FAQs about Homeopathy

Q1. Can homeopathic medicine & conventional medicine be taken together?

Homeopathy is not exclusive and can be used along with conventional and complementary medical treatments . Certain drugs such as antihypertensive, drugs for cardiac or diabetic disorders, schizophrenia, epilepsy or life-saving drugs need to be continued even with Homeopathic medicines. Others, such as antibiotics should not be discontinued before completing the course otherwise bacteria may become drug-resistant. This is why it is so important to consult a homeopath physician as they will be able to advise you on how to gradually reduce your conventional medicine in a sage way. If during your homeopathy treatment, you may come down with some acute problem like throat infection, diarrhoea, vomiting, etc., at this time we advise that you should preferably take homeopathic treatment to handle this acute crisis.

The reason is that our body at the time of such acute crisis throws up certain peculiar symptoms which may not be felt so intensely otherwise. It is very likely that the remedy will cover these peculiar symptoms and thereby help you out of that acute crisis which will also relieve your other long-standing ailments. The research says that when an acute infection is handled with homeopathy the frequency of occurrence of such acute attacks reduces.

But if you take two together, it’s difficult to evaluate your progress because no one will come to know with which system of medicine you get better. The conventional medicine changes the symptoms to such an extent that their original presentation of the symptom is lost, making it difficult to gather enough accurate information to prescribe the correct homeopathic remedy.

Q2. What is homeopathy?

Homeopathy is a system of medicine therapy based on the principle of "Similia similibus Curentur or in other words, Like cures like.";the doctrine that any drug capable of producing morbid symptoms in the healthy will remove similar symptoms occurring as expression of disease.

Q3. What is the role of symptoms in homeopathy medicine?

Symptoms are the language of disease [4]. Many (not all) conventional drugs inhibit and suppress symptoms because they are viewed as disturbance, sometimes leading to even more serious symptoms. Conventional (allopathic) physicians do not usually recognize the new series of symptoms as being related to the old. Thus, they treat them as new and unrelated problems. In physiological doses of conventional medicine, first, there is palliation followed by suppression and then by an aggravation of the original condition. A disease label is a combination of a specific/particular set of morbid signs and symptoms. Different combination of symptoms can be given a new disease name. We focus on symptoms directly, or you can say by the disease name indirectly.

Homeopathy does not seek to palliate or suppress (altered) symptoms, Symptoms of illness are seen as attempts by the body to heal/balance or to signal distress. The language of symptoms is the best language that asks for the remedy. The symptoms are the compass that a homeopath uses to find his way to the right remedy. A homeopath respects the natural tendency of the body to heal itself, and attempts to work with it rather than against it. Homeopathy does not seek to suppress symptoms. Its goal is to recognize and remove the underlying cause of these symptoms.

Homeopathy is based on the science that the body, mind and emotions are not really separate and distinct, but are actually fully integrated. Based on this perspective, a homeopath will work towards understanding the whole person and seeks a remedy that fits all of a patient’s physical and psychological symptoms not just isolated illness and tries to reestablish equilibrium in mind and body.

1. Physical symptoms: Structure/built/looks, thermals such as tolerance to external factors like heat, cold, sun, wind, sound, light, peculiar symptoms such as inflammation without pain, etc

2. Mental symptoms: state of mind, likes, dislikes, preferences, cravings, desires, aversions/dislikes, thirst, appetite, temperament (reactions of mind to various external stimuli or circumstances), Fear delusions, suspicion, hatred, compassion

3. Emotional Symptoms: Nature, behaviour, mood, emotions, sensitivity, reactions

‘I have a headache’ is not a symptom to a homeopath. ‘I have a boring pain in the right temple extending to my right eye that gets worse when I bend down and is better after a hot bath’ is more useful.

Symptoms are facts [1, p.94]. A single symptom is more than a single fact, it is a fact with its history, its origin, its location, its progress or direction or its conditions [1, p.99]. A symptom can be broken down into its constituent parts such as location, sensation, modality (circumstances modifying the qualities of symptoms in the direction of either better (amelioration) or worse (aggravation) and concomitant (symptoms that appear along with the chief complaint). Dr Clemens von Bönninghausen (1785–1864) was the first to recognise this.

Symptom 278 of Mag-m in Chronic Diseases reads: ‘Violent shooting pain in the left hypochondrium, like splenetic stitches, in the afternoon, when walking; worse when taking a breath; it ceases in sitting (during the menses).’

