Top 10 Reasons to use Homeopathy

1. NO HARMFUL SIDE EFFECTS
A special preparation process called potentization refines the medicines to remove any toxic side-effects. It is safe for babies and during pregnancy and menopause. However it is advised to be under the care of a qualified Homeopathic practitioner if you are pregnant.

2. GENTLE
Homeopathy works by stimulating the body’s own natural defense mechanism to heal itself. Although gentle the results may be powerful and long lasting.

3. HOLISTIC
Homeopathy takes into account the whole person. Often only one remedy may address all your complaints.

4. INEXPENSIVE
Homeopathic medicines cost surprisingly less than allopathic prescription medication. The Homeopathic medicines are intended to boost the immune system, making you stronger and less likely to get sick.

5. PREVENTATIVE TREATMENT
By boosting the body’s immune system, homeopathy can help improve a person’s resistance to illness and infections.

6. NO ANIMAL TESTING
Humans respond differently to medication than animals do. All Homeopathic medication is tested on healthy humans. The symptoms that a substance taken over time elicits in a healthy person, are shown to be exactly those that can be cured in a sick person suffering from those symptoms.

7. EASY TO TAKE
Homeopathic medicines are given either as small pleasant tasting tablets which dissolve in the mouth, or in liquid form. Granules, powders or drops are available for babies and children.

8. PERSON’S INVOLVEMENT
The Homeopath will ask many questions, not only about the symptoms which are bothering an individual, but how they react to the condition, as well as wanting to know about general health and lifestyle.

9. INVALUABLE FOR FIRST AID
Homeopathic medicines can be safely used in the home or workplace to treat simple problems-such as bruises, minor burns, sprains, insect bites and gastric upsets. However more serious or chronic complaints should be treated by a qualified Homeopathic practitioner.

10. THE MEDICINE OF THE FUTURE
With over 6000 Homeopathic medicines in existence and new Homeopathic medicines being discovered all the time, Homeopathy is a growing art. However unlike allopathic medicine that takes drugs off the market every year as new side-effects are discovered, Homeopaths still use the same medicines they were using 200 years ago with new medicines to broaden their scope. Scientists are only now discovering breakthroughs in quantum physics that helps us to develop a deeper understanding of Homeopathy, as it was used 200 years ago.

How Homeopathy Medicines are Selected?

Before we deal with this, let us first understand some basic words and definitions.

Case Taking - The process of initial consultation of a patient with a homeopath in which the patient presents his/her history/complaints to the physician in detail.

Materia Medica - A book which contains information about the action of various homeopathy medicines.

Repertory - A dictionary like index of symptoms. Each symptom is followed by a list of medicines that have produced that symptom during proving.

Drug Proving - A process in which a medicinal substance is given to a group of healthy people and the signs and symptoms thus produced are recorded.

Now we come back to the original question of how the homeopathy medicines are selected.

When a patient comes to a homeopath for the first time, the homeopath takes a detail interview to find out as much as possible about the complaints of the patient as well as about the patient himself. The discussion goes beyond the disease name, to the actual signs and symptoms experienced by the patient, the aggravating and ameliorating factors, accompanying ailments, causative factors, maintaining factors, physical and psychological makeup of the person etc. This whole process of understanding the 'person' who is ill can take many hours (in chronic ailments).

After a homeopath gathers this information he/she uses the repertory to find out which medicines are most indicated for the case. Then the homeopath uses his/her knowledge of Materia Medica to find out the remedy that best fits the case.

This is a long process and requires lot of skill from the homeopath. These days special software are available which help a homeopath in the process of case analysis and repertorization.

What Illnesses can be treated with Homeopathy?

