Facts About Homeopathy

In the last few years there have been many articles in the newspapers attacking homeopathy, claiming it contains nothing more than water, ignoring all the positive studies and saying it works through the placebo effect. So I decided to compile a list of facts to counter this criticism and present the salient points as clearly as possible. So far I have come up with 50.

                              

How Homeopathy Works

• Fact 1 – Hippocrates ‘The Father of Medicine’ of Ancient Greece said there were two Laws of Healing: The Law of Opposites and the Law of Similars. Homeopathy treats the patient with medicines using the Law of Similars, orthodox medicine uses the Law of Opposites, e.g. antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, anticonvulsants, antihypertensives, anti-depressants, anti-psychotics.
• Fact 2 – Homeopathic theories are based on fixed principles of the Laws of Nature which do not change — unlike medical theories which are constantly changing!
• Fact 3 – Homeopathy is an evidence-based, empirical medicine.
• Fact 4 – Homeopathy is both an art and a science.
• Fact 5 – The Homeopathic provings of medicines are a more scientific method of testing than the orthodox model.
• Fact 6 – Homeopathic medicine awakens and stimulates the body’s own curative powers. The potentized remedy acts as a catalyst to set healing into motion.
• Fact 7 – Homeopathic medicines work by communicating a current/pattern/frequency of energy via the whole human body to jump start the body’s own inherent healing mechanisms.
• Fact 8 – Homeopathy assists the body to heal itself, to overcome an illness which brings the patient to a higher level of health. Orthodox medicine suppresses the illness, bringing the patient to a lower level of health.
• Fact 9 – The homeopathic practitioner endeavours to search for and treat the cause of the disease in order to heal the effect.
• Fact 10 – Outcomes of homeopathic treatment are measured by the long term curative effects of prescribing and complete eradication of the disease state.
• Fact 11 – The homeopathic practitioner treats the whole person, believing all symptoms are interrelated and seeks to select a medicine which most closely covers them all.

Homeopathic Medicines

• Fact 12 – Homeopathic remedies are cheap.
• Fact 13 – Pharmaceutical medicines are expensive.
• Fact 14 – There are more than 4,000 homeopathic medicines.
• Fact 15 – Homeopathic medicines have no toxic side-effects.
• Fact 16 – Homeopathic medicines are non-addictive.
• Fact 17 – Every true homeopathic medicine is made using one substance — whether plant, mineral, metal, etc. The exact substance is known, unlike most modern drugs where we are rarely informed of the ingredients.
• Fact 18 – Any remedy up to a 12c or a 24x potency still contains the original molecules of the substance and this is known as Avogadro’s number.
• Fact 19 – Every Patient is Unique so homeopathic medicines are individualized.
• Fact 20 – Homeopaths treat genetic illness, tracing its origins to 6 main genetic causes: Tuberculosis, Syphilis, Gonorrhoea, Psora (scabies), Cancer, Leprosy.
• Fact 21 – Epidemics such as cholera and typhoid were treated successfully using homeopathy in the 19th century with very high success rates, compared to orthodox medicine (http://www.whale.to/v/winston.html) .
• Fact 22 – There are thousands of homeopathic books, available at specialist outlets, not sold in the high street.

Homeopathic Hospitals

• Fact 23 – There are 5 homeopathic hospitals in the U.K. — in London, Tunbridge Wells, Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow. They cost the NHS under £10 million a year compared to the £100 billion for the total annual NHS budget for 2008!
• Fact 24 – At one of the earliest debates on the NHS Act of 1948 the Government pledged that homoeopathy would continue to be available on the NHS, as long as there were “patients wishing to receive it and doctors willing to provide it”.
• Fact 25 – There is a campaign by certain U.K. Professors to oust homeopathy completely from the NHS after they wrote on NHS headed paper to all Primary Care Trusts in 2006 telling managers not to refer patients to the homeopathic hospitals.
• Fact 26 – The Homeopathic Hospitals are clean, with friendly, well informed staff. The patients are generally pleased with their treatment unlike many orthodox National Health Service hospitals.
• Fact 27 – The chances of contracting MRSA or C. Difficile at a Homeopathic Hospital are extremely rare.
• Fact 28 – Unlike orthodox medicine where two thirds of all conventional hospital admissions are due to the side-effects of pharmaceutical medicines, the bill for negligence claims soaring into billions, one U.K. leading insurance company reported only ‘a couple’ of claims against homeopaths in a ten year period!

Orthodox Medicine Opposing Homeopathy

• Fact 29 – In the United States in the early 1900s there were 22 homeopathic medical schools and over 100 homeopathic hospitals, 60 orphanages and old people’s homes and 1,000+ homeopathic pharmacies.
• Fact 30 – Members of the American Medical Association had great animosity towards homeopathy after its formation in 1847 and it was decided to purge all local medical societies of physicians who were homeopaths.
• Fact 31 – Big Pharma does not want the Public to find out how well homeopathy works!