If we wanted to match this whole symptom with a patient’s report, we would have to wait a long time for a precise match in the case of a disease. However, if we break the complete symptom down into its constituent parts, the situation looks very different.

The various elements contained in this symptom are:

Location: hypochondrium sub-location: left

Sensation: Shooting closer description: violent

Time modality: afternoon

Modality according to circumstance: when walking, when taking a breath.

Amelioration: when sitting.

These are the possible combinations of signs and symptoms:

Shooting, left

Shooting, violent

Shooting, afternoon

Shooting, worse when walking

Shooting, worse when breathing in

Shooting, better when sitting

[2] Symptoms are essential to the healing response and are an integral part of the process of defense the body uses to fight the influence of the disease. Patients with low vitality exhibit few or weak symptoms and it was this lack of vitality which resulted in the inability to have final healing.

There are sometimes no visible symptoms of a disease. However, it depends on who is doing the looking. Some symptoms are only visible to a trained physician, not to a layperson, but that doesn’t mean these symptoms don’t exist. Although some people’s symptoms may be complex, a well-trained homeopath will know which symptoms should be specially noted and can choose an effective, individualized remedy. Sometimes, it takes medical interventions or diagnostic tests to confirm a condition.

There have been many cancer patients who reported that they had not any cancer symptoms in years prior to their diagnosis. The explanation was probably not that they did not have infections during this period, but more likely that their bodies were unable to fight these infections by producing necessary symptom indications.

Q4. What a homeopathic physician asks during the consultation?

Homeopath ‘learns’ about the individual. They conduct a thorough and complete understanding of the patient during ‘case receiving [5]. The patient is asked a lot of questions regarding his background and history. This is because he/she is equally interested in the character and mental and emotional background of the patient and not just on physical symptoms. This is because Homeopaths is of the view that the patient is central theme and he truly knows what he experiences and only he can communicate these experiences. Homeopathy system of medicine treats the disease as well as the person who is diseased.

The homeopath physician needs a detailed understanding of who you are, along with details of any complaints and how you experience them. The physician identifies those features of the illness, which are most peculiarly belonging only to that person, so as to be able to identify the required medicine for the patient. As a result, a detailed enquiry of the patient’s complaints including his physical & mental symptoms is absolutely necessary. This process is called the case study. The more your homeopath knows about you, the more easily will he or she be able to treat you effectively.

Case taking in homoeopathy gives the patient the opportunity to express their deepest concerns and hopes [8]. Do mention about your temperament, desires, sleep, dreams and appetite. In mental sphere, we need to know if anything had happened to upset you at home or at your work place, like any quarrel, or some bad news etc. All these symptoms when told in detail help us to know you and treat you better.

Therefore, it is important for a homeopath to conduct an in-depth interview of a patient to ensure a proper, all encompassing remedy.

Q5. What is the constitutional treatment in homeopathy?

Constitution in homeopathy means a person’s state of health, including their temperament and any inherited and acquired characteristics. Environment (stress, shock, traumas producing changes in glands) modifies the constitution. According to homeopathy, mind and body are very much linked and physical problems cannot be effectively cured without understanding and putting right the person’s constitution and character. A constitutional remedy covers the general bodily disturbances/imbalances (different complaints) of the whole (same) person.

Genetic code genome is responsible for what’s going to constitute the make-up of a resulting individual. This code map is responsible for physical, mental and emotional symptoms, which are a result of both functional disorders and structural changes in the body

1. Physical symptoms: Structure/built/looks, thermals such as tolerance to external factors like heat, cold, sun, wind, sound, light; peculiar symptoms such as inflammation without pain, etc; physical generals such as thirst, appetite, etc.

2. Mental symptoms: state of mind, likes, dislikes, preferences, cravings, desires, aversions, temperament (reactions of mind to various external stimuli or circumstances)

3. Emotional Symptoms: Nature, behaviour, mood, emotions, sensitivity, reactions When a homeopath physician during case taking takes all these above along with family history for prescribing a medicine, it becomes a genetic constitutional simillimum [3]

Q6. What is classical homeopathy?

Most homeopath physicians practice classical homeopathy (the actual homeopathy) (“single dose of single medicine at a time”). Homeopaths make sure that a single medicine or a series of medicine (but only one medicine at a time) in particular order and in right potency will bring curative results in a patient. A homeopath looks for PQRS (peculiar, queer, rare, strange) symptoms in ‘case receiving’ to establish individuality. The importance of PQRS symptoms is in the following order: peculiar, rare.