Almost all illnesses are responsive to homeopathic action. But Homeopathy is best known for its capability to handle chronic illnesses. The reason for this is that Homeopathy is the only method of treatment which deals curative treatment (not alleviative) in many chronic diseases which have been confirmed 'incurable' by other schools of medicine. Be it skin disease, chronic gastric and intestinal illnesses,chronic fatigue syndrome, migraine, asthma, allergic disorders, menstrual complaints, other hormonal disorders, arthritis, psychological disorders etc. All these and many more chronic ailments have been affected curatively by Homeopathy. The only major limiting factors are -


1. Gross structural and pathological changes.


2. Very low vitality of the patient.


3. Unavoidable presence of certain causative or maintaining factors.

Then Homeopathy is also known to make surgery unnecessary on many occasions. Many a tonsils, adenoids, appendices etc. have been saved with Homeopathy. Benign tumors and renal stones also respond well to homeopathic treatment.


Even in cases where curative treatment is not possible, like advanced cases of arthritis, malignancies etc. management and palliation with homeopathic medicines is very effective and improves the quality of life of such patients without making them suffer with the side-effects of the modern wonder-drugs ( ! ).


Homeopathy is also very effective in the treatment of acute ailments. And the action of a rightly selected homeopathic medicine is usually faster than any other medicines. Not only this, under proper homeopathic treatment the tendency to frequent recurrence of acutes and their tendency to become chronic is aborted. One last thing! In Homeopathy, it is said that Homeopathy never fails, it's the Homeopath that fails. And although Homeopathy has it's limitations, most 'curable' cases that do not respond to Homeopathy are due to improper selection of medicine or potency and case management. So if you do not get benefit from Homeopathy at first, don't dump Homeopathy - dump the Homeopath!

How homeopathy differs from allopathic or traditional medicine?

Have you ever doubted about the days of your great grandfather, when there were no antibiotics, steroids, painkillers, and anti-inflammatory medicines to fight disease with? How did the people used to get treated of their disease till a couple of periods ago? The people did not used to surrender to every small and major illness. Most of the time they used to get out of it. But how? What used to kill the bacteria, viruses, and parasites causing disease in those days? Their own excepted system!


Our body has very strong protection machinery, skilled of fighting most disease illnesses. When our body suffers from any disease, body starts its protection method and contests the disease affecting mediators. Now remedy can help in overwhelming disease in two ways.One is to increase external substance or biological agents in our body in the form of antibiotics and antiviral medicines. These efforts by killing bacteria’s and viruses individually. In this procedure they decline the body's essential protection mechanism, as our body's own defense force of white cells converts secondary. This is how allopathic or traditional treatment works. It destroys the bacteria but does nothing to take out the tendency of disease and the fault of protected system, which originally affected in the conception of disease evolution. As a substitute, it declines it additional, affecting it to more and regular illnesses.

The second technique in which a medicine can help the body in disabling diseases is to toughen our body's fundamental resistant system and let the body take care of the disease accepting agents. In this way two objectives are accomplished. First, the disease is recovered very quickly and effectively without the side-effects of the advance wonder modern drugs. Secondly, in this process as the resistant system is encouraged strengthened the sensitivity to disease forms is defeat and prevented their coming back. Thus there is overall health benefit. This is how Homeopathy differs from allopathic or traditional medicine!

