Homeopathy

For B.Pharm, 6th Sem

1. Homeopathy

2. Introduction
•ThetermHomeopathycomesfromtheGreek
word-HomeomeaningsimilarandPathos
meaningsufferingordisease.
•Homeopathy=‘’Homeo’’meaning‘’similar’’and
‘’pathos’’meaning‘’suffer’’or‘’disease’’
•Homeopathyisaformofalternativemedicinein
whichpractionerstreatpatientsusinghighly
dilutedpreparations/formulationsobtainedfrom
naturalsourcethatarebelievetocausehealthy
peopletoexhibitedsymptomsthataresimilarto
thoseexhibitedbythepatients.

3. History
•Theconceptof‘’Likecureslike”ofhomeopathywasfirst
madebyHippocratesabout400B.C.
•Duringthe15
th
to16
th
centuries,theSwissphysicianand
leadingmedicalreformer,Dr.TheophastusVonBombast
(1493-1541),rejectedtheprincipleofoppositeactingremedies
andstatedthatsamemustbecuredbysame.
•17
th
century,thefirstpreciseenunciationofthefundamental
homeopathicprinciplewasgivenbyaDanishphysician,Dr.
GeorgeStahl.Hewrote“Iamconvincedthatdiseasewill
diseaseyieldtoandbecuredbyremediesthatproduce
similaraffections”
•1835-1
st
homeopathymedicalcollegewasopenedin
Allentown,Pennsylvania

4. Discovery of the modern system of
Homeopathy
•Dr.SamuelHahnemann,Founderof
modernHomeopathictreatment
•Bornon10
th
ofApril1755inthetown
ofMeisseninSaxony(eastern
Germany)
•DoctorofMedicinedegreein1779.
•Stated-thereisexitsalawinmedicine
whichhecalledas“LawofSimilar”
andintroducedanewprinciplecalled
similiasimilibuscuranturmeaning
likediseasearecuresbylikemedicine-
likebetreatedbylikes.
•Hegavethename-Homeopathy,
whichwascameinprintin1807

5. “Discovery of Like treats like”
•Itwasintheyear1790,whenDr.Hahnemannwas
goingthroughaworkoftranslatingabookfrom
EnglishtoGermanwrittenbyadistinguishedScottish
physician,Dr.WilliamCullen“AtreatiseonMateria
Medica”.
•Itwasanaccountofadrug-Cinchonaorperuvian
bark,whichhadbeenusedforthetratmentof
malaria.
•Forseveraldayshetookdifferentdosesofdrugand
carefullynotedthesymptoms:

6. Symptoms:
•His feet and fingers tips became cold
•He became drowsy
•His heart began to palpitate
•His pulse quickened
•He experienced trembling in all his limbs with
a thirst
•And redness of cheeks.

7. •Thesymptomslastedonlyforafewhoursand
recurredeachtimeherepeatedthedose.
•Thusthedrug-Cinchona,whentakenbyahealthy
personinducedsymptomssimilartomalaria,the
verydiseasethedrugswasusedtocure.
•Todaythisprincipalisknownasthe"LawofSimilars"
andisthebasisfortheuseofthetermhomeopathy
("similarsuffering").
•Heconcludedfromthisexperiencethateffective
drugsmustproducesymptomsinhealthypeople
thataresimilartothediseasestheywillbeexpected
totreat.

8. •Hahnemannandcolleaguesbegan
totestvarioussubstancesto
determinethetypesofsymptoms
theyproduced.
•Theseresultssuggestedto
Hahnemannwhatthedrugswould
beusefultotreat.
•Withreductionofthedoseto
infinitesimallevelsbymultiple
serialdilutionsoftenorhundred
fold.
•Solublecompoundsorliquids
weredilutedinalcohol;insoluble
materialswereseriallydilutedby
grindingwithlactose.

9. Life spain-1755-1845
•Hahnemann practiced
Homeopathicmedicinefor
almost50yearsuntilhis
deathin1845

10. Theory And Basic Concept
•Thedoctrineof“SimiliaSimilibusCurantur”
isthebasicfoundationofHomeopathic
medicine.
•HomeopathyisbasedonSevenPrinciples
1.Individualization
2.Principleofsimilar
3.Principleofsimplex(singledose)
4.Principleofminimumdose
5.Lawofproving
6.LawofDynamisation
7.Lawofvitalforce.