Homeopathic Doctors refer two books before writing their prescription. One is Homeopathic Repertory and the other one is Materia Medica. After noting down all the symptoms of a case, homeopaths using a repertory create a table in which they list the symptoms alongside the remedies that cover those symptoms. This process gives a list of remedies that cover the most symptoms. Homeopaths then use their knowledge of Materia Medica to differentiate among these remedies to select the most appropriate one. This saves the patient from taking unnecessary more medicines. Moreover, the doctor is aware of the action of a particular medicine and has feedback from the patient and will act accordingly.

Q7. What are the sources of homeopathic medicines?

Farrington was the first one to arrange the remedies in three grand divisions: Vegetable, Mineral and Animal Kingdom in his book, “Lectures on Clinical Materia Medica in Family Order”

The homeopathic medicines are derived from the following sources:

PLANT KINGDOM: Herbs, weeds, vegetables and plants are from the plant kingdom. Plants constitute more than 60% of homeopathic remedies.

Whole plant: Aconite nap, Alfalfa, Arnica montana (Leopards bane), Belladonna atropa (Deadly Nightshade), Chamomilla, Chelidonium, Drosera, Dulcamara, Euphralonias, Hyoscyamus nigar, Hypericum, Ledum pal, Pulsatilla, Ruta G, Ocimum sanctum

Roots: Arum triphyllum, Bryonia alba, Calotropis, Paeonia, Rauwolfia serpentine, Senega, Apocynum

Stems: Sabina

Modified stem (rhizome): Caulophyllum, Cimicifuga, Dioscorea, Filix, Gelsimium, Helliborus, Hydrastis

Bulb: Alium cepa, Allium sativa, Colchicum

Bark: Azadirachta Indica, Ashoka, Baptisia, Berberis vulgaris, Chinchona, Granatum, Hamamelis, Mezereum, Prunus,

Leaves: Abrotanum, Cannabis, Ceanothus, Coca, Digitalis, Kalmia, Oleander, Rhus toxiconderon, Tabacum, Thuja

Flowers: Cina, Calendula off (Marigold), Crocus sativa, Eupatorium, Rhododendron, Sambucus,

Spores: Lycopodium

Fruits: Agnus, Aesculus, Crataegus, Capsicum, Colocynthis, Ignatia, Sabal, Terminalia chebula, Viscum album

Seeds: Avena sativa, Carduus, Cocculus, Coffea cruda, Nux vomica, Sabadilla

Herbs: Ledum pal

Weeds: Fucus vesiculosus

MINERAL KINGDOM: Most of the elements and compounds like metals, salts, alkali, and acids are from the mineral kingdom.

Metals: Alumina, Argentum nitricum (silver), Aurum metallicum (gold), Cuprum metallicum (copper), Ferrum metallicum (iron), Mercurius vivus, Platina (platinum), Plumbum met, Stanum, Tellurium, Vanadium, Zincum met (zinc)

Non-metals: Iodium (iodine), Phosphorus, Sulfur

Inorganic Acids: Boric acid, Muriatic acid, Nitric acid, Phosphoric acid

Organic Acids: Acetic acid, benzoic acid, carbolic acid, citric acid, formic acid, lactic acid

Inorganic salts/compunds: Ammonium muraticum, Ammonium carb, Baryta carb, Baryta mur, Calcarea carbonica (Calcium Carbonate), Calcarea phosphoricum,  Kali phos, Natrum sulf, Natrum muriaticum

Minerals: Graphites, Hekla lava, Silicea

Oils: Petroleum

ANIMAL KINGDOM: Animal products constitute 20% of homeopathic remedies.

Milk: Lac defloratum, Lac caninum

Venoms: Crotalus, Lachesis (snake venom)

Other examples: Oleum jecoris, Aranea diadema, Apis mellifica (honey bee), Sepia (cuttlefish), Tarentula (Spider), Blatta, Formica, Helix tosta (snail), Cantharis (Spanish fly), Spongia, Castor, Carbo animalis, Fel tauri, etc.

DISEASED PRODUCTS: Medicines prepared from causative agent (agent which causes the pathology) i.e. identical disease products of humans, animals or plants are known as Nosodes.

