MYTHS & FACTS ABOUT HOMOEOPATHY
URJAA HOMOEOPATHIC CENTRE
A homoeopath is often posed with a
lot of doubts by patients regarding the medicines used in homoeopathy. This is
due to lack of appropriate awareness about the Homoeopathic System of Medicine.
A no. of Myths prevail about the efficacy of homoeopathic medicines. But as
said, these are nothing but “myths”; a false belief. Some of the common myths
& facts about homoeopathy are listed below.
>> MYTH: Homoeopathy is just
“sweet pills” with only placebo effect. It is
unscientific & only a system of “faith-healing”.
FACT: is that scientific double blind randomized
clinical trials & carefully conducted clinical studies of these medicines
prove otherwise & these trials have been duly recorded & can be
repeated. The data collected is based on experimental pharmacological &
clinical provings. The methods used in the Homoeopathic system are based on
sound principles of Logic & Nature’s Laws. The question on placebo effect
& faith healing is unambiguously removed by the fact that homoeopathic
medicines work unconditionally in the case of infants, babies & even
veterinary cases. The sweet pills are
only a vehicle or medium of administering the doses. The actual medicines are
dilutions which are added by your homoeopathic doctor on these pills.
>> MYTH: Homeopathy is slow in acting
and of use in chronic cases only.
FACT:
is that Homeopathy is fast in its action even in in acute cases and can be effectively used in
treating infections, fever, cold, acute sore throats, diarrhoeas etc. In such
cases positive results can be seen as rapidly as in minutes too. Unfortunately, people tend to go to a
homeopath only when the acute problem becomes chronic. Naturally, these cases
take longer to treat. Also, most people come to a homeopath in chronic cases of
arthritis, asthma or skin conditions etc., which take a longer time to treat
with any other medicines also.
>> MYTH: While taking
Homoeopathic medicines one is forbidden a no. of things such as raw onions,
garlic, coffee, spices, tea, alcohol or smoking.
FACT: is that since all
Homoeopathic medicines are absorbed from the tongue & buccal mucosa (inner
lining of the mouth) -- which is abundantly supplied with nerve endings, it is
advised to patients that they refrain from eating or drinking anything for 15
minutes before & after taking the Homoeopathic medicine. Also it is wiser
to rinse one's mouth if one has eaten anything strong smelling such as garlic,
onion etc. Excess of coffee, alcohol, tobacco are restricted as they are stimulants.
Þ
MYTH: With Homoeopathy, other
conventional medicines such as anti Hypertensive or Anti - diabetic drugs have
to be totally discontinued.
FACT: is that Homoeopathy
treats the individual patient as a whole human being in context of the long term
health & well-being & even with conventional medicines, it is imperative
that patients continue their medication which are acting on the physiological
plane. Any tapering or discontinuation of dosage is advised only under guidance
of a registered medical practitioner.
>> MYTH: Homeopathy cannot be
used in diabetic patients as it is “sweet pills”.
FACT: is it can be used
without any danger. The minute amount of sugar globules (the little round
pills) taken daily does not matter. Sugar intake in the daily diet is
significantly higher than that taken by a few globules. Yet, in very severe
cases, the medication may be taken as drops in water or over lactose.
>>
MYTH: Homoeopathic medicines
initially aggravate the condition & then bring relief.
FACT: is whenever a right
homoeopathic remedy is chosen, it might happen that some of the symptoms,
previously suppressed with non-Homoeopathic medicines, may surface for a while
only to be promptly cured. Sometimes a patient who is dependent on some other
medicines abruptly stops them without guidance from a registered medical
practitioner, and then disease symptoms worsen, or it might be the worsening of
symptoms due to the natural progress of the disease. In such cases it is not a homoeopathic
aggravation, but a disease aggravation.
>> MYTH: Homoeopathy uses
steroids in medicines.
FACT: The most valid answer to
this question has been explained in the following article written by Dr.Prabha
Patwardhan.
No, says PRABHA
PATWARDHAN, and explains the reason for this common
misunderstanding
Do
homoeopaths use cortisone, a steroid? This question is often posed by some
patients during the course of a consultation. The answer is a definite ‘no’.
Homoeopaths of integrity and commitment to their profession do not use cortisone.
And in fact have no need to. Their materia
medica is very rich in remedies with a vast range of curative effects.
I
am an allopath who turned to homoeopathy after experiencing a personal cure for
a minor but irritating ailment which allopathy was unable to cure. I then
studied homoeopathy and have been in homoeopathic practice for the last 15
years. My only regret is that I did not study it earlier. Homoeopathy is a
wonderful system of therapeutics and no one who has studied it seriously has
ever doubted its efficacy. Then why have people begun to doubt its practice?
