Busting the myths about Homoeopathy

We hope that we will all come together with a spirit of sharing and understanding, and with open-ended minds, to understand basic homoeopathic philosophy and praxis, and to press into service this wonderful science for the well-being of humanity, in India and all over the world

By Garima Sharma

Homoeopathy is the system of medicine which originated from Germany and flourished all over the world. There are many renowned institutes of homoeopathy all over the world, including, the National Institute of Homoeopathy, India, British Institute of Homoeopathy, UK, International Academy of Classical Homoeopathy, Germany. In the contemporary world, India is considered as the ‘hub of homoeopathy’. The world keenly observes India for new and innovative developments in homoeopathy. 

Despite the fact that it has validated its utility to a great extent, each and every time, since its origin in late 18^th century, there have been misconceptions about its mode of  treatment. Indeed, its usefulness has been repeatedly validated, especially during epidemics like yellow fever, cholera, malaria, chikungunya, and, recently, the pandemic, covid. And, yet, there are many misconceptions about homoeopathy. 

In this article, the third in the series published in timesheadline.in, we will try to scrutinized the myths about homoeopathy prevailing in society, in India and abroad. 

First, the claim: ‘Homoeopathy is a pseudoscience or placebo’. Placebo means a medicine or procedure prescribed for the psychological benefit to the patient, rather than for any physiological effect.

This myth arises because we try to evaluate it according to the standards of ‘modern medicine’. Homoeopathic medicines are prepared using a specific process called homoeopathic potentisation. (Potentiaation is a process used in homeopathy to increase the potency of a substance by diluting and shaking it.) After the process, the energy of the specific product remains. 

If we consider the human body as a cluster of cells, tissues, organs, then it’s actually very difficult to understand the philosophy of homoeopathy. Our human body is not just something which is measurable and seen by the microscope and naked eyes. Our body is governed by energy which maintain the harmony among cells, tissue, organs. Similar is the case with our ecology and nature: plants, minerals and animals, from which the homoeopathic medicines are prepared. 

The process of  potentisation is required to stimulate the energy of that specific substance and reduce the material quantity of it. Disease is the disturbed equilibrium of energy governing the functioning of human body. Hence, the remedy required should also contain a certain energy to bring it back to equilibrium. A material substance can never cure the human body — it can either palliate or suppress it. 

The second misconception is that homoeopathy is slow to act. The time required to treat a disease condition is directly proportional to the severity of illness, treatment earlier taken, the duration of illness. This misconception appears, because, usually, the patient comes to homoeopathy after taking various mode of treatment, and while the disease has progressed to an extent that it requires much more time to find a cure. Acute diseases can be treated easily and in short duration by homoeopathic medicines. 

The third misconception is that there is a lot of dietary and other restrictions in homoeopathic treatment. Some restrictions are, of course, there. But they are not difficult to follow. Coffee, camphor, perfumes are avoided because they either antidote or reduce the effect of homoeopathic medicines. 

The fourth misconception is, ‘Investigations are not required for homoeopathic treatment’. In homoeopathy investigations are required to know the disease condition, the progression of disease and the assessment of treatment. The difference is, in homoeopathy, the foundation for treatment is not investigation; symptoms guide us far better than lab reports. 

The fifth misconception is ‘homoeopathic practitioners do not diagnose the disease and they don’t have the knowledge of medicine. BHMS, the basic foundation course to be a homoeopathic doctor, is a five-and-a-half year course in which all the subjects, anatomy, physiology, surgery, medicine ,obstetrics, gynae are studied. As a result, a homoeopathic physician can diagnose the disease condition and can also evaluate the prognosis. 

We hope that we will all come together with a spirit of sharing and understanding, and with open-ended minds, to understand basic homoeopathic philosophy and praxis, and to press into service this wonderful science for the well-being of humanity, in India and all over the world.

Dr Garima Sharma is a homoeopathy doctor based in Sonipat, Haryana.