Healing with Homoeopathie

My patients, relatives and friends are regularly sending me messages asking about the veracity of the role of Camphora 1M or Arsenic Album 30 as preventives for COVID-19.

Regarding the message circulating about Camphora 1M, it is not a fake message, the Pune police force have been given this remedy as a preventive. Bajaj Auto with its large presence in Pune, are distributing it to their staff.

Regarding the message circulating about Arsenic Album 30, yes, it was recommended in end of January by our AYUSH ministry and the Central Council of Research in Homeopathy.
I believe that now, in middle of May, groups of homeopathic physicians are in talks with the government, regarding distributing of this remedy to the Mumbai Police Force.

Different doctors have suggested different things – how many suggestions are we going to follow?

In Pune, they’re using Camphora 1M, in Mumbai they’re planning on giving all police force Arsenic Album 30.
In Italy, Camphora did not work as preventive. In Iran it may have.

Would a remedy work as a preventive?

There is a group of about 10-12 remedies that we are finding useful to treat the Covid symptom picture. Different strains of the virus may be creating different intensities of the problem, also, the patient’s own state of health, presence or absence of co-morbidities, is very important in determining how Covid affects the person and to what extent it creates complications.

A remedy would work as a preventive on someone, if that person was going to develop that same kind of picture when affected by Covid. A remedy with a very different picture would not work.

Hence it gets difficult to say what remedy can be used as a sure-fire preventive in a large population where there are individuals of all different levels of health.

For eg., Camphora is known to be able to treat a condition where the patient is in a state of collapse, where vital functions are shutting down, etc. Hence, for those people who have a poor state of health, co-morbidities, high risk individuals, etc., it might work as a preventive IF those people were going to manifest a Camphora picture when they caught the COVID infection. On anyone else, it may not work.

Similarly, different remedies would work as preventives on different members of the population… it would be incorrect to say that one or two remedies would work as preventives for entire populations.

If and when someone were to start developing symptoms, that is the best time to start homeopathic treatment to nip the infection in the bud, which can be done, when the picture the patient develops can be matched with the corresponding remedy.

Hope this helps!

Several readers inquired about the possibilities of homeopathic use for the problems of progressing age. This article is an attempt to answer those queries.

Aging is inevitable for all of us who will be lucky enough to get there. Aging with grace, dignity and good health is one of the blessings of life. Good health comprises physical and mental well-being. Homeopathy is a system of medicine that can help to maintain good health for as long as we live.

However much we want to be free of health problems, our aging years bring with them some sort of ailment or disability. There could be physical problems like pain and stiffness of the joints, weakening brittle bones, vertigo, trembling, debility and gait disturbances, diminishing bladder control, sleeplessness, recurrent respiratory infections, complications of chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, etc. Aging could affect our mental sphere bringing on depression, decline in our cognitive functions, memory, etc.

Often I come across patients who are overwhelmed by the name of a diagnosis given to them. This brings on anxiety and often depression at the thought of a ‘big and unknown’ illness. My advice to them would be not to get scared of the ‘disease term’ used; ask your doctor to explain what the condition is all about and what the common terminology is for it. Patients have every right to ask their doctors for details. Many patients have come to me, worried that they have “vertigo”. They say that they had suffered from dizziness, in Gujarati called ‘chakkar’, but the doctor said they had vertigo. And this gets them worried. It is a big relief for them to know that vertigo is the medical term for dizziness. This is just a small example, this happens commonly with many other ailments.

Many a time, we see senior citizens being diagnosed with a chronic disease condition and then put on long-term medication that brings on its own share of side-effects, adding to the ill-health and suffering that the patient has to put up with. Homoeopathy is ideal for such situations – the remedies, in their correct potency and dosage are safe from side-effects (because they are not chemical drugs but potentized electromagnetic energy forms of the remedy substance), they are easy to take and are cheaper than conventional medicine treatments. Homoeopathic remedies, for all chronic conditions, are chosen with due emphasis on the individual patient and not the disease name. When remedies are chosen in this manner, they work to stimulate the immune system of the patient, making all the body systems run optimally. The body’s own healing mechanism is given a boost and the process of cure is begun. It is important to realize that ailments that have existed for many years will not go away in a few months. Patience is essential. However, some kind of improvement should certainly be visible in about 3 – 4 months. In cases where cure is not possible, homoeopathic remedies serve to give relief and keep the patient as comfortable as possible. The progress of chronic degenerative illnesses can be slowed down by homoeopathy, if the patient is beyond the reach of cure.

