Homeopathy

Homoeopathy is based on the principle of “like treats like” – that is, a substance which can cause symptoms when taken in large doses, can be used in small amounts to treat similar symptoms. For example, drinking too much coffee can cause sleeplessness and agitation, so according to this principle, when made into a homoeopathic medicine, it could be used to treat people suffering from sleeplessness and agitation.

This concept is sometimes used in conventional medicine, for example, the stimulant Ritalin is used to treat patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and small doses of allergens, such as pollen, are sometimes used to de-sensitise allergic patients. An important difference with homoeopathy, however, is that the medicinal doses, known as remedies, are so small that toxic side-effects are avoided.

The origin

The principle of treating “like with like” dates back to Hippocrates (460 - 377BC) but in its current form, homoeopathy has been used worldwide for more than 200 years.

Homoeopathy was discovered by a German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann, who was looking for a way to reduce the damaging side effects associated with the medical treatment of his day, which included the use of poisons. He began experimenting on himself and a group of healthy volunteers, giving smaller and smaller medicinal doses, discovering that as well as reducing toxicity, the medicines became more effective as the doses were lowered.

He also observed that symptoms caused by the toxic ‘medicines’ of the time, such as mercury which was used to treat syphilis, were similar to those of the diseases they were being used to treat. This observation led to the principle he described as ‘like cures like’.

Hahnemann went on to document his work, and his texts formed the foundations of homoeopathic medicine as it is practised today. A BBC Radio 4 documentary aired in December 2010 described Hahnemann as a medical pioneer who worked tirelessly to improve medical practice, insisting that medicines were tested before use.

Get in touch

Health Renewal has a highly-skilled homoeopath practising in our network - Dr Maurits Kruger in Illovo, Fourways, Morningside, West Rand and Parkhurst.