Homeopathic medicines
Under the diagnosis and
advice of a qualified Homeopath, Homeopathy medicines will usually give
comfort, calmness and hope to suffering mankind even in difficult cases, for
some of which the modern medical world says nothing can be done. Homeopathic
medicines can provide cure gently, promptly and permanently if they are taken
properly. The medicine, its potency (power), its frequency (repetition), may
vary according to the patient and the condition. Even with long time
medications, Homeopathy medicines are completely safe and free from all sorts
of side-effects and addiction. It can be safely used in infants, children,
adolescents, adults, elderly people and even in pregnant women.
Medicine administration is not child’s play. It should be dealt with carefully
by experts. One should be aware that success in treatment does not entirely
depend on God or doctor or with patient cooperation/management. Everything
should go hand in hand for fast cure. Finally, it depends on the patient who
takes the medicines. A patient needs to take care in all aspects, in correct
administration of medicines and safe handling of it to avoid contamination.
Care equals cure – Care should always be taken in all
aspects while taking Homeopathic medicine i.e., in preserving and serving the
medicines, by way of administration, by way of following restrictions, etc. If
one takes care of medicine handling and promptness in intake of medicines,
Homeopathy will never let one down. Simply ignoring the proper way of intake is
like losing track in spite of having a torch (right medicines from right
doctor). Also, the “best of all the medicines” is rest, sleep, water and diet,
without which in no way treatment will be successful.
Homeopathic
medicines
come in different forms i.e., in pill form, tablet
form, trituration powder form, dilution or liquid form, oil form, ointment
form, etc. Since all Homeopathic medicines come with a base of alcohol or sugar
of milk or vaseline / gel / oil, mostly the medicines taste the same: they
cannot be identified or redefined once the label is removed. So, care must be
taken to avoid confusion by losing the label.
The healing secrets of Homeopathic medicines are
- Take right medicines
in right dosage, from the right doctor.
- Don’t self medicate.
- Avoid drug cocktails,
like adding a pill for each complaint or symptom.
- Timely meals, good
amount of water intake, regular exercise, good aeration, good sleep, etc.,
will usually support one’s healing process.
- Ruling out causative
factor and following proper diet with restriction (if any) will also lead
one to be cured at the earliest.
Safety measures
in handling Homeopathic medicines – Usually, costly things will be cared and stored well. Health is
more than wealth, so health promoting Homeopathic medicines should be cared for
more. One must know what should be done and what should not to be done.
- Homeopathy medicines
usually come in minimum dose, so any strong agent will suppress the power
of Homeopathic medicines. To realise or attain full effects of Homeopathic
medicines, it is better to keep them safe in a cool, dark and dry place,
i.e., it is better not to keep Homeopathic medicines under direct
sunlight, heat, in the midst of aromatic or strong odour substances.
- It should be cared
well for avoiding contamination
- It should be kept
out of reach of children since due to its sweet nature, children often
take the entire pills at one go which may lead to complications.
- The medicines mostly
come with alcohol base, so it will evaporate if left open for a long time.
So care should be taken to keep it well closed i.e. air tight.
- While taking
globules, it is better to avoid handling or counting by hand to avoid
contamination. The container cap itself can be used for dispensing the
medicine without touching the globules.
Expiry of Homeopathic
medicines
Usually, homeopathic medicines do not come
with expiry markings, since they are mostly prepared with the base of alcohol,
which is a very good preservative (like old wine).
So if there is no contamination, it can be used for several years.
Determination of the way of Homeopathic medicine intake -
- Medicines should be
taken with a clean tongue – Unlike other systems of medicines, Homeopathy
medicines don’t act through blood after digestion of the drug but they act
through nerve endings in the tongue to reach the brain and work from a
higher level. So it is better to avoid taking anything (foods or drinks)
10 minutes before and after taking the medicine i.e. medicine should be
taken on a clean tongue. Clean tongue means one need not wash the tongue,
but simply that it should be devoid of any taste. For example – if you
take coffee or tea, the taste of it will remain for 15-20 minutes. So in
that period one should avoid taking medicines.
