As homeopathy is making waves into the complementary medicine world, it is expedient that we understand the principles with which homeopathy operates with. One may think homeopathy just came into the limelight but I am glad to let you know that this practice was founded far back in 1755 by one scientist and chemist called Samuel Hahnemann.
Scientist Samuel researched and aligned some major basic principles into the practice of homeopathy and we will look at three of them for today. The science and art of this system based on these principles guides the physician to achieve his objective of restoring the sick to health.
- The Law Of Similars
This is the most basic law that the homeopathic system of medicine stands on. It is based on the universal law “SIMILIA SIMILIBUS CURENTUR” which means “let likes be cured by likes”. It simply means that, any substance at all that is capable to produce a set of symptoms in a perfectly healthy human being has that same capacity to remove or annihilate these same symptoms when they are given or administered to someone who is sick and exhibits the symptoms.
Treating patients with like based on this law has been confirmed again and again by practitioners of rational healing art. It has been known in ancient times and was first stated in ancient Hindu literature. For nearly two centuries, this law has been constantly confirmed by scientific clinical observations. More recently, modern research laboratories have been confirming the scientific soundness of the action of medicines administered on the basis of the law of similar.
- Single Remedy
Homeopaths has the professional habit of prescribing a single medicine as remedy for one sick person. They study the symptoms of the sick person and make sure that they give one medicine that would single handedly produce relief for their clients based on research. These work to perfection according to their style of prescription towards the complete treatment of their clients.
- Minimum Dose
This law talks about using the lowest therapeutic dose possible to produce curative action in patients. In homeopathy, they believe that if a drug can elicit symptoms to a healthy human being, using the lowest concentration or dose of that same drug or substance brings relief to the patient, implying the fact that the patient is more susceptible to the substance. There is no need of loading the patient with high concentrations of therapeutic substances.
It will take a lot of readings, research, observations and even laboratory work to understand the big block of homeopathy just like it applies to other fields of complementary medicine study. The above are the three major laws that homeopaths operate on. There are other sub-laws that come to play but we will look at them in a different article. Appreciate the art and science of homeopathy, it brings out a different source and different style of restoring the human body to health.
Reference
- Dr. Shashi Kant Tiwari, Homeopathy and child care, principles, therapeutics, children’s type, repertory. B. Jain Publishers (P) LTD, New Delhi, 1st edition, 1998.
