Using Homeopathy
Homeopathy is appropriate for a range of conditions that go far beyond what
we normally expect from medicine. And because homeopathy recognizes the person
as an integrated whole, it works on many levels; physically and psychologically.
- Acute Conditions
- Acute conditions are self-limited of short duration and relatively
superficial-though some can be life-threatening. If they last longer than a few
days or a week, they are, by definition, sub acute or chronic.
Homeopathic medicines are extremely effective for acute problems like injury,
inflammation, fevers,
colds, bleeding, etc. More than just reducing symptoms,
they promote tissue repair and prevent long-term consequences.
- Chronic Disease
- Chronic means long-lasting and having no definite resolution, but rather
a tendency to get progressively worse. This may be the result of an
unresolved acute illness, but more often arises insidiously, over many months
or years. From a homeopathic perspective, chronic also means that the
condition arises from a deep-seated underlying pattern of susceptibility.
These chronic weaknesses-whether genetic or acquired-are
considered to be the reason why a person has a tendency towards certain
diseases, in specific organs or tissues. Homeopathy can slow the progress
of even the most serious chronic disease, and in less advanced cases can
stop the disease process altogether. Depending on both the person and
the disease, complete cure is not only possible, but common. This,
however, takes considerable time and expertise. In advanced disease where
cure may no longer be possible, homeopathy can often alleviate
symptoms and provide physical and mental ease. Homeopathy also has an
important role to play in aiding the dying, helping people navigate this
time of spiritual transition with increased clarity, strength, and serenity.
- Constitutional Prescribing
- All forms of medicine treat acute and chronic illness, but homeopathy
also offers another unique approach, not possible through any other
medical system. This is constitutional homeopathy, which treats the
person as a totality, where symptoms of body and mind are perceived as a
seamless whole. Here, one attempts to find the remedy that will match
all aspects of the person: their metabolic and psychological make-up,
body type, genetic predispositions, disease history, and current
symptom pattern. Such a mirror-image remedy, when applied, will benefit the
core of the individual and all their parts, the global changes sweeping
over the organism. Like a stone thrown into the center of a pond, ripples
of change move slowly outward to the edges, touching every tissue and
molecule. For constitutional prescribing a "disease" obviously need not
be present, and such treatment can act as the ultimate preventive
medicine, eradicating patterns of susceptibility before they express themselves
as a specific illness. But whether using acute, chronic or constitutional
treatment, homeopathy is truly a medicine of body, mind and soul.
- Physical Symptoms
- Homeopathic remedies powerfully promote a return to normal body
function, and so can be of help in almost any physical symptom or condition.
Though they their work on a subtle level, they ultimately affect the
chemical, cellular, and structural health of the organism. Homeopathy treats
infections, allergies, and
back pain, as well as chronic conditions such as
psoriasis,
arthritis
and arteriosclerosis.
- Psychological Symptoms
- Homeopathy considers the inner emotional life of the individual to be
of prime importance-even when treating a purely physical ailment,
psychological symptoms are a crucial piece of the symptom-puzzle.
Improvement in mental wellness is also a touchstone and monitor of the
effectiveness of a prescribed remedy. For psychological treatment itself,
homeopathy works exceptionally well for acute grief, rage, or
depression. It
also addresses long-term patterns of emotional dysfunction, including
issues of self-esteem or abuse. Specific problems like depression,
anxiety and
hyperactivity
are prime candidates for homeopathic treatment,
especially combined with psychotherapy.
- Personal Transformation
- Homeopathy is a remarkable tool for personal growth and
transformation, assisting and accelerating the long work required for
self-development. The essence of homeopathic treatment is to free the person-mind
and body-from, fixed modes of being. This includes limiting patterns of
perception and function, and the underlying belief systems which shape
our experience. It is the experience of many individuals that
homeopathic remedies can reveal and set free long-hidden parts of ourselves. Also,
during constitutional treatment it is typical that old emotional
memories and issues surface and find resolution, accompanied by important
changes in relationships, career, and life direction. Clearly this is the
realm of professional homeopathy, not only because of the expertise
required, but because of the impossibility of accurately prescribing for oneself on this level.
Taking the remedies
A quantity of a potentized remedy, once made, lasts a long
time if it is preserved in the appropriate conditions, without
exposure to direct sunlight and heat, strong odors or other
contaminants. It goes a long way because such a small
amount of the remedy is used. One dose consists of one
drop of tincture, placed under the tongue, put into a little
water and sipped, or put on a tablet made from milk
sugar,
which is then dissolved in the mouth. Remedies can be
made up by the pharmacist -by mixing tincture with milk
sugar, which is then placed in moulds like miniature patty
pans to set and dry; this method makes soft, melt-in-the-mouth tablets.
Some practitioners prefer to administer tincture rather
than tablets so that they can be sure an adequate amount of
the remedy has been given, to be absorbed through the
mucous surfaces of the mouth. A remedy can be administered by olfaction, that is inhaling the
vapor emanating
from a bottle of the tincture, thus absorbing the action of the
remedy through the mucous surface of the nose. If a patient
is unconscious, a remedy can safely be placed under the tongue, or just inside the lower lip.
Most classical homeopathic practitioners use the centesimal scale of
potencies, although a few use the millesimal.
Some Indian practitioners have a great deal of experience in the use of these LM potencies.
