Materia Medica and Selecting Remedies

After standardizing this potentization process and the provings for hundreds of remedies, Hahnemann cataloged this information in a Materia Medica, or large reference volume of information much like an encyclopedia. Users of homeopathy consult this Materia Medica to match the appropriate remedy to the symptoms of disease in a patient after taking a case history and complete symptom picture. (2) This process is called finding the similimum. Homeopathy is a bit like getting a jump start for a dead car battery. “The energy sources are the remedies, used in accordance with the law of similars so that the body can run on all cylinders again.”(1)

“Homeopath is not only an energy medicine but is also holistic. Homeopaths believe that the body is much more than the sum of its various parts and that the whole person should be treated. The mind, the emotions and all the various organs are interconnected. It would be unwise to treat one part without considering the whole person.” (1)

Homeopathy Falls Out of Favor

Homeopathy was easily accepted, and flourished throughout the world, especially after Hahnemann created a homeopathic protocol for treating the cholera epidemic in central Europe in 1831. “Cholera was more successfully treated with homeopathy than with orthodox medicine; mortality rates varied between 2.4 and 21.1 percent compared with 50 per cent or more with conventional treatment.” (2)

“However, in 1846 the American Medical Association was founded, which adopted a code of ethics forbidding its members to consult homeopaths,” and The Board of Health in England followed suit claiming that the practice of homeopathy opposed the progress of science. (2)

The American Medical Association worked to close all homeopathic institutions and by 1918 only 7 of the around 100 homeopathic treatment centers were left in the United States. As the twentieth century progressed, the pharmaceutical industry came in to favor with the discovery of penicillin, and the manufacture of powerful drugs began to develop. (2) Homeopathy is a thoughtful and time consuming process when done correctly, following the law of like cures like to choose the best-match remedy. Pharmaceuticals created “the five-minute prescription and a cure for every ill.” (2)

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Pharmaceutical Drugs

Big drug companies enjoy big benefits. To be more precise,

after accounting for the costs of all research — about $80 billion a year — drug companies had $40 billion more from the top 20 drugs alone, all of which went straight to profits, not research. More excess profit comes from the next 100 or 200 brand-name drugs.(3)

The profit margins are huge, and the board members and investors enjoy the benefits. Unfortunately, the patients foot the bill, often with their life-savings.

Many pharmaceutical drugs are also not what they seem. Some generic brands do not work as well as name brand versions, and many drugs are eventually found to contain dangerous elements or work in unexpected ways, often leading to recalls. (4) Drug developers have often taken chemicals that were designed for nefarious purposes, and re-purposed them into medications. Warfarin is the anticoagulant drug widely used to prevent and treat blood clots. However, its original use was as a rat poison. (5) The drug may work to reduce blood clots, but it has a very long list of serious side effects including severe bleeding from many parts of the body, and not surprisingly, death. (6)

On the other hand, researchers are exploring a homeopathic remedy to prevent blood clots after surgery with promising results and little to no side effects. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study showed

a trend towards a beneficial effect of ARNICA D12 with regard to reduction of hematoma [blood clot] and pain. (7)

A bottle of 80 doses of Arnica of the same potency used in the trial can be purchased on Amazon for $8.34 US. (8)

However, most patients are not made aware of an effective and inexpensive homeopathic option. The pharmacy-created and marketed drug is often the only choice the patient knows about unless through their own due diligence. Patients are encouraged to implicitly trust medical providers, and most practitioners do not know about or promote homeopathy. Is this really informed consent?

Myths

The lack of knowledge about homeopathy has led to many misconceptions.

• Homeopathy is not a form of herbalism, as no physical matter remains in the remedy - only its energy signature.
• Homeopathy does not have side effects, however the body can have an energetic response to the energetic signature of the material the remedy is made from. These adjustment periods usually only last for a few hours to two days and are usually not disruptive.
• Homeopathic remedies are not placebos. Belief in the remedy does not determine its effectiveness. Only proper matching of energies using the rule of like cures like causes a change. “Homeopathic medicines work on babies and animals, neither of whom are susceptible to the placebo effect.” (2)
• Homeopathy is not unscientific. Medicines are prepared following a specific protocol in specialized laboratories or pharmacies. Provings follow precise rules, have clearly stated controls, and the results are meticulously documented following universal homeopathic laws.

What is true is that homeopathic practitioners are still readily available throughout the world today and regular people enjoy the benefits of homeopathy on a regular basis. Part Two of Homeopathy for Healing and Disease Prevention, will explore my own experiences with choosing homeopathy over allopathic medicine and how to use homeopathy simply and effectively at home.