Europeans More Open to Natural Therapies Such as Homeopathy

Europeans, with the popular system of natural health spas, have long been more open to natural medicine than consumers in the U.S. Paradoxically, they also have less tolerance for heavy-handed government regulation of health care, widely seen as being an attempt by government bureaucrats to protect the billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry.

For example, the royal family of England has been a traditional supporter of the alternative medical system of homeopathy. In a recent article in an Icelandic paper, a detailed description of homeopathy was given:

Homeopathy is a system of medicine which states that an ill person can be treated using a substance that can produce, in a healthy person, symptoms similar to those of the illness. Put in an extremely simple way: If your feet get frostbitten, rub them with ice.

HOMEOPATHY is based on the so-called principle of similarity, also widespread in mainstream medicine, the most notable examples being antidotes and vaccines. Classical homeopathy is a holistic medicine; in other words it aims to treat the whole person rather than a single symptom. Instead of suppressing symptoms homeopathic remedies act to stimulate the body’s own defence mechanisms. Homeopathic remedies are made from plants, minerals and other natural substances.
The homeopathic clientele

“There are normally three kinds of people who seek homeopathic treatment,” says Vanessa Parrado Lobo, a Spanish-born homeopath working in Jyväskylä and Helsinki. “There are those who naturally take good care of themselves and believe that they can have a significant impact on their own healing. Another big group is the group of people who are not satisfied with the ‘regular’ medical care. Most of these people suffer from chronic diseases like asthma, migraine, allergy or joint problems. The third group are people sent by a relative or a friend who was helped by homeopathy.”

Parrado Lobo got seriously ill at the age of 18. She was allergic to antibiotics so she had to search for alternative ways of curing. She came across homeopathy and it was love at first sight. She moved to Holland to study homeopathy at The Hahnemann Instituut Nederland for six years.
Parrado Lobo treats people of all ages, from babies to the elderly. Their symptoms vary from flu, chicken pox and ear infections to chronic conditions like depression, genital herpes, migraines, problems of insecurity or shyness and eating disorders.

Homeopathy in Finland
“Homeopathy is not very well known in Finland,” Parrado Lobo explains. “I think the most common prejudice that people have against homeopathy is that they do not believe that you can cure chronic or severe diseases with homeopathy. They associate homeopathy with herbal teas,” she adds. “People also seem to think that you need to believe in it for it to work. My answer to that is: babies and toddlers do not know what they are given and they can still be cured beautifully. They often heal faster than adults.”

“Reading about any form of natural therapy and trying to understand the basics of health and disease can be helpful,” Parrado Lobo says. “Knowledge is power. If you know how your body works and how the dynamics of health and disease work, you can save yourself from many health problems.”

Jaana Laakkonen from Jyväskylä turned to homeopathy with her young daughter who suffered from severe aqua-phobia, or fear of the water. She had anxiety attacks before school swimming lessons and she also suffered from stage fright when having to speak in front of the class. About a year ago Laakkonen and her daughter visited Parrado-Lobo´s studio for the first time. After five appointments and homeopathic treatments her daughter´s problems disappeared. “She actually enjoys swimming nowadays and she is no longer afraid of giving presentations at school,” Laakkonen states.

Another patient of Parrado-Lobo, the seven-month-old daughter of Annalaara Hopkins-Nykänen was cured of food allergies with the help of homeopathy. “We met Vanessa three times. The last appointment was in September and my daughter’s allergy symptoms have stayed away ever since,” Hopkins-Nykänen affirms.

Did you know this?
• Although homeopathy has its roots in an ancient medical philosophy formulated by Hippocrates in the 5th century BC, “like cures like”, modern homeopathy dates back 200 years to the work of the German doctor Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843).

• Classical Homeopathy is so called when it is practiced according to the principles set down by Samuel Hahnemann. The main difference between classical and non-classical homeopathy is the way in which the remedies are prescribed. A homeopath who works classically will only prescribe one remedy at a time. By contrast, clinical or non-classical homeopathy treatments can involve more than one remedy.

• There are approximately 200 members in the Finnish Association of Homeopaths (Suomen Homeopaatit Ry), which has been a member of the ECCH (European Council for Classical Homeopathy) since 1991. Finnish legislation provides no official status for homeopathy, but the Association is working on developing professional criteria that would lead to a register of homeopaths.