Scientific Studies

• Fact 32 – In 2005 the World Health Organisation brought out a draft report which showed homeopathy was beneficial causing Big Pharma to panic and The Lancet to bring out an editorial entitled ‘The End of Homeopathy’.
• Fact 33 – In 2005 The Lancet tried to destroy homeopathy but were only looking at 8 inconclusive trials out of 110 of which 102 were positive. This was a fraudulent analysis.

“The meta-analysis at the centre of the controversy is based on 110 placebo-controlled clinical trials of homeopathy and 110 clinical trials of allopathy (conventional medicine), which are said to be matched. These were reduced to 21 trials of homeopathy and 9 of conventional medicine of ‘higher quality’ and further reduced to 8 and 6 trials, respectively, which were ‘larger, higher quality’. The final analysis which concluded that ‘the clinical effects of homoeopathy are placebo effects’ was based on just the eight ‘larger, higher quality’ clinical trials of homeopathy. The Lancet’s press release did not mention this, instead giving the impression that the conclusions were based on all 110 trials.” (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1375230)

• Fact 34 – There have been many clinical trials that prove homeopathy works. In the past 24 years there have been more than 180 controlled, and 118 randomized, trials into homeopathy, which were analysed by four separate meta-analyses. In each case, the researchers concluded that the benefits of homeopathy went far beyond that which could be explained purely by the placebo effect.
• Fact 35 – The Bristol Homeopathic Hospital carried out a study published in November 2005 of 6500 patients receiving homeopathic treatment. There was an overall improvement in health of 70% of them (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/4454856.stm) .
• Fact 36 – Homeopathy can never be properly tested through double blind randomised trials because each prescription is individualised as every patient is unique. Therefore 10 people with arthritis, for example, may all need a different homeopathic medicine.
• Fact 37 – Homeopathic medicines are not tested on animals.
• Fact 38 – Homeopathic medicines work even better on animals and babies than on adults, proving this cannot be placebo.
• Fact 39 – Scientists agree that if and when homeopathy is accepted by the scientific community it will turn established science on its head.

Homeopathic Practitioners

• Fact 40 – Homeopathic Practitioners train for 4 years in Anatomy and Physiology, as well as Pathology and Disease, Materia Medica, Homeopathic Philosophy and study of the Homeopathic Repertory.
• Fact 41 – Most homeopaths treat patients who have been referred to them by word of mouth. Most patients seek out homeopathy because conventional treatment has not benefited them or because it poses too great a risk of side-effects.
• Fact 42 – The homeopathic community has thousands, even millions, of written case notes that demonstrate the positive benefits of their treatment. Some homeopaths have video proof of their patients before and after treatment.
• Fact 43 – Homeopaths charge patients an average of £50 an hour. Specialist Doctors can charge up to £200 or more.

Popularity of Homeopathy

• Fact 44 – The popularity of homeopathy has grown in the past 30 years, its revival entirely through word of mouth and estimated to be growing at more than 20% a year the world over.
• Fact 45 – Hundreds of famous people throughout the past 200 years have enjoyed the benefits of homeopathic medicine (http://www.homeopathicrevolution.com/) .
• Fact 46 – The aristocratic patronage of homeopathy in the U.K. extended well into the 1940s and beyond can be easily demonstrated. In the Homeopathic Medical Directories there are lists of patrons of the dispensaries and hospitals. They read like an extract from Burke’s or Debrett’s.
• Fact 47 – The Royal Families of Europe use homeopathic medicine and Queen Elizabeth II of England never travels anywhere without her homeopathic vials of medicine.
• Fact 48 – Homeopathy is practised nowadays in countries all over the world. In India there are 100 homeopathic medical schools and around 250,000 homeopathic doctors.
• Fact 49 – In a recent Global TGI survey where people were asked whether they trust homeopathy the following percentages of people living in urban areas said YES: 62% in India, 58% Brazil, 53% Saudi Arabia, Chile 49%, United Arab Emirates 49%, France 40%, South Africa 35%, Russia 28%, Germany 27%, Argentina 25%, Hungary 25%, USA 18%, UK 15% (http://www.tgisurveys.com/documents/TGIbarometerhomeopathy_Jan08.pdf)
• Fact 50 – The media as a whole has been unwilling to air a defence of the efficacy of homeopathy and the validity of this 250 year old profession.

Understanding Homoeopathy

Origin of Homoeopathy

1790 : LEIPZIG , GERMANY
A young German doctor was translating Cullen’s Materia Medica from English to German, when he came across the explanation given by Cullen about the curative powers of Peruvian (Cinchona) bark in curing cases of Malaria. The doctor was uneasy with the explanation was given, so he took the crude drug himself to see how it acted. To his great surprise he soon developed symptoms like malaria. After a few days he repeated the experiments with the same results. The doctor was convinced that the drug which was the best agent to cure malaria in the sick had produced the very same symptoms of Malaria in his healthy body.

