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Natural Health News Articles
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| Posted: 7th August 2004 |
| Homeopathy (also spelled homœopathy / homoeopathy) |
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The term Homeopathy comes from the Greek words homoios (similar) and pathos (suffering) and is a system of alternative medicine involving the use of remedies without chemically active ingredients. The theory of homeopathy was developed by physician Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) and first published in 1796.
Theory
There are 3 'natural laws' that form the basis of homeopathy:
Similia similibus curentur - let like cure like, which is explained further in this article;
The theory of infinitesimals - the more a substance is diluted (in a certain way), the more potent it becomes;
The theory of Psora - according to Hahnemann, 80% of all chronic diseases are the result of suppressed psora ("itching"). It must be noted that even the most ardent proponents of homeopathy do not mention this particular law of Hahnemann.
The theory of homeopathy holds that every symptom induced by a toxic dose of a substance in a healthy person can be cured by a remedy prepared from that same substance— in Hahnemann's own famous words: similia similibus curentur ("Let like cure likes.") Two example of substances used are Natrium muriatricum (a.k.a. table salt), which is not terribly toxic and Lachesis muta (the venom of the bushmaster snake), which is toxic.
Homeopathic remedies
A Materia Medica Pura is a listing of symptoms associated with each of a number of substances, produced by homeopathic proving - i.e., the researcher imbibes a toxic dose of the substance and records all physical, mental, emotional and modal symptoms experienced. A homeopathic repertory is a listing of remedies by symptom compiled therefrom, used to determine the most appropriate remedy for a given case. Kent's Repertory (published 1905) lists about 700 different remedies. Today, nearly 3000 different remedies are used in homeopathy, of which approximately 150 are considered common.
The preparation of homeopathic remedies, known as dynamization or potentiziation, consists of successive dilutions followed by shaking in 10 hard strikes against an elastic body at each dilution stage. |
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