What is homeopathy?
The term homeopathy means “similar to the illness”. Homeopathy uses different substances, mainly of plant origin, but may also be an animal or mineral source, in order to stimulate the innate capacity of the body to heal itself.
The substances should be carefully chosen according to the following principles:
Law of similarity: a substance that provokes health problems/symptoms in a healthy individual is also able to heal the same symptoms in an ill person.
Law of infinitesimal dose (dilution): the substances used are more or less diluted in a mixture of water and alcohol before being administered. The dilution ratio is of 1 to 10 (1DH or 1X) or 1 to 100 (1CH). A substance can therefore be diluted by successively higher increments, for example: 1 CH (10-2), then 2 CH (10-4), etc…
Law of dynamics: Essential to obtain the desired effect from diluted substances. Not only are the substances diluted, but they also have to be dynamized (which means vigorously shaken between each step of dilution)
Law of individualization and globality: Homeopathy is a natural form of medicine which treats the person as a whole, and not only one specific illness.
Sir William Osler, Canadian medical doctor (1849-1919) considered to be the father of modern medicine, said: “The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.”
His approach is to not firstly look at the illness, but to examine the ill person itself. We aim to have a global understanding of the person’s characteristics and the problematic.
Homeopathy will stimulate the body’s innate capacities to heal itself through these four principles. (similarity, dilution, dynamics, individualization)
Little to no side effects
Strictly speaking, side effects are practically nonexistent. Occasionally, temporary worsening of the symptoms may occur. This phenomenon is seen as a favourable response, as it means the body has started regulating itself in reaction to the administered substance. This response can also be viewed as a “cleansing” effect. Moreover, the proposed solutions’ toxicity is virtually nonexistent.
The foundation of homeopathy
Homeopathy was initially created by doctor Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843). Medical doctor and trained chemist, he discovered and started to apply the principles of homeopathy as of end-18th century. He popularized homeopathy in Western Europe, particularly during the cholera epidemic (1831-1832), during which he obtained results largely superior to those of the medicine at the time.
Today, homeopathy is practiced in numerous countries around the globe and is taught in several universities. It is used by thousands of pharmacists, medical doctors, midwives, etc.
No, it’s not placebo.
Unlike what is often heard, homeopathy has nothing to do with the placebo effect.
Certain people, often pharmacists or trained chemists, have a more materialist or chemical understanding of the human body, and cannot really fathom that such small concentrations of a substance could have a real healing effect. They are correct on one point though: the effects of homeopathy cannot be demonstrated by chemistry-derived principles.
It is therefore not chemistry, but probably physics that can adequately explain how ultra- high dilution remedies work. Actually, recent research (among them a study by Nobel-Prize recipient Dr. Luc Montagnier, physician and researcher) has been pointing in that direction. The way homeopathic remedy works is of electromagnetic, vibrational and wave nature. A wave being a subtle and invisible natural phenomenon, but definitely real, it “stimulates” the body to find a state of equilibrium and health.
That’s why each homeopathic remedy will have its own electromagnetic wavelength, a.k.a. its own “message”. If this message gets recognized by a living organism, the latter will react and “respond” to it. But if it is not recognized, nothing will happen. Think of it like an electronic key that only unlocks the car it belongs to. Its “wavelength” is not “recognized” by other cars…
More specifically, can we really speak of a placebo effect when homeopathy heals an infant, an animal, or even a plant? For a placebo effect to exist, the treated person must be in a condition where they are able to doubt the efficiency of the remedy. Can a cow or plant doubt homeopathy will heal them…? In other words, it is impossible to attribute the results simply to a placebo effect. Besides, studies confirm that the placebo effect cannot be the sole explanation of homeopathic action.
