Holistic Pet Health - Homeopathy, page 1

A Homeopathic Primer

This expertly written article on Homeopathy was written by Larry A. Bernstein, VMD. It is the best introduction about this remarkable healing method I have had the pleasure to read. Anything I would write myself would not be near as clear and educational as this. Thank you Dr. Bernstein for allowing me to reproduce your article here!

This paper is � copyrighted and may only be used for information
purposes. It is the sole property of the author and any commercial
use or reproduction without written permission is prohibited.

Larry A. Bernstein, VMD
Natural Holistic Pet Care
North Miami Beach, Florida
www.naturalholistic.com

A description of Homeopathy and its basics is not an easy thing to do in a few words and do it well so please keep an open mind and realize that an entire discipline cannot be distilled down to a few pages.

It is important to get a brief historical and philosophical perspective from which to begin. There is a historical basis for homeopathy that dates back to the ancient Greeks and an excellent discussion of this can be found in Thorson's Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Homeopathy by Harald Gaier.

For our purposes we will jump to the late 1700's and the teachings of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843). He is considered the modern founderof homeopathy and was a physician who studied in Austria. He became more and more distressed and disillusioned over the barbaric medical practices of the time. Please remember that this was a time when it was common to use things as bloodletting, oral heavy metals like mercury, poisons like arsenic and violent purgatives. The venereal diseases of Syphilis and Gonorrhea were also rampant in Europe.

Hahnemann began to look for a gentler, more natural method of curing the patient and came to realize that symptoms are merely an expression of the underlying disease and not the disease itself. He wanted a wayof stimulating the body to heal itself. We will go into this in more detail later. He wrote what is still the definitive work on homeopathy,the Organon of Medicine in 1810. He then added five more editions, volumes of cases, lesser writings, practiced and taught until his death. His students expanded his work and carried on his teaching. That is why names like Herring, Boenninghausen and Kent are synonymous with homeopathy.

The basic principle of homeopathy is called the Law of Similars, that "like cures like". It means that a substance that can cause symptoms of disease at normal doses can stimulate the body to FIGHT those same symptoms at homeopathic doses. The other important thing to remember is that all the symptoms a patient exhibits are a reflection of an imbalance in that patient's inner force. It is all one picture! Classical homeopathy calls this inner force the VITAL FORCE and we will use that term. Understanding these concepts is a major step in understanding homeopathy and holistic healing in general.

This vital force is responsible for maintaining the body's state of health and balance. It is constantly assaulted. Some examples of things that can wreak havoc on the body are; poor nutrition, toxins, vaccines,allopathic medications, pollution, radiation and of course, emotion upheaval or constant stress. The vital force tries to protect the body and the signs of this battleground are SYMPTOMS. These symptoms can bee expressed at many different levels levels. It may be only a skin rash or it might go deeper and present as asthma , arthritis or chronic intestinal problems. As the disease moves to a deeper level and the vital force must concede more territory in its battle for optimal health, these symptoms move into the mental and emotional plane and can exhibit as emotional imbalances like inappropriate fears, aggression, compulsion or even dementia. As time goes on and the process goes unchecked, the vital force is weakened by both the chronic disease and the suppression of more superficial symptoms. As it weakens, it must express itself on a more core level and may even progress to cancer.

It is crucial to remember that every one of the symptoms is an expression of the imbalance of the vital force as it tries to compensate for the underlying chronic disease state. Dr. Herring taught us that the body heals from the inside out and the top down. This means that a tumor or abscess on an internal organ is more severe that a rash on the skin since one is exterior and one is interior. If the vital force does not have the energy to express itself on the exterior it resorts to an interior symptom (and this is usually more serious) to handle the imbalance. The usual progression of chronic disease is from outside to inside. This is an important concept to understand the effects of suppressing a symptom. The vital force uses these as safety valves and tries to put the problem where it will do the least damage. That is why the skin is considered so superficial. Usually skin problems are uncomfortable but one does not usually die from them. As we tell the vital force that these skin symptoms are not allowed by suppressing them with steroids and antibiotics, the vital force still must try to isolate the imbalance and it finds a new, moreinterior way of doing this. Perhaps the patient now starts with incontinence or prostate problems or asthma or arthritis. Now we suppress this reaction and the vital force may move deeper to find relief. The patient may start with strange behavior or become unpredictable or violent.

The depth, number and strength of the symptoms is directly related to strength of the vital force. A strong vital force may show very strong symptoms on a surface level. The vibrant puppy that receives a vaccination and immediately breaks with a skin rash and fever is an example of a strong vital force. On the other hand, we see so many cases of animals presenting with advanced cancer and the guardian often states "He has always been perfectly healthy (no symptoms) and now he has cancer". The fact that he has had no symptoms would usually indicate a weak vital force that could not produce visible symptoms and everything happened under the surface.

