Homeopathy is the art and science of healing by safe, gentle, rapid and natural methods. The word is coined from the Greek word ‘homoios’ meaning LIKE or SIMILAR and ‘pathos’ meaning SUFFERING. It works on the principle of 'similia similibus curentur’ (Let like be cured by like) which means that anything which causes a disease in a healthy person when given in large doses, will also cures when prescribed in infinitesimal doses of potentized homeopathic medicines made from the same substance. This substance will help to stimulate the body’s own immune system to fight the disease. This concept has been known since the time immemorial in Ancient Indian Culture like BHAGAVATAM and Ayurveda and in modern ages since Hippocrates in 450 BC, and has been further developed down the ages until fully scientifically examined and confirmed through observations which were undertaken by a German allopathic physician, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann in the 18th century.

Homeopathy is holistic system of medicine i.e. it treats the person as a whole not in name of systems like circulatory, renal, gastric etc. and not just the symptoms. Homeopaths know that symptoms are the body’s own attempt at self-healing and calling for particular remedy. Moreover, any suppression of these symptoms will drive the disease further into the body. 

Homeopathic medicines/remedies have been proven for nearly two hundred years to be safe and effective in treating ailments serious and minor, acute and chronic, physical and emotional, functional and structural. Many rare and medically unexplained illnesses have been cured by homeopathy. Homeopathy can also play an important part in preventing diseases not only in living but also in fetus to get rid of family traits.
  
During the initial consultation, which is very methodical and quite stretched, the homeopath needs to carefully question the patient in order to build up a multi-dimensional picture to match one of the drug pictures and find the most appropriate remedy for that person.

Several people, even though suffering from the same-named disease, may actually require completely different homeopathic remedies. The choice of the remedy is highly individualized; it depends not only on the physical symptoms of the person but several other factors, such as the person’s emotional, mental, physical and constitutional make up, as well as the factors that either adversely or favorably affect each symptom, are taken into consideration before choosing the appropriate remedy for that individual. A clinical and microscopical examination may help in getting the complete picture of the diseased person.
 
The patient’s progress is reviewed on subsequent visits and further prescriptions may be necessary requiring a change in the potency or frequency of the current remedy, or administration of a new remedy. Although rapid results can be achieved, particularly in acute diseases, a more gradual and steady improvement is usually expected in chronic diseases and in patients with lower vitality or the patients coming from conventional medicines. The time cure for a chronic problem depends on the length of time the patient had suffered from the disease, its nature, and the reaction of the individual to the selected homeopathic medicine.
 
Homeopathic remedies are derived from raw, natural resources generally from the vegetable and animal kingdoms as well as from minerals. Although some remedies are used in less potentized form i.e. mother tinctures, most remedies in general use are highly potentized; they are believed to have physical energy in bundles like light that helps to stimulate the body’s own healing power as clinically observed in millions of people all over the world especially in countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, India etc. 

The remedies are prepared to modern high standards of safety and are recognized as both complementary and alternative to conventional or allopathic medicines. In chronic problems like hypertension, diabetes, hypothyroid, rheumatoid arthritis it is not advisable to stop or reduce the dosages of conventional medicines already being taken without consultation with your homeopathic physician and the practitioner who prescribed them. 

Homeopathic remedies have no known side effects and are safe even for babies and children and pregnant women. Children respond particularly well because their reactive powers are often stronger and natural than those of adults.

The potentized substances used in homeopathy will not cause any toxic or allergic problems on the contrary they are used to cure the allergy of that particular substance, if present. However, in some cases during the course of treatment, symptoms may be aggravated or new symptoms may appear. These are usually considered to be transient and may require some adjustment in the medicines taken in form of potency or repetition of dosages. 

While many acute and chronic illnesses and functional and structural symptoms can be helped by homeopathy, diseases in their advanced stages and those with major structural changes may not always be cured with homeopathy. However, homeopathy can have a palliative role even in incurable illnesses, such as cancer, to provide comfort to the dying patient without major side effects often encountered with conventional medicines.

Homeopathy may be of help in some unexplained, rare, but real problems or symptoms which people experience and there may not be any definite explanation/reason or cure in allopathic medicine.