Spread of Homeopathy in the World

Homeopathy was born in the year 1796 when Hahnemann published his new found principle in the Hufeland’s journal under the title “Essay on a New principle for ascertaining the Curative Power of Drugs.” Hahnemann is to Homeopathy that Watt was to the steam engine and Arkwright to intellectual sphere — which which Bacon was to induction by graduated generalization. He is the author of the method: To him belongs the merit of all it has accomplished, and with his name it must never be indissolubly connected.
After the discovery of Homoeopathy in 1796, he settled in Leipzig & in 1812 obtained permission to lecture in the University of that Capital. He soon gathered around him a band of disciples who learned from his lips, assisted him in his proving and one by one went forth to carry out in their chosen fields of practice the method he had taught them. This was the beginning of Homoeopathy in Germany. In 1821 STAPF & GROSS established the first Homoeopathic Journal, well known as the ARCHIV, which continued to appear until 1843. In 1832 another Journal was founded THE ALLGEMEINE HOMOEOPATHISCHE ZEITUNG; and this under various editors, has survived to the present day. In 1830 adherent of Homoeopathy had grown so numerous that they felt the need of regular intercourse and a CENTRAL VEREIN was constituted, to meet annually in some German city. The first meeting was held in Leipzig, under the presidency of MULLER and a proposal was set on foot for establishing a hospital in this city, which took form in 1832. The Homoeopathic like other bodies has had its parties, there was a ‘Right’ to which tradition is dear, and which departs as little as possible from the established ways of medicine; there is a ‘Left’ type, which cuts itself entirely adrift from the past, and lives by its prospects for the future; and each of them has had its extreme wing and its centre. Hahnemann’s earlier disciples were of the Left type, as their master himself increasingly became: but a representative of the ‘Right’ had already appeared in Muller, and he was later reinforced by Griesselich, Rau, Schron, Trinks, Arnold and Paul Wolf. The HYGEA (1834-1848) ably expounded the views of these physicians, and was followed later by the VIERTELIAHRSCHRIFT and the INTERNATIONALE PRESSE of which Clotar Muller (son of Moritz Muller) was the inspiring soul. Under the influence of the men, the journals and the institutions, Homoeopathy continued its foothold in the land of its birth. The number of avowed Homoeopathists practicing there is given as 300 in 1876; 400 in 1896; 500 in 1900.
Beside the hospital in Leipzig, there were also in Munich, Berlin, Hoppe, Bahr, Grauvogl, Elb, Sorgo, Goullon, Villers & in Stuttgart.
“The whole of Germany is dotted over with a network” of these, wrote DR. LORBACHER in 1891.
Hahnemann’s lectureship in the University of Leipzig was continued by DR. MORITZ MULLER AND DR. BUCHNER occupied a similar position in that of Munich. Since 1898 regular courses of lectures have been delivered at the Berlin dispensary by physicians of that city.

AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY : 
Austria was the first country to catch a spark from the new fire kindled in Germany. Homoeopathy had made sufficient advance there in 1819 to be forbidden by Imperial Decree, and had in spite of this so successfully asserted itself by 1837 that in that year the edict was rescinded. MARENZELLER first in Prague, then in Vienna and Fleischmann in the capital itself, were the main agents in this progress and when once the new method had own its liberty a number of able man flocked its standard. DR. ARNETH, HUBER, WACHTEL Etc founded a society, established a journal and conducted a series of proving and reproving of the most admirable character. There were one public and two private hospitals in Vienna at that time, then hospitals were established at Linz & other places, including Budapest, in which university two chair of Homoeopathic doctrine & practice were founded. But the later Homoeopaths could not maintain the stature of the earlier groups. There have not been more than 300 practitioners of our method in this country at any given time.

ITALY : 
Italy in turn received its first introduction of Homoeopathy from Austria. An Austrian occupation of Naples took place in 1821; and the commander of the foreign troops, BARON FRANCIS KOLLER was a devoted disciple of Hahnemann. He invited his physician Dr. NECKER to come and settle in the Italian city. Necker had been a pupil of the master and was a practitioner of distinction. During the four years he remained in Naples he made a most favorable impression with the new practice; and when he left, three of the leading physicians of the city had become converted to it. These were ROMANI, MAURO, DE HORATIIS. They translated the “Organon” and the ‘Reine Arzneimittellehre,’ and founded a Journal (1892) “EFFEMERIDI DI MEDICINA OMIOPATICA”. But this good beginning has hardly fulfilled its promise for future, ROMANI died in 1847, DE HORATIIS in 1850 & MAURO in 1857. Homoeopathy flurished in Italy from 1820 to 1840, especially in the Kingdom of Naples where the Bourbonists promoted the new system of medicine. A major role was played by Francis I who, after ascending the throne in 1825, choose Cosmo Maria De Horatiis, an able and enthusiastic homoeopath, as his own doctor. Cosmo Maria De Horatiis carried out several clinical experiments and verified the action of homoeopathyc remedies under the control of allopaths, who openly boycotted the good results he was getting from Homoeopathy. Among their converts and successors were RUBINI, who gave us Cactus grandiflorus, and proving effect of Camphor in Cholera.
DR. POMPILI founded a small monthly Journal-”THE RIVISTA OMIOPATICA”. DR. BONINO made an organization “Instituto Omiopatico Italiano,” which met annually; and established a small hospital in TURIN & dispensaries in this and other Italian cities. The number of Homoeopathic practitioners in Italy rarely exceeded 100.

