Welcome to my first opinion for Ciao - I hope it will be useful.
For my first opinion I have decided to write about homeopathy, an alternative therapy which I approached with a lot of cynicism almost ten years ago. Since then I would not say I have become an out and out convert but I truly feel homeopathy has a place alongside conventional medicine for myself and my family.
I suffer from chronic back pain having been injured at work almost 12 years ago which requires daily pain treatment. My daughter suffers from eczema and asthma as did my work colleague who introduced me to homeopathy. I will include our experiences of homeopathy in this review but I hope I don't get too anecdotal and can give an all round view of the therapy.
What is homeopathy? ===================
In the early 19th century a German doctor called Dr Samuel Hahnemann was interested in a more gentle way to cure ails than the current system which often involved such hash treatments as bloodletting. Hahnemann was very interested in the discovery that Malaria was treated by a herbal remedy from the bark of the cinchona tree which also produced similar symptoms to that of malaria. Hahnemann struck on the idea that if the body was given a small dose of a herb which produced the same effect as the illness the body would fight against this small amount and aide recovery. 'Homeopathy' actually means 'like disease' which echoes the ancient Greek belief that 'like cures like'.. He was also struck that the treatment should be holistic - that is that it should treat the whole person - spiritual, mental and physical. Homeopathy came to Britain in the mid 1800s.
Homeopathic remedies are highly diluted forms of a natural substance derived from either an animal, mineral or plant. The strength of the remedy is dependent on how diluted the substance is which is called its 'potency'. The higher the number means the higher the potency and you will find the majority of over-the-counter remedies you can buy these days are potency 6 though a trained homeopath may treat you with a potency 12 remedy.
Many of the substances that remedies are derived from are well known, especially to gardeners, such as arsenic, chamomilla, Gelsemium etc. Words such as arsenic, a well known poison, may seem daunting at first and no one should attempt to produce there own homeopathic remedy or just chew on a plant. The remedies are made in laboratories, for over-the-counter well known brand names include Weleda and Nelsons.
Is Homeopathy safe? ===================
Homeopathic remedies are non-toxic and non-addictive though it is wise not to take any one remedy for a long period of time without professional advice. For small every day complaints such as headaches, hayfever etc you will find there are many excellent reference books on the subject and many high street chemists now have advice leaflets on remedies. Whilst it is safe I would recommend seeing a trained homeopath for a more detailed course of treatment especially if your problem is intricate.
DO NOT come off any regular, conventional medication without first consulting your doctor and it is wise to tell them of any homeopathic treatment you are receiving.
How do I find a Therapist? ==========================
Without doubt one of the greatest ways to find a therapist is through personal recommendation and this is how my daughter found hers when she went for a consultation on her eczema. You will find lists of local therapists in the Yellow Pages and health directories. For many people a major concern when using alternative medicine is ensuring the therapist is properly trained and accredited. Therefore I would recommend contacting one of the major British Homeopathic bodies in Britain to ask for details of registered practitioners in your area:
The Society of Homeopaths 4 Artizn Road Northampton NN1 4HU Tel: 01604 621 400 Fax: 01604 622 622 E-mail: info@homeopathy-soh.org Website: www.homeopathy-soh.org
Or
The Homeopathic Medical Association 6 Livingstone Road Gravesend Kent DA12 5DZ Tel: 01474 560 336 E-mail: info@the-hma.org Website: www.the-hma.org
How much will it cost? ======================
Though a few NHS trusts have offered homeopathy on the HS this is very rare and you will have to pay a homeopath privately. These costs can vary greatly throughout the country and it is wise to ask the therapist of their fees before committing yourself to a course of treatment.
The first consultation is usually between one hour and one and a half hours as the therapist will take a detailed history of your health and well-being. My daughter paid £30 for this initial consultation and the going rate appears to be between £30-60. Follow on appointments were half an hour long and cost £15 each - the frequency of these appointments depend upon your course of treatment and may be weekly, fortnightly, monthly or even longer. On top of these fees my daughter paid £2 for each remedy given to her.
Does homeopathy work? =====================
Studies have shown homeopathy to be effective. Many people say this is nothing more than a placebo effect which it may well be though if the result is still the desired effect, who cares?! However I believe it is more than a placebo effect given my own families experiences and those of friends in whom I've seen definite improvements.
In my daughters case, having had eczema for over 20 years she was going through a particularly bad spell where both her arms were covered. Within five weeks of treatment it had cleared completely - a feat never achieved by conventional medicine.
Personally I did not find homeopathic helped with my chronic level of pain and it is to be noted that it is not a cure all miracle. I cannot give a definite timescale of when homeopathy will or indeed if it will work for you; that is dependent on your condition and its severity. But due to the conventional high strength pain killers I take I often get nausea and indigestion - I have found homeopathy to be the most effective treatment of these unpleasant side effects. I have also found homeopathic treatments have helped hayfever symptoms, travel sickness and headaches. I now have a homeopathic first aid kit for these common ailments and find them to be highly effective.
Are there side-effects? =======================
There are no side effects as such but due to the nature of homeopathy - that is it doesn't suppress symptoms but presents them to your body to heal itself, therefore you will often have a short period when the symptoms worsen. In my daughter's case her eczema worsened for about four days before starting to clear. I was told to think of this as the badness coming out of the system. These effects were very slight and would not put me off using homeopathy again.
What are useful remedies? =========================
Whilst I would recommend seeing a practitioner for more intricate complaints, as I've said, I sue many remedies for every day ailments. You will notice many chemists now stock homeopathic treatments some of which are not named after the actual remedy but what they are for such as 'headache', 'hayfever' etc. Whilst these make buying them easy it is also worth noting that they may not be as tailored to your condition as necessary, for instance headaches come in many forms so it may be worth investing in one of the many books available. Here are some remedies I have found useful:
Nux Vomica: Excellent for digestive problems especially after over-indulging (a must for after Christmas and parties!), travel sickness.
Arnica: Back pain, bruising and sprains
Arsenicum: Food poisoning, colds with fever and sore throat, panic attacks and feelings of restlessness.
Euphrasia: Catarh and sinus problems.
Allium cepa: Hayfever with running nose, sneezing and gets worse towards the evening.
Who can use homeopathy in the family? =====================================
Because of its dilute nature homeopathy is safe for all the family though as with any treatment you may want to consult a therapist before using it with very small children or when pregnant.
Don't forget your pets - may vets now use homeopathic treatments for animals. For further details on treating animals with homeopathy I found the British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons website at www.bahvs.com very useful for detailing the uses of homeopathy for pets as well as a directory of British Vets using the therapy. A directory of vets can also be obtained if you send an A5 size sae to:
Hon. Sec. BAHVS, Alternative Veterinary Medicine Centre, Chinham House, Stanford in the Vale, Oxon SN7 8NQ
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