| WHAT IS HOMEOPATHY? |
| ESSENTIAL PROCESS, INC. Noreen Ziegler, DVM, CNC |
By Susan Gayle Wynn, DVM
Homeopathy is a system of medical treatment brought to light almost 200
years ago by a German physician named Samuel Hahnemann. The basic
tenets of homeopathy, however, have been in use since ancient times and
are best summarized by the basic homeopathic law of similars: "like cures
like." Hahnemann was revolted by the medical treatments of the day, including
arsenic and mercury treatments and bloodletting, and did not believe the
prevailing theory that quinine cured malaria because it was a bitter substance,
since other bitter substances had no effect on the disease. In his first
experiments, he discovered that quinine actually caused signs of malaria in
higher than therapeutic doses. He developed the theory of "similibus similia
curentur," which states that like cures like, and over the next six years set out
to test this hypothesis using other substances to "cause disease." Then he
used the diluted, potentised substance to treat people with symptoms that
matched the "symptom picture" of the drug. He published his findings in 1796,
and the science of homeopathy has grown into world wide use since that time.
His system of treatment, as it stands today, utilizes very low doses of
substances to resolve syndromes which they might actually cause, in higher
doses. A very simple example is in the use of homeopathic ipecac to treat
(yes, treat!) vomiting.
Homeopathic "remedies", as they are called, are prepared in a very specific
manner. The original substance is usually from a natural source, such as
plants or minerals, and is progressively diluted and potentized by violent
shaking at each step, until the final remedy often theoretically contains none
of the original substance! Theories for the mechanism of action include some
form of electromagnetic "memory" on the water used to dilute the substance.
Homeopathic researchers have discussed everything from fractal geometrics
involving molecules of water and magnetite, to stress responses to the
remedy, where heat shock proteins are used as an example. Although
homeopathic research is in its infancy regarding mechanism of action, clinical
trials have indicated that the remedies do work, despite the fact that the
mechanism is unclear.
Because homeopathy seems to work at the subatomic and, potentially,
molecular genetic levels, rather than the pharmacologic level, the methods for
diagnosing and treating disease are entirely foreign to traditional medical
thought. Homeopaths view disease as a manifestation of a disturbance in the
"vital force," and symptoms of the disease are absolutely unique to each
patient. For instance, 2 dogs with parvoviral enteritis may look a little different
initially one may have started with vomiting and increasing depression, while
the other broke with hemorrhagic diarrhea. The homeopath views these
different manifestations as individual differences in the state of the patients'
vital force; therefore, they would receive different prescriptions. Homeopathy
is said to treat the patient, not the disease. Since the remedies work to assist
the vital force in healing the body, one Indian homeopath described the
system as "teaching the body to heal itself". There are between one and two
thousand homeopathic remedies from which to choose when a prescription is
made, and the trained homeopath must be familiar with them to find the one
that best matches a patient's symptoms. This is the reason that the initial visit
for the first-time patient may take some time, and why a homeopathic
consultation may be expensive. A homeopath may spend hours on one animal
after the patient has left the hospital!
Homeopathic remedies are very inexpensive and virtually free of side effects.
The biggest advantage of homeopathic treatment, though, is that the
remedies stimulate the vital force; in other words, treating a disease actually
increases the health of the animal and increases the capacity of the body to
fight insults to health. In conventional medicine, the medications often
suppress signs of the disease without actually ridding the body of the
susceptibility that caused the problem in the first place. Perhaps this is one of
the reasons for the increasing popularity of homeopathy.
Homeopathy is a well accepted and popular form of therapy in most parts of
the world, for all species. (Queen Elizabeth's family physician is a homeopath,
and she allows her horses to be treated solely by homeopathy). People are
beginning to look for nontoxic, tonifying medications because they have seen
the failure of conventional medicine in treating chronic, crippling diseases
such as allergies, migraines, back pain, and depression. In using
homeopathic and other holistic treatment options in addition to any required
conventional therapies for a sick pet, you are providing additional,
complementary aids that will help an animal become strong again.
