unit 12 Flashcards
What is homeopathy?
A systemized method of healing that uses the principle of use like to treat like
belief that clinical symptoms of patients reflect a universal law of healing with medicinal substances
What does a symptom represent in homeopathy?
the body’s physiological response to an illness or disease to maintain homeostasis and to heal or cure the disease
Explain the vital force concept of homeopathy
belongs to the vitalist tradition of medicine where the natural healing capacity is used
remedies resonate with the signs and symptoms of illness
The life energy (the vital force) as the ultimate source of health and illness and ends only with the death of the organisms
Use vital force to heal the patient
What are the precepts of healing?
is an effort by the entire organism; does not occur in isolation
all helming is essentially self-healing
applies only to individuals an is therefore problematic
Describe the homeopathic material medica
currently recognizes over 2000 remedies
most are plant origin including flowers, leaves, roots although many are poisonous in their crude state
some are common medicinal herbs such as yellow dock
includes mineral remedies such as metas (copper gold) metalloids (arsenic, selenium), salts and elemental substances
has animal kingdom remedies such as venoms secretions, milks, hormones and tissue extracts
How are remedies tested?
uses a process of proving
experiment by taking the substance and recording it’s observations
What does it mean for the totality of symptoms in homeopathy?
illness is a disturbance of the vital force
manifests as a totality of physical, mental, and emotional responses. Describes the symptoms as they appear
gives special importance to describing the conditions of the patient as a whole. Is a form of mind-body medicine
how do homeopaths treat the totality of symptoms?
must take into account the living experience of the patient
may make pathological diagnosis of the individual
Uses the technical language to educate the patient
Symptoms affecting a persons mental abilities are given more importance because they impact the individual greater than anything else
requires listening intently to the patient
What is the single remedy theory in homeopathy?
uses one remedy at a time fir the whole patient
they have been tested and slight differences in remedies produce different symptoms
studying the totality of symptoms enables the detailed accumulation of personal remedies
What is the minimum dose theory?
use the smallest dose possible and repeat them only as necessary
remedy will not work unless it fits the illness precisely
the minuteness minimizes the likelihood of dangerous side effects
What is hormesis?
based on the observation that that the behaviour of biological active substances differ from low to high doses and do not demonstrate a simple dose response curve
What is the laws of Cure?
used to evaluate the changes experienced by the patient
provide clear standards to evaluate the actions of all therapies
include four ways symptoms may appear and need to be tracked and include:
1) from head to feet
2) from inside outward
3) from more to less vital organs
4) from most recent to oldest
Describe the methodology behind the preparation of homeopathic substances
The homeopathy pharmacopoeia of the united states is the official reference guide
doses made by serial dilutions
are first crushed and dissolved into alcohol and supernatant is kept as a mother tincture
insoluble items are pulverized and diluted with lactose
tinctures further diluted either 1:10 or 1:100. Is repeated for 2x,3x and 4x dilution all the way to the desired dilution
Most popular are 6x, 12x and 30x dilution
no likelihood that any of the original substance remains
Describe how case taking is performed in homeopathy
encourage their patients to tell their stories and makes it powerful
invited to speak and allowed to continue for as long as possible
homeopaths look for unusual features that tend to be ignored or discarded by conventional physicians
How are remedies selected?
homeopathic diagnosis is the product of the homeopaths understanding of the patient
use a repertory to consider as many remedies as possible
most comprehensive repertories include all areas from anatomical region and is only a tool for locating remedies which must then be confirmed by looking in the pharmacopoeia
What are some precautions to homeopathy?
patients instructed not to put anything in mouth for 30 minutes
believed a synergistic effect between acupuncture, chiropractor and homeopathy and should not be done at the same time
How are homeopathy products administered and dosed?
dispensed in the form of tablets or pellets of sucrose or lactose
lower dilutions preferred in acute situation as they can be repeated as often as necessary
higher doses used for long-term use
dosage refers to the number and frequency of repetitions and must be tailored to fit the patient
Rule is to stop therapy once a reaction is apparent and repeat only when reaction has subsided
What are three factors said to contribute to the growth of homeopathy?
First: absence of laws to license practitioners
second: a great migration which expanded beyond medical care and had to develop essential skills
third: materia medica was adopted native american medicine
What are some issues drawn about homeopathic medicine research papers?
all meta analysis drew the conclusion of poor quality of the studies. All favoured the result of homeopathy
How is homeopathy used today?
1% of the american population used homeopathy in 1989
sales were 200 million$ in 1992 an climbing at 25%
In india, homeopathy is practiced by the national health service
What are some contraindications of homeopathy?
use in in treating chronic illnesses involving advanced tissue damage
for people with lifetime dependence on conventional pharmaceuticals
as a substitute for conventional treatment
Where are homeopathy remedies best used?
functional complaints with little to no tissue damage
conditions where conventional medicine cannot help much
chronic health conditions such as allergies, infections, rashes
conditions that have not been cured by conventional medicine
What does homeopathy focus on?
Homeopathy focuses on the totality of symptoms; it emphasizes the individual’s subjective symptoms and considers the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of the patient.
Describe how homeopathy treats patients
In some ways homeopathy can be compared with immunization and allergy desensitization where very small doses are given to induce resistance. However, homeopathic remedies are given when a person is ill to treat disease, whereas with immunization and allergic desensitization, the person is healthy and is given a vaccine or antigen to produce antibodies in order to prevent a health problem.
how can immunization be viewed from a homeopathic perspective?