This was the basis of the new & scientific system of medicine called HOMOEOPATHY & the doctor was its Founder Dr. Hahnemann.
Samuel Hahnemann was born on 10th April 1755, to a porcelain painter of Meissen, Saxony Germany. He was the eldest of a family of ten. There was not enough to support a large family & therefore his father wanted him to follow the same trade as himself. But even as a child he showed an intense passion & wonderful aptitude for learning, so that even when his father removed him from school, he continued his studies on his own. Soon his teachers prevailed upon his father to allow the boy to continue his studies & they offered to forego all their fees. Such was his brilliance that by the age of 22, he had mastered 9 languages including Hebrew, Greek, English, Latin, French, Spanish & Italian. Whenever he wanted to know anything contained in a foreign language, he learned that language & obtained from it whatever he needed. In 1779, he got his M.D. & set himself in practice. Besides seeing patients, he wrote many articles on different topics. He became a recognized authority on chemistry & there are some chemical tests in use even today that were formulated by him. As a doctor too he was a physician of such mature reflection & experience, that soon he was accepted as ” one of the most distinguished physicians of Germany”.

Yet Hahnemann himself became more & more disillusioned with the current modes of treatment which were very crude. In his own words, he said ” I have been putting drugs of which I know little into bodies about which I know even less. To become thus the murderer or tormentor of my brethren is to me an idea so frightful & overwhelming that I have decided to renounce the practice of medicine”.

Such was Hahnemann’s love for humanity that he gave up his flourishing practice & endured many hardships & extreme poverty, rather than continue to kill & harm his fellow creatures.

After his experiments with the Cinchona bark in 1789, he conducted similar experiments { Provings } on himself, his family & friends during a span of 6 yrs. He recored the symptoms thus produced & corelated them with the symptoms of the diseases they were being prescribed for. In 1796, Hahnemann published his findings in an article entitled “Essay on the new principle for ascertaining the curative power of drugs” wherein he explained his theory of Similia Similibus Curantur.

By 1810 , he proved many more drugs to be absolutely certain about his hypothesis about the mode of action of drugs. It was then that he published his most important book “The Organon of Rational Art of Healing”. In it he laid down the principles of treatment of diseases & called this system “HOMOEOPATHY”

Hahnemann strongly criticized the prevelant practices of treating patients & hence there was stiff opposition to the Organon. Despite this he was granted permission to teach at the University of Leipzig.. Here many broad minded, enthusiastic students became his followers & started practicing Homoeopathy & also helped him in proving more & more drugs.

Over the next 11 yrs.he had to move from place to place because of the opposition to his system. In 1821, he settled in Koethen , where he practiced for the next 14 yrs. In 1835, he moved to Paris where he remained till his death in 1843. After his death his pupils started to practice & spread this system in various parts of Europe, UK, USA & Australia. England & America have since produced some of the greatest Homoeopaths.

The paradox that “less” of a substance could be “more” effective was unacceptable to scientists & Hahnemann was ridiculed ; but Homoeopathy survived simply because of the remarkable results achieved & eventually scientists too gave credibility to the Law of Infinitismal Dose. The Arnold Schultz Law states that ” Small drug doses stimulate cell activity & larger doses hinder it & still larger doses destroy it.

Homeopathy in India
Homoeopathy came to India very soon after its inception. In 1810 itself some German physicians & missionaries came to Bengal & started treating people with Homoeopathic medicines. Soon it spread all over India & today India has the largest number of Homoeopaths in the world.

Understanding Homeopathy 
Would you believe that sand can cure a large festering boil without surgery or antibiotics, or that common salt can cure severe migraines or chronic depression , or that grass can be used to cure acute & chronic colitis. But it is true. This is the magic of Homoeopathy, the pathy which can transform sand, grass, salt & thousands of other substances into powerful medicines capable of curing diseased people. So what is Homoeopathy & how does it work. The word HOMOEOPATHY is made up of two Greek words ” HOMOIS ” meaning “LIKE ” & “PATHOS” meaning ” SUFFERING”. Homoeopathy is the study of medicines rather than diseases.
Homoeopathy is a specialised system of medicine based on the NATURAL LAW OF HEALING – likes are cured by likes — SIMILIA SIMILIBUS CURANTUR. This law was first observed by the Father of Modern Medicine – Hippocrates , but it was Hahnemann who actually put it to practical use in curing the sick. The Homoeopathic law of cure was known to the ancient physicians of our country.

 In Bhagwat Purana, it is said : “Amyo Yashrch Bhootanam Jayate Yen Suvrata Tadev hmnamayam dravyam no Punatu Chikitsanam”

“A substance when taken by a living being causes an ailment, but doesnot the same substance when prescribed according to a special mode of preparation remove the similar ailment ?”

