How homeopathy can help all ailments

DAWN Belcher turned to homeopathy after becoming seriously ill following a trip to India. She said: “I had a terrible kidney infection, pneumonia, bad period pains and depression.
“I went to see a homeopath and have never been back to a doctor since.”
That was more than ten years ago and Dawn, 41, now runs her own homeopathic practice in Kentish Town where she treats a variety of maladies, including women’s hormonal problems and skin, respiratory complaints and allergies like hay fever. She has helped train students to become homeopaths in Nairobi and worked with children with behavioural disorders with the charity Kids Company. She is now based at the North End Practice at Burghley Road.
Homeopathy is the treatment of ‘like with like’. Minute doses of substances that can cause signs of illness in a healthy person are used to treat the same symptoms in a sick patient.
No one really knows why it works and plenty of scientists and doctors suggest it is the “placebo” effect and doubt that it works at all. But homeopathy has plenty of adherents, including, famously, members of the Royal family.
Tiny doses of plant, animal or mineral materials are soaked in alcohol and then diluted and shaken vigorously. The more a substance is diluted, the stronger its therapeutic effect and potency is believed to be.
Dawn said: “Studies at Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital have shown homeopathy to be effective in the treatment of hay fever. Other studies have shown that homeopathy can alleviate asthma, colds, flu, high blood pressure, whooping cough, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome and depression.”
Your first consultation with Dawn should last about one hour. She’ll ask detailed questions about your physical, mental and emotional health, lifestyle, preferences and fears. On the basis of this information, she will determine your constitutional ‘type’ and classify your symptoms to select the best remedy for you.
Homeopathic remedies are usually only taken for a short time and it’s not unusual to feel slightly worse before you start to feel better. This is known as the ‘healing crisis’ and is thought to be a sign that the body is trying to re-balance itself.
One or two shorter follow-up visits may be required to check you have the right remedy and that it’s working. Benefits should be obvious within a few days.

• Contact the North End Practice 8a, Burghley Road, NW5. Call 020 7485 9362.