Humans: Bacillinum (tuberculous sputum), Carcinosinum (breast cancer tumour tissue), Medorrhinum, Psorinum, Tuberculinum, Variolinum

Animals: Ambra G, Lyssin

Plants: Secale cor

HEALTHY SPECIMEN: Medicine prepared from healthy spicemen of humans and animals such as secretions, extracts of fresh tissue, organ or glands are called Sarcodes ex. Thyroidinum, Cortisone, Cholesterinum, Lecithin, Fel tauri, Insulinum, etc.

ENERGY SOURCES: Medicine prepared from energy sources (natural or artificial) are called Imponderabilia.

Natural: Sol (sun rays)

Artificial: X-Rays. Potentised water (1 l) or sugar or milk (1 kg) which have been exposed to X-rays (1000 rad) and then diluted to 1/100 and the product is equivalent to 2X. The electrical energy of the X-rays brings a change in the orientation of dipoles of water molecules present in the water/sugar of milk.

ALLERSODES: Potentised antigens such as histamine.

Q8.What is Isopathy and Tautopathy?

Both of them are based on the ‘Principle of Sameness’. They are not based on the ‘Principle of Similars’, so in the strict sense, they are not Homeopathy but pretty close to it.

Treatment of disease by use of nosodes is known as Isopathy.

Example of isopathy in Homeopathy: Tuberculinum for treatment of tuberculosis, Syphilinum for treatment of syphilis.

Example of isopathy in conventional medicine is the use of anti-snake venom to treat snake bite.

Treatment of disease by auto-nosodes is known as auto-isopathy.

Example of Tautopathy

1. Arsenicum album to antidote arsenic poisoning, mercurius solubilis to antidote mercuric chloride poisoning, Cadmium Sulphuricum to antidote cadmium chloride toxicity

2. Potentised Penicillin to remove the bad-effects of penicillin, potentised Roaccutane to remove the bad effects of penicillin such as hair fall.

Q9. What medical conditions homeopathy medicine can treat?

Homeopathic medicines works effectively and curative in treating people with a wide range of conditions, from acute (indisposition and infectious disease like viral and bacterial) to chronic (longstanding) to lifestyle such as obesity to genetic diseases to epidemics regardless of whether the cause of the illness is mental/emotional or physical.

Q10. Who can take Homeopathic medicine for their illness?

Homeopathic medicine is ideal for people of all ages, even the most sensitive like an expectant mother or a newborn because it is devoid of chemical toxicity.

Pregnant Women:  Homeopathic treatment during pregnancy is safe for the mother as well as the baby. Difficulties during pregnancy and the delivery or its aftermath. Homeopathic treatment during the last three months of pregnancy will aid safe and smooth normal delivery. At times homeopathic medicines help where caesarean delivery is indicated because of lack of labour pains. The treatment has the potential to block the early onset of possible inherited diseases.

Newborns: The problems experienced by the newborn/neonates can be dealt with very efficiently and without side effects with homeopathy.

Infants: Homeopathic medicines and treatments are successfully used by parents for common infant ailments such as colic, teething pain and some infections. In many instances, no medicine is required for breastfed babies. Only treating the mother is sufficient.

Children: Homeopathy is also effective in behavioral problems and temperament seen commonly in children like irritability, obstinacy, temper-tantrums, fears, phobias, thumb-sucking, nail-biting, destructiveness, bed-wetting; as well as mentally and physically backward children. Most of the children’s ailments like cold, cough, fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, dysentery, colic, tonsillitis, bronchitis, asthma, chicken pox, mumps can be treated very effectively with homeopathic medicines without any side effects. Homeopathy removes allergic tendencies in kids to most food items.

Dosage is same for children since the activity of homeopathy medicines is independent of body weight.

Old Age: In case of debility, patients cannot tolerate drugs but they can do homeopathy.

There are 32 health/medical conditions for which there are 2 or more than 2 statistically significant human studies published in peer-reviewed journals upto the end of the year 2010

Animals: For more than 150 yrs, many veterinarians have been using homeopathic medicines to treat domestic pets such as cats, dogs and birds, as well as barnyard animals like goats, horses and cows.

Q11. How long does treatment by homeopathic medicines take?

The action of homeopathic medicine is dependent on various factors like sensitivity of the diseased person, the nature of illness of the person, the pathology of the disease, various other treatment measures taken before resorting to homeopathy and patient’s vitality. On consideration of the above factors, if the most appropriate homeopathic medicine is selected and administered, the action is fast and beneficial.

