Role of Homeopathy during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic

Introduction to Homeopathy:

Homeopathy is a scientific, well proven system of medicine which has been clinically verified in millions of cases for over 200 yrs. It was discovered by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann of Germany in 1796. Dr. Hahnemann was himself educated as a medical Doctor (allopathic), and was a qualified physician of his time. Realizing the inadequacies of the prevalent medical system, he  developed a safe, rational & effective system of healing called Homeopathy.

Homeopathy operates on the principle of LIKE CURES LIKES !!

Let’s understand this in a simple manner. When we cut a RED ONION, we experience runny nose, watery eyes, and sometimes sneezing because of its strong ingredient. Often, patients experience the same symptoms of runny nose, watery eyes etc. because of an allergy or cold. Now in homeopathy, ALLIUM CEPA medicine made from Red Onion, cures the same symptoms as mentioned above.

Homeopaths believe that a Vital Force (or Life Energy) gives life to a person, and also coordinates the innate healing progress. The Vital Force is very similar to the concept of Prana in Ayurveda. The Vital Force also enables the body to adapt to environmental changes. Disease arises, when the Vital Force is disturbed. The Homeopath tries to recognize the root cause of the disturbed Vital Force in the body, and bring it to its normal state, thus healing not just the original symptoms, but the body as a whole.

As an example, in the case of wound healing, the innate Vital Force initiates Blood clotting, inflammation and growth of new tissue in a well-orchestrated manner, without the need for any external agent. Homeopathic remedies like Arnica support and accelerate the functioning of the body’s healing mechanisms in the case of wounds.

At the present time, Homeopathic system has a vast array of more than 8000 medicines at its disposal.

Role of Homeopathy in previous pandemics

Do you know which was the most deadly pandemic in the last 2 centuries?

It was the Great Flu Pandemic of 1918-19 (also known as the Spanish Flu). It is estimated that more than 50 million people died during that epidemic – the vast majority from flu along with complications of pneumonia. It was also called “the Great White Plague.” It is hard to imagine the devastation caused by the Flu Epidemic of 1918-19. People who lived through it, reported that it was so devastating, that someone who was up and well in the morning could be dead by evening.

Yet, patients in the care of homeopaths during this epidemic fared dramatically better than those treated by ordinary physicians.

The Journal of the American Institute for Homeopathy, May, 1921, had a long article about the use of homeopathy in the flu epidemic. Dr. T A McCann, from Dayton, Ohio reported that 24,000 cases of flu treated allopathically had a mortality rate of 28.2%. At the same time, Dean W.A. Pearson reported that 26,795 cases of flu treated homeopathically had a mortality rate of 1.05%.

Apart from the Spanish Flu, there is a long history of Homeopathic medicines proving their capabilities for prevention, as well as successful treatment in times of Pandemics.

Homeopathy has been a boon to the patients in during the times of pandemics & epidemics, caused by scarlet fever, typhus fever, yellow fever, Pneumonia, Cholera, Influenza, Hepatitis, Dengue, Leptospirosis and Conjunctivitis.

In 2006, in Kerala, a group of doctors distributed a homeopathic preventative for chikungunya. The results of the study showed that while over 73 % contracted chikungunya in the unprotected group, only 17% of the protected group contracted the disease.  In India, research has found a positive role for homeopathy in the prevention of Swine Flu as well as Dengue.

Why Homeopathy can be effective in infectious diseases like Covid-19?

Since the beginning of its inception, Homeopathy has been used to help patients fight infectious diseases, whether of bacterial, viral or fungal origins. Homeopaths from across the world have cured patients of meningitis, endocarditis, pneumonia, nephritis, tuberculosis, plague, and venereal diseases using homeopathic remedies alone.

Paradoxically enough, Homeopathic remedies do not have any direct effect on the infectious agent.

Homeopathic remedies do not directly cure or treat flu, ebola, or any other infectious disease. But once you get sick, homeopathic treatment aids the body’s own defense mechanism in recognizing the disease and handling it more efficiently, thereby reducing the duration and intensity of the disease.

Here are some reasons, why Homeopathy can be a good option for patients with infectious diseases:

• When antibiotics fail, homeopathic remedies will still work. Germs can never develop a resistance to homeopathic remedies, as the remedies do not kill the germs directly; rather, they stimulate the immune system to do the healing.
• Homeopathy works irrespective of the cause of the infection. In modern medicine you need targeted medicines for infections, like antibiotics for bacterial diseases, antivirals for viral infections and so on. However, in Homeopathy, the correct remedy can be chosen simply relying on the symptoms, without knowing what pathogen has caused the disease.
• Homeopathic remedies can be used prophylactically, much like vaccines.Thousands of people can be inoculated quickly and cheaply if an epidemic threatened.
• You can heal faster.Conventional drugs can relieve pain or reduce inflammation, but they don’t speed healing. All homeopathic remedies, when properly selected, speed the healing process.

Physician Jonas Salk, who discovered the Polio vaccine, noted at a conference in 1976 that there are basically two ways to heal sick people. First, one can try to control the individual symptoms the sick person is experiencing, and second, one can try to stimulate the person’s own immune and defense system to enable the body to heal itself. Whereas conventional medicine’s allegiance is to the first approach, homeopathy and a wide variety of natural healing systems attempt the latter.

Continued in Part 2

Dr Hemesh Thakur is a practicing Homeopathic physician, with over 26 years of clinical experience. He has also worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator, in Florida, US. He was associated as a Senior Physician with Dr Batra’s Clinic for over 5 years.

Piyush Kumar is an Engineer from IIT Kanpur, with a deep interest in Complementary systems of Healing. 3 generations of his family have relied on healing through Homeopathy. He blogs on sustainability issues at Greenspirits.in.