Doses of the low decimal potencies, and the LM potencies, are intended to be
repeated much more often than the potencies in the centesimal scale. Some
practitioners repeat higher centesimal potencies in the same way, possibly
having misinterpreted what Hahnemann wrote about the use of the LM potencies.
Ten types of prescriptions
There are ten main types of prescriptions. Unless otherwise
indicated, all doses are to be taken on or under the tongue,
not swallowed. They should be taken well away from the
time that any other substance has been (or will be) in the
mouth -such as food, drink, or toothpaste -an hour afterwards or 30 minutes before. This avoids any such substance
interfering with the remedy. A good time to take an important constitutional remedy is either in the evening, well away
from supper or brushing the teeth, so that it can start its
healing action at the time when the body is normally giving
time to resting and repairing itself; or first thing in the
morning after the mouth has been rinsed with clear water, so that any symptoms of change can be observed.
- The single homeopathic dose
- One drop of tincture or two tablets at one time. The single dose tends to be used
with the higher potencies and in chronic conditions. It is
then not followed up for four to six weeks. This is the traditional model of James Tyler Kent, which has been further
developed during the twentieth century by homeopaths George Vithoulkas of Greece and Joseph Reves of Israel. It
has many virtues. A deeply perceptive understanding of the
process of cure in the individual is needed by the practitioner
in order to obtain the optimal results from this method,
which often seem miraculous. But there are times when other forms of prescribing are needed.
- The collective single dose
- Repeated dosing with the same potency of the remedy, given within a few hours. This is
usually done with medium to high potencies, mainly to
ensure that the remedy has acted. Some practitioners consider that this is pushing the action of the remedy too
strongly, but this type of prescribing is often needed at the start of an acute condition.
- A split dose
- Two doses of the same potency given within twelve hours, usually last thing at night and first thing in the
morning. This method is useful in chronic conditions when
the patient's vitality needs boosting. Again, this dosing is done with the higher potencies.
- The single cumulative dose
- Repeated doses of higher potencies until some reaction is observed, or signs and
symptoms of aggravation set in. Close observation by a
practitioner and a perceptive patient is needed in this
method. It may be useful in acute or serious flare-ups of
chronic conditions, especially in hospitals and clinics.
- The ascending collective dose
- Three doses of a remedy of successively higher potency within James Kent's
progression of the centesimal potencies, for example, 12C, 30C,
200C, or 30C, 200C, 1M. These are given at intervals within
a 12- or 24-hour period. This method reduces the likelihood of aggravation in some cases.
- Repeated low potencies followed by a complementary remedy in a high potency
- Useful when the patient is known to have a weakness of a specific organ. The low
potency remedy is a 'drainage' remedy aimed at strengthening and detoxifying the affected organ before a stronger,
more individually constitutional remedy is given. However, the drainage remedy should be relevant to the
particular signs and symptoms displayed by the patient, connected with the organ that is being strengthened.
- A high potency given before the repeated use of a low potency complementary remedy
- It is more difficult here to analyze what is doing what. This system of prescription
may be needed for patients who are already on a course of
allopathic medications which they cannot be suddenly taken off. It
is helpful to detoxify the system of patients who have previously had a lot of medication, or have been addicted to
alcohol or medications. The higher potency may also need repeating more often than is usual in these circumstances because
of the depressing effect of some allopathic medication on the vital energy.
This system is also useful in treating elderly patients, but
with them the high potency should not be too high, because
the vitality of the elderly may not be strong enough to cope
with the dynamic action of a very high potency. It is specifically useful in heart conditions, reduced liver and kidney
activity, diabetics and severe gross
pathological conditions. Repeated doses of a low potency drainage remedy maybe
useful for patients who cannot accept the idea that they only need one dose of
medicine, and may also reduce any aggravations.
- A single high dose; if no reaction repeat until there is a reaction, then stop
- This method of prescription is most useful in acute cases. It can also help in some chronic cases
where a positive reaction is needed within hours or at the most days.
- Repeated doses of millesimal potencies
- These are meant to be repeated three of four times a day for days or even
weeks; unless there is an aggravation, when repetition is
stopped until the aggravation subsides. Then if necessary
the remedy is resumed. Repetition is resumed until there is
sufficient improvement to warrant the treatment being stopped.
- Daily repetition of decimal or low centesimal potencies
- It can be useful in some chronic conditions, especially if
the patient is not strong. As with the LM potencies, the
repetition should be temporarily stopped and the case reassessed if there is any aggravation of signs and symptoms.
This dosing needs constant monitoring.
Timing of remedies
There are some other points about the timing of remedies
and when they should be administered. In women particularly it can be important to give a
constitutionally-prescribed remedy away from the time of menstruation. In
amenorrhea (absence of menstruation) a high potency
remedy is best given before the expected date of the next period.
For complaints which appear or are aggravated at certain
times of the year, such as the seasonal complaint
hay fever, a
remedy should be given one or two months before the trouble is expected to start. The remedy should fit the
chronic symptom picture, including all aspects of the patient's health picture.
For functional conditions, it may be worth giving the
remedy one or two hours before the normal daily time at which the patient's signs and symptoms appear.
For epilepsy no medication is given during a convulsion, but it is administered afterwards.
Constitutional remedies are often very effective if they
are given at the end of an acute illness, when the patient's
vital force has been making a great effort to throw toxic elements to the surface from the deeper organs, and restore a
better level of health.
- How homeopathic remedies are made
- How homeopathy can help
- Homeopathy advantages
Common homeopathic remedies
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