Stevens Naturopathic Center

Homeopathy is its own separate system of medicine that has been around for nearly 200 years.  It was developed in Germany by Dr Samuel Hahnemann.  This brilliant doctor made the observation that when a substance in nature given in large quantities to a healthy person caused a set of symptoms, if given to an ill person in very small quantities would cause healing of those same symptoms.  This observation forms the basis of the medicine: “like cures like.”  In a homeopathic intake, we look at all the symptoms a person has, focusing on mental and emotional symptoms and personal characteristics (such as warm-blooded/cold-blooded, food preferences, weather preferences, and others) along with the current physical symptoms in order to find the one homeopathic medicine that most closely matches the total symptom picture.  Homeopathic medicines are made from almost any natural substance and there are currently over 3000 known homeopathic medicines.  We commonly use around 150 different ones, so it takes a little bit of investigation to match a patient’s symptoms with the right medicine.

In the late 1800s/early 1900s, homeopathic medicine was widely used in the United States.  With the development of modern medicines, it largely fell out of favor as people were hopeful that modern medicine was going to cure all our ails.  As this promise has largely not come to fruition, homeopathy is experiencing a resurgence in our country along with Europe and Latin America where its use is much more widespread (the Queen of England retains a personal homeopathic physician).

Homeopathy works exceptionally well in helping resolve acute problems quickly and effectively, but its greatest potential lies in treating chronic illnesses.  As discussed earlier, often a chronic illness occurs when symptoms, that may have served a purpose at one point, remain long after they have stopped being helpful.  A properly administered homeopathic medicine can help the body reset and finally throw off these troublesome symptoms.  Interestingly, often after giving a homeopathic medicine, old symptoms that have not been seen in years come back.  This is a good sign, indicating that we are getting closer to the core of the problem.  We then need to treat these symptoms with other homeopathic medicines until a person is symptom free, like peeling away the layers of an onion.

Another pattern noticed by homeopathic practitioners is that certain diseases tend to run in families.  We each are born with a genetic predisposition to certain disease patterns and if the environment creates the breeding ground, illness will follow.  Through decades of experimentation, homeopaths have discovered that certain homeopathic medicines can remove some of this potential.  For example, some families struggle with skin problems, allergies, and fatigue while others may have recurrent respiratory problems and attention problems while still others may have depression, substance abuse, suicidality, and birth defects.  Each of these family patterns can be helped by a different class of homeopathic medicines, and as we each come from two different parents often we have combinations of family traits that need to be cleared out so that we can truly achieve optimal health.

Homeopathy is safe, gentle, and effective.  It can be used in pregnancy, nursing, and even in a newborn baby.  It works well in all age groups and we have found it to be one of the most powerful tools for treating illness.