Homeopathy is a system of medical treatment brought to light almost 200
years ago by a German physician named Samuel Hahnemann. The basic
tenets of homeopathy, however, have been in use since ancient times and
are best summarized by the basic homeopathic law of similars: "like cures
like." Hahnemann was revolted by the medical treatments of the day, including
arsenic and mercury treatments and bloodletting, and did not believe the
prevailing theory that quinine cured malaria because it was a bitter substance,
since other bitter substances had no effect on the disease. In his first
experiments, he discovered that quinine actually caused signs of malaria in
higher than therapeutic doses. He developed the theory of "similibus similia
curentur," which states that like cures like, and over the next six years set out
to test this hypothesis using other substances to "cause disease." Then he
used the diluted, potentised substance to treat people with symptoms that
matched the "symptom picture" of the drug. He published his findings in 1796,
and the science of homeopathy has grown into world wide use since that time.
His system of treatment, as it stands today, utilizes very low doses of
substances to resolve syndromes which they might actually cause, in higher
doses. A very simple example is in the use of homeopathic ipecac to treat
(yes, treat!) vomiting.
Homeopathic "remedies", as they are called, are prepared in a very specific
manner. The original substance is usually from a natural source, such as
plants or minerals, and is progressively diluted and potentized by violent
shaking at each step, until the final remedy often theoretically contains none
of the original substance! Theories for the mechanism of action include some
form of electromagnetic "memory" on the water used to dilute the substance.
Homeopathic researchers have discussed everything from fractal geometrics
involving molecules of water and magnetite, to stress responses to the
remedy, where heat shock proteins are used as an example. Although
homeopathic research is in its infancy regarding mechanism of action, clinical
trials have indicated that the remedies do work, despite the fact that the
mechanism is unclear.
Because homeopathy seems to work at the subatomic and, potentially,
molecular genetic levels, rather than the pharmacologic level, the methods for
diagnosing and treating disease are entirely foreign to traditional medical
thought. Homeopaths view disease as a manifestation of a disturbance in the
"vital force," and symptoms of the disease are absolutely unique to each
patient. For instance, 2 dogs with parvoviral enteritis may look a little different
initially one may have started with vomiting and increasing depression, while
the other broke with hemorrhagic diarrhea. The homeopath views these
different manifestations as individual differences in the state of the patients'
vital force; therefore, they would receive different prescriptions. Homeopathy
is said to treat the patient, not the disease. Since the remedies work to assist
the vital force in healing the body, one Indian homeopath described the
system as "teaching the body to heal itself". There are between one and two
thousand homeopathic remedies from which to choose when a prescription is
made, and the trained homeopath must be familiar with them to find the one
that best matches a patient's symptoms. This is the reason that the initial visit
for the first-time patient may take some time, and why a homeopathic
consultation may be expensive. A homeopath may spend hours on one animal
after the patient has left the hospital!
Homeopathic remedies are very inexpensive and virtually free of side effects.
The biggest advantage of homeopathic treatment, though, is that the
remedies stimulate the vital force; in other words, treating a disease actually
increases the health of the animal and increases the capacity of the body to
fight insults to health. In conventional medicine, the medications often
suppress signs of the disease without actually ridding the body of the
susceptibility that caused the problem in the first place. Perhaps this is one of
the reasons for the increasing popularity of homeopathy.
Homeopathy is a well accepted and popular form of therapy in most parts of
the world, for all species. (Queen Elizabeth's family physician is a homeopath,
and she allows her horses to be treated solely by homeopathy). People are
beginning to look for nontoxic, tonifying medications because they have seen
the failure of conventional medicine in treating chronic, crippling diseases
such as allergies, migraines, back pain, and depression. In using
homeopathic and other holistic treatment options in addition to any required
conventional therapies for a sick pet, you are providing additional,
complementary aids that will help an animal become strong again.
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