Once you accept the premise that there is an all-pervasive underlying vital force then the next important term we need to understand is SUPPRESSION. We touched on this earlier.

In allopathic medicine a symptom is usually thought of as the patient'sreal disease and the goal is to hold back, decrease or eliminate this symptom. This is often done without addressing the underlying cause. If your tooth hurts and we inject a local anesthetic, the pain goes away but that does not mean the problem is gone! If we use medications to suppress these symptoms then the vital force tries to create new symptoms to compensate for the imbalance that is still there. If the vital force is strong then the original symptom may return. Otherwise, it may be unable to express on the same level and create a symptom that is more interior and could be much worse per Herring's Law of Cure.

This is such a critical topic that we will look at another example. Allopathic (conventional) medicine is symptom driven. Modern medicine feels, in most cases, that the elimination of the symptom is the same as elimination of the disease. If you get a skin rash, are given cortisone and the rash disappears, they have cured your "skin" disease. Later when you start having a kidney "infection", they treat you with antibiotics and cure your kidney disease. A year later you start getting chronic depression or fatigue they treat that with anti-depressants and cure it. Finally when you develop a serious heart ailment, they treat that as "heart disease".

Many things are suppressive. Vaccines and medications are a major source of suppression but herbs, acupuncture and incorrect homeopathic remedies can also be suppressive.

continued on next page

*******

DISCLAIMER: The information given on this site is not intended to diagnose any physical or mental condition, or to prescribe for any condition, nor is that my intent here. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice and treatment of a licensed professional.

In the event that you use the information for your own health, or for your animals, you are prescribing for yourself and/or your animals, which is your constitutional right and for which the author of this site assumes no responsibility.

The information found on this web site is for educational purposes only. Thank you.
Desiree Malouin, CCHT: Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Reiki Master/Teacher, Bach Flower Practitioner, Intuitive Healer and Shamanic practitioner.

To comment on this site or inquire about a Web Design, use the "Contact Info" button. We'd like to hear from you.

*******************

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� Copyright 2001 - 2004 Desiree Malouin. All information and graphics contained within this website are the property of Desiree Malouin unless stated otherwise and may NOT be used or reproduced in any way. All Rights Reserved.


