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Homeopathy - What is it?
by Dr. R. Donald Papon

http://www.articlefidylindex.com/Health/Homeopathy.htm

Homeopathy is a system of energy healing using minute amounts of
safe, non-toxic, natural substances derived from the vegetable,
animal, and mineral kingdoms, dispensed according to the "Law of
Similars"-an age-old principle that recognizes the body's ability to
heal itself.

The word "homeopathy" is derived from the Greek, and simply means
"like suffering". Hence, a homeopath treats like with like. Who
hasn't heard of the idea of using "The hair of the dog that bit you?"
Or has not been vaccinated?

When the founder of homeopathy, Christian Samuel Hahnemann
(1755-1843) died, there were only about 100 remedies in use. Today's
homeopathy has about 2,000 to choose from-using your spiritual,
mental, and physical symptoms as a guide. Thus, homeopathy is truly
"holistic" in its approach, and, in fact, was the very first holistic
therapy to be used and recognized worldwide.

Following the "law of similars," substances which create disease in a
healthy person, will - in minute amounts - cure disease in an ill
person. For example, a homeopath will use minute amounts of poison
ivy, Rhus tox, to help cure poison ivy's effects.

If homeopathy works,
why haven't I heard of it?
Homeopathic principles go back to the time of Hippocrates and the
ancient Greeks, but it was only 200 years ago that a German linguist
and physician, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, put the principles into
practice.

Bothered by the all-too-often accepted habit of using drugs in great
excess (sounds familiar, doesn't it?), Hahnemann tested minute
amounts of various substances on himself and his students, and
demonstrated that the law of similars, discussed by Hippocrates, was
indeed a reality.

He began by treating people with these natural substances, and by
1820 homeopathy had spread through all of Europe. In 1900, about
20-25 percent of all doctors in the United States were homeopaths.
Chicago was the world center of homeopathy. There were twenty-two
homeopathic medical schools and over one hundred homeopathic
hospitals.

A few famous people who endorsed homeopathy were William James,
Daniel Webster, John D. Rockefeller, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa
May Alcott, and William Cullen Bryant.

However, because of various political, economic, and social changes,
homeopathy lost its stature in the United States, although it is
still practiced widely in Brazil, Mexico, India, Germany, France, and
Great Britain.

In France, for instance, there are five homeopathic physicians for
each allopathic (regular) physician, and homeopathy is beyond a doubt
the system of choice for the entire nation.

Similarly, in the United Kingdom, the English Royal Family has
personally used and endorsed homeopathy for three generations. Her
Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, is the Royal Patron of the
British Homeopathic Association. Her daughter, Queen Elizabeth, is
said to never travel without her personal homeopathic first-aid kit
by her side.

Addressing a dinner of the British Medical Association on January 8,
1985, Prince Charles jolted those assembled by saying: "I would
suggest that the whole imposing edifice of modern medicine, for all
its breathtaking successes, is like the celebrated Tower of Pisa . .
. slightly off balance. It is frightening how dependent on drugs we
are all becoming, and how easy it is for doctors to prescribe them as
the universal panacea for our ills."

Recent surveys of more than 1,000 British practitioners conducted by
the Institute for Complementary Medicine found the number of patients
turning to alternative therapies growing at the rate of 15 percent
per annum, with a 39 percent increase in those consulting homeopaths.

In 1977, more than 86,000 persons had attended outpatient departments
of the six homeopathic hospitals under the U.K. National Health
Service. Now, some twenty years later, who can guess at the number
receiving homeopathic treatment from both physicians and lay
practitioners?

Although in the United States homeopathy has never since repeated the
widespread popularity it had at the turn of the century, a surprising
report in 1992 noted that some 15 percent of Americans visit
alternative therapists for which they pay more out-of-pocket expenses
than they do to conventional, primary care givers.

In 1995, this category grew by 19 percent with an estimated 1 percent
of the population using homeopathy!

How does homeopathy view illness?
A homeopath looks at people as people, rather than diseases, and uses
remedies that bolster the whole person rather than just treat
symptoms.

Hence, to determine the correct remedy or remedies, your homeopath
will ask very specific questions about all aspects of your life, as
well as the illness patterns of your parents and grandparents.

For instance, if you have the flu your homeopath will need to know
the time of day you felt better or worse, your appetite or thirst,
your general mood, and how you are sleeping. This is because, unlike
orthodox drug treatment, in homeopathy there are 30 to 40 remedies
one may think of when you say "I have the flu!"

In other words, you are always treated as a person first . . . and
your particular illness, second.

Isn't this really the way you always wanted to be treated? The key to
correct homeopathic treatment is the practitioner's knowledge of the
various remedies and your ability to relate the specifics of your
disease.

Can you benefit from homeopathy?
Absolutely, yes! Homeopathic treatment is for people of all ages.
Since it is a system which strengthens your natural immune system, it
is useful for those healthy or ill, for both prevention and cure.

Since it raises and enhances the immune system, it has recently
become the target of great interest in the light of AIDS (Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

Bottom line, homeopathic remedies always heal quickly, safely, and
without troublesome and dangerous side effects and actually taste
good! For this reason they are of inestimable value in treating
children often frightened by medicine.

How do "remedies" and "drugs" differ in homeopathy?
While any substance may be used homeopathically, remedies for the
most part are all derived from natural substances, broken down into
minute quantities to stimulate the natural defenses of the body. They
do not cover up or stifle fidyl a symptom. While chronic disease may
take time to correct, generally patients feel better soon after
initial treatment has begun. Once the patient's own defenses are
properly stimulated, health will begin to return. Hence, homeopathic
remedies are perfectly safe to take.

Unlike allopathic drugs-administered with the intent to destroy a
specific disease organism, and which may also destroy beneficial
bacteria and create harmful side effects-homeopathic remedies neither
cover up nor destroy disease by themselves. They simply stimulate the
body's reaction to throw off the offender, and never create side
effects as they work with rather than against the immune system.

How does homeopathy tie into holistic treatment?
Homeopathic treatment is an essential part of holistic therapy and
lifestyle, since it recognizes the important mind, body, and spirit
connection. It is totally compatible with nutritional
supplements-both oral and intravenous-chiropractic, acupuncture,
exercise, yoga, and other "drugless" modalities.

About The Author

R. Donald Papon, B.A., D.Sc., D. Hom., has dedicated much of his
adult life to teaching holistic living incorporating mind, body, and
spirit. He received his graduate degrees in holistic health,
nutrition, and his Doctor of Homeopathic Medicine from the Institutum
Internationale Homeopathie in Mexico in 1983. He has served as an
adjunct lecturer at the New School, Hunter College, and Brooklyn
College and as a consulting homeopath, with private practices in New
York and Florida, for almost two decades. This article is excerpted
with permission from "Homeopathy Made Simple"., published by Hampton
Roads Publishing Company, http://www.hrpub.com

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