In 1796 a German doctor, Samual Hahnemann, discovered a different approach to the cure of the sick which he called homeopathy (from the Greek works meaning ‘similar suffering’). At the time he was trying to discover which natural substances might be used for treating specific illnesses. He had observed that cinchona bark, the treatment of the day for malaria, was found to produce the same intermittent fevers as those seen in malaria when given to normal, healthy individuals. Thus, he theorized, the side effects of a specific medicinal substance could provide prescribing guidelines for its healing properties. Take, for example, something as simple as an onion. Being in close proximity to recently cut onions will usually cause immediate irritation to the eyes, leading to watering, a runny nose and copious clear nasal discharge.

Now, if a patient presents with early cold symptoms such as a runny nose and itchy watery eyes, a homeopath may well prescribe allium cepa. Allium cepa is the name of the remedy prepared from red onions. This is a perfect example of the way of the similars, the homeopathic way.

The way of the opposites is the way of conventional medicine (allopathy). In a case such as the one above, a medicine would be used to counter the effects of the cold by artificially drying up the eyes and the nose. This frequently involves the use of regular doses of drugs which can sometimes produce unwanted side effects, rebound symptoms when the medicine is withdrawn or even addiction.

Homeopathic remedies don’t cause side effects and are non-addictive. Only a very minute amount of the active ingredient is used in a specially prepared form. They are mostly derived from plant, animal or mineral sources.

You will be given a remedy which matches the particular way you experience your physical symptoms and which takes into account the sort of person you are emotionally too. This way of prescribing/treating is known as the holistic approach. Its aim is to treat the whole person, not just a part of them.