Frequently Asked Questions

What is Homeopathy?

It’s a system of healing based on the principle that

“LIKE CURES LIKE”   

or in other words -

WHAT WILL MAKE YOU SICK WILL ALSO CURE YOU.

Homeopathy was founded by Samuel Hahnemann, a german doctor born in 1755, who based his methods on a method of healing discovered by Hippocrates in the 5th century BC.  We use this method of healing without thinking about it today.

What do you do if you bang your elbow? You RUB it - HARD!! Finnish children are told by their mothers to put their cold hands into the snow – it makes them warm.

Now Hahnemann was a brilliant doctor who was totally disillusioned by the cruel and ineffective treatments of the time – things like blood letting, purging, using poisons such as mercury - so he gave up medicine and concentrated on translating and research.  He was translating an essay by a doctor called William Cullen he and came across an essay on Cinchona, or Peruvian bark, which was known to contain quinine and used to treat malaria.  (The symptoms of malaria are sweating, fever, palpitations, among others).  

Cullen said that Cinchona cured these symptoms because it was bitter.  But Hahnemann knew of many substances that were bitter and they DIDN’T treat malaria, so he decided to test it.  He took some and noted all its effects on him.  And behold – ALL the symptoms of Malaria appeared in him and stopped when he stopped taking it.  So he had PROVED that China (cinchona) caused in a healthy person the symptoms of Malaria – or what it was known to cure in a sick person.  

Over the next 6 years, Hahnemann went on to test various substances on himself and his colleagues, meticulously noting all the symptoms which were produced in each “prover” in a toxic quantity in a book called a repertory, and detailing all details of the substance and the symptoms attributed to it in a Materia Medica.  These 2 books are the bedrock of homeopathic treatment today, and the same method of “proving” new substances is still used.  

Hahnemann finally went back to treating patients, now using his homeopathic method, and achieved outstanding results.  

I have heard a lot about how Homeopathy can’t possibly work because there is nothing there.  How come?

Energy Medicine and the minimum dose

The story continues….

Hahnemann was getting very good results with his new method, and no using the old brutal forms of medicine either.   People were loving it!  (Except the other doctors – they were losing business hand over fist!).  But the relatively large amounts of the substances that he was using were still causing side effects.  

Hahnemann, being a true researcher, kept trying to improve on his method and found that by agitating  - or succussing - the remedy at each dilution he was making them much more powerful – even though they were more diluted.  Yes, to the point where they just weren’t there under the microscope.  

Seemingly, by these repeated dilutions and succussions, Hahnemann was imprinting the information of the remedy into the water.  He was potentising or energising the remedy.  So not only was he using the smallest possible amount of the substance, the minimum dose, but he was also avoiding side effects.  This is why homeopathic remedies are so safe, for children, babies, pregnant women and animals.

These principles of homeopathy still apply today.

For the technically minded, the substance is put into a solution of 1 part with 99 parts of ethyl alcohol or distilled water and vigorously shaken. 1 part of this solution is then put into 99 parts of ethyl alcohol or distilled water and succussed again.  This is repeated to create different strengths – commonly 3, 6, 12, 30, 200, 1,000, 10,000, 50,000 or 100,000 times.  (This is for the centesimal potency)

How are remedies made?

Remedies are made in exactly the same way today, by dilution and sucussion in laboratory conditions, and they are “proved” on healthy consenting adults in the same way too. They are derived from almost any substance in the animal, plant and mineral kingdoms you can think of – and some you can’t!  In fact they are proved in double blind trials!  The symptoms experienced by all the provers are collated and a “picture” of the remedy is built up, indicating where it can be usefully employed in treating those same symptoms in a sick person.  Homeopaths have over 5,000 remedies available to them, which explains the amount of study that can be required to choose the right remedy for you.  

Don’t be surprised if you find your homeopath referring to their books during your consultation!  And they will certainly do so after you have gone home!

People I know who have used Homeopathy say they only get 1 or 2 pills.  How can that work?

Homeopathic remedies work by matching the symptoms expressed by your body on an energetic level  and encouraging it to overcome them. basically they stimulate your body’s own natural healing process so that over time your restore yourself to health.  This is where the potency comes in.  The more energetic your “dis-ease” is the higher potency remedy you may be given.  This of course is taken into account by your homeopath when discussing your case. The amount of remedy – and the potency – is decided by your homeopath.  It really can take just a few pills to do this!  This is why the follow up appointment is so important – to get an accurate picture of what is happening.  If all seems to be going well then it would be pointless in giving more remedy.  You can liken it to keeping the ignition key of your car turned on after the engine has started.  Absolutely no point as it has done what it needs to do, and it can in fact be damaging.  

