Introduction training programme of
Homeopaths without Borders is an international federation
with several national sections in Europe, Africa and Latin America. Our main
activities are training in homeopathy, humanitarian aid and research. The
federation was established in France in 1984.
What is homeopathy?
In disease there is always a conflict between an agressor
and the defense system of the human organism. The agressor can have either a
microbial, a physical or a toxic nature.
Two basic approaches in medicine are possible:
1.
attacking the agressor: orthodox Western medicine uses
antibiotics to kill microbes and parasites, and anti-inflammatory drugs to
suppress pathological reactions.
2.
reinforcing the defense system, by improving the reaction of
immune-mechanisms; this is the effect of homeopathy. On the basis of recent
biological research it has been proven that specific proteins in the cell,
protecting the cell to damage and cell-death, are stimulated by homeopathic
medicines.
In physics it has become clear that small doses of a
substance stimulate biological processes, whereas high doses can destruct them,
like toxins.
Homeopathy systematically makes use of this body of
knowledge: by stimulating the immune-system with a minimal dose, it gives a
specific signal to the body to restore its own generative capacity. The fact
that these doses are so small, has long confused traditional medical thinking,
in believing that no effect was possible. This position is no longer tenable,
given the recent research in biology and physics.
Respective indications of homeopathy and orthodox medicine.
However, in general treatment, the risk is that, when the
agressor has been neutralized, the defense system is as weak as before. This in
its turn can cause recurrences in the form of chronic infections. Another
problem can be the capacities of the micro-organism to adapt to the drug:
resistence develops, like in malaria and tuberculosis.
Homeopathy can, though, strengthen the immune-system so that
this can neutralize the external agent by itself; this is seen in many acute
diseases, like infant diarrhea and malaria. But also in chronic diseases like
asthmatic and rheumatic disorders; then the improvement is reflected in the decreasing need of orthodox
medication.
Why is homeopathy an interesting option for health care
systems?
1.
Due to the low doses, the drugs are very cheap; once the
solutions are prepared by serial dilution and succussion, they are impregnated
in lactose sugar globules. Calculations of Homeopaths without Borders and other
studies have shown that the average costs of treatment do not exceed 10% of the
price of orthodox medical drugs. For many people in the world this can mean the
choice between homeopathy or no treatment at all, as most of them cannot afford
the prices of western based pharmaceutical drugs.
2.
As mentioned above, no resistence can be developed by a
micro-organism against a drug that is affecting the quality of the
immune-response, rather than directly attacking the microbe itself. For malaria
this can offer interesting perspectives, like a recent study in Tamale, Ghana,
has shown. Homeopathy was as effective as chloroquine in this double-blind study.
3.
As many orthodox drugs are tested in relatively healthy
western volunteers, they insufficiently take into account the differential
effect upon malnourished patients, or people with a high bacterial and
parasitical load. The original intestinal flora is already weak, and is further
damaged by the drug, so that recurrences are often observed. This puts further
constraints, not only upon the compromised health of the patient, but also upon
the very restricted budget available for many clinics to supply their drugs.
4.
The individualization of therapy; this has homeopathy in
common with traditional herbal medicine, practiced in many countries. Our
experience is that homeopathy can form a bridge between western-trained doctors
and traditional practitioners, as both some homeopathic and all herbal drugs are
made of plants. The form of preparation is different. An interesting co-operation
in Ghana with the Center for research in plant medicine in Mampong is planned.
What are the contents of the
courses of Homeopaths without
Borders?
1.
Basic principles of homeopathy: individualization of
treatment and the similia-principle. Every patient reacts with his own
particular symptoms to a given diseasse, and the drug is chosen individually,
according to this particular set of symptoms. “Choosing a drug” means: if
this drug produced in experiments with healthy persons a set of symptoms similar
to those of the patient, it is appropriate: “like cures like” - a principle
already applied by Hippocrates, the founder of western medicine.
2.
Materia medica: the pattern of symptoms, belonging to each
different remedy, whereas every remedy has its specific actions upon the
organism, or so-called “target-effects”.
3.
Differential diagnosis in common diseases: malaria, fever,
measles, whooping cough, diarrhea, respiratory infections, traumas,
suppurations, postoperative pathology, obstetrical problems. Some of the most
frequently used remedies are compared with each other for each disease.
4.
The Question Strategies or consultation techniques needed
for arriving at the right choice of the remedy in a relative short time, given
the busy consultation hours.
5.
Specific subjects requested for by the participants, doctors
and/or nurses, about clinical
problems they meet in their clinics.
How are the courses organized?
1.
A regular programma lasts for two years, in six periods of
one week each; the teachers are all experienced homeopathic doctors, both in
practice and in education. After the training, the new homeopaths will receive a
training of trainers to continue the education in their own country.
2.
Hours: preferably after working hours, e.g. from 3 until 6
pm.
3.
Tuition fees
are required for books, papers and test-kits of medicines.
4.
After every period a simple evaluation is made of the
transferred knowledge, as to give both teachers and participants feed-back; a
final examination concludes the total course.
5.
All our programs are developed in close co-operation with
our counterparts.
References
1.
Gaucher C et al. “Report on homeopathic treatment of the
cholera epidemic in Peru”. British Homeop J , 1993, 82: 155-163
2.
Jacobs J et al.
“Homeopathic treatment of acute childhood diarrhea, a randomized clinical
trial in Nicaragua”. Pediatrics, May 1994, 93: 719-725
3.
Kyei-Faried, S and M.Hermans, Primary Health: no pay no
cure? Ned Tijdschr Geneesk 139 (45): 2312-2325
4.
Reilly DT et al. “ Is homeopathy a placebo response?
Controlled trial of homeopathic potency with pollen in hay fever”. Lancet,
1986, 881-886
5.
Van Wijk, R et al, “A molecular basis for understanding
the benefits from subharmful doses of toxicants”. Environmental Management and
Health, 1994, vol 5 no 1, 7-14
6.
Van Erp, V, and M. Brands, “Homeopathic treatment of
malaria in Ghana, open study and clinical trial”, Brit Hom J, april 1996, 85:
66-70
7.
Youbicier-Simo BJ et al., The effects of embryonic
bursectomy and in ovo administration of highly diluted bursin on
adrenocorticotropic and immune response of chickens. 1993, Int J Immunother,
9:169-180.