Homeopathy

Homeopathy is based on the theory that the cause of an illness is similar to its cure. Thus, treatment involves giving a small amount of a very diluted natural substance that, if taken in larger doses, would cause the same symptoms as the ailment itself.

Origins

Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician, evolved the principles of homeopathy early in the 19th century, after abandoning what he considered to be the crude practices of his colleagues. He became especially interested in references to "similars" by Paracelsus, a 16th-century Swiss physician and alchemist who had concluded that the same substances which cause illness in large amounts will cure it in small doses. After conducting experiments, Hahnemann announced his findings in 1810, and a list of "proven" remedies appeared in 1821. Hahnemann's principles of homeopathy state that:

• Substances that produce symptoms similar or identical to those experienced by the patient will produce the cure; in other words, "like cures like."
• Only one medicine is given at a time.
• The least possible amount of the curative substance is the most effective for relieving symptoms.
• The patients positive attitude is an essential factor in the success of the healing process.

Homeopathic practice became the rage in Europe and the United States and, in 1844, the American Institute of Homeopathy was established by a group of distinguished doctors. When the American Medical Association was founded a few years later, it took a hostile position against its predecessor. In a short time, homeopathy declined in the United States, but it never went out of style in Europe. Homeopathic pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics abound throughout Europe today, and the services are covered by most national health insurance plans. In this country, homeopathy is enjoying a revival, because its adherents consider it a natural approach and its treatments do not cause the side effects of many of the drugs used in conventional medicine.

Practitioners

In three states -- Arizona, Nevada, and Connecticut -- practitioners of homeopathy must be licensed, and in Connecticut they must also receive board certification. Elsewhere in the United States, health providers already licensed in their own specialty are not required to have a specific license in homeopathy. Thus, some acupuncturists, naturopaths, herbalists, and M.D.s also refer to themselves as homeopaths.

When Is Homeopath Used

Homeopaths claim to treat virtually all conditions, but most concede that their methods work best against chronic disorders such as headaches, allergies, intestinal diseases, and asthma. Remedies are often prescribed as an adjunct to other alternative procedures, such as acupuncture and chiropractic. Most homeopaths recommend that conventional medicine also be used for injuries, infections, and cancer and other serious diseases. In these cases, homeopathy is considered an adjunct to enhance the efficacy of conventional medicine.

How Homeopathy Works

Even the most enthusiastic proponents of homeopathy are not sure exactly how it works. Practitioners believe that symptoms are an expression of the body's attempt to heal itself. Therefore, they seek the substance that produces in healthy people the symptoms experienced in the illness.

Homeopathic medicines are prepared by a series of dilutions. An extract is mixed with 100 times as much water or water and alcohol, shaken energetically, then diluted again. Shaking between each dilution is essential; substances that are diluted without the shaking do not work. This process is repeated until it is impossible to discover any trace of the original extract. Practitioners claim that the more diluted the remedy, the more effective it will be. They ascribe its effectiveness to the transmission of "vital energy" that resonates within the patients body. Some assume that confidence in the heater can also improve the patients condition.

What to Expect

In the first encounter, a practitioner will ask many questions and conduct a physical examination. A single remedy is then selected. (Even if this treatment does not produce a cure, it is not likely to do any harm because it is so diluted.) If the wrong remedy is chosen, it is said to have missed the ailment's "center of gravity," and a different one will be tried. The correct remedy may worsen symptoms initially, indicating that the body's defenses are rallying to produce a cure.