11. 1. Concept of individualization
•Itstatedthatnotwoindividualsintheworldare
alikeandthediseaseaffectingthetwo
individualcannotbesimilar.
•Although,ano.ofdividualsmaypossessthe
commonsymptoms,theindividualresponseto
thesamediseasewouldbedifferentfrom
persontoperson.thusthemedicinesusedto
curesomediseaseindifferentindividualare
different.

12. 2. Principle of similar/law of similar
•Itstatedthatthetreatmentofadiseasebya
medicinewhichproducessimilarsymptomsin
thehealthyindividual.
•Byintroducingsomethinginthebody,that
causesthesamesymptomsasthatofthe
disease,itactivatesthebody’simmunesystem.
•Theimmunesystemthereforeremoves
whateverwascausingtheoriginalsymptoms.

13. 3. Principle of simplex
•Thisprinciplestatestheuseofonlysingle,
simplemedicineatonetime.
•Even,thepatientsmayhaveno.ofcomplaints,
onlyasinglemedicineisselectedfromMatria
Medica
•Asfaraspossiblecombinationpracticeis
avoidedinhomeopathy

14. 4. Principle of minimum dose
•Itstatedthatlowerthedoseofthemedication,greater
isitseffectiveness
•InHomeopathy,substancesaredilutedinastep-wise
fashionandshakenvigorouslyaftereachdilution
(knownasSuccession)andbangedtentimesagainsta
solidobject.Thistypeofdilutionprocessisknownas
Potentisation.
•Thisprocessisbelievedtotransferthe“spiritual
essence”tothewateritisdilutedin.
•The“water”issupposedtohavea“memory”,thusthis
theoryisalsocalled“memoryofwater”

15. 5. Law of proving
•Themethodusedfordeterminingwhichremedies
weresuitableforspecificdiseasewascalledproving.
•Toprovearemedy,agroupofhealthypeopleare
givenadoseofthesubstancedailyandeachperson
carefullyrecordedthesymptoms
•SuchfirstrecordedprovingwaspublishedbyDr.
Hahnemanninhis1796publication“Essay
Principle”.Thenin1805“FragmentViribus”
containedresultsof27provings,andin1810
“MateriaMedicaPura”contained65provings.

16. 6. Law of Dynamization and Dilution
•Dr.Hahnemannrecognizedthattheuseof
substancesthatcausesymptomssimilartoan
existingdiseasewouldacutelyaggravatethe
conditionandpresentothersideeffects.
•Thusheadvocatedthedilutionofthe
substancetothepointwherethesymptoms
werenolongerpresent.

17. •Liquidsaredilutedwithalcohol(ethanol),
water,oralcohol/watermixtures,whereas
insolublepowdersaredilutedwithlactose
(milksugar).

18. Dynamization and Dilution
•Dilutionsareperformedastenoronehundred
foldsteps.
•Dilutionsof1:10aredesignatedintheU.S.by
theRomanNumeralX
–1X=1/10,
–2X=1/100,
–3X=1/1000,etc.

19. Dynamization and Dilution
•Dilutionsof1:100aredesignatedbythe
RomanNumeralC
–1C=1/100,
–2C=1/10,000,
–3C=1/1,000,000,etc.

20. Dynamization and Dilution
•A12C(or24X)dilution,thereisa50/50
chanceofonemoleculebeingpresent.

21. Dynamization
•Theprocessofdilutioncombinedwith
successiontoincreasehealingpotencyruns
countertothemodernprinciplesof
Pharmacology.
•Conventionalpractitionersandhomeopaths
generallyagreethattheamountofactive
substancepresentinahomeopathicremedyis
toosmalltohaveaneffectonitsown(thisis
whytheycanbemarketedoverthecounteras
harmless).

22. 7. Law of Vital force
•Itstatedthat“Life”dependsonanimportant
andundetectable“VitalForce”whichruns
throughthebodyknownasVitalismwhichif
disturbedwillleadtoillnessordisease.
•Homeopathymedicinerestoresthevital
energybalanceandstimulatesthebody’sown
healingresponse.Vitalforceshasabilityto
reactandadopttointernalandexternal
causes.

