An Introduction Guide to Homeopathy for Beginners

About a month ago my daughter had a cold. I faithfully gave her the over-the-counter cold medicine for a head cold. Several days later my husband told a friend about our daughter's cold and how it just kept 'hanging on'. Incidentally, this friend works at a natural foods store. He told my husband to drop by the store. He said he had a product our daughter should take for her cold.

The following day my husband stopped by the store to pick up the recommended product. It was called, Sniffles 'n Sneezes 4 Kids. The directions said to give 2 tablets under the tongue every 15 minutes for up to 8 doses (if needed). After the initial doses to relieve symptoms you should give doses every 4 hours. In small letters on the label it said 'Homeopathic'. I had heard term used before, but had no idea what the term meant. So, I decided to research it.

Samuel Hahnemann, a German chemist and physician, first introduced the concept of Homeopathy in the late 1700's. Medical knowledge was very limited in that day. The normal treatments for sick people during that time in history were rather brutal. One such practice was bloodletting. The belief was that the 'bad blood' was drained from incisions made in the body of the sick person.

When Dr. Hahnemann was translating an herbal script he discovered a text that spoke of using Peruvian bark to cure malaria. This caught his attention since he was trying to find a less invasive approach to helping the sick. He was so intrigued with the finding that he decided to try it--using himself as the patient. He ate some Cinchona tree bark and soon acquired the expected results. He had malaria like symptoms! Through further experimenting he came to believe that a substance could produce symptoms that it could also relieve.

Homeopathy is based on the science of "like cures like." In other words, a substance is given to a healthy person in a large dose and specific symptoms occur. The same substance can be used to treat a sick person. Only this time the substance is given in micro amounts. The philosophy is that the more diluted the substance is, the more potent the healing powers. Studies show these small doses to be quite effective.

Self healing is promoted in Homeopathy. The idea is that each person has a vital energy. When the energy is thrown out of balance, an individual gets sick. Homeopathy stimulates the body to heal itself.

Most Homeopathic products are made from natural ingredients, such as--herbs, minerals and animal products. This helps them to work with the body instead of suppressing the immune system (as some medicines do). They are thought to be safe and effective for babies and pregnant women. These products can be purchased in health food stores and some pharmacies. They are available in tablet and liquid forms. Some popular Homeopathic products include ones used for colds, sinus infections, pain relief, acne, anxiety and weight loss.

Homeopathy recommends treating each case on an individual basis. Various factors are studied during testing such as a person's mental, physical and emotional responses. Therefore, it is advisable to seek out a medical professional that treats with Homeopathic methods.

There are many informative books on Homeopathy. Two that I found beneficial are: Healing with Homeopathy, by Wayne Jonas, MD, and Jennifer Jacobs, MD, and The Consumer's Guide to Homeopathy, by Dana Ullman.