Homeopathy is a flexible system of medicine that can be used by lay people and medical professionals alike. In fact, its flexibility is one of the basic concepts peculiar to homeopathy medicine. To the practicing homeopathist treating illness, no two cases will be treated the same. For example, in orthodox medicine, several people suffering from stomach flu would receive the same diagnosis and the same type of treatment even though they do no necessarily have exactly the same symptoms nor react in the same way. In homeopathy, the remedy is chosen to match the symptoms as closely as possible, plus each individual's unique set emotional and physical traits are taken into consideration.
The homeopathist is looking to match each individual's unique vibrational pattern to a remedy, usually plant-based, that can rebalance their normal healthy vibrational pattern before they became ill. Herein lies the power of a simple homeopathically prepared plant medicine.
The basic principle of homeopathy, ''like cures like,'' has been known since ancient times by doctors such as Hippocrates of ancient Greece, and sages who developed Ayurvedic medicine in India over 5,000 years ago. Modern day homeopathy is based on the work of an 18th century German-born physician, Samuel Hahnemann. Disheartened by the medicine of his day -- such as bloodletting and purges -- Hahnemann began experimenting with this simple idea after his daughter fell ill. As she began to regain her health from a seemingly fatal condition with these simple remedies, his reputation for his ability to help the sick and lame spread far and wide, despite being shunned by his colleagues -- his methods rejected as quackery.
Hahnemann's reputation was exonerated during an outbreak of cholera in central Europe in 1831 by using the remedy camphor with a great deal of success. He also advised that those with the disease should be quarantined to prevent its spread. Outraged at first with the idea of quarantine, his theory proved to be successful in limiting the spread of disease. Again, he proved himself to be ahead of his time.
Homeopathic remedies are very weak dilutions of naturally occurring substances that help restore the body's vital or vibrational force by strengthening its natural immunity. The concept of the vital force is also recognized in orthodox medicine as the body's own healing power.
Homeopathic remedies are many times compared to vaccinations. The concepts are similar, yet homeopathic remedies are much more dilute and have absolutely no side effects. As yet, no theory has been put forward to convincingly explain to traditional medicine just how the remedies work on the body. This is largely due to the limitation of medical science at the present time, and doubtless in the future the phenomenon of the homeopathic remedy will be fully understood.
Till next time, Rebecca.