During Hahnemann’s times, very crude methods like blood letting, burning with red hot iron, use of emetics & purgatives etc. were used without any scientific basis. Therefore he wanted the cure to be rapid, gentle & permanent & also to be scientific & logical.

Besides the natural law of similars, Homoeopathy also makes use of the ARNDT SCHULTZ LAW which states “Opposite effects of stimulation can be produced by different doses of the same drug. eg. alcohol produces hyperactivity in smaller doses & in larger doses it depresses the nervous system” .

Homoeopathy uses this opposing effect to bring about cure in a manner somewhat similar to that seen in vaccinations & desensitizing methods employed in modern times.

A small dose of medicine is given ( after having been prepared according to strict rules/procedures laid down by Hahnemann ) to stimulate the body defences. The body reacts to these antigens by producing antibodies against it – thereby raising the immunity of the patient to fight the disease. It thus acts as a powerful IMMUNE-MODULATOR. eg. Just as a small dose of tetanus toxide introduced in the body protects it against Tetanus , similarily the minute dose of the Homoeopathic medicine — Coffea { which in large,crude doses produces sleeplessness } is given to cure sleeplessness ; or minute doses of medicine prepared from onion { Allium Cepa } which in crude form produces watering of eyes & nose is used Homoeopathically to cure severe Allergic Rhinitis ( sneezing & cold ) Hahnemann believed that disease is caused by imbalance or derangement of the VITAL FORCE which maintains the mental, physical & moral balance of an individual. Homoeopathic medicines help the body help itself in correcting this imbalance & thus while removing the presenting acute symptoms, also helps in preventing similar diseases from recurring in the future by raising the body’s immunity.

Where Homeopathy Acts 
Homoeopathy is essentially NATURAL HEALING – the remedy assissting the patient to regain health by stimulating nature’s vital forces of reovery. As Homoeopathy treats the patient & not the disease it can be given in all diseases. Still it has its special spheres of action & limitations.

It is most effective for CHILDREN — as it has no side effects, it is easy to administer – in fact the children love to go to the Homoeopathic doctor who gives them sweet piils to cure them instead of bitter medicines & injections. Children resppond best as their vitality is at its highest & hence most receptive to Homoeopathic drugs.

ALLERGIES are so prevalant in our polluted environment. As these medicines act like desensitizing immune-modulating agents- they are very effective in curing allergies.

Some cases like kidney stones, enlarged tonsils , warts etc. which would require surgery, also show excellent results with Homoeopathic treatment.

NO SIDE EFFECTS : The basic difference between Homoeo. & other systems is that it gives small stimuli to the body to help it mobilise its inherent defense mechanism to fight disease. Hence, there are no side effects of Homoeopathic drugs.

AUTO-IMMUNE DISORDERS & other chronic diseases like arthritis are also helped by these medicines.

Even where it cannot cure, Homoeopathy can give relief to terminal cases like CANCER & lessens the side effects of chemo-& radiotherapy.

MODERN DAY STRESSES : Modern age is the age of stress : Stress at work, stress at home & all around. Homoeopathy does away with the need for anti-depressants & tranquilizers & unlike them, can be taken for longer periods without getting addicted to them or having any harmful side-effects.

One of the greatest advantages these medicines have is that they can be safely given to pregnant & lactating mothers, as well as their newborns.

Thus, Homoeopathic medicines have many positive features such as
— Easily acceptable, even by children.
— Very convenient to carry.
— Have a longer shelf life
— Easy to administer
— No toxicity — donot have any known iatrogenic effect.
— And last, but not the least –fairly economical.

Preparation & Potency 
Common man relates Homoeopathy to herbal medicines. This is perhaps due to the reason that herbal & homoeopathic medicines have almost a common source of origin & they also share the “NO SIDE EFFECTS” theory. However this misconception needs to be removed from the mind of the common man. Homoeopathic medicnes are prepared from three kingdoms of nature i.e. Plant , Animal & Mineral Kingdoms. Their mode of preperation is very scientific.

It involves making ” MOTHER TINCTURES” from the original substance by taking the alkaloid extract from the natural source. One would be surprised to know that we use snake venoms & poisons like Arsenic — which are otherwise known to be deadly substances, for making medicines. The active principle is extracted from these poisonous substances & they are then POTENTISED for making medicines which cure innumerable diseases.

Special procedures are followed so that they can be prepared under controlled { Zero-Pollution } environment. Further potencies are developed from the prepared Mother Tincture by giving SUCCUSSIONS ( it is defined as measured, controlled shaking done for a specific no. of times ) Potency are made on DECIMAL & CENTISIMAL scales. In centisimal scale – To raise the potency from 0 to 1 , one part of Mother Tincture is taken & 99 parts of alcohol added & succussions are given. Then to raise it from 1 to 2 potency, one part of potency no. 1 is added to 99 parts of alcohol & succussions are given. Thus we get potencies 3, 6, 30, 200 & so on. BUT THE EXTRAORDINARY THING IS that as the medicinal part decreases, its power increases , though the exact mechanism is not very clear. It is somewhat similar to the ATOMIC THEORY where breaking up the atom releases unimaginable power.
After being finally prepared, the medicines have to be protected from strong smelling substances, direct sunlight & are therefore kept in tightly corked bottles in a dry, airy place.

