The homeopathic system is based on four important premises: healing implies wholeness; all healing is self-healing; a very tiny amount of a substance supports healing both more gently and more profoundly than a larger amount of the same substance; the best treatment for any disease is a substance that in a healthy person would prod

Samuel Hahnemann, M.D. in Germany in the late 1700s, initiated homeopathy. Dr. Hahnemann wanted to find a way to help people heal without the harsh side effect that often followed medical treatment. Hahnemann did not invent these ideas. They date from the time of the classical Greeks and Romans, particularly the followers of Hippocrates. Like Hippocrates two thousand years earlier he realized that there were two ways of treating ill health, the way of opposites and the way of similars (Homeopathy Simply Explained, 1). The Renaissance doctor Paracelsus developed and studied these precepts more in depth. Hahnemann systematized the study of these principles; the first time a medical doctor had conducted thorough empirical studies to determine with what, when, and how often to treat patients (Care Path Partners, 1). Homeopathy was brought to the United States (beginning in 1825) by several doctors who had studied in Europe. They, in turn, converted other doctors to homeopathic practice. By the late 40's, no courses in homeopathy were taught in the U.S. The American Foundation for Homeopathy began to teach homeopathy as a post-graduate course for doctors in 1922, and the courses, now run by the National Center for Homeopathy, have continued to this day (NCH, 2).

Over the years several theories have been proposed to explain how homeopathic medicines actually work. What physiological mechanisms make this procedure effective? The effects of microdoses have been known for a long time, and there are a number of examples that support the idea that very diluted concentrations of a substance will have a measurable and sometimes profound effect. Scientists call this phenomenon: hormesis. For example, our own bodies secrete minute amounts of hormones that have powerful effects. Another theory on the physiological mechanisms involved in homeopathy is pheromones. Pheromones are powerful aromatic hormone-like substances that creatures secrete to attract one another. One molecule of moth pheromone is so potent it will attract another moth from miles away and trigger a cascade of physical reactions. Though well documented, the exact mechanism for pheromones remains unknown. A third theory is that Homeopathic remedies are believed to work in the spiritual plane as opposed to the physical plane as we are used to think and measure. Hahnemann believed that dilution and succussion released a spirit- like power that worked on the spiritual level of the vital force in humans (Homeopathic Medicine, 1).

Homeopathic medicines are drug products made by homeopathic pharmacies in accordance with the processes descri

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