Our senior citizens often suffer from acute health problems like coughs, colds, digestive disturbances, etc., that are triggered by environmental conditions, due to a weakened immunity. Strong chemical drugs may help to contain the infection but bring on diarrhoea and weakness that stays with them a long time. Homoeopathic remedies are effective even in acute conditions and work rapidly to eliminate the problem without the addition of side-effects. In such acute conditions, the homoeopath does not need to know the life history of the patient; details about the acute problem itself – details about the origin, duration and progress are enough to aid the homoeopath to select a suitable remedy. A well-selected remedy can deal with an acute problem very rapidly, within minutes to hours. The patient is left free of the problem and with good vitality.

To conclude, a senior citizen, with the help of homoeopathy, has very good chances of staying relatively healthy, avoiding unnecessary hospitalization and enjoying the retirement years in the best way possible.

Spinal canal stenosis occurs due to the compression of nerve roots in the spinal canal. Here, there is a combination of narrowing of the disc space, bulging of the disc into the spinal canal and degeneration of the facet joints. This occurs due to wear and tear. A certain degree of spinal canal stenosis is common in the elderly and may not be associated with any discomfort. A diagnosis of spinal canal stenosis is not adequate reason for surgery – surgery is only to be considered when symptoms are severe and disabling. Even then, conservative treatment is first recommended and homoeopathy often plays an important role in avoiding surgery and enabling the patient to live a more normal life.

The case described below is of an elderly gentleman who was diagnosed with Spinal Canal Stenosis and was offered surgery as a last resort to ameliorate his complaints.

This 68-year-old man who lives in Jalgaon, came to my clinic in October 2006. His son’s family lives in Mumbai and they brought him for consultation after recommendation from a neighbour.
The patient had an accident that had injured the spine in 1996. Since then, he used to suffer from pain on and off. The pain had increased in intensity and frequency in the last 2 years, becoming quite unbearable in the last one month.

When he came in for consultation, his symptoms were as follows:
Throbbing pain in the right hip and right sacral region. The pain increased terribly on walking and after walking about half a kilometer, he would have to sit down for a while. The pain was better while sitting, better by support, better by pressure and better by hot fomentation.
There was tingling numbness from the soles up the entire lower limbs that came on while walking, worse in the left lower limb.

He is a vegetarian and has a balanced life, eating all vegetarian foods with no particular cravings or aversions. He drank 8-10 glasses of water per day and bowel and bladder functions were normal. He slept at 8 at night, waking at 5 in the morning. His sleep was deep and he liked to sleep for 2 hours in the afternoons. No significant dreams were elicited. There was a past history of smoking that he’d given up many years ago.

There were no major illnesses in his past history or in his family. His mother was still alive at 90.

He had a helpful nature and was well-respected in his village. People would go to him for advice. He had no fears and had firm religious beliefs. He insisted that there had been nothing unusual in his life and he lived happily with his routines. His ‘routine’ consisted of farming his land.

Based on his presenting symptoms, he was prescribed Sepia 200, once a day, with instructions to reduce the dosing if improvement set in. He was to report after a week.

After a week, he was 75% better where his pain was concerned. He said he could walk longer too. At this point, it was decided that a remedy for long-term improvement has to be selected. Kali Carb 200 was chosen. He was to report after a fortnight. He continued to improve. At the end of 6 weeks, he had no pain on walking, but the tingling numbness would occur on walking about 1/2 a km. Rest, however, even for a minute, would ease the numbness.

6 weeks further down the line, improvement continued. Few more Kali Carb 200 doses were repeated over the next 6 months with a couple of Sulphur 200 doses being given as an intercurrent. Kali Carb 1M was later given and in November 2007, he was completely free of his complaints.

