Homeopathy: What is it and how does it work?

What is homeopathy and how did it originate?

Homeopathy is an alternative method of healing according to the principle ""Something similar should be cured by something similar"". It is used in many areas of life. This healing method was founded by the doctor, pharmacist, translator and lateral thinker Samuel Hahnemann, who came from Meissen. He lived from 1755 to 1843, at a time when doctors treated diseases primarily with enemas, emetics, blood vessels or highly toxic substances such as mercury or lead acetate. Patients have not always withstood these brutal methods. Hahnemann made it his mission to look for a gentler therapy.

Healing the Same with

In a self-experiment, Hahnemann in 1790 took cinchona bark - at that time a common remedy for malaria - without being ill. Lo and behold, he developed typical symptoms of tropical fever. The most important principle of Hahnemann's doctrine was discovered: ""Similia similibus curantur"", ""Something similar is being cured by something similar"". Accordingly, he called his new method of healing homeopathy. The term comes from the Greek ""homoion"" (German = similar) and ""pathos"" (German = Leiden).

Less is more

To avoid side effects, Hahnemann came up with the idea of ​​extremely diluting and shaking the starting substances. He called this process ""potentiation"". Paradox: The remedies prepared in this way were more effective than the original substance. This is how the second heart of homeopathy came into being: less is more.

For a 1: 100 dilution, Hahnemann took one drop of mother tincture and mixed it with 99 drops of alcohol. In order to connect the two fluids optimally, he put them in a vial and beat them ten times in a row on a leather-bound book. He repeated this process as often as desired until the desired dilution was achieved. This preparation is called potentiation and it still takes place today according to Hahnemann's scheme. Solid raw materials, such as minerals, are ground in a mortar and thereby potentiated. Only through this ingenious procedure does a substance become a homeopathic remedy because it optimally promotes the dynamic power of the remedy. The more frequently the original substance is potentiated, the higher its healing power.

Information on the dilution of the agents give the letters D, C, LM or Q. Thus D1 (Latin: decem = ten) describes a dilution in the ratio 1: 10, C1 (lat.: centum = one hundred) a dilution in the ratio of 1: 100, LM or Q potencies are diluted in the ratio 1: 50,000.

Small dose, big effect

In the relatively low potentiation D12, the mother tincture appears only in the ratio of one to one trillion. This is a concentration that is hard to measure. And in the potentiation D24 not even a single molecule of the starting substance is present.

But how can drugs work that are so diluted? Still, this phenomenon is not scientifically clarified. Presumably, physical or energetic structures play a role, which may eventually be clarified with the help of quantum physics.

Charité Study Confirms Homeopathy Helps

Hundreds of smaller studies prove the efficacy of homeopathic remedies. But critics complain about such studies that they were not performed ""double-blind"". That is, neither the subjects nor the researchers will know during the investigation whether they are taking the placebo or the test drug. However, since in homeopathy the funds are selected individually, such double-blind studies are not feasible.

Instead of investigating the efficacy of Globuli & Co, scientists from the Berlin Charité have been researching the effectiveness of the entire homeopathic therapy. For two years, they followed the disease progression of 4,000 homeopathy patients in Germany and Switzerland. ""From the perspective of the doctors and the patients, the symptoms had decreased significantly. After just three months, the symptoms had dropped by around 40 percent, on average for all diseases, ""explains Professor Claudia Witt, who heads the project area complementary medicine at the University Hospital.

What is the process of homeopathic treatment?

A homeopathic first conversation lasts one to two hours. Here, the doctor or alternative practitioner gets insights into the deeper connections of the disease. He learns, for example, how the patient's eating habits are, which illnesses there are in the family, what burdens he faces in the job, whether his life is harmonious and how his mood is. Based on this and similar information, the practitioner then selects just the right one among the approximately 6,000 homeopathic remedies. From then on, the healing process can begin.

This can sometimes be very fast in acute illnesses. For example, the right remedy can reduce fever within an hour. Even with chronic diseases, there are often surprisingly rapid successes. But often it takes time and patience. Homeopathy is not a quick and easy medicine. It requires a willingness to feel responsible for one's own health. Only the patient himself can bring about a cure according to the homeopathic concept.The doctor or alternative practitioner can only support the process.

Are there side effects?

Sometimes, after taking homeopathic globules or drops, it comes to a so-called first aggravation. For a short period of time, the patient feels that his symptoms are worsening. But this is just a reaction that shows that the body responds well to the remedy and that the self-healing powers become active.

What are the fields of application of homeopathy?

The healing method is fundamentally different from conventional medicine. Instead of eliminating the symptoms or combating pathogens with drugs, homeopathy focuses on gently stimulating the self-healing powers of the organism. Therefore, it can positively affect or cure many physical and mental, acute and chronic diseases. For example, it is used successfully for susceptibility to infections, allergies, asthma, atopic dermatitis, acne, ADD, ADHD, menstrual cramps and hormonal disorders.

Even with organic changes such as a herniated disc, homeopathy can have a healing effect. Often the patient experiences an improvement of his quality of life, a decrease of pain or a better compatibility of orthodox medical treatment by strengthening his immune system. Homeopathy is thus used in parallel to conventional medicine. Both therapies can be complementary.

How do I find experts in homeopathy?

School physicians with additional homeopathic training can be found on the website of the German Central Association of Homeopathic Physicians (www.dzvhae.de). Non-medical practitioners are listed on the homepage of the Association of Classical Homeopaths in Germany (www.vkhd.de) or under (suche.heilpraktiker.en).

What are the costs for me?

A homeopathic first patient history including a case study (duration: two to three years) four hours) costs between € 120 and € 220. Follow-up consultations (duration 30-60 minutes) cost up to € 90, depending on the time spent.Please ask the doctor or alternative practitioner of your choice about the expected cost of the treatment.

What and when will pay the cash register?

Not only patients with private health or supplementary health insurance, also cash patients are often entitled to reimbursement.About 100 health insurance companies participate in the treatment program ""integrated care homeopathy"" and take over the costs of a homeopathic treatment with appropriate elective tariff. The attending physician has a degree in homeopathy and participates in the program then pay once a year, the one-hour initial meeting, once per quarter, the so-called follow-histories are at least 30 minutes (or two a 15 minutes) taken. Then there is the homeopathic advice, for which the health insurance companies reimburse the costs five times a quarter.Homeopathic remedies are generally not reimbursed (exception: children under 12 years), but in terms of cost and hardly in weight. Ask your health insurance company before beginning treatment.

Sources

Glenz A. Resch I, by Hagens C. 2008. Homeopathy in the case of the desire to have children and the climacteric. Gynecologic Endocrinology Volume 6 (2); 109-114.

Brunnthaler-Tscherteu R, Gründling H. 2007. Homeopathy with desire for children. Journal of Fertility and Reproduction; 17 (2) (edition for Austria); 10-13.

Gerhard, C. Keller and B. Monga 1995. Homeopathic Treatment of Female Infertility Experience; 545-555.

Gerhard I, Reimers G, Keller C, Schmück M. 1993. Female fertility disorders - Comparison of homeopathic single remedies with conventional hormone therapy. Therapeutics: 7; 309-15.

Gerhard I, Keller C, Schmück M. 1993. Effectiveness of Homeopathic Ingredients and Complexes in Women with Infertility Unfulfilled. EHK: 3; 132-7.

Detailed study overview with download option:

www. carstens-foundation. de

Show sources Hide sources