What is Homeopathic Medicine?
Homeopathy is an alternative system of medicine that was founded in the early 19th century by a German physician, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann. Classical homeopathy rests on three principles: the law of similars, the single medicine, and the minimum dose. The law of similars states that a disease is cured by a medicine which creates symptoms similar to those the patient is experiencing in a healthy person. The homeopathic practitioner determines which medicine best matches the symptoms the patient is experiencing and gives it. The principle of the single remedy states that a single medicine should cover all the symptoms the patient is experiencing: mental, emotional, and physical. A good homeopath would not prescribe one medicine for a headache and another for an upset stomach; he or she would find a single medicine that covered both symptoms. The principle of the minimum states that the similar medicine should be given in an infinitesimal dose. Homeopaths have discovered that the effect of homeopathic medicines is strengthened upon successive dilutions as long as the medicine is shaken between each dilution. Though the idea that medicines become more powerful as they are diluted goes against common sense, homeopaths have observed that the process of making homeopathic medicines liberates an intrinsic power within them that makes them deeper acting and more powerful, as well as safer than traditional medicines.
Homeopathic medicines are natural substances derived from plant, mineral, or animal sources. Most homeopathic medicines are made from alcohol tinctures, which are then successively diluted. But if the substance is not soluble in alcohol, it is ground together with milk sugar. The minerals are mostly pulverized and mixed with lactose. Most plant preparations are extracted using ethyl alcohol as the solvent as well as the preservative. Others go through rhythmical processes and are allowed to ferment using only distilled water (as is the case with injectable solutions). Some remedies undergo special preparation to enhance their healing qualities.