(NaturalNews) Homeopathic medicine has a long, successful history of prevention and treatment of illness without harmful side effects. Documentation spanning several centuries has shown the incredible effectiveness of homeopathy during some of the most deadly epidemics in history.
Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician in the 1800s, is considered the father of homeopathy. Dr. Hahnemann, a man deeply rooted in the scientific method, critically condemned the medical practices of the day such as bloodletting and purging with medicines made with mercury, lead, and arsenic. He discovered the "Law of Similars" while researching cinchona bark which is used to treat malaria. Hahnemann, in perfect health, began taking this Peruvian bark two times a day for several days. He reported that he began showing identical symptoms to malaria. Upon conclusion of the experiment, he realized medicinal substances create symptoms in healthy people that were almost identical to the diseases they were meant to treat. This was the beginning of Dr. Hahnemann's distinguished career in homeopathy which lead to widespread acceptance of his method around the world.
Epidemics: Fertile ground for the usefulness of homeopathy
Homeopathic medicine has been used successfully by Hahnemann and others for treatment during some of the most devastating epidemics in history. During the European Typhus Epidemic of 1813, those treated in homeopathic hospitals had a mortality rate of less than 1 percent while those treated with allopathic
medicine had a mortality rate well over 30 percent. Documentation for the Russian Cholera Epidemic of 1831 confirmed a death rate of under 10 percent for those treated homeopathically while conventional treatments had a death rate of up to 80 percent.
During the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 that claimed the lives of millions,
homeopathic hospitals had a remarkably low mortality rate. Twenty-six thousand cases of the flu were treated homeopathically with 1.05 percent mortality rate while the 24,000 cases that were treated allopathically had a mortality rate of 28.2 percent. Gelsemium was the most commonly used remedy for the H1N1 influenza virus of the pandemic.
Hahnemann was inspired to use homeopathic medicine as a preventative while treating several ailing children in two families. The first family had three children out of four who were ill with scarlet fever. The fourth, who was taking Belladonna for a finger joint problem at the time, remained free from the illness.
Shortly after, a family with eight children, three of which were already infected with scarlet fever, requested Dr. Hahnemann's expertise to help protect the other five children. Once again, he used Belladonna with positive result. All five children escaped the illness even though they were exposed repeatedly to their unwell siblings. After observing the protective effects of Belladonna against scarlet fever, Hahnemann continued to use this remedy with extraordinary success during epidemics.
Additional disease prevented by homeopathy
During a 1902 smallpox outbreak in Iowa, a Dr. Eaton reported that 2806 people were given Variolinum as a preventative. The rate of protection was an astounding 97 percent which was unheard of in allopathic medicine.
The
British Medical Journal reported that during the 1974 meningitis outbreak in Brazil, those who were given Menigococcium prophylaxis were protected from developing the
disease 23 more times than those who did not receive treatment.
Homeopathic medicine has also been shown to be astonishingly effective in preventing polio. In several studies involving over 11,000 children, Lathyrus Sativus was given as a 'vaccine' against the disease. Not a single case of polio was reported nor were there any documented side effects.
As safe alternative to conventional medicine,
homeopathy is remarkably beneficial in preventing and treating many of the most dangerous communicable diseases known to man.
Sources for this article include:"Samuel Hahnemann. Founder of Homeopathy," Altmed. Creighton Education. Retrieved on January 28, 2012 from:
http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/history.htm"Homeopathy in Epidemics and Pandemics," Jayney Goddard FCMA, Lic.LCCH, Dip.ACH, Scientific Research in Homeopathy Conference. Retrieved on January 28, 2012 from:
http://www.slideshare.net"Homeopathic Prophylaxis: Fact or Fiction," National Center for Homeopathy, October 2006. Retrieved on January 30, 2012 from:
http://www.homeopathic.org"What is Homeopathy? Definition and Details," Alan V. Schmukler, Hpathy, November 2009. Retrieved on January 31, 2012 from:
http://hpathy.com"Human Homeopathic Prevention: Records, Studies and Trials," Homeopathy Plus. Retrieved on January 31, 2012 from:
http://homeopathyplus.com.auAbout the author:Carolanne enthusiastically believes if we want to see change in the world, we need to be the change. As a nutritionist, natural foods chef and wellness coach, Carolanne has encouraged others to embrace a healthy lifestyle of organic living, gratefulness and joyful orientation for over 13 years. Through her website
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