The frequency with which the remedy is given depends on many things and they all have to be taken into consideration by your homeopath.  Don’t be surprised if you are not given a remedy at your follow up appointment.  It simply means that the remedy has worked and you are on the road to cure, and you need to see how long the remedy will last.  Some are very long acting and some are “burnt up” more rapidly.  And sometimes your remedy has to be changed.  

Why is the appointment so long?

Because you are a unique individual.  Your homeopath needs to find out what has brought you to this current health state and will ask about your medical history, your family history to find out what health trends you have inherited, your lifestyle to find out what you do to yourself to maintain your current health state, as well as your character and preferences , fears and so on.  All this builds up to give a picture of YOU – your personality and weaknesses.  In this way it is much easier to prescribe a remedy just for you, and it follows that a different person would have a different remedy for the same ailment.  We are treating YOU – not just your sore throat, but also why you get your sore throat.  Conventional medicine tends to prescribe from a relatively small number of medicines more tailored to the disease, not you.  

People often report how enjoyable the consultation is – it’s not often you get the chance to talk about yourself for 2 hours!

What about my conventional doctor?

Homeopathy is a complementary medicine.  Whilst it is possible to be treated solely by homeopathy – and some people are – it works very well alongside your conventional treatment.  So continue to see your doctor.  I prefer to advise your GP that I am seeing you, although this is entirely your decision.  There may be instances where tests would be helpful, such as a blood test if you seem to be anaemic, and your GP is the one to arrange this.  I will never ask you to stop your prescribed medication but if after a time you feel so well that you think your medication can be reduced, then it could be discussed between your GP and yourself, with input from me if required.

Couldn’t I treat myself?

Many people use homeopathy on a daily basis as a sort of first aid kit, or how you would use over the counter medicines and that is fine.  They know how effective and gentle they are.  I think everyone has heard of Arnica, a remedy for bumps, bruises and sprains, and many have had their “Arnica Moment”!  

What isn’t often realised is how many more serious conditions can be helped with Homeopathy, but you do need to consult a Homeopath who has been properly and adequately trained to deal with these complex cases.  It may have taken a long while for you to develop your current condition and the road needs to be studied carefully to make sure the treatment you get is the right one and the potency is right for you too.

The world needs to know that there is a safe and effective means of treating epidemics – period.  Homeopathy was extremely effective in treating the Spanish Flu in 1918/1919.  Public health records reflect that.  It matters not what the epidemic is (flu, cholera, malaria, pertussis etc), becausae the rigorous scientific methodology of homeopathy remains the same from epidemic to epidemic. The greatest obstacle to overcome is the mindset of those who refuse to accept that there is a discipline of medicine that has a proven track record against epidemics.  We owe it to humanity to raise awareness and acceptance of this fact”    Moly Punzo MD

So how do I choose a homeopath?

At the moment homeopathy is not regulated by law.  The Society of Homeopaths is currently the largest register of homeopaths in the country, and you can be assured that any homeopath with the initials RSHom after his/her name will be

• registered with the Society
• have been trained at a fully accredited school
• will practice in accordance with the Society’s Code of Ethics and Practice
• be fully insured. 
  

Can I be referred on the NHS for homeopathic treatment?

At the moment, yes – depending on where you live.  There are currently 5 homeopathic hospitals in the UK, based in London, Tunbridge Wells, Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow. Or in some areas you can be referred to a local homeopath.  More and more GPs are referring patients to homeopaths.  

You may have read that there are moves afoot by the medical establishment to close down these homeopathic hospitals as they are a “waste of money” and the science behind homeopathy is implausible.  If it works at all it is simply the placebo effect.  Well 500 million people worldwide disagree.

The placebo effect surely doesn’t come into the equation when  treating herds of cows with mastitis.  Those given homeopathy had an incidence rate of 3% compared with 48% in those not given homeopathy.  

In another study carried out by the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital on children, 80% reported a definite improvement.

There is much research evidence that proves the beneficial effect of Homeopathy, but this has been conveniently ignored.  For example, the European Commission carried out a research programme into the clinical trials on homeopathy.  Firstly, they found that just 17 out of 118 trials were properly scientific, and what’s more all of those 17 trials concluded that homeopathy had an “extremely significant” effect.  

At the very least, you deserve the right to make a CHOICE on how you are treated.  For more information on this emotive topic please see www.hmc21.org

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