LIKE CURES LIKE IS A FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF HOMEOPATHY - THE NAME ITSELF EVEN MEANS 'SIMILAR SUFFERING' IN GREEK. BUT HOW AND WHY DOES IT WORK?
An experiment by homeopathy's founder, Samuel Hahnemann, led to the discovery, still used today in much conventional medicine, that a dose of an illness' cure could produce the illness' symptoms in a healthy person. Homeopathy applies the 'like cures like' principle to stimulate the body's natural ability to heal itself - an endless source of fascination.
THE POWER OF 'LIKE CURES LIKE'
Two hundred and thirty years ago, Samuel Hahnemann, a German doctor who became the founder of homeopathy, decided to conduct an experiment. While translating some foreign medical texts into his native language, he read that Peruvian Bark or Chinchona (from which we derive Quinine), was effective in the treatment of malaria because it was bitter and astringent. He knew this wasn’t logical; other medicines had the same properties but they did not help malaria.
Hahnemann decided therefore to test small doses on himself and he soon became ill with symptoms similar to malaria: fever, thirst, drowsiness, palpitations, anxiety, and muscle and joint pain. Each time he repeated the dose, the same thing happened. So, in other words, Hahnemann observed that Cinchona (which homeopaths called China) produced in a healthy person the symptoms of malaria, the very disease it was known to cure.
This discovery was very important to Hahnemann in his development of homeopathic theory and practice. By observing the symptoms any substance produced when given to a healthy person Hahnemann could discover the healing properties of that substance.
The word homeopathy, coined by Hahnemann, is derived from the Greek words for ‘similar suffering’ (homoios = similar and pathos = disease) referring to the ‘like cures like’ principle of healing. This means that ailments are treated by minute doses of natural substances that in larger amounts would produce symptoms of the ailment.
By giving the body a dose of something that it is already experiencing, we are matching the energy of the disturbance in the body to relieve the symptoms. While conventional medicine usually works by suppressing a symptom back into the body, homeopathy works by stimulating the body’s natural ability to heal itself, thereby acting as a catalyst.
There are examples of conventional medicine however which also use a like cures like principle. For example, the stimulant Ritalin is used to treat patients with ADHD, or small doses of allergens such as pollen can be used to desensitise hypo allergenic patients.
The major difference with homeopathic medicines is that substances are used in ultra high dilutions, which makes them non-toxic. Most conventional medicines originate from a natural source, but chemicals are then added by the pharmaceutical companies. Homeopathy works simply with nature, with no chemical side effects.
Since homeopathy is a holistic form of medicine, we also look to match as many symptoms as possible in the one remedy, with up to six or eight symptoms being matched in a remedy. This is something that conventional medicine cannot do; you would need several different drugs to cover the various symptoms.
The power of ‘like cures like’ never fails to fascinate me and the fact that eight or so totally bizarre and individual symptoms can be treated in one remedy is just amazing. It truly is an exact, individualised therapy.
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