Frequently Asked Questions
Q. I’m already taking other medication. Can I take
a homeopathic medication along with my other meds?
A. Yes, homeopathic remedies can be taken with prescription drugs
without danger of interaction. It may be, as treatment progresses,
that your need for conventional medication will lessen. However,
you should not attempt to cut down on your meds without the supervision
of your GP.
Q. How does homeopathy differ from conventional medicine?
A. Homeopathy is holistic in the truest sense of the word as
its focus is on the whole person. Spiritual, mental and physical
factors are not only regarded as interconnected but as an indivisible
unity. No single factor is considered in isolation.
Similarly a single constitutional remedy is given for the totality
of the person’s symptoms, rather than giving one remedy
for each isolated problem. Conventional medicine, on the other
hand, often prescribes a different specific remedy for each specific
condition. A person would have a specific medication for a skin
condition and another for anxiety, for example. A homeopath would
give a single remedy for the whole person. For this reason it
is often said that homeopathy treats the person and not the disease.
With the right remedy the person will improve physically and emotionally.
Homeopathy sees symptoms as the body’s intelligent attempt
to bring itself back to balance. In contrast to conventional (allopathic)
medicine, homeopathy works by stimulating the body’s inherent
healing ability allowing the symptoms to resolve rather than battling
against them.
Q. Is homeopathy safe?
A. Yes, homeopathy is widely regarded as safe. Homeopathic pharmacies
have the highest manufacturing standards. Homeopathic remedies
are given in extremely minute doses to avoid unwanted side effects.
For this reason homeopathy can be used when conventional drug
therapy is not advisable: i.e. during pregnancy. Many midwives
recommend homeopathy for morning sickness and infant colic to
give just two examples.
Q. How does it work?
A. It stimulates the body’s own healing power, allowing
your system to bring itself back into balance. Having said that,
no one knows exactly how this comes about. Sceptics doubt that
medicines given in such minute amounts can be effective and suggest
that it must work by placebo effect. This seems very unlikely
as it works so well with animals and young children. The answer
to the mystery will most likely be found in quantum physics and
electromagnetism. Although we cannot say exactly how homeopathy
works we can definitely say that it does work. Over 200 years
of clinical results as well as numerous studies show that it works
very well.
See About Homeopathy to learn more.
Also recommended is this excellent article.
Q. What happens at an appointment?
A. Each person is treated as an individual requiring an individualized
remedy. In order to find the right remedy for you I will need
to get to know you. Of course I will want to know about your major
complaint. I will make note of any symptoms you have and how you
experience them. But, anything you can tell me about you as a
person is equally as important since Homeopathy’s focus
is on the whole person with no single factor viewed in isolation.
I’ll want to know about your health history, sleep patterns
and diet etc. I will also be interested in such things as recurring
dreams, likes and dislikes, fears and ambitions. We’ll talk
for about two hours.
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