Homeopathy, which was developed at the end of the 18th century by Samuel Hahnemann, M.D., a German physician, is a complete system of medicine which aims to promote general health by reinforcing the body’s own natural healing capacity, reported Dr. Christopher Hammond in The Complete Family Guide to Homeopathy.

In other words, homeopathy, as practiced by a homeopathic physician, does not have treatments for diseases. Instead, it has remedies for people with disease.

“Homeopathy works in a totally different way from conventional medicine, which is known to homeopathic practitioners as allopathy,” Hammond explained. “Allopathy means different from the suffering’; the drugs that are given work against the disease and its symptoms. Therefore, drugs that are [labeled] ‘anti’ are found, such as anti-biotics, anti-depressants, anti-inflammatory and anti-pain drugs, etc.”
Homeopathy, in contrast, Hammond added, means ’similar to the suffering.’ The remedies used to treat sick people are actually capable of producing similar symptoms in a healthy person to those present in the patient needing the remedy.

Hammond went on to say that homeopathic remedies are very diluted in their preparations, though their efforts cannot be explained so simply. It might be suggested that the remedies work at the level of energy and not of matter. And the method of preparation of the remedies and how they act is not essential to an understanding of homeopathy. Therefore, he said, homeopathy is about why a remedy is given, not what is given.
“No two individuals manifest their illnesses in exactly the same way, even if they are given the same disease label,” Hammond continued. “It is only when a substance is matched with a patient according to the Law of Similars that it becomes homeopathic. When it is sitting in the medicine chest or pharmacy, it is not homeopathic at all; it is just a potentized remedy.”

In a nutshell, the Law of Similars, as explained by Hahnemann, is basically “like cures like.” Any substance which can produce a totality of symptoms in a healthy human being can cure that totality of symptoms in a sick human being.

Since many Americans do not have access to a homeopathic physician, health food stores provide an abundance of homeopathic remedies already formulated in over-the-counter preparations for a variety of illnesses. And many of these products are designed for children.

Writing in Homeopathic Medicine Today, Trevor M. Cook lists some of the childhood problems which may respond to various homeopathic remedies.

* Bed wetting (enuresis). Bed wetting that occurs during a deep sleep, and is usually worse from 10 p.m. to midnight, may respond to belladonna (deadly nightshade). If it occurs just after the person has fallen asleep, homeopathic physicians often prescribe Sepia officinalis (squid ink). Pulsatilla (wind flower), Ferrum phosphoricum (ferric phosphate) and cantharis (Spanish fly) may also be recommended.

* Mumps. In its initial stage, Aconitum napellus (aconite) may be prescribed. If the testicles are affected, pulsatilla is often the choice. When the fever subsides, Mercurius vivus (mercury) may be suggested.

* Chicken pox. When the illness becomes worse around 4 p.m., a homeopathic physician may prescribe pulsatilla. Rhus toxicondendron (poison ivy or poison sumac) may also be recommended.

* Whooping cough. If it becomes worse after midnight, the prescribed remedy may be Drosera rotundifolia (sundew plant). Ipecacuanha (ipecac root), Cuprum metallicum (copper) or Hepar sulphuris (sulfur) may also be suggested.

* Measles. If the illness becomes worse at night, Aconitum napellus may be the remedy of choice. Belladonna and pulsatilla are also popular remedies.

A more detailed listing of homeopathic remedies for children is given in The Complete Family Guide to Homeopathy. However, the various remedies recommended for childhood illnesses in the OTC preparations are simplified for those who do not have access to a homeopathic physician.