by Dr. Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman and Dr. Robert Ullman
Homeopathy is a remarkably powerful tool for healing that can be used successfully in the hands of both the homeopath and the interested lay person. It uses small doses of natural substances to stimulate the body’s ability to heal itself. In homeopathic prescribing a single substance is found which matches the symptom pattern of the sick person. Since homeopathy treats the whole person, physical, mental and emotional symptoms are all taken into account when finding the right homeopathic medicine. Homeopathic prescribing is based on the individual’s symptom pattern, not just on his or her medical diagnosis. Ten people with the same diagnosis might need ten different homeopathic medicines, based on each one’s particular response to being ill. It is necessary to find the correct medicine which a person needs at a given time. People may need one homeopathic medicine for their long-term symptoms and a different one when they have a minor illness which has a different set of symptoms.
Homeopathic medicines are useful in all kinds of illnesses, from the most minor to severe, complex diseases. You can learn to treat yourself for many types of acute illness and first-aid situations if you have good observational skills and the right homeopathic books for reference. Chronic illnesses, however, must be treated by a well-trained, experienced homeopath in order to avoid potential problems and get the best results. It is extremely difficult for the lay person to find the correct homeopathic medicine for a chronic illness and be able to manage the case over time to a successful conclusion.
Acute Illness
Acute illnesses are by definition self-limiting, meaning that the person who is ill will either recover on his or her own or will die from the illness in a relatively short time.
Severe acute illnesses which would normally require medical or surgical intervention in a doctor’s office, emergency room or hospital are not appropriate for home treatment except for giving first aid (including homeopathic medicine) until professional homeopathic or conventional medical assistance can be obtained. More minor problems such as colds, influenza, hay fever, bladder infections, ear aches, headaches, indigestion and bruises, cuts, minor bleeding, strains and sprains can all be treated very nicely using homeopathy. Acute emotional states like anger, sadness, grief, and anxiety will also respond to homeopathic treatment, but long-standing mental and emotional illness should only be treated by competent professionals. Learning to treat acute problems at home can be a very rewarding experience. You will see yourself, friends and family respond well to homeopathy and you will feel great satisfaction at being able relieve suffering and bring healing to those who need it. It can also save a lot of unnecessary and costly visits to the doctor or emergency room for simple problems you can treat yourself.
Chronic Illness
Chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and mental illnesses like major depression and schizophrenia are all able to be helped by homeopathy but should only be treated by a professional homeopath with considerable experience and excellent training. These are complex, long standing conditions which take a great deal of knowledge to understand and treat successfully. Besides understanding and applying homeopathic principles and knowledge, it is necessary to at least know anatomy, physiology, pathology, and physical and laboratory diagnosis just to begin to understand what is happening in these chronic cases. To find the right medicine for them involves at least a 90 minute interview and extensive training in case analysis and knowledge of nearly two thousand homeopathic medicines. That takes years of study. Leave it to the professionals.
There is much that you can learn to deal with at home, however, and achieve results in a very short time using a more manageable fifty medicines or so. It is a good idea to study the basic principles of homeopathy and how to take someone’s case history before you are faced with the necessity of prescribing for yourself or your sick child. Taking a one or two day course in homeopathic medicine for home use will also help a great deal in showing you the method which homeopaths use to prescribe for minor illnesses. Study groups organized by the National Center for Homeopathy and local homeopaths often offer this type of class. Unfortunately, for many people, books will have to do if no classes are offered in your area.
Once you have an idea of what homeopathy is and what it can do, you need to practice taking the case history whenever someone around you is sick. As you learn how to discover the symptoms which make up the picture of your patient’s suffering, you will understand the basic components which are necessary in order to prescribe a homeopathic medicine and get the results you want. When you are able to create a list of symptoms and observations for the person who is ill you can begin to match those symptoms with what particular homeopathic medicines can treat.
Homeopaths use a book called a repertory to match the patient’s symptoms with the symptoms which particular homeopathic medicines have been known to cure. In this way it is possible to see how many of the person’s symptoms match the medicine which you are considering prescribing. Another kind of book called a materia medica has descriptions of the characteristic symptoms which each homeopathic medicine can cure. You can read the symptoms covered by the medicine to determine how well it matches the patient’s symptoms. A good match will usually cure or at least help heal the illness. Since the number of potential homeopathic medicines for a given condition is large, a number of books have been written which describe minor illnesses and the common homeopathic medicines which are used to treat them. If you have a sore throat, you can read the capsule descriptions for the throat symptoms and other symptoms covered by the best homeopathic medicines for that condition. Then you simply choose the one which is closest to the pattern of symptoms you are treating and take it. You can have surprising success using just this simple method.
Learn homeopathy well and you will not only heal yourself, but your family and friends will benefit too. Homeopathy is the best medicine for home use: safe, natural, non-toxic and best of all, it works.
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