October 4, 2009
Is Homeopathy Right for You?
Today Homeopathy has become more widely accepted by health professionals as an alternative therapy that has had and continues to have positive effects on a wide range of conditions.
There is much more scientific literature to support the claims that homeopathy practitioners make than ever before. In a medical world where there is talk of untreatable superbugs and antibiotic resistance, many more people are in search of an alternative method of treatment that conventional medicine cant offer them. If you listen to the followers of homeopathic medicine you may find that this could be the therapy that people are in search of.
There are currently over 100,000 practitioners of homeopathic medicine and over 12,000 of these are licensed health care practitioners or medical doctors. Homeopathy is regulated in the European Union (by Directive 2001/83/EC) and the UK has five hospitals where homeopathic medicine is available funded by the NHS as well as numerous clinics.
BACKGROUND AND HISTORY
Homeopathy was first introduced by Dr Samuel Hahnemann who was unhappy with the medical theories of the time. He carried out his own research testing different drugs on healthy volunteers to look at the affect drugs used to treat medical conditions had on a healthy normal human body. What he found was quite remarkable. Hahnemann discovered that most of the drugs he was testing induced physiological effects on the volunteers that were similar to the symptoms of the conditions they were used to treat normally.
He then carried out further investigations involving dilution and shaking (succusion) of the drugs to assess what dosage was required in order for a therapeutic result to be seen. His findings showed that the more diluted the drug was, the quicker and more successful it was at curing certain conditions. Modern homeopathy is based on the key principle of Hahnemann’s findings that like cures like.
The current method of preparation of most homeopathic medicines involves repeated dilutions of medicines that in theory should leave the resulting preparation devoid of any molecules from the original medicine.
The most recent scientific literature has examined the possibility that the solvent used to dilute the medicine is able to take a molecular imprint of the molecules of the medicine. Whatever the method of action of homeopathic medicine, it cannot be argued that for some people suffering from some conditions it relieves and often cures the ailment successfully.
Homeopathy can be used to treat a wide range of conditions including asthma, eczema and premenstrual syndrome but as with all alternative therapies it is not suitable for sufferers of some conditions. It is therefore advisable that you seek your doctors advice before embarking on a course of homeopathic medicine.
WHAT TO EXPECT AS A PATIENT
A licensed homeopathy practitioner will take a highly detailed medical and lifestyle history and will ask a great deal of questions relating to your current lifestyle and health. The method of treatment will then be decided based upon this and will advise you as to how and when the remedy should be taken. A good practitioner will be happy to answer any questions you ask and should make you feel informed and at ease with the treatment process.
Homeopathy should never replace the role of conventional treatment and therefore any current courses of treatment that you are taking should not be stopped unless you are advised to do so by your GP. It is often helpful if your practitioner is also a qualified medical doctor as this will allow you to receive the best of both worlds with regards to your treatment. Homeopathy should complement and not replace conventional treatment.
It is possible to receive a referral to a homeopathy clinic or hospital via your GP, however many doctors are opposed to alternative treatments therefore some gently persuasion maybe required. Although your GP can obtain a referral for you, it must be remembered that you are NOT legally entitled to receive one and it is purely at the doctors discretion.
If you do face opposition from your doctor and you wish to continue to pursue the homeopathic route then as a patient you are within your rights to change your GP and now would be a good time to switch to a GP qualified in homeopathic medicine. Your GP is also a source of knowledge from whom you can obtain recommended homeopathic practitioners and clinics.
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Filed under Homeopathy by Dr. Waqas Yousaf
August 4, 2009
Asthma Medical Measures and Homeopathy
Qigong
Turn away from symptoms. At Life College in Marietta, Georgia, sports medicine researchers measured the respiratory efficiency of 10 people before the group learned a 20-minute qigong routine. After performing the routine, the participants had their respiratory efficiency measured again. It improved by an average of 20 percent suggesting that qigong may help prevent asthma attacks.
Bodywork
Consult a Trager work practitioner. For one study, physical therapists enrolled people with asthma in a 2-week course on Trager psychophysical integration, a gentle movement-based form of bodywork. Beforeand-after tests showed that Trager work significantly improved the participants’ lung functions.
Give triggers a taste of their own medicine. Researchers in Glasgow, Scotland, recruited 28 volunteers with asthmamost of whom also had allergies to dust mites. Some of the volunteers received homeopathic medicines specific to their individual symptoms, while the rest received a placebo (a fake pill). Everyone continued their usual treatment programs. Within a week, the group given homeopathic preparations reported significantly greater relief from their asthma symptoms.
According to homeopath Dana Ullman, a number of homeopathic medicines help reduce the frequency and severity of asthma attacks. He often prescribes Aconitum, Arsenicum album, Ipecacuanha, Natrum sulfuricum, Pulsatilla, or Spongia to his asthma patients. To fmd out which of these medicines would work best for you, consult a homeopath.
Medical Measures
Pharmaceutical companies have developed a dizzying array of asthma medications. Most of these drugs fall into one of three categories: bronchodilators, anti-inflammatories, or leukotriene modifiers.
These drugs can be taken either orally or as puffs of aerosol spray from an inhaler. Most physicians prefer inhalers because they deliver the medication directly to the respiratory tract, which minimizes side effects. “The problem is that too many doctors simply hand out inhalers without explaining how to use them,” Dr. Firshein says. “About half the people who come to me for treatment aren’t using their inhalers properly.”
Perhaps the most common mistake is putting the inhaler inside the mouth. It should be held an inch away from the lips to give the particles of medication room to separate. Then the particles can travel deep into the lungs. If you use an inhaler, Dr. Firshein recommends having it fitted with a spacer. The spacer is a small tube that attaches to the mouthpiece of the inhaler. The spray hangs like a cloud inside the spacer, giving you more time to inhale and absorb the vapor-and increasing the effectiveness of the medication.
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Filed under Homeopathy by Dr. Waqas Yousaf
July 16, 2009
The Placebo Effect Examined and Studied
The placebo effect is a mechanism where someone is taking a medicine that contains really nothing. They think the medicine that they are taking helps them to get rid of their ailment. The person automatically becomes better even though the medicine contained no real substance.
Many critics point out that homeopathy works because of the placebo effect. Many homeopathic medicines contain no active substance so any benefits realized with homeopathy must be due to a placebo effect. So much does the placebo effect actually help is brought into question?
Some research studies have shown that inactive substances made with sugar or water can help patients approximately 1/3 of the time. Patients psychologically believe that this type of medicial treatment is helping them. These are small research studies and they are certainly not conclusive.
The placebo effect can also be difficult to measure due to the fact that many people can cure their illness just on their own. The body’s own immune system helps to fight diesease and taking the placebo pills really would not speed up that process. However, the placebo pill may make the person feel better since they are inclined in thinking the medicine given has helped them.
Another interesting question is how do dogs, cats and babies respond to a placebo? These groups are not aware that they are taking medicine so the placebo effect does not really exist within these groups. However, the placebo effect may exist with the person giving the medication. The person giving the medication may feel an improvement in the condition within these groups because they had provided a remedy. How much a dog, cat or baby would get better on their own is not know if they had not taken a placebo.
The effects of placebo in allopathic or western medicine has not been studied extensively. A large percentage of allopathic medicine has never been properly research and tested. Most people are not sure how western medicine works. The exact way aspirin cures headaches is unknown today. However, many people take aspirin even though they have no idea how it works.
Homeopathic trials comparing homeopathy versus allopathic medicine usually have come out quite favorable to homeopathy. Most trials generally show that the homeopathic medicine works as well as the allopathic medicine. Examples of this would be a trial of 146 people that showed homeopathic nasal spray treated hayfever as well as the allopathic spray.
Homeopathic trials with placebos are much more of a mix bag of trials. Some of the research studies come out quite positive but others have not show too much difference than the placebo. Certainly many of these trials did not follow procedures as homeopaths would practice. It would interesting to see how some of the untested allopathic medicine compare to a placebo.
A placebo effect may exist in all forms of medicine just not homeopathy. How much a placebo effect can help a patient is unknown? Research does suggest that placebo can be help patients cure their ailments but this is far from conclusive.
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Filed under Homeopathy by Dr. Waqas Yousaf
