What is the difference between homeopathy and conventional medicine?

Conventional medicine looks for what is the same between patients and then applies a uniform treatment to the disease. In homeopathy, we look for what is different, what makes each person unique, so we can treat the patient. Homeopathy is simple, really. It is the whole person who is affected by disease and it the whole person who responds to medicines.

To appreciate how the whole person is affected by disease or medicines, we have only to look at their symptoms. This is the secret to understanding how homeopathy differs from conventional medicine in a way as basic as the difference between the spherical earth and flat earth.

 

Which symptoms are important to a conventional medical practitioner?

When someone is ill, they have many symptoms, most of which are ignored by conventional medicine. Conventional medicine recognizes and uses only those symptoms which indicate what disease the patient has. Suppose a patient has asthma. They’ll go to the doctor with shortness of breath and wheezing. Breathing tests will be abnormal. They may have an allergic history and often have had previous asthmatic attacks. A conscientious physician may also complete a full history, exam, and laboratory evaluation. That is all the information needed to diagnose and treat the disease based on the disease symptoms. Virtually all asthmatics receive the same treatment by conventional physicians.

 

Which symptoms are important to a homeopath?

It is the other symptoms, the ones which are either ignored or never elicited in conventional medicine, that allow a view of the whole person and the individual [unique] response to the disease. For example, every person with asthma has many symptoms beyond the disease symptoms. The shortness of breath may be caused in one person by going into the open air, but this may relieve the shortness of breath in another person. One may be thirsty for sips of cold drinks, another may have no thirst. One may be sweaty, another dry. One may feel worse after midnight, another in the morning. One may be irritable, another weepy.

The point is that people respond as a whole, as an organism, to disease influences. This response is visible throughout the person as various signs and symptoms. In homeopathy, all these symptoms taken together represent the patient’s symptoms. It is merely the choice of conventional medicine to ignore the totality of the patient’s symptoms because conventional medicine has no means to utilize this information. There is no need for any other than the disease symptoms when you are only treating the disease.

 

How is the whole person affected in every instance of disorder?

To better understand the concept of holistic healing, consider the following example: Someone has been hit by an automobile. There is severe injury and bleeding. You run over to help, but they stagger to their feet and insist they are “O.K., there is nothing wrong with me! Leave me alone” This, in fact, is a keynote symptom of a popular homeopathic shock and trauma remedy, Arnica Montana: “Says he is well, when very sick.” At the moment of physical injury, there appear symptoms in the mind and feelings as well.

Another example. Your child has been exposed to a contagious disorder like chicken pox or measles. The contagion takes place in one single moment most favorable to infection. But no physical signs show for some time. Why? The period of incubation can be seen as the time when the entire body, not just a part, is infected. Exteriorizing the disorder to the skin is a systemic, not a local, healing response.

I am reminded of an incident that occurred when I was nine years old: I was bitten on my face by my neighbor’s dog. The dog was not rabid, but I was brought to the emergency room for treatment of the infected part. I remember being ill for months, having nothing to do with bite, I was told, as “cauterizing (burning the wound) had cured me of the that!” Recently there seems to have been conventional acceptance of events triggering a systemic effect in PTSS, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

 

What homeopathy is (and isn’t) good for.

Homeopathy is effective for healing acute and chronic illness which limit our functioning in life. Symptoms include back and joint pains, depression, auto-immunity, recurrent colds and flu’s, sinus problems, hyperactivity, learning and attention disorders, allergies, asthma, autism, insomnia, skin problems, menstrual dysfunction, infertility, painful and irregular menses, migraines, indigestion, chronic fatigue, sports injury and many others.

This is invariably the case so long as no mechanical problem--like a broken bone, displaced organ, blocked tube, etc., is present. In such cases, first see a medical doctor, then healing can be supported with homeopathy in a surprisingly short time. So a medical diagnosis is important for two reasons: initially to detect cell or tissue damage, and any mechanical obstruction; later to confirm that healing has indeed occurred at the end of homeopathic treatment. In all life-threatening situations, get to an emergency room FAST!

 

What are homeopathic sessions like?

Our initial session consists of an interview lasting a minimum of one to two hours in which you detail your health concerns and health history. Homeopathy is holistic. Your mental, physical, and emotional symptoms are considered as a whole, so our conversation is wide-ranging. The important thing is that you are never rushed: you have enough time to say absolutely everything on your mind in an atmosphere of kindness and respect. Follow-up meetings are shorter, about half an hour.

 

Does homeopathic care require any special diet, vitamins, herbs or supplements?

Surprisingly no! On the contrary, the aim of homeopathy is to free your life, not restrict it more. You are encouraged to listen to and follow your own likes and dislikes. These will change naturally as you regain your health and harmony. You will begin to eat and treat yourself better. If you feel more comfortable continuing your current nutritional regiment of foods and supplements, you are free to do so.

 

Can I use homeopathy if I am taking other medications?

Yes, certainly. You are encouraged to maintain your relationship with your medical doctor, and neither stop nor alter any medication except in consultation with the person who prescribed it! There is never any drug interaction between homeopathic remedies and convention medicine. However, homeopathic treatment often enables you to reduce or even phase out conventional drugs. But again, only in consultation with your medical doctor.

 

Do I need to believe in homeopathy for it to work?

Absolutely not! Homeopathy has proven effective in infants, animals, and patients in comatose conditions.

 

How long will it take for me to recover my health?

Since complete cure in each individual case is the goal in homeopathy, there is no one answer to this question. Remember, it is not the remedy, but your natural response to it that’s important; and that will always remain veiled by nature. In acute disorders, remedy response can be as rapid as seconds, minutes, or hours, especially in children. However, for gentle and permanent cures in chronic, debilitating conditions, a rule of thumb is one months homeopathic care for every year of illness.