The world of medicine is quite large and includes various fields of practice. Two of the branches or fields of practice of medicine are Homoeopathy and Naturopathy. They have similarities in the way they approach treating a health condition. However, both homoeopathy and naturopathy have many differences. Let’s understand how these two branches share a similarity and how different they are.
What is Homoeopathy?
Homoeopathy is a form of medicine that is almost 200 years old. It was introduced in India by Dr. Babu Rajendra Lal Dutt, and so he is called the Father of Homeopathy. Homeopathy is widely considered a branch of medicine that helps stimulate the healing response and strengthens the body’s ability to heal itself.
Homeopathy, as a branch of medicine, initially flourished in Bengal before spreading across the nation. At first, amateurs in civil and military services practised homoeopathy. India’s first homoeopathy medical college, the ‘Calcutta Homoeopathic Medical College’, played a crucial role in popularising this medical practice across India.
Homoeopathic manufacturers extract all homoeopathic products or medicines from plants such as red onion, arnica (mountain herb), poison ivy, belladonna (deadly nightshade) and minerals like white arsenic.
Principles of Homeopathy
Homoeopathy follows six scientific principles that Homeopathic doctors follow during the treatment process.
- Like cures like – This is the first principle where a substance can produce disease-like symptoms in a healthy individual, and only homoeopathic medicine has the power to cure the disease.
- Single Remedy for Multiple Complaints – In allopathy, you have different doctors for different ailments, but the training a homoeopathic doctor receives helps them treat a wide range of illnesses. So, if you go to a homoeopathic doctor with a headache, stomach ache, or acidity, the doctor may not give you separate medications for these ailments. Instead, they prescribe you one medication that will help with all these conditions.
- Individualisation – Homoeopathy doctors will not prescribe the same remedy for two patients even though their conditions are the same. Unlike allopathy, where there is one prescribed medicine for each ailment, in homoeopathy, an individual’s temperament symptoms, likes and dislikes are considered before prescribing the medicine.
- Long-term Results – Instead of suppressing symptoms for a short period, homoeopathy aims to suggest a remedy that will cure the condition from the roots. Homeopathic doctors will prescribe you medicines after considering your past and present health situation.
- Order of Healing – A homoeopathic doctor constantly tries to understand whether the patient is healing from the prescribed medication and also ensures that they are not putting the patient at risk of overdose. Homoeopathy not only cures you externally, but it also treats you from within and takes place as per nature’s law.
- The Minimum Dose – Homoeopathic medicines come from natural elements and have no side effects. That is why manufacturers prepare homoeopathic medicines through the dilution method.
Homeopathy – Treatment Modalities
Homeopathy treatment modalities encompass various techniques and approaches, and some of these treatment modalities are:
- Individualisation – Homoeopathy treats individuals by considering their unique symptoms, emotions and overall constitution.
- Similars – The principle ‘like cures like’ is one of the central ideas of Homeopathy. Homeopaths use substances that use highly diluted forms of medicine to stimulate the body’s self-healing process.
- Potentisation – All homoeopathic medicines undergo a rigorous process of dilution and succession to enhance their therapeutic properties by minimising their toxicity.
- Acute Prescribing – Prescribing Homeopathy medicines for acute conditions like colds, fever, injuries and minor illnesses is possible.
Understanding Naturopathy
Naturopathy is the branch of medicine that deals with helping a person live a healthy lifestyle. That is why the main aim of Naturopathy is to encourage people to look after their health. Naturopathy dates back to ancient Greece, where Hippocrates found a mode of treatment that helps the body heal on its own, and that is why it combines modern treatments with traditional methods.
Discovering the Principles of Naturopathy
Naturopathy physicians rely on six principles during the treatment process. The six principles that govern Naturopathy treatments are:
- Do No Harm – This is the first principle that governs Naturopathy, and it states that naturopathic physicians ensure that they will not harm the patients in any way during the treatment procedure. They use various methods and medicinal substances to reduce the risk of harmful effects and apply the least possible force or intervention during treatment.
- Healing Power of Nature – Naturopathy believes that Mother Nature has the power to heal us, and it is a process that establishes, maintains and restores health. Naturopathic physicians take up the role of supporting and facilitating the process of removing the obstacles that hinder the treatment process.
- Identify and Treat the Causes – No ailment can occur without a cause. It is why naturopathy doctors look for underlying causes and remove them from the roots to ensure holistic recovery. A naturopathic doctor does not focus on suppressing the symptoms but on eliminating the disease.
- Doctor as Teacher – It is said that the meaning of the term ‘doctor’ means teacher, and naturopathy sticks to this principle and theory. As a treatment process, naturopathic doctors educate patients and emphasise how they must look after their health. By building this relationship with the patient, they also build trust and improve the doctor-patient relationship.
- Treat the Whole Person – Any disease or ailment occurs because of complex physical, mental, emotional, genetic or environmental factors. It is why naturopathic doctors or physicians encourage patients to improve their personal spiritual development, which helps maintain their health in the long run. Naturopathic medicine is a branch of medicine that recognises the harmonious functioning of all the aspects of the individual that are essential for good health, and that is why naturopathy always involves personalised treatments that consider all the factors of that particular individual.
- Prevention – Naturopathy is a branch of medicine that emphasises on the concept of health and disease. It is why, as a process of treatment, naturopathic physicians assess the risk factors and the individual’s susceptibility to the disease and make appropriate interventions to prevent this condition in the individual.
Treatment Modalities
Naturopathy is a system of medicine that is drug-free and believes in a full-body health approach. It works on the principles of disease prevention, disease management, rehabilitation and improvement in the quality of life. Naturopathic treatment usually involves using the five elements of nature – Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Sky – known as the Pancha Bhuta.
These are the treatment modalities in Naturopathy used to treat the patients:
- Hydrotherapy – Hydrotherapy is a therapeutic technique using water in its different forms – like steam, ice or liquid – to heal the condition and relieve the symptoms. Hydrotherapy is a method that improves circulation, reduces pain, relaxes the muscles and improves your overall health.
- Mud Therapy – Mud Therapy is a form of holistic therapy that involves the application of mineral-rich mud on the body, and it is said to have many therapeutic benefits. During this session, the mud is usually used in paste form or as wraps on a mask used on the skin.
- Massage Therapy – Massage Therapy is a form of treatment that involves the manipulation of the soft tissues in the body, including the muscles, connective tissues, tendons, ligaments and joints. It is a process that involves applying pressure to relieve the tension and promote relaxation to improve overall well-being.
- Yoga Therapy – Yoga therapy is an alternative therapy that uses yoga practices like yoga postures, breathing exercises, and meditation to help improve overall health and address specific health conditions.
- Acupressure – Acupressure is a medicinal technique that involves applying pressure to specific points in the body to promote relaxation, healing and overall well-being of the individual.
Common differences between Homeopathy and Naturopathy
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FAQs
1. Why Are homoeopathy and naturopathy considered alternative forms of medicine?
Homeopathy and Naturopathy are alternative sources of medicine as they utilise holistic approaches in the healing process and focus on natural remedies rather than conventional medicine.
2. Are they both based on natural treatments?
Homeopathy and Naturopathy are based on natural treatments as they emphasise using natural remedies and treat the individual as a whole rather than focusing solely on the symptoms.
3. Do homoeopaths and naturopaths receive similar training?
Homeopaths and Naturopaths receive different training as they are separate fields of alternative medicine. Though they may overlap in the foundational sciences and natural health, specific training and practices of homoeopaths and naturopaths are entirely different.