Homoeopathic medicines are usually dispensed in the form of WHITE SWEET PILLS , but are also given as liquids ( mother tinctures/dilutions ) & ( now rarely ) in powder form.

These sweet pills are made of sugar of milk & are basically the carriers of the medicinal substance — which is in liquid form & is poured into these pills which absorb & preserve them. Therefore , though all medicines look alike , they are actually different medicines dispensed in the same form of white pills.

These pills are to be placed on the tongue & the medicine is absorbed through the oral mucosa. That is the reason why it is advisable not to eat or drink anything for 10 minutes before & after taking the medicine — so that the tongue is clean & the medicine is absorbed without any hinderance. These tiny, innocuous looking pills — so easy & tasty to take — do they actually have the power to heal ?

These medicines are strong IMMUNO-MODULATORS working on the basic immune mechanism of the sick individual , enhancing & strengthening it , which in turn overpowers & eliminates the disease, without causing any side-effects.
Besides humans, Homoeopathy is also very effective in treating animals. We can use these medicines safely on our pet dogs & cats with marvellous results.

Drug Proving
The word proving comes from Germa word PRUFUNG meaning testing. A substance in certain form & dose that causes disease like symptoms when given to a healthy human being, may be used to cure the same symptoms in a diseased person. This is the basis of Homoeopathic Provings. Homoeopathy proves drugs not on animals { Animal lovers would be happy to learn this } ; but on healthy human beings. This is done by giving minute doses of the drug substance according to certain set rules to a group of volunteers { The first 50 drugs were tested by Hahnemann on himself & his family & close friends }. These doses are repeated to the point of reversible changes. All the symptoms thus produced are carefully noted & their authenticity tested by repeated provings & clinical results seen in patients receiving these medicines.

All the medicinal provings are recorded in the HOMOEOPATHIC MATERIA MEDICA. As the provings are very detailed observations covering the whole body from head to toe & the mind, Toxicology of Homoeopathic drugs is much larger than an average book of Pharmacology.
A shortcut to help the physician find the indicated remedy is through a classified index of drug symptoms called the REPERTORY eg. all the drugs for pain abdomen will be given under one heading, pain head under another, with various sub-headings & so on.

Case Taking
All pathies take into account the symptoms of the patient. In present day, with specialisation & super-specialisation, a sick person is treated in parts. Hahnemann advised that the TOTALITY OF SYMPTOMS should be taken into account. This HOLISTIC APPROACH treats the sick person as a whole. As is often said — Homoeopathy doesnot treat the disease, but the diseased person. It is possible that thirty people suffering from Asthma may require 20 or even 30 different medicines — depending upon the symptoms presented by them. Conversely, a medicine being given to a child for cough can be given to a lady with menstrual problems.

Homoeopath takes a detailed history & does a thorough examination & notes down all the pathological/radiological test reports. But a Homoeopath goes into greater detail & pays special attention to the individual’s peculiar symptoms, mental makeup, generalities like reaction to cold/heat ; dreams, as well as particular symptoms pertaining to each part of the body . The Homoeopath has to be fully trained in all aspects of medicine – anatomy, physiology, surgery, pathology, besides the Homoeopathic materia medica. After taking the case history, the Homoeopath’s real talent & experience comes into play for he has to match the disease picture of the patient with drug picture of the medicine. A great prescriber is one who can select the right remedy from the numerous available to him.

Thus, the physician endeavours to build a multi-dimensional picture of his patient which will be matched by one of the drug pictures derived from provings of medicines.

MYTHS prevailing ad the FACT Homoepathy

After the last year Lancet article there was a lot of questioning on the efficacy of Homoeopathy. In that entire episode Homoepathy was discussed much more than it has ever been discussed.

But, lot of myths which are popular about homoeopathy were risen again in the minds of patients and students.

Innumerable cases have been cured with homoeopathy but its efficacy is still doubted by some prejudiced people. The fact is that people have many false notions about homoeopathy.

Here is an attempt to discuss all myths about of homoeopathy and the fact of it so as to help the students understand their science in a better way and apply it.

MYTHS prevailing ad the  FACT of it

1. It is slow to act
This myth is popular, because most of the people approaching a Homoeopath after they have tried all treatments and by that time their acute complaints have become chronic. Homoeopathy is, in fact, FAST AND RAPID IN ACTION in conditions like acute infections, fever, diarrhea, etc. while in cases of chronic diseases as the disease has been there since a long time it does take time to cure but recognizable improvement starts within two to three weeks time.