23. Diagnosis
•Homeopathyusuallycollectanextremelydetailedcasehistory
•Patientsareaskedtodescribetheirmedicalhistory&current
symptoms
•Themajorsymptom’slocation,sensation,modalityis
investigated
•Presence/absenceofsymptomsaccordingtochangesin
weather,season,timeofday,etc.recorded
•Detailedinformationaboutpatient’smood&behaviour,likes
&dislike,responsestostressconditions,reactionstofood,etc
recorded
•Allthisstudyhelpstobuildupa“symptomspicture’’ofthe
patient.This“symptompicture”ismatchedwiththe“drug
picture”mentionedinhomeopathicMateriaMedicaandfinally
treatmentisstarted

24. Treatment
•Practionersalwaysattempttogivesinglemedicinewhich
correspondswiththepatientsgeneralsymptoms.
•Twopatientswithidenticaldiagnosismayreceivedifferent
medicines
•Sometreatmentconsistofonly2ormoredoseswhilesome
areprescribedasaregulardailydosefor2-6weeks
•Progressisviewedfromtime-to-time(followup)
•Suitablealterationaremadeinmedicine&dilution
•Ifthesymptomschangesduringfollowup,prescriptionis
changedalthoughdiagnosisremainthesame.
•Incaseofrecurrence,treatmentisreplacedwiththehigher
potency
•Homeopathypractionersmostlytreatchronic&resurrect
illnessessuchasrheumatism,asthma,migraine,fatigue,
irritablebowelsyndrome,psychologicaldisorders,etc.

25. Homeopathic medicine preparation
process
•Thereareprincipallythreeessential
processesinvolvedinthepreparationof
remedies.Theseprocessare:
1.Serial Dilution
2.Succussion
3.Trituration

26. 1. Serial dilution
•Serialdilutionistheprocessforreducingthe
toxicityoftheoriginalcrudedrugina
sequentialorder
•Increasesthepotentisation
•Togetsinglemolecule
•Serialdilutionisoneofthecorefoundational
practicesofhomeopathy

27. 2. Succussion
•Succussionisaprocessofpotentisation,bywhich
preparationofmedicinetakesplacebytheuseofa
liquidvehiclelikealcoholorwater,byshakingin
definitemethod.
•Vehicle for succussion:
Alcoholis used in most of the cases, except in cases
where the medicinal substances are only soluble in
water

28. 3. Trituration
•Triturationisaprocessofpotentisation,bywhichpreparationof
medicinetakesplacebytheuseofasolidvehiclelikesugarof
milk,bygrindingindefiniteorder
•Drugsubstancesaretrituratedupto3Cor6X.Thesearethen
convertedtoaliquidpotencyandfurtherpotentisationiscarried
outbytheprocessofsuccussion.
•Vehicle for Trituration
Sugar of milk is used for the process of trituration because the
preservative properties of sugar of milk are superior to cane sugar
and most other substances. Its crystalline particles are very hard
and grittyand hence are of great use in grinding down the
particles of drugs during trituration.

29. •Serialdilution,Succussion&titurationissupposed
toincreasetheeffectivenessofthedrugafter
dilution
•Thesethreestepsarecombinedtogetherisknown
aspotentisationprocess.
•ForpreparationofHomeopathypotenciesofliquid
drugsthreemajorscalesareused:
1.Decimalscale:thefirstpotencyofthiscontains
1/10
th
partoforiginaldrugs
2.Centesimalscale:thefirstpotencyofthiscontains
1/100
th
partoftheoriginaldrugs
3.Millesimalscale:thefirstpotencyofthiscontains
1/1000
th
partoftheoriginaldrugs

30. •Centesimalscaleor“C-scale”wascreatedby
Dr.Hahnemannwhichincludesdilutinga
substancebyafactor100ateachstage.
•Onepartofthemothertincture(original/non-
dilutedremedy)isdilutedin100partofwater
oralcohol.Thisisknowas1Cdilution.

