What is Homeopathy?

Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), a German physician, is credited with initiating a system of healing we now call homeopathy. Taken from the Greek homoios meaning similar, and pathos, meaning suffering, homeopathy is based on the principle that ‘like cures like.’

Homeopathy has its roots in the ancient practice of potentizing medicines to enliven them. It also treats illness with remedies capable of producing similar symptoms in healthy individuals when given in massive doses, a principle called proving.


How do homeopathic and ordinary medicines compare?

Ordinary medicines either attempt to 1) destroy the microbes associated with a disease or 2) surpress the symptoms of that disease. To accomplish this requires strong drugs that can attack the body, creating unpleasant and even dangerous side effects. Homeopathy teaches us that the symptoms of a disease represent the body’s attempt to heal itself. By administering minute amounts of a medicine that produces the same symptoms as the disease, homeopathic doctors reinforce the healing process. Homeopathy works with the body, not against it.

How safe are homeopathic medicines?

Homepathic medicines are remarkably free from side effects. They are among the safest preparations known to medical science. Prepared from natural sources, 80 percent are botanical in origin, e.g., Arnica montana (Mountain Arnica, Hydrastis candadensis (Goldenseal), and Thuja (Black Walnut). Others come from mineralks or mineral ores, e.g., Sulphur or Kali Bichromicum (Potassium dichromate). Still others are provided by animals, e.g., Apis mellifica (Honey Bee). Since only tiny amounts stimulate the body’s natural defense system, the medicines are administered in the smallest possible dose.

Are there differences among types of medicines?

There are medicines referred to as single or as combination remedies. A single remedy contains only one medicine. When given to a healthy person, it produces its own unique set of symptoms. Allium cepa (Onion), for example, given to a healthy person, causes eyes to water and noses to run. For someone who is ill, the closer the match between the symptoms of the illness and the symptoms the remedy produces, the better.

A combination remedy combines two or more homeopathic medicines. They are general in their approach, aimed at a disease such as colds or flu, rather than at a unique set of symptoms.