Homeopathy – FAQ’S
What is Homoeopathy?
Homoeopathy is a safe, effective and incredibly gentle system of medicine that has been in practice in its current form since the 19th century, however the concept of Homeopathy was in use as far back as 2,500 years ago when it was described by Hippocrates. The word ‘Homeopathy’ comes from the Greek and means ‘similar suffering’ which describes the central philosophy of this wonderful system of healing. After I have analysed your health history in very fine detail, I will select a remedy or remedies that are capable of producing a similar set of symptoms as those being experienced by you. These remedy substances are heavily diluted and energised in order not to cause you any harm and are applied based on the minimum dose necessary to stimulate your own healing abilities and work towards health. The simplest examples of this selection of a ‘similar’ remedy are:-Onions – when we chop onions we are exposed to their effects and a mild ‘poisoning’ takes place – our eyes stream, nose can run and we can sneeze. These symptoms are very similar to many colds and allergic reactions, so onion, or ‘Alium Cepa’ as it’s known in its Homeopathic form, is often selected to treat colds and allergies.Coffee – when we drink too much coffee, we tend to experience the symptoms of a poisoning – loss of appetite, a false rush of energy and hyper alertness, loose bowels and often insomnia. The Homeopathic remedy ‘Coffea’ is used often in cases of Insomnia and compromised adrenal glands because the symptoms of these are very similar.Arsenic – the Victorians used many poisons for dubious purposes but especially Arsenic, which meant that there are very detailed records of all the symptoms produced by Arsenic poisoning – violent diarrhoea, vomiting, sweating and extreme exhaustion often coupled with an anxious restlessness with all symptoms worse at night. These symptoms are similar to those of food poisoning or gastroenteritis and indeed ‘Arsenicum Album’ is very successful in these types of illnesses. It was the use of well documented poisons to affect a cure that led to the obvious necessity for remedies to be as dilute as possible – it’s never good for business to be killing your patients!! Over the centuries, Homeopaths discovered that by using heavily dilute doses, the beneficial effects of the remedies were actually magnified rather than diminished. A common ‘side effect’ of prescribing a similar, dilute remedy is an overall improvement in general health and well-being alongside a speedy recovery from the illness prescribed for. So although Homeopathy relies on diluted remedies, it is the selection of a remedy based on its ability to produce a similar set of symptoms as those manifesting in the person prescribed for, that makes it unique.
How does Homeopathy differ from Pharmaceutical Medicine?
Homeopathy, like many other health approaches, is holistic – which means it looks at the whole person and not just bits of them. Homeopathy supports our inbuilt, automatic healing responses and makes them quicker and more efficient. A good example of this is to look at Fever – one of the first responses by our immune systems when it detects any kind of potential threat to our health. This raised body temperature – if allowed to run its course – will do its job and kill off any invading bugs or pathogens. Fever can make us feel uncomfortable, but it’s only temporary, and if interrupted will force the body to adopt a more invasive strategy to kill off the pathogen. A well chosen Homeopathic remedy will support this fever process and allow it to work as quickly and efficiently as possible. The Pharmaceutical approach is to suppress the fever process and make the patient feel better more quickly, but it does not allow the body to finish the task, and can cause an illness to manifest later. Another example of the Homeopathic approach to health is food poisoning – the body will immediately identify the poison as potentially harmful and it will instigate an efficient ejection plan, in the form of vomiting and diarrhoea, in order to get the poison out as fast as possible. A homeopathic remedy will support this and help ensure that the poison gets out asap before it gets a chance to cause any damage. A pharmaceutical drug is based on stopping the vomiting and diarrhoea – but what happens to the potentially damaging substance if it can’t be ejected? If the body is supported with Homeopathic remedies, and able to instigate its own intelligent systems of self–care much potential future illness can be avoided so it is of particular value in helping to improve health and prevent chronic illness, as well as addressing acute illness.
Who & what can Homeopathy help to treat?
Homeopathy can be used safely by your whole family, no matter what age, including during pregnancy because remedies are non-toxic and non-addictive. Many of my Clients first turn to Homeopathy during pregnancy precisely because of its safety. Homeopathy can be used to treat anything from acute illnesses such as childhood diseases, fever, coughs, colds & injuries to the more chronic illnesses and is also very effective in mental/emotional upsets eg Depression, Anxiety, Phobias & Panic Attacks. It works particularly quickly with children since their ability to adapt and heal themselves is often much more effective than that of adults. As an experienced Homoeopath, I can also understand and recognise the very beginnings of a disease process, (often long before any conventional diagnosis), and I can prescribe remedies to enable your body to halt that process – prevention is always better than cure! Also If you have had to take pharmaceutical medicines for any length of time and are experiencing side effects then I can use Homeopathy to help improve or eliminate those side effects. In time we can also start addressing the original illness & its many potential causes and it may be possible to reduce the conventional medicine or even stop it altogether.
What Form do Remedies take?
Your remedies will be given in either Pillules or liquid form and each prescription is tailor-made for you and given at the consultation or posted on later. Some pillules are made from sucrose and some from lactose so if you have a preference you will need to inform me.
How long is a consultation and what do I have to do in it?
The first consultation is usually the longest since this is when I take a full history from you and start putting together your own personal Timeline of events so that I can find the most appropriate place to start your journey towards health. It can be 1-2 hours with follow up consultations lasting 45 mins-1 hour. Every case is different so the frequency of follow ups varies but on average to begin with they are every 3-4 weeks and this gets less frequent as your health improves. I have several long term Clients who now consult with me once a year for a kind of annual NCT! Sometimes you may need additional support in between consultations and I find Parents really appreciate knowing that I am on the end of a phone when their children are ill. I offer telephone mini 10 minute consultations for this and I encourage all Mums to buy a basic remedy kit so that they always have remedies to hand – we all know that children do not do illnesses 9-5 so having access to remedies 24 hours a day is invaluable! During a consultation all you have to do, is answer my detailed questions and be prepared to talk about almost anything, because it all helps me to narrow down my choice of remedies and find the most appropriate ones for you. There are often only very small but critical details that help me to differentiate between remedies and it’s often not until you spend time looking at the details of your life so far that you start to make connections and piece together all the elements that have contributed to your state of Health right now.
If there are any other questions about Homeopathy that you would like answered please email me at
or please join my members only online Facebook group ‘HomeopathyinYourHands’