The Complete Idiot's Guide to Homeopathy

From the Book

You're no idiot, of course. You've heard of the "law of similars" and know many medicines today are based on natural cures.

Homeopathic medicine is a serious option for anyone interested in treating the root of the problem.

You'd like to learn what homeopathy is all about-but prescriptions via mortar and pestle leave you feeling completely out of your element....

You may find cures you never imagined!

The Complete Idiot's Guide^® to Homeopathy is a comprehensive look at homeopathic medicine-how it works and how it can work for you.

In this Complete Idiot's Guide^® you get:

• The principles of homeopathy -
  understanding symptoms as signs
   
• Animal, vegetable, or mineral?
  Where ingredients come from and
  how remedies are made
   
• Tips for treating what ails you,
  from the physical to the emotional
   
• Guidelines for finding and following
  through with a qualified homeopath
   

Back to the Top

Author

David Sollars

David Sollars is a diplomat for the North American Homeopathic Master's Clinician Course and the International Federation of Homeopathy.

He has had the privilege to study and be influenced by many remarkable homeopaths including Lou Klein, Rajan Sankaran, Jan Scholten, Roger Morrison, Richard Moscowitz, Phil Bonnett, and Ted Chapman. He holds a Master's degree in Oriental Medicine and is certified in both Shiatsu and Tui-Na Oriental massage.

He graduated from The New England School of Acupuncture (NESA). He is a frequent lecturer and consultant for hospitals, insurance companies, patient support groups, and hosts a local television show on alternative medicine.

He has been a practicing health-care provider for over 16 years in the Boston, Massachusetts, area, offering a wide range of healing options for his patients' continuing health care.

David was a Board Member of The Massachusetts Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from 1991 to 1995.

He is currently a member of The National Center of Homeopathy; The New England Homeopathic Academy; The American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine; National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncturists; Fibromyalgia Network Provider; a member of The New England Pain Association; Acupuncture Society of Massachusetts; The National/New England Speaker's Association; and continues in his commitment to international and community service as President of the Andover, Massachusetts, Chapter of Rotary International.

He is the author of the newly released The Complete Idiot's Guide to Acupuncture and Acupressure.

He has been a contributing editor for such books as Coping with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, The Root of Chinese Qigong: Secrets for Health, Longevity & Enlightenment, and Eight Pieces of Brocade — Improving and Maintaining Health.

David believes that by inspiring others to lead their own health team, the best combination of health care and self-care will be achieved. He has recently opened a new multidisciplinary health center offering homeopathy, acupuncture, acupressure, massage, herbal, chiropractic rehabilitation, and nutritional counseling.

He continues to produce educational programs to excite, inform, and inspire others toward interactive health care. Please visit his new clinic at FirstHealth of Andover, One Dundee Park, Suites 1&2, Andover, MA 01810, call 978-474-9994, or visit his Web site at www.firsthealthofandover.com.

Back to the Top

Contents

Part 1: HOMEOPATHY: WHEN LESS IS BEST

1 What Is Homeopathy and
How Does It Work?
Homeopathy: The Hair of the Dog?
The Rise of Medical Options.
Chronic Illness:
The Unwelcome Guest
The Homeopathic Option:
Purpose of the Pellets
Engineering Your Migraine
The Science Behind Homeopathy
The Cluster Theory:
Would You Like Ice in Your Water?
Homeopathic Human Studies:
The Proof Is in the People

2 The Evolution of Homeopathy
Homeopathy Is Born Among Amulets and Leeches
Thinking Outside the Box
Homeopathy Emerges in Mainstream Medicine
The Criticism and Controversy
The Pioneers: Take Less Young Man, Take Less!
Samuel Hahnemann Put the Homeo in Homeopathy
Constantine Hering - The Father of American Homeopathy
James Tyler Kent - The Organizer
American Homeopathy Today: The Comeback Kid

3 Homeopathy Around the World
Homeopathic Organizations: Getting It Together
The Club Close-Ups: Stand and Be Counted
Homeopathic Education Overseas
The Education Station
Homeopathic Hospitals: A Dose of Caring
Homeopathy-Who Pays?
Integration Realization

4 Provings
-- The Proof Is in the Person
What's Proved in a Proving?
The Proving of Chocolate
-- How Sweet It Isn't!
A Homeopathic Case for Chocolate
The Homeopathic Proving of Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
The Proving Process
The Stages of a Proving
The Final Report: Circle the Wagons
What Do We Gain from Provings?

