Wait, Seriously? You STILL won't try homeopathy?!?!

Some of you still feel weird letting your children ingest homeopathy. I get that, and I certainly don’t fault you for it. It’s your job to make sure your child is safe. But….

OK, so let’s say that your child has a self-limiting condition (defined by the FDA as a condition that will eventually go away on its own, and the only kind I’m allowed by the FDA to talk to you about.) What do you reach for to help? Tylenol? Motrin? Antibiotics? How do you plan to care for your children?

If you hate the idea of allopathic (the normal kind that you run to the doctor or pharmacy for) medicine, it’s not wise to just sit and do nothing. You have other choices for self-limiting ailments  that are much safer and are very effective. Don’t just sit there and do nothing though. Homeopathic remedies are incredibly safe.

Here’s a list of things that are less safe than OTC homeopathic remedies:

• Vaccines
• Antibiotics
• OTC children’s pain medicines
• OTC Antihistamines
• Sunscreen
• Bug spray
• Plastic teething rings
• Johnson’s and Johnson’s Baby Lotion
• Hand sanitizer
• McDonald’s French fries
• Formula
• Your baby’s toys
• Your household cleaners in the air
• Your pets’ flea medication
• The treated grass at the park
• Non-organic food of any kind
• The city’s water supply
• Your baby’s non-organic clothing
• The lipstick on your mouth
• Pretty much everything else in your house or that your child will ever be exposed to

Are Herbal Remedies Homeopathic?

No, herbal remedies and homeopathic remedies are two different things. Herbal remedies are when actual plants are used as nutritional supplements. There is an actual chemical reaction going on with herbal remedies, much like with allopathic medicine. I would almost suggest that herbal remedies are also a medicine because they were used as such for thousands of years, except that the FDA says I can’t do that because legally, herbal remedies are exempt from FDA regulation unless they are referred to as a drug. And since they don’t regulate herbal remedies, if they are depicted as a drug and not regulated, they are then an illegal drug. Herbal remedies can be extremely useful, however because they are substances that interact chemically, there is always a risk of overdosing or counter-indications with allopathic medicines or other herbs.

What is Homeopathy?

Homeopathy is not the same as “herbal.” Homeopathic remedies work through dilution, succession (vigorous shaking that allows the substance to leave an imprint on the water it’s diluted in) and the Law of Similars. This combination causes our own body’s natural healing abilities to be stimulated. The remedy itself doesn’t actually heal anything. No chemical reaction is going off. With homeopathy, your body is just being tricked into healing itself. Let me explain…

The History of Homeopathy

Samuel Hahnemann was a German physician. He was disenchanted by allopathic medicine when it seemed to cause just as many problems as it was designed to cure. With the Law of Similars, Hahnemann theorized that if a large amount of a substance inflicts certain symptoms in a healthy person, incredibly minute amounts of the same substance might be able to treat those symptoms in someone who is ill. He tested his theory first with malaria. A strong dose of quinine caused similar symptoms to malaria, yet a very small amount was used to treat malaria. This revelation caused him to test the theory with different herbs, minerals and substances that in large doses cause disease and malady in healthy people. It wasn’t long before he learned that by decreasing the doses to infinitesimal doses, he was still able to achieve healing in his test subjects. In fact, his studies demonstrated to him that more healing was achieved by using more diluted substances. Minuscule doses were prepared by diluting the active ingredient and shaking it up vigorously. Then, he’d take a drop of the preparation and add it to a new container and dilute it even further. Some homeopathic remedies are so diluted that almost no molecules of the original substance remain. Even with sophisticated technology, with many remedies, chemists would see homeopathy as little more than a sugar pill.  And for a long time, they did. Until homeopathy became a multibillion dollar industry, that is.

Homeopathy in Politics and Big Business

The homeopathic belief is that the substance has left its imprint that stimulates the body to heal itself. The government belief is that it’s a booming industry, and whereas they previously thought of a homeopathic remedy as likened to a placebo effect, they want in. Because homeopathy wasn’t included in the act signed by President Clinton that exempted herbal dietary supplements from FDA regulation, homeopathic remedies are now being very heavily watched by the FDA. It was previously and still currently monitored by the HPUS. Homeopathic remedy manufacturers still of course use their own stringent monitoring system, it’s just that now these days, the FDA has their watchful eye on this booming industry.