It can be seen as a homeopathic treatment by application of the law of similar.
Or, as is often the case with modern homeopaths, prevention by vaccine can be rejected because the vaccine has not been potentized
The more dilute the drug…
the stronger the effects
What are the two methods for potentiazation of homeopathic medicines?
1) tincture preparation—the plant or part of the plant is cultivated at the appropriate time and cleaned by washing. Juice of the plant or its part is added to alcohol and is referred to as a mother tincture.
2) trituration—when the substance is insoluble, it is ground for three hours with powdered milk sugar (lactose). This process is said to reduce the substance to the millionth dilution at which point the substance is soluble in water.
What forms do homeopathic medicines come in? How are they given?
tinctures, granules, and powders.
The remedies are administered orally by placement under the tongue, sipped in water, or made into tablets with a lactose carrier. The amount or type of remedy that an individual may receive as a treatment varies depending on the individual’s response.
How are potencies of homeopathic medicines defined?
The potency of the solution is defined by adding the letter “C” or “X” after the identified solution
Known as the centesimal
1C = 1/100; 3C = 1/1,000,000 or
1X = 1/10; 3X = 1/1,000; 6X = 1,000,000
Thus, a 30X potency means that the original substance has been diluted 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times
How are homeopathic medicines classed in Canada?
Homeopathic medicines are classed as natural health products and come under the authority of the Natural Health Products Directorate, a branch of Health Canada. In that respect they are regulated in the same way as herbal preparations and dietary supplements.
How does homeopathy work?
A careful reading of the textbook chapter strongly suggests that the therapy is tailor made for generating the placebo effect. The section headed “Case Taking” (page 348) describes how practitioners of homeopathy assess their patients. They typically spend much longer with each patient than is the case with conventional physicians. Such long and detailed consultations seem likely to help bring about the placebo effect after a medicine has been given
What are two problems homeopathy must overcome to become accepted?
The first problem, and by far the larger, is that treatments are given where the medicine does not contain a single molecule of the drug. The second problem is there are more than 2000 homeopathic treatments and a great many possible conditions where they might be used.
What is the problem with the majority of studies in homeopathy?
The majority of studies lack methodological rigour.
It is clear that the question of whether homeopathy is more effective than placebo treatment has not been settled.
Describe how classical homeopathic practitioners work
Classical homeopathic practitioners prescribe a single remedy for the totality of an individual’s symptoms. That is, patients are evaluated taking into consideration their mental, emotional, and physical symptoms. The symptoms are graphed against the associated homeopathic remedies, a process called repertorization. A remedy is selected that addresses all of the patient’s symptoms; this remedy is called a constitutional. Other considerations in assessment include responses of the patient to temperature, biorhythms, environment, food cravings and aversions, and family history.
describe how complex homeopathy practitioners work
complex homeopathic practitioners use multiple remedies to treat a specific condition. Combinations of homeopathic remedies have become popular over-the-counter remedies and are often self-prescribed.
How are homeopathy preparations prescribed?
some prescribing on the basis of the totality of symptoms, some on acute presentations, others consider constitutional types or essential features, while others use the disease agent itself in a dilute form to treat the disease. Sometimes practitioners will use electroacupuncture instruments to diagnose physiologic disturbance.
Where is homeopathy practiced?
The system is very popular in both France and Germany. It has a long record of use in Britain where homeopathic hospitals and clinics have been a part of the National Health System. However, some health authorities in Britain have decided to stop paying for homeopathic treatment due to the lack of evidence of clinical benefit.
How are homeopaths regulated in Canada?
There is no formal licensing requirement for homeopaths in Canada. However, the Canadian Society of Homeopaths, which was set up in 2006, acts as a professional organization that homeopaths may join. The organization requires that all members follow a code of conduct and practice.
How is homeopathy billed for in canada?
In Canada treatment by a homeopath is not covered by government funded health care but is reimbursed by several health insurance organizations, such as Blue Cross.
Compare the risk of toxic side effects from homeopathic medicines and herbal preparations.
Homeopathic medicines pose virtually no risk of causing toxic side effects.Herbal preparations, by contrast, have often been linked to toxic side effects.
Discuss the homeopathic concept that, after a substance is dissolved and diluted, the solvent has a “memory” of the substance.
When a substance is dissolved in a solvent, the chemical structure of the solvent is changed so that information of energized potencies is stored. This concept is at complete variance with accepted concepts of chemistry, biochemistry, and pharmacology.
Discuss the advantages and the disadvantages in the use of homeopathic treatments.
Homeopathy has very few advantages. The considerable amount of time that practitioners spend with their patients, followed by giving a medicine, often helps make patients feel better. However, this is likely to be largely or totally due to the placebo effect. A serious disadvantage of homeopathy is that if the patient has a condition that can be helped by conventional medicine, then homeopathy might be harmful.
Explain the key differences between how homeopathic medicines, herbal preparations, and dietary supplements are regulated in Canada.
There are no differences in the way that homeopathic medicines, herbal preparations, and dietary supplements are regulated in Canada. They are all regulated by the Natural Health Products Directorate, a branch of Health Canada.
