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by Dr. M. A. Latiff, President - Sri Lanka Homoeopathic Medical Association

Today 10th of April is the 248th Birth anniversary of the founder of homoeopathy. Homoeopathy is a System of medicine founded in Germany in 1796 by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann a famous physician of Germany, who was qualified as M.D. in Western Medicine (Allopathy). He was born in Meissen near Dresden Germany on 10th April 1755.

Hahnemann birthday 10th April, 2003 is celebrated all over the world where homoeopathy is practiced. Sri Lanka Govt. recognised homoeopathy in the year 1970.

Dr. Hahnemann was not satisfied with the state of science of medicine at that time as he found that when he treat patients most of the drugs do not cure diseases but only controls it, when medicine is stopped sickness returns.

One day he was translating Prof. Cullen's Materia Medica from English to Germany. He came to a chapter on Cinchona Officianalis (Quinine) which is given to cure ague (Malarial fever). Dr. Cullen says this bark posses febrifugal action (fever producing properties similar to Malaria) Hahnemann laid down his quill and exclaimed "Preposterous".

If Quinine can produce Malaria like symptoms, how could it cure malaria? He argued while it does cure some cases it does not cure other cases. There must be a way to find out under what condition the bark cured and did not cure.

It was at this moment this good and benevolent man had an "inspiration". He concluded to test the drug himself, and see whether a light could be brought into prevailing darkness. Bright and early in the morning, Hahnemann went to the market place at Leipzig, and selected some fresh Cinchona Bark, (from which guinine is derived) and obtained some vials of alcohol.

He prepared a tincture, took it, and behold, the symptoms he observed on himself showed a marked similarity to case of Ague (Malaria) cured by him by the same drug, and it was then a new light broke upon him; that light was this: A drug will cure ailments as its sick-making power will produce a similarity to. - Lippe.

Then he wanted to know whether this action is only to quinine or any other drug. He went on testing so-called specific drugs on himself and some other healthy persons. In every case he noticed the similarity of symptoms produced by the drugs for which they are given to treat patients. He found when he took them for continuous number of days they produced in him symptoms exactly similar to the one for which they are given to patients.

Then he remembered what the "hippocrates" father of all medicines has said that there are two ways of treating a disease:-

(1) One is by giving a drug which produce similar symptom to that of the disease and

(2) Other is by giving a drug, which produce opposite symptoms of the disease. Everybody practiced the second method, that is:- For constipation to give purgatives and for diarrhoea give some thing to bind the bowels.

Nobody practiced the first method ie:- Treat constipation by a drug that causes constipation and treat diarrhoea by a drug that can cause diarrhoea.

Hahneman found that the first is the curative method, ie:- Cinchona cured Malarial Fever because it produced Malaria like symptoms when a healthy person took it. Then Hahnemann enunciated a law "similia similibus curentur" likes are cured by likes ie:- A substance which in certain forms and doses causes disease symptoms may also be used to cure illnesses showing similar symptom.

Working on those lines, he further discovered that very minute infinitesimal doses only were required to produce the desired results, similar to the principle of immunisation.

Hahnemann published the details of this new system of treatment to which he gave the name "homoeopathy".

This immediately aroused the hostility of the drug manufacturers of his day, in Germany who feared that the general use of the minute dose would adversely affect their sales of medicines. They brought legislation that doctors cannot make his own medicine, he can prescribe medicine made by the drug manufacturers only.

Eventually Dr. Hahnemann left Germany and went to Paris where he practised homoeopathy with great success. This was the beginning of homoeopathy, which has since attained a position of very considerable importance in the medical world.

It is well-known that the royal family in London is treated by homoeopathic medicine and the King George VI constructed a Hospital called Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital of which the Duke of Gloucester was President, now Queen Elizabeth II is Patron Queen's mother who was 101 years old died last year. She was taking through her life Homoeopathic medicines Prince Charles and his children were all brought up with Homoeopathic medicines since the time they were born.

In England there are large number of doctors practising Homoeopathy. They are fully qualified medical men and women who have obtained their degree in Allopathic medicine and now practising Homoeopathy after being convinced of its curative properties.

Now Homoeopathy has made much greater strides and is practised in all parts of the world. In France, USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Austria, Brussels, Netherlands, Russia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand etc.

Homoeopathy has cure for every disease under the sun. It doesn't treat the disease by the name. Dr. Samuel Hahnemann found that if a healthy person takes a medicine in large doses and if it could produce certain set of symptoms, the same medicine in a very minute or infinitesimal or minicule dose can cure similar symptoms in a sick person.

Homoeopathic treatment is like vaccination or immunisation. Polio or Poliomyelitis occurs when few millions of polio viruses enter the body and multiply.

To prevent polio we give to a healthy child one in a millionth of the Polio virus, which cannot cause polio but it is just sufficient to activate child's own Immune mechanism or antibodies and prevent the child getting polio. Similarly when large number of Tubercular Bacilli enter the body and multiply it can cause tuberculosis and when the B.C.G. Vaccination (one in a millionth of the Tubercular bacillus) is injected to a healthy child it prevents T.B. Homoeopathic physicians study each patient individually and as a whole and is chiefly concerned with the cure of the underlying disorder responsible for the sickness. Specially prepared medicine is given in very minute, minicule dose in potentised or energised form.

The medicine acts buy stimulating the Natural Curative action of the body.

The remedies are absolute safe even to Infants and Children. It does not have any side effects.

1st Potency is one hundredth of a grain. 2nd Potency is one in Ten thousandth of a grain 3rd Potency is one millionth of the grain. According to Homoeopathy "Health" is a state of complete harmony of the "Vital Force" which is the life principle of the body. "Disease" is the derangement of this vital force causing the alteration of sensation and function of the body which we call signs and symptoms.

Homoeopathy cures diseases by stimulating this vital force, one's own immune mechanism or curative powers of the body to restore the sick to health by giving infinitesimal doses of medicine prescribed according to the principle of immunisation. While experimenting on healthy persons 200 years ago Dr. Hahnemann found that some drugs produced symptoms very similar to the dengue fever, cholera, illness caused by viruses etc.

The same drugs are used to treat and cure dengue fever and cholera and viral diseases even today. Medicine doesn't kill the virus or bacteria, it activates patient's own immune mechanism to fight the infection by himself. Homoeopathy has been found to be effective in treating and curing the latest sickness AIDS caused by HIV.

Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy - Government of India has admitted 100 cases for HIV - positive to the Government Homoeopathic Hospital in Bombay in 1995. After six months of treatment with Homoeopathic medicine 12 cases had become completely negative. Thereafter the Central Government of India allocated over millions of rupees to do further research and improve the treatment of AIDS patients with Homoeopathic medicine.

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