HOMEOPATHY
The healthy alternative !

Have you ever considered using anything other than conventional medicine to recover from an illness Dr. Hanaa Shams El Din - and oral surgeon and a Homeopath - enlightens us about this area new to most of us.

What is Homeopathy and its History?

Complete system of medicine founded by Samuel Hannemann (1755-1843)
Hannemann was a German Physician who gave up on practicing medicine as they were using blood letting to heal. He then decided to work as a translator. One day when translating an article written by a Scottish doctor, it was saying that Quinin was a good medicine for malaria because it was a good astringent. But Hanemann knew more astringent substances that had nothing to do with malaria. So he decided to try Quinin himself to find out about its effects. To his astonishments he developed malarial symptoms; fever, malaise, shiver, sweating etc. This was when he knew that Quinin treated malaria, but when given to a healthy individual would introduce malarial symptoms. This made sense to Hannemann as it proved the very old principle of "Like treats like". As the old Greek people when for instance they had a patient with diarrhea they prescribed purgatives to enhance the body's own reactions.

Thus the difference between conventional medicine and homeopathy is how homeopaths acknowledge symptoms. In conventional medicine a symptom is a manifestation of a disease. In homeopathy symptoms are acknowledged as the method chosen by the body to treat itself. That is why homeopathy never attempts to suppress them. In addition to that if the medication used is given to healthy individual will introduce the same symptoms they treat.

The Start
Dr. Hanaa stated that " she was very lucky to join a group of people here in Cairo (foreigners and Egyptians) who had an agreement with a British university in London to send us a homeopath a month to teach us for a week and to see cases plus examining us". "After a long journey of studying and observing clinical cases, I got my 5-year certificate in homeopathy from London International College of Homeopathy-London UK.

Homeopaths generally do not need a medical background. However it is very helpful and many doctors all over the world are homeopaths.

"As for the medication supply there is no pharmacy here in Egypt. We get the supply from abroad. Unfortunately, practicing Homeopathy is not allowed here in Egypt, despite the fact that it is acknowledged in places all over the world by insurance companies and other official entities. Thus I only treat family members," Dr. Hanaa said.

When asked about the illnesses that are cured by homeopathy, she said that anything could be healed by it. For example there were very successful diabetes cases where the patients were treated completely.

For someone interested in pursuing such a career, Dr. Hanaa says that " to start with, find a way to study homeopathy. Reading a book or two is not enough. Formal studying and practice is crucial. If you are interested you have to be patient and really eager to learn. This field requires a lot of reading and a very high level of observation" "Tolerance is essential. You will have to sit with the patient and ask many questions. The diagnosis session could take up to an hour, as you have to learn every minute detail about his/her lifestyle. As a consequence of knowing all details, confidentiality is a prerequisite. You have to hold all the information about the patient a secret. So the patient has to trust you first before confiding in you."

When asked to give us tips on well-being in general, Dr. Hanaa said the following "establish a healthy lifestyle: exercise three time a week-walking for example. Try to get an eight-hour night sleep at least four times a week to recharge your body. A diet full of fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains etc is essential. No need for meat except once a week. A daily shower is highly recommended. Cleanliness is important and clean water and air is recommended. Since we cannot interfere with water and air, so at least we should clean our bodies."