Six in ten adults in the US have a chronic disease, and four in ten adults have two or more. That’s more than half the entire US population! Now even children are not far behind. The price? It costs US and us $3.8 trillion annually in sick care costs. At this point, it is not health care, and these figures come straight from the CDC.
We all know that modern medicine fails miserably when it comes to treating chronic disease. It shines brilliantly in emergency cases. Yes, there is a place for it, and it’s not treating chronic conditions. If it worked, we wouldn’t have to pay $3,800,000,000,000 every year to ‘manage’ it.
Chronic disease is not only rampant in the US, but all over the world right now, and it is only getting worse every year. Just look at the number of drug commercials on television, radio, or any other media, and you will get a sense of how sick most people are nowadays.
How many of us are, or know someone personally, on prescription medication? How about a few medications, or even more than that? Are we all suddenly deficient in medications?
All allopathic drugs have effects, and the ones that we do not like, we call them side effects. But they do not act quietly on the side as if unnoticed – they are actually nothing less than another disease, which needs another drug to ‘manage’ it. And so we add another drug to the daily dose – before we know it, we’re on poly-pharmacy.
What do you think those weekly pill organizers were designed for?
That isn’t normal, folks. We are not supposed to be drugged every day for the rest of our lives. Medication is not essential to life. You want to live, not just survive. We have to stop suppressing symptoms and silencing our bodies – it solves nothing.
Now The Good News – There is a Better Way!
Many observational studies show that homeopathy shines in this area and can really make a difference in our quality of life. It can treat chronic diseases without side effects and with long-term real, positive results. And it is not just hearsay.
A long-term observational cohort study with 103 homeopathic primary care practices in Germany and Switzerland, published in BMC Public Health, looked at the effects of the homeopathic treatment after eight consecutive years in 3709 patients of a wide age range.
The most frequent diagnoses coming into the study were allergic rhinitis and headache in adults, and atopic dermatitis, and multiple recurrent infections in children.
At the end of 8 years, the results were in: after comparing the baseline and follow-up questionnaires, it was found that the disease severity decreased significantly.
According to the physicians’ assessments, almost 26% of diagnoses were no longer present 24 months into the study. 13% of the study participants reported that they no longer had ANY health complaints! Physical and mental quality of life scores increased considerably.
Overall, the use of allopathic medication decreased from 45% to 26% after 24 months – imagine the medical expense savings! In total, 2,722 (1,903 adults, 819 children) participants contributed to the data.
Most drastic improvements were recorded in the younger participants and in those with the more severe disease at baseline. Most of the participants decided to consult with a homeopath only after exploring many other allopathic treatment options and not finding solutions to their health issues.
Conclusion of the study: homeopathic medical therapy may play a beneficial role in the long-term care of patients with chronic diseases. These effects persisted for as long as eight years.
What About The Older Patients?
Another observational study on the homeopathic treatment of elderly patients was done with a follow-up over two years.
In this study, all patients were 70 years or older, and this was their first time working with the participating homeopathic physicians. Most of the patients had five or more complaints, and 98.6% of all diagnoses were chronic with an average duration of 11.5 years. The most frequent complaints were hypertension and sleep issues. Others included diabetes mellitus, sciatica, low back pain, osteoarthritis, and depression.
The practitioners were free to choose the treatment, which usually included the prescription of homeopathic medicines according to homeopathic principles, could also include the prescription, change or withdrawal of a conventional medicine, referrals to specialists, or hospital admission – all the standard practices that happen when working with an experienced homeopath as part of your health care team.
At the end of this 2-year-long study the results were positive again! The most significant physical and mental improvements were reported in the first three months of the study and were maintained throughout the entire 24 months.
Homeopathy For Lower Back Pain?
Let’s look at one more study, published in the Clinical Journal of Pain, which tested homeopathic treatment effects specifically on lower back pain.
Just to put things in some perspective here, according to ACA (American Chiropractic Association), about 31 million Americans experience lower back pain at any given time, myself included. Worldwide it is a single leading cause of disability. It affects all ages and is a leading cause of lost workdays.
Most common conventional treatments for lower back pain include rest, heat or ice, OCT pain relievers, or prescription medications. All of these serve to ‘manage’ the condition, but do not address the root cause, leaving the patient helpless without the continuous use of drugs.
This prospective observational study lasted two years and included 229 adult patients with chronic lower back pain (average duration 9.6 years) and other chronic diseases.
To evaluate the study results, standardized questionnaires were used. Data on diagnoses and symptoms with severity, health-related quality of life (QoL), medical history, consultations, homeopathic and conventional treatments, and other health service use were recorded.
The results showed noticeable and ongoing improvements in the severity of diagnoses and complaints. The use of conventional treatment and health services decreased substantially: the number of patients using low back pain-related drugs was cut in half compared to the usage before the study started.
Here we see that classical homeopathic treatment can be an effective treatment for low back pain and other chronic conditions. Most importantly, it improves quality of life and reduces the need for other more costly conventional medical treatments.
From my experience, homeopathy can work to improve the main health issue dramatically and, without the patient even realizing it, improve other, more minor, health complaints – they just quietly go away. That’s because it works with the body and not against it. It is not anti-something medicine – it is pro-human medicine and works gently but effectively to heal the whole body.
How many conventional medical treatments or drugs have that kind of track record? I don’t know of any.
These were all observational studies, which some researchers frown upon. Still, these kinds of studies provide an opportunity to observe a large population sample in its natural environment without interference or influence from the observers and for an extended period of time. Just like in real life, where all of us live.
Well-selected homeopathic treatment can help resolve the underlying issues and solve your health problem for good, but not if your nutrition is out of order. Diet always comes first, and if that is not addressed and fixed, then no amount of any medication or treatment, conventional or alternative, will make any lasting change.
If you’ve tried everything under the sun to help with your daily symptoms without much luck, I hope you are now encouraged to explore homeopathy as another option, alongside nutrient-dense, whole foods diet, of course. Look at it as another powerful but gentle tool that you can use in your health journey.
You really don’t have anything to lose and might just gain your health and life back.
Remember, it’s a process. We don’t get sick overnight, so be patient on your journey back to health.
Sources
Back pain facts and statistics https://www.acatoday.org/Patients/What-is-Chiropractic/Back-Pain-Facts-and-Statistics
Homeopathic treatment of patients with chronic low back pain: A prospective observational study with 2 years’ follow-up: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19590483/
Teut, M., Lüdtke, R., Schnabel, K. et al. Homeopathic treatment of elderly patients – a prospective observational study with follow-up over a two year period. BMC Geriatr 10, 10 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2318-10-10
Witt, C.M., Lüdtke, R., Mengler, N. et al. How healthy are chronically ill patients after eight years of homeopathic treatment? – Results from a long term observational study. BMC Public Health 8, 413 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-8-413
About chronic disease https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/index.htm
Daiva Rizvi is a Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Professional Homeopath located in Lyons, CO. She employs a comprehensive approach by combining nutrition and homeopathy to support her clients in achieving optimal health. Recognizing the significance of nutrition as the basis for a strong body, and utilizing the profound healing effects of homeopathic remedies, Daiva offers a balanced and effective solution.
