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What is Homeopathy ?
Definition :
Homeopathy is system of medicine which is based on natural laws
which have always existed but which were only discovered,
understood and applied therapeutically some 200 years ago.
'Similia similibus curentur' is the Latin phrase which was then
chosen to describe the 'law of similars' which underpins homeopathy's
application - put simply it means 'like cures like'.
The way of similars, the homeopathic way, is to give the suffering patient
who has a set a of particular symptoms which characterise their condition,
a minute dose of a substance which in large doses causes similar symptoms
of an artificially inflicted disturbance in a healthy person.
e.g. homeopathically prepared doses of onion (allium cepa) will treat
certain cases of hay fever where the symptoms match those of someone
suffering the effects of inhaling the fumes of a fresh chopped onion,
homeopathically prepared coffee (coffea tosta) is used to treat certain
types of sleeplessness which resemble the sleeplessness caused by drinking
coffee.
The symptom expression of each remedy is discovered primarily through a
standard procedure called a 'proving' where a substance is tested on a
group of healthy volunteers for its effects and the symptoms recorded
and compared to produce the information which defines that particular
remedy. Each homeopathic medicine has its unique symptom expression
recorded in the homeopathic 'materia medica'.
History and evolution
Following its discovery 200 years ago by Samuel Hahnemann a German doctor,
the practice of homeopathy spread rapidly throughout the world and has been
practised in many countries ever since. During the 20th century the advent
of much of the new pharmacy and surgical techniques of modern conventional
medicine led to a temporary decline in homeopathy's popularity in many
countries. Now it is once again rapidly regaining popularity around the
world as an alternative option to conventional medicine for the treatment
of many conditions which conventional medicine only has limited effect in.
Homeopathy is also useful at times as a complementary therapy when the
effects of conventional treatment can be supported or mitigated as the
case may be.
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