Alternative Medicine: Are Homeopathic Treatments and Remedies for You?

Many people throughout the world are beset with chronic illness ranging from migraine headaches to arthritis or worse.. Many, discouraged by what they consider ineffective traditional medical treatment, have sought relief through alternative methods and cures such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic manipulation and herbs and supplements. But one of the most popular forms of alternative medicine is the practice of homeopathy or the utilization of homeopathic remedies.

Homeopathic treatment dates back to the early 1800s when the father of the practice, German physician Samuel Hahnemann, discovered that by ingesting small amounts of cinchona bark, he could produce malaria like symptoms in his body, without the disease itself manifesting, even though he was normally healthy at the time. Further, during his studies of other healthy people who developed certain symptoms when taking other substances, he found that these substances cured people sick with the same symptoms. This theory of like cures like became one of the mainstay principles of homeopathic medicine and with variations is used today in the treatment of allergies and the manufacturing of vaccines.

At the time of Hahnemann's discovery, the medical community used such treatment as bloodletting, leeches, purging and concoctions of opiates. Naturally, his principle of like cures like was a boon to medicine as it was then known. But as time went on , the controversy over the efficacy of these homeopathic remedies has loomed large in the scientific community. Homeopathic remedies are given in extremely low doses and diluted with water to the point that the original active substance is no longer present. They act much like a placebo with the patient's mind providing the cure in some cases.

Yet, homeopathic treatment and remedies associated with the treatment is much safer than most of those prescribed drugs on the market today. There are no side effects, safe for children and pregnant women, natural and relatively inexpensive. And no matter the number of symptoms demonstrated, only one homeopathic remedy is given to cure all the symptoms.

However, while the remedy itself may be inexpensive, fitting the individual to the proper remedy requires consultation with a homeopath and providing an extensive history of the patient's physical and psychological state. There are no standard remedies for any particular illness. These visits can be costly.

Before seeking treatment with any of the alternative medicine methods, due diligence is of utmost importance. Many books have been published on the subject, but the one I have found to be most straight forward on the subject is What Your Doctor Hasn't Told You and the Health Store Clerk Doesn't Know, Edward L. Schneider, M.D. (Penguin Group, 2006).

Another invaluable source of information is www.abchomeopathy.com.