They have referred several people from their village for treatment. The last report I received from the son (in July 2010) stated that his father was doing very well with no complaints whatsoever.

Once again, someone respected in the field of science and research has come up with evidence that water could retain the memory of substances it has been in contact with – thereby confirming what homoeopaths have known all along.

French virologist Luc Montagnier, at an international conference recently, presented a new method for detecting viral infections that bore close parallels to the basic tenets of homeopathy.

This acceptance of homoeopaths’ claims comes at a time when homoeopathy is being maligned and opposed in the UK, mainly by groups with conflicting interests like pharmaceutical companies who perceive homoeopathy’s growing popularity as a threat.

For more details, visit
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/nobel-laureate-gives-homeopathy-a-boost/story-e6frg8y6-1225887772305

About Luc Montagnier
http://www.faqs.org/health/bios/61/Luc-Montagnier.html

Back problems have become extremely common and are no longer restricted to the older age group. Teenagers and young people in their 20s are also often affected. Most people will experience back pain at some time or other during their life. With good posture and by maintaining strong and healthy back muscles, it is possible to avoid back trouble but very few of us actually put our back muscles to their proper use – that of supporting the spine.

With present day job situations where people spend long periods of time sitting at desks, the risk is increased. Even people who are physically active get at risk if they do not learn correct and safe lifting techniques. When heavy and awkward objects are lifted and carried with a bent back and straight legs, there is great strain on the vertebrae and the cartilage discs between them.

Back pain can arise in any of the structures in or around the spine. Also, the pain arising from inflammation in one area can be transmitted along a nerve to a totally different area; this can be misleading about the actual location from where the pain arises.

85% of all back pain is due to injury, inflammation or arthritis in the various structures that make up the spine. A further 10% are due to true ‘slipped disc’ or prolapsed intervertebral disc which is due to damage to the cartilaginous disc between the vertebrae. The centre of the disc is pushed backwards against the spinal cord itself or against the nerves emerging from it, thus causing pain. This is usually caused by a bad lifting technique or a sudden awkward movement. A small proportion of back pain is caused by serious disease elsewhere in the body. Rheumatoid arthritis and cancer spreading from other sites can erode vertebral bone and cause severe, boring pain in the back area. Occasionally, back pain may be due to gynaecological or kidney problems.

Visualising the normal curvature of the spine can be an important diagnostic tool. When you stand sideways in front of a mirror, you should be able to see the four basic curves of the spine. In the neck region, the spine should curve inwards, towards the throat – a similar curve should be seen in the small of the back. Between the shoulder blades and the back of the pelvis, the spine should curve outwards, away from the body. In certain conditions, this curvature gets altered. For eg., in a prolapsed disc with accompanying muscle spasm in the small of the back, there is loss of the forward curvature in this area and the spine looks flat and rigid. In osteoporosis or ankylosing spondylitis, there is marked forward curvature of the spine between the shoulder blades with hunching of the back and a stoop. Shortening and forward bending of the spine is also seen in osteoporosis.

X-Rays are rarely useful, as soft-tissue injuries are not shown up on X-Rays. MRIs are more useful than X-Rays for diagnosing back-related problems.

Sudden acute back pain brought on by lifting a heavy object or by twisting awkwardly is generally due to trauma to the structures in or around the spine itself. Muscles may be torn or strained, a disc may have prolapsed and may be pressing on nerves, or the nerve may be stretched over a bony outgrowth which is the result of wear-and-tear arthritis. Weakness of the bones due to osteoporosis or metastatic cancer can also cause problems due to sudden movement.

Sharp stabbing pain brought on by movement is probably due to one of the nerves being entrapped – this pain serves as a reminder to the patient that he should be resting. (Very often, instead of taking the time off for healing, patients indiscriminately take pain killers and continue to do their daily tasks, thereby worsening the damage). The pain should settle down within 3 days or so, since most trivial muscle strains and spasms settle on their own by this time. If prolonged, consulting a doctor is necessary. Pain on coughing or sneezing also suggests movement of a freshly prolapsed disc pressing on a nerve – it again needs rest. A slipped disc may create weakness or numbness in the legs, this can have potentially serious consequences for mobility and muscle strength in the legs in future. A severe slipped disc in the lowest part of the spine can bring on difficulty in controlling the bladder or bowels.

