What is homeopathy

Homeopathy is a complete system of medical treatment using medicine according to the principle of 'like cures like', which can be explained this way:  If we give a substance to a healthy person, it will produce a certain set of symptoms in that person. If a sick person comes in who already has that same set of symptoms, it will help the sick person. For example, a patient presenting symptoms of swollen feet with burning / stinging pains may have similiar symptoms to someone who has been stung by a bee. The remedy Apis (a minute, non-toxic dose) will quickly treat these symptoms.

The principles of homeopathy were developed by a German medical doctor called Samuel Hahnemann in the late 18th century. He became dissatisfied with the toxic effects of certain drugs and disillusioned with ineffective and often barbaric treatments of the day. He resolved in finding a safer way of curing patients, and thus became the founder of homeopathy. Hahnemann treated patients with potentised substances, that is to say he prepared medicines through a process of dilution and succussion, as he realised that a cure could be more effective and have less side effects this way.

Homeopathy uses tiny doses of safe, non-toxic substances to activate the healing process. The ingredients used to manufacture homeopathic remedies are mainly taken from plants, animals and minerals.

So why homeopathy?
The human body has an infinite capacity for self-repair. In today's society we think that if we have an illness the only way to correct it is with intrusive methods and medication. However, many practitioners, natural as well as medical, know that it is not so. Homeopathic medicine facilitates the body's physical and emotional recovery without causing more damage to the body. This is a really important point: Your body is yours to be responsible for. If you eat food that is not fresh, you will have a stomach ache; if you drink too much, you will have a headache. These are all warning signs that your body does not like what is happening to it.

Homeopaths do not treat physical, emotional and mental symptoms separately but take the view that they are all interconnected as facets of the patient's suffering. This is what makes homeopathy a truly holistic and refined art.