Homeopathy as practiced today is credited to Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, a German medical doctor from the mid-1800’s. The governing principle of homeopathic medicine is ìSimilia Similibus Curenturî or ìlike cures likeî. This concept is based on using a very diluted form of a substance to treat a condition or group of symptoms, which in its full strength would cause the same set of symptoms in the patient. These remedies are made from plants, minerals, drugs, viruses, bacteria or animal substances. Homeopathic remedies work on the deep energetic level of the patient to undermine the constitutional cause of the disease, rather than mask its symptoms.
Homeopathy is very effective in pets. In choosing an appropriate homeopathic remedy, the practitioner must be thoroughly acquainted with the western medical examination, conventional diagnosis, particular behavior characteristics and situational conditions of the patient. The mental and emotional disturbances may be difficult to discern, since most pet owners do not fully understand the normal behavior and nature of the species.
The practice of homeopathy involves the matching of the patientís symptoms with an appropriate remedy. The first step involves making a list of the clinical signs from an evaluation and thorough history of the patient. This list is then used to look up rubrics, or lists of potential remedies, for each clinical sign from a homeopathic repertory. The rubrics are compared for overlapping remedies, which are selected as possible treatments. These are then compared in a homeopathic materia medica, which describes all the symptoms potentially treated with that remedy. The remedy that matches the symptoms or clinical signs most accurately is selected as the first remedy of choice. The most detailed repertories and materia medicas are based on human symptoms and proofs, however limited veterinary references are available and continue to be developed. The potency and frequency are selected based on the severity of the condition and the characteristics of the patient.
Homeopathic remedies are made by serial dilutions of toxic substances that would cause symptoms similar to those being treated if used in full strength. Substances are diluted serially, either in 1/10 (X potency) or 1/100 (C potency) stages. Therefore, a 30C potency is a tincture of the homeopathic substance diluted 1/100, thirty times. Succession is carried out at each stage to release the curative energy of the substance to imprint on the memory of the water at the energetic level, as well as removes the toxic and harmful effects of the substance. The end result is a homeopathic substance that only contains the energetic signature of the toxic substance, but no physical amount of the substance itself.