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Alternative and Conventional Medicines are the two main systems of healing in use today and the utmost caution should be taken to choose wisely.

Being healthy is of crucial importance in the life of everyone. I do not believe that there is anyone who relishes the anguish of disease. Without health you cannot function properly in any area of your life.

Whether enjoying the normal faculties of life or mentally unbalanced, every person would rather be perfectly healthy than endure the tortures of pain, sickness and disease, but there comes a time when we must seek medical help.

It is unfortunate that instead of healing the sick, very often some medicines interfere with the natural process of healing, resulting in additional suffering and further deterioration of health.

In ancient times, illness was cured by the use of herbs and other natural therapies which always proved very effective. Today, those same therapies as well as modern discoveres based on those of ancient times are referred to as alternative medicine and the public has been brainwashed into believing that the treatments are worthless; yet, many diseases that have been deemed ‘incurable’ are being healed by alternative means but, unfortunately, these cures have never been heard of by countless sufferers.

What is called conventional medicine (also referred to as mainstream, standard, allopathic or orthodox medicine), is man-made synthetic drugs that were not in existence in ancient times. Interestingly, so many diseases were not around in those days as there are today.

The main difference between the two systems is that alternative medicine is concerned about the prevention of disease and pays attention to and deals with the cause by treating the body as a whole. It focuses on preventing disease before it starts. It views the presence of disease as an imbalance of the emotional, mental and physical state of a person and endeavors to support and strengthen the immune system by natural means.

Alternative medicine contends that the body is naturally able to heal itself and remain stable - known in medicine as homeostasis.

On the other hand, conventional medicine is not concerned with preventing disease but rather with using synthetic drugs to cure an already established ailment. It is more interested in treating just the symptoms of disease by scientific techniques and technology instead of treating the whole person.

Many conventional drugs are said to have the potential to damage the liver and kidneys, and cause mental depression, heart falure, cancer and other adverse side effects. Now, if that is so, why are they still being manufactured and sold to the public? Where is the concern for public health and safety?

Note that since the introduction of conventional medicine, instead of there being greater relief from illness, there has been an exponential surge of diseases wreaking havoc in the lives of unsuspecting mortals. Why is this so?

If conventional medicine were the answer to health problems, why are there so many more diseases prevalent today? The interesting thing is that a name is readily given to each new disease and some form of synthetic remedy is quickly manufactured for sale!

Conventional medicine has been so well advertised that the public is convinced that it is the only way they can get relief from devastating illnesses. They jump at the announcement of any new supposedly super healing conventional medicine and with no hesitation embark upon treating themselves. This is especially so in the case of weight loss.

The sad thing is that no real cure is realized from these, whereas there are natural remedies that have been proven to cure. I can personally attest to certain cures that I have experienced through the use of natural remedies.

It is well known that some drug manufacturers have had to withdraw their dangerous medication because of the likelihood of patients suffering heart attack and stroke. Most synthetic drugs, if not all, have dangerous side effects of which the public is unaware. Some are very detrimental to unborn babies. So why are these drugs still being sold and at such exorbitant prices?

The general public is not sufficiently made aware of the dangers of conventional drugs. For obvious reasons, no attempt to do so is made by those who should educate the unwary and encourage the use of alternative medicine.

Obviously, if disease is prevented by natural means before resulting in the breakdown of the immune system which is the body’s mechanism of defence against illness, serious diseases such as cancer and other so-called incurable diseases would be revented, and so there would be little need for the administration of expensive conventional medicine since that would be necessary only in case of surgery and other traumatic conditions.

Sad to say, it is reported that nutritional supplements as well as some alternative medicines packaged by some unscrupulous manufacturers are not quite what their labels indicate, and that the potency is far below what is required to be effective. This is not to suggest that they are toxic, but rather that they are not quite as effective as they should be.

If this is so, my personal feeling is that such persons should be exposed and their names posted in full view for all to see. This should curb that undesirable practice. One must therefore be very cautious when choosing nutritional supplements as well as alternative medicines.