Most back pain is long-standing. Muscles heal fairly rapidly but ligaments and inflamed joints take several weeks or months to settle down since they have relatively poor blood supply. Inflammation and arthritis of the joints tends to be chronic and emphasis should also be laid on preventing further deterioration.

Previous back injury like bruised or fractured vertebrae can later on lead to the development of arthritis with resulting stiffness and pain.

Fever, weight loss and fatigue can represent problems affecting other areas of the body as well as the spine. Rheumatoid arthritis could produce all these symptoms, as well as pain, stiffness and swelling in other joints.

If the backache is much worse during a woman’s menstrual period, it could be due to a retroverted uterus. An internal examination by the gynaecologist could confirm that. Prolapse of the uterus can also cause backache. This happens when the muscles of the pelvic floor that support the uterus become weak. It may occur in overweight women or in women who have not toned up their muscles after delivery of children. Associated symptoms are a constant discharge, alteration of bladder and bowel function with possible constipation and even stress incontinence (leakage of urine on coughing, sneezing or straining). There will be a feeling of bearing down esp. when standing or exercising with a dragging feeling in the abdomen. Backache and general tiredness with fatigue is a usual accompaniment. Certain other gynaecological disorders can also produce back pain.

Kidney infections and kidney stones are capable of producing pain in the back because of the location being so close to the spine.

Generalised weight loss with a chronic boring pain in the back could indicate a serious disorder within the body – chronic infections, tuberculosis, blood disorders like leukemia and multiple myeloma and cancer spreading from elsewhere. A full investigation is essential.

In rare cases, a rupturing aortic aneurysm can cause intense back pain. This pain will be felt in the back as well as the abdomen. This is a medical emergency and urgent referral to a hospital is necessary.

TREATMENT:

Injuries are best treated with initial application of ice, followed by heat later; bed rest is necessary depending on the extent of injury. Homoeopathic remedies are very useful in helping the hurt tissue heal faster. The patient’s symptoms of pain will guide the physician to the correct remedy.

Exercise is very important for patients with osteoporosis. Weight-bearing exercise and walking are particularly beneficial. Homoeopathic treatment will include detailed constitutional treatment along with homoeopathic mineral supplements which have the advantage of better absorption within the body.

Rest and homoeopathy do wonders for people with slipped discs. Later on, homoeopathy and exercise are essential to strengthen the back muscles to prevent recurrence.

Even long-standing back pain can find considerable relief through good holistic therapy, physiotherapy, exercise and correct posture.

The other medical conditions that do cause back pain can also be well treated with homoeopathic remedies. The focus is on curing the underlying condition and not jut giving pain relief by suppression of the pain. Constitutional homoeopathic treatment is necessary – this involves detailed case taking followed by good case management.

“Swine Flu” has become a much dreaded illness in Mumbai, Pune and neighbouring areas ever since the first swine flu death occurred in India a couple of weeks ago. Widespread fear and a state of panic are setting in, esp. due to an initial fanning of the flames by the media and lack of awareness about this illness among the general public.

In this article, we shall try and understand the basics about what exactly swine flu is, how it gets transmitted, risks and dangers involved, how one can protect oneself from contracting this illness and medical prevention and treatment options available.

So far, the media has only highlighted treatment options available in Allopathy/conventional medicine. After days of their drug Tamiflu being raved about and made to appear as a saviour drug and the only available perceived treatment option, recent reports are abuzz with the side-effects of Tamiflu. The pharmaceutical companies are in a race to make a vaccine against swine flu available at the earliest and reports suggest that such a vaccine is going to be introduced this autumn in western countries, to combat the expected second wave of swine flu. It remains to be seen whether this new vaccine will, in any way, be more effective than the earlier Influenza vaccines given every year. Newer variants of influenza vaccines are made available with clockwork regularity as the influenza virus mutates rapidly and makes the previous year’s vaccine ineffective.

