History of Homeopathy

Homeopathy is one of the most popular forms of alternative medicine practiced today, with millions of people worldwide turning to natural healing in an effort to improve and maintain their health. However, what many people don't know is the history of homeopathy and how it came to be so popular.

The history of homeopathy began in Germany with a doctor named Samuel Hahnemann. He graduated from medical school in 1790, but was unhappy with the oftentimes invasive and toxic methods of modern healing that were available at the time. He began researching alternate modes of healing while he was translating medical journals into German, and it was then that he discovered what he came to call "the law of similars."

He discovered that a species of South American tree bark was being used to treat malaria fever. When Hahnemann ingested the bark, it induced malaria-like symptoms, leading to his theory of "like cures like." This means that if a substance can elicit symptoms of an illness in a healthy person, it can be used to address those symptoms in someone who is ill, and has become the standard homeopathy defintition.

He began teaching his practice throughout German and Europe, and eventually his students founded the first US homeopathy school in the late 1800s. With its success in relieving common ailments of the time, such as typhoid, yellow fever, scarlet fever, and cholera, it quickly gained popularity. If fact, in the early 1900s many hospitals and medical schools were regularly practicing and teaching the history of homeopathy.

However, with the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals in the 1920s, popularity of homeopathy began to wane. It has begun to regain popularity in the US, but has remained a major part of the medical community throughout Europe and Asia since its founding.