FRANCE :
 It was from Italy that both France & England received Homoeopathy. Around 1828 COMTE DES GUIDI; a doctor of medicine and science and inspector of the University of Lyons, was in Naples. Unsuccessful in arresting the supposed fatal malady of his wife, he was induced to consult DR. ROMANI. Her cure by his treatment made a profound impression on DES GUIDI and induced him to study the doctrines of Hahnemann. In 1830 he returned to Lyons and devoted himself to practice & advocacy of Homoeopathy. ANTONIE PETROZ a physician of High- standing in Paris was one of his earliest converts; so that when Hahnemann, after his second marriage in 1835, migrated to Paris, he found a body of disciples there to welcome him, organized into a society (Institute Homoeopathique) and represented by two Journals (Journal and ARCHIVES DE LA MEDICINE HOMOEOPATHICQUE). When he died in 1843, he left his system firmly established in France- among its adherents being a professor in the ancient University of Montpellier.
In 1847 Tessier, one of the hospital physicians of Paris became an avowed convert, and, maintaining his appointments, took advantage of his position to show by clinical evidence the relative superiority of Homoeopathic treatment. The literary output of French homoeopathy has been phenomenal, both in quantity and quality.
Several attempts have been made to establish systematic teaching of Homoeopathy in Paris; and during 1836-1845, 1863-9, for some years after 1880, and again during 1898-9, regular courses of lectures were delivered.

ENGLAND : 
DR. FREDERIC FOSTER QUIN had been graduated at Edinburgh in 1820 and was intending to practice in London, but delicate lungs induced him to first spend some years in Italy. He went as traveling physician to the Duchess of Devonshire, and subsequently settled in Naples to practice amongst the largest English colony there. . On Hanhemanns’s death Quin was appointed Honorary President of the Gallic Homeopathic Society, a post he held until his death.
In 1825 NECKER directed his attention to Homoeopathy, and he saw & read enough to make him feel that the system deserved a serious examination. He went to Leipzig for the purpose, became more and more satisfied of the value of Hahnemann’s method and after some wanderings having settled in London in 1832, determined to advocate and practice it. His good connections and high social qualities, combined with his ability, energy & knowledge, make him an apt apostle of the new practice in the English metropolis. He soon gathered colleagues around him, and in 1844 with seven others, he founded the BRITISH HOMOEOPATHIC SOCIETY, the presidency of which he enjoyed- by repeated re- elections till his death in 1878.
TESSIER and his disciples had started practice Homoeopathy in Edinburgh; DRYSDALE AND RUSSELL has devoted their early postgraduate years of a study of Homoeopathy in Germany & Austria. BLACK had gone to Paris to study & practice under Hahnemann himself. On their return, DRYSDALE settled at Liverpool, but BLACK & RUSSEL reverted to the city of their studies, and opened a Homoeopathic dispensary there. In 1844 HENDERSON, Professor of pathology in the University became an avowed convert.
In London, Edinburgh & Liverpool, British Homoeopathy now had three centers, and from these it steadily widened out over the Kingdom. Round QUIN came Cameron, Hamilton, Kidd & Yeldham. DRYSDALE CONVERTED DUDGEON, CHAPMAN & HILBERS. In 1843 THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY was founded, and continued to appear quarterly up till 1884. In 1856, it was reinforced in its advocacy of the new system by the monthly homoeopathic review. In 1850, the London Homoeopathic Hospital was founded and dispensaries sprang up wherever converts settled for practice. In 1857, it was reckoned that there were upwards of 200 practitioners in the British Islands.
The British Homoeopathic Society continued to meet monthly since its formation and since 1860 issued its transactions, under the title first of the ANNALS, then of the JOURNAL of the Society. The London Homoeopathic Hospital has continued to grow and during the nineties was rebuilt on its foundations at a cost of 45,000 pounds and re-opened with a capacity of 100 beds. It has since 1891 published an annual volume of REPORTS, embodying much of the experiences gained within its walls.
Besides sporadic courses of lectures at the hospital in London during 1852-1860 given by DRS. QUIN, LEADAM, RUSSELL and others, an attempt at systematic instruction was commenced under the auspices of the British Society in 1874, which culminated in the establishment of the London School of Homoeopathy in 1877.


