Homeopathic practitioners believe that a medicine can cure a patient, is capable of causing a similar disease in a person who is healthy. Most homeopaths give as an example the use of a small dose of red onion, which typically causes a runny nose and itchy eyes, to treat a cold, because it carries the same symptoms.
It is very difficult for most people to understand homeopathy, however, the trend toward this type of medicine continues to grow in the U.S. because some patients are confused with some forms of traditional medicine and are seeking more natural ways to treat their afflictions.
In fact, homeopathy uses only natural remedies, specifically, ultra-diluted doses of substances such as plants, minerals, and a variety of other substances found in nature. The original substance is diluted in water several times and shaken vigorously after each dilution. As a result, the patient receives only very small quantities, which makes this type of treatment very safe.
Homeopaths also believe that you should not treat disease, but rather to the person who is ill. In other words, the homeopath believes that the substance he or she provides the patient is not going to destroy a cancerous tumor directly, but allow your body to destroy the tumor.
Homeopathy has been used traditionally to treat chronic problems such as asthma or arthritis, although some cancer centers promote homeopathy as complementary therapy in cancer patients are treated by traditional therapies.
Some advocates of this type of medicine also believe that homeopathic remedies can cure cancer, but there is currently no scientific evidence to support these claims.
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