Allopathic and Homeopathic Health
Allopathy treats illness by attempting to eliminate the symptoms of the illness.
Allopathic and homeopathic medicines present two different views on how a human being can stay healthy. The views that the practitioner has will determine the approach that he will take to keep his clients healthy. One approach is to deal with the different levels of the human being such as the emotional and the mental levels of the human being and the other approach is to primarily focus on the body. The allopathic view is based on the idea that illness is a result of the body being attacked, and that something must be done to help the body to fight the invader. Sometimes this means taking out an infected organ. The homeopathic view is that we become sick because the body becomes weak. The body may become weak because of physical, emotional, and mental factors that are not conducive to good health.
The Caduceus symbol is commonly associated with modern medicine, but is historically associated with trade, eloquence, trickery, and negotiation.
The allopathic view is based on the theory that was developed by Louis Pasteur. We get sick because our body is being attacked by foreign substance such as germs, virus, and bacteria. The homeopathic view is based on the theory of Antoine Bechamp. The ideas behind Bechamp’s theory is that if someone takes care of themselves they do not get sick because of germs. According to Bechamp, germs serve a purpose, they are our friends because they only feed on the weak decaying tissues. These two fundamental concepts are what separate these two approaches to health. If we were to look at the word allopathy, and homeopathy the terms themselves will tell us the approach that the practitioner takes when it comes to healing the body.
The word allopathic comes from “allopathy” which was coined in 1810 by Samuel Hahnemann. The word originated from two greek words which are allos and pathos. Allos, means the opposite or other. Pathos means suffering or diseases. These two words were used to come up with the word allopathic. It’s use can be applied to both the practice and practitioner of that healing modality. The allopathic modality is the father of modern medicine. From the allopathic approach of medicine follow all the different specialties of modern medicine, such as pathology, urology, immunology, neurology, and so on. The allopathic approach deals with the treatment of the symptoms of the ailment.
Samuel Hahnemann also came up with the term homeopathic. The word Homeopathy is a combination of two words homoios, which is greek for similar and pathos. From these two words we have homeopathic. Mr. Hahnemann used to be an allopath. When he saw that he was doing more harm than good, he changed his approach from allopathy to homeopathy. He used to practice the heroic form of allopathic medicine during his time. In the heroic form of allopathy, the practitioner uses calomel or mercurous chloride which is highly toxic. Calomel is made of two element which are mercury and chlorine. It is a white or yellowish-white solid odorless compound. Allopaths used it as a purgative, which is a strong laxative to treat yellow fever and malaria. Allopath also used the practice of bloodletting to try to heal their clients. They also used many other toxic substances including lead and arsenic to try to heal their clients. This type of treatment was considered futile or very high risk, and most of their clients did not make it. The way of understanding illness during the heroic period of medicine, was based on the four humors. The idea behind that was illness was caused by some type of imbalance in the four humors which are blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. When these four substances were not in balance, according to this method, illness resulted.
All forms of medical knowledge originated in Kemet (Traditional African Civilization) even though Europeans such as Samuel Hahnemann (top right) are more commonly regarded as founders of modern medicine.
According to Samuel Hahnemann, the symptoms were the result of the body’s defense mechanisms. From his observation, any substance that produces symptoms of illness within the individual can be used to cure that illness. He saw symptoms as positives that should not be suppressed. It is a natural way that the body is healing itself. Based on the homeopathic view, there is only one disease. Even though people may display different types of symptoms, the underlying source is the person’s susceptibility. The best way to deal with that susceptibility is to effectively stimulate that individual’s immune system. By stimulating the immune system, we help it to do what it does naturally, which is to keep the human being healthy.
In the homeopathic modality, there is a five step process. The first step is called Case Taking. This is when the practitioner is asking all type of questions about the illness. The second step is Case Analysis; this is when the information that was gathered is evaluated. The third step is Select Medicine; the medicine that would work best in stimulating the immune system. The fourth step is Administer Medicine, and the fifth step is Observe; see how the client responds to treatment. The homeopathic approach is to make the body strong enough that it does not succumb to the illness, or to keep the body strong enough that it does not get sick. According to homeopathy, the best way to keep the body strong is by being mentally and emotionally stable. When the homeopath is asking the client questions, he or she is trying to get to the source of the ailment. The source could be mental emotional or physical.
People who follow the allopathic approach to medicine often use drugs and/or surgery to treat the human body. The drugs used are intended to have the contrary effect to the disease. It is intended to fight the disease, and get rid of the disease.
An example of this approach is that if you are hot with a fever, you would be put in cold water to bring down the fever, or you can use drugs that would have the same effect. The problem with the drugs that are used is that they have side effects which are negative to the client. Those drugs deal with only the symptoms of the disease, not the cause. That means the cause of the disease is still there. For instance, if someone has cancer, that cancer does not just develop overnight. This is something that may have taken years to develop. When they treat the symptoms even if the individual is cured of the symptoms, that individual may end-up in a worse position later on, because they have not taken care of the cause of the illness. They could end-up damaging the body in the process of curing the symptoms.
Everything that we have in our body is important. Each part affects the whole body. The homeopathic approach is to consider the whole human being, and how everything in our lives may influence our physical health. That approach is the holistic approach. That is similar to the way our ancestors approach healing the human being. For thousand of years people all over the world approached healing themselves in a holistic way. Any type of imbalance in these different aspects of our being is going to affect our whole being. Life is about balance and harmony; therefore, everything that we do should be in balance. Lack of balance in our life due to lifestyle could be a direct cause of the illness that we have. The best way to deal with that is to find out the source of our imbalance and find help to deal with those imbalances. We have to learn how to take care of ourselves.