Frequently Asked Questions about Homeopathy

Homeopathy is so very different from Western Medicine, that people often have more questions than they can even think of to ask about it.  Hopefully some of your questions will be answered from this list below.  If your question is not answered on this page, please click on the Blog and search for it there.  There are many questions answered in great detail on the blog.

What is Homeopathy?

Homeopathy is a system of natural medicine which stimulates the body to heal itself by using very minute amounts of natural substances from the plant, mineral, or animal worlds prepared in a very particular way. It is based on the principal of Like Cures Like. In other words, a substance which produces symptoms x, y, and z in a healthy person will heal symptoms x, y, and z in a person who is sick.  It is a little like the idea of the “hair of the dog that bit you.”

• Homeopathy is safe and effective. It has been around for nearly 200 years–longer than western medicine has been around in its present form.
• It is individualized for each person. With over 2,500 homeopathic remedies to choose from, it is more likely than not that you will have a different remedy for your particular pathology than another person would have for the same diagnosis? It treats all planes–mental, emotional and physical.

How Does Homeopathy Work?

Homeopathy works by stimulating the body’s built-in ability to heal itself. Homeopathy is a system of healing that is based on the law of similar the principle that a substance can heal a disease if it causes the same symptoms when given in a stronger dose to a healthy person. In fact, the word homeopathy means similar suffering.  No one really knows how homeopathy works.  There are many theories, but because remedies come from natural substances and therefore can’t be patented, there are no large companies working to figure it out.  The payoff of patents simply isn’t present.  That said, it is also the reason that homeopathy is one of the most reasonably priced method of natural healing available.

What is a Homeopathic Remedy Like?

Homeopathic remedies are transported to your system in one of two ways.  The most common is on tiny pellets.  The medicine is on the outside of the pellets.  The pellets are sweet–kids love them.  If you are on medications for a chronic condition, or if you are very sensitive, your practitioner may recommend a daily liquid remedy which is dissolved in distilled water and taken as directed. Interestingly, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of the principals of homeopathy, only every gave his clients remedies in water.  So don’t be surprised if your remedy is liquid and not pellets.

What Can Homeopathy Be Used For?

Homeopathy is useful for many chronic as well as acute ailments and conditions–such far ranging problems as reactive airway, digestive disorders, chronic head pain, joint pain and thinking everything else is a pain.  Homeopaths prefer to focus on the chronic.  If you treat the individual rather than the ailment, there will be fewer acute ailments to deal with.  Although homeopathy doesn’t replace conventional medicine, it addresses the root of the imbalance in people’s lives and in many cases lessens the need for traditional medicines and treatments.  Homeopathic remedies can also be used in first aid situations.

I Don’t Have Any Chronic Disease.  Can Homeopathy Still Help Me?

From a homeopathic perspective, all chronic disease starts from something imperceptible–a little bit of anxiety, a strange belief, etc.  Many people who seek out homeopathic care don’t realize how the mental/emotional plane will benefit from a well-chosen remedy until they have taken it and find, for example, that they are more relaxed.  Don’t feel like there has to be something drastically wrong with you physically to benefit from a homeopathic consultation and remedy.

How Can Such Small Doses Be Effective?

Homeopathic remedies are indeed very small doses.  They are made by a two step process which is repeated 30, 100, 200, 1000 or more times.  First the remedies are diluted and then they are shaken vigorously (succession).  The dilution makes them safe and the succession makes them work.  This process is called potentization.  Once the substance is potentized, it is placed on a lactose pellet to be delivered to the waiting patient.  Many double blind studies have been conducted which support the efficacy of homeopathy.  In addition, thousands of trained homeopaths and millions of patients experience the healing themselves. Dana Ullman’s web site, www.homeopathic.com contains many references to research on homeopathy.  Some of the research projects are addressed in this article from his website.

What is the Difference Between Homeopathic Medicine and Conventional Medicine?

Homeopathy is based on the whole person and what is unique about each person.  It seeks to remove the underlying cause of the dis-ease, rather than merely suppressing the symptoms.  In doing so, homeopathy hopes to return a person to a state of harmony and health.  Conventional medicine (allopathy) tries to treat only the symptoms and doesn’t remove the underlying cause that supports the existence of the symptoms.  Conventional medicine attempts to ascertain what is similar about all people, rather than what is unique about each individual.

How Long Will It Take For Me To Get Well Using Homeopathy?

Because homeopathy focuses on what is unique about each individual, it is impossible to make a determination without conducting a homeopathic interview.  Homeopathic remedies work very rapidly, especially in acute situations. People report feeling better within minutes of taking a remedy, Others feel better within the hour.  Chronic illnesses will likely take longer, because they take longer for the body to create.  Please remember, wellness is a journey, not a destination.  Most people find homeopathy so helpful, they continue to use homeopathy the rest of their lives, long past the time when their reason for first seeing a homeopathy has been healed.

Isn’t Homeopathy Merely a Psychological Effect?

Fortunately, homeopathy isn’t a religion, so you do NOT have to “believe in” homeopathy in order for it to be effective.  Animals respond very well to homeopathic treatment, as do infants and small children.  Both groups are commonly believed to be less susceptible to the placebo effect than are adolescents and adults.  Many a skeptic has benefited from the correct homeopathic remedy.

My Aunt no longer has Migraines Because of Homeopathy.  Can’t I just take what she took?

Your constitutional remedy may look like this, if you decide to pour it onto a leaf…

No.  As indicated earlier, homeopathy looks at each person individually.  What helped your aunt may or may not help you.  If two different people get the same diagnosis from their physicians, chances are, if they go to a homeopathy for natural health care, they will likely NOT get the same remedy.

How are Homeopathic Remedies Made?

Homeopathic remedies are made through a process called potentization.  Potentization includes two steps: dilution and impaction, which we call succussion.  Remedies most commonly used at Lotus Homeopathy are diluted a ratio of 1 in 100.  This means one drop of the prepared substance that is to be made into a remedy (can come from the plant, mineral or animal worlds) is placed in 99 drops of water (or something equal to this ratio) and covered tightly.  This is the dilution step.  Then the remedy in its glass container, is rapped firmly on a firm yet flexible surface, such as a phone book (Dr. Samuel Hahnemann reportedly used the Bible) 40 to 100 times. This is the Impaction Step.  Then the process is repeated.  One drop is taken out of the first bottle and placed in 99 drops of water.  The succussion then occurs again.  This can be repeated as much as desired.  Many remedies go through this process 1,000 times or more. Remedies made with this dilution ratio are called C potency remedies.  The remedy is then placed on lactose pellets to be delivered to the patient.   There are also remedies diluted a ratio of 1 in 10.  These remedies are called X potency remedies.

There Are a Lot of Products on the Shelf That Claim to be Homeopathic.  Are They?

A product is not homeopathic unless it matches the symptoms you are currently experiencing.  It is homeopathic only based on the person who is taking it.  The product may, however, contain potentized substances.  But no remedy is truly homeopathic, whether it is a single remedy or a combination remedy, unless it matches the symptoms of the person taking the remedy.