If you are not very familiar with the form of medicine, you may wonder how does homeopathy work? Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine based on the premise that like cures like. The founder of homeopathic medicine, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, actually stumbled upon the foundational premise of homeopathy when he was searching for a cure for malaria patients. He had previously noticed that a patient who had chronic skin irritations suddenly had clear skin after coming down with measles. This made him wonder if perhaps the body naturally heals itself of certain symptoms when other agents-that usually cause those symptoms-were introduced to the body.
Dr. Hahnemann took heart from this discovery and decided to test this on malaria patients. Upon hearing the supposition that cinchona bark extract was sometimes used to help malaria patients, Dr. Hahnemann took some cinchona bark extract himself, even though he was healthy. After he took the extract, he became ill with similar symptoms to malaria, including a fever. Then he had malaria patients take a diluted concoction made from a base of cinchona bark extract in alcohol, and several of those patients recovered.
This got Dr. Hahnemann thinking. He began searching for substances that caused specific symptoms and giving diluted tinctures of those substances to people who already had the concerning symptoms. In many cases, the symptoms went away instead of getting worse, so Dr. Hahnemann based his homeopathic practice on this principle: like cure likes.
Standard homeopathy remedies are made from substances-usually natural-that cause symptoms like the symptoms for which the patients are seeking relief. If you have allergies that cause your eyes to water, a homeopath might make up a remedy for you that has been crafted from allium cepa-a substance that also makes your eyes water-in the hopes that your body will respond to the stimuli and heal itself, stopping your eyes from watering.
Homeopathic remedies are made of very diluted amounts of these substances. The interesting and circumspect premise of homeopathy is the idea that the more diluted a remedy is, the more powerful the remedy is believed to be. Sometimes these homeopathy cures are diluted to the point where scientifically they do not contain any molecules of the original tincture in them, making them essentially placebo pills. Homeopaths assert these pills still retain memory of the original substance stored in the water molecules, and many homeopaths assert these diluted remedies do work.
 | The law of similars is the fundamental basis of homeopathy-like is used to treat like. Homeopathic medicine operates on the principle that the best remedy for illness is a substance that produces similar symptoms of that same illness in a healthy person. |
 | Proponents of homeopathic remedies are quick to point out that homeopathic doctors take a holistic approach to medicine. You will be asked questions about your lifestyle, diet, sleeping habits, exercise habits, personality and medical history, all in an effort to help you get your body in the best health possible using natural stimulants and remedies. |
 | Homeopathic remedies are custom designed to treat the individual, an illness and the symptoms of that illness. The thought is that small quantities of ingredients that would cause symptoms of a disease in larger quantities will alleviate symptoms. |
Homeopathy used to be virtually unknown in the United States. It has its roots in Europe and has been popular overseas for a long time. Americans are starting to catch up, as I now see homeopathic medicines in large national retail chains. |&&|In Greek, homeopathy literally means "similar suffering". |
