Unsure About Homeopathy? Seasoned Homeopath Dr. Preeti Kohli Explains How & Why it works

My mother visited a Homeopath and gave me my first bottle of homeopathy pills right before my ten standard board exams with the honest intention of polishing that ‘memory’ section of my brain. Needless to say, she was expecting phenomenal results with this magical pill bottle. The defiant teenage spirit within me didn’t allow me to take even a single dose.

Fast forward a decade, and I entered the motherhood maze. I was struggling with sleepless nights with my ten-month-old baby, and when no pediatrician or advice worked for my child, I found myself knocking on the door of a famous homeopath. Homeopathy was my last resort. As my homeopathic remedy began its work, I realized it very well should have been my first! 

There are numerous myths and a degree of uncertainty around homeopathy. Yet, worldwide, over 200 million people use homeopathy regularly. Even though it is regarded as alternative medicine, India leads in terms of the number of people using homeopathy, with 100 million people depending solely on homeopathic products for medical care. Homeopathy is among the top 3 medicine forms that uphold the National health of India. 

Kidskintha interviewed a famous homeopath, Dr. Preeti Kohli (B.H.M.S has been a consulting Homoeopathic Physician for over 20 years and a Transformational Coach for over 11 years) here in Mumbai.  Learn everything about homeopathy. Read on…

In conversation with Dr. Preeti Kohli…

Hi Dr. Preeti! Thank you so much for being with us! Let’s dive straight into the basics. What is Homeopathy, and how does it work?

Homeopathy is based on the principle called Similia Similibus Curentur, the Latin phrase which means “likes cure likes.” For you to understand this, let me take you on a journey that took place years ago. 

The founder of Homeopathy, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, was disillusioned with standard medical practices’ ability to cure the disease successfully. At one point, he gave up his medical practice and started translating medical scripts. He then came across the Scottish physician and chemist William Cullen’s theory. He stated that cinchona cured malaria because it was bitter. 

Hahnemann was skeptical of this concept. So he ingested the bark and secretly administered it to a few of his family members as well. He discovered that they all showed signs of Malaria, which are fever and chills.  This intrigued him. He looked into substances that were known to cure the disease by bringing up symptoms of the disease itself. From this, Hahnemann concluded that all effective drugs produce symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the diseases they treat, according to the “law of similars.” The body of work grew and today, we have a whole society of homeopaths that work relentlessly on curing patients and share their knowledge diligently. 

A homeopath searches for substances that cause (it could be common salt, minerals, animal products, plant) in a healthy person those same symptoms a patient experiences. 

What is succussion?

Homeopathic medicines are obtained from a controlled process of successive homeopathic dilutions. They are commonly made from active ingredients obtained by crushing a plant, animal, or mineral substance then putting it into a solvent. The extract is then further diluted in a mixture of alcohol and water. The process is repeated many times to achieve a therapeutic dilution.  After each dilution, the mixture is vigorously agitated to deliver a calibrated amount of shaking. This is called succussion. The dilution and shaking are done in such a way that the healing power of that specific substance multiplies many folds, and the side effects go away.

Dr. Preeti Kohli – Homeopathic Physician, Transformational Coach & Founding Member & Director at The Aha Movement

Is homeopathy effective?

Homeopathy treats all diseases by interacting with the vital source, which is why it is used for integrative health. If you have high blood pressure, allopathy will give you medication to bring the pressure down. When its effects fade, the blood pressure rises again. Our body tends to fight the impact the medicine is having, and eventually, what tends to happen is that the patient requires a more potent dose of medication. 

With homeopathy, if something is on a higher side in your body, the homeopathy doctor will give medicine that has a similar effect, and the body responds by reversing the high component. 

Why do homeopaths not reveal the name of the medicines prescribed?

If I disclose the name of the medicine to the patient, he will start purchasing it over the counter and not realize how it is affecting his life. On the other hand, when you sit with your homeopath, he pens down his observations and readings and then gives medication accordingly. 

Patients tend to start their research on the prescribed medication without any knowledge of the medical science behind homeopathy. Then they start questioning the reason for taking it. It’s not that homeopathy is effective only when you trust, but it starts to work against your treatment when you begin distrusting. Tests and treatments are best left to an experienced homeopath. 

Even as a practicing homeopath, I don’t treat myself, and I don’t know the name of the homeopathic medicine I am taking. I entrust myself to the care of another homeopathic practitioner. I believe the evidence of the effectiveness of the homeopathic preparations is in the way the patient feels after a while. 

Also Read: COVID Vaccine for Children: Here’s Your List of Must-Knows about Vaccines, Kids & Schools

Different Homeopaths have different approaches to treating the same patient. Can you please explain this?

A homeopath has to understand the patient as a whole. We don’t segregate symptoms the patient displays. When you are sitting in front of me, I understand the core of you. Some things are on a superficial level while some are deeply rooted. We, as homeopaths, need to identify it. This happens with experience of practice. If I understand the core of you and understand the core of another medicine that will match you, I will be able to help you. 

Every doctor has a different way of treating the patient, and it’s valid in fields like psychiatry or psychotherapy as well. 

Why does it take long to get cured by Homeopathy?

Primarily people come to a homeopath with chronic problems like thyroid, diabetes, and hypertension. In allopathy, the course of treatment for such diseases is a lifelong medication. In homeopathy, the treatment isn’t lifelong, but it does take time to cure because it’s a chronic disease.  