Another point that I think worthy of note is about products so readily put on the skin. Most of them are formulated with harmful synthetic substances that get into the blood stream and invariably cause dangerous side effects. As it is said, what you would not eat, you should not put on your skin.

Remember that the skin absorbs and cannot differentiate between synthetic chemicals and natural substances. You may not see the adverse effects now, but years later your skin would speak for itself. You do not want to look older than your age, do you? Then do not poison yourself with the topical application of toxic skin products.

No one should be so busy so as not be able to find time to learn about the natural substances that they could take to protect their own bodies and prevent diseases. Many thousands of persons might have been alive today if only they had known, and had been encouraged to use natural remedies.

I enjoy reading to find out about ancient formulas and treatments that have resurfaced today, as well as new discoveries of natural healing methods and remedies that are gaining momentum amongst health conscious persons.

Ï have collected lots of information on herbal remedies. Among them are such topics as heart health the natural way, aromatherapy essential oils, homeopathy, beautiful skin care, skin diseases, healing for conditions such as acne, hemorrhoids, eczema, etc., weightloss, and many other natural health remedies and detailed information on how to make your own from nature’s herbs, vitamins and nutrients.

Many persons seem to be convinced that natural remedies made by God do not have the efficacy of the synthetic remedies made by man!

God who made this world has said “the leaves of the trees for healing of the nations.” God is truth and cannot lie. Isn’t it time that we took Him at his word?

Why should we put our trust in Satan and his lies and put no confidence in God and His truth?

Since there seems to be no confidence in what God has made, Why don’t we make our own water, sunshine, trees, and fresh air? Why do we walk upon God’s earth? We should make our own basic items to concoct synthetic remedies instead of corrupting the things that God has made.

You can seek relief from disease either through natural alternative medicine by which you can maintain good health and save; or, through conventional medicine with its ill effects of costly synthetic prescription drugs at the risk of further deterioration of your health. It is up to you to prevent poisoning yourself, avoid unnecessary pain and suffering, and be healthy.

Keep this in mind:

If you really want to fight disease, Natural Medicine is the Healthy Choice; But, if you’d rather be deceased, Synthetic Medicine might be the Deadly Choice!!

This article is written for information only and is not intended to suggest treatment of any disease. Information contained herein is based on facts I have gathered and just want to share with interested persons. Anyone suffering from a disease or has any other medical issue is advised to consult a recognized practitioner.

The Theory of Homeopathy Everything has a “vital force.” This vital force exists beyond the “thing” that it is associated with, and, with proper care, it can be isolated independently of the thing it is associated with. For example, honey has a vital force of “honey-ness”, and with proper preparation, I can have the “essence of honey” without any honey.

Preparation of a solution that contains the “vital force” of something, without the something, involves repeated dilutions and shakings. For example, you take some honey, and dilute it 100 to 1. You shake and tap it to imprint the “vital force” onto the solution, and then you dilute it again 100 to 1. You continue to do this to the desired “potency.” I put potency in quotes because, in traditional chemistry, concentration determines potency. In homeopathy, the reverse is true — homeopathic medicines become more potent the more you dilute it. In other words, the lower the concentration, the more potent the medicine is.

A critique of this theory There is a fundamental flaw with the theory of homeopathy. Many skeptics will point at the whole “vital force” aspect of the theory. This isn’t actually as ridiculous as it sounds. Just because there isn’t a single shred of evidence for the “vital force” is no reason to dismiss it. Look at String Theory in physics. String Theory is the most hotley debated and controversial topics in science today, but even its advocates admit that, as beautiful as the mathematics are, there isn’t a single shred of evidence of the existence of “strings.”

No, the fundamental flaw is this: There is no such thing as a pure solution of anything. Oh, if you have some really big, expensive chemistry equipment, you may be able to get a micro-drop of “pure water” or “pure alcohol”, but really, every glass of water, ever drop of alcohol out here in the real world has hundereds, if not thousands of chemicals in it at the parts-per-billion and parts-per-trillion level.

