Frequently Asked Questions

What is Homoeopathy?
Homoeopathy has been established for about 200 years. Amongst the other holistic therapies, this is one of the most dynamic forms of medicine, capable of producing profound, lasting healing effect Homoeopathy is a safe effective and scientific system of medicine which treats the man in disease and not disease in man, it treats the sick individual and not the diagnosis. It works by helping the body to heal itself. It is based on the principle of "like cures like". Take for example, a case of insomnia. Conventional treatment would involve giving a drug to cause artificial sleep. However homoeopaths would find a substance, which, if given in large quantities, would produce sleeplessness. Surprisingly a substance like coffee, when given in minute doses, can treat insomnia.
Other important principles of Homoeopathy are holism and individualization?

How does it differ from Allopathy?
Allopathic medicine aim to destroy bacteria and viruses, control physiological process, and maintain body function within the range necessary to sustain life like giving anti spasmodic for cramps, antiemetic for vomiting, antidepressant for depression, analgesic for pain etc. According to them disease disappears if the symptoms are taken away.
Homoeopathy helps by increasing the healing power of patient. By doing this homoeopath increases the healing power of patient. Homoeopathy treats the man behind the disease but not disease itself. Homoeopath tries to understand the mind and body both together. Homoeopath tries to understand the whole man behind the disease.
Allopathic medicine uses synthetic drugs, while Homoeopathic approach, is to prescribe a substance in small doses which has been proven to stimulate similar symptoms in healthy volunteers on all levels of human being- not only the cramps or diarrhoea, but also mental/ emotional symptoms, temperature intolerance, sleep pattern, food cravings etc. (Each case of diarrohea will receive the different remedy.)
In Allopathy there is different medicine for the different diseases, but homoeopath gives one-medicine bases on mind-body, which covers him completely.

What is the understanding of the disease according to homoeopathy?
To a Homoeopath, illness is an energy imbalance at mind and the body level. More the imbalance more is the disease. This imbalance causes manifestation of signs and symptoms, which are created by the body in the process of correcting this imbalance. Homoeopathy attempts to bring each individual to the highest physical, mental and emotional level of health.

What are the advantages of Homoeopathy?
Safe and non toxic remedies, no danger of overdose, remedies are not addictive, remedies are not tested on animals, easy to preserve, less expensive in comparison to conventional regimes, long consultations enable the patient and practitioner to discuss all aspects of the person’s health and lifestyle.
In acute and chronic disease, whether the symptoms are physical, mental, or emotional, Homeopathy produces subtle, yet often dramatic, healing. From newborns to old peoples, most people can benefit from homeopathy. Homeopaths treat common illness such as allergies, asthma, digestive disorders, gynecological problems, skin conditions, insomnia, chronic fatigue, headaches, and arthritis. If a Homeopath can find the similimum for the individual, most diseases with reversible pathology can be treated. Even chronic autoimmune or hereditary diseases such as diabetes, scleroderma, psoriasis, and systemic lupus erythematosis may respond to homeopathic treatment, especially in the early stages of the disease.
Although homeopaths prescribe for the whole person rather than the specific disease state, injuries and acute illnesses, such as colds, flues, fevers, sore throats, and bronchitis can improve very quickly with homeopathic treatment. Homeopaths know that antibiotics are not the only successful treatment for infections. Ear infections, conjunctivitis, bladder infections, vaginal infections, boils, and cellulitis frequently respond well to homeopathic treatment. Many people have come to respect Homeopathy after witnessing its rapid action.
In case of kidney stones, gall bladder disease, ovarian cysts, and uterine fibroids, the need for surgery may sometimes be avoided with prompt homeopathic treatment. In more advanced or emergency cases, surgery may be the treatment of choice. Even when the body is unable to heal the problem completely, the symptoms of these illnesses, such as bleeding, inflammation, and pain, can often be significantly improved. When surgery is necessary, homeopathic medicines can help prevent excessive bleeding and hasten healing after surgery.
Homeopathy can often provide benefit to patients with neurological conditions such as Bell’s palsy (a type of facial paralysis), epilepsy, carpal tunnel syndrome, twitches, numbness, and sciatica, and other kinds of nerve pain. It may sometimes help multiple sclerosis, Parkinsonism, other more serious neurological diseases.
Even homeopaths are sometimes surprised at what homeopathy can accomplish.

