Homeopathy is a holistic system of medicine that has been used globally for over over 200 years.

It is based on the principles that ‘like cures like’ – meaning that a substance that can cause specific symptoms when given in large doses can cure the same symptoms in small doses.

It is natural, safe, non toxic (no side effects) and is able to be used in acute and chronic conditions, including alongside conventional medicines. Homeopathy can be used for everyone from the old to the young, during pregnancy, on animals and also has a use in horticulture.

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF HOMEOPATHY?

A German physician and scholar, Dr Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) discovered the principle of “like curing like” while he was trying to work out why Peruvian bark (Cinchona – the source of quinine) was able to cure malaria.

He experimented by dosing himself with the herb Cinchona until symptoms were produced. Surprisingly the symptoms were very similar to those of Malaria. His conclusion was that the drug might be effective in treating malaria because it could cause similar symptoms in a healthy person.

Initially he used crude doses but unhappy with the side effects he went on to discover that diluting and potentiating the medicines was more effective, powerful and without side effects. This is referred to as the ‘minimum dose’.