The history of the principle ‘like cures like’ can be found in the writings of Hippocrates, which date from the 5th Century BC, and has been echoed through the ages in folk cures, such as rubbing chilblains with snow.
A German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann rediscovered this principle in the late 18th century. His starting point was the contemporary use of quinine to treat malaria, allegedly due to its bitter qualities. Using himself as a guinea pig, he took regular doses of quinine and developed malaria-like symptoms. He concluded that it was quinine’s ability to cause malaria-like reaction that made it effective against the disease. He then set about to prove that a poison that causes symptoms of illness in a healthy person can treat the same symptoms in someone who is ill. Substances are diluted many times to make a remedy that is safe to use, yet has enough ‘likeness’ between the remedy and the illness to stimulate the body’s self-healing abilities.
Homoeopathy is one of the most popular complementary therapies. Well established in Europe, Australia, India and South Africa.
Managing side effects of conventional treatments i.e. nausea as a result of chemotherapy. At Integrative Veterinary Care, homoeopathy is used to support healing in combination with acupuncture and herbal medicine.