Take our honey example. You dilute some honey 100-1 and then “shake and tap” the vial to distribute the vital force. But you aren’t just distributing the vital force of honey, are you? No, there are hundreds of other substances in the water (or in the honey) that are being “enhanced” by this process as well. By the time you are finished your multiple dilutions, you have something that, assuming the theory is correct, contains the essence of hundreds or even thousands of various, unknown, things. Further, doesn’t water (or sometimes alcohol) have a vital force as well? Wouldn’t the vital force of the water or alcohol overpower the vital force of whatever you are trying to “enhance”.

Believe it or not, I can come up with a rationale that would explain away the above discrepancies. Here it is: The impurities in the water (or alcohol) are not being diluted, since they are present in the same concentration at each step. Therefore, the impurities, and the water provide a neutral, unhanced “background” to the dilution process. In other words, if I added an equal amount of honey at each dilution step, the honey wouldn’t be enhanced either.

Pretty good, huh? I just made that up. And that is the problem with the theory. Any idiot (like me) can come up with a theory, but how can you prove it to be true? In homeopathy, you can’t. The advocates of homeopathy continue to insist that “We don’t know how it works, it just does.” That’s fine, but why keep pushing unsupported, unprovable hypotheses (”the vital force” and the “dilution equals potency”) as the basis for homeopathy? At least with string theory, there are predictions that can be made, and those predictions hold up remarkably well in simulations. But “vital force” and “dilution equals potency” theories, make no testable predictions, and the “dilution” theory actually flies in the face of all observable phenomenon.

Energy Medicine was known and practiced by almost all the ancient great civilizations and is now being newly rediscovered by the West. Biomedical research is now moving in the direction of a new model for the human body, the Energy field model. This is the same model that the ancient civilizations of China and India based their philosophy and their medical systems upon. (The Ayurvedic and Yogic systems, the Acupuncture meridians etc.) This new model moves away from the premise that life came from chemical soup towards the concept that life came from electrical charges of energy i.e. physics rather than chemistry. At the basis of chemistry we find energy, electromagnetic or other forms of energy.

One of the basic premises of these energy based medical systems is that there is a circulation of energy in the body that follows an orderly path along the meridians. This energy is known as chi or prana. We already have proof of the existence of electrical fields’ e.g. EKG, EEG etc.

In addition to the circulation of energy, there is a force field of energy in and around a human body similar to the field around a magnet. This field can be impacted positively or negatively and it can be seen by certain sensitive individuals. It is also known as the aura. It generally extends a little beyond the body hence the term “Don’t invade my space”, if someone stands a little too close for comfort.

Then, there are the chakras. These are whirling vortexes of energy, situated along the spinal column. These are not physical but energetic in nature and they act as step down transformers. They step down the higher finer vibrations down to the physical level and these are believed to produce their effects at the level of the meridians, the mind and also at the hormonal level.

Another basic premise or concept of Energy Medical systems is that – this energy is not a mindless or as we say in medicine, subtentorial, kind of energy. Rather it has “intelligence”. It knows what is wrong and will attempt to correct it. Also, it is possible to communicate with this inner intelligence to find out what is wrong and what can be done to correct it.

In physics, it is very well known that as you attempt to cut matter into smaller and smaller building blocks, you reach a stage at which you can go no further because matter dissolves into energy. Medicine, as it stands today is light years behind physics. In Ayurvedic Medicine, there is the concept of the three doshas – pitta, vata and kapha. These are thought to lie at the energy-matter interface or the mind-body junction. Mind is considered to be in the realm of energy. That is why the mind can effect a powerful impact on the individual person’s health.

This flow of energy can be impacted negatively or even blocked, in many ways. Toxins like pesticides, plastics, chemicals can block its flow. So can negative emotions as well as negative thought patterns. A cut made across acupuncture meridian can impede the flow of energy through the meridian. There are several other ways, too numerous to mention in this article that the flow of energy can be blocked.

