Srinagar Jul 14: From stopping hair fall to treating obesity and from bringing in hormonal balance to curing infertility, mushrooming homeopathy clinics in the valley promise an answer to all.
A homeopath Mohammad Àslam said, “Earlier, there was ambiguity as to who could practice homeopathy. Now, with educational regulations enforced by the state government, this system of medicine has led to better practioners and more effective treatment.”
He said, “In homoeopathy the dozes used are the minimum, so there are no chances of causing Iatrogenic diseases. Moreover, the drugs used in homeopathy have been proved on healthy human beings and therefore their actions and reactions are fully known to the homoeopathy physician, unlike any other system of medicine.”
The doctor informed that in practicing homeopathy, the physician selects medicines based on the complete history profile of a patient, including their lifestyle, emotional and mental states and physical condition.
“A single medicine should cover all symptoms that afflict the patient. Physicians first prescribe small doses of the medicine and observe its effect on the patient. If it has results, infinitesimal doses are prescribed after,” he said.
Another doctor who has been practicing homeopathy from the last four years defined homeopathy as treatment that treats the individual as a whole but not his symptoms.
He explained, “This system believes in removing the disease from its root, and not suppressing it by local application and other medicines given in physiological dozes. homeopathy believes in treating the individual and not its symptoms. This makes homeopathy the best and true rational art of healing.”
The doctor believes that many patients also feel that homeopathy is a more personalised treatment, with greater “one-on-one interaction” between the patient and the physician.
“It’s a welcome change to have a doctor listen patiently to patiently to you and actually encourage you to speak about your minutest problem,” he said.
“An individual is one whole entity and should be treated as such. Homeopathy follows this cardinal philosophy and is therefore effective not just in in curing humans, but also animals and plants,” he said.
He, however, said that each system of medicine has its own strengths and weaknesses.
“Homoeopathy is best suited for the ailments such as upper respiratory tract infection, arthritis, allergic disorders, hormonal imbalances in women and spondylitis, among others,” the doctor said.
On the other hand, the modern medicine, also called allopathy, has gained technical expertise to such an extent that it has no match in emergency, interventional and surgical procedures.
“Because of this expertise allopathy doctors depend excessively on surgical procedures. Even the approach towards treating a disease by both the systems is completely different and hence they should not be compared,” he said.
Whereas allopathy concentrates on curing an ailment by killing the invading pathogen, homoeopathy tries to strengthen the body so that it can fight the pathogens by itself.
“Our surroundings are brimming with pathogens all the time and they cause an ailment only when the body becomes weak,” he explained.
Admitting that some homeopathy doctors are indulging in false claims, the homoepath said that these claims are damaging the image of the system.
“Homoeopathy, if practiced properly, is cheaper, safer and effective for many ailments and can help body in gaining resistance against ailments,” he said.
History of Homoeopathy
The year was 1839. The Maharaja of Punjab, Ranjit Singh, was suffering from paralysis of the vocal cords along with oedema, a condition characterized by swelling. A homeopathic physician, Dr John Martin Hoenigberger, who was a direct disciple of Dr Samuel Hahnemann, the father of homeopathy, was called to treat him. The Maharaja, apparently, was so pleased with his treatment that he requested Hoenigberger to continue his practice in India. Since then, homeopathy has continued to flourish in India.
This system of medicine today enjoys wide acceptability in Kashmir as well because of its holistic and intrinsic values, the low cost of medication coupled with ease of administration and absence of toxic side effects.
