What is homoeopathy?

Homoeopathy is a specific stimulation and regulation therapy. This means: A stimulus is given using a drug, the aim of which is to stimulate the body to deal with this substance and provide an impetus for healing.

The aim is to support the powers of self healing

The focus is on the person as a whole and not just on the individual symptoms requiring treatment. In general, homoeopathy differs from the action of other types of drugs. To understand homoeopathy, you must be open to a unique approach to understand diseases and the options for their treatment. Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) is considered to have pioneered homoeopathy.

"Choose a medicine for each case of sickness for a rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health which can trigger a similar disease to the one it shall heal."
This is how Hahnemann formulated his therapeutic principle. Instead of prescribing a remedy to counter symptoms and suppress them, he used substances to mobilise the powers of self healing. So the goal is to enable the body to eliminate the symptoms itself. He named this principle the law of similars:

This principle is in contrast to the thinking in (conventional) medicine where drugs are used, e.g. to counter the symptoms, without using the body's own regulatory mechanisms and self-healing processes.

An example of the principle of similars:
You are stung by a bee. What happens?

• The area of skin swells and becomes red, hot and taut.
• You feel a burning, stabbing pain.

According to the law of similars, bee venom (lat. Apisinum) in homoeopathic preparations is used to treat burning, stabbing pain and swellings – even if they were not caused by a bee sting but are merely similar to the symptoms caused by bee venom.

In 1790, Hahnemann conducted the first homoeopathic drug trial: Perfectly healthy, he consumed large amounts of cinchona bark and experienced symptoms that were characteristic of malaria. Consequently, cinchona bark in homoeopathic form is considered to be an effective remedy for malaria. He tested other substances on himself and other people in such experiments. The participants had to be perfectly healthy and prepared to observe and note all changes to their physical or mental health in detail. He called this a drug trial. The homoeopathic profile of a substance was created from these trial protocols.

The homoeopathic profile is the description of all symptoms caused by an active substance in healthy people and which - in potentiated form – can heal sick people.

Hundreds of such homoeopathic profiles exist nowadays. In the meantime, the requirements for safety have become much more stringent so that only extremely safe homoeopathic remedies are on the market.

According to Hahnemann the aim of the treatment has to be to find the ONE suitable remedy for the patient. To this very day his followers – the classical homoeopaths support – this principle. But, complex remedies started to find use even in Hahnemann's day. Complex remedies came about as the result of long-standing practical experience and contain a variety of individual remedies, which act in the same direction and have proven successful with certain symptoms.

In the Pascoe product range you can find both complex remedies, the indication of which is already designated by the name (e.g. Gripps®) and registered drugs which bear the name of the so-called lead substance, but do not indicate the indications (e.g. the complex remedy system of the Similiaplexe®). Such drugs are chosen by the doctor or alternative practitioner in accordance with the symptoms and personal constitution and prescribed individually. Homoeopathic complex remedies that do not have an indication are not suitable for self-medication. The origins of our Similiaplexe® date back to the year 1896. This means: Pascoe Natural Medicine has over 100 years of experience with homoeopathic complex remedies.

Substances to prolong the shelf life and improve uptake, phytochemical solvent: The alcohol in drops performs many tasks in natural medicine. Appropriately dosed, it is harmless in herbal and homoeopathic drugs, even for children. A glass of apple juice contains significantly more alcohol than a dose of drops. Why must the drops contain alcohol? There are good reasons for this. As a natural preservative, alcohol prolongs the shelf life of the drugs. And when taken in droplet form, it stimulates the uptake of the active substances via the mucous membranes.

The constitution is the overall congenital or genetically determined disposition of a person. The characteristic traits result from these predispositions but also a person's weak points – their susceptibility for certain diseases.

These predispositions may lead to a certain disease, but do not necessarily have to. For example, environmental factors, stress, diseases etc. are also crucial. The responsiveness of an individual to the variety of influences varies extremely from person to person. Some people react to a weak stimulus by feeling unwell while other people easily resist this.

The great scholars of ancient times, Hippocrates and Galen, observed such correlations. They traced it back to certain bodily fluids. The classification of temperaments which we still use today is based on this:

Sanguine
Phlegmatic
Melancholic
Choleric

The classification according to physique is also typical. In this case there is a close relationship between the frame and various characteristics and weak points. For example, we are familiar with the classification into:

Pyknic
Athletic
Leptosome

The experienced iridologist can tell a lot from our eyes about congenital characteristics and tendencies to certain diseases. Iridology recognises the following types of constitutional types:

• Lymphatic constitutional type
• Choleric constitutional type
• Rheumatic constitutional type
• Gastric type
• Neurogenic-sensitive constitutional type

It is thanks to the Viennese gynaecologist Dr. med. Bernhard Aschner (1883-1960) that the knowledge of the great scholars – Hippocrates, Galen, Paracelsus – is included in modern medicine.

He showed that healing success is much greater when patients are treated individually

• Thin people are different to pyknics
• Cholerics are different to melancholics
• Fair people are different to Mediterraneans

Today, practitioners of constitutional medicine use various criteria to determine a person's constitutional type:

• Character traits (sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic, choleric)
• Physique (pyknic, leptosome, athletic)
• Hair colour
• Eye colour
• Structure of the iris (identified using an iris microscope)

If the constitutional type is known, treatment of the symptoms can be practically supported by:

• A homoeopathic constitutional remedy
• Other measures to support the constitution – particularly cleansing processes and a diet adapted to the constitutional type

With the right constitution remedy, the stimulation threshold can be increased which is necessary for diseases to break out. Many experienced doctors and alternative practitioners prescribe a constitutional remedy to support patients also at this level.

Do you recognise yourself among this selection of typical constitutional types? Do you want to support your constitution? Then take advice from your alternative practitioner, naturopathic doctor or pharmacist as to which homoeopathic complex remedy is the right constitutional remedy for you.