Why I...have Homeopathy
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday February 9, 2006
Vegetable remedies have always played a part in Sonja Klein's health. As a child growing up in Austria she watched her grandmother use "anything that grows in the garden" for a range of purposes beyond consumption.
"She would lightly fry onions in pork fat," says Klein. "She would then cover my chest with it and put a towel on it to lift a cold. I would have to lie there for two hours, hating every moment of it, but the chest cold would go away."In later years, Klein developed an interest in homeopathy, a practice that assumes disease can be fought off by herbs and minerals. "It uses natural substances derived from flora and fauna," says Klein. "They undergo a repeated process of dilution. A very tiny dose becomes your remedy." Klein prefers homeopathy to prescription drugs because it has no side-effects. "You don't treat the symptoms. Your body participates in the healing process actively." Klein has her own homeopathic encyclopaedia, enabling her to practise self-diagnosis. "You have to match your symptoms with a remedy you can find in the encyclopaedia. You choose the one that best matches what you are experiencing." Klein says selected pharmacies and outlets specialising in natural therapies will select a potion to treat a lingering ailment. "A little bottle is about $6," says Klein. "You take only a few drops on your tongue."Klein says results are almost immediate. "You know right away whether the medicine works."EXPERT VIEWProfessor Marc Cohen, head of complementary medicine, RMIT:While a considerable section of the community use homeopathy as a primary area of health care, its acceptance varies enormously, Cohen says. "In the UK there is a homeopathy hospital and [treatment] is available on National Health. In Australia it is not as well accepted." Cohen says the controversy revolves around how homeopathy works. "General practitioners are not sure if a very diluted solution can have an effect. It is not explicable in pharmacology. "There are a number of clinical trials that have shown it is better than a placebo but we can't explain why. Because of that it is not taken seriously."
© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald