Homeopathic Medicine - Answers To Some Common Questions

Is self-diagnosis possible with homeopathic medicine?

There are ways to self-diagnose an illness and find a homeopathic remedy that will cure it. When it comes to self-diagnosing, it's important to listen to your own body. This means taking note of any ache or pain that occurs often or in the same place. Take note of your own state of mind to determine if anxiety or fear could be causing you trouble. Ask yourself is something you do makes a symptom go away or persist. Check the characteristics of your stool, including regularity. Note when a problem begins and when it occurs again to see how often you have it. Even sleep patterns can help you determine a self-diagnosis. Once you understand what your body is doing, then you can begin researching remedies, either online or at a store selling homeopathics. If you try to cure your symptoms with a treatment and nothing changes, then it's important to go see your doctor.

What is the normal dosage for homeopathic medicines?

Like traditional medications, potency of homepathics can vary. When prescribing a dosage, many homeopaths have to look at the patient, the kind of problems they're having medicine they'll be taking. For illnesses that are chronic or severe, higher dosages of homeopathic medicines are needed because they've usually been around for several years. Acute illnesses, which are disease new to a patient, will be treated with lower dosages. Like using traditional antibiotics, some situations require a high dose of medicine to give the body a head start on fighting an illness. Because so many different homeopathic remedies exist for a particular illness, it's important to find the correct medicine before starting any kind of treatment.

How should homeopathic medicines be taken?

Most homeopathic medicines are taken in pill form. When you begin a homeopathic regiment, you need to start with a clean pallet. This requires you to avoid foods that have strong flavors, such as coffee or mint. The pills are placed under the tongue and patients should avoid excessive contact with the medication. Just simply place the dosage in the lid and pour the medicine in your mouth. Not all homeopathic treatments are oral. Depending on the illness, a treatment could be given as an ointment. Unlike some traditional medicines, homeopathic remedies should be taken as long as symptoms occur. When they stop, you should also stop the medicine.

What is the difference between conventional medicine and homeopathic medicine?

Conventional medicine believes that symptoms can be cured with various treatments because the individual organs in the body are causing the problem. Homeopathic medicine is different because practitioners feel that many conventional treatments suppress the body's natural ability to rid itself of a disease. For example, a cough is the lung's ability to get a foreign substance out, and cough medicines are made to suppress this action. Homeopathic focuses on the body as a whole and sees that a remedy needs to cure the entire body instead of just focusing on one specific area. This will help it regain the internal stability needed to keep a person healthy.

What is "materia medica?"

"Materia Medica" is a Latin phrase meaning "materials of medicine." These "materials" are the treatments used in homeopathic practice. Medicines come from many sources, such as animals, minerals, plants and some chemicals. Homeopathic treatments are listed in Latin so practitioners can easily search for remedies to treat a patient. Homeopaths need to study these medicines in detail because they can be used in so many different ways to treat symptoms. Homeopathy uses smaller doses of materia medica because practitioners believe there is an inverse relationship between the substance used and its ability to cure the symptom.