ARE HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVES TO PHARMACUTICAL DRUGS
ARE HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVES TO PHARMACUTICAL DRUGSARE HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVES TO PHARMACUTICAL DRUGS?
“Today millions of people are bypassing the offices of their family physicians, internists, gynecologists, and pediatricians in favor of alternative or complementary medicine” (Jonas xi). Why are millions of people choosing alternative or complementary medicine (CAM) over modern medicine? Perhaps they are tired with the ineffectiveness of pharmaceutical drugs compared to initial hype, or the appearance of adverse side effects over time. Homeopathic remedies are an acceptable alternative to pharmaceutical drugs because they are safe, effective, and treat the person at the body’s own natural pace.
The first and foremost aim of the homeopath, a practitioner of homeopathic medicine, is to aid the body in beginning to heal itself or to continue the process of healing itself (Ullman 18). Homeopaths think of symptoms as a sign of good health. They view the appearance of certain symptoms to be a sign that the body is responding to and fighting a disease or infection. Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician and chemist, named his approach to the healing process “Similia similibus curantur” or “Likes are cured by likes” (Foxman 44). This is also referred to as “the law of similars” and is the use of a medicinal substance that has the same “symptom picture” that is most similar to the symptom of the person who is sick.
Homeopathic remedies are safe, as a whole, compared to conventional pharmaceutical medicines. “It is widely acknowledged that homeopathic medicines are so small in dose that they are generally recognized as safe (Ullman 153).” Additionally, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) recognizes that the vast majority of homeopathic medicines are safe enough to warrant their classification as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs (Ullman 153). There are regulations for homeopathic remedies here in the United States, which are ignored by many critics. Homeopathic remedies are regulated by the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States (HPUS) and not the widely known Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is highly regulates all pharmaceutical drugs. “With the knowledge that homeopathy has been used safely for decades, you have an attractive and safe alternative to more costly, and potentially troublesome, conventional drugs (Foxman 46).” Some common complaints about allopathic medicines, or pharmaceutical drugs, like antibiotics are the toxic side effects that are known to be caused by antibiotics. Only if the average consumer would actually read the supplied documentation for the particular antibiotic they are prescribed. Most people would be surprised that drugs with known side effects like nausea, vomiting, and headaches, to name a few mild ones, could be approved by the FDA. Homeopathic remedies are not toxic like many pharmaceutical drugs. “Homeopathy is an effective alternative to antibiotics in infections diseases, producing no toxic side effects and bringing about rapid recovery. (Shah)”
Homeopathy remedies and homeopathic medicine are very effective methods of...
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