are suggested to use onion to encourage the nose to work since the fumes from the onion could naturally make people cry. Another obvious example is the use of venom in curing blood poising.

There are three basic principles in homeopathy:

First is the principle of like cures like. To give more stress on this, we can use colds as example. People with colds who display symptoms similar with that of mercury poisoning could be treated with mercury.

Second is the principle of minimal dose. History books would tell us that one time Hahnemann had an experience with a diluted substance in his test tube that caused him to realize that the more diluted a substance is, the more likely it is to be of good help to some sickness.

Third is the principle of single remedy. This suggests that even if one disease offers numerous symptoms, there must be a source which could define what can be used in treatment and what can do nothing against the disease. This roots in the identification of the real culprit, after which all other symptoms could share with the treatment of the source.

You may find these principles in other forms of medicine as well. However, the emphasis given to them in this area is significantly broader and more focused.

Like with other fields, homeopathy has its own pros and cons. It is just a matter of mastering the art of curing using similar sensations and in choosing what could best apply on the needs as specified by the symptoms. But unlike others, the methods used and the procedures are less extensive and therefore, less risky.