CANADA : 
Homoeopathy was introduced there in 1846 by DR. LANCASTER. It made fair progress, and had representatives in most town of the dominion. In 1880 the number of homoeopaths in the Dominion was about 110, and no great accessions seem to have been made since then. AUSTRALIA : – Our system was introduced into Sydney and Melbourne about 1851. In the former city it has after rising to a certain level, remained pretty stationary; but in Melbourne a hospital has been in existence since 1869, which has did good work, especially in the treatment of Typhoid. Hospitals were made in the city of Adelaide and Bathurst; while institutes for the practice of the system were made at HOBART AND LAUNCESTON in Tasmania.

NEW ZEALAND : Homeopathy introduced around 1853.

JAMAICA :
Homoeopathy was first practiced in JAMAICA by a Spanish physician DR. NAVARRO. DR. REINKE wrote many articles in American Journal 1883.
SPAIN : Homoeopathy was introduced in 1829; but real beginning of Spanish Homoeopathy was made by three physician- PINCIANO, HURTADO, QUEROL. They spread the knowledge of the new method, by translation of its publications as well as by their own successful practice.
There were already a number of Homoeopathic practitioners in Spain when NUMEZ, who had learnt the method from DES GUIDI, came to Madrid in 1844. He was appointed physician to the Queen ISABELLA. He founded the Hahnemannian Society of Madrid, and induced it to issue a periodical Boletin, which subsequently became EL CRITERIO MEDICO and continued to represent Spanish Homoeopathy for many years. Still more important was his action in promoting the establishment of a hospital and school of medicine. The hospital was opened in 1878, containing 50 beds; and the course of teaching in connection it inaugurated.

MEXICO AND URUGUAY : 
In MONTEVIDEO, the capital of the latter state, there were seven Homoeopathic practitioners in 1875. In MEXICO, our system seems to have begun its career in about 1853, when practitioners from HAVANA AND SPAIN settled there. Two societies existed in the early seventies and their Journals were issued- one of which LA HOMOEOPATIA, continues to flourish. In 1880, two ward of a public hospital were made over to us, and a school was founded, the degree of which was recognized by the government as qualifying for practice.
BRAZIL : About 1837 Homoeopathy was introduced in BRAZIL, when a student from LEIPZIG made the method a subject of his graduation thesis and induced a physician named ESTRADO to study & practice it. It made rapid progress and in 1876 there were about 75 practitioners, organized in two Societies.