To combat the panic all around us, let us also get some perspective on this Swine Flu epidemic. Every year, about 36000 – 40000 people die in the US from regular seasonal flu. As compared to seasonal flu, this Swine Flu virus has not proved to be more virulent or contagious. After the initial panic in the US and Mexico, where this Swine Flu apparently originated, researchers have agreed that the Swine Flu virus was not as dangerous as they initially thought.

Yes, over a thousand people have been infected now in India, but that is still about 0.001% of the Indian population; far from being anywhere near pandemic proportions. Of all those that have been infected, a vast majority recovered without any complications. There will also be a lot more numbers of people infected with the virus than what the media reports – this is because not all of them will fall sick and not all of those who do fall sick will get tested. Many will not fall sick because their body’s immunity will tackle the virus without a problem. Out of those who do fall ill, a majority will not undergo ‘testing’ but will recover by themselves or with the help of local treatment by family doctors.

So now, keeping this in mind, let us now talk about the Swine Flu virus and the ailment it can cause.

The virus causing Swine Flu is the H1N1 virus and spreads from person to person in the same way that a regular flu virus spreads – through coughing or sneezing by people with influenza. Occasionally people may also get infected by touching something that has been contaminated with flu viruses by patients suffering from the flu, eg., door knobs, working surfaces, etc., and then touching their mouth or nose.

People infected with the virus can then spread it and infect others anywhere between 1 day before falling sick themselves to 5-7 days after falling sick.

The illness this virus causes ranges from mild (in majority of cases) to severe (in a few). The symptoms produced are a running nose, cough, sore throat, fever, body-ache, headache, chilliness and exhaustion. Several people affected by it have also suffered from loose motions and vomiting. While most people suffering from it have recovered without requiring medical treatment, there have been a few cases where respiratory complications have occurred resulting in death of the individual. Children younger than 5 years, people older than 65, pregnant women and anyone with pre-existing chronic medical conditions (like heart disease, kidney disease, asthma, diabetes) are at greater risk of developing complications- just as in seasonal flu. From the Homoeopathic point of view, anyone who has recently had a course of antibiotics are also more at risk due to the lowering of the immune response that antibiotic use creates.

Some basic preventive measures can be very useful:

• The most important thing is to not let STRESS and ANXIETY take over. These negative fearful emotions can lower the body’s immunity making you more vulnerable to viruses and bacteria.
• Cover your mouth and nose while coughing and sneezing. Dispose used tissues and wash handkerchiefs frequently.
• Spread awareness about maintaining hygiene.
• Do not share napkins, towels and handkerchiefs.
• Wash hands and face frequently with soap and water, esp. after returning home from outdoors. Gargle daily with warm salt water.
• Avoid touching your mouth and nose unnecessarily.
• Avoid very close contact with sick people.
• Drinking tea with ginger and mint is beneficial to boost one’s immunity against viruses.
• Have a good intake of citrus fruits.
• Intake of garlic is also a good anti-viral and anti-bacterial measure.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

At this point in time people are aware that ‘Tamiflu’ is a drug used to treat Swine Flu and people are trying to procure it by any means and are dosing themselves with it in the hope of it preventing the occurrence of Swine Flu. This is incorrect use of the drug and will result in the virus mutating more rapidly and making Tamiflu ineffective faster. Also, as Tamiflu is available only by prescription, there is further panic among the general population as fears abound about the drug going out of stock.

People should also be aware that Tamiflu has its limitations and side effects, some of which are nausea and vomiting. Other adverse reactions include sleeplessness, vertigo, abdominal pain, cough, bronchitis and fatigue. Recent reports also talk of Tamiflu being unsuitable for use in children since dehydration, nightmares and psychiatric disturbances may occur. Some children under 17 displayed bizarre psychiatric behaviour shortly after taking the drug. These side effects included panic attacks, delusions, delirium, convulsions, depression, loss of consciousness, and in some cases, suicide.

