Modern guidelines in homeopathy

In the article says about the modern directions in homeopathy, about advantages of application of homeopathic medicines in comparison with traditional medicine.

Treatment of various diseases by a homeopathic method, is convenient and safe as homeopathic medicines have pharmacodynamics, can cause a medicinal aggravation, but have no pharmacokinetics - don't cause collateral action and a medicinal illness.

Nowadays there is an increased interest of different specialty physicians in homeopathy particularly in connection with the side effects occurring in contemporary drug therapy. Homeopathy-(« effecting in the same direction» or« similar disease») is the therapy the key principle of which was formulated by Hahnemann S. as «Similia similibus curantur» («similar is treated with similar»). It is a «setting therapy», the method of «disease eradication but not the management of its separate symptoms», mild correction of shielding- adaptive mechanisms without any side effects which with the help of extremely small dozes of medication ordered according to law of similarity brings to fairly quick and reliable outcome. (1, 2) Homeopathy has arisen in the bowels of clinical medicine and is being continued to exist in them. All provisions of physiology, pathologic anatomy, biochemistry, immunology, genetics and other medical sciences are used in homeopathy. Therefore traditional therapy (allopathy) and homeopathy are united with general clinical approach to a patient: understanding of organism integration, striving to clarify the pathology essence, prognosticating its clinical course, evaluating and using constitutional features of the organism, genetic heredity and disease clinical implications. (3)

Currently when in spite of medical science achievements there are being continuously increased the cases of complications from the illnesses and many pharmaceutical substances cause hazardous side effect the human world more and more gets interested in alternative treatment methods to which belongs the homeopathy as well. This system considering a human being as an organic whole (in distinction from narrowly focused specialists examining the organism piecemeal) is harmless and quite often efficient while universally acknowledged treatment modes are helpless. Not substituting traditional medicine the homeopathy widens and deepens physicians' knowledge and represents its own direction in medicine.

Principal difference of homeopathy from other directions using pharmacological substances is what it has a single method of pharmaceutical substances selection (principle of similarity) from the range of utmost small dozes. Interaction between organism and homeopathic substance occurs not at the chemical level but at informational one and will operate on the organism provided it has been selected for a patient particularly based on similarity principle. Human being organism is an integrated informational-energetic system and homeopathic substances operate in compliance with physical laws and laws of quantum physics as regulators of the system herein.

Homeopathic pharmaceutical substances have got pharmacodynamics, they can cause medication exacerbation but have no pharmakokinetics , i.e. do not cause side effect and drug disease.

There are several treatment methods in homeopathy. Classical (unitary) homeopathy as therapeutic conception proceeds from the premise that every human being in live or inorganic nature has a certain aptitude in the form of a definite substance (element, plant, animal) and it is based on the principles(1,2):

• principle of similarity which means that the diseases can be treated with the means promoting similar objective and subjective symptomatology of healthy people;
• potentiation (dynamization) of substances with the aim of receiving homeopathic substances;
• testing substances at healthy people.

Classical homeopathy offers treatment with one individually selected homeopathic substance.

In contemporary homeopathy there are several treatment methodologies. Recently the practice of simultaneous use of several homeopathic substances - «pluralistic direction» has found wide application. Defenders of pluralistic theory prescribe several substances during a day or per days. Modern homeopathic pluralism at its core does not contradict to unitary theory of classic homeopathy. The founder of homeopathic treatment method Hahnemann S also prescribed several substances in the treatment process but applied them in strict sequence one by one.

Combined homeopathic pharmaceutical substances are widely used. They are designated for treatment of cold, headache, insomnia, etc. Each of such substances designated for home use without homeopathic physician's control represents a mixture of several homeopathic substances most frequently applied at a definite dysfunction. Those substances have been named as «complex substances» and physicians prescribing such substances are named as «complexists».

Complex method can be applied:

• as an initial stage of homeopathic treatment of weakened patients with severely distorted symptoms due to prescribing a lot of allopathic substances;
• at acute cases when there is no time for thorough studying the symptoms, for instance, at acute lactation mastitis when the only alternative is surgeon's lancet;
• for the purpose of disease prevention, for example, acute virus infections during epidemics.

The more acute the state which shall be overcome the more efficient the averaged complex substance.