PORTUGAL : 
As early as in 1833, A professor in the medical school of LISBON requested permission from the Government to try practically the Homoeopathic method. This was refused, but being in 1839 President of the Society for medical sciences of that city, he prevailed upon it to make Hahnemann an honorary member of its first class. In the succeeding years stragglers from BRAZIL began to practice Homoeopathy in PORTUGAL, but in the fifties it first acquired a solid footing there through the favors shown to it by the DUKE OF SALDANHA, the foremost statesman in the country.
RUSSIA : In 1823 DR. ADAM became acquainted with Hahnemann in Germany and soon began to practice homeopathy in St. Petersburg. DR. BIGEL, DR. BOJANUS, DR. BRASOL, DR. DERIKER, DR. VILLERS SEN, DR. HERMANN, DR. DAHL, AND DR. DITTAMANN may be mentioned as prominent in Russian Homoeopathy.

DENMARK : 
Lund began his practice there as early as 1821. The succession of its representatives has never been broken, and in 1886 there were eight homoeopaths in Denmark.

SWITZERLAND : 
 In 1876, DR. BRUCKNER RECKONS & 33 practitioners of the method were reported and also there was a small hospital in Basle.

HOLLAND : 
In 1896 DR. VON DEM BORNE of Amsterdam and six others physicians practiced in Holland. They formed a Society and issued a monthly Journal- THE HOM MANNBLAD.

BELGIUM : 
In 1831 DR. CARLIER and in 1832 DR. VARLEZ began their practice in Brussels, and with the adherents who accrued in 1837 founded a Society and a dispensary.
Homoeopathy went on prosperously up to 1896 when two Societies and two Journals were reported by Dr. Schepens, and there was a Homoeopathic dispensary in Antwerp. But in 1900 the number of practitioners fell, one of the Journals (THE REVUE HOMOEOPATHIQUE BELGE) discontinued and the Antwerp dispensary was hardly able to carry on its medical service.
DR. MOUREMANS, BERNARD, MARTINY, GAUDY, STOCKMAN AND GAILLARD were prominent among Belgium Homoeopathists. DR. GAILLARD published the Journal     L’ HOMOEOPATHIC MILITANTE.

UNITED STATES : 
DR. GRAM was the only representative of homeopathy in 1825. After practicing with distinction in Copenhagen, and there becoming a convert to Hahnemann’s method, he returned to his native country to practice it. He soon obtained disciples in New York, where he settled, among these the names of GRAY, HULL, CHANNING AND CURTIS are best known. He died in 1840. In 1841 DR. CONSTANTINE HERING had settled in Philadelphia. He came from Germany, where he had become a disciple of Hahnemann; and he brought with him a vigorous and original mind, a vast stone of knowledge. Under his auspices Philadelphia became a second center of Homoeopathy in America; a college was founded to teach it and in 1844 the “American Institute of Homeopathy” was formed, becoming the first national medical organisation in the United States. However, in order to maintain high standards, this institute restricted admission to persons who had completed full allopathic medical training Around HERING gathered Jeans, Gardiner, Williamson, Kitchen, Neidhard — all honored names; REICHELM set up the banner in Pittsburgh and Detwiller at Euston. In 1848 Hering founded the Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, which was to remain the centre of homeopathic education in the United States. GREGG & FLAGG led the way in Boston and were succeeded by the WESSELHOEFTS, DE GERSDORFF AND TALBOT. For his tremendous contribution to Homeopathy Dr. Hering is known as the “Father of Homeopathy in America”.
The pioneers in American Homoeopathy were- CARROL DUNHAM, J.P.DAKE, FARRINGTON, LIPPE, GUERNSEY, HEMPEL, Mc CLELLAND, T.F.ALLEN, RAUE, AND HOLCOMBE.
References :
Richard Hughes, The Principles and Practice of Homeopathy.

Tareq Mahmud 

Babul Homeo Hall 

Banani, Bogra, Bangladesh

Are Homeopathy Medicines Safe?