The methods of treatment at the vibrational level are also too numerous to mention them all. Homeopathy, Ayurvedic and Chinese herbs, Sound, Light and Color therapy, Meditation and Yoga are just a few. In fact, electrical healing is now going mainstream. Several articles have been published on the use of pulsed electromagnetic fields in accelerating bone healing in fractures.

The basic principle on which most of the energy healing systems work is the principle of harmonics. We all know, from our school level physics that if you line up a set of tuning forks and then strike one, soon all of them will be vibrating at the same frequency. To further understand this we need to look at another concept of energy medicine that is “disease first occurs at the vibrational level”. Not at the cellular or even DNA but beyond that at the level of this energy flow or force field that I mentioned earlier and so the cell or tissue or organ will first begin to vibrate at a “sick frequency” before any disease has appeared or can be detected by chemical or radiological means. Conversely, a diseased organ or tissue etc can be treated (provided the illness is not far advanced) by introducing the “well” vibration and soon per the principle of harmonics, the organ will take up the healing vibration and return to health. So homeopathy for example will work as an all or none phenomenon. Either the “remedy” as it is called will work, if it is the right vibration or it will do nothing at all.

Energy Medicine has its limitations. There are certain things it can or cannot do. It cannot treat disease in the Western medical sense. It rebalances energies or a blocked or stressed flow of energy along a meridian pathway can be corrected. There is no cook book to follow for each disease or illness because each individual is different. That is why it is complementary medicine. Western medicine and Energy medicine can be likened to the Electromagnetic spectrum. Western Medicine is like the visible light, and then you have what lies outside, the invisible portion which may be likened to Energy Medicine.

The search for natural alternatives to treat baldness aims to overcome the sometimes extreme side effects caused by conventional pharmacological measures. Homeopathy can be termed a natural route since it utilizes distillations of organic substances and offers several options. A qualified homoeopath may prescribe anything from fluoric acid, lycopodium, kali carbonicum, kali sulphuricum, natrum mur, phosphorus, selenium and tissue salts, depending on how he diagnoses the condition.

Results from the homoeopathic approach, though pretty slow, have often been quite dramatic. This is not a ‘do-it-yourself’ option because the efficacy of homoeopathic medicine is closely linked with accurate dilution ratios.

Aromatherapy has found favor in certain circles, though not necessarily scientific ones. Proponents of aromatherapy swear by the oils obtained from bay, cedar wood, grapefruit, jojoba, lavender, lemon, rosemary, thyme and Roman chamomile. These, when massaged into the scalp and allowed a certain time for absorption, apparently arrest hair loss and even stimulate renewed growth.

Herbal solutions from the Orient include honey, aloe, arnica, brahmi and mulberries, amongst others. The ancient Indian medical discipline of ayurveda involves massage with and ingestion of various herbal formulations. It goes without saying that these approaches are only of possible benefit if a professional practitioner is involved.

Dietary modification has often been employed in addressing male and female pattern baldness. It involves the ingestion of foods rich in minerals like silica, iron, and calcium such as green vegetables. In the case of females, the accent is often on protein and zinc supplementation.

Homeopathy, frequently confused with naturopathy, is a 200-year old system of medicine that is widely accepted and practiced in Europe (even by mainstream doctors). In North America, it is poorly understood, however, and is still on the fringe of what is deemed acceptable by mainstream medicine. The public is becoming more and more interested in Homeopathy, however, and as a result it’s becoming increasingly available.

Homeopathy works on the principle of ‘like cures like’. In other words, proponents of homeopathy believe that, if a substance would produce certain symptoms in a healthy person, a very small amount of that same substance can cure those symptoms in someone who is already experiencing them. For example, the poison arsenic, when taken in significant doses, can produce symptoms that include stomach cramps and vomiting. But if you already have stomach cramps and vomiting (from a virus or food poisoning, or another cause) and your symptoms are similar to those that a larger dose of arsenic would produce, then arsenicum, a homeopathic remedy made from very, very tiny doses of arsenic, will cure your symptoms.

