What is Homeopathy?

What is Homeopathy?

Homeopathy is a system of medicine developed by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann over two hundred years ago.
Homeopathic medicines are safe, effective, and inexpensive.  They work with the body’s natural defences to restore health, rather than just fight disease.  Homeopathy is based on the premise that a substance that causes certain symptoms in healthy individuals can, in a highly diluted form, stimulate a healing response in a patient with an illness or condition characterised by those same symptoms. Since homeopathy works by its similarity to the condition to be cured, it is important to match the remedy to the patient as precisely as possible. This is relatively easy for acute problems like colds and intestinal upsets, but it is more complicated and time-consuming for chronic problems.  Each homeopathic remedy has its own electromagnetic signature, and remedies are believed to work by their influence on the body’s electromagnetic field.  There have been excellent studies showing the effectiveness of homeopathic medicines, when they are chosen to correspond with the signs seen in the patient.

How does it work?

The homeopathic remedy stimulates the body’s own healing powers, which will restore the patient’s natural balance. The principle is similar to the way a thermostat of a central heating system operates. When it is incorrectly set, it could get too chilly. The homeopathic remedy readjusts the thermostat, so to speak, so that the temperature will rise again. The remedy itself is not giving off heat, but stimulates the body system to produce this heat itself again.

Any animal species can respond well to homeopathy.
You want to choose a veterinarian with experience with diagnosing and treating your animal species, because they will know what is normal for that type of animal. Some problems are more difficult to treat than others, but virtually every health problem can benefit from homeopathic treatment, including those for which conventional medicine has no effective treatment. Homeopathic veterinarians vary in their degree of expertise and experience. Certification from the IAVH or another recognised body, like the UK Faculty of Homeopathy, or the North American Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy, indicates a high degree of proficiency in homeopathy.

Homeopathy is particularly useful in conditions where conventional medicines may have undesirable side effects, such as behaviour problems, epilepsy, and skin conditions.  It is gentle enough to use in the very young, or in those debilitated by age or chronic disease.  It can help problems that may be difficult to treat with conventional medicine, such as recurring or chronic illnesses.  It allows you to work with the body for deeper healing.

Homeopathy is not a quick fix.  Sometimes results are rapid, but patients that have been using suppressive drugs will take a longer time to respond to the homeopathic remedies. 
It also can be difficult to find the best remedy for a patient, so your homeopathic veterinarian may need to try different remedies.  It is important to remember that lifestyle and diet changes may also be necessary to enable the body to heal.  Patience and proper care are essential to the healing of the whole individual.

The homeopathic interview is the key to finding the best remedy for the patient. 
You will discuss and explore the main problem, including what makes it better and worse, what it was like when it first started and so on, but that is just part of the compete picture of the patient.  Likes and dislikes, fears and anxieties, other problems in the patient’s life, preferences in food, temperature and companions, and anything else that is a significant factor to this particular individual are important to explore.  As the people involved, your opinions and insights into the case are vital. This process of receiving the case may require one to two hours.  Your veterinarian will want to thoroughly examine your animal and review any medical records. Diagnostic testing may be required to identify deeper problems.  Sometimes the homeopath will immediately prescribe a remedy, other times she or he will need to study the information further before prescribing.  The goal is to find the remedy that is the very best match for the patient.  This process of repertorisation and remedy choice may take several hours.  Your homeopathic veterinarian may also recommend nutritional supplements, dietary and lifestyle changes for immediate implementation, in order to support the body’s ability to heal.

• Remedies should not be touched with hands or put back in their container because it will contaminate them. 
• Drop a few drops of liquid remedies straight in the mouth or on a mucus membrane, or tip a few granules from a spoon, folded corner of paper, or the bottle lid into the mouth.
Remedies need to be kept in a dark place, away from strong smells and sources of electromagnetic radiation such as computers or microwaves.
• Remedies are best taken in a clean mouth, at least a half-hour before or after eating.
Remedies should not be taken at the same time as other remedies or medicines.

The remedies will not interfere with conventional or herbal medicines.  Some medicines, like steroids, tranquillizers and antihistamines may decrease the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies.   Your homeopathic veterinarian can advise you in these matters. 

Acute problems will show improvement fairly quickly, if the remedy is correct.  Expect some improvement in 10 to 15 minutes, with significant improvement in an hour.  If you are using 30X(D) or 30C potencies or higher, once you see improvement, wait until this improvement stops before you repeat the remedy, unless instructed to do so by a trained homeopathic veterinarian.  If there is no improvement within an hour, reassess the situation, and decide if the remedy needs more time or another repetition, or if it’s the wrong remedy.  The wrong remedy will not normally be harmful unless it is repeated too often, but it won’t help much, if at all.  

Chronic and constitutional (whole body) cases may be treated with LM (Q), M, C, or X(D) potencies, depending upon the training, expertise, and preferences of the veterinary homeopath. There is no set way to dose homeopathic remedies; your homeopathic vet will explain the methods that work best for them, and how often they would like progress reports or re-examinations. Often some symptoms will improve quickly, but usually the full action takes two to six weeks.  If there is no change in that time, the remedy or the dosing method may need to be changed. The appropriate remedy will be taken, with decreasing frequency and /or in gradually increasing potencies, until the patient is cured.

Remedies, if stored properly (dark, cool, clean, away from electromagnetism, in glass containers) can last for years.  Some of Hahnemann’s original remedies have been used recently and they are still active.  If in doubt, though, discard the remedy and get a new one from a reputable supplier, as they are quite inexpensive.