When
I posed this question to my patients, who had voiced their reservations, they
said that “they had the medicines tested (in most cases given to them by very
reputable doctors). And they had tested positive for cortisone.” I reasoned
with them with the following arguments:
If
one has been on long-term cortisone, one would show some side-effects like
‘moon-face’, excessive body hair, osteoporosis, diabetes, etc.
1. Cortisone is not a cure at
all for all the ills of the world.
2. Homoeopathic remedies
have a very wide range of curative properties.
3. Using steroids would in
fact be counter-productive as they have a suppressive effect.
In
view of this, why would any homoeopath want to use cortisone?
Recently,
I had an occasion to test these allegations. One of my old patients who had
changed to another homoeopath nearer her home phoned me frantically to say that
she had her medicines checked and they had tested positive for steroids. I
decided to send some of my medicines for testing at the same lab. The medicines
sent were: unmedicated pills, Cina 1M, Belladona 30 and Sulphur 30. All these
medicines were sent in a base of a small amount of lactose (milk sugar).
A
report the following week said that all of htem had tested positive for
steroids!
I
asked them to carry out the same test on
plain lactose. This also tested positive for steroids. It was now obvious
that all these medicines were giving a false positive reaction.
The
test used was the “Colorimetric Method using tetrazolium blue salts”. In this
test, the reaction of tetrazolium blue salt to give a highly coloured compound
known as Farmazan. Under the controlled conditions, the amount of Farmazan
developed is proportional to the quantity of steroid or any reducing sugar
present in the material being tested.
In
fact for some years, tetrazolium salts have been used for determination of
reducing sugars. So if the drug contains any lactose it will impart a strong
colour with tetrazolium blue salt which will give a false impression of the
presence of a steroid. Secondly, if the alcohol used in this method is not
completely free from aldehyde, it will interface with the characteristic
colour, which may give a false positive reaction for a steroid. So this method
is not advisable to determine the presence of steroids in the drug.
Most
homoeopaths use lactose as a base for holding the pills, containing the
homoeopathic remedy. Together in the powders of alcohol, are likely to give a
false positive test for steroids if this method is used.
Other
methods used to test steroids are Liberman
Buchard test, Thin Layer Chromatography method and UV Absorption method.
Almost all steroids show
UV absorption between 235 and 240 nm in dehydrated alcohol or methanol in a
clear solution.
A complete spectrum of this solution is taken between 400 NM and 200 NM on a
suitable spectrophotometer. If any steroid is present, it will show maximum
absorption at 240 NM.
It
was decided to test the same homoeopathic remedies for steroids using the UV
absorption method. None of the four samples showed positive results. Later maximum
absorption between 235 NM was seen when the steroid added was clobetasone-17
butyrate which maxima at 235 NM.
Thus it is clear that
before accepting a claim that the tested medicine does contain a steroid, one
must find out what testing procedures were used to eliminate the possibility of
a misleading result. If
tests conclusively prove that the medicine given is indeed a steroid, under the
guise of a homoeopathic remedy, then one must confront the doctor and seek an
explanation or complain to the Homoeopathic Council so that disciplinary action
can be taken against the erring doctor. Unsubstantiated allegations against any
doctor are most unfair and damaging to his professional integrity and indeed to
the profession.
>>
MYTH: Homoeopathy is a miracle medicine and it cures every disease
under the sun.
FACT:
Homoeopathy is no panacea. It has its own scope and set of limitations. Few
examples of areas where homoeopathy can offer cure are Allergic disorders,
Asthma, ENT, Female disorders like Menstrual troubles and Hormonal disorders,
Infertility, Skin disorders like Eczema, Psoriasis, Urticaria, Mental
disorders, Pshyo-somatic disorders: like IBS, Hyperacidity syndrome, Headaches,
Respiratory infections and Stress.
Disease where irreversible
structural changes have taken place like malignancies and AIDS Homoeopathy is
given to improve the quality of life.
Limitations of Homoeopathy include emergencies like myocardial
infarction, paralytic strokes, diabetic comas, accidents, cases where surgery
is inevitable like third degree piles, hernias, coronary artery blockages, etc.
At Urjaa Homoeopathic Centre we aim
to help the patients achieve freedom from limitations in their lives and to
reach a level of health where they can live a better and healthier life.
For Further details,Call us on +91 9769283173 / 022 42954400 / 022 42959684
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