- Medicines should be
allowed to dissolve in/under the tongue on their own and are not to be
swallowed. Don’t alter (increase or decrease) dosage – follow the doctor’s
advice.
- Medicines can be
taken before or after food, even on an empty stomach (since it will not
cause any ulceration, also it will dissolve in the tongue itself and won’t
reach the stomach to cause any effect). But at the time of administration
of the drug, the tongue should be tasteless and free from all hindrances.
- Don’t touch the
medicines with hand for counting the tiny globules or for taking it, since
it may get contaminated. Discard contaminated medicines.
- There is no specific
restriction in food while on Homeopathic medicines. But some medicines may
need specific food restriction since that type of food may have inimical
action against specific medicines. But any way, it is unnecessary to
follow strict diet restriction unless otherwise the situation requires or
the doctor calls for it.
Restrictions
Some would say that onion, garlic, tamarind,
tomato, asafoetida, pepper, coffee, tea, etc., should be strictly avoided while
taking Homeopathic medicines. Actually, it is not so always. Likewise, some
Homeopaths restrict perfumes and sometimes some doctors would suggest not using
even paste. But the real need for restrictions usually differs from person to
person depending upon their suffering and the selection of drug. So the doctor
would mention the required restrictions, if any. But anyway, alcohol, smoking,
tobacco chewing and mouth fresheners should be strictly avoided since these
hinder the action or acceptance of drugs.
Restriction cannot be followed in all cases, i.e. because of unavoidable
situation as nature of work, surroundings, etc. For example, if one suffers
from pollen allergy, is the advice for shifting of place to avoid pollens
advisable? Is it feasible all the time for everyone? In such a situation, if
one can avoid it, it is totally unnecessary to take medication since there
won’t be any complaints thereafter.
If the patient is going to live in the same situation in future also, any type
of restriction (unless it is irrevocable like in diabetes, one needs to
restrict / avoid sugar, likewise in hypertension, one needs to restrict / avoid
salt compulsorily) will give him only temporary relief (for example – for skin
allergy many doctors recommend restricting the eating of brinjal, fish, tomato,
etc.). This doesn’t mean that one can dabble in allergens / irritable agents /
causative factors during treatment, but one need not go for total deprivation.
Also, following strict restriction is not that easy i.e. none could follow
restriction in every aspect. Also restrictions could not be maintained all the
time and in all places. Also, in these types of cases, people, after feeling
better, cannot judge whether the improvement was due to the medicines or the
restrictions. Here medicines cannot wholly be claimed to be the curing agent.
If the sufferer happens to take these restricted things later, they may
immediately feel the complaint again, i.e., a simple variation may often bring
on a flare-up. But if he is cured without any restrictions, amidst all the
pollutants, by raising immunity, he will be cured once and for all. One can
live with his desires and aversions because everyone is living in a polluted
world where water, food (fertilisers) and air is polluted. So one cannot get
away from it / should follow restriction for it. Homeopathy can comfort / ease
modern (polluted?) living.
Expecting good health instantly, some patients will switch over to Homeopathy
from other schools of medicine throwing off their long-term medicines. It is
not safe to withdraw like this, since they would have developed dependency due
to long time usage. For example conditions like BP, sugar, thyroid, epilepsy,
steroids, etc. If one does like this, the worsening of complaints due to
skipping of medicines will be unnecessarily blamed on Homeopathy. In this case,
one has to go for tapering of medicines on getting better after taking
Homeopathy medicines along with the previous one with doctor’s advice.
Homeopathic medicines can be safely taken along with allopathic medicines or
other systems of medicine, but it is better to avoid them at least half-an-hour
before and after taking Homeopathy medicines. Likewise, are the vitamins,
minerals and health drinks that one has been taking for quite sometime.
for
new hope
Dr. S. Chidambaranathan, BHMS, MD (Homeo)
Laxmi Homeo Clinic
24 E. New Mahalipatti Road
Madurai, TN 625 001
India
Tel: +91-984-319-1011 (Mob /
Whatsapp)
Clinic : +91-452-233-8833 |
E-mail: drcheena@gmail.com
(Disclaimer: The contents of this column are for informational
purpose only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional
healthcare advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of
healthcare professional for any health problem or medical condition.)