For B.Pharm, 6th Sem

1. Homeopathy

2. Introduction
• The term Homeopathy comes from the Greek
word-Homeo meaning similar and Pathos
meaning suffering or disease.
• Homeopathy=‘’Homeo’’ meaning ‘’similar’’ and
‘’pathos’’ meaning ‘’suffer’’ or ‘’disease’’
• Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in
which practioners treat patients using highly
diluted preparations/formulations obtained from
natural source that are believe to cause healthy
people to exhibited symptoms that are similar to
those exhibited by the patients.

3. History
• The concept of ‘’Like cures like” of homeopathy was first
made by Hippocrates about 400 B.C.
• During the 15th to 16th centuries, the Swiss physician and
leading medical reformer, Dr. Theophastus Von Bombast
(1493-1541), rejected the principle of opposite acting remedies
and stated that same must be cured by same.
• 17th century, the first precise enunciation of the fundamental
homeopathic principle was given by a Danish physician, Dr.
George Stahl. He wrote “I am convinced that disease will
disease yield to and be cured by remedies that produce
similar affections”
• 1835- 1st homeopathy medical college was opened in
Allentown, Pennsylvania

4. Discovery of the modern system of
Homeopathy
• Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, Founder of
modern Homeopathic treatment
• Born on 10th of April 1755 in the town
of Meissen in Saxony (eastern
Germany)
• Doctor of Medicine degree in 1779.
• Stated-there is exits a law in medicine
which he called as “Law of Similar”
and introduced a new principle called
similia similibus curantur meaning
like disease are cures by like medicine-
like be treated by likes.
• He gave the name- Homeopathy,
which was came in print in 1807

5. “Discovery of Like treats like”
• It was in the year 1790, when Dr. Hahnemann was
going through a work of translating a book from
English to German written by a distinguished Scottish
physician, Dr. William Cullen “A treatise on Materia
Medica”.
• It was an account of a drug-Cinchona or peruvian
bark, which had been used for the tratment of
malaria.
• For several days he took different doses of drug and
carefully noted the symptoms:

6. Symptoms:
• His feet and fingers tips became cold
• He became drowsy
• His heart began to palpitate
• His pulse quickened
• He experienced trembling in all his limbs with
a thirst
• And redness of cheeks.

7. • The symptoms lasted only for a few hours and
recurred each time he repeated the dose.
• Thus the drug-Cinchona, when taken by a healthy
person induced symptoms similar to malaria, the
very disease the drugs was used to cure.
• Today this principal is known as the "Law of Similars"
and is the basis for the use of the term homeopathy
("similar suffering").
• He concluded from this experience that effective
drugs must produce symptoms in healthy people
that are similar to the diseases they will be expected
to treat.

8. • Hahnemann and colleagues began
to test various substances to
determine the types of symptoms
they produced.
• These results suggested to
Hahnemann what the drugs would
be useful to treat.
• With reduction of the dose to
infinitesimal levels by multiple
serial dilutions of ten or hundred
fold .
• Soluble compounds or liquids
were diluted in alcohol; insoluble
materials were serially diluted by
grinding with lactose.

9. Life spain-1755-1845
• Hahnemann practiced
Homeopathic medicine for
almost 50 years until his
death in 1845

10. Theory And Basic Concept
• The doctrine of “Similia Similibus Curantur”
is the basic foundation of Homeopathic
medicine.
• Homeopathy is based on Seven Principles
1. Individualization
2. Principle of similar
3. Principle of simplex(single dose)
4. Principle of minimum dose
5. Law of proving
6. Law of Dynamisation
7. Law of vital force.

11. 1. Concept of individualization
• It stated that no two individuals in the world are
alike and the disease affecting the two
individual cannot be similar.
• Although, a no. of dividuals may possess the
common symptoms, the individual response to
the same disease would be different from
person to person. thus the medicines used to
cure some disease in different individual are
different.

12. 2. Principle of similar/law of similar
• It stated that the treatment of a disease by a
medicine which produces similar symptoms in
the healthy individual.
• By introducing something in the body, that
causes the same symptoms as that of the
disease, it activates the body’s immune system.
• The immune system therefore removes
whatever was causing the original symptoms.

