Homeopathic Principles and Practices

Homeopathy’s medical philosophy recognizes disease as an energy imbalance, a disturbance of the body’s “vital force.”

Its techniques are based on the logic that the body is self healing and that symptoms are the expression of the body attempting to restore its balance. Homeopathic remedies are formulated to stimulate and increase the body’s ability to heal itself.

Each of the remedies has a number of symptoms that make it unique, just as each person has traits that make him or her unique. Homeopathic physicians are trained to match the patient’s symptoms with the exact remedy, that is mild and nontoxic. Even the highest potencies do not create the side effects that conventional drugs.

The remedies themselves do not cover up the disease or destroy it, but stimulate the body’s own healing action to rid itself of the problem.

Principles:

1) The Law of Similars

This principle expresses that like shall be cured by like, or Similia similibu curantur.

It is recognized by physicians and philosophers since ancient times, became the basis of Hahnemann's formulation of the homeopathic doctrine: the proper remedy for a patient's disease is that substance that is capable of producing, in a healthy person, symptoms similar to those from which the patient suffers.

A substance produces symptoms of illness in a well person when administrated in large doses, but if the same substance is administered in minute quantities it will cure the disease in a sick person.

Dr. Hahnemann suggested that this is because nature will not allow two similar diseases to reside in the body at the same time. Therefore homeopaths will introduce a similar artificial disease into the body which will then push the original one out. The dose that is administered is small so that there is no danger of any long term side effects.

From the tiny amount of the active principle in the remedy, the body learns how to recognize the hostile microbe in a process similar to that of DNA recognition. The Law of Similars is the reason why that a little is better than a lot, and why such great precision is needed.

2) The Principle of Minimum Dose

This is the basic rule governing how much of the remedy to give to the patient. The principle of minimum dose is that you give only enough of any particular remedy to initiate a curative response from the patient. This varies from patient to patient according to the level of disease and the severity of the complaint.

The minute dose means that the quantity of a medicine which is though smallest in quantity produces the least possible excitation of the vital force, but is yet sufficient enough to effect the necessary change.

Health is a matter of perfect equilibrium and perfect balance. Stressing circumstances may sway it, and then for it to be balanced again, we hope to use the least amount of medication.

3) The Single Remedy Principle

This principle states that only one single remedy is to be administered at a time and any given case. Here are some reasons for the Single Remedy Principle:

* Homeopathic remedies were proved singly. The Materia Medica was built upon the observed effects of drugs that were administered singly, either in planned proving or in accidental proving.

* Only one remedy can be the most similar to the condition at any given time to a patient. By giving only one dose at a time, one can easily see if there is any improvement.

* If more than one remedy is used by the doctor, he will never know which element was curative.

Practices:

A homeopath will study the whole person before prescribing a remedy. He will take into consideration the characteristics such as temperament, personality, emotional and physical responses. By asking questions and observing, the practitioner must determine the presenting symptoms for each individual, in each ailment.

Laws of Cure

There are three laws of cure, and they are:

* A remedy will start at the top of the body and work downward.

* A remedy will work from within the body outward, and from major to minor organs.

* The symptoms will clear in reverse order of appearance.

Application of the three principles of cure means that you will feel better emotionally before you will feel better physically.

Doctrine of Drug Proving

Most homeopathic remedies are prepared from herbal and plant extracts, many of which are very poisonous. The toxicity of these extracts, also called “mother tinctures,” is what makes them homeopathically valuable; a substance that, undiluted, can induce a certain group of symptoms in a healthy person is believed capable, in a highly dilute form, of curing similar symptoms in a person who is sick.

Tests to determine which substance is best for treating a specific set of symptoms have been carried out for many years. These trials - know as proving - are conducted with healthy individuals, who are given undiluted or lightly diluted doses of s mother tincture. Mental, emotional, and physical symptoms are brought on intentionally, but not fatal, poisoning is recorded and compiled to create a full picture of the symptoms caused by the substance.

The extract is then diluted to the desired homeopathic potency, different medicines must be proved thoroughly in order to obtain full details of their curative properties.

Theory of Vital Force

Vital force is the life energy, or vitality, of each individual. Hahnemann speaks of vital force as: "The material organism without the vital force is capable of no sensation, no function, no self preservation; it derives all sensations, and performs all functions of life solely by means of the immaterial being (the vital force) which animates the material organism in health and disease."

The vital force governs biological activity, maintaining balance and harmony in the body. When this force is disturbed or weakened, we become ill with symptoms of disease.