To the uninitiated – those who aren’t familiar with homeopathy – this can sound alarming. Are homeopaths really suggesting that you take arsenic as a remedy? Yes … and no. The homeopathic doses of these remedies are so extremely tiny that, most of the time, there is no measurable amount of the physical substance left. For example, a homeopathic remedy might be made by adding a tiny part of the substance to a gallon of water, than diluting the water even more. In purely physical terms, nothing is left but water. But the substance leaves its vibrational energy behind, and that’s what effects the homeopathic healing. It’s virtually impossible to ‘overdose’ on homeopathy, therefore; these remedies are very, very safe.

The other thing that you should know about homeopathy is that the cause of the symptoms is not important. The remedy is based on the symptoms themselves. To use our previous example, it makes no difference whether stomach cramps and vomiting are caused by a virus or by food poisoning. The symptoms themselves, however, are very important indeed. A homeopath will ask you for a very detailed account of your precise symptoms. It is possible, with homeopathy, for two different people with the ‘same’ virus to require quite different remedies.

And homeopathy can help you lose weight. A homeopathic remedy, fucus vesiculosus, controls the appetite and allows weight loss to occur. A new form of the remedy is available as transdermal patch – that is, a patch that is applied to the skin. Like other homeopathic remedies, the dosage of this remedy is very low, but the patch allows it to enter your body on a continuous basis. Thus, your appetite is curbed and you end up losing weight, over time.

This remedy is effective whether or not you have psychological reasons behind your weight gain – except, of course, if these are so compelling that you are subconsciously determined to shortcut any weight loss effort, as some of us are. Barring that, however, all the evidence suggests that this weight loss remedy works. As with other homeopathic remedies, the reasons behind the weight gain are not important at all. The important thing is your symptoms, and if they are appropriate, this system can ‘cure’ them. You can, therefore, lose weight without necessarily delving into the reasons why you gained it in the first place.

Homeopathy is too controversial, as yet, to have universal acceptance in North America. In fact, it seems to defy science, as the remedies used are like ‘magic’, in a way – too small to have a measurable physical effect. To make matters worse, in a way, the smaller the dose, the ‘stronger’ it is according to the principles of homeopathy! There are thousands of people, however, who swear by this method of dealing with various symptoms – in the end, it works for the, and that’s enough. Hundreds – even thousands – of people have found this to be true, and if they end up being cured, isn’t that proof enough? To be sure, it may not be – scientists talk about the ‘placebo effect’ and such. However, you can’t argue with results, and homeopathy offers them. Look for fucus vesiculosus at health food stores or natural pharmacies.

Homoeopathy is also another method of treatment, based on the nature’s Law of Cure-` Like Cures Like’. It was discovered in the year 1796 by a German scientist Dr.Samuel Hahnemann and has been verified experimentally and clinically for 200 years. Homoeopathy is gentle, highly scientific and effective system of medicine as all medicines are prepared from natural substances to precise standards and work by stimulating the body’s own healing power.

Benefits of Homeopathy:

Homoeopathy offers long lasting to permanent cure; it not only cures the disease but treats the disease from its roots. It heals the patient from within. Homoeopathy is the most rational science with respect to its concepts of health, disease and cure. In homoeopathy it is believed that any disease is a total affection of mind and body, the disturbance of the inner system, the vital energy of the body. Therefore, in homoeopathy different medicines are not given for different afflicted parts of body but only a single constitutional remedy is given which will cover the disturbance of the whole person.

The good thing about homeopathy is that it is totally safe and unlike other medicines, it usually does not have any side effects. Homeopathy medicines do not have any chemical action, so they do not have the potential to cause any sustained damage. They have little or no pharmacologically active ingredients. They are effective in both acute and chronic conditions and offers positive results. The doses are given in sub-physiological quantities. So the same dosage can be given to both children and adults. Homeopathic medicines are usually sweet pills and that’s why even children make no fuss in taking them.

