Interview for Barcelona Metropolitan Magazine, January 08
What is the homeopathic view of antibiotics?
The word Antibiotics comes from the Greek anti ‘against’, bios ‘life’. ABs are chemical compounds used to try to replicate a function of the immune system by killing or inhibiting the growth of infectious organisms. Homeopathy is ‘pro-life’, it stimulates, supports and strengthens the immune system, using the body’s own healing potential to fight the infection and leaving the person more resistant to future infection. In contrast, ABs take over the work of the immune system, leaving a person weak and susceptible to subsequent attacks. Someone once said that 1000 machines will never be able to fabricate a single flower. The human body is so incredibly complex and wonderfully well designed that it makes far more sense to stimulate the body to cure itself than to try to artificially replicate bodily functions. Homeopathy works with the body instead of against it.
What do you use as an alternative to ABs? How does it work?
Homeopaths give tiny doses of substances that in larger doses could cause the same symptoms that a person is suffering from. These micro-doses gently stimulate the body’s own healing processes. Each treatment is individualised and the whole person is treated, physically, emotionally and mentally. The remedies treat the energetic imbalance that leaves a person susceptible to disease. The susceptibility of a person is lessened by strengthening the immune system. This creates a far longer reaching potential for health than simply trying to kill the bacteria present in a person’s system at one given moment in time (bacteria have been around for far longer than we have and there will always be more bacteria!). Its a wonderful process because as a person begins to heal physically, their emotional and mental states also return to health.
What are the ‘risks’ of overusing ABs? Benefits of homeopathy in their place?
The main risk of overusing ABs from a homeopathic point of view is the weakening effect on a person’s immune system. Let me give you an example. I treat a lot of women with chronic cystitis and the story always goes something like this; they start with a urine infection, are prescribed ABs and the infection goes away. Some time later another infection appears and they are given more ABs and again it goes away. A short time later they start with another infection… By the time they come to me the situation has become chronic, often accompanied by yeast infections because the ‘friendly’ bacteria which keeps yeast levels low has been destroyed by the ABs. Homeopathic remedies rebalance the person from within, restoring the natural ecology of the body so that the micro organisms are no longer able to create disease.
Would there be any situation where you would use ABs?
There is very definitely a place for ABs in medical treatment. For example, ABs save lives in urgent cases such as bacterial meningitis or septicemia. What I object to is the day to day overuse of ABs which creates a society of people with weakened immune systems and increased susceptibility to infection, and creates ABs that become less and less effective as bacteria becomes more resistant.
Is homeopathy a practical alternative to using ABs? (healthwise, moneywise etc)
Homeopathic treatment is far cheaper than conventional medicine, with the cost per homeopathic medicine being around 5 Euros. One of the principles of homeopathic treatment is the idea that ‘less is more’ which means that patients are given the minimum dose needed to stimulate their healing process. It is common for me to give a single dose of a remedy as infrequently as once every few months. For this reason, homeopathy gets a lot of negative press from the pharmaceutical industry (which is the second largest industry in the world, Arms being the first) who are very uncomfortable with the lack of money to be made from homeopathic medicines. Homeopathic remedies do not have side effects and so people undergoing treatment do no fall into the spiral of taking one medicine to treat one symptom, then another to treat the side effects of the first medicine and so on… Under homeopathic treatment not only do the persons immediate complaints improve, but also their susceptibility to disease decreases and so in the long run, they need less medication and fewer consultations.
Does resistance happen to homeopathic remedies like it does to ABs?
No! Homeopathic remedies help people to become healthy and so THE PATIENT becomes more resistant to infections. A healthy person will still get ill from time to time, but will recover quickly, without the need for aggressive medications. My definition of health is to be generally free of pain and physical symptoms, to have plenty of energy, the ability to think clearly, experience happiness and a passion for life, to be yourself and to express your creativity.
Zoe Holden interviewed by Zoe Koumbouzi for Barcelona Metropolitan