2. Homoeopathy is more placebo effect and faith healing
Scientific double blind studies have indicated that homoeopathy is far above the placebo effect. The effect of homoeopathic medicine has been observed during clinical trials carried out for various diseases. Recognized homoeopathic institutions are carrying out these clinical trials. There is a regulating body, the Central Council of Research in Homoeopathy, which monitors these research works and keeps record of these trials with scientific evidence.

3. All medicines are same, small and white 
Homoeopathic medicines are prepared in an alcohol base. The white sugar globules or pills are only a medium or vehicle for the transport of the medicine into the body. The liquid medicine is dispensed in the sugar globules that are made from lactose.

4. Homeopathy is only good for chronic cases
The notion that homoeopathy works well in chronic cases is true but it works equally well in acute cases too with the additional advantage that the recurrence of acute problems like that of tonsillitis, recurrent cold and coughs, frequent skin allergies is markedly reduced by the use of constitutional homoeopathic medications. Homoeopathy has excellent medicines to treat colic, diarrhoea, headache, cough, toothache, viral fevers etc.

5. Homoeopathy first aggravates the disease and then improves
It is a myth. It does not happen to all cases. But if medicine is repeated more than the need, or the potency chosen is higher than required by the patient then there is a medicinal aggravation or increase in the complaints, but these symptoms would subside on its own as soon as that medicine is withdrawn and the right potency medicine is to be administrated for getting the curative action.

6. Homoeopathy can only help functional problems such as pain, weakness. 
Homoeopathy has proved its efficacy for the treatment of structural pathology. Numerous documented cases where the reversal of the structural pathology has taken place indicating the depth of homoeopathy action. Clinical studies on diseases like hepatitis, renal calculi, cancer, tumours, fibroids, polyps have shown improvement with homoeopathic medicines.

7. Dietic restrictions 
It is a myth regarding restriction in diet like onion, garlic, perfume, paan and tobacco. These medicines have been used on patients who are habituated to coffee and betel. IT ALWAYS ACTS. But yes, certain homoeopathic medicines when given, can be inactivated by certain substances so only in those medicines these restrictions are required and not in all the medicines.

8. Homoeopathy is practiced by some quacks who have no formal medical training
A registered homoeopathic practitioner undergoes training of five and half year as any other medical professional and studies all basic subjects like anatomy, physiology, pathology surgery as in curriculum of modern medicine with difference being addition of three subjects on Homoeopathy.

9. Homoeopathy does not give importance to diagnosis
As a matter of fact diagnosis is of utmost importance for a Homoeopath as his sound knowledge of disease will help him differentiate between common symptoms of disease and the individualistic symptoms of person thus help him select the homoeopathic medicine on individualistic symptoms which is basis of homoeopathic prescription

10. Homoeopathy is a miracle medicine and it cures every disease under the sun.
Homoeopathy is no panacea. It has its own scope and set of limitations. Few examples of areas where homoeopathy can offer cure are Allergic disorders, Asthma, ENT, Female disorders like Menstrual troubles and Hormonal disorders, Infertility, Skin disorders like Eczema, Psoriasis, Urticaria, Mental disorders, Pshyo-somatic disorders: like IBS, Hyperacidity syndrome, Headaches, Respiratory infections and Stress.

Disease where irreversible structural changes have taken place like malignancies and AIDS Homoeopathy is given to improve the quality of life.

Limitations of Homoeopathy include emergencies like myocardial infarction, paralytic strokes, diabetic comas, accidents, cases where surgery is inevitable like third degree piles, hernias, coronary artery blockages, etc.

Homoeopathy aims to help the patients achieve freedom from limitations in their lives and to reach a level of health where they can live a better and healthier life.

Homeopathy History of Discovery Advantanges

Introduction: –

Basically, homoeopathy is a therapeutic method for treating diseases by applying those medicines which is capable of producing similar symptoms as that of the disease from which the patient suffers. It is based on the fixed law that is “Similia Similibus Curentur” which means “Let like be cured by like”. As per homoeopathic law to remove and annihilate the disease permanently in its whole extent in the most harmless way from the human being, only a single medicine with accurate potency in a minimum dose at a time and proper repetition of dose is required.

1.Homoeopathy: –Homoeopathy is an ideal & gentle therapeutic method which gives rapidly permanent restoration of the health by removing & annihilating the disease in its whole extent in the most harmless way.

1.1  History of Discovery: –The 10th April’ 1755 is a ‘Red Letter Day’ in the ‘Annals of Medicine’ which witnessed the Birth of a Reformer, a Philanthropist in the person of Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann, Son of Christian Gottfried Hahnemann & Johana Christiana of Germany.

Samuel Hahnemann was a brilliant student. He was fluent in languages like Greek, Latin, English, Italian, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Spanish, German & some smattering of Chaldiac. He acquired his M.D. degree from Erlangen University in the year’1779. After this he practiced allopathic medicine and in this field he excelled.

