Men’s Health

What is Homeopathy

What is Homeopathy? It is an alternative approach to medicine based on the belief that natural substances, prepared in a special way and used most often in very small amounts, restores health. It is a sophisticated method of individualizing small doses of medicines to start the healing response. Homeopathic remedies seem especially effective for people with chronic diseases.

Homeopathy focuses on the individual and their symptoms to bring long lasting benefits, wellness and happiness. Therapy is based on the “Law of Similarity” known as treating “like with like”. The remedies are highly diluted natural substances and have been used throughout the world for more than 200 years. Homeopathy remedies can be safely used along with most conventional medicines.

Homeopathic remedies are derived from the plant, mineral and animal origins. They stimulate the body, giving it a gentle boost of natural energy for healing. There is no danger of addiction or toxicity and the remedies are considered very safe, even for pregnant and sensitive patients.

Homeopathic remedies work on all systems of the body with mental, physical and emotional guiding symptoms listed in the order of importance:
• Emotional
• Mental
• Physical

Homeopathic remedies can treat a wide range of symptoms:
• sore throats, toothaches, acute fevers
• chronic illnesses such as arthritis, eczema, asthma
• anxiety, mild depression, chronic fatigue syndrome

What is homeopathy repertory? Homeopathic practitioners use a repertory, an index of symptoms that explores the remedies for a particular symptom and lists the remedy for each symptom. Repertories are often extensive and may include data from clinical experience and “provings”.

What is homeopathy materia medica? A compilation of reports of many homeopathic “provings” is known as a homeopathy materia medica. This listing contains commonly used homeopathic single remedies and lists symptoms that fit each remedy. The catalog assists the homeopath in finding just the right remedy for each individual patient.

What is homeopathy practitioner’s part in the patient’s healing? A homeopath takes time to listen to a patient’s emotional and physical symptoms and chooses a remedy closest to the individual symptom picture. The remedy stimulates the body’s own natural healing process and strengthens the immune system, without danger of side effects.

Homeopathic remedies and conventional medicine may work together. Remedies do not interact with other medicines and do not have side effects. However, it is advised to have a health care provider closely monitor the situation.

What is the Homeopathy industry standard in the United States? The Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia Convention of the United States establishes good industry standards and manufacturing procedures in cooperation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Due to the overwhelming safety record of the homeopathic approach and extreme dilutions, the FDA does not use the same standards for approval of homeopathic medicines as it does for conventional drugs.

The Homeopathy

HOMEOPATHY
Homeopathy is a 200 year old medical system that involves using extremely diluted substances of mineral, animal or vegetable origin to stimulate a healing response. Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician and chemist, developed this new approach to treating illnesses in the late 1700s.

THE HOMEOPATHY
The trained practitioner of homeopathy, called a homeopath, conducts an extensive interview with the patient. He/she will study the entire emotional, physical and mental picture. Based on those findings, the homeopathy matches the remedy that will support healing in the body. Most homeopathy practitioners have three or four years of training, including case analysis experience where they learn to finely tune the skill of matching remedies to specific symptoms. Most naturopathic colleges offer programs in homeopathy. Many homeopathic practitioners are also Medical Doctors (MD), chiropractors, Naturopathic Doctors (ND), and doctors of osteopathy.

CHOOSING A HOMEOPATHY
When looking for a homeopathy, choose one you feel comfortable enough to share your detailed medical history with. You should also feel confident that the homeopathy will take your health issues seriously.

QUESTIONS TO ASK
• How long will the initial consultation last?
• How much does a session cost?
• How many follow up treatments do you anticipate I will need?
• Are you qualified to give medical advice?
• How long will I need to continue homeopathy treatments?
• How often will I need to take a dose of the remedy?
• Can you give me examples of patients you’ve treated and their recovery using homeopathy?
• How will I know a homeopathic remedy is working?
• Why do you need to ask so many unrelated aspects of my habits and health?

TYPES OF CONDITIONS BEST TREATED BY HOMEOPATHY
Homeopathy is widely used to treat behavioral problems such as ADD (attention deficit disorder), anxiety and depression. Safe, nontoxic homeopathy can be used short term for acute illnesses such as flu, cold, respiratory infection and headache. Other chronic illnesses such as eczema, menopausal problems, PMS, allergies, insomnia, heel spurs, migraines, autoimmune diseases and rheumatoid arthritis respond well to homeopathy medicine. Some of the newest combinations of remedies treat restless leg syndrome, leg cramps, earaches, seasonal allergies, and diaper rash.

HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES
Homeopathic remedies are based upon the “Law of Similars”. A medicine that produces a set of symptoms in a healthy person will cure the same. The homeopathy takes each symptom into consideration and recommends a “remedy”. Unlike conventional medicines that attempt to suppress the symptoms without the body healing, the homeopathy administers homeopathic medicines that do not have side effects. Rather, they work gently with the body to produce balance and healing.

Risks of Homeopathy

Homeopathic remedies are extremely safe and have no harmful side effects. There is a risk of homeopathy medicine when needed therapies and/or diagnostic tests are excluded. In this case, a Homeopathy remedy and conventional medicine may be used hand in hand.

Two barriers that raise the risks of homeopathy:

• Time and patience are needed to find the right homeopathic remedy for your symptoms. This process may take longer than using conventional medicine. Unfortunately, there is no standard remedy to cure every symptom.
• The remedy must be matched to your particular symptom, where it occurs, what brings it on, what aggravates it and other symptoms you experience.
• If the remedy is not one of 30 or so commonly used and readily available, it may be difficult to obtain.

After starting a homeopathic remedy, some patients feel worse for a brief period of time. This is interpreted as the body temporarily stimulating symptoms while it makes an effort to restore health. A treatment should stop when a symptom clears up. Otherwise the treatment may produce a recurrence of the symptom.

