Frequently asked questions about classical homoeopathy
What is Classical Homoeopathy?
Homoeopathy is a 200 year old
system of cure. Homoeopathic remedies can improve your health
and well-being by strengthening
your body´s ability to heal itself and restoring balance
in your organism. The basis of homoeopathy is the law of similarity: Like
curse like (Latin: Similia similibus curentur.) This law of
nature can be explained with the following example: The homoeopathic
remedy made from coffee (Coffea) is known to cause nervousness,
trembling, insomnia, irritability and restlessness if taken by
a healthy being. If a patient shows these symptoms, then Coffea
may be administered to cure the patient.
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What is the difference between
homoeopathy and school medicine?
Conventional school medicine treats individual illnesses
mostly by administering the opposite medication to the illness.
For examply, if a patient suffers from oveproduction of stomach
acid, then the patient will receive an alcaloid medication to neutralize
the acid.
Homoeopathy however regards the symptoms as signs of an underlying
disbalance of the organism, which affects not only one body part, but
rather the whole organism, including body, mind and soul. For this
reason homoeopathy is a holistic way of treatment.
Another difference to school medicine is the individual approach of
homoeopathy. Each prescription is based on the individual, personal
symptoms of the patient and not on the name of his or her illness.
This means, that two people with the same illness (e.g. migraines)
may receive different medication, because the way that they perceive
the migraines and the symptoms that are caused by it are different.
On the other hand, two people with completely different ailments may
receive the same remedy because they both share the same general symptoms.
The cure comes about through the strenghthening of the organism, which
enables the organism to cure itself and to restore its inner balance.
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How
does homoeopathic treatement work?
During the first consultation
you will be asked to describe your present symptoms as well as
past symptoms and
illnesses. You will also be asked questions about what you like
to eat, how you sleep, etc. By asking many questions the physician
is trying to get to know your organism as well as possible in order
to make a first prescription. As the chief complaint is not regarded
as seperate from the rest of the organism, the practitioner will
try to find out and understand as much as possible about the patient
on all three levels - including body, mind and soul. In the following
consultations the practitioner will reassess the prescription and
watch the development
of the patient closely. Depending on the ailments, the first consultation
usually takes between 90 and 120 minutes. The follow-up consultations
will take up less time and are necessary every 4 to 6 weeks.
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How old is homoeopathy?
Both Hippokrates (~500 BC)
and Paracelsus (~1500 AD) were convinced, that every substance
that has the ability to make a person sick also has the potential
to cure. Samuel Hahnemann rediscovered this idea in his medical
studies. He formed the law of similarity (Similia similibus
curentur - Like cure like) and developed the system of homoeopathy.
He also formulated the other basic laws of homoeopathy: The law
of individuality
and the law of the minimum dose and potentization.
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What are homoeopathic remedies
made of?
Homoeopathic remedies are mostly made from substances
found in nature. Due to their high dilution they do not have side
effects or toxic effects on the body. Also, they have been dynamized,
which is done through succussion (a process of diluting
and shaking the remedy in many steps). This is also called potentization.
Homoeopathic remedies should not be mixed if used in the sense
of Classical Homoeopathy, and should only ever be administered
individually and one at the time. The properties of remedies
are found through
remedy provings, which do not require animal testing.
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How safe is homoeopathy?
Even though they do not have any side effects as
such, homoeopathic remedies should not be taken without the advice
of
a qualified homoeopath, as they can cause symptoms if taken for
too long or in the wrong manner. The self-administration of high
potencies (remedies in C or K potency) over a longer period of
time is therefore not advisable.
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Which
illnesses can be treated with homoeopathy?
From the homoeopathic point of view, every illness - migraines,
flus, allergies, eczema, etc. - is based on a weakening of
the vital force. The treatment aims at
strengthening
the organism´s vital force, which enables the organism
to cure itself. This makes it possible to treat any ailment,
as the treatment
is not based on the illness. However, additional treatment
by your GP may be advisable, depending on the nature of your
ailment.
Your practitioner will discuss this with you. Prognosis
depends on various factors such as length and severity of
illness, length of treatment, etc.
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What happens after taking
a remedy?
After taking a homoeopathic remedy, the patient
may experience an initial, temporary aggravation of the existing
symptoms.
Patients should not self-administer any medication or further homoeopathic
remedies in that case without contacting their therapist beforehand.
Cure happens in the following order:
*From the inside to the outside and from vital
organs to less vital organs. Often the patient will get better
mentally first, then - if the patient has any symptoms or ailments
concerning these
- the vital organs such as heart, liver, brain, etc. will improve,
followed by an amelioration of symptoms on less vital organs such
as the skin.
* From top to bottom. In case of joint problems, the joints in
the upper part of the body will usually improve first (e.g. neck
and shoulder joint) before the joints in the bottom half of the
body (hip, knee and foot joints.).
*In the reverse order of their appearance. Ailments that came
last will usually be the first ones to disappear. It is also possible
that
during
the process of cure old symptoms or ailments reappear for a while and
then go away
completely. You can imagine the process of cure like
a film playing backwards.
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How do I handle homoeopathic
remedies?
* Don´t eat, drink, smoke or brush your teeth for
about 20 minutes before and after taking a remedy.
* Avoid strong essential oils and other strong smelling substances
(e.g. tiger balm, cough rubs, camphora, etc.) as they can interfere
with the homoeopathic remedy.
* Keep the remedies out of the sun and away from any radiation (mobile
phones, wireless modems, etc.).
* Do not store remedies next to perfume.
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Does my health insurance pay
for homoeopathic treatment?
In Germany the official state health insurances do
not cover the costs for alternative treatment administered by a
Heilpraktiker. However, more and more people are getting additional
insurances ("Zusatzversicherung"), which do cover at
least some of the costs for Heilpraktiker as well as for glasses,
dentists,
etc. Before signing up for a Zusatzversicherung, you should find
out how much it will cover, as the rates can be very different.
If you do not speak German and would like more information please
give
me
a call
and
we can
talk
about
this.
If you are self-imployed and have private insurance anyway, then
this will most likely cover at least some of the costs.
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How do I
recognize a qualified practitioner?
Ask your practitioner about where they did their training and
how long it was. A qualified practitioner will be more than happy
to provide this information. You can find a list of all
registered homoeopaths of the Association of Classical
Komoeopaths of Germany e.V. here.
A
classical homoeopath will:
* not administer more than one remedy at the time.
* take a lot of time to talk about your complaints (first consultation
will take at least 1.5 to 2 hours).
* offer homoeopathy as usually the sole method of treatment
in their practice, as opposed to homoeopathy being being only one
of a large number of offered treatments.
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How expensive
is homoeopathy?
Costs may differ depending on the therapists.
These are the charges in my practice:
First consultation (1,5 to 2 hours):
Adults: 130 Euro
Children of up to 12 years of age: 80 - 100 Euro
Follow-up appointments:
According to the time needed (65,00 EUR/h), usually this does
not take more than 30 to 45 minutes.
Additionally there will be the costs
for the homoeopathic remedy, which should normally not exceed a
maximum of 6-12 Euro.
A reduction for single parents, unemployed people and students
is possible. Please address this before treatment.
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What do I need to
bring with me to the first appointment?
It is helpful if you can fill out the
questionnaire before the first appointment and bring it with you.
This questionnaire will be sent to you when you make the appointment
or you can download it here (sorry - only available in German at the moment). The questionnaire for the treatment
of your child can be downloaded here. (You will need Acrobat Reader
to open these files, which you can find here.) If possible, please
also bring any x-rays or other documents that are relevant to your
illness
as well as information about when you received your last vaccinations.
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