In the year’ 1790, whilst translating Cullen’s Materia Medica, he came to know about the therapeutics indications of Peruvian bark (Cinchona Officinalis) that it is bitter in taste & cures Intermittent fever. Hahnemann dissatisfied with this explanation & by way of experiment he took the medicine himself twice a day (about four drams). Eventually, he noticed symptoms very similar to ague of Malaria fever. This unexpected result set up in his mind a new train of thoughts & he conducted similar experiments on himself & other individuals with other medicines whose curative actions in certain diseases had been well established. On the basis of such successive experiments, Hahnemann came to the conclusion that medicines cure diseases because they can produce similar diseases in healthy individuals.

Finally, in the year’ 1796, the discovery was brought to light in his essay titled “An Essay on a New Principle for Ascertaining the Curative Powers of Drugs & some Examination of the previous Principles”. In this essay he put forward his New Doctrine, ‘Similia Similibus Curentur’ which means ‘Let Like be Cured by Like’. After this he wrote the books ‘Organon of Medicine’ & ‘Materia Medica Pura’ in which he described the whole systems of Homoeopathy.

On 2nd July of the year’ 1843 the ‘Father of Homoeopathy’ died in Paris.

1.2  Word Meaning: – The word ‘Homoeopathy’ is derived from the Greek word ‘Homoeos’ which means ‘Similar/Alike’ & the word ‘Pathos’ which means ‘Suffering/ Disease’.

1.3  Axiom/Law: – “Similia Similibus Curentur” means “Let like be cured by like”.

1.4  Definition: –Homoeopathy is a system of therapeutics in which those medicines are applied which are capable of producing similar symptoms as that of the disease from which the patient suffers.

1.5 Advantages: –

• Gives rapid cure,
• Gives harmless cure,
• Gives gentle & reliable cure,
• Gives permanent & perfect cure,
• Removes totality of symptoms,
• No chance of suppression/palliation,
• No chance of drug disease.

1.6  Disadvantages: –

• Little or no scope in emergency cases i.e. where danger to life & immediate death occur,
• Little or no scope in accidents i.e. asphyxia & suspended animation from lighting, poisoning, drowning, suffocation,
• Little or no scope in cases where irreversible organic changes or advanced structural damages take place i.e. grossly damaged vulvular diseases of heart.

1.7  Principles: – Homoeopathic system is based on easily comprehensible principles. They are as follows –

1.7.1   Law of Similia: – It means applying those medicines which are capable of producing similar symptoms during drug proving in healthy human being.

1.7.2  Law of Simplex: – It means only one medicine is to be applied in a given case at a time.

1.7.3  Law of Minimum: – It means applying very smallest quantity of medicine which is sufficient to producing an artificial disease on the vital force as similar to the natural disease.

1.7.4  Doctrine of Drug Proving: – It means that it is a systematic & orderly process of investigation of the pathogenetic power (disease curing power) of the medicine by applying it in different healthy human being of both sexes of different ages & of various constitutions.

1.7.5 Doctrine of Drug Dynamization: – It means that it is a process, which liberates the inherent power of curative properties of a drug which remain in a latent state through the process of succussion or trituration.

1.7.6 Theory of Vital Force: – It means that in healthy condition of man, a spiritual power animates the organism & keeps all the parts of the organism in harmonious order as regards both sensation & function which is known as ‘Vital Force’.

1.7.7  Theory of Chronic Disease: – It means that real cause of the chronic diseases are miasms i.e. disease producing agent, namely Psora, Syphilis & Sycosis.

1.8  Sources of Drugs: – Drugs are prepared from the different sources & different parts, different secretions, different products of each source. They are as follows: –

1.8.1   Vegetable Kingdom: – It includes fungi, mushrooms, weeds, herbs, leaves, flowers, stems, barks, roots, seeds & whole plant.

Example: – Aconitum Napellus,ArnicaMontanaetc.

1.8.2   Animal Kingdom: – It includes animals as a whole, any of their body parts or secretions or products i.e. milk, saliva & poisons. Example: – Apis Mellifica, Blatta Orientalis etc.

1.8.3  Mineral Kingdom: – It includes metal, non-metal, inorganic acids & salt, organic acids & mixture, minerals, mineral oils & spring water, coal-tar, wood-tar & dry wood distillation. Example: -Sulphur, Phosphorus etc.

1.8.4  Sarcodes: –It includes healthy endocrine or ductless glands or normal secretions of living human organs & lower animals, the secretions are mostly hormones.

Example: – Insulin, Thyroidinum etc.

1.8.5  Nosodes: – It includes disease producing agents or diseased parts of human beings, lower animals or plants.

Example: – Carcinocin, Tuberculinum etc.

1.8.6  Imponderabilia: – It includes the natural or artificial substances which have no perceptible weights.

Example: – X-Ray, Magnetis Polus Austrialis etc.

