Homeopathy: A balanced approach to health

By Chris O'Brien

      It's officially recognized by the U.S. government, yet homeopathy is unlike any other form of medicine. Most other "alternative" healing systems, like herbal medicine or traditional Chinese medicine, use measurable quantities of specific substances to treat the physical body. Homeopathy, on the other hand, uses infinitesimal doses of substances to nudge the "energetic" body into balance and healing.

      At the heart of homeopathy is a concept called the law of similars. The law of similars-or "like cures like"-says that a substance that creates certain symptoms in a healthy person will cure similar symptoms in a sick person. For example, cut an onion and you're likely to get burning, runny eyes. Used homeopathically, that same compound (allium cepa) can alleviate inflammation of the eyes, nose and throat. Similarly, a homeopathic dose of coffee (coffea tosta), can treat certain types of sleeplessness.

      Homeopathy is also unique in its use of infinitesimal, often unmeasurable, amounts of substances to treat symptoms. Another big difference: While most healing modalities-traditional or alternative-focus on treating the physical body, homeopathy works to stimulate the "energetic body" which, in turn propels the physical body to heal itself.

      "A homeopathic remedy works by bringing the body into awareness of a condition, and encouraging it to react and heal," says Richard Pitt, RSHom (NA), CCH, executive director of the Pacific Academy of Homeopathy in San Francisco and board member of the Council for Homeopathic Certification, Council for Homeopathic Education and California Homeopathic Medical Association. "Homeopathy believes that the body contains a vital force, or energetic principle, similar to chi or prana, responsible for maintaining balance and harmony. Homeopathic remedies work with this force on an energetic level rather than a physiological level."

      This energetic principle is detailed in homeopathy through four "golden rules":

1. The body cures itself.

2. Everything in the body is connected to everything else in the body-the holistic principle.

3. The body is energetic as well as physiological.

4. The body is always striving for balance and health-the biological imperative.

      "Homeopathy treats the whole person, not just the disease," says Pitt. "We look at the symptoms and the experiences of an individual, both physical and mental, and treat the predominant cause of the condition in a way that helps stimulate the body to balance itself. For example, if someone comes to me for asthma, but also has severe anxiety, I may treat the anxiety to relieve the asthma. Another asthma sufferer may have allergies, yet another may have a hereditary condition. In homeopathy, 10 asthma patients can receive ten different treatments."

      One of the most unusual aspects of homeopathy is how the remedies are prepared, and how they work. To make a remedy, a compound is succussed (shaken) and diluted until no real physical properties of the base material are detectable. For example, allium cepa, derived from onions, would be diluted with water at a ratio of100 to 1, succussed, diluted again at 100 to 1, succussed again, and so forth to arrive at the desired potency. The end result of this series of succussion and dilution is a liquid, powder or tablet that contains only the "energetic essence" of the onion. On remedy labels, you may notice a number followed by the letter C, such as 6C. That refers to the number of times a solution was diluted 100 to 1 and succussed-so 6C means 100 to 1, to the 6th power.

      The practice of homeopathy says that when you take this super-diluted medicine, you activate your body's energetic awareness-it thinks, "Aha, onion. What's going on? Oh, inflammation of the eyes. Let's tell the immune system to fix that and get the body back into balance."

      The history of homeopathy dates back to the Greeks. Hippocrates originally outlined the idea of like cures like in 400 B.C. Later, in 1493, Paracelsus converted the idea into an actual principle. But it was Sam uel Hahnemann, a German physician, who vitalized the practice of homeopathy in the late 18th century.

      Hahnemann, considered the grandfather of homeopathy, had become disillusioned with medical practices of the time, and was frustrated with medicine's inability to cure. He came across a book by William Cullen, a physician who talked about using a type of Peruvian bark (chinchona, commonly known as quinine) to cure malaria. After dosing himself with the bark, Hahnemann got a fever and chills, much like the symptoms of malaria. He then embarked on a rigorous course of testing and study to examine the principle of like cures like. Hahnemann went on to create almost 100 remedies and is credited as one of the only people to develop and practice a system of medicine in a lifetime. His practices and methodologies are the foundations of classical homeopathy today.

      In the 1800s, homeopathy was practiced strictly by physicians and even competed for prominence as the most common kind of medical practice in the United States. But the energetic principle was not in line with the emerging physical sciences, and homeopathy took a back seat to modern medicine. In recent years, homeopathy has begun to emerge from marginalized obscurity and is increasingly recognized as a valid method of treatment by both allopathic and alternative practitioners. It is an official medical practice and remedies are regulated by the FDA just like any other drug.

      Because of the difference in treatment paradigms, homeopathy can be difficult for some physicians to accept. However, many M.D.s are also cross-trained as homeopaths, and their allopathic affiliation should not rule them out as homeopathic practitioners. "A poorly trained M.D. may take a reductionist approach to homeopathy-treat the symptom and not the whole person-but many well-trained M.D.s are some of the best homeopaths in the world," says Pritt.

      The best way to choose a homeopath is to look at certified practitioners, the ones with CCH in their title. These are trained, classical homeopaths who have received the okay from the nation's largest certification organization, The Council for Homeopathic Certification. That doesn't mean non-certified practitioners won't do a good job; it just makes the search easier. But as with any practitioner, if you're getting results, you picked a good one.

      On your first visit, you can expect a one- to two-hour session at a cost of $150 to $210. This is where the practitioner takes the time to get to know you and your ills, and determines the best course of treatment. Follow-up visits are usually monthly, sometimes weekly, last a half hour to an hour and cost about $50 to $100. With treatment of acute conditions, such as a flu or insect bite, you should start to feel better within a day. For chronic conditions such as asthma, migraines and allergies, relief generally comes in a week to six weeks. Homeopathy may also be successfully used to treat such conditions as depression, addiction and ADHD in children.

 

Resources, local and beyond

      Following are some links for background information and directories to physicians in your area:

. www.homeopathicdirectory.com, The Council For Homeopathic Certification

. www.homeopathyschool.org, The Homeopathy School of Colorado

. Complete Guide to Homeopathy by Andrew Lockie and Nicola Geddes (Dorling Kindersley, 1995)

. The Consumer's Guide to Homeopathy: The Definitive Resource for Understanding Homeopathic Medicine and Making It Work for You, by Dana Ullman (Jeremy P. Tarcher, 1996)

. Everybody's Guide to Homeopathic Medicines: Safe and Effective Remedies for You and Your Family, by Stephen Cummings and Dana Ullman (Jeremy P. Tarcher,1997)

. The Family Guide to Homeopathy: Symptoms and Natural Solutions, by Andrew Lockie and William Shevin (Fireside Books, 1993)

. Homeopathic Medicine for Children and Infants, by Dana Ullman (Judy Piatkus Publishers Ltd., 1994)

      The following are advertisers in Nexus who use homeopathy in their practice. Turn to the page listed after their name to read their ad and learn more about what they offer:

. Boulder Integral Healing Arts, 303-442-1216

. Pierre Brunschwig, MD, Helios Integrated Medicine; 303-499-9224

. Bonnie Heidbrak, CHom, 720-200-4403

      The following Nexus advertiser offers training in homeopathy:

. Homeopathy School of Colorado, 303-440-3717

  See also the Nexus Calendar and Classifieds.