Homeopathy

Homeopathy is a system of medicine that treats the individual using highly diluted substances that trigger the body's natural healing mechanisms.

Hmmm! Rather a long definition! Hopefully the following will clarify ...

System of medicine

A system of medicine is a set of guiding principles, beliefs and theories upon which the treatment of ill health is based. Homeopathy is one system of medicine.

The system of medicine practised by your GP and other NHS practitioners is called Allopathy. Other systems of medicine include Naturopathy, Herbal Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Treats the individual

It's perhaps quite natural, when you are suffering from some sort of illness or disease, to think that your experience of it is the same as anyone else's. So, if you tend to get migraines, or hay fever or depression, say, you might expect that someone else who has the same thing as you gets the same symptoms.

In actual fact, your symptoms are likely to be quite different to those of even ten other people who have the same problem. Take migraine, for example, we would want to know where on your head, precisely, do you feel the pain (top, temples, one side, back, etc); what is the pain like (aching, shooting, throbbing, dull, etc); do you get anything with the pain (nausea, dizziness, visual disturbance, etc) and so on. And we want to know this because you are a unique individual and your symptoms of illness will be unique to you.

And because you are a unique individual, you will need a medicine that is individually tailored to your needs.

Highly diluted substances

If you tried to wash up using neat washing up liquid you wouldn't get very far! Squeeze a small amount into a bowl of hot water and swish it around, however, and you have a very effective means of washing the dishes.

Dr Samuel Hahnemann, who, in the late 1790's, developed homeopathy as a system of medicine, discovered that diluting substances does two things. Firstly, dilution removes the toxic or poisonous elements from the substance - making homeopathic remedies extremely safe and free from harmful side effects. Secondly, he discovered that the more dilute the substance becomes, the more effective it is as a medicine.

Natural healing mechanisms

Your body is a self-healing organism. If you cut your finger, for example, you would simply wash it, maybe put a plaster on it and leave it to heal itself. Sometimes, for damage or illness more serious than a cut finger, the body needs a trigger to help it self-heal and this is what homeopathic medicines do.

Taking Homeopathic Medicines

Homeopathic medicines are called remedies. You may be given a remedy in pill form (a small white sugar pill) or liquid form. If you are given pills, handle them as little as possible, drop the pill under your tongue and leave it to dissolve. Liquid remedies should be dropped under the tongue. However your remedies are prescribed, instructions will be provided for you on how to take them.

Other Medicines

When appropriate, herbal tinctures or flower essences may also be prescribed. Both of these come in liquid form. Herbal tinctures may be taken in water or juice. Flower essences may be dropped directly under the tongue or taken in water.

Conventional Medicine

It is safe to take homeopathic remedies alongside conventional medicine. It is not always safe to take herbal tinctures alongside conventional medicine because herbal tinctures are not diluted and may interact with your prescribed drugs. It is therefore essential that you inform your homeopath of all prescription drugs that you are taking. If you are taking prescription drugs you are recommended to inform the prescriber (your GP or Consultant) that you are taking homeopathic remedies.