Can homoeopathy treat mental and emotional problems?
Homeopathy has the potential for producing far more than just improvements in your physical health. The homeopathic remedy can be a catalyst that starts a process of transformation in your life. Homeopathic medicine can be very successful in treating anxiety, depression, grief, phobias, and other mental disorders. Deeper psychiatric disorders such as autism, the behavioral problems associated with developmental disabilities and schizophrenia have a more guarded prognosis, but can sometimes be helped. Facilities do not yet exist to treat severe mental and emotional problems homeopathically in a safe and controlled environment. Experienced homeopaths may take on some of these cases on an outpatient basis, especially if there is enough support for the patient in her home environment.
As you experience the benefits of homeopathic treatment, you are likely to experience more energy, clarity of mind, a sharper memory and more balanced emotions. After being given a remedy, homeopathic patients often report, “I feel like myself again.” You may not even notice all the changes in yourself at first but other will. They may ask, “What did you do for yourself? You seem so happy and healthy!” You may also respond differently to others. You may find that you are more tolerant with people who used to irritate you. You may also find yourself standing up to some one who used to dominate you.
Your relationship may shift as your internal patterns change. You may find yourself being less dependent on others as your health improves and this can be disconcerting to those who have been your care givers. You are likely to be stronger and more flexible.
Homoeopathy brings you close to yourself, you understand your problems. You deal with your problems very well.
You understand the situation much better. Your understanding of the opposite person changes, you become more aware of the opposite person.
Homoeopathy brings harmony between your body and the mind, which are the most essential things to remain healthy.

What are the remedies made of?
The remedies are obtained from plants, minerals and animals. So they are prepared from natural sources.

Is it safe & without any side effects?
Homeopathy is one of the safest forms of medicine, even for pregnant women, infants, and the elderly. Any toxic effects of a crude substance in nature disappear when that substance is prepared homeopathically. In order for it to be made into a homeopathic medicine, the substance is diluted sufficiently to eliminate all toxic effects.

How effective are homoeopathic medicines?
The efficacy and effectiveness of homoeopathic medicines has been demonstrated by more than 200 years of successful use by physicians over the globe. It is the better and sometimes the only alternative in many ailments. Homoeopathy cures curable conditions and palliates incurable conditions.

What conditions can Homoeopathy treat?
As previously mentioned Homoeopathy treats the individual person and not the disease and hence it can be used for almost any health problem. It can strengthen the body and enable it to deal with present disorders and help prevent future health problems.

Why does Homoeopathy take a long time?
It’s a myth that it takes a long time. Most of the times what happens are the patient come to us with long history of chronic illness. Therefore the treatment takes time. Homoeopathy is in fact fast acting in acute conditions such as fever, pneumonia, typhoid, diarrhea, vomiting, malaria, etc. Most of the time faster then the Allopathy medicine.

How long does the treatment take?
This will depend on the illness, presence/absence of maintaining factors, the length of time you have suffered from it and your general vitality. It is difficult to assess the exact time but after the first couple of months the situation can be assessed.

Who all can use it?
Homoeopathic medicines are completely safe and non-addictive. They can be used without anxiety by anyone, including small babies, pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers. The concentration of active ingredients is always very small - statistically, sometimes less than one molecule in a whole bottle of pills. How homoeopathy works is not entirely understood, but energy transfer during preparation is key.

How long does a Homoeopathic consultation take?
It varies according to the individual case. If the patient can reveal his problems at a mental and physical level without much inhibition, it takes a shorter time. Usually a sincere homoeopathic physician will only prescribe after he has thoroughly understood the patient as a whole.

What is the importance of dreams in homoeopathy?
Dreams are the utter most important for the Homoeopathic physician. By understanding dreams Homoeopath can understand true feeling of the patient.

How often do we see the doctor during the course of treatment?
For chronic problems one should visit the doctor once in 15 to 21 days but in acute conditions one should keep the physician informed about any change in the condition every few hours.

Can Homoeopathy aggravate your problems?
Homoeopathic treatment can bring up old complains which were suppressed in the past by palliative measures. Sometimes one can suffer from coryza, diarrhea or even feverish feeling during the homoeopathic treatment but these symptoms will not hamper your daily routine. In fact it is a good sign indicating that the drug administered is perfect for the individual and has started its action.

How should I take Homoeopathic remedies?
Try not to handle the tablets. Tip them from the container into the cap or other receptacle, and then drop them into the mouth. Allow tablets to dissolve slowly in the mouth, or under the tongue - suck or chew it, but do not swallow. (For babies, tablets may be crushed and dissolved in water.) Avoid eating, (drinking anything other than water), using toothpaste, smoking, or taking any other medication, for fifteen to twenty minutes before and after taking a homoeopathic remedy. Some doctors advise avoiding coffee while taking homoeopathic remedies. The evidence is inconclusive, but it is possible that factors like these make the remedies less effective. It is now thought that electrical appliances, airport X-rays (at least those of normal strength), and metal detectors have no effect.

