One of the basic principles of homeopathy is: The Law of Similars or “like cures like”.
Some examples : Coffee, an excellent drink to fight sleepiness and a lethargic condition can, in very small doses, relieve insomnia. Arsenic substance well known for its toxicity, is used in homeopathy as a remedy against food poisoning. Ipeca, which causes vomiting at high doses, is inversely efficient to treat nausea.
The homeopathic medication is prepared by successive deconcentrations or dilutions, followed by the succussion or potentization.
"Hahnemanian* Method" CH (hahnemanian centesimal) : 1 part of the starting substance is diluted in 99 parts of solvent. DH (hahnemanian decimal) : 1 part of a substance is diluted in 9 parts of solvent.
*from the name of Samuel Hahnemann, physician, founder of Homeopathy
"Korsakovian" Method (symbolized by the letter K) : designates a method developed by Korsakov: a bottle full of active product in solution form is emptied and filled again with solvent, then potentized. The active substance then corresponds to the quantity of product remaining on the walls of the vial, which results in a 1 K dilution. By emptying the bottle again, refilling it with solvent and potentizing, we would have a 2 K dilution, and so on.
This is also an essential step in the making of a homeopathic medicine. It consists of shaking the solution vigorously after each dilution in order to homogenize and potentize it. In practice, approximately one hundred shakes or “succussions” are required.
Homeopathy is characterized mainly by the fact that it takes into consideration the person as a whole, including reactions in the face of illness, personality and history. Homeopathy treats the person more than just the symptoms, which are perceived as the body’s reaction to a change in the vital force. The treatment is known as "a holistic approach" and "individualization"
The substances used in homeopathy have 3 origins: - vegetable : Arnica montana, Nux vomica… - animal (or microbial): Apis mellifica for the bee… - ou mineral : Cuprum metallicum for copper… identified by their latin name.
Some symptoms may seem to get worse at the beginning of the treatment, which confirms the body’s reaction and the soundness of the treatment. Because of the infinitely small doses contained in a homeopathic medication, is basically not toxic.