Complex homeopathic substances are successfully used in therapy, neuropathology, surgery, dermatology, pediatrics, ophthalmology and other fields of medicine.

Some physicians in order to define homeopathic substance for a patient use electronic devices designated for measuring electroskin resistance at certain acupuncture points. This methodology newly developed by German physician Voll R. was named as «Voll method». At present the method is actively being perfected and Volt's successors have reached sufficient success in treating a lot of acute and chronic diseases.(7)

Among other «non-classic» homeopathic systems there shall be admitted homotoxicology based upon the theory of Reckeweg H. on homotoxicosis as the source of all diseases development. From the point of view of Reckeweg H. the organism is able to apprehend independently what to do and how to develop. Therefore it is indispensable to render assistant to it instead of creating difficulties. Support to the organism lies in maintaining own regulatory mechanisms and efforts spent on that function contribute into more deep-rooted solution of the problem due to which the organism raised the temperature. These provisions of homotoxicology have been confirmed with fundamental scientific researches in the field of immunology and biochemistry throughout the duration of recent decades. The method of homotoxicology has been officially recognized by the World Health Organization since 2005.(4)

Flowery pharmaceutical substances have been developed by Bach , British bacteriologist and homeopathist. Watching the ill animals licking dew from different flowers Bach E. discovered healthiness of 38 flower species. He supposed that every flower matches definite emotional state. Therefore flowery substances of Bach are prescribed based exclusively on emotional and psychological symptoms; as for physiological symptoms they are not taken into account upon pharmaceutical substances selection. Practicing physicians have widened Bach's system having added flowers from various parts of the world to his list. (9)

Last century there occurred the alternative homeopathy of Ostreikovsky differing from classic homeopathy with peculiar approach to order homeopathic substances considering individual features of a patient. One of those substances is conventionally called « sycotic stabilizer». Offered approach to the treatment is based on clear-cut understanding of illness pathogenesis structure in light of contemporary medicine data in compliance with that interrelated substances' complex. Elaborated system of signs complex received during a patient questionnaire serves to implementation of that approach of substance selection. The author of the method has introduced the notion of « intentsia» (type of reaction) for designation of disadaptation pained reaction.(8)

For contemporary medicine one of the actual issues is the provision on matching or non-matching of homeopathic and allopathic treatment methods. Latest scientific researches prove that it is possible to use allopathic and homeopathic substances in combination. Linking of homeopathic treatment with other kinds of non-traditional medicine (acupuncture, laser and aromatherapy is as well conditioned with rampant development of medical science and great efficiency of complex treatment methods.

Thus homeopathy is an important method of medical effect at a patient's organism with its positive and negative aspects. There are a lot of unstudied issues in contemporary homeopathy. Therefore it is necessary to recapture further rational kernel of that treatment method by joint efforts of physicians, pharmaceutists homoeopathists, substantiate theoretical provisions and recommendations of homeopathy to confirm them and elaborate new homeopathic pharmaceutical substances.

REFERENCES

1. Hahnemann S. Organon of medical art. Under the editorship of Vysochansky A.V. - М.: Atlas, 1992. - Р.208
2. Hahnemann S. Treatment of chronic diseases and homeopathic doctrine. - M.:Appolo, 1993. - Р.229.
3. Berestova Ye.S. Concise medical guide for homeopathists. .-Х.: Edition of Kharkov University, 1991. - Р.78.
4. Krasnyuk I.I. Pharmaceutical homeopathy/ Krasnyuk I.I.. Mikhailova R.V. - M.:Academy, 2005. - 272p.
5. Lurjye L.Ye. “Classical homeopathy: Modern direction/ Lurjye L.Ye. and others// Traditional medicine, 2004. - #2. - Р.22-30.
6. Milgon L.R. Homeopathy and the new fundamentalism: a critigus of the critics / J. altern. Complement. Med., 2008. - vol.6. - № 5. - Р.592-594.
7. Samochin A.B. , Gotovski V.B Electropunctur diagnostic and therapy at method R.Folli.- Imedius. , 2006. - p.598.
8. Paskero T.P. Homeopathy./ Medicine, 2002. - Р.78 .
9. Philip M. Chancellor. Tsvety- celiteli doctora Bacha / Medicine, 2004. - Р.21-33.