As we are all so very different in our mental and physical makeup it is reasonable to expect that our reaction to an illness will also be different and individual. Illnesses which occurred many years previously, sometimes in childhood or even in our parents, can often lead to areas of weakness in our constitution and a skilled homeopath physician may spend some time in tracing and removing these defects by the use of the indicated homeopathic medicine. In general, a slowly developing or long-standing complaint takes longer to cure than an acute one.

If a patient comes to a homeopath with long history of chronic illness, by that time the original disease picture has been distorted to a large extent. Remember that homeopathy aims to cure both the cause of you illness as well as its symptoms. Therefore the treatment may take time.

Homeopathy is in fact fast acting in acute conditions such as fever, diarrhea, vomiting, etc. Homeopathy can give quick effective results within 5 to 10 minutes in severe pains of gallstone, renal and abdominal colic. It can bring down temperatures in just 10 minutes in case of high fevers, viral fever of 1 week cured in a day followed by no after-effects like tiredness, fatigue etc., and works effectively in malaria, typhoid etc.

To remove a small plant you need a few seconds and to remove a tree you need a day. Similarly, say a chronic disease like asthma of 10 years if cured in 6 months don’t you think cure is rapid

Once your symptoms start to lessen you should increase the time between doses according to the directions given by the physician.

Q12. How homeopathy medicine provides a strong and stable foundation for your health?

Picture a house with windows, doors, roof, plumbing, all sitting on a solid foundation. An earthquake occurs. The house shifts on its foundation; windows break; pipes rupture; ceilings come crashing down. You engage a plumber to fix the pipes, a carpenter to mend the doors and a roofer to replace the tiles.

But really it’s the foundation that needs to be stabilized so that the rest of the house can be balanced, in its right place, and strong enough to resist future earthquakes.

Conventional medicine is like the plumber, the carpenter, and the roofer. It looks at the individual parts and makes them work. Homeopathy fixes the foundation. Homeopathy creates a stable foundation for your health. Stable foundation means your immune system will be stronger and better able to resist sickness. Homeopathy goes beyond providing relief for immediate symptoms. It seeks to provide long-term solutions to your health problems.

Q13. While on homeopathic treatment, is there any necessity to have the pathological tests done?

If the case demands so, the homeopathic physician will mandate the patient to undergo blood, urine or radiation tests/medical imaging. The tests decide the state of the patient’s immunity, how the patient is going to respond to treatment, and what diet he / she should take while on the treatment.

Q14. Why Homeopathic medicine should not be taken at least 15 minutes before or after any food or drink except water?

The absorption of a dry dose of homeopathic medicine administered sub-lingually by placing under tongue occurs by mucous membranes. To maximize absorption and oral bioavailability, it is advised not to take food (especially strong-tasting and strong-smelling such as onion and garlic because they leave a strong odour/taste in the mouth) or drink (other than water) (especially stimulants like coffee) at least 15 minutes before or after every dose of homeopathic medicine.

Q15. Homeopathy advises restrictions in diet when taking medicines, is it necessary?

Total abstinence from certain foods is not at all necessary. Usually, the things that aggravate the condition are restricted but only until the person responds to homeopathic line of treatment. The patient can restart consuming the same item once he responds to homeopathic treatment curatively.

Q16. How do I store homeopathic medicines?

Poor handling may reduce its effect. Avoid touching the globules/pellets with your fingers, as unlike conventional medicines, there is no protective coating on the surface of globules, except that produced by Boiron company, so it can be easily contaminated, so tip the pill(s) into the cap of the container.

Being potentised, the medicines are sensitive and should therefore be stored in a dry place below 25′C, in their original container and away from strong smells such as perfume, aftershave, coffee and moth repellents, and away from direct sunlight. Although they are perfectly safe, as a general rule all medicines should be kept out of reach of small children.

Mother tincture: Preserved at 15.6′C (Lawrence Ashwell)

Heating homeopathic medicines at 55 degrees C for 30 minutes renders them useless

Q17. What reactions should I expect after taking homeopathic medicine?