5 How to Make a Homeopathic Remedy
The Making of a Remedy
Succussion Discussion
The Process to Potentize and Package
Preparation of Soluble and Insoluble Substances
Potentizing: Succuss or Bust
The Final Process: Drip-Drying Away
Manufacturing Standards: The Secret to Safety
How to Read a Label

6 Where Do Homeopathic Remedies Come From?
Minerals: Ironing Out the Edges
Menopause: Halting the Hormonal Heat
Plants: Nature's Tender Touch
Asthma: Breathing Is Such Sweet Sorrow
Animals: Survival Is the Name of the Game
Crocodile Tears . It's Showtime!
Milk Remedies: Got Milk?
Anger and Disappointment
 

Part 2: SYMPTOMS and SIMILLIMUMS

7 The Principles of Homeopathy
Vital Force: May the Force Be with You
The Law of Similars
Minimum Dose: One Station at a Time
A Tickling Cough
Hering's Direction of Cure: A Road Map for Remedies

8 Your First Visit to a Homeopath
Listening and Learning
Modalities: For Better or for Worse?
Chronic Tonsillitis: Tormented Tonsils
Surveying Your Symptoms
Physical Symptoms: Oh My Achin' Back!
The Strain of Emotional Pain
Strange, Rare, and Peculiar Symptoms
Tools of the Trade
Repertory: The First Filter
Materia Medica: Perusing the Provings
Homeopathy vs. Homeotherapies

9 Mental and Emotional Conditions
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety: Perception Deception
Panic Attacks: Danger, Danger!
Panic Attacks
Night Terrors
Manic Depression: A Season of Emotions
Manic Depression
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Has Grief Got You Down?
Grief Relief
(presented by Pamela J. Herring)

10 Getting Stuck in Our Emotions
Stress: Guessin' Who's Stressin'
Stress and Tendinitis
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Worry: The Brain Drain
Infertility "Worryability"
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Rage: Mad at the World
Rage: A "Loose Cannon"
Overexcitement and Stimulation
Headaches: Percolating Passions
(presented by Savitri Clarke)

11 Childhood Challenges
Colic: Pass the Gas, Please!
Ear Infections: Hear Another Way to Save the Day
Chronic Ear Infections
Asthma: Begin to Breathe Easy
Allergic Asthma
Stomachaches
Anxious Stomachache

12 Kid Concerns
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder:
Derailing the Rituals
OCD Relief
Diet Dilemmas: Fussy with Foods
Food Sensitivities
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Bed-Wetting
Bed-Wetting Case
(presented by Pamela J. Herring)
ADD and ADD with Hyperactivity
The Attention Dimension
Diagnosing ADD/ADHD
Treatment of ADD/ADHD: The Ritalin Rocket
ADD with Hyperactivity: Sweet or Sour!
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
 

Part 3: PUTTING OUT FIRES

13 Emergency Homeopathic Care
Homeopathic Treatment of
Acute vs. Chronic Conditions
Arnica: Choosin' for a Bruisin'
Stings and Bites: The Puncture Juncture
Jellyfish Stings — A Fishy Story
Food Poisoning: Forget the Seconds, Please
Food Poisoning
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Fractures: My Achy, Breaky Bones
Nonhealing Fracture
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Influenza: The Scare in the Air
Flu
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Burns: The Degrees of Discomfort
Acute First-Degree Bums
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Wound Care: A Cutting Remark
Acute Injury
(presented by Pamela J. Herring)

14 Motherly Advice Infertility:
Intimacy by the Clock and the Calendar
Infertility
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Morning Sickness: Slowing the Throwing
Pregnancy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting
Labor Pains: No Pain, All Gain
Labor and Delivery
(presented by Pamela J. Herring)
Breast Infections: A Mastitis Moment
Acute Mastitis
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Postpartum Depression (PPD):
Despair Out of Nowhere
Postpartum Depression
(presented by Savitri Clarke)