If it’s an acute problem, the treatment doesn’t take long. If you have a cold or fever, homeopathy will help your body to fight the infection. When your body temperature rises, your body tries to fight the disease by destroying the virus or bacteria present. Homeopathy supports the process, and through this process, your body is fighting the infection and developing antibodies. If you fight 3 to 4 infections with homeopathy, your immunity goes up. You will not get the infections as fast, and if you get them, you will recover more quickly. If you have a fever, in allopathy, the doctor prescribes anti-fever, which is crocin, and antibiotics. Here your body isn’t fighting the infection.

Many parents are gravitating towards homeopathy for their children because they do not want to give their child antibiotics every time he/she gets a cold or cough. I am not trying to criticize allopathy. Allopathy has its role. In emergencies, Allopathy is of great importance. Somewhere people have chosen to believe that homeopathy is slow, but that isn’t the case.

Homeopathy has so many medicines. Getting the correct medication for your patient is like hitting the bull’s eye. If the treatment is right, it will reflect, whereas if the medicine isn’t, then even the acute problems will take time to cure. And in some cases, it won’t even touch the patient.

Does Homeopathy work for fatal diseases like cancer, etc.?

It depends on the stage of cancer. Homeopathy helps a lot in palliation, and if Cancer is in the early stage, it can be cured. Today our food isn’t natural, and our lifestyle is stress-driven. There are many factors in play, so we advise patients to carry on with other courses of treatment as well.  Homeopathy can be used as a complementary and alternative source of medicine in such cases, while treatment with conventional medicine is ongoing. 

At what age can we start Homeopathic treatments? 

We can start Homeopathic treatments at birth to deal with problems such as regurgitation. If the baby has colic, we give the medicine on an SOS basis. Homeopathy is the best medicine as it boosts immunity, and it is in the mildest form. Homeopathy doesn’t cause side effects. 

How would you describe over-the-counter Homeopathic drugs? Are they beneficial for the patient?

I would say OTC Homeopathy medicines are treating patients the allopathic way. For example, eight drugs are commonly used for teething. The OTC Homeopathy pharmacies mix all eight medicines and give you. One medicine in that mix may work. However, the other seven are extra. So after giving this teething medicine for four months, if your child is cranky, you wouldn’t be able to identify if it’s because of teething or due to the medication. So a qualified and registered Homeopath knowing what the medicine does and monitoring it always makes sense.

Also Read: How to: Boost your kid’s immunity through 5 factors.

Are there any repercussions of discontinuing Homeopathy treatment?

There are no repercussions; there are advantages of continuing it. For example, you lead a stressful lifestyle, which has caused problems like migraines and skin breakouts. Homeopathy has taken care of your migraine, and your skin has cleared, but your stress has not gone, and you have stopped visiting your homeopath. Sooner or later, these symptoms will resurface again, and then homeopathy treatment needs to be restarted. On the contrary, if you continue your homeopathy treatment for a bit longer, then it’s possible you don’t get bothered by the stressful situation around you. So, when the internal change occurs, I tell my patients to stop treatment and come to me on an SOS basis. I would not advise my patients to stop the medicine simply because it can give them that advantage.

Why can’t two people share Homeopathy medicines? 

One of the principles of homeopathy is individualization. If fifty people have malaria, the medicine for all fifty may be different. When hundred people have migraines, their drugs may be different. For example, when people get malaria, everybody will not need the medicine that comes from quinine. There are some common symptoms like chills, fever, and sweat. We take individual symptoms like the place of perspiration, the time of perspiration, the time pattern of the chills, and so on. Everybody will have symptoms that are very individual to them. Homeopaths see those symptoms and select the medicine for their patients.

What is Genus Epidemicus?

Is an epidemic, there are specific symptoms that are common to everybody. When we take ‘x’ number of cases, we realize that suddenly everybody does not need their constitutional medicine. When people get a fever, their symptoms are completely changing, and they are coming to this group of medicines. This single medicine for that epidemic is called the Genus Epidemicus. If a hundred people get the same illness, Homeopaths believe that the same medicine will work for a hundred people. 

Can Homeopathy cure an infected Covid-19 patient who has never taken Homeopathy? 

There have been cases where Homeopathy has worked on individuals who weren’t on this course of medication. There was a case where three people (two senior citizens) contracted the virus. They were not on homeopathy, yet the safety and effectiveness of the medicines were not altered for them. Their fever went away in 2 days, and weakness was gone in 5 days. 

What would be your advice for everybody at this hour?

Work on their immunity. Boost your immunity by having seasonal fruits and vegetables, stick to a lighter diet, and have enough fluids. Keep the children positively occupied and incorporate exercise and meditation into your lifestyle.

We have to be aware of whatever is happening around us. We have to take the suggested precautions. Don’t get overwhelmed. The fear drops the immunity. 

About Dr. Preeti Kohli

Dr. Preeti Kohli, B.H.M.S has been a consulting Homoeopathic Physician for over 20 years and a Transformational Coach for over 11 years. She currently serves as one of the Founding Members & Director at The Aha Movement. Through her work, she has touched thousands of lives and has successfully conducted over 200 workshops in alternative healing therapies. At the age of 15, she was introduced to meditation and mindfulness. Her keen interest in understanding the body-mind-soul connect and help people grow holistically led her to learn and practice other root cause therapies like Past Life Regression, Inner Child Healing, Re-birthing Breathwork, and Family Constellation. One of her passions is to work with parents and kids. She also volunteers to teach meditation for children at schools through the Soul Science Foundation.

Disclaimer: The information and opinions expressed here are based on the experience and education of the doctor and the writer. Through this interview, we do not guarantee or claim to cure every case and all medical conditions. By and large homeopathic medicines are safe and without any side effects. Please consult your health practitioner/health care professional before you start or alter a course of medication.