SOME HISTORY
While many of the basic principles and theories of homeopathy have been around for many centuries - from the time of Hippocrates in 400 BC - it wasn't until the end of the 18th century that it began to be formalised into the medical model that it is know as today by a German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann.
Hahnemman was translating into German the Materia Medica (1789) of William Cullen (known as the Scottish Hippocrates). On reading that Cinchona bark (which contains quinine) was effective because it was bitter, Hahnemann felt this implausible because other substances were as bitter but had no therapeutic value.To understand the effects of Cinchona bark, Hahnemann decided to take it himself, and saw that his reactions were similar to the symptoms of the disease it was used to treat.
This idea of "proving" a substance was not new. There are numerous records of others using the same approach in the 1700s but Hahnemann went on to consider the whole body and spirit as being the focus of therapy, not just the localised disease.
Hahnemann's experience with the Cinchona bark experiment is the basis of all homeopathic prescribing today: like cures like.
A simple example can be found in the kitchen while chopping onions. Your nasal passages can become irritated, the roof of your mouth may become irritated and itchy, your eyes may smart and become runny.
These 'symptoms' are especially similar to those of hay fever. A useful homeopathic remedy for hay fever is Alium Cepa (the highly diluted homeopathic form of onion