How do conventional and homeopathic drugs differ?
Conventional medicines are the medicines you find on most drug store shelves and are marketed as Over the Counter (OTC) drugs or for which your doctor writes a prescription. These drugs work in your body in a variety of ways. They can interfere with microorganisms (germs or viruses) that invade your body, replace deficient substances such as hormones or vitamins or change the way cells work in your body. Conventional medicines most often work by blocking or shutting down the body’s response to an injury or illness.
In other words, conventional medicines work to change the way the body reacts to an injury, illness or symptoms of an illness. In the case of an injury, when we feel pain, it's the result of an electrical signal being sent from nerves in part of your body to your brain. But the whole process isn't electrical. When tissue is injured (by a sprained ankle, for instance), the cells release certain chemicals. These chemicals cause inflammation and amplify the electrical signal coming from the nerves. As a result, they increase the pain you feel. Analgesics or pain relievers work by blocking the effects of these pain stimulating chemicals.
Homeopathic medicines are intended to work with the body‘s natural processes to promote healing. Homeopathy works on the principle of similars -- that rather than opposing or shutting down a process, the body’s innate processes should be encouraged and stimulated to speed healing and recovery. This principal of “likes to treat likes” is also called ”the law of similars.” The theory is that substances which can cause a symptom (such as the way that coffee can keep you awake) can be used in diluted quantities to treat these symptoms. So for example, homeopathic coffee preparations are used to treat insomnia.
In other words, conventional medicines work to change the way the body reacts to an injury, illness or symptoms of an illness. In the case of an injury, when we feel pain, it's the result of an electrical signal being sent from nerves in part of your body to your brain. But the whole process isn't electrical. When tissue is injured (by a sprained ankle, for instance), the cells release certain chemicals. These chemicals cause inflammation and amplify the electrical signal coming from the nerves. As a result, they increase the pain you feel. Analgesics or pain relievers work by blocking the effects of these pain stimulating chemicals.
Homeopathic medicines are intended to work with the body‘s natural processes to promote healing. Homeopathy works on the principle of similars -- that rather than opposing or shutting down a process, the body’s innate processes should be encouraged and stimulated to speed healing and recovery. This principal of “likes to treat likes” is also called ”the law of similars.” The theory is that substances which can cause a symptom (such as the way that coffee can keep you awake) can be used in diluted quantities to treat these symptoms. So for example, homeopathic coffee preparations are used to treat insomnia.
Comments
Post a Comment