15 Bummin' at the Plumbin'
Premenstrual Syndrome
Painful Periods: Dealing with Dysmenorrhea
Painful Periods
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Menopause: The Range of "The Change"
Perimenopause
Bladder Infections
Chronic Urinary Tract Infections
Candida: The Beast of the Yeast
Chronic Candida
(presented by Savitri Clarke)

16 The Respiration Station
Sore Throat: Pain in the Pipeline
Pediatric Sore Throat
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Cough: The Hack Is Back
Chronic Pediatric Cough
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Sinusitis: Pain in the Pockets
Sinusitis Symptoms
Chronic Sinusitis
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Asthma: A Hesitation of Respiration
Chronic Asthma
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Allergies: The Unpleasing Sneezing
Perennial Allergies: The King of Cats

17 Service for the Epidermis
Acne: A Barricade of Blemishes
Acne: Healing Skin from Within
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Eczema: The Bake and Flake Skin
Chronic Eczema
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Psoriasis: Developing Thick Skin
Psoriasis: The Amazing Scratching Man
Warts: I've Got You Under My Skin
Plantar Warts
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Poison Ivy: Scratching My Way Back to You, Babe
Pediatric Poison Ivy
 

Part 4: HEALING with HOMEOPATHY

18 Gastrointestinal Upsets
Heartburn: Reflux Deluxe
The Do's and Don'ts of Acid Reflux
Heartburn
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Constipation: A Plugged Pipeline
Pediatric Constipation
Diarrhea: Panic for the Potty
Traveler's Diarrhea: More Than a Souvenir
Chronic Diarrhea
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
IBS: Tormented Talent

19 Purging Your Pain
Headaches: Trouble in the Tower
Chronic Headaches
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Bursitis: Pain on the Point
Chronic Bursitis: The Bearcat Bursa
Arthritis: Snap, Crackle, and Pop
Types of Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Sciatica: The Nagging Nerve
Pregnancy-Induced Sciatica
(presented by Savitri Clarke)

20 Mysterious Maladies
Lyme Disease: Getting Ticked Off
Late-Stage Lyme Disease
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Fibromyalgia: A Tussle with Your Muscle
The Painful Points of Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia: The Work Horse Hurts
Meniere's Disease: Inner Fear of Your Ear
Meniere's Disease
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Mononucleosis
Symptoms of Mono: Emphatic Lymphatics
Infectious Mononucleosis
(presented by Savitri Clarke)

21 Healing from Within
Diabetes: The Sugar Shutdown
Diabetes
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI)
Cancer: The Balancing Act
Defining Your Cancer
Postcancer Support
(presented by Savitri Clarke)
The Facts on Fatigue
CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

22 Veterinary Homeopathy
Working with a Homeopathic Vet
Lady the Boxer Dog
(presented by Karen Komisar, DVM)
Diet: Your Nutrition Mission
Casey the Australian Shepherd Puppy
(presented by Karen Komisar, DVM)
Vaccination: Hesitation?
Homeopathic Vets Across the Pond
Sugar the Female Beagle Dog
(presented by Karen Komisar, DVM)
 

Part 5: INTEGRATION and PARTICIPATION

23 Your Return Visit
Your Follow-Up Visit:
Reporting and Sorting
The Truth Shall Set You Free
Can a Remedy Make You Worse?
Stopping Your Remedy from Working:
Myth and Methods
Is It Working?
The Need for Speed
Signs the Remedy Is Working Well
Signs the Remedy Is Not the Right One
Can I Treat Myself with Homeopathy?
The Second Prescription:
Red, Yellow, or Green Light?
The Toughest Pill to Swallow
Putting the Remedy to the Test
New Remedy: Next!

24 Who's Driving Your Health Bus?
Homeopathy and Conventional Medicine:
A Dissimilar Duo
The Limits of Homeopathy
Genetic Influences: The Family Tree
Adding Homeopathy to Your Team
How to Talk with Your Doctor About Homeopathy

25 Hunting for a Homeopath
Finding a Qualified Homeopath
Education and Certification
Women in Homeopathy
Sticking with Homeopathy

26 The Final Touches
The Evolution of Healing
Lifestyle Matters
Balance
Freedom!

Appendixes
A Glossary
B Further Reading
C Homeopathic Pharmacy Terminology
D A Brief History of Homeopathy
E Homeopathic Schools Index

Back to the Top