By Madeleine Kingsley
Homeopathy has been practised for over two centuries. Its therapeutic principles are very different from those of conventional medicine, as is its concept of ill health and its patient approach. The homeopathic premise is that disease is not a set of symptoms but an underlying disturbance of a person´s "vital force". As Beth MacEoin, author of Practical Homeopathy puts it:
"Conventional medicine takes a broadly mechanistic view of disease, regarding the human body as a highly sophisticated and specialised machine which can succumb to injury, infection of degenerative processes." It uses orthodox drugs to oppose symptoms and could be seen as taking a "waging war on illness" stance. Homeopathy, however, seeks to stimulate the body´s own capacity for self-healing and renewal. In terms of treatment, homeopathy works on the "hair of the dog" principle that "like treats like" and prescribes the very medicine that could produce similar symptoms in a healthy person. A homeopathic consultation (often longer and more detailed than a conventional appointment) will focus not only on the physical changes you may experience, but your psychological and emotional state of mind. The remedy you are prescribed will not necessarily be the same as for someone else with your condition, but is specific to your personality, constitution and lifestyle.
Homeopathy talks about "the magic of the minimum dose", recommending the smallest possible dose to avoid toxicity and treat gently. Remedies are prepared by dilution and "succussion" (repeated agitation of the solution on a hard surface) to reduce the risk of harm. But paradoxically, the more stages of dilution and succussion a remedy receives, the greater its potency. Remedies are referred to in the Latin. Some may be plant derived, some mineral. None are manufactured.