Homoeopathy is a comprehensive and scientific therapy, truly seen as the ‘medicine of the 21st century’. The foundation of this system was laid by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann in the 19th century. The interesting part is that Dr. Hahnemann himself was actually an Allopath! He practiced his profession for nine years, but had become totally disillusioned with the conventional medicine. The German physician then began experimenting on himself in the quest of understanding the healing mechanism of the body. He came to the conclusion that any imbalance in the body can be corrected by administering the harnessed power of the drug. On the basis of his work, he conceptualized the principle of this therapy-‘let likes cure likes’. Hypocrites, the father of medicine used a similar concept to treat people in ancient times. Dr. Hahnemann evolved and experimented with the same theory, and this is how the foundation of Homoeopathy was laid.
Homoeopathy is based on holistic models of medicine, which defines health as a perfect harmony between body, mind and spirit. It believes that an illness is not just related to the body, but the mind and spirit too. In case of an illness, our body voices out the imbalance in the form of symptoms. Today’s modern practitioners attend to these symptoms and treat the patient, but forget the fact that it is just not the disease that needs to be treated, but the whole individual. The seat of the disease may lie somewhere deep, so superficial treatment may just palliate the disease and not really cure.
Homoeopathy: The Pros
To prescribe a homoeopathic medicine, a physician has to know not only the dynamics of the disease but also should have an in-depth understanding of the patient’s nature, his lifestyle, emotions and habits. The homeopath aims at individualizing the patient. The remedy, which is prescribed, acts as a catalyst and stimulates the body’s own healing mechanism, to ward off the disease. This system stands out in the following ways:
Homoeopathic medicine is prepared from natural ingredients. It is not the chemical component of a drug, which is acting on a human body, but the curing quantum of the drug. So, these medicines are truly safe for pregnant women, infants and even the most delicate constitutions. Unlike the conventional system of medicine, which works by suppressing the immune system and killing the pathogens, Homoeopathy works in harmony with the immune system of the body.
Conventional systems sometimes fail to identify the cause of the disease even with their finest tools of diagnosis and are unable to offer adequate treatment. Whereas, Homoeopathy has treatment even for un-diagnosable diseases because medicines are not prescribed just on the basis of the disease, but the complete picture of the patient.
This system of medicine believes that a disease is like a tree with its roots spread deep inside the earth. When we cut a tree, it grows back again because its roots are intact. Similarly just treating the symptoms of the disease does not cure a patient unless the root cause is treated. Homoeopathy has the power to treat the most fundamental existing unit of the body and ensures a cure in the true sense.
In some cases, it can save the patient from the surgeon’s knife. For e.g. nasal polyps and recurrent tonsil infections require surgical intervention, but Homoeopathy has the potential to cure these problems.
Owing to various specialization fields in Allopathy, the physician fails to see the patient as a whole. This leaves the patients confused in the midst of specialists. For e.g. IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a disease of the intestine, but has a psychosomatic origin so the patient needs treatment from both a gastro-enterologist and psychologist. On the other hand, a homoeopathic physician is trained to see and analyze the complete picture. This puts the patient at ease since he is to be treated only by one doctor.
Allopathic medicines are tried and tested on animals, whereas the power of Homoeopathic medicine has been established by healthy human beings. This gives the system a more humanitarian approach.
Homoeopathic medicines are FDA approved and quite cost-effective.
Homoeopathy believes that the seat of any disease lies in the mind. It works very well in psychological as well as psychiatric cases. The medicines have a great influence on the mental state.
It is very effective at preventing a disease or treating hereditary problems.
In cases of incurable or terminal cases, it eases the patient’s problems in a gentle way to provide relief.
It works to re-establish the harmony of body, mind and spirit.
Homoeopathy: The Cons
Nothing is perfect. And just like any other science, it has its own strengths and weaknesses. The drawbacks of this system of medicine are:
Homoeopathic case taking is a long and tedious process and eliciting the right information from the patient may be even more challenging. So if the physician does not frame the question properly or if the patient interprets the question in a different way, then the answer might prove to be misleading. This may lead to a wrong prescription, prolonging the period of treatment.
The homoeopathic remedy is decided on the basis of the overall picture analysis of the patient. For e.g. if a patient wants to be treated for a cough, there is nothing like a cough medicine in Homoeopathy. Whichever medicine suits the total framework of the patient is prescribed. Hence the physician should be well trained and should have the skill and dedication to trace the right medicine.
Homoeopathy has its limitations in cases where irreversible, pathological changes have occurred. For e.g. Hernia is not treatable by Homoeopathy. But if the physician fails to identify the non-treatable cases, it will just lead to a worsening of the patient’s condition.
In some chronic cases, Homoeopathy may take a long time to show results, which may test the patience of both patient and the doctor.
Conventional medicine has been the preferred choice of treatment and has ruled our society for ages. But the times have changed now. The increase in the number of side effects, high cost of medicines and treatments have left the patients discontent. Homoeopathy is the fastest growing science today and with the popularity of alternative medication globally and its being effective, affordable and free of side effects, there is little wonder why it’s an increasingly favored choice.
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Meghna writes for chillibreeze.
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