Cost:

Homeopathic treatment is comparably quite cheaper than allopathic and ayurvedic drugs. But as homeopathy treatments are not covered by insurance companies, many people do not go for it though it is an effective method of treatment. But you should always think of long-term gains as homeopathy can not only treat the immediate complaints but also take care of your future problems and it’s always better to take precautions before it gets late. Why wait for the disease to come and hit you when you can al well take medications to prevent it? This way there will be less medical consultations in the future. So the cumulative cost is very low.

Classical and Non Classical types:

There are two kinds of homeopathy: Classical and Non Classical. Hahnemann’s formulation of homeopathy is often referred to as classical homeopathy. Here they use only one remedy at a time, and base their prescription also on incidental or constitutional symptoms. When a mixture of several remedies is used it is called complex homeopathy. Homeopathy is used both by professionals and as well as those who use based on formulations marketed for specific medical conditions, that is why many people are not familiar with classical homeopathy, and equate these practices with homeopathy. Today, everywhere the use of non-classical approaches exceeds that of classical homeopathy, at least in places where over-the-counter preparations are popular and also where many doctors use natural medicines in a conventional clinical setting.

Seasonal allergies (a.k.a. “hay fever”) are enormously common, affecting at least 35.9 million people in the United States alone. In fact, approximately 16.7 million office visits to U.S. health care providers each year are attributed to allergic rhinitis.

Interestingly, homeopaths pioneered both the research on allergies and allergy treatment. In 1871, British homeopath C.H. Blackely suggested that seasonal sneezing and nasal discharge were the result of exposure to pollen. Later, American homeopath James Tyler Kent defined the practical principles of treating allergies with homeopathy. If someone develops an acute reaction to pollen (or another allergen), such as a running nose or itching, watery eyes, during the allergy season, this reaction is addressed first. After all, there is no need for anyone to suffer discomfort. Then, during the symptom-free season, a homeopath aims to find a so-called constitutional remedy that solves the problem on every level of a person’s being. It can take a while for the full affects of a remedy like this to be felt. But in the end, many other complaints and conditions usually drop away along with the symptoms of allergy.

Today conventional allergists use a desensitization process that resembles the homeopathic practice of “using like to cure like.” They give their patients a bit of the allergen (for example, tree pollen) to stimulate a reaction that the body overcomes, thus making the body stronger. However, their injections do not feature homeopathically prepared solutions. It’s a little known fact that a homeopath, Grant L. Selfridge, M.D., was the first president of the organization that is now called the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.

How do you take homeopathic remedies? These specially prepared remedies are sold in health food stores and come in the form of small sweet pills. Buy remedies in concentration 30C. Place 5 pills under the tongue and let them dissolve. Repeat the dose in 15 minutes. If there is no improvement of symptoms at all in about 30 minutes after the second dose stop taking the remedy. Go see a doctor or go to the emergency room.

My book Easy Homeopathy describes many highly effective solutions for acute allergies. Here are six that you can start using today.

Allium cepa (made from red onion): Take Allium if you see the following signs. (Always compare these signs with the signs indicating a need for Euphrasia.)

• Irritating, caustic discharge from the nose that irritates the nose and the upper lip (opposite of Euphrasia)

• Bland discharge from the eyes (opposite of Euphrasia)

• Discharge from the nose and eyes in large amounts

• Nose eventually gets completely obstructed

• Frequently there is heaviness in the middle of the forehead and/or a headache that gets better when the nose drains freely

• Frequently the symptoms begin on the left side

• You feel worse: in the late afternoon and evening, and from being in a warm room

• You feel better: from open air, cold air

Apis mellifica (made from honeybee): More times than not this is the correct remedy to take for allergic reactions to beestings. Be prepared to give it on the way to the emergency room. Use it to relieve any severe allergic reaction that involves the following combination of key symptoms.

