Words: Niharika SAPRA
This is the edited version of the essay that won the Third Prize in ThinkWellness360 Essay Writing Competition 2022 for Homeopathic Medical College Students.
It was the foresight of Dr Samuel Hahnemann, MD, the founder of homeopathy, that ushered in a ground-breaking upshot: ‘treat the patient with the disease, not just the disease in isolation.’
Modern medicine emphasises on giving immediate relief by removing the annoying [disease] symptoms without bothering about the disease itself, or its cause. Fever is brought down by antipyretic drugs, hypertension by anti-hypertensive drugs, hyperacidity by antacids, pain by pain killers, and so on — without so much looking at the cause. Mere suppression leads to recurrence, or return of symptoms, and at times with more intensity, giving rise to grave chronic and acute problems. There is now great turmoil around the world from the grave side-effects of long, strong suppressive treatments, so much so, more and more people are opting for gentle treatments like homeopathy.
While conventional medicine focusses on treating the illness, or disease, by ‘killing’ the invading pathogen, homeopathy endeavours to strengthening the body, so that it can fight the pathogen by itself. Our surroundings are brimming with pathogens all the time and they cause illnesses only when the body becomes weak. As Dr Hahnemann said, “There is no disease, but sick people.” The practice of homeopathy convinces the physician to regard the body more than just the sum of its parts, while taking into account homeopathy’s holistic precept, percept and concept that also relate to individualisation, or personalised, ‘bespoke’ medicine.
With increasing stress, work pressures and skewed lifestyles, a host of diseases and disorders are now at their peak. You name it: hypertension, diabetes, gastrointestinal and psychiatric disorders, among others. Homeopathy has shown impressive results in such cases and more and patients, as also several open-minded physicians, are ‘moving’ towards homeopathy to managing such disorders.
Future Medicine
Homeopathy is capable of meeting most future requirements in the field of medicine — be the disease a novel entity, or is rapidly progressing as an epidemic. The homeopathic Materia Medica possesses immense medicinal wealth — this expands the scope of homeopathy as pointed by Dr Carroll Dunham, MD, in his book, Homeopathy The Science of Therapeutics. Organon of Medicine provides reference to the Genus epidemicus and how it should be approached — for example, the scarlet fever outbreak in 1801, typhus in 1813, and cholera in 1830, as also the recent COVID-19 pandemic, where homeopathy demonstrated its value in lowering mortality rates. As the noted American homeopathic physician, Dr Harris L Coulter, PhD, put it so aptly, “[Dr] Hahnemann came 300 years ahead of his time.”
To paraphrase Dr Hahnemann, “The selection of the [homeopathic] remedy is one of the most difficult facets in homeopathic treatment; it requires tremendous work and memorising capacity, uninterrupted concentration on the Materia Medica and [a] keen sense of observation, because of manifold, ambiguous symptoms. It requires best possible adaptation of potency to the type of the disease [acute, or chronic], to the state of health and to the physical nature of the patient.” Once the right simillimum is selected, it does what is expected of it — a gentle, safe cure of the disease, or illness, from the inside out.
In certain cases of auto-immune disease, where modern medicine may not show tangible results, homeopathy has showcased its utility value. Psoriasis, allergies, hepatitis, among others, have been successfully treated with homeopathy. Surgery has its own advantages and many a time it comes as a boon to saving human life, but what has made us reach a stage of irreversible pathology is the use of potent, or powerful drugs, and suppressive treatment. This is one reason why some open-minded conventional physicians are referring patients to homeopathic treatment.
‘Go-To’ Medicine
Homeopathy is slowly emerging as the ‘go-to’ mode of treatment for many, and homeopaths are becoming family doctors. Homeopathy is now part of primary healthcare. Studies have found homeopathy useful for otitis media, autism, learning disabilities, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], nocturnal enuresis, adenoiditis, among others. Most people, practitioners and governments are becoming increasingly aware of the efficacy and safety of homeopathy and are realising its importance as a holistic mode of treatment. The Indian government is encouraging AYUSH, under which homeopathy is getting recognition, promotion and acceptance.
For pregnant women and infants, homeopathy is safe and beneficial. It has shown its therapeutic value in certain genetic disorders detected during early pregnancy. Homeopathy is known to be child-friendly, safe and effective intervention. Being holistic, it can take care of the physical as well as psychological complaints in children. It is the medicine of future for a ‘healthy child and healthy nation.’
People aged 60 years and above make up to 12.3 per cent of the global population; by 2050, this figure would be 22 per cent. In other words, one person among every nine in this world is now 60 years and above; by 2050, this would be one among five. Homeopathy in geriatric care is being used as non-addictive and gentle medicine without side-effects. It may be said, “When ailments are so cruel, let the pills be sweet.” The elderly need care and concern; they don’t need sympathy, but someone who can ease their suffering. Prostate disorders, including frequent urination, or difficulty in passing urine, constipation, joint problems, and sciatica too respond well to homeopathy.
Medicine For Today & Tomorrow
Homeopathy, when practiced appropriately, is inexpensive, safe and effective. It is useful in post-disaster management, particularly in alleviating the bad effects of severe psychological trauma too. Homeopathy is useful in rehabilitation, no less, because it is gentle and patient-friendly.
Studies conducted over the years have shown the efficiency of homeopathy in animals, making it a useful mode of treatment in veterinary practice. Be it treating infertility problems in bovines, managing post-operative pain, or acute and chronic diseases, homeopathy is more than useful.
That homeopathy was discarded by modern medicine is now history. There is ample scientific evidence today of homeopathic dilutions containing medicinal substance beyond the 14th dilution by chemical analysis method. Thanks to modern electronic and micro-analytic assays, the therapeutic potentiality in homeopathic ultra-dilutions is now being seen in a new light. You may, thus, call homeopathy ‘personalised nanomedicine.’
Research at subatomic and quantum levels is endeavouring to explain how homeopathic remedies, at such a high level of dilution, work to restabilise the deranged equilibrium by simply replacing similar atoms, or quanta, that have either been lost, or damaged, during the process of disequilibrium — disease. In one new foray, the preparation process of a homeopathic remedy [medicine] was analysed according to quantum electrodynamics [QED] principles. This provided a scientific explanation for the theoretical model of ‘information transfer’ from the substance to the water solution. A subsequent step explored the action of a homeopathic remedy in a living organism according to QED principles.
In a recent conference, under the aegis of NASA at Rutger’s University, homeopathy was thought of as a useful treatment modality for Lunar Settlement Projects of the future, thanks to its ultra-diluted, stable remedies. That’s, again, homeopathy as future medicine for you.
With millions of patients trusting homeopathy, it is high time specialists from all systems, or disciples, of medicine rise to the occasion and join hands to work unbiasedly in the right direction — with their best interests for humanity.
To recall Dr John Henry Clarke, MD — the legendary English homeopath’s words — homeopathy is “The most complete and scientific system of healing the sick the world has ever seen.”
Homeopathy is, indeed, the medicine of the future — no more, no less.
Yes, homeopathy is, indeed, a ‘metascience.’ It has achieved, and continues to achieve new heights, practically every day, treating cases with documented evidence, especially in conditions such as autism, ADHD, among others, as you have so succinctly pointed out in your prize-winning essay. Homeopathic remedies [medicines] are suggested as being capable of making changes at the DNA level [epigenetics] too. Homeopathy treats not just every day illnesses, but also lifestyle issues. Homeopathy is, doubtless, the medicine of the future.
Nice??