Homeopathy for Natural Healing

My Dad was a Homeopath. When I was growing up I dare not tell my friends, for fear that they would snicker; after all, someone called a “homeopath” must be either “funny that way” or psychotic. He was neither; he simply practiced and believed in the merits of homeopathic medicine.

It wasn’t too long ago when terms like “alternative medicine” or “naturopathy” were foreign to the general public. Even breast-feeding was a borderline naughty word. That was something a modern woman wouldn’t dream of doing.

I’m not really sure when my Dad took up homeopathy, but for as long as I can remember there was a closet filled with boxes and boxes of dark brown cylindrical bottles no bigger than your forefinger and plugged with cute little corks. The labels all had funny names like Nux Vomica and Belladonna.

Every time I got a tummy ache, Dad would make me open wide and lift my tongue while he tapped in three or four little Nux Vomica pills that tasted like sugar and looked like teensy marshmallows. They melted away in a flash they got rid of the tummy ache in a flash too.

Dad regularly administered Arnica for bumps and bruises (there were lots of those), Ferrum phos for sore throats and Pulsatilla for our snotty noses.

When Mom got a headache, Belladonna was the cure. If Dad was grouchy, he took Kali phosporicum to lift his spirits.

It’s interesting to note that the berries of the Belladonna plant (a/k/a/ Deadly Nightshade) are extremely poisonous. I remember hearing an old legend that goes back to the 14^th century of how Belladonna got its name. It tells of the alluring women of Italy who put drops made from the juice of the Belladonna berry into their eyes to expand the pupils, thereby making them look more enticing to unsuspecting men. You wouldn’t want to try that beauty secret at home today.

Many homeopathic remedies contain ingredients that would be poisonous in larger doses, but in all homeopathic medicines, the active ingredient is so minute, it is perfectly safe to ingest; more so than some over-the-counter medications.

The theory behind homeopathy is that the energy or “essence’ of the active ingredient activates your natural immune system. In essence your body heals itself, triggered by the homeopathic medication. There are many homeopathic remedies and if you are looking to find the perfect one for your symptom you’ll find that there are many choices. What’s more, if a specific remedy doesn’t seem to work, you may find another that does. My recent Hub, Homeopathic Medicine: Are You Taking the Right Remedy for Your Ailment is has additional information to guide you.

I must state that, all advice given here is for educational purpose only and you should always check with your doctor before beginning any form of medical treatment.

All stories and theories aside, for me Homeopathic medicine was a family tradition. Unless we needed a doctor’s visit (yes, he made house calls), we rarely took pharmaceutically prepared medicine. Those little brown bottles traveled well too.

If we took a cruise, Dad took along Cocculus in case of seasickness. There was that appropriately named Nux Vomica if we ate too much at the midnight buffet, and of course Carbo Vegetabilis for every Dad’s problem, gas.

As everyone got older, Rhus Tox was taken for aches and pains. When my husband and I had difficulty conceiving a child, I turned to homeopathic medicine yet again. I've completely forgotten which remedy was prescribed, but I will tell you it was one time homeopathy didn't work for me.

Dad continued to rely on homeopathic remedies for the rest of his life. I now realize why he didn’t look at me sideways when I decided to become a Reiki Master and practice that alternative energy treatment. He even accepted Reiki treatments when he was hospitalized for heart surgery at age 87. Dad died happily of old age six years later.

Today I still pop those funny sugary pills prescribed by my Dad the homeopath and they still work for me a good 95% of the time. I also try to live my life with his philosophies of all things natural in mind and strive to live up to his perceptive ideals. Life is good.

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