13. 3. Principle of simplex
• This principle states the use of only single,
simple medicine at one time.
• Even, the patients may have no. of complaints,
only a single medicine is selected from Matria
Medica
• As far as possible combination practice is
avoided in homeopathy

14. 4. Principle of minimum dose
• It stated that lower the dose of the medication, greater
is its effectiveness
• In Homeopathy, substances are diluted in a step-wise
fashion and shaken vigorously after each dilution
(known as Succession) and banged ten times against a
solid object. This type of dilution process is known as
Potentisation.
• This process is believed to transfer the “spiritual
essence” to the water it is diluted in.
• The “water” is supposed to have a “memory”, thus this
theory is also called “memory of water”

15. 5. Law of proving
• The method used for determining which remedies
were suitable for specific disease was called proving.
• To prove a remedy, a group of healthy people are
given a dose of the substance daily and each person
carefully recorded the symptoms
• Such first recorded proving was published by Dr.
Hahnemann in his 1796 publication “Essay
Principle”. Then in 1805 “Fragment Viribus”
contained results of 27 provings, and in 1810
“Materia Medica Pura” contained 65 provings.

16. 6. Law of Dynamization and Dilution
• Dr. Hahnemann recognized that the use of
substances that cause symptoms similar to an
existing disease would acutely aggravate the
condition and present other side effects.
• Thus he advocated the dilution of the
substance to the point where the symptoms
were no longer present.

17. • Liquids are diluted with alcohol (ethanol),
water, or alcohol/water mixtures, whereas
insoluble powders are diluted with lactose
(milk sugar).

18. Dynamization and Dilution
• Dilutions are performed as ten or one hundred
fold steps.
• Dilutions of 1:10 are designated in the U.S. by
the Roman Numeral X
– 1X = 1/10,
– 2X = 1/100,
– 3X = 1/1000, etc.

19. Dynamization and Dilution
• Dilutions of 1:100 are designated by the
Roman Numeral C
– 1C = 1/100,
– 2C = 1/10,000,
– 3C = 1/1,000,000, etc.

20. Dynamization and Dilution
• A 12C (or 24X) dilution, there is a 50/50
chance of one molecule being present.

21. Dynamization
• The process of dilution combined with
succession to increase healing potency runs
counter to the modern principles of
Pharmacology.
• Conventional practitioners and homeopaths
generally agree that the amount of active
substance present in a homeopathic remedy is
too small to have an effect on its own (this is
why they can be marketed over the counter as
harmless).

22. 7. Law of Vital force
• It stated that “Life” depends on an important
and undetectable “Vital Force” which runs
through the body known as Vitalism which if
disturbed will lead to illness or disease.
• Homeopathy medicine restores the vital
energy balance and stimulates the body’s own
healing response. Vital forces has ability to
react and adopt to internal and external
causes.

23. Diagnosis
• Homeopathy usually collect an extremely detailed case history
• Patients are asked to describe their medical history & current
symptoms
• The major symptom’s location, sensation, modality is
investigated
• Presence/absence of symptoms according to changes in
weather, season, time of day, etc. recorded
• Detailed information about patient’s mood & behaviour , likes
& dislike, responses to stress conditions, reactions to food, etc
recorded
• All this study helps to build up a “symptoms picture’’ of the
patient. This “symptom picture” is matched with the “drug
picture” mentioned in homeopathic Materia Medica and finally
treatment is started

24. Treatment
• Practioners always attempt to give single medicine which
corresponds with the patients general symptoms.
• Two patients with identical diagnosis may receive different
medicines
• Some treatment consist of only 2 or more doses while some
are prescribed as a regular daily dose for 2-6 weeks
• Progress is viewed from time-to-time (follow up)
• Suitable alteration are made in medicine & dilution
• If the symptoms changes during follow up, prescription is
changed although diagnosis remain the same.
• In case of recurrence, treatment is replaced with the higher
potency
• Homeopathy practioners mostly treat chronic & resurrect
illnesses such as rheumatism, asthma, migraine, fatigue,
irritable bowel syndrome, psychological disorders, etc.

25. Homeopathic medicine preparation
process
• There are principally three essential
processes involved in the preparation of
remedies. These process are:
1. Serial Dilution
2. Succussion
3. Trituration

26. 1. Serial dilution
• Serial dilution is the process for reducing the
toxicity of the original crude drug in a
sequential order
• Increases the potentisation
• To get single molecule
• Serial dilution is one of the core foundational
practices of homeopathy

27. 2. Succussion
• Succussion is a process of potentisation, by which
preparation of medicine takes place by the use of a
liquid vehicle like alcohol or water, by shaking in
definite method.
• Vehicle for succussion:
Alcohol is used in most of the cases, except in cases
where the medicinal substances are only soluble in
water

28. 3. Trituration
• Trituration is a process of potentisation, by which preparation of
medicine takes place by the use of a solid vehicle like sugar of
milk, by grinding in definite order
• Drug substances are triturated up to 3C or 6X. These are then
converted to a liquid potency and further potentisation is carried
out by the process of succussion.
• Vehicle for Trituration
Sugar of milk is used for the process of trituration because the
preservative properties of sugar of milk are superior to cane sugar
and most other substances. Its crystalline particles are very hard
and gritty and hence are of great use in grinding down the
particles of drugs during trituration.

