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Question: I have just
read an article in the Gazette that stated
homeopathic remedies are
useless and are only marketed for profit.
What do you think?
J.P.
Answer:
Imagine a
medicine that is completely nontoxic, has no side effects, is
individualized
for you, and can work on your mental, emotional,
as well as physical well-being to
bring about health. This is
often a difficult concept for the conventionally trained
physician, especially those without any direct experience with
homeopathy.
Discovered
about 200 years ago by German physician Samuel Hahnemann,
homeopathy is enjoying ever increasing popularity as a choice of
healthcare for
millions of people around the world. In fact,
the leading prescription cold medicine in Germany is a
homeopathic medicine. Let’s look at a portion of it’s history.
One night
Dr. Hahnemann experimented with the herb cinchona; a potent herb
that contains quinine to cure malaria. Shortly after ingesting
the herb, Dr. Hahnemann developed symptoms of malaria. He
wondered why a medicine that cures malaria
in a sick person can
also give a healthy person symptoms of the disease. He
remembered the old medical saying of “like cures like,” took a
more diluted version
of the same herb and his symptoms
disappeared. And a new system of medicine
was born which he
termed Homeopathy (homeo means “similar,” pathos means
“suffering”).
Hahnemann
spent the rest of his life studying and developing new
“remedies” from substances he derived from plants, animals, and
minerals. He would take a drop of
the original dilution, add it
to a certain amount of water or alcohol and shake it
vigorously
(“succussion”). This process was repeated several times until
none of t
he original substance was traceable. It is believed
that the essence of the material is transferred into the
dilution with each succession and gains strength with each
subsequent dilution/succession combination.
Today, over
3,000 remedies exist, ranging from honey bee and cobra to pansy
and
club moss. To illustrate how homeopathy works, let’s take
an acute case of hay
fever. The person may complain of a runny
nose with a clear discharge and itchy,
teary eyes. A homeopath
may prescribe Allium cepa (common onion) because
cutting an
onion produces similar symptoms. Acute prescribing differs from
constitutional prescribing by how much of a person’s character
and individuality is
taken into account. Illnesses such as
depression, attention deficit disorder, asthma,
or ulcerative
colitis require a skilled homeopath that matches a remedy to a
person
on all levels, not just focusing on physical symptoms.
The concept
of homeopathy is not unlike vaccines where the immune system is
launching its defense against the injected non-viable viral
particles. Homeopathy, however, does not contain any directly
immune stimulating properties but works by promoting the body’s
innate healing force on an entirely different level.
As we enter
the 21st century, we will see many changes in our
lives. This includes being prepared to look at medicine in a
different light.
Yellowstone
Naturopathic Clinic
720 North 30 Street
Beautiful downtown Billings, Montana
Yellowstone Naturopathic Clinic
720 N. 30th St.
Billings, MT 59101
PHONE 406·259·5096/FAX 406·248·5655
ync@180com.net
Dispensary
406·254·9682
dispensary@yncnaturally.com
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