Suzy Cain

Homeopathy is a holistic medicine which uses specially prepared, highly diluted substances (given mainly in tablet form) with the aim of triggering the body’s own healing mechanisms. It’s based on a series of ideas developed in the 1790s by a German doctor called Samuel Hahnemann, who was looking for a way to reduce the damaging side effects associated with the medical treatment of his day. It is used on an extremely wide range of conditions, including physical conditions such as asthma and psychological conditions such as depression. A homeopath will prescribe medicines according to the patient’s specific set of symptoms, and how they experience them, taking into account their overall level of health.

Homeopathy is based on the principle of “like treats like” – that is, a substance which can cause symptoms when taken in large doses, can be used in small amounts to treat similar symptoms. For example, drinking too much coffee can cause sleeplessness and agitation, so according to this principle, when made into a homeopathic medicine, it could be used to treat people suffering from sleeplessness and agitation.

A homeopath’s job is to gain a thorough understanding of your health and the exact symptoms you are experiencing. With detailed knowledge they can find a homeopathic medicine (known as a ‘remedy’) that matches you and your symptoms as closely as possible. During the first consultation, you will be asked lots of questions to build up a complete picture, taking into account a wide variety of factors such as medical history, personality traits, stress triggers, likes and dislikes, lifestyle and dreams. Because homeopathy looks at the whole picture, patients who have the same diagnosed illness – hay fever, for example – are each likely to need different homeopathic medicines.