Homeopathy was brought to the United States (beginning in 1825) by several doctors who had studied in Europe . They, in turn, converted other doctors to homeopathic practice. Slowly schools were established, and a medical organization was formed. By the mid-1800's several medical colleges existed that taught homeopathy, including the New England Female Medical College , the first medical school in the U.S. to admit women.

At the turn of the century there were 22 homeopathic medical colleges, and one out of five doctors used homeopathy. But the move toward a mechanical model of the body and of disease pushed homeopathy into the background. By 1910 only 15 colleges remained. By the late 40's, no courses in homeopathy were taught in the U.S.

The American Foundation for Homeopathy began to teach homeopathy as a post-graduate course for doctors in 1922, and the courses, now run the National Center for Homeopathy, have continued to this day. The present day resurgence of homeopathy, fueled in part by graduates of the NCH course, is slowly bringing homeopathy back to its place in the medical care system in our country.

The manufacture and sale of homeopathic medicines is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States was written into federal law in 1938 under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, making the manufacture and sale of homeopathic medicines legal in this country. Most are available without a prescription.

How does the concept of homeopathy differ from that of conventional medicine? Very simple, homeopathy attempts to stimulate the body to recover itself. Let's look at an example: he common cough.

First, we must accept that all symptoms, no matter how uncomfortable they are, represent the body's attempt to restore itself to health. Instead of looking upon the symptoms as something wrong which must be set right, we see them as signs of the way the body is attempting to help itself. Instead of trying to stop the cough with suppressants, as conventional medicine does, a homeopath will five a remedy that will cause a cough in a healthy person, and thus stimulate the ill body to restore itself.

Second, we must look at the totality of the symptoms presented. We each experience a couch in out unique way. Yet conventional medicine acts as if all coughs were alike. It therefore offers a series of suppressive drugs something to suppress the cough, something to dry the mucus, something to lower the histamine level, something to ease falling asleep.

Homeopathy, on the other hand, looks for the one substance that will cause similar symptoms in a healthy person. The person with a cough characterized by being worse when breathing cold air, and sounding like a deep bark, will need a quite different remedy than the person whose cough is loose in the morning, dry in the evening, and better when sitting up in bed. We characterize both as “coughs” but they are different illnesses in the individuals, and therefore require different homeopathic treatment.

In conventional medical thought, health is seen simply as the absence of disease. You assume that you are healthy if there is nothing wrong with you. To a person versed in homeopathy, health is much more than that. A healthy person is a person who is free on all levels: physical, emotional, and mental . Obviously, a person with a broken leg is not free, on the physical level, to move around. But on a more subtle level, a person who cannot eat certain foods or is allergic to certain materials is also experiencing a lack of freedom. It is a good emotional release to cry at a “tear jerker” movie, but someone who continues to cry for several weeks afterwards is experiencing a lack of freedom on the emotional level. Likewise, a person who cannot absorb what he has read or cannot remember day to day appointments is experiencing a restriction on the mental level. The homeopath recognizes such limitations and attempt, through the use of the properly selected remedies, to restore the person to health and freedom.

An important basic difference exists between conventional medical therapy and homeopathy. In conventional therapy, the aim often is to control the illness through regular use of medical substances, even if the medication is nothing more that vitamins. If the medication is withdrawn, however, the person returns to illness. There has been no cure. A person who takes a pill for high blood pressure every day is not undergoing a cure but is only controlling the symptoms. Homeopathy's aim is the cure: The complete restoration of perfect health,” as Dr. Samuel Hahneman said.

Classical: single remedies used
The practitioner takes a detailed history from the patient. From the answers to those questions, as well as through observation, the practitioner attempts to match the pattern of the patient's symptoms tot the pattern of a single remedy as outlined in one or more Materia Medica. This remedy can be chosen manually or by computer. The potency is usually determined by a number of factors including severity and history of the symptoms. This form of treatment is most similar to the one developed by Hahnemann. It is also the most common form of practice.

Combination: remedies contain 2-4 ingredients
The diagnostic approach may be the same as the classical approach. Other diagnostic styles may include kinesiology (muscle testing) or electrodermal biofeedback. This style is heavily used in France , Canada and the U.S,

Complex: uses remedies with up to 25 ingredients
The diagnostic approach may be similar to the combination approach. Multiple ingredients are used to encourage what is known as homeopathic or lymphatic drainage. This is best fro complex, difficult cases where multiple problems occur simultaneously. Drainage helps drain toxicity from organs or systems that are so overload due to chronic, genetic, or environmental factors. This type of approach is used extensively in Germany with electronic diagnostic equipment. Diagnosis may also be determined using kinesiology.

The selection of any homeopathic remedy is made on the totality of the symptoms presented by the patient. Any remedy may be used for any condition if the symptoms generated by the remedy match the symptoms experienced by the patient.

There are several homeopathic remedies that may be considered in cases of colds and flu: Aconite or Wolf's bane is thought of in any case in which the symptoms come on suddenly, especially if exposure to cold might be a causative factor. There could be a cough or sneezing, but the main guiding point is the suddenness of the onset. Mentally, the person is fearful-afraid he will die- he is overcome by the suddenness of the attack. A child, out playing in the snow, awakens screaming at 2a.m. (a common time reference for this remedy) with a cough and high fever, or a man, out shoveling snow, suddenly comes down with a very high fever and is fearful he will die. Both cases call for Aconite.

Another remedy characterized by suddenness of onset is Belladonna , the deadly nightshade. The symptoms are characterized by redness and heat. The fever is high, the face is red, and the pulse can be seen in the veins of the neck. The eyes are dilated. The person is very sensitive to slight movement and noise. Many old time doctors, when seeing a suspected as for Belladonna, would bump against the bed to see if the patient was sensitive to this slight movement. The patient is sometimes almost delirious and sees monsters. The throat is usually swollen, the glands are swollen, and the ear might be involved. For most children's earaches, Belladonna would be the first remedy of which one would think especially if the ache is throbbing and on the right side.

Homeopathic medicines are drug products made by homeopathic pharmacies in accordance with the processes described in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States the official manufacturing manual recognized by the FDA. The substances may be made from plants such as aconite, dandelion, plantain ; from minerals such as iron phosphate, arsenic oxide, sodium chloride ; from animals such as the venom of a number of poisonous snakes, or the ink of the cuttlefish; or even from chemical drugs such as penicillin or streptomycin . These substances are diluted carefully until little of the original remains.

A plant substance, for example, is mixed in alcohol to obtain a tincture. One drop of the tincture is mixed with 99 drops of alcohol (to achieve a ratio of 1:100) and the mixture is strongly shaken. This shaking process is known as succession . The final bottle is labeled as “1C.” One drop of this 1C is then mixed with 100 drops of alcohol and the process is repeated to make a 2C. By the time the 3C is reached, the dilution is 1 part in 1 million! Small globules made from sugar are then saturated with the liquid dilution. These globules constitute the homeopathic medicine.

Although such infinitesimal quantities are considered by some to be no more than placebos, the clinical experience of homeopathy shows that the infinitesimal dose is effective: it works upon unconscious people and infants, and it even works on animals.

It is important to remember, however, that a medicine is homeopathic only if it is taken based upon the similar nature of the medicine to the illness. A medicine labeled as “ homeopathic ” will work only if it is homeopathic to the symptoms presented.