Kramer Jill - Homeopathy A-Z

Copyright 1999 by Dana Ullman

Published and distributed in the United States by:
Hay House, Inc., P.O. Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018-5100 (800)654-5126 (800) 650-5115 (fax)

Edited by: Jill Kramer Designed by: Jenny Richards

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews without prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ullman, Dana

Homeopathy A-Z / Dana Ullman.

p. cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 1-56170-573-X (hardcover) ISBN 1-56170-798-8 (tradepaper)

1. HomeopathyPopular works. I. Title.

RX76.U467 1999
615.5'32dc21

98-29140

CIP

ISBN 1-56170-798-8

05 04 03 02 6 5 4 3
1st printing, January 1999
3rd printing, August 2002

Printed in China by Palace Press

H omeopathy has been aptly characterized as a medicine for the 21st century. It is a powerful yet gentle method of augmenting a person's own immune and defense system. It is a sophisticated method of individualizing medicines to the totality of physical and psychological aspects of an individual, not simply to his or her disease; and it is a tried-and-true method of healing people who experience a wide range of acute, chronic, and even hereditary ailments.

That said, it must also be acknowledged that homeopathy is not a cure-all. Homeopathy cannot cure everything or everyone. Some people's immune and defense systems are so weakened or compromised that nothing can elicit a healing response. Some people require surgery for healing to occur, and some cannot be healed for unknown reasons.

Despite these limitations for select individuals, homeopathy can often profoundly improve a person's health. It can not only provide relief for an ailment; it can precipitate a true cure. Homeopathy can help heal various physical complaints and can transform and improve a person's emotional and mental state. It can also help heal various diseases and prevent new ones from developing.

Although these statements are indeed bold, homeopathy has over 200 years of evidence to support these claims. The primary reason that homeopathy became popular in the 19th century was due to the remarkable results that homeopathic physicians experienced in treating people suffering from the infectious-disease epidemics that raged at the time. Epidemics of cholera, scarlet fever, typhoid, and yellow fever were rampant and killed large numbers of people. Yet, death rates in homeopathic hospitals were commonly one-half or even one-eighth of the death rates in conventional medical hospitals.

These magnificent results helped homeopathy grow in the United States, so much so that by the turn of the 20th century, there were 22 homeopathic medical schools, including Boston University, University of Michigan, New York (Homeopathic) Medical College, and the University of Minnesota, among others. Approximately 15 percent of American doctors considered themselves homeopathic physicians, and there were over 100 homeopathic hospitals.

Homeopathy's popularity declined sharply after the turn of the century, primarily due to the active efforts of the American Medical Association and its collaboration with American drug companies. But although homeopathy's status in the U.S. declined, homeopathy in Europe and parts of Asia continued to grow. Between 30 and 40 percent of French doctors and 20 percent of German doctors prescribe homeopathic medicines. Over 40 percent of British doctors refer patients to homeopathic doctors, and 45 percent of Dutch physicians consider these natural medicines to be effective. Homeopathy is so popular in Europe today that it is no longer appropriate to consider it alternative medicine there.

Homeopathy is even more popular in parts of Asia. There are over 125 four- and five-year homeopathic colleges in India, and there are over 100,000 homeopathic doctors. Homeopathy is used in virtually every country in the world today, and millions of people take a homeopathic medicine on a daily basis.

With this background, one must now ask the question

Primary Assumption: Respecting the Wisdom of the Human Body

The basic assumption behind homeopathy is that symptoms of illness are not simply something wrong with the person but are actually responses and efforts of the organism to defend and heal itself against infection and/or stress. The human organism does not become ill by surrendering to these forces, but as a result of the body's efforts to fight them.

Every organism survives because it has incredible adaptive capabilities, and one of the ways that an organism adapts is through the creation of symptoms. The inflammatory process is one of the important ways that an organism begins to learn what has infected it and how to deal with it. So, the creation of symptoms is one of the ways that the organism learns to live in its environment.

On the one hand, conventional medical thinking maintains great respect for the human organism, its defensive functions, and its symptoms; yet on the other hand, it commonly assumes that symptoms must be inhibited, suppressed, and controlled. Fevers must be lowered, inflammation must be suppressed, and discharges must be stopped.

Because these symptoms are important ways in which the human organism is trying to heal itself, efforts that impede this process tend to provide short-term relief for pain and discomfort, but also tend to create more long-term health problems. For instance, basic pathology texts affirm that fever is an important effort that the body deploys to fight and burn out infection, that inflammation is vital for the body to wall off pathogenic material, and that discharge is an essential way that the organism expels dead cells and infective organisms. Therapies or drugs that suppress the body's natural defenses create new, deeper, and more chronic health problems.

Inherent in conventional medical thinking about health is the assumption that whatever the body is doing is wrong. Conversely, inherent in homeopathic thinking is the assumption that there is an internal wisdom to the human organism. This difference in assumptions leads to completely different approaches to healing.