Most of the time patients experience exceptional well-being and optimism while on the homeopathic treatment. Rarely (and that too only in few chronic cases) after taking a homeopathic medicine there may be slight and short worsening of your symptoms i.e. there’s an increase in your complaints. This is a reaction/detoxification/cleansing of the body while the curative action is taking place. Your body throws out any junk out of your system. It is a good sign that the body’s natural healing energies have started to counteract the illness. This effect will be small and brief in time and is followed by rapid relief. After the detox, you will feel regain your health rapidly and usually your symptoms will have disappeared or be greatly subside.

One must know that not all cases aggravate. Aggravation is not a characteristic of a remedy – it is the characteristic of the disease. Sulfur, when given for insomnia, would never aggravate it. But when given for skin would almost always aggravate the itching or the gravity of the disease.

Q18. What do we need to tell a doctor in a follow-up?

First and foremost, you need to tell the doctor how you feel in your chief complaint and associated complaint as well as the new problems if any. As the patient progress, there might be a change in presenting symptoms (a new set of symptoms). So there might be a call for a change in medicine/potency.

Q19. How homeopathic and bio-chemical medicines are related to each other?

Bio-chemical medicines were discovered and prepared by Dr. Shussler. These are triturated up to the potency 12 X or 6C and not more than that. It is based on the principle that diseases strike the human body only when there is an imbalance in the essential salts of the human body such as calcium chloride or sodium chloride etc. Treatment with these medicines furnishes the salts that are imbalanced and rejuvenates health.

The homeopathic medicines, on the other hand, can be potentized up to 12C, 30C, 200C, 1M, 10M and even 50M.

Q20. What are the preventive medicines in Homeopathy?

The early symptoms of a disease are not detectable by modern machines such as X-rays, Ultrasound, CT scan, etc. Suppose you have a 1mm tumour in your liver. There is no way that an ultra sound or CT scan will pick it up. The detectable mass can be 2 mm in diameter. There can be millions of cancer cells in this 1 mm mass.

Cancer does not develop in a short time. It starts with unregulated mutations. If the person does not cure the problem it develops into hyperplasia. If the excesses with the body keep on it develops into dysplasia. If still no corrective measures are taken it develops into in-situ cancer. This in-situ cancer is detectable when it reaches the size of 2 mm or more. Since machines were unable to detect this life-threatening problem, the patient ended up with cancer. All this time the patient has been complaining of different problems by exhibiting symptoms. Headaches, menstrual problems, constipation, insomnia, fatigue, cough etc.

Preventive use of homeopathy (called homeoprophylaxis) was first applied in 1799 during an epidemic of scarlet fever in Königslütter, Germany, when Dr. Hahnemann prescribed a single dose of Belladonna, as the remedy of the epidemic genius to susceptible children in the town with 95% success.

Homeopaths do not wait for a disease to progress to an observable level by machines. They observe the objective and subjective symptoms. We can feel quantum changes in our bodies which simply are not possible to be picked up by machines. Our brain contains 95-100 billion neurons. It can detect signals which are not detectable by any other media.

Constitutional medicine and Nosodes (increases specific immunity regarding definite etiological agents) are among the best preventive medicine in Homeopathy.

Prophylactic: At times it has been seen that a specific medicine for example Euphrasia taken for conjunctivitis precipitates the illness rather than stimulating the illness. More examples of prophylactics are Belladonna for Scarlet fever, Pulsatilla for Measles.

Genus Epidemics: During epidemic disease, the homeopathy medicine prescribed for the majority of patients in the same geographical area is known as Genus epidemicus. Eupatorium perfoliatum is one specific medicine for prevention of chikengunya fever when taken during epidemic.

Q21. How homeopathic medicines are prepared?

There are two recognized methods of preparing potencies:

1) The traditional Hahnemann method, where each potency is prepared in a new vial. This method is not used now-a-days, except for preparing small quantities and for “plussing” a potency (raising it one or a few steps).

2) The Korsakoff method, named after Count Karsakoff (1788-1853, Russia) who is credited with the use of the same sterilised vial (20 ml), and the earlier step is simply poured out, so the remedy carried on is that which sticks to the inner surface of the vial. This is now the only method widely used by pharmacies worldwide. Dr Benoit Jules Mur (1809 France-1858) in 1838 built the first potentisation machine based on Karsakoff method. Automatic potentizer ensures that each succussion is performed with the same number of strokes and with the same force on each stroke. Quinn potentiser is a variation of Karsakoff machine. The most popular Karsakoff machine used now-a-days is Labotic’s K-TRONIC. Quinn potentiser is a variation of Karsakoff machine. Mathematically, the final dilution of a Korsakovian potentization using single-vial-method is identical to that of the Hahnemannian multi-vial-method, provided that one hundredth of the remedy solution keeps adhering to the glass wall. Automatic potentizer ensures that each succussion is performed with the same number of strokes and with the same force on each stroke.

