Over 30 million people in Europe regularly use homeopathic medicine yet until recently awareness and understanding of homeopathy remained fairly low amongst the UK general public.
But with high-profile supporters including The Queen, David Beckham and Sir Paul McCartney, talking about their positive experiences with this complementary therapy, homeopathy is starting to draw a lot of consumer attention.
The founder of modern homeopathy was an eighteenth century German physician, Dr Samuel Hahnemann, who was so appalled by the practices of his day that he set out to find a healing approach that was safe, gentle and effective. He believed that rather than trying to suppress symptoms, the body should be stimulated to encourage its natural healing process.
The three core principles of homeopathy are:
1. A medicine that in large doses creates the symptoms of a disease will, in small doses, cure it. This can be summed up in the phrase; 'like cures like'.
2. Extreme dilution enhances the medicine's healing properties and eliminates any undesirable side effects along the way.
3. Homeopathy takes the whole person into consideration.
As homeopathy works with our healing process, its remedies are designed to stimulate the body's natural reaction to fight illness and to return to good health as soon as possible. It is safe, effective and can be used alongside conventional medicine.
Homeopathy is also suitable for children as well as adults - it is non-toxic, non-addictive and is usually only taken for a short time. As it takes a holistic approach to treatment it works very well for both emotional and physical problems.
Homeopathic treatment has been available to NHS patients since it was first established in 1948 and is regulated in the UK by British Government via the Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority.
Founded nearly 150 years ago, Nelsons Pharmacy in Mayfair is London's original pharmacy. To mark Homeopathy Awareness Week 2007 they have developed a free, handy, keep-at-home guide in association with registered homeopath Laura Kenyon LCH, RSHom, called Healing Through Homeopathy. The guide serves as a great introduction to homeopathy and shows proven remedies for dealing with many of the most common family ailments including children's health, first aid, women's health. Simply order, or download, a copy of the guide from www.nelsonshp.com
May 2007 | 
Safe Use of Traditional Herbal Medicines