Why should there be a gap before and after the medicine?
Ans. Homoeopathic medicines get absorbed from the inner linings of the mouth. Any substance leaves a coating in the oral cavity and also an odor. This may hinder the absorption of the medicine. Therefore, it is advisable to have the medication on a clean tongue and avoid drinking, eating or smocking before and after the medicine.

Can I take Homoeopathic remedies alongside other medicines?
Use of homoeopathic remedies along with Ayurvedic medicines is not advisable as both are holistic in their approach; therefore it becomes difficult to judge the true progress.
Also these conventional medicines change the symptoms to such an extent that the original presentation of the symptom is lost, making it difficult to gather enough accurate information to prescribe the correct homoeopathic remedy. Most of the acute conditions are handled well with Homoeopathy but only in some exceptional conditions, the allopathic medicines are advised.
If a person is on anti-hypertensive drugs, or hypoglycemic drugs, anticonvulsants hormonal therapy for a long time, we don’t stop them immediately so as to prevent the withdrawal problems but reduce their dosage gradually once the homoeopathic medicine starts working. Use of contraceptive pills is allowed.

Will I have to take Homoeopathic medicine forever?

No. Homoeopath stops the treatment once he knows that the balance between mind and body ha been restored. For Homeopath it is not enough to remove the disease, the patient’s energy level should come back, his understanding of himself and surrounding should improve. Once all this has achieved, Homoeopath stops the treatment.

What is the shelf life of Homoeopathic remedies?
If kept away from sunlight and strong smells, homoeopathic remedies last for many years. (There is evidence that remedies used in the tropics have lost none of their potency after fifty years.) Accordingly, no expiry date is mentioned. STORAGE GUIDELINES Medicines are to be kept tightly capped at room temperature in a cool, dry, dust free environment and away from direct sunlight. They should not be exposed to strong odors.
Can diabetic patients take the sweet sugar pills?
Diabetics can take pills because the amount of sugar present is very minute. Also, medicines can be administered in distilled water, thereby avoiding pills.

Can Homoeopathy be used in emergencies and is it 'fast acting'?
Homoeopathy is effective and efficient in acute conditions and in emergencies.
Our body at the time of acute emergency throws up certain peculiar symptoms, which may not be felt so intensely otherwise. The remedy covering these peculiar symptoms can also relieve other long lasting ailments apart from taking care of the acute crisis.
The right remedy, the right potency and the right dose prompt curative effects in acute diseases.

Can Homoeopathy be used for animals?
Veterinarians have found homoeopathy just as effective for animals as for people. It is widely used for cats, dogs, horses, cows and sheep.
What do we do if the complaints recur after stopping Homoeopathic treatment?
During the course of Homoeopathic treatment or after it has been stopped if something happens in your day to day life at physical or mental level to upset the balance and original complaint felt again, then consult your doctor again revealing him the entire details. But it is true that with Homoeopathic treatment, the capacity of the person to handle such upset improves & relapse may not occur.

When should I contact my Homoeopath?
a) If you developed an acute disease, which needs treatment.
b) If you feel you have been exposed to one of the substance, which can interfere with Homoeopathic treatment.
c) If you experience the severe aggravation after you have taken the remedy.
d) If you experience significant symptoms, which you never had.
e) If you want to use any other medicine then homoeopathy.
f) If you need to go for dental surgery.
g) If you are traveling and need medicine care.
Under such circumstances your Homoeopathic physician should be contacted.

Homoeopathy just has the placebo effect?
If homoeopathy just has the placebo effect then it won’t last for more then two hundred years. Placebo can’t bring the old suppressed disease out. Placebo won’t be able to bring the balance between the mind and body, thus reducing the requirement of the medicine. Placebo can’t reduce the requirement of steroid, diabetic drugs, antihypertensive drugs, antibiotic in children and adults etc.
If placebo can bring such change in-patient then one shouldn’t mind giving placebo to the patients.

