Homeopathy vs Allopathy
In previous posts, I have attempted to lay out in simple terms the What and Why of Homeopathy. In this article I will undertake to explain why NOT Allopathy.
The term “Allopathy” was coined by Dr. Hahnemann in the early 1800’s to distinguish his practice of Homeopathy from conventional medicine of the day. Allos is the Greek for “other” and pathos is “suffering”. The meaning is that allopathic treatment or medications should produce the opposite of whatever symptoms the Sufferer is experiencing.
In the early 1800’s, popular treatments of the Allopathic physician included bloodletting (aka “lancing”), poisoning by mercury and other minerals, blistering, emetic or laxative purgation, or a “change of air” (move to the desert or the coast, etc.). One immediately shakes their head and thinks “no wonder Dr. Hahnemann turned away from Allopathy! It is so much more enlightened now!”
Is it? According to Medical News Today, “Conventional (allopathic) medicine treatment modalities include pharmacological drugs, surgery, and radiation therapies.” Allopathy today depends heavily upon large doses of “medications” cooked up in a laboratory and whose recipe is manipulated to make it unique enough to warrant a profit-producing patent.
Sir William Osler, MD, one of the founders and “physician-in-chief” of Johns Hopkins Hospital, was a renowned professor of medicine. He established the first residency program for the training of physicians, and became known as “The Father of Modern Medicine” for his pioneering work in medical assessment, diagnosis and education. As committed as he was to developing a better allopathy, he was not a fan of allopathic medications and understood that allopathic medications are not without risk. In fact, Dr. Osler went so far as to say, “One of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicine.”
Many believe that a medication approved by the FDA and prescribed by their physician will cause them no harm. Isn’t that part of the Oath taken by physicians – “to do no harm”? Actually, the FDA will approve medications for sale when they believe studies conducted by the manufacturing pharmacies show that the benefits outweigh the risks. But according to Medical NewsToday, (allopathic) medication risks include:
harmful interactions with food, supplements or other prescription medications.
allergic reactions to a specific ingredient within the medication.
unexpected side effects or adverse effects when the medication works differently in the individual from what the doctor expected.
The person who takes medicine must recover twice, once from the disease and once from the medicine. ~ Sir William Osler, M.D.
Homeopathic medications are not known to interact with allopathic medications, nor do they have “side effects”. Homeopathic medications are not laboratory experiments. Most of the frequently-used homeopathic remedies have been around and manufactured according to the same “recipe” for about 200 years. The “recipe” doesn’t change when an exclusive patent expires or because there is not enough profit in remedy. As a matter of fact, homeopathic medications can’t be patented because there is no unique laboratory formula to manipulate; they are gentle, single-ingredient medications, diluted and potentized in the same manner established by Dr. Hahnemann over two centuries ago.
Is there a place for Allopathy? Absolutely. For all those things that cannot be corrected by lifestyle choices, proper nutrition and the gentle prodding of homeopathic remedies, there is Anesthesia, Surgery, Trauma care, to name a few. I am grateful for these medical achievements when they are necessary. But, for the symptoms within my control, I choose the gentle, polite medicine of Homeopathy.