What your doctors will and won’t tell you about homeopathy

By Dr Rajesh Shah, M.D.

(For information of patients and conventional doctors.)

The conventionally trained medical doctors have opinions about various medical issues based on the training for about seven years with conventional medicine. They are best trained to opine on the subject of their training, obviously. They may not have been trained to opine about alternative medicine such as homeopathy.

Your conventional doctors may have certain opinions about homeopathy based on their little knowledge about it or largely based on the ignorance about homeopathy; in both the cases, the opinion is likely to be biased.  

Over the period of 28 years of my practice inclusive of learning in the medical college, adequate exposure to medical and surgical subjects; also, my experience based on training to medial doctors in many parts of the world, I have observed that hundreds of doctors have limited and biased ideas about homeopathy; which, unfortunately, they pass on to their patients. As a result, knowingly or unknowingly, they become instrumental in depriving patients of the benefits of homeopathy

Some of the common comments made by the conventional doctors:   

Homeopathy does not work…

It is very easy for anyone to comment negatively about any science. However, it can be considered valid only if the opinion comes either from professional training or personal experience.

Please ask your doctor, if the opinion is based on his or her personal training. Ask, if the doctor has evaluated clinical studies published in homeopathic medical world. It is helpful to find out if such an opinion is a arising out serious experience or wishful assumption.

Homeopathy is a placebo therapy..

Well, please find our from your doctors if or not his is informed about a number of clinical trials and animal studies suggesting that homeopathy is not a placebo therapy, but it has proven efficacy in controlled studies.  

Homeopathy is slow acting..

This opinion is partly correct. Homeopathy is relatively slow as compared to antibiotics, pain killers, cortisone, bronchodilators, etc.

However, in chronic cases, what we are looking at long lasting recovery rather than just fast and short term relief. In that context, slower pace of homeopathy is not big limitation.

In most cases, we (patients and doctors) are more interested in the treatment that is more deep acting and long lasing rather than just fast but short acting, except in critical care.

There is no research done in homeopathy…

It is true that relatively there is less research in homeopathy, compared to the mainstream medicine. There is ongoing research in homeopathy.

Homeopathy is very old system of medicine and it is not relevant today.

Well, those who make such a comment may be suggested to make some research into the history of medicine. Homeopathy is amongst the newest of medical systems. It is 210 years old, introduced by a German scientist Dr Samuel Hahnemann (1755 to 1843), as compared to the conventional medicine, which date backs to Hippocrates (460 BC to 370 BC).

Homeopathy is a young science. And, it has been evolving.

Homeopathy works only for functional and emotional disease.

Experience of thousands of practitioners and millions of patients confirm that homeopathy also works in the cases of physical pathology such as intestinal ulcers, fissures, chronic inflammation, infections, skin lesions, arthritis, etc. There are tons of documented cases proving this fact.

Homeopathy is not recognized by FDA, WHO, Government, etc.

The US FDA and similar agencies in most developed countries have approval for homeopathic medicines. The WHO has approved on homeopathy and it has been accepted as an alternative system of medicine.

Most of the developed courtiers have recognize homeopathic medical college including  United States, UK, Germany, India, Australia and other 150 countries.

Many scientists, medical doctors, prime ministers and presidents of many countries, government officials, authors, film stars, teachers, etc. prefer to opt for homeopathy.

Unfortunately, many patients are deprived of the benefits of homeopathy due to their doctor’s ignorance.

Let us see what the doctors WOULD NOT say about homeopathy:

Homeopathy is good for chronic diseases..

It is likely that your doctor would not tell you that homeopathic treatment is very good for chronic diseases, in particular. This suggestion may not come due to ignorance, lack of experience or fixed ideas.

Conventional treatment is good for acute disease while homeopathy is mote effective for chronic diseases..

The conventional doctors are not likely to suggest it due to the reasons stated in the previous comment as above.

 For a particular range of diseases, homeopathy is strongly suggested.

A wide range of chronic diseases such as migraine, psoriasis, arthritis, asthma, allergies, ulcerative colitis, warts, urticaria, etc. homeopathy is distinctly effective. But, it is possible that your doctor would not say it.

I take homeopathy treatment for myself and for my family…

Many conventional doctors opt for homeopathic treatment for themselves and for their own family members. Only few would admit.

My experience in treating a large number of conventional doctors suggest that the narrow opinion about homeopathy that most of them have is largely due to the educational system, which allows us (all doctors) to think with limited knowledge. We have been, actually, taught to think limited, think pond size,  rather than think ocean size. As a result, we tend to form biased opinions. Experience says that many of the conventional doctors think of homeopathy only when their own family member need it. If a doctor or his child suffers from a disease which is not treatable using the conventional treatment; that makes the doctor think of alternatives such as homeopathy. It would be much desirable that the doctors learn to think of homeopathy when even a single patient fails to respond to the conventional medication.

© This article is written by Dr Rajesh Shah, M.D., for the information of patients and conventional doctors.

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