The term homeopathy comes from the Greek words homeo, meaning similar, and pathos, meaning suffering or disease. Homeopathy is an alternative medical system that seeks to stimulate the body’s defense mechanisms and processes so as to prevent or treat illness. Treatment involves giving very small doses of substances called remedies that, according to homeopathy, would produce the same or similar symptoms of illness in healthy people if they were given in larger doses. Treatment in homeopathy is individualized. Homeopathic practitioners select remedies according to a total picture of the patient, including not only symptoms but also lifestyle, emotional and mental states, and other factors.
Typically in homeopathy, patients have a lengthy first visit, during which the provider takes an in-depth assessment of the patient. This is used to guide the selection of one or more homeopathic remedies. During follow-up visits, patients report how they are responding to the remedy or remedies, which helps the practitioner make decisions about further treatment. Most homeopathic remedies are derived from natural substances that come from plants, minerals, or animals. A remedy is prepared by diluting the substance in a series of steps. Homeopathy asserts that this process can maintain a substance’s healing properties regardless of how many times it has been diluted. Many homeopathic remedies are so highly diluted that not one molecule of the original natural substance remains. Remedies are sold in liquid, pellet, and tablet forms.
Homeopathy was founded in the late 1700s by Samuel Hahnemann, a physician, chemist, and linguist in Germany who was interested in developing a less-threatening approach to medicine. Today, in European countries, training in homeopathy is usually pursued either as a primary professional degree completed over three-to-six years or as postgraduate training for doctors. In the United States, training in homeopathy is offered through diploma programs, certificate programs, short courses, and correspondence courses. Also, homeopathic training is part of medical education in naturopathy.
Source: National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
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