Can homoeopathy helps in increasing the concentration power?
Homoeopathy brings balance between the mind and body, you become aware of your thoughts, actions, feelings and body sensation. This balance between mind and body can be used for doing sadhana, yoga, meditation, chanting, sat sang, dhyana, concentration etc. Patients become completely focused on his goal in life. Hence it enhances the creativity of the patient.
When your mind and body are not in harmony, sadhana, meditation, concentration and yoga becomes very difficult. To achieve super conscious you need this balance, which Homoeopathy can bring with those small while pills. Homoeopathy treats your mind and body together so that you can use both together to achieve super consciousness.
Can Homoeopathy help to deal with high stresses in life?
In today’s competitive world there is too much of stress. On top of it there are so many professions, which are highly stressful. It is not possible for most of us to change our jobs. This high stress is responsible for the imbalance in energy. Gradually this imbalance of energy gives rise to physical illness.
As discussed earlier homoeopathy brings the balance between the mind and the body. This balance helps the individuals to understand their stress better. His out of reaction to stress reduces. He can work in same stressful situation or may be even with increased in stresses, more efficiently without getting affected by it. In fact he feels more energetic in dealing with stress. His whole perception of stress changes, things, which used to bother him the most now no longer bother him. In fact with homoeopathy he can chanelise this energy for better purpose of growth.

It is advisable to take homoeopathy in pregnancy?
PREGNANCY IS AN EXCELLENT time to start taking Homoeopathy. Firstly because you cannot take modern medicine because of its side effects. But also because a mother-to-be is closer to nature, so her body will generally respond very well to this treatment, which is based on nature.
During pregnancy, a woman is more close to herself. Her state during pregnancy gets intensified. What I mean by this is that her emotions are at the peak, which helps the homoeopath to find the right medicine. Homoeopath tries to understand this state by understanding the emotions she has during pregnancy, her feeling and reaction to different situation. Her dreams during pregnancy changes. Homoeopath also tries to understand the stress during pregnancy, her relation with other members in the house, which helps us to understand her better. She has some peculiar food desires and aversion, which she develops during pregnancy only. She has some physical symptoms during pregnancy, which also shows some peculiarity. An extra demand of pregnancy causes intensifies the woman’s state, which in turn brings out the exact state of her. If a Homoeopath understand this state, it becomes easy for him to treat the pregnant woman, and the child later on. We believe that the remedy required by the child is very close to the mother’s state during pregnancy.

Children cannot express their feelings and sensation, then how does Homoeopath treat the child?
Homoeopath tries to understand the inner disturbance, through various pointers such as fears, dreams, fantasies, favorite movies, cartoons, toys they like, T.V. serial, their drawings, fairytales, their reaction to illness. Also their feeling regarding illness, what they think about their illness, their imaginations etc. In all these areas children express themselves, their inner self. Each child has his own imaginary world in which he lives. By understanding the imaginary world of the children (which is his inner world), it becomes very easy for a Homeopath to understand the child and what is going on in his mind.

Can homoeopathy treat the mentally retarded children?
Homoeopathy can tackle most of the diseases of mentally retarded children. In such cases Homoeopath depends on the observation of the children.

Can we prescribe Homoeopathic medicine just by reading?
The major reason Homoeopathy getting a bad name in the public is due to people who misuse it. (As Homoeopathic literature and medicines are easily available one will find many people utilizing homoeopathic medicine for treating minor and major illnesses. They have the common misconception that one can prescribe according to their whims and fancies, as Homoeopathic medicines don’t produce any side effect). Inadequate knowledge of medicine and disease will lead to failure in prescribing Homoeopathic medicines. Some times it may even worsen the disease and occasionally it will cause serious damage to the mind and body.
Homoeopathy is the system, based on certain fixed principles, and most of the Homoeopath prescribes medicines based on these principles.

How does Homoeopathy work?
Homoeopathy works by restoring the energy system to the normal level by bringing the balance of energy between the mind and body. In disease there is an accumulation of energy in one area, by giving Homoeopathy, energy gets redistributed in all area thus bringing the harmony.
Also Homoeopathy increases the self-healing power of the body. It stimulates the body’s own healing power.

These small white pills can cure me?
This is the favorite question of the patients. Yes these small white pills can cure most of the disease if given on homoeopathic philosophy. What these small pills contain is the energy and not the medicinal substance. What we match is the energy of the patients to the energy of the remedy.

Do homoeopaths use steroids to attain quick results?
Some patients often pose this question during the course of a consultation. The answer is a definite '‘no'’. Homoeopaths of integrity and commitment to their profession do not use cortisone. As there materia medica is very rich in remedies with a vast range of curative effects
Followings are the reason why any homoeopath will not use the steroid.
If one has been on long-term cortisone, one would show some side effects like ‘moon face’, excessive body hair, osteoporosis, diabetes, etc. Cortisone is not a cure-all for all the ills of the world. Homoeopathic remedies have a very wide range of curative properties. Using steroids would in fact be counter-productive as they have a suppressive effect.
In fact those who are on steroid treatment are advice to taper off the steroid so that our medicine can act on them. Steroid suppresses the immune system and aim of Homoeopathy treatment is strengthen immune system. In a way we can say that homoeopathy and steroids are antagonist.