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Other Health Professions / Homeopathy
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Homeopathy is a system of medicine that is based on the Law of Similars. The truth of this law has been verified experimentally and clinically for the last 200 years.
Let's look at an example: If your child accidentally ingests certain poisons, you may be advised to administer Syrup of Ipecac to induce vomiting. Ipecac is derived from the root of a South American plant called Ipecacuanha. The name, in the native language, means "the plant by the road which makes you throw up." Eating the plant causes vomiting.
When a group of healthy volunteers took this substance to determine the effects of this drug, they found that the drug induced other symptoms as well. The mouth retained much saliva. The tongue was very clean. There was a cough so severe that it led to gagging and vomiting. There was incessant nausea. While it is expected that vomiting would usually relieve the nausea, this was not the case.
Such an experiment, using healthy volunteers, is called a proving, and it is the homeopath's source of information about the action of a drug.
Of what use could this plant be? If a person were suffering from a gagging cough after a cold, or a woman were experiencing morning sickness with incessant nausea that is not relieved by vomiting, then Ipecacuanha, administered in a minute dose, especially prepared by a homeopathic pharmacy in accordance with FDA approved guidelines, can allay the "similar" suffering.
Samuel Hahnemann described this principle by using a Latin phrase: Similia Similibus Curentur, which translates: "Let likes cure likes." It is a principle that has been known for centuries. Hahnemann developed the principle into a system of medicine called homeopathy, and it has been used successfully for the last 200 years
How does the concept of homeopathy differ from that of conventional medicine? Very simply, homeopathy attempts to stimulate the body to recover itself. Let's look at an example: the common cough.
First, we must accept that all symptoms, no matter how uncomfortable they are, represent the body's attempt to restore itself to health. Instead of looking upon the symptoms as something wrong which must be set right, we see them as signs of the way the body is attempting to help itself. Instead of trying to stop the cough with suppressants, as conventional medicine does, a homeopath will give a remedy that will cause a cough in a healthy person, and thus stimulate the ill body to restore itself.
Second, we must look at the totality of the symptoms presented. We each experience a cough in our unique way. Yet conventional medicine acts as if all coughs were alike. It therefore offers a series of suppressive drugs something to suppress the cough, something to dry the mucus, something to lower the histamine level, something to ease falling asleep.
Homeopathy, on the other hand, looks for the one substance that will cause similar symptoms in a healthy person. The person with a cough characterized by being worse when breathing cold air, and sounding like a deep bark, will need a quite different remedy than the person whose cough is loose in the morning, dry in the evening, and better when sitting up in bed. We characterize both as "coughs" but they are different illnesses in the individuals, and therefore require different homeopathic treatment.
In conventional medical thought, health is seen simply as the absence of disease. You assume that you are healthy if there is nothing wrong with you. To a person versed in homeopathy, health is much more than that. A healthy person is a person who is free on all levels: physical, emotional, and mental. Obviously, a person with a broken leg is not free, on the physical level, to move around. But on a more subtle level, a person who cannot eat certain foods or is allergic to certain materials is also experiencing a lack of freedom. It is a good emotional release to cry at a "tear jerker" movie, but someone who continues to cry for several weeks afterwards is experiencing a lack of freedom on the emotional level. Likewise, a person who cannot absorb what he has read or cannot remember day to day appointments is experiencing a restriction on the mental level. The homeopath recognizes such limitations and attempts, through the use of the properly selected remedies, to restore the person to health and freedom.
An important basic difference exists between conventional medical therapy and homeopathy. In conventional therapy, the aim often is to control the illness through regular use of medical substances, even if the medication is nothing more than vitamins. If the medication is withdrawn, however, the person returns to illness. There has been no cure. A person who takes a pill for high blood pressure every day is not undergoing a cure but is only controlling the symptoms. Homeopathy's aim is the cure: "The complete restoration of perfect health," as Dr. Samuel Hahnemann said.
Homeopathic medicines are drug products made by homeopathic pharmacies in accordance with the processes described in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States the official manufacturing manual recognized by the FDA. The substances may be made from plants such as aconite, dandelion, plantain; from minerals such as iron phosphate, arsenic oxide, sodium chloride; from animals such as the venom of a number of poisonous snakes, or the ink of the cuttlefish; or even from chemical drugs such as penicillin or streptomycin. These substances are diluted carefully until little of the original remains.
A plant substance, for example, is mixed in alcohol to obtain a tincture. One drop of the tincture is mixed with 99 drops of alcohol (to achieve a ratio of 1:100) and the mixture is strongly shaken. This shaking process is known as succussion. The final bottle is labeled as "1C." One drop of this 1C is then mixed with 100 drops of alcohol and the process is repeated to make a 2C. By the time the 3C is reached, the dilution is 1 part in 1 million! Small globules made from sugar are then saturated with the liquid dilution. These globules constitute the homeopathic medicine.