• Very significant swelling of the eyes. Sometimes eyes are literally bloodshot from swelling

• Heat and burning sensation of the face and the eyes

• Craves cold applications and is much improved by them

Arsenicum album (made from oxide of arsenic):

• Irritating watery discharge from the nose

• Dripping from the nose, which is completely obstructed

• Burning (eyes, nose, throat) that is better from hot drinks or hot applications

• Right side is mainly affected

• You feel better: from being in a warm room, warm drinks, and warm applications (compare to Allium cepa)

• You feel worse: from anything cold

Euphrasia officinalis (made from eyebright): (Always compare to Allium cepa.)

• Eyes feel irritated, burning and itching

• Tears are abundant and irritating, nasal discharge is bland (exactly opposite to Allium cepa)

• Worse: in the morning and from warm wind

• Better: upon lying down in bed at night

Sabadilla (made from cevadilla seed):

• Remarkable fits of sneezing. Some people sound like an automatic weapon

• Every fit of sneezing provokes tears

• Constant itching inside of the nose and/or the palate

• Worse: from cold and open air

• Better: from heat, being in a warm room, and warm drinks

Urtica urens (made from stinging nettle): This remedy is specifically used for allergic reactions to shellfish and stings by jellyfish. Look for:

• Itching hives with a prickling, burning sensation

• Hives that look like red, raised blotches with white centers

Of all homeopathic products on the market, combination remedies are arguably the most popular. You can find them prominently displayed in the homeopathic sections of most health food stores and placed near the cash registers in Whole Foods during cold season. Bestsellers, these products offer us the hope of a simple and straightforward solution: one medication for one diagnosis of anything that ails us, conditions ranging from teething, to head colds, to premenstrual syndrome, to hemorrhoids. But do they work?

It’s not hard to grasp the concept involved in manufacturing combination remedies. Two or more remedies known to relieve a particular symptom are combined in the same tablet. The expectation is that either the chosen remedies will enhance each other’s actions, or that at least one of the remedies will be exactly what the patient needs.

These remedies exist right on the border between allopathic (conventional) medicine and homeopathic medicine. On one hand, these preparations are prescribed for a particular ailment in the same way as conventional drugs. On the other hand, the components of combination remedies are homeopathically prepared substances. Their proponents argue that the combination remedies are much better then conventional drugs, as they have no side effects.

PROS AND CONS OF COMBINATION REMEDIES
Combination remedies sold in stores are proprietary to their manufacturers. As they are proprietary medications, I feel uncomfortable rating their efficacy. Nonetheless, I don’t want to leave you guessing about them without reliable information. So let me just say that, in my experience, all the major homeopathic manufacturers produce equally good combination preparations. I never use them myself, however some of my patients report that various brands produce more or less similar results. It is also my understanding that at the beginning of the 20th century different companies sold and bought the recipes of efficacious combinations from each other. This makes the process of selection easier. Major companies on the American market that offer combination remedies are Boiron, Hyland/Standard, Washington Homeopathic Products, and 1800HOMEOPATHY. There are quite a few smaller companies out there, too, and companies change hands from time to time, which is a great benefit to the consumer. Mergers or splits of these companies mean only one thing for you: a continuous exchange of experience leading to better products.

What are these remedies useful in treating? They can provide significant relief for self-limiting conditions in people with excellent or average health. There are impressive remedies for vertigo, acute sinus infections, teething, and hemorrhoids, for instance. The major homeopathic companies use combinations that have been tested for years and are shown effective, but to reiterate, only for the temporary relief of self-limiting conditions. Treating serious and or chronic conditions with combination remedies isn’t a good idea. In these situations you are much better off seeking help of a qualified homeopath.

You should avoid combination remedies, or any other homeopathic preparations, while you are receiving professional homeopathic care, as these preparations might interfere with single remedies used by classical homeopaths. For many consumers, taking homeopathic combination remedies is a good place to start testing the homeopathic waters, so to speak. Real healing requires an understanding of individual traits. My new book Easy Homeopathy teaches you how to achieve complete cure, as opposed to the temporary suppression of symptoms. I hope you begin your homeopathic journey today with a little help from my book and a lot of support from your common sense.

