Generally, when we refer to any medical treatment our perception grows around thoughts of hospitals, syringes, surgeries and the hoary version of an ICU. This is because our definition of medicine and medical treatment is based on our cognition of allopathic treatment. Any other modes of medical care are believed to be archaic and confronted with sheer doubt. However, time has arrived to rethink about the success of allopathic treatment while the numbers of incurable diseases are gradually adding up to the lists. On the other hand, it is evident from decades of medical history that side effects are integral to conventional medical treatment and how another ailment evolves in a process of treating a symptom in a patient. Cardiovascular diseases, psychological ailments and even common troubles such as diabetes seem to be quite larger than the scope of allopathic medicines and procedures. Not to talk of the other class; AIDS, SARS, Ebola and likewise that opens the Pandora’s Box to humanity. Most of the times, researchers are miles abaft in curing and finding a concrete solution to serious ailments.
The classical definition of allopathy is that it is a method of treating diseases with remedies that produce effects different from those caused by the disease itself. And surgery, as we know, is an attempt to replace or manipulate an organ artificially. Following its fundamental method of treatment, allopathic medicines induce an effect in the body to contend the symptoms of another. This is the reason why such treatments are so prone to side effects. Allopathy is more about managing the disease rather than to develop a cure for them. For instance, the treatment of diabetes; it can only be kept under control as cholesterol is already within the body. Had the realms of allopathic treatment were higher; there could have been a permanent remedy to keep cholesterol level normal. The same is with heart related diseases. The approach of allopathy is not to cure the disease but to control and manage it by developing new drugs to reduce cholesterol from blood, eliminate rennin or to form another method for management of symptoms. The most alarming fact about allopathic treatment is that they do not actually cure disease, they merely tries to control the symptoms.
The method of homoeopathy is to produce effects similar to that of the disease itself. The approach of the treatment is just the opposite of allopathy. It is about reinforcing the natural tendency of the body to heal. Homoeopathic medicine develops the power in cells of the affected areas and increase the body’s immunity and disease fighting ability and thus forming resistance to the ailment. It heals the root cause of the symptoms by strengthening the natural response system of the body or the organ. While allopathy is about treating the symptoms, homoeopathy is about treating the cause. This is the process of homoeopathic medicine, which will be efficient of cure diseases that are way ahead of conventional medical treatment. The grey areas of conventional medicine can be lighted up by homoeopathic medicine and approach of treatment.
The contrasting aspects between the methods of treatment can be observed in how they handle the problem of pscho-somatic ailments, which is one of the domains of healthcare, which has enough room for research and development. The conventional approach to treat such problems is to determine the drugs based on the understanding of brain function. The methods of medication are selected to influence the mechanisms on which the brain function. There are anti depressants, clinical therapies, and similar methods that affects the functioning of the mind. On the other hand, Homoeopathic treatment of psychological problems is based on the understanding of the connections between body and mind, in other words, the physical health and its relation to the mental health. Mind and body both are considered integral and that they influence each other directly and indirectly. The operations of homeopathic medicines are based on the theory that the body has the power to create potential response to any ailment. What this method has crucial aspects is that the selection and dosage of medicines should be based on the symptoms of the patient. In fact, allopathic treatment has created conditions that are more critical. A serious allegation against the community is the rising number of psychotic cases such as depression, trauma and so on. It is found out that the reason has more to do with conventional medical treatment. On a study conducted at Ohio State University and Children Hospitals across the United States, it was found that in adolescent patients with suicidal tendencies the probability of re admission within 30 days of discharge increased by 2.6 times after receiving three or more different classes of psychotropic medications.
Homeopathy in current times is undergoing groundbreaking research and development. More physicians are researchers are now inclined towards this science. One of the reasons for this drift is the constant disappointments faced by patients when they knock at the doors of allopathic treatment. Moreover, the soaring cost of conventional medicine backed by monopolies and business strategies has compelled patients to search for new avenues of healthcare. Evidently, allopathic physicians are beginning to refer their patients to homeopathic treatment as surrender of their methods to cure them. Such instances have induced a larger popularity of this branch of medical treatment and brought new enthusiasts to the domain.
Recent finding in the area have opened up greater prospects for research. Especially, on the light of new technology such as nano-science, various aspects of homeopathy and how its medicine work have become clearer. Works by Nobel laureate Professor Luc Montaignier, recent development by a research group under Dr Jayesh Bellare at IIT, Bombay are path breaking for homeopathy. The latter one has offered concrete insights on how homeopathic medicines work on the principles of Nanotechnology. Therefore, presently, this branch is on the launch pad, from where research and development in this brand could skyrocket with the aid of modern technology. With proper development, this could bring new hopes to cure diseases that are challenges for conventional treatment.
The advent of homeopathy is primarily backed up by the growing lack of trust in allopathic treatment. Failure of conventional medicines to control and treat serious ailments has pestered the generation. Most of the ailments enter the domain of experiment and many a times patients are converted to a lab specimen. While huge money is being wasted in the name of medical treatment annually, the results are unsatisfactory. Under such circumstances, alternate treatment such as homeopathy is successful to shed a new ray of hope in medical treatment and healthcare.
(Author is director and marketing of B. Jain Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd.)