Homoeopathy has proven its worth in previous influenza epidemics, perhaps one of the most recent and serious ones has been the Influenza epidemic of 1918. It was documented during that epidemic that while allopathically treated patients had a mortality rate of 28.2%, those treated homoeopathically had a mortality rate of 1.05%.

In the last couple of days, we Homoeopaths have received plenty of queries about the contents of a text message doing the rounds, giving the name of a Homoeopathic remedy for Swine Flu prevention. Whilst the remedy Influenzinum 200 is appropriate, the dosage recommended in certain text messages is not.

Influenzinum is a deep acting remedy and a few doses should be more than enough to be preventive. Taking many more doses could be counter-productive. One dose of Influenzinum 200 (3-4 pills) a day for 3 days should be sufficient. Any further doses should only be taken under the advice and supervision of a qualified Homoeopathic physician.

Apart from Influenzinum, there are some other remedies that will be useful in the prevention and treatment of Swine Flu. Some of these are Oscillococcinum, Eupatorium Perfoliatum, Arsenicum Album, Ipecacuanha, Baptisia, Gelsemium, Bryonia, etc. Homoeopathy requires strict individualisation, however, in situations like an epidemic where an illness is prevalent at a certain period in time, the individual’s personal symptoms often fade to the background and a common group of symptoms presents in most people suffering from that illness. Based on these symptoms, homoeopaths can then determine the ‘genus epidemicus’ or the remedy most likely to be of use at that time for that illness.

In general, anyone taking homoeopathic preventive remedies will be protected from contracting the illness, but in rare cases, someone could develop the flu. In such cases, it is advised to contact your homoeopath at the earliest, so that treatment can be initiated as soon as possible. Treatment can cut short the course and severity of the illness and the homoeopath does not need to wait for a full blown infection to occur.

It is better to reiterate once again that Homoeopathy as a medical science requires strict individualisation, hence the patient’s symptoms will determine which remedy will really be suitable for cure. It is strongly recommended that patients not self-medicate but consult a qualified homoeopath for a prescription.

In recent days, a controversy has arisen regarding the validity of Homoeopathy, following “The Lancet” journal publication of a Swiss study which says that Homoeopathy has no more effect than a placebo. For information of readers, a placebo is a pill or tablet without any medicinal value, given just to please a patient, as it usually has a beneficial effect on the patient’s mind. According to this recent controversial study, meta-analysis was carried out on 110 previous studies of double-blind trials in Homoeopathy, and similar analyses were carried out with placebos and with conventional medicine. Their findings stated that while conventional medicine trials showed distinct results, the trials on Homoeopathy did not fare any better than the placebo trials.

Truth needs no defence, and the patients who have seen the clear benefit of Homoeopathic treatment in their own cases or in the cases of their loved ones, will certainly not give any value to this study, however, in the interest of staving off wrong information and wrong findings, we do not wish to remain mute witnesses to this entire drama.

There are several points which are to be raised here.
Firstly, let us understand what a double-blind trial is. Giving an example in simple terms, in a double-blind trial, if there are 100 patients, 50 of them will receive placebo and 50 will receive the chosen medication, the patients will not be told what they are receiving, and the scientist/doctor who is administering the medicine will also not know whether it is placebo or medicine, only the controller of the trial will have a record of who gets what. The results are then analyzed. Now such trials are perfect for conventional medicine, because they have specific medicines for a particular diagnostic condition, hence it is apt to see how the chosen medicine fares for that condition in a trial. In Homoeopathy, we do not treat diseases based on their medical diagnosis, but remedies are chosen based on the individualizing features of each case, hence 100 patients of, say, high blood pressure, may probably need 100 different remedies, each patient receiving a remedy to suit him/her best. Once this is understood, it is easy to comprehend that the double-blind trial method is simply not suitable for a study of Homoeopathy. If the efficacy of Homoeopathy needs to be analyzed, it has to be done on cases which are under Homoeopathic treatment, according to the laws of Homoeopathic practice where the remedies have been chosen for each patient according to their individuality.