				Homeopathy
				A Homeopathic Primer This expertly written article on Homeopathy was written by Larry A. Bernstein, VMD. It is the best introduction about this remarkable healing method I have had the pleasure to read. Anything I would write myself would not be near as clear and educational as this. Thank you Dr. Bernstein for allowing me to reproduce your article here! This paper is � copyrighted and may only be used for information purposes. It is the sole property of the author and any commercial use or reproduction without written permission is prohibited. Larry A. Bernstein, VMD Natural Holistic Pet Care North Miami Beach, Florida www.naturalholistic.com A description of Homeopathy and its basics is not an easy thing to do in a few words and do it well so please keep an open mind and realize that an entire discipline cannot be distilled down to a few pages. It is important to get a brief historical and philosophical perspective from which to begin. There is a historical basis for homeopathy that dates back to the ancient Greeks and an excellent discussion of this can be found in Thorson's Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Homeopathy by Harald Gaier. For our purposes we will jump to the late 1700's and the teachings of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843). He is considered the modern founderof homeopathy and was a physician who studied in Austria. He became more and more distressed and disillusioned over the barbaric medical practices of the time. Please remember that this was a time when it was common to use things as bloodletting, oral heavy metals like mercury, poisons like arsenic and violent purgatives. The venereal diseases of Syphilis and Gonorrhea were also rampant in Europe. Hahnemann began to look for a gentler, more natural method of curing the patient and came to realize that symptoms are merely an expression of the underlying disease and not the disease itself. He wanted a wayof stimulating the body to heal itself. We will go into this in more detail later. He wrote what is still the definitive work on homeopathy,the Organon of Medicine in 1810. He then added five more editions, volumes of cases, lesser writings, practiced and taught until his death. His students expanded his work and carried on his teaching. That is why names like Herring, Boenninghausen and Kent are synonymous with homeopathy. The basic principle of homeopathy is called the Law of Similars, that "like cures like". It means that a substance that can cause symptoms of disease at normal doses can stimulate the body to FIGHT those same symptoms at homeopathic doses. The other important thing to remember is that all the symptoms a patient exhibits are a reflection of an imbalance in that patient's inner force. It is all one picture! Classical homeopathy calls this inner force the VITAL FORCE and we will use that term. Understanding these concepts is a major step in understanding homeopathy and holistic healing in general. This vital force is responsible for maintaining the body's state of health and balance. It is constantly assaulted. Some examples of things that can wreak havoc on the body are; poor nutrition, toxins, vaccines,allopathic medications, pollution, radiation and of course, emotion upheaval or constant stress. The vital force tries to protect the body and the signs of this battleground are SYMPTOMS. These symptoms can bee expressed at many different levels levels. It may be only a skin rash or it might go deeper and present as asthma , arthritis or chronic intestinal problems. As the disease moves to a deeper level and the vital force must concede more territory in its battle for optimal health, these symptoms move into the mental and emotional plane and can exhibit as emotional imbalances like inappropriate fears, aggression, compulsion or even dementia. As time goes on and the process goes unchecked, the vital force is weakened by both the chronic disease and the suppression of more superficial symptoms. As it weakens, it must express itself on a more core level and may even progress to cancer. It is crucial to remember that every one of the symptoms is an expression of the imbalance of the vital force as it tries to compensate for the underlying chronic disease state. Dr. Herring taught us that the body heals from the inside out and the top down. This means that a tumor or abscess on an internal organ is more severe that a rash on the skin since one is exterior and one is interior. If the vital force does not have the energy to express itself on the exterior it resorts to an interior symptom (and this is usually more serious) to handle the imbalance. The usual progression of chronic disease is from outside to inside. This is an important concept to understand the effects of suppressing a symptom. The vital force uses these as safety valves and tries to put the problem where it will do the least damage. That is why the skin is considered so superficial. Usually skin problems are uncomfortable but one does not usually die from them. As we tell the vital force that these skin symptoms are not allowed by suppressing them with steroids and antibiotics, the vital force still must try to isolate the imbalance and it finds a new, moreinterior way of doing this. Perhaps the patient now starts with incontinence or prostate problems or asthma or arthritis. Now we suppress this reaction and the vital force may move deeper to find relief. The patient may start with strange behavior or become unpredictable or violent. The depth, number and strength of the symptoms is directly related to strength of the vital force. A strong vital force may show very strong symptoms on a surface level. The vibrant puppy that receives a vaccination and immediately breaks with a skin rash and fever is an example of a strong vital force. On the other hand, we see so many cases of animals presenting with advanced cancer and the guardian often states "He has always been perfectly healthy (no symptoms) and now he has cancer". The fact that he has had no symptoms would usually indicate a weak vital force that could not produce visible symptoms and everything happened under the surface. Once you accept the premise that there is an all-pervasive underlying vital force then the next important term we need to understand is SUPPRESSION. We touched on this earlier. In allopathic medicine a symptom is usually thought of as the patient'sreal disease and the goal is to hold back, decrease or eliminate this symptom. This is often done without addressing the underlying cause. If your tooth hurts and we inject a local anesthetic, the pain goes away but that does not mean the problem is gone! If we use medications to suppress these symptoms then the vital force tries to create new symptoms to compensate for the imbalance that is still there. If the vital force is strong then the original symptom may return. Otherwise, it may be unable to express on the same level and create a symptom that is more interior and could be much worse per Herring's Law of Cure. This is such a critical topic that we will look at another example. Allopathic (conventional) medicine is symptom driven. Modern medicine feels, in most cases, that the elimination of the symptom is the same as elimination of the disease. If you get a skin rash, are given cortisone and the rash disappears, they have cured your "skin" disease. Later when you start having a kidney "infection", they treat you with antibiotics and cure your kidney disease. A year later you start getting chronic depression or fatigue they treat that with anti-depressants and cure it. Finally when you develop a serious heart ailment, they treat that as "heart disease". Many things are suppressive. Vaccines and medications are a major source of suppression but herbs, acupuncture and incorrect homeopathic remedies can also be suppressive. continued on next page ***** DISCLAIMER: The information given on this site is not intended to diagnose any physical or mental condition, or to prescribe for any condition, nor is that my intent here. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice and treatment of a licensed professional. In the event that you use the information for your own health, or for your animals, you are prescribing for yourself and/or your animals, which is your constitutional right and for which the author of this site assumes no responsibility. The information found on this web site is for educational purposes only. Thank you. Desiree Malouin, CCHT: Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Reiki Master/Teacher, Bach Flower Practitioner, Intuitive Healer and Shamanic practitioner. To comment on this site or inquire about a Web Design, use the "Contact Info" button. We'd like to hear from you. Home \| About \| Pedigree \| Photo Gallery \| Library \| Links \| Site Awards \| Contact Us \| Sign Guestbook \| View Guestbook ***************** Website design and maintenance by For questions, comments, or to report a problem, click here. � Copyright 2001 - 2004 Desiree Malouin. All information and graphics contained within this website are the property of Desiree Malouin unless stated otherwise and may NOT be used or reproduced in any way. All Rights Reserved.
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