Seeking an alternative health education? Perhaps one of many homeopathic schools may be a unique option for you. Homeopathic schools offer training and education in homeopathy at learning institutions, and via home study or distance learning programs.

Generally, teaching the history and philosophy of homeopathy, homeopathic schools provide educational courses based on the principles of homeopathy and teach students how to evaluate and assess conditions in patients; how to use and prepare remedies; to understand guidelines of potency and client sensitivity; and how to facilitate common business management practices.

Homeopathic school curriculums may require mandatory study materials including but not limited to books on homeopathic remedies and relevant material (e.g. Materia Medica of Homeopathic Remedies, Science of Homeopathy, Dictionary of Homeopathic Terms, etc.) Additional coursework may provide training and education in various forms of homeopathy, including constitutional, classical, combination and complex. Overall, homeopathic school students are taught how to treat acute and chronic health issues (depending on laws governing the practice of medicine); how to prevent disease; and how to promote wellbeing.

Homeopathic school programs may vary in length and cost, and tuition may run between two hundred dollars ($200) and over seven thousand dollars ($7,000) depending on nature of courses.

Students who successfully graduate from a homeopathic school or homeopathic distance education program may take an exam offered by the Council for Homeopathic Certification to become certified in homeopathy.

The founder and developer of homeopathy was Samuel Hahnemann, (1755-1843). He was a German physician and some of his concepts seem to appear early in medical history. He developed homeopathy after becoming dissatisfied with the medicine of the time. Treatments at that time included bleeding, purging, cupping and excessive doses of mercury. He stopped practicing medicine in about 1782 and began to seriously question the mechanisms his cohorts were using.

He viewed disease as a matter of vital force or spirit. One of the earliest speculations of recorded medical history is the concept of the vital spirit and similar forces form the probable basis for any number of metaphysical health practices. It was thought to be a nonmaterial “force” that maintains life and for which there is no objective evidence. “The cause of our maladies cannot be material, since the least foreign material substance, however mild it may appear to us, if introduced into our blood-vessels, is promptly ejected by the vital force, as though it were a poison. no disease, in a word, is caused by any material substance, but that every one is only and always a peculiar, virtual, dynamic derangement of the health”, according to Hahnemann.

Paying attention to the symptoms rather than to the external causes of a disease is believed to be more important. If one knew the specific symptoms of an illness, then all one had to do was find a substance or substances that induced the same symptoms in a healthy individual. This is referred to as, “Hahnemann’s Principle of Similars”. At one time there were experiments that supported this notion, such as the work of Pasteur and Koch on inoculations, where very tiny amounts of weakened disease-causing microbes were used.

To test this notion Hahnemann and his followers tested the effects of almost 100 substances on themselves. This is a process known as “proving”. The usual procedure was for a healthy person to ingest a small amount of a particular substance and then attempt to cautiously note any type of reaction or symptom which included emotional or mental reactions that might occur. By using this method, he “proved” that some substances were effective for treatment for a particular symptom. In one controlled study, healthy people reported similar symptoms whether given a homeopathic dilution of belladonna or a placebo.

Hahnemann believed that homeopathic remedies must be right for each individual person and prescribed them according to body type and personalities, which was based on the ancient humoral theories of Galen. The theories stated that there were four body types and personalities, based on which body “humor” predominated: blood (sanguine, warm-hearted and volatile,) black bile (melancholic, sad), yellow bile (choleric, quick to anger and to action) and phlegm (phlegmatic, sluggish and apathetic). He also said there were a few corresponding primary causes of acute and chronic illnesses, which he called “miasms”. The first miasm is known as “psora” (itch) refers to a general susceptibility to disease and may be considered the source of all chronic diseases. The other two miasms are venereal diseases syphilis and sycosis (gonorrhea). These three conditions were thought to be the causes of at least 80 percent of all chronic diseases.