Risks of homeopathy can include liquid remedies that contain alcohol and are permitted to have higher levels of alcohol than conventional drugs for adults. Some consumers may be concerned. However, no adverse effects from the alcohol levels have been reported in Homeopathy literature or to the Food and Drug Administration.

If you are considering using a homeopathic remedy and currently take a conventional drug, consult with your healthcare provider. Though Homeopathic remedies are not known to interfere with conventional drugs, each case should be handled on an individual basis. If you have more than one provider, discuss with each one.

Other risks of homeopathy include:

• Reports of the sale of over the counter homeopathic drugs
• Lack of tamper-resistant packaging
• Improper labeling
• Products that contain vitamins or plants not listed in homeopathic references but are promoted as homeopathic
• Labeling is too vague. For example: “treats gastrointestinal disorders” is too general. This could include a wide variety of conditions
• Though homeopathic remedies often contain only water and/or alcohol, in rare cases the original ingredients is present at detectable levels causing a risk of homeopathy treatment. One report showed an unusually undiluted solution allegedly caused a small percentage of users to lose their sense of smell. There were 340 cases settled out of court.
• In 1938 the U.S. Congress passed a law declaring homeopathic remedies be regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the same manner as over the counter drugs (non prescriptions). Although new over the counter and conventional drugs must under go through testing and review for safety by the FDA, this requirement does not apply to homeopathic remedies.

The Natural Center for Homeopathy

Located in Alexandria, Virginia, the National Center for Homeopathy’s (NCH) was formed in 1974. The National Center for Homeopathy promotes health through homeopathy. It makes homeopathy available throughout the United States by providing general education to the public and specific education to homeopaths. The principal function of the National Center for Homeopathy is to put accurate, quality, realistic information into the hands of anyone interested in an alternative to chemical drug treatments. People can then make an informed decision about the available alternatives in medical care. The National Center for Homeopathy also provides assistance in the development of local chapters of lay persons interested in homeopathy.

This open-membership organization has provided instruction for over 70 years. Each summer the NCH conducts the National Center for Instruction in Homeopathy and Homeotherapeutic, highly specialized classes for health care practitioners and consumers. In 2006 the National Center for Homeopathy began offering weekend seminars around the country. It helps its practitioners continue treating patients who prefer not to be involved in modern medicine.

Members receive six issues per year of Homeopathy Today, an informative and educational publication. Filled with helpful hints, book reviews, a calendar of events and short articles, it alternates with the popular e-Newsletter. Members also have access to many online amenities such as Homeopathy Today Online, the NCH Chat Room, the Remedies & Symptoms materia medica database and discounts from green and organic vendors.

Members also receive the Homeopathic Resource Guide, invaluable information which provides information to practitioners, pharmacies, and study groups. Members may also use the National Center reference library, which houses one of the largest collections of texts, journals, and monographs on homeopathy in the United States. This library is open only to NCH members.

Through The Natural Center for Homeopathy website, the work with the media and the open to the public annual meeting, the National Center for Homeopathy provides accurate, up-to-date information. A press package is available once a year and the staff answers more than 10,000 inquiries a year.

The NCH store is supplied with homeopathic books and products that have provided thousand of people with their first glimpse of self care through homeopathy. These resources are available at a special member discount by phone or online.

While the Natural Center for Homeopathy cannot endorse the credentials of a homeopathic practitioner, a database is available on the NCH website to assist patients in finding the perfect equation for their health care needs.

Inner Health Through Homeopathy, a new web radio show, made its debut on Voice America on April 11, 2007. It airs at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays on Homeopathy Radio.

Homeopathy to Induce Labor

In the United States an estimated one in every five labors is induced. Many doctors recommend induction when:

• The mother is one to two weeks beyond her due date and labor hasn’t started naturally.
• The water has broken but the mother is not having contractions
• The placenta has separated from the wall of the uterus or begun to deteriorate.
• The amniotic fluid surrounding the baby has diminished.
• The baby is not growing at the expected rate.
• The mother has a medical condition, putting the baby and/or herself at risk.

HOMEOPATHY TO INDUCE LABOR
Two commonly used homeopathy to induce labor remedies are Pulsatilla and Caulophyllum. The Faculty of Homeopathy researched the use of these homeopathy to induce labor remedies and did not find any incidents of damage caused by using them. The worst damage homeopathy to induce labor can do is be ineffective by selecting the wrong remedy.

A homeopath will advise which remedies are best. If he/she can attend the birth, they will supply a labor kit with instructions.

The following Homeopathy to induce labor remedies are often required both during and after labor. If you are new to homeopathy or unable to consult a homeopath, start with these:

• Aconite: used when labor is too fast (at any stage); the pains are very strong and the patient feels a sense of panic
• Amica: used from time to time during labor to help the muscles function properly; to reduce the bruised feeling after deliver and to relieve the physical exertion of labor
• Kali phos: used for simple exhaustion during labor, mental, emotional and physical stress
• Caullophyllum: taken during a difficult labor when the cervix is slow to dilate and the pains are strong but ineffective. The patient feels cold and shaky. (Consult a registered homeopath. This remedy is not available over the counter.)
• Pulsatilla: used when contractions are weak and irregular, the cervix is slow to dilate and the patient feels clingy and tearful. They may talk about giving up and going home.

As a rule of thumb, take one dose of the selected homeopathy to induce labor remedy three times daily for up to three days. Let tablets dissolve under the tongue. Hard tablets that do not dissolve may be chewed.

Stop when you feel better. Sometimes during labor, patients find that they may need to take a homeopathy to induce labor remedy more often or take more than one remedy in a single day. It is fine to change the remedies according to the patient’s needs. During labor a patient may require different remedies during each stage of the birthing process.