The second point which needs to be cleared is about the Homoeopathic medicines themselves, where sceptics time and again, have stated that in the highly dilute state, there can be no medicinal activity left. Let us make it clear, that the manufacture of Homoeopathic medicines is not just a process of dilution, but a process of dilution with potentization at each step along the way. Potentization involves strong vibrations being imparted to the medicinal liquid, whereby medicine releases energy into the diluent liquid and the diluent liquid then carries the energy which later on gets imparted to the patient. As further proof, spectrophotometry analysis of high potencies show distinct differences from a plain non-Homoeopathic solution. Recently, the Bio-Medical Instrumentation Department of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), in Mumbai, have created an instrument called Medical Analyser, which is able to show distinct effects of Homoeopathic remedies even in the higher potencies, and though the instrument is in its early days, it has also been able to identify the remedy in some tests. We of the Homoeopathic fraternity, look forward to participating in further studies with the Medical Analyser, in collaboration with BARC.

The third point raised in the Swiss study, was that whatever benefit people claim to receive is due to the holistic approach, the detailed talking and the sympathetic approach that Homoeopathy adopts. However, there is no question of this sort of approach being used in cases of infants and animals, where despite the lack of ‘talking’, Homoeopathy always shows great results.

Homoeopathy has been in existence for over 200 years and has been growing by leaps and bounds especially in recent decades, and will continue to grow so long as patients continue to benefit.

September, 2005.

Homoeopathy is a system of medicine that encompasses the human being as a whole, mind and body together. The medicines used in Homoeopathy are not harsh chemical drugs, but energy medication prepared from the plant, animal and mineral kingdom. Homoeopathic medicines work to stimulate the creative energies in the human being, bringing about healing and cure with the help of the body’s own curative and regenerative forces, thus resulting in an improvement in the body’s immunity over a period of time.

Children form one of the major groups of patients in a Homoeopathic practice and it is heartening for the Homoeopath to see how well he/she can change and improve the constitution of the child with correct Homoeopathic constitutional treatment.

We are all born with inherited tendencies that have come down the family line from both our parents’ sides. These inherited tendencies, apart from structural tendencies, comprise also functional tendencies which would include how our bodies function, tendency to certain diseases, weaknesses of certain organ systems and also emotional and mental tendencies like behaviour and intellect.

A Homoeopathic physician, in a detailed case taking, takes note of all the familial tendencies, and then during the course of treatment, takes measures to eradicate and lessen the effects of those harmful tendencies in the human being under treatment. Needless to say, the benefit of such constitutional treatment is best seen in children who ultimately develop and grow to their best potential. Such constitutional treatment may be spread over a number of years, and though it is a long term treatment, the long term benefits easily outweigh the costs.

Since Homoeopathy works on the immune system of the body, this system of medicine works well in chronic diseases like asthma, allergies, arthritis, digestive dysfunction, migraines, skin problems, etc. Even in acute illnesses that are by nature, short lasting, Homoeopathy can cure and cut short the duration of the illness. However, Homoeopathy has no specific medicines for specific conditions, unlike some other systems of medicine, and hence it is important that the patient give the utmost detail of the illness to the doctor for selection of the best possible Homoeopathic medicine which can cure in the least possible time.

To list some of the advantages which Homoeopathic treatment offers children, they are:

1. Easy method of administration of medicines.
2. Least resistance to taking medicines, as the medicines are mainly in a sweet sucrose or lactose base.
3. Builds up the body’s resistance and improves the immunity with proper constitutional treatment.
4. Helps in removal of inherited tendencies which have come down through the family line – e.g., tendency to catch repeated colds and chest infections, allergies, asthma, skin problems, arthritis, cancer, etc.
5. Improvement of memory and brain function.
6. Deals with behavioural and emotional problems like stammering, nail biting, thumb sucking, etc.
7. No side effects when given in proper dosage.
8. Does not develop dependency to medication.
9. Creates ideal bodily and mental health for optimum height and weight.
10. Treats chronic conditions in depth without side effects.
11. Regulates body functions without use of strong chemical medicines.

Homoeopathy hence offers a safe, gentle and easy way to creating and maintaining good health.