31. •Therefore,1Cpotentialzedsolution
is1partmothertincturein100
th
part
ofwater/alcohol
•2Cpotentialzedsolutionis1part
mothertincturein10,000of
water/alcohol
•3Cpotentisedsolutionis1part
mothertincturein10,00000of
water/alcohol

32. Why use homeopathy?
•Homeopathyisgentleandeffectivesystemofmedicine.
•Homeopathygiveslonglastingtopermanentcure.
•Homeopathytreatsthepatientasawholeandnotjustthe
disease.
•Homeopathicremediesaregentle,non-toxic,harmless,safe
andwithoutanyside-effects.
•UnlikeAntibiotics,homeopathicremediesdonotdisturb
digestivesystemnordotheylowertheimmunesystem
(Body’sresistance).
•Homeopathyisfriendlytochildren,youngandold.
•Inmostofthecaseshomeopathycanavoidsurgery.
•Homeopathyisveryeffectiveinvariousallergicdisordersin
additiontootherdiseasesofallkinds.
•HomeopathyisagiftofGodaswellasblessingstotheailing
humanbeings.

33. •Homeopathyisaboon(helpfulorbeneficial)inthehandsof
qualifieddoctors(ClassicalHomeopaths)whostrictlyfollowthe
rulesandinstructionslaiddownbyDr.S.Hahnemanninhis
book"OrganonofMedicine".Mixopathy(combinesdifferent
systemsoftreatment)hasnoplaceinhomeopathy.
•Homeopathyisequallyeffectiveandsafetohumanbeings,
animalsandbirds.
•Homeopathicremediesdonothaveexpirydates,providedthey
arekeptproperly.
•Itisfoundeduponthesteadfastpillarsoftruthandwillever
morebeso.
•Homeopathictreatmentisgiventocorrecttherootcauseofthe
illness.
•Homeopathicmedicinesareadministeredinminutedosesthat
actgentlyandstimulatethebody’sself-healingresponse.

34. •Homeopathicremediesareallnaturalmedicines.
•Homeopathictreatmentisidealtooptimizethebody’snatural
defencesagainstmicrobes.Withtheappropriatehomeopathic
treatment,peoplerecoverfrominfectiousdiseases,eventhe
mostseriousones,gentlyandrapidly.
•Homeopathyworksinharmonywiththeimmunesystem,
unlikeAllopathicDrugswhichsuppressanddestroythe
immunesystem.
•Homeopathicremediesarenotaddictive–oncereliefisfelt,
patientshouldstoptakingthem.

35. Controversies
•Becauseofitsuseofhighlydilutemedicines.
•Forthehomeopathicpractitionerthemainproblemistofind
themedicinewhichmostcloselymatchesthediseaseandthe
typeofpatient.
•Thehomeopathicmedicinessoldinmostpharmaciesinthe
UKarein6cand30cdilutions.Whilethe6cdilutionislikely
tocontainmoleculesofthestartingsubstance,itisextremely
unlikelythata30cdilutiondoes.Suchdilutionsarecalled
‘ultra-molecular’.
•Memoryofwaterisjustoneofseveraltheoriesunder
considerationastothemechanismofhowhomeopathymay
work.Muchmoreresearchisneededinthisfield.

36. Risks/Effects
•Certainhomeopathicproducts(called“nosodes”or
“homeopathicimmunizations”)havebeenpromoted
bysomeassubstitutesforconventional
immunizations,butdatatosupportsuchclaimsis
lacking.
•manyhomeopathicremediesarehighlydiluted,some
productssoldorlabelledashomeopathicmaynotbe
highlydiluted;theycancontainsubstantialamounts
ofactiveingredients.
•Likeanydrugordietarysupplementthatcontains
chemicalingredients,thesehomeopathicproducts
maycausesideeffectsordruginteractions.

37. •Asystematicreviewfoundthathighlydiluted
homeopathicremedies,takenunderthesupervision
oftrainedprofessionals,aregenerallysafeand
unlikelytocausesevereadversereactions.However,
likeanydrugordietarysupplement,theseproducts
couldposerisksiftheyareimproperlymanufactured
(forexample,iftheyarecontaminatedwith
microorganismsorincorrectlydiluted).
•https://www.drhomeo.com/side-effects-of-
homeopathy/

38. Crude drugs/minerals used in
homeopathy
Aconitum napellus
Arsenicumalbum
Argentumnitricum
Calcareacarbonica
Gelsemium
Ignatiaamara
Kali phosphoricum
Lycopodium
Natrummuriaticum
Phosphorus
Pulsatilla
Silica
Cocculus