Why do most of the homeopaths in Pakistan refuse to give names of the medicines they prescribe?

Every patient has a right to know what he is being prescribed. In some cases, however, it may be to patient’s own interest if the homoeopath withholds the name of the remedy. However, if the patient insists, the homeopath should readily oblige him, informing him of the possible impediments and difficulties caused by unnecessary repetitions or too long ingestion.  If a homeopath withholds the name of the remedy, despite a request by the patient, that can be for considerations other than the patient’s well-being. Either the homeopath lacks confidence in what he prescribes or fears the patient would dump him. The homeopath-patient relationship should be one of mutual trust and regard for each other’s responsibilities, obligations and interests.

What should I give to my son, Belladonna 30 or Bapatisia 30 for fever?

What should I give to my son, Belladonna 30 or Bapatisia 30 for fever? A few days back, my daughter, aged 7, and son, aged 9, caught fever. A local homoeopath prescribed Belladonna 30 for my daughter and Baptisia 30 for my son. Both made a quick recovery. Now my another son, aged 5, has caught fever. I wonder, whether I should give him Belladonna 30 or Baptisia 30?

Homoeopathy has more than a hundred remedies for different varieties of fevers. Belladonna and Baptisia are two of them. In majority of the cases, where the onset is sudden, characterized by restlessness, heat, redness of the face, tossing about, anxiety, Belladonna and Baptisia (and also Aconite) often help but not all cases of fevers are covered by these three remedies. Without a full case, it is difficult to say whether your son needs Belladonna, Baptisia or some other remedy. Please consult your homoeopath. After taking the case in accordance with the requirements of homoeopathy, he will be able to prescribe a remedy most suited to your son’s symptoms. Please also see "What is different about homeopathy".

What is the best medicine for arthritis?

The best remedy for a given disease differs from case to case in homoeopathy as the remedy is not selected for the disease name but for the patient as a whole taking into account the striking symptoms and modalities of his problems as well as his personal characteristics. In one case of arthritis, Bryonia alba may work but in the other it may not do any good and Rhus toxicodendron may help. Yet in the third case, the patient may not benefit from any of the two and may need Causticum or  Pulsatilla or any other remedy according to the particular indications and personal characteristics. So in that sense, there is no best remedy for any disease in homoeopathy. The medicine that works in a given case is the best for that case ONLY.

A disappointing experience about homoeopathy!

Quite contrary to what others say about homoeopathy, I have had a disappointing experience. A few months back, a Karachi-based homoeopathic doctor, who writes columns for evening newspapers and claims to be foreign qualified and suffixes a number of degrees after his name, advised a certain number, CH number or BP number (I do not remember now) for height growth and two or three other “numbers” for weight gain. I used these medicines for three months without any success. Are the medical columns appearing in newspapers just advertisement stuff?

You are right, these columns are meant for promotion of certain un-homoeopathic mixtures and combinations under the guise of “homoeopathic medicines”!  There is no room for mixtures or combinations in homoeopathy. Homoeopathy insists on administration of just one remedy (called single remedy) at a time. To learn how homoeopathy goes about treating a case, please see Patient-oriented approach in my piece, “What is different about homoeopathy”. Also see "What is the difference between single and multi-ingredient medicines?"

It is time, the different NGOs working for rational use of medicine, chalked out a strategy to prevent such a big fraud. Our government should also wake up to the gravity of the situation.

Are Combination Numbers really effective?

I have used more than three bottles each of Combination Numbers of at least two local and four foreign homoeopathic manufacturing companies for my joint-pains but the complaint returns as soon as I stop these medicines. Shall I have to be on them for life?

No,  Insha Allah. What you need to do is immediately stop these medicines and consult a competent homoeopath. He will give you a specific prescription most suited to your form of joint-pains.

It  seems pertinent to point out, why the medicines you took for so long gave just temporary relief! There are several remedies (more than 127) which specifically affect joints. You may need 1-3 or more SINGLE remedies at different times during the course of treatment under a competent homoeopath. To know which remedy (out of  a long list of more than 127 remedies) would be more suitable for you would require a lot of information about YOU and your complaints and an in-depth analysis of this information as in homoeopathy, each case of joint-pain, as of any other medical problem, needs to be individualized. Individualization is essential because each individual is different from the other and  suffers in his/her own unique way, therefore, each one requires a different set of remedies although the diagnosis may be the same such as arthritis, gout, etc.

Since the Combination NUMBERS (multi-ingredient medicines) are a GENERALIZED concoction of usually 4-8 or more medicines for a certain complaint ONLY e.g. arthritis, asthma, eczema, etc.,  they do not act deep enough to touch the right chords and fail to stimulate the immune system to produce a long lasting beneficial effect. Strictly speaking Combination NUMBERS are not prepared in accordance with the principles of homeopathic pharmacy as they contain several ingredients mixed in low strength while homoeopathy advocates use of just one remedy (not multi-ingredient medicines as in your case) at a time. Further, there is no dependable scientific study to support the claims about the efficacy and safety of Combination Numbers. While evidence suggests, they are not totally ineffective, they have all the potential to complicate a case by suppressing or masking the original symptoms of the disease. If not anything else, their use can delay the proper medical care.

What is the difference between single and multi-ingredient medicines?

A single remedy is a widely researched and studied remedy which before its use in the clinic has been extensively tested on healthy human volunteers (usually students of homeopathy and homeopathic physicians) for its effects. Single remedies used appropriately are 100% safe.

Multi-ingredient medicines are a concoction of two or more single remedies usually in low strength – Ø, 1X, 2X, 3X, 3C, 6C, etc. The problem with multi-ingredient medicines is that they contain homoeopathic ingredients but the method of their preparation is not that of homoeopathic pharmacy.  Further, there is no dependable scientific study to support the claims about the efficacy and safety of these medicines. While evidence suggests, they are not totally ineffective, they have all the potential to complicate a case by suppressing or masking original symptoms of the patient. If not anything else, their use can delay the proper medical care.

What do health, disease and cure mean from homoeopathic point of view?

Health is a balanced state where all organs and systems of the body perform in a harmonious way and the individual has a sense and feeling of wellness  – both physically and mentally. Disease is a departure from normalcy in functions and sensations. Each one of us has the natural capacity to overcome disease. We fall ill because this natural capacity becomes subdued due to a number of factors such as stress, bacteria, virus, environmental or medicinal pollution, extremes of weather, etc. The energized homoeopathic doses provide a light stimulus to our defense system and it once again becomes active. As a result, we return to health.

Do homoeopaths recognise the findings of laboratory tests?

Yes, but they do not base their prescriptions on those findings alone. For example, in a case of urinary tract infection, the lab tests would identify the “responsible organism” and show to which antibiotics it is resistant and to which it is sensitive. At this point, the allopath would start the treatment but a homoeopath would proceed to seek more information (For details, please see, What is different? and About homoeopathy) to select a remedy most suited to that particular case as homeopathy does not consider the organisms to be the root cause of disease. We get infected only when our defense system fails to show a resistance strong enough to ward off the effects of these organisms. The presence of organisms is, therefore, just an exciting cause, not the primary cause. The object of homoeopathic treatment is not to kill the organism but to put the system in proper order so that it no longer serves as a host to it or provides a breeding or thriving ground for its multiplication.

It is called that "only the literate persons uses Homoeopathy as their way of treatment only".