Faqs(Frequently asked questions)

What is Homeopathy?
What is treating like with like?
Is Homeopathy legal in the U.S. ?
Why Homeopathy is not popular in the USA
Where is Homeopathy popular?
History and legal status in the U.S.?
Researches
References

In 1796 a German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann, discovered a different approach to the cure of the sick which he called homeopathy (from the Greek words meaning 'similar suffering'), Law of Similar. Like Hippocrates two thousand years earlier he realized that there were two ways of treating ill health, the way of opposites and the way of similar.

 Homeopathy is a system of medicine based on the observation that high doses of pharmacologically active substances cause symptoms when administered to healthy individuals. These same substances, when prepared in very dilute form, relieve similar symptoms in conditions resulting from different etiologies. Unlike dietary supplements, homeopathic drugs are subject to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and regulations issued by FDA.

 Homeopathic remedies cannot cause side effects and you cannot become addicted to them. This is because only a very minute amount of the active ingredient is used in a specially prepared form. Your homeopath will give you a homeopathic medicine or remedy which matches your symptoms as you experience them. This also takes account of you as a person - your individual characteristics emotionally as well as physically.

Treating like with like, or the Law of Similars

 Homeopathic remedies are prescribed according to the Law of Similars. This law states, that which makes sick shall heal'. This means that the same substance that produce gross clinical symptoms in a healthy person when applied in a much-diluted and potentized concentration produces an alleviation of  the same symptoms in an unwell person.

For instance, we know that when cutting a strong onion we often experience an acrid runny nose, a particular soreness in the throat and stinging, runny eyes; so a homeopath will prescribe Allium cepa (the homeopathic remedy made from onion) for the patient who has a cold and bad throat with these particular symptoms.

Homeopathy as we know it today was first formulated two hundred years ago by Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician, chemist and linguist.

Yes. Most of its practitioners are conventionally trained medical doctors who have furthered their training with the study of homeopathy. Some of its practitioners are other types of health professionals, including acupuncture physicians, dentists, podiatrists, psychologists, physicians assistants, nurses, naturopaths, chiropractors, and even veterinarians.

Because homeopathic medicines are legally considered "drugs," some authorities assume that anyone who prescribes or recommends them needs to be a physician or have the license to prescribe drugs. However, because the vast majority of homeopathic medicines are considered "over-the-counter drugs" which means that consumers do not need a prescription to purchase them, some authorities assume that one does not need a license to use them. Homeopathic practice by unlicensed individuals may be legal if they practiced under the supervision of a physician, but this physician would subsume all legal responsibilities for patient care.

Actually, homeopathy is quite popular in many countries in the world. As for homeopathy in the U.S., it was also very popular here. At the turn of the century, 15% of physicians were homeopathic physicians. The A.M.A. was seriously threatened clinically, philosophically, and economically by homeopaths. As distinct from other unorthodox practitioners, homeopaths graduated from respected medical schools. The A.M.A. was so threatened by homeopathy that from 1860 to the early 1900s a conventional physician would lose their membership in the A.M.A if they simply consulted with a homeopath. The A.M.A. also applied pressure on various funding sources so that the homeopathic schools had difficulty staying alive. Despite the strong pressure from A.M.A. and the drug companies, homeopathy has survived and has flourished throughout the world.

Where is Homeopathy popular?

Homeopathy is particularly popular in France, England, Germany, Greece, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and South Africa. Approximately 40% of the French public have used homeopathic medicines, and 39% of the French physicians have prescribed the medicines. About 20% of German physicians occasionally utilize these natural medicines, and 45% of Dutch physicians consider them effective. According to a survey in the British Medical Journal (June 7, 1986), 42% of British physicians survey refer patients to homeopathic physicians, and a New York Times article reported that visits to British homeopaths is growing at a rate of 39% a year.

Despite these impressive statistics, homeopathy is particularly popular in India where there are over 120 four-year homeopathic medical schools.

Homeopathy is also growing very rapidly in the United States. Market research shows that sales of homeopathic medicines have grown at a rate of 10-20% per year during the past ten years.

Homeopathy was brought to the United States (beginning in 1825) by several doctors who had studied in Europe. They, in turn, converted other doctors to homeopathic practice. Slowly schools were established, and a medical organization was formed. By the mid-1800's, several medical colleges existed that taught homeopathy, including the New England Female Medical College, the first medical school in the U.S. to admit women.

At the turn of the century there were 22 homeopathic medical colleges, and one out of five doctors used homeopathy. But the move toward a mechanical model of the body and of disease pushed homeopathy into the background. By 1910 only 15 colleges remained. By the late 40's, no courses in homeopathy were taught in the U.S.

The American Foundation for Homeopathy began to teach homeopathy as a post-graduate course for doctors in 1922, and the courses, now run by the National Center for Homeopathy, have continued to this day. The present day resurgence of homeopathy, fueled in part by graduates of the NCH course, is slowly bringing homeopathy back to its place in the medical care system in our country.

The manufacture and sale of homeopathic medicines is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States was written into federal law in 1938 under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, making the manufacture and sale of homeopathic medicines legal in this country. Most are available without a prescription.

Laws about the practice of homeopathy vary from state to state. Usually it can be practiced legally by those whose license entitles them to practice medicine in their state. Health freedom laws in a growing number of states allow the practice of homeopathy by non-licensed professionals as well. Since homeopathic remedies are sold over the counter, people in all states are free to use them for self-care at home.

 Homeopathic remedies are tested on people, not on animals. Groups of volunteers under supervision take a safe dose, of a substance prepared as a homeopathic remedy, repeatedly over a period of time until they produce a range of symptoms. These symptoms of 'the proving' are carefully recorded. Additional information on the action of many homeopathic remedies has been gathered for over two hundred years, from clinical experience, and all the information is recorded precisely in two types of homeopathic reference book, the materia medica, and the repertory, as well as on computer.

This information is then used to prescribe a remedy for a patient with the same symptoms, according to the Law of Similars (that which makes sick shall heal).

There is much precision involved both in testing remedies and prescribing them. Collective experience reinforces the understanding of their curative action and, because of the way in which they are prescribed, they are not made redundant (as are many chemical drugs) by 'new' or drug-resistant bacteria and viruses.

There has also been some good scientific research published in medical journals and other scientific publications. The LANCET (September 20, 1997) published a review of 89 double-blind or randomized placebo- controlled clinical trials. The authors conclude that the clinical effects of homeopathic medicines are not simply the results of placebo. In fact, they found that homeopathic medicines had a 2.45 times greater effect than placebo.

The lead author of this review of homeopathic research was the same German professor who reviewed the research on St. Johns wort that got international attention.

Another survey of research published in the British Medical Journal (February 9, 1991) indicated that there have been 107 controlled clinical trials, 81 of which showed that the homeopathic medicines had beneficial results.

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