Dr. Valerie Nelson
Board Certified Natural Integrative Doctor
Homeopathy Explanation and Directions
Homeopathic medicines that you will be getting from our offices will 99% of the time be in a liquid formula in a blue bottle. They will hardly have any taste and they will all taste the same because, again, it is an energetic form of medicine. These include the emotional support formulas, FunguCleanse, Arnica, BioFeedback formulations.... (in a blue bottle is a homeopathic medicine from our office).
Prior to taking the medicine, you will tap (not shake) the bottle about 7 times against your palm. This process is called 'succussion' and increases the energetic wave pattern of the formulation, which makes it more effective. The formulas will still work if you do not success them, but they are more effective when you do. It is similar to the action that we did as a child when we would slide our feet across the floor and shock our sibling with our finger (not that I ever did anything like that - ha ha!) It simply increases the energetic component of the medicine.
It is best to take them with nothing else in your mouth. You will put 10 sprays or drops under the tongue and hold for about 10 seconds and then swallow. Mint and caffeine can sometimes neutralize homeopathy, so don’t have gum in your mouth or brush your teeth for a few minutes prior to taking your remedy. Do this 3 times per day unless you are in an acute situation. For instance, if you got stung by a bee and you are doing an insect bite formula, you could do this every 10 minutes until symptoms improve – same with a fever formula.
For a preventative flu formulation nosode, the dosing is 10 drops once a day (1/2 dose for children), but if, for instance, you actually have the flu, then you will do this amount 3 times per day. Our flu formula is a natural safe alternative to the flu shot without any chemical additives.
Homeopathy is a safe, scientific system for the healing of the body. It is founded upon the homeopathic principle of "similia similibus curantur", "Like cures like". Made famous by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann in 1796, it was found that a remedy, in large doses, which will produce a certain symptom in a healthy body, will cure similar symptoms in a diseased body in small potentized doses. This is because the remedy excites the body to produce an antidote against the particular ailment and symptom. For example, Aconite, when given in large doses to a well person, will bring about a fever. When given in a 6X small dose, it is used to cure a fever.
Homeopathy formulas work differently than herbal tinctures or herbal formulas. Homeopathy utilizes plants, minerals and animals. In some cases the actual diseases themselves. Homeopathic remedies are diluted and potentized which creates an energetic medicine. For instance a 6X potency is actually 1 part 1,000,000 of the original substance. This stimulates the body on an energetic level to heal. Even though this sounds hard to believe, it is true. It is part of the way that God made our immune system. Cool, huh?
For instance, the use of Rhus Tox 6X (actual Poison Ivy) will cure a Poison Ivy outbreak. It can also be used as a prophylactic for prevention of Poison Ivy.
Homeopathy is actually considered a pharmaceutical science. There were no pharmacies or chemical laboratories at that point in history (leeches and blood letting were considered science), so physicians learned how to derive their medicines from nature. While doing research into the toxicological effects of the medicines of his time, Dr. Hahnemann discovered that specific dilutions of a substance would remove the symptoms that would have been induced by use of the actual substance. Initial testing was done on healthy volunteers.
A homeopathic remedy, or dilution, of the actual substance, was introduced to a volunteer to discover the symptoms it was capable of producing. This was called a proving. Participants in a proving record their symptoms; the symptoms are collated and used as therapeutic indications for prescribing that substance. A homeopathic can only cause temporary symptoms, it cannot cause the actual chemical reaction the substance itself might have produced. And so homeopathy is based on the theory of “Likes are Cured by Likes.” If one dilution (potency) causes the symptoms, another dilution will correct those same symptoms.
Physicians who practiced homeopathy had a success rate that was much higher than modern medicine as we know it today. Interestingly enough, homeopathic medicine used to be the primary form of treatment in the United States.
The most prestigious medical schools from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s were homeopathic. The first medical association was the American Institute of Homeopathy, not the American Medical Association. Matter of fact, our own Shadyside Hospital was once a homeopathic hospital.
Once the American Medical Association was created, it was funded primarily from paid advertisements from pharmaceutical companies. Simply put, allopathic medicine created better income incentives offering free samples and endorsement fees to the most prominent doctors. Even though the medical system in the US does not promote or even condone homeopathic medicine today, other industrialized nations readily use and accept it as a primary source of treatment.
Keep in mind that the US is 2% of the world’s population, but we use 50% of the world’s pharmaceutical (mostly chemical) drugs. Other countries are still utilizing homeopathy much of the time, just like the US used to do. It is widely known that the right homeopathic can relieve a symptom faster than a medication without the side effects and physical hazards that medications produce. Perhaps that is why the British Royal Family employs a full time homeopathic physician.
So, it is important to remember, if you check with your MD about natural medicines, you will most likely get a negative response (which, by the way would be similar to asking the cashier at the grocery store advice on how to fix your car) – it is not part of medical doctors’ training (neither is general nutrition, by the way). Nutrition is an elective course for medical doctors.
How Fast will a Homeopathic Remedy Work?
Each case is individual, but if you pick the right remedy for the right condition, positive results can be expected within minutes and often seconds of taking the remedy. When a homeopathic remedy is placed in the mouth, the information is picked up by the sublingual nerve pathways around the tongue. The information is then transmitted at the average nerve speed of 200 M.P.H. throughout the body so the remedy reaches all 100 trillion cells of the body within a matter of seconds. This is a very nice advantage to homeopathic medicine vs. drugs and medication, which often can take days or weeks to reach a level that produces relief.
Are antibiotics, medications or vaccinations more effective than a homeopathic?
We are born and trained in a society whose mindset is placed in trust for what the medical society has established as the health standard. If someone offers you advice, you only follow it if you have seen evidence in track record. This has earned your trust. If you don’t have pre-established trust, you ask questions. It is sad to say that the third leading cause of death is actually treatments or therapies utilized in the medical community. Our own American Medical Association states that 108,000 deaths are caused by Pharmaceuticals each year!! The first two causes of death are diseases which some say are highly promoted or caused by certain practices promoted by the same medical community. If even half of this is true, why do we have such faith and trust in what the medical establishment has set as “health care”?
Now to answer the question, we all know that modern treatment of any kind is based on suppression of the symptom rather than cure. Generally speaking, modern medicine does not believe the body can regenerate.
Homeopathic medicine works exactly the opposite by inducing the body’s own ability to heal. All natural medicine does, for that matter.
Taking all of this into consideration, if you get a homeopathic remedy, results will be produced faster than any drug or antibiotic because natural remedies induce the healing potential of the body.
In the worst case scenario, a homeopathic will not be effective and you can still fall back to the medication or surgery you were previously considering. Thus it is a win-win situation.
Homeopathic medicines work on every system of the body: mental, physical and emotional. Homeopathic medicines are also useful for both acute illness (those that run its course without any drug or physician's intervention) and chronic illnesses.