Although such infinitesimal quantities are considered by some to be no more than placebos, the clinical experience of homeopathy shows that the infinitesimal dose is effective: it works upon unconscious people and infants, and it even works on animals.
It is important to remember, however, that a medicine is homeopathic only if it is taken based upon the similar nature of the medicine to the illness. A medicine labeled as "homeopathic" will work only if it is homeopathic to the symptoms presented.
Homeopathy was brought to the United States (beginning in 1825) by several doctors who had studied in Europe. They, in turn, converted other doctors to homeopathic practice. Slowly schools were established, and a medical organization was formed. By the mid-1800's, several medical colleges existed that taught homeopathy, including the New England Female Medical College, the first medical school in the U.S. to admit women.
At the turn of the century there were 22 homeopathic medical colleges, and one out of five doctors used homeopathy. But the move toward a mechanical model of the body and of disease pushed homeopathy into the background. By 1910 only 15 colleges remained. By the late 40's, no courses in homeopathy were taught in the U.S.
The American Foundation for Homeopathy began to teach homeopathy as a post-graduate course for doctors in 1922, and the courses, now run by the National Center for Homeopathy, have continued to this day. The present day resurgence of homeopathy, fueled in part by graduates of the NCH course, is slowly bringing homeopathy back to its place in the medical care system in our country.
The manufacture and sale of homeopathic medicines is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States was written into federal law in 1938 under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, making the manufacture and sale of homeopathic medicines legal in this country. Most are available without a prescription.
States regulate the practice of homeopathy. Usually, it can be employed legally by those whose degree entitles them to practice medicine in that state. This includes MD's, DO's (Doctors of Osteopathy), ND. (Doctors of Naturopathy), DDS. (Dentists), and DVM's (Veterinarians). Certain DC. (Doctors of Chiropractic) are permitted by their state law to administer homeopathic remedies.
Although the practice of medicine is regulated under law, the use of homeopathic medicines for self care of acute ailments is available to all, and those who keep a homeopathic kit in their house for domestic emergencies, are free, under the laws of most states, to use them in such situations.
The use of homeopathy in the treatment of one person by another may constitute the practice of medicine, depending on the state. The practice of medicine, the diagnosis and treatment of illness, requires a license in every state of the country. Homeopathic medicines are classified as drugs by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA); most are over-the-counter, some are prescription only. In order to practice homeopathy in the United States, one must typically be a licensed health-care provider.
The only professions that are allowed to diagnose and treat illness in all states are medical doctors (MDs) and osteopathic doctors (DOs). Several states license naturopathic physicians (NDs) to diagnose and treat illness (AK, AZ, CT, HI, ME, MT, NH, OR, UT, VT, WA). Other health-care providers such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, dentists, veterinarians, chiropractors, licensed acupuncturists, nurse midwives, and podiatrists may be allowed to use homeopathy within the scope of their licenses, depending on the laws of the state in which they reside.
Three states have homeopathic licensing laws: Arizona (1982), Connecticut (1892), and Nevada (1983) -- MDs and DOs practicing homeopathy in AZ or NV, and MDs practicing in CT must be licensed by the state homeopathic licensing board.
There are many training programs and courses in homeopathy in both the U.S. and abroad; however, no diploma or certificate from any school or program is recognized as a license to practice homeopathy in the United States. Certification of competency to practice homeopathy is available to MDs and DOs through the American Board of Homeotherapeutics (DHt); to NDs through the Homeopathic Academy of Naturopathic Physicians (DHANP); and to all professionals through the Council for Homeopathic Certification (CCH).
Professional Training Programs
The Council on Homeopathic Education (CHE) was formed in 1982 to monitor and approve the quality of courses offered for licensed professionals.
Three U.S. naturopathic colleges - Bastyr University in Bothell, WA, National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, OR, and Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, AZ - offer four-year programs leading to an ND degree. Those with an ND degree are eligible to obtain licenses in the states mentioned above. These colleges provide extensive training in homeopathy. Prerequisites for admission are similar to premedical requirements.
The National Center for Homeopathy runs a basic 2-week program of introductory courses for practitioners each summer. The courses take place at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Virginia Nursing Contact Hours are available for some of these courses. For more information, please contact the National Center for Homeopathy.
There are many other programs offered at various locations around the country. Several part-time programs offer from 200 to 500 hours of training in homeopathic methodology. Two colleges in the United Kingdom have made home-study courses available in the U.S.
Use the Education Directory for course requirements and schedules.
There are many comprehensive training programs in countries outside of the United States. Degrees from these schools allow for practice as professional homeopaths in those countries, however, they do not allow for legal practice in the U.S.
For consumers seeking to learn how to use homeopathy for themselves, their families, and their animals, the National Center for Homeopathy (NCH) has 11 courses to choose from at its summer school. Study groups are also good sources of training in homeopathy. (See Affiliated Study Group listings for a group in your area.) The annual NCH conference, held in a different location each year, offers workshops and seminars for consumers as well as professionals. Also, many training programs listed in the Education Directory admit non-professionals.
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