What is Homeopathy anyway? Have you ever wondered what it is, what it’s used for, or how to get started? Check out this quick guide and introduction for beginners. It might just be something you want to check out!
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What is Homeopathy?
Homeopathy is an alternative form of medicine that has been used for thousands of years. It is used to treat everything from life threatening illnesses to the common cold. While many people used to modern medicine may find it suspicious, it is still one of the most used types of medical treatment worldwide and is steadily gaining popularity in the western world.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating that we shy away from traditional medicines to cure serious ailments. Modern medicine has grown leaps and bounds just in the past few decades. I do believe in some aspects of Homeopathy though, and I think it can be beneficial when partnered with traditional medicines.
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The Three Homeopathic Basic Principles.
The biggest principle of homeopathy is that like treats like. Instead of treating based on the disease, treatment is done based on the symptoms you know you have. The second principle is that there is only one treatment, not two or even ten. Lastly, everything is given in extremely small doses.
To treat yourself homeopathically, you must figure out all the symptoms. Once you know your symptoms, you find a substance that causes the exact same set of symptoms and take a small amount of it. Since you are only taking a very small amount, the substance is not meant to harm you, it’s meant to cure you. This should not be done without the guidance of someone who knows what they are doing, and knows a lot about homeopathic cures.
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People’s Reaction to Homeopathy
Treating symptoms with something that causes your symptoms seems totally counter-intuitive. It’s a concept that’s used in modern medicine as well as more ancient cures. Shots commonly used to treat allergies contain a small amount of whatever you’re allergic to. Many vaccines contain a small amount of the disease they’re designed to protect against. When getting the flu shot, the shot does contain some of the flu, but it is so your body can build immunity.
While homeopathic medicine is not only considered effective, it has many benefits over modern medicine. Like many other natural medical treatments, most homeopathic remedies are totally natural. While this doesn’t necessarily make them safe, these remedies tend to cause fewer side effects, have little drug interactions, and are generally better for your overall health.
Homeopathic medications are also considered better for your body because they work with it. Many modern medicines work to suppress symptoms like fever or coughing. These symptoms are the body’s natural ways to get rid of disease. Instead of suppressing symptoms, homeopathic medicine works to cure the problem itself while addressing the specific symptoms.
Finding the Right Treatment
The big problem is that just like there are thousands of prescriptions and over the counter drugs, there are also thousands of homeopathic remedies as well. If you don’t pick exactly the right one, it won’t work.
While you can buy homeopathic remedies over the counter, just like herbal and other alternative medicines, that doesn’t mean it’s 100% safe to treat yourself. If you’re serious about this treatment you should speak to a doctor who has experience in alternative medicine or even see a specialist in the area.
It may be difficult to find someone truly experienced in Homeopathic remedies, if you prefer not to speak to a doctor about homeopathic options, make sure you find someone that has some kind of credentials. In this day and age, there are many people claiming to have the experience and credentials when in reality they just want to sell you something.
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Educating Yourself on Homeopathy
If you are serious about learning about Homeopathy, there are many ways you can go about learning. First of all, you can check out your local library and see if they have any books that might help guide you. You can also find some books on Amazon:
- The Complete Homeopathic Handbook
- What’s the Remedy for That?
- Homeopathic Medicine at Home
- The Principles and Practices of Treatment
There are also dozens of courses available online, Udemy.com offers a bunch of them for less than $50. Google is also a great place to start.
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Homeopathy and Modern Day Medicine
There are a lot of people who decide modern medicine is not working for them, or that big pharma is out to get everyone.
I am not one of those people.
I firmly believe in modern day medicine and all it entails. However, I also believe that homeopathy can also have a place in our lives in terms of our health. But I do not advocate for only following homeopathy and ignoring doctors.
You may encounter people who are claiming to be homeopathic experts, and they may tell you to follow their guidelines for better health or that they have a cure for whatever thing ails you. Ask yourself this; are they selling something to you? If they are trying to sell you their books or essential oils, or all cure potions, you should be wary. Make sure they can back up their claims of being an expert. Do they have years of experience? Or did they take a weekend course and are now claiming they are an expert? Did they study and research all about homeopathy? Or did they sign up to sell essential oils?
While Homeopathy is a more natural approach to curing what ails you, you also need to make sure you are being safe about things you ingest or put on your body, especially if you decide you want to use Homepathic treatments on your loved ones and children. Make sure you really look into things before trying something out.
Be safe!