Homeopathy

Homeopathy originates from the Greek words homeo, meaning similar, and pathos, meaning suffering. The basic principle of homeopathy was recognised by Hippocrates as early as the fifth century. Hippocrates, acclaimed as the father of modern medicine and honoured by doctors in the ‘Hippocratic Oath’, was the first to suggest that a person’s own healing ability was vital in choosing the right cure for an ailment. Homeopathy is based on three principles:

• Like cures like. Something that in large doses creates the symptoms of a disease, will, in small doses, cure it.
• Extreme dilution enhances the medicine’s healing properties and eliminates undesirable side-effects along the way.
• The whole person must be taken into consideration when choosing a remedy

The founder of modern homeopathy was the 18th century German physician, Dr Samuel Hahnemann, who was so appalled by the practices of his day that he set out to find a healing approach that was safe, gentle and effective. He believed that rather than trying to suppress symptoms, the body should be stimulated to encourage its natural healing process.