YouTube Video on How to prepare a remedy: Part-1 Part-II

Q22. What is the status of Homeopathy around the World?

Homeopathy is a recognized way of treatment in more than 70 countries around the world.More than 300 millions of people use Homeopathy either alone or with combination of other therapies for their self cure.The use of this therapy is growing fast,particularly in certain areas like Northern Europe,where the life expectancy a common man is one of the highest in the world.

Q23. How do super-Avogadro dilutions in Homeopathy work?

Scientific plausible mechanism of biological action of ‘potentised high dilutions’in homeopathy.There are various research papers published about the working mechanism of high diluted Homeopathic remedies like MIT principle,Nano particle theory etc.

Q24. What are the limitations of homeopathic medicine?

Like any other system of medicine homeopathy medicine also has its’ own limitations.

1. A surgical problem which has progressed far beyond its initial stages might not respond to homoeopathy medicine.

2. Homeopathy can’t fix anything structural such as a hole in the heart. Surgical correction of the disorders has to be undertaken, e.g. aligning the fractured ends of the bone, stitching the broken ends of the skin, etc. Homeopathic medicines can then be administered as an antiseptic for faster healing.

Neither a Homeopathic physician (BHMS) nor allopathic physician (MBBS) is trained to perform surgery. They are trained in medicine. Dr Dewan Harish Chand on having no surgery in homeopathy said, “Neither have allopathy, ayurveda or unani systems strictly speaking. These are systems of therapeutics-treatment by medicine. Surgery is common to all-to use when neccessary.” To be eligible to do surgery, you need to do MS after MBBS. Every allopath does not practice surgery. Homeopath do succeed in curing some threatening surgical conditions.

Homeopathic treatment serves to make surgery unnecessary by means of preventative treatment. It raises the threshold of disease susceptibility, prevents illness, clears up the cause of pathology and obviates operation – especially in chronic patients. Patients given proper homeopathic treatment need operations less frequently, because homeopathy can treat diseases in their functional stage before irreversible organic changes have developed. Homeopathic treatment also serves to arrest supposed surgical cases and finally, if surgery is necessary, it can help in managing surgical cases with pre and post-operative homeopathic medicines. [9]

1. Some sudden life-threatening situations like heart attacks, paralytic strokes, diabetic comas etc. have to be initially treated with conventional, till the patient is out of danger.

2. It is relatively slow-acting as compared to the steroids.

3. The exact mechanism of action of super-Avogadro dilutions in homeopathy is still not completely understood.

4. It does not guarantee 100% success rate.

Q25. What are alternatives to Homeopathic system of medicine?

There is no alternative to homeopathy and no alternative to conventional system of medicine. In fact, there is no alternative to any system of medicine. All schools of medicine are good in their own way.

No system of medicine is 100% perfect. Each system of medicine including homeopathy and allopathy has its own advantages/strengths and limitations/weaknesses. There is nothing like ‘the best’ medicine for a given medical condition because it would be akin to comparing apple with oranges. We all are unique. Each one of us gets benefitted by variety of ways and means. The wisdom lies in knowing and using what suits your health at a particular instant or in a particular case. For emergencies, life-threatening and surgical needs, there is no substitute for conventional medicine. For acute diseases, chronic diseases, lifestyle diseases and psycho-somatic ailments, homeopathy is a better option. It all boils down to saving lives and alleviating sufferings.

Conventional, alternative or complementary is as per see.
A person who prefers, let’s say homeopathic medicine, as the first line of treatment, conventional medicine is either complementary or alternative for him/her.
Likewise, a person who took conventional medicine as the first line of treatment, other forms of treatment are either complementary or alternative.

Q26. Can anyone die of homeopathic medicine overdose?

NO, you won’t die if you overdose on homeopathic medicines but you might die if you overdose on allopathic medicines.

It’s because one dose of homeopathic medicine is in picograms whereas one dose of allopathic medicine is generally in milligrams.

That means you have to take [1 billion (100 crores) dry doses or 50000 litres as wet dose] of homeopathic medicine in quick succession to reach that side effect of allopathic medicine. And your whole life is too short and your whole body is too small to do that.

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