Yes! They usually are. Homeopathy medicines are given in sub-physiological doses (as dilution). They do not have any chemicals or added colors in them. Since they work 'with' our immune system and not 'in spite' of our immune system, they usually do not cause adverse reactions. Homeopathy medicines usually do not have any side-effects (as understood in conventional medicine) and they can not cause structural damage in general. They can be given to infants and pregnant woman too.

This does not mean that homeopathic medicines are totally harmless. The medicines are harmless only when selected properly and used in moderate potencies for a limited time or when taken under expert guidance. If the person taking the medicine is too sensitive or if the medicines are used in very high/very low dilutions (depending on the patients sensitivity) for long periods, medicinal symptoms can appear in a person.

Homeopathy medicines have a very profound action on human economy, so they should not be taken without consulting a qualified homeopath.

In many countries, homeopathy medicines are available as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, which do not need a prescription. If you plan to use homeopathy remedies as home-remedies, at least follow these guidelines -

- Do not try to treat any chronic ailment yourself.

- For acute conditions, use medicines in lower potencies like 6c, 12c, 30c etc.

- Do not repeat the medicine more than 3/4 times a day.

- If the medicine does not give desired results in a day or two, seek professional help.

There is no such thing in this world as 'totally-safe'. Homeopathy medicines are safe only when used judiciously.

History of Homeopathy -- Dr. Manish Bhatia

Homeopathy is a system of medicine, which was discovered and developed by a German physician, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, between 1796 and 1842. In the 18th century, the medical science was still very unscientific. The knowledge about human body, diseases and the modalities of treatment were poor and vague. Methods like blood-letting, leeching, purging were the common treatments for most ailments. Practically the whole of the 18th century in Europe was marked by a plethora of theories and hypothesis concerning the nature of disease and its causation. Consequently methods of therapeutic practice were as numerous and diverse as the theories propounded. The uncertainty and lack of any fixed principle of healing disappointed Dr. Hahnemann.
 
So Dr. Hahnemann relinquished his medical practice & devoted himself to the translation of great medical classics of his time. In 1790, when Dr. Hahnemann was engaged in translating Cullen's materia medica from English to German, his attention was arrested by the remark of the author that cinchona bark cured malaria because of its bitterness & tonic effects on stomach. This explanation appeared unsatisfactory to him. To discover its true mode of action, he himself ingested 4 drams of cinchona juice twice daily for a few days. To his great astonishment, he very soon developed symptoms very similar to ague or malarial fever. This unexpected result set up in his mind a new train of thought and he conducted similar experiments on himself and other individuals with other medicines whose curative action in certain diseases had been well established. He found that in healthy persons the medicines produce symptoms very similar to what they cure in diseased individuals. So he was led to the inference that medicines cure diseases only because they can produce similar symptoms in healthy individuals.

 The whole of homeopathy derives from this law. He developed from it the whole system of healing --- Homeopathy. In 1796, after 6 years of Dr. Hahnemann's first experiment, he published an article in Hufeland's Journal volume-II, parts 3 & 4, pages 391-439 & 465-561. "An essay on a new principle for ascertaining the curative powers of drugs & some examinations of the previous principle." He thus put forward his new doctrine of Similia Similibus Curantur (like cures like) in contrast to the age-old doctrine of Contraria Contraris Curantur (opposite cures opposite). 1796 is considered to be the year of birth of homeopathy. Doctrines of homeopathy were attempted to be formulated, for the first time by Dr. Hahnemann in his article "The Medicine of Experience" published in 1805 till the complete systematization of the principles and practice of the homeopathic art of healing was effected with the publication of Dr. Hahnemann's Organon of Medicine in 1810. After he had laid a solid foundation for reconstructing medicine as a science by the publication of his Organon of Healing Art, and Pure Materia Medica, he issued his valuable Chronic Diseases. The art of medicine was thus placed on a scientific footing when Dr. Hahnemann discovered the method of testing the positive action of each individual drug and a law guiding the selection of drug to cure diseases.

Dr. Manish Bhatia