29. • Serial dilution, Succussion & tituration is supposed
to increase the effectiveness of the drug after
dilution
• These three steps are combined together is known
as potentisation process.
• For preparation of Homeopathy potencies of liquid
drugs three major scales are used:
1. Decimal scale: the first potency of this contains
1/10th part of original drugs
2. Centesimal scale: the first potency of this contains
1/100th part of the original drugs
3. Millesimal scale: the first potency of this contains
1/1000th part of the original drugs

30. • Centesimal scale or “C-scale” was created by
Dr. Hahnemann which includes diluting a
substance by a factor 100 at each stage.
• One part of the mother tincture (original/non-
diluted remedy) is diluted in 100 part of water
or alcohol. This is know as 1C dilution.

31. • Therefore, 1C potentialzed solution
is 1 part mother tincture in 100th part
of water/alcohol
• 2C potentialzed solution is 1 part
mother tincture in 10,000 of
water/alcohol
• 3C potentised solution is 1 part
mother tincture in 10,00000 of
water/alcohol

32. Why use homeopathy?
• Homeopathy is gentle and effective system of medicine.
• Homeopathy gives long lasting to permanent cure.
• Homeopathy treats the patient as a whole and not just the
disease.
• Homeopathic remedies are gentle, non-toxic, harmless, safe
and without any side-effects.
• Unlike Antibiotics, homeopathic remedies do not disturb
digestive system nor do they lower the immune system
(Body’s resistance).
• Homeopathy is friendly to children, young and old.
• In most of the cases homeopathy can avoid surgery.
• Homeopathy is very effective in various allergic disorders in
addition to other diseases of all kinds.
• Homeopathy is a gift of God as well as blessings to the ailing
human beings.

33. • Homeopathy is a boon (helpful or beneficial) in the hands of
qualified doctors (Classical Homeopaths) who strictly follow the
rules and instructions laid down by Dr. S. Hahnemann in his
book "Organon of Medicine". Mixopathy (combines different
systems of treatment) has no place in homeopathy.
• Homeopathy is equally effective and safe to human beings,
animals and birds.
• Homeopathic remedies do not have expiry dates, provided they
are kept properly.
• It is founded upon the steadfast pillars of truth and will ever
more be so.
• Homeopathic treatment is given to correct the root cause of the
illness.
• Homeopathic medicines are administered in minute doses that
act gently and stimulate the body’s self-healing response.

34. • Homeopathic remedies are all natural medicines.
• Homeopathic treatment is ideal to optimize the body’s natural
defences against microbes. With the appropriate homeopathic
treatment, people recover from infectious diseases, even the
most serious ones, gently and rapidly.
• Homeopathy works in harmony with the immune system,
unlike Allopathic Drugs which suppress and destroy the
immune system.
• Homeopathic remedies are not addictive – once relief is felt,
patient should stop taking them.

35. Controversies
• Because of its use of highly dilute medicines.
• For the homeopathic practitioner the main problem is to find
the medicine which most closely matches the disease and the
type of patient.
• The homeopathic medicines sold in most pharmacies in the
UK are in 6c and 30c dilutions. While the 6c dilution is likely
to contain molecules of the starting substance, it is extremely
unlikely that a 30c dilution does. Such dilutions are called
‘ultra-molecular’.
• Memory of water is just one of several theories under
consideration as to the mechanism of how homeopathy may
work. Much more research is needed in this field.

36. Risks/Effects
• Certain homeopathic products (called “nosodes” or
“homeopathic immunizations”) have been promoted
by some as substitutes for conventional
immunizations, but data to support such claims is
lacking.
• many homeopathic remedies are highly diluted, some
products sold or labelled as homeopathic may not be
highly diluted; they can contain substantial amounts
of active ingredients.
• Like any drug or dietary supplement that contains
chemical ingredients, these homeopathic products
may cause side effects or drug interactions.

37. • A systematic review found that highly diluted
homeopathic remedies, taken under the supervision
of trained professionals, are generally safe and
unlikely to cause severe adverse reactions. However,
like any drug or dietary supplement, these products
could pose risks if they are improperly manufactured
(for example, if they are contaminated with
microorganisms or incorrectly diluted).
• https://www.drhomeo.com/side-effects-of-
homeopathy/

38. Crude drugs/minerals used in
homeopathy
Aconitum napellus
Arsenicum album
Argentum nitricum
Calcarea carbonica
Gelsemium
Ignatia amara
Kali phosphoricum
Lycopodium
Natrum muriaticum
Phosphorus
Pulsatilla
Silica
Cocculus