Homeopathy as Alternative Medicine

What is homeopathy? You may have heard the term but not understood what this approach to health care entailed. You may have confused it with an Eastern art such as aromatherapy. Homeopathy is a European concept that began in the 18th century and was, at one time, more highly regarded than traditional medicine. Today, homeopathy is the second most sought after treatment in the United States next to traditional medicine.

The law of similars, or "like cures like" means that if you are suffering from a problem with specific symptoms, the medication prescribed would cause similar symptoms in a healthy person. This medication would help the body overcome these symptoms and the patient would be cured. This is the same concept behind vaccinations.

Homeopathy is similar. There are approximately thirty common remedies used to treat a variety of ailments. You get a small dose of the remedy that has been highly diluted. This remedy would create the symptoms of your ailment in a healthy person. Homeopathy depends on and strengthens the immune system to come to the rescue. This is why homeopathy works so well for many ailments.

Homeopathy also treats the entire body. When diagnosing, all elements are taken into account to find the right remedy to address this individual complaint. Homeopathy treats every problem as an individual, instead of just handing out the latest most popular cure. With traditional medicine, drugs are given out as a one size fits all cure. They treat the symptoms, not the cause of the illness.

Let's look at cancer, for instance. Traditional medicine uses radiation and chemotherapy to treat cancer. This sickens the entire body in the hope of killing off a few cells, kind of like using a cannon to kill a fly. Homeopathy uses the immune system to fight cancer. It has been shown to be effective in some cases. Studies have shown a medical link between the immune system and cancer. Most people, however choose traditional methods to treat cancer. It is familiar to them. Suzanne Somers, the actress, used homeopathics to treat her breast cancer successfully, even though she was criticized for doing so.

Homeopathy may not necessarily work for you. Many homeopaths have the belief that it is a disturbance in the life force that causes illnesses within the body. If the illness is inherent, then it means that nothing will cure it. Very often this is noted when people turn to homeopathy as a last resort where traditional medicine has failed.

Homeopathy has been enjoying a new popularity lately, though it has been around for about two hundred years. As more people get acquainted with it, more and more people are finding out about its effectiveness and gentleness.