By Dr. George Springer
History
Although discovery of the art of homeopathy is generally credited to Hippocrates, in 1899 a pharmacist named Knufman claimed that the first application of homeopathy actually occurred in the case of the Greek king, Telephos. In Greek mythology, Telephos was hurt during the Trojan war by the spear of Achilles. Supposedly, he was only cured after Apollo advised to treat the wound with some rust from Achilles’ spear. Probably not very sound clinical practice, but this example does reflect the principle of treating “like with like”, the basis of homeopathy which indeed does date back to Hippocrates.
After laying fairly dormant for hundreds of years, homeopathy was given the kiss of life 200 years ago by German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann, who recognized that many of the harsh medical treatments of his day (the use of poisons such as arsenic, for example) lead to side-effects which were as damaging as the ailment itself.
He experimented on healthy volunteers and found that by giving smaller and smaller medicinal doses, in addition to reducing toxicity, the medicines were actually more effective. He also observed that the symptoms caused by toxic medicines were very similar to those of the diseases they were being used to treat e.g. the toxic effects of mercury were almost the same as the symptoms of syphilis, the disease it was supposedly curing. This lead to the re-discovery of the “like with like” principle.
Resurgence
The term homeopathy comes from the Greek words homeo, meaning similar, and pathos, meaning suffering or disease. Homeopathy has been practiced in the United States since the early 19th century and in the early 1900s there were 22 homeopathic medical schools in the US, including Boston University and Stanford.
Homeopathy, also known as homeopathic medicine, treats the patient with a highly diluted substance which aims at triggering the body’s natural system of healing and is used for wellness and protection as well as treating many different diseases and conditions.
Homeopathic remedies are based on these principles:
● Like cures like – meaning if the symptoms of your flu’ are similar to those of salmonella poisoning, then salmonella would be the homeopathic remedy.
● Minimal dose – the remedy is taken in an extremely dilute form. The designation of X, D or C followed by a number indicates the level of dilution that has been performed.
Popularity
Homeopathy has grown in popularity in the US by 25-50% per year throughout the last decade. As more and more people look for alternatives to conventional medicine and prescription drugs, many are finding homeopathic remedies. This widely-used system of medicine is used in most countries of the world and has many famous exponents from Mark Twain to Gandhi, through 11 US Presidents to Paul McCartney who is quoted as saying, “I can’t live without homeopathy”.
Homeopathy is extremely effective, is safe, natural, works in harmony with the immune system and it treats all the symptoms as one, which means it addresses the cause and not the illness.
Treatment Using Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a natural fit with alternative medicine practitioners who subscribe to getting to the root cause of a problem rather than masking its symptoms.
It is important that a doctor listen to the unique circumstances affecting their patient and the resulting symptoms. A preliminary functional evaluation should be done to determine all of the issues that are contributing to a person’s problem. Laboratory tests oftentimes should be ordered to gather more information so the issues can be identified.
Depending on your individual circumstances, it could be beneficial that a personalized program utilizing natural supplementation, allergy elimination, and in many cases, homeopathy be used to help your problems. It is possible to customize homeopathic remedies with the particular allergens, toxins or microorganisms contributing to a person’s particular health issues so be sure to ask your doctor about that.
Dr. George Springer has practiced alternative medicine, nutrition, acupuncture, and chiropractic manipulation for over 30 years. Over the years he has helped a large number of people regain normal health,using all-natural solutions.
