Homeopathy
Dr. Irvinder Tinna, ND, AC, BSc. Acupuncturist and Homeopathy

What Is Homeopathy And How Does It Work?

Homeopathy has been used worldwide for over 200 years. Homeopathy is a holistic system of medicine because it treats the whole person. This means that all of you, your physical symptoms, and your emotional and mental make-up, are recognized as being important and connected, not separate. It is you, as a person, who is treated, rather than a disease. Homeopathy views a sick person as having a dynamic disturbance of the vital force; a disturbance which, homeopaths claim, underlies standard medical diagnoses of named diseases like colitis, allergies, hypertension etc.

It works by stimulating the body's own natural healing ability and aims to bring one’s health to its optimal level.

In 1796, predating the explosion of pharmaceutical medicine, a German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann, discovered an approach to restoring health, which he called Homeopathy. This is a Greek word meaning “similar suffering”. Hahnemann expressed, “simila similibus curntur” meaning “law of similars”, or, “like cures like.” It works on the principle of a similar medicine, where a substance that can cause certain symptoms can also be used to cure them. For example, a cold with symptoms of burning eyes and a runny nose could be helped by a remedy (homeopathic medicine) made from onion (allium cepa), as this substance can cause very similar symptoms. However, someone with a cold with slightly different symptoms will be treated with a different remedy, as the remedy has to be individually chosen.

Unlike conventional (allopathic) medicine, which tends to suppress symptoms rather than cure them, homeopathic remedies support healing on a deep level. Remedies are prescribed for the whole person and not only for a particular condition or disease.

This principle also explains why six people with arthritis are each likely to be prescribed a different remedy - their arthritic symptoms will be different as will their overall state of health and the way they cope with and experience life.

Remedies are made from mostly natural substances like herbs, roots, leaves, minerals, animal products, and other materials. They are prepared in a very special method of according to the law of similars, or the principle that a substance causing certain symptoms in healthy people can cure those same symptoms in an ill person. This leads to an individualized remedy designed to optimize health and to stimulate the organism to regain its balance. They are safe for everyone, and can be taken in conjunction with allopathic (conventional) medicines if necessary.

Homeopathy can be helpful in a wide range of conditions, from acute illness like colds, flu and minor injuries, to chronic conditions such as allergies, asthma, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, ADD, arthritis, autoimmune conditions, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, cancer and many others. It is safe and effective for people of all ages, from infants to the elderly. Children are especially responsive to the effects of homeopathic medicine. Once the right remedy is chosen for a person, its action will be effective for several months. The original remedy may be repeated some months later or a new presentation may determine a change of remedies. Each individual is unique, but the objective is to work backwards through the history of the person, like an archeological excavation, lifting off the burdens of history, to reveal the full health of the vital force, bringing back the native vitality of the person.