1.9  Potency/Power: – Medicines are prepared in three scales. They are as follows-

1.9.1   Decimal Scale: –In this scale 1st potency is made by mixing 1ml of drug substance of the selected medicine with 9ml of alcohol & should be successed 100 times. 2nd potency is made by mixing 1ml of 1st potency with 9ml of alcohol.

In this scale potency is denoted by ‘X’. The most useful potencies are Q, 3X & 6X.

1.9.2  Centesimal Scale: –In this scale 1st potency is made by mixing 1ml of mother tincture of the selected medicine with 99ml of alcohol & should be successed 100 times. 2nd potency is made by mixing 1ml of 1st potency with 99ml of alcohol.

In this scale potency is denoted by ‘C’. The most useful potencies are 3C, 6C, 30C, 200C, 1’000C (1M), 10’000C (10M), 50,000C (50M) & 1’00000C (CM).

1.8.3 Fifty Millesimal Scale: –In this scale 1st potency is made by mixing 1drop of mother tincture of the selected medicine with 100 drops of alcohol & should be successed 100 times & then small poppy size globules are moistened with this. 2nd potency is made by mixing 1globule of 1st potency with 1 drop of water for dissolving &100 drops of alcohol.

In this scale potency is denoted by LM/1 or 0/1 to LM/30 or 0/30.

1.10   Dose: – Dose of medicine depends upon the potency of different scales.

1.9.1 In Decimal Scale: – 5-10 drops medicine mixed with 8 teaspoonfuls water.

1.9.2 In Centesimal Scale: – One small poppy seed globule is moistened with medicine & then to serve it either by dissolving it in a small quantity of distilled water or sugar of milk.

1.9.3 In Fifty Millesimal Scale: – Only a single globule should be dissolved in 40/30/20/15/8 table spoonfuls of water with the addition of some alcohol in order to prevent decomposition. Before taking the medicine the phial should be successed 8/10/12 times & one tablespoonful of it should be mixed with 7 to 8 teaspoonful of water. One teaspoonful or more of this is to be given to the patient.

1.10   Repetition of Dose: – Repetition of dose plays an important role for cure.

1.10.1   In Decimal Scale & Centesimal Scale: –

Depends upon Condition & progress of the patient: –

• No repetition till improvement continues.
• Repeat when old symptoms reappear.
• Repeat/change medicine either recovery occurs or new symptoms appear.

Depends upon Nature of the disease & Medicine: –

• Chronic disease, deep acting medicine & high potency – At the interval of 14/10/7 days
• Acute disease, short acting medicine & low potency – At every 24/12/8/4 hours or every hour or 5 minutes.

1.10.2  In Fifty Millesimal Scale: –

• In Chronic diseases: – Every 2nd day or daily.
• In Acute diseases: – Every 6/4/3/2/1 hour or 5 min.

1.11 Vehicles: – The term ‘Vehicle’ means ‘Transmission’. So, Homoeopathic Vehicle is define as a substance, in which medicines are prepared or mixed & given for their internal administrations either by oral or olfaction method & external application for medications. They are as follows: –

• Sugar of Milk,
• Globules,
• Tablets,
• Distilled Water,
• Alcohol,
• Glycerine,
• Olive Oil,
• Vaseline,
• Lanolin.

1.12   Mode of Administration: –    In general there are various methods of introducing drugs into the body. They are as follows: –

1.12.1  Oral Method: – By mouth, this may be aqueous solution, Syrups, Elixirs, Emulsions, Mixtures, Powders, Capsules & Pills.

1.12.2 Parenteral: – It includes all form of injections; this may be Subcutaneous, Intramuscular, Intravenous, Intrathecal and Bone marrow & Intraperitoneal.

1.12.3 Mucosal Absorption Method: –

It includes Rectal absorption in the form of supposition & Nasal septum either putting powder or by inhalation.

1.12.4 Skin Absorption Method: – It is done in the form of Liniments, Lotion & Ointments.

References

1. Das, Asok Kumar. (2002). Treatise on Organon of Medicine (5th Edition). Souvik Homoeo Publications, Kolkata.
2. Hahnemann, Samuel (2003). Organon of Medicine (6th Edition). B. Jain Publishers (Pvt) Ltd, New Delhi.
3. Banerjee, D. D. (2007). A Text Book of Homoeopathic Pharmacy (Reprint Edition).  B. Jain Publishers (Pvt) Ltd, New Delhi.
4. Mandal, B. (2002). Text Book of Homoeopathic Pharmacy (Reprint Edition).  B. Jain Publishers (Pvt) Ltd, New Delhi.
5. Boericke,Willium (2002). Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica & Repertory (9th Edition, Reprint). B. Jain Publishers (Pvt) Ltd, New Delhi.
6. Allen, H.C. (2002). Allens Keynotes Rearranged & Classified (9th Edition). B. Jain Publishers (Pvt) Ltd, New Delhi.

ADVANCES IN PHARMACEUTICAL PACKAGING

ADVANCES IN PHARMACEUTICAL PACKAGING


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