Homeopathic doctors work in the same
way as conventional doctors do. History taking, examination and investigation
are all important in establishing the diagnosis. However, as well as asking
about your symptoms, a homeopathic doctor will be interested in you as an
individual and the unique way in which your symptoms affect you.
Consultation
Questions about your lifestyle,
eating habits and preferences, temperament, personality, sleep patterns and
medical history help the doctor to form a complete picture of you. This picture
will be matched to the symptoms of your illness in order to prescribe a
particular type and strength of homeopathic medicine.
As a guide your first appointment
could take anything up to an hour, with follow-up appointments typically
lasting 30 minutes. This does vary depending on the practitioner and the
setting in which they work (NHS appointments may be shorter for example).
Preparing
for your appointment
To get the most out of a
consultation, it is helpful to make some notes beforehand and to think through
all the issues that are affecting your health. Some homeopathic practitioners
ask new patients to complete a questionnaire before their first appointment.
This is a helpful way of saving time and to your advantage to do so if
requested.
The
medicine
At the end of the consultation your
homeopathic doctor will give you a prescription and advise you how often to
take the medicine. Homeopathy is usually taken in tablet or pillule form, but
is also available in liquid and powder form. Homeopathic gels or cream may also
be prescribed for some conditions. Above all the Liquid form of homeopathic
medication (Also call Electro-Homeopathy) is pretty advisable
Classical homeopathy rests on three principles:
- The law of similar states
that a disease is cured by a medicine that creates symptoms similar to
those the patient is experiencing. Hence, an important part of the
prescription of a homeopathic medicine is a lengthy interview to determine
all the symptoms. The homeopathic physician then prescribes the medicine
that best matches the symptoms.
- The principle of the single remedy states
that a single medicine should cover all the symptoms the patient is
experiencing: mental, emotional and physical.
- The principle of the minimum dose has
two parts. First, the homeopathic physician prescribes only a small number
of doses of the homeopathic medicine and waits to see what effect the
medicine has. Second, the medicine is given in an infinitesimal dose.
Homeopathy is among the most
controversial of alternative medical therapies. Since homeopathic remedies are
so dilute that, in many cases, not a single molecule of the active compound
remains in the final preparation, many scientists believe therapeutic action is
impossible. Others contend that all healing attributed to homeopathic
preparations is either a placebo response, or simply a misreading of normal
healing that occurs with the passage of time. Double-blind studies involving
homeopathic treatment have yielded variable, conflicting results.