GUEST BLOG: Homeopathy – what is it and how can it help you?

By Neela Prabhu from Homeopathic Harmony

What is homeopathy?

Homeopathy is a holistic alternative form of medicine, which dates back more than 200yrs. It is an energy medicine and so can be likened to Reiki or Acupuncture. It can be used safely for pre-conception, throughout pregnancy, labour, birth, and on newborns. It is also safe on children, elderly, animals, and plants!

The word Homeopathy originates from the Greek words: Homeo: same and Pathos: disease

Homeopathic remedies are given to ‘match’ the symptom picture of the patient. Often these are more like a caricature, much like Mickey Mouse is not an anatomically correct mouse.

How does homeopathy work?

The main principle is ‘like cures like’. Homeopath’s use something that causes a fever to treat a fever. For example Belladonna (Deadly nightshade) berries if ingested cause facial flushing and a fever. Belladonna the homeopathic remedy is commonly used to treat a fever. The dose makes the poison.

Homeopathy stimulates the body’s own self-healing ability, which we call the ‘Vital force’. In Chinese medicine it is called ‘Qi’ and in Ayurvedic medicine it is called ‘Prana’. Taking a remedy is like sending an energetic ‘email’ to the body asking it to heal itself.

Root Causes

We are looking for the ‘root cause’ of the issue, not aiming to simply put a sticky plaster on a broken leg. An example of this is if you went to your mechanic with an oil fault light on your dashboard. If he simply turned the warning light off (or removed the bulb) would this solve the problem, that your car needed oil? No! This is why we don’t suppress discharges or symptoms in homeopathy. Symptoms are messengers from the body to tell us about a deeper issue.

What is susceptibility?

Ever notice that not everyone gets sick? Imagine working in an open plan office with several cubicles or desks. During the Autumn months, someone comes to work with a cough/cold. Nothing serious but a little irritating for you and them! With the air conditioning system and free movement in the office, the cough/cold soon spreads to your colleagues. But not all of them. Why is that?

What are the people who don’t ‘catch’ the cough/cold doing or not doing to make them more robust to these things? This concept is called susceptibility and is a key component of homeopathy and how we diagnose.

Homeopathy Statistics:

200 million people worldwide use homeopathy. It is the No.1 system of medicine in India. There are at least 306 homeopathic hospitals in India. It is very popular in Europe especially in France where doctors prescribe this as an alternative to conventional medicine very readily. HRH King Charles III is the patron of the Society of Homeopaths.

Famous people who use homeopathy: Helena Bonham Carter, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Olivia Newton John, Nadia Sawalha, Jennifer Anniston, Gabi Roslin, David Beckham, and Roger Daltry.

Who invented homeopathy?

Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) was the German doctor who invented homeopathy.

He spoke 9 languages and was a translator before successfully obtaining his medical degree in 1779. He strongly objected to the medical practices of the time such as blood letting, use of leaches, purging using emetics, and toxins like mercury or arsenic. He hypothesized that very small amounts of physical substances could also have a positive effect on healing people. The dose makes the poison, so how low a dose could still have a positive effect?

Where are the remedies obtained from?

There are 3 main kingdoms where homeopathy obtains its remedies: Animal, Plant and Mineral kingdoms. For example,

Lachesis is made from Bush Master snake venom

Pulsatilla is made from Wind Flower

Silica is made from pure flint.

What ailments can homeopathy help with?

Homeopathy is a complete medical system – so can help with mental, emotional and physical things.

It heals minor ailments really quickly, normally in less than 10mins vs 20mins with Calpol etc.

Chronic conditions like eczema take longer but my aim is for the condition to never come back, not to palliate like conventional medicine. They tend to put a sticky plaster on a broken leg rather than address the root cause.

If you’re interested in finding out more, contact Neela Prabhu

This guest post is written by a qualified homeopath. It reflects her personal practice and experience with clients. Homeopathy is not a replacement for medical advice.