1. Why should a person consult essence health clinic rather than getting free treatment from government health care or other natural practitioners?

Homeopathy cures the person as a whole and takes into consideration the physical, mental and emotional state. It gives permanent relief and cures all the other diseases that the person may harbour when he presents with one symptom. Time and money spent for the consultation will result in life-long vitality and good health. Plus all the medicines are made from natural sources and suitable for all ages irrespective of their allergies, other medications and therapies. Homeopathy will work in conjunction with other therapies and cure the disease from the root.

Homeopathy is probably the least expensive in the long run. In most cases you will find the results to be well worth it as well.

Some insurance coverage may be possible if you have an extended heath care benefit plan. Depending upon your individual policy, some part or entire consultation fees may be covered. Please ask your insurance company for more details.

2. Why Essence health care and not other homeopathic or other natural practitioners?

There are many natural health practitioners who have done part-time online courses and got degrees to practice homeopathy. Dr. Hemangi Rajput has over 10 yrs of experience treating patients. She has completed a full-time 5 yr medical school program for homeopathy and worked in hospitals before going into private practice. She has a success rate of over 95% in a wide range of human diseases afflicting all age groups.

3. Where can I buy homeopathic remedies?

Some health food stores, nutritionists, chemists and natural food shops stock a small range of remedies. However, taking over the counter medications based on internet information can be harmful and lead to exacerbations of the condition or not provide any benefit. A qualified homeopath should be first consulted for prescriptions. A full range of remedies, in various potencies and also as mother tinctures, can be bought from specialised pharmacies and manufacturers. If you consult a homeopath, of course, he or she may dispense remedies directly and that is the safest way to go.

4. In what forms are homeopathic remedies available?

Most people buy their remedies in the form of  pilules which have been impregnated with a solution of the named remedy; to take the remedy one simply dissolves one or two pilules on the tongue. For babies and small children, there are also granules, which dissolve more quickly on the tongue and are less easy to spit out!

Remedies are also sold in solution form in small glass phials with screw tops. A few remedies are available as ointments, for topical application only, and some are available as mother tinctures, for mixing with water to make lotions for bathing gargling, etc. Generally speaking 10 drops of mother tincture to 0.25 litre (1/2 pmt) of boiled cooled water are sufficient.

5. Should I buy homeopathic remedies over the counter?

Yes you can, but you will derive only limited benefit or no benefit at all. Remember homeopathy does not work like allopathy. It cures the person as a whole, not one symptom. Instead of buying medicines over the counter and getting disappointed, you should first consult a homeopathic practitioner.

6. When and how should I take homeopathic remedies?

Remedies are best taken in between meals, at least half an hour before or after eating, and should be dissolved or dropped on to a clean tongue. They should not be taken when your mouth tastes of toothpaste, mint, tobacco, strongly flavoured sweets, spicy food, etc. In emergencies make sure the mouth is thoroughly rinsed before taking a remedy.

7. What is the correct dosage?

Frequency and duration of dosage are decided by the practitioner.

In acute conditions, doses should be taken every 1/2 or 1 hour to begin with, up to a maximum of 10 doses. But as soon as there is some improvement, the interval between doses should be increased do 8 or 12 hours for 2 or 3 days at most. There is absolutely no point in continuing to take a remedy once the symptoms have started to disappear.

In chronic conditions 6c remedies are usually taken 3 times a day for up to 14 days, and 30c remedies every 12 hours for a few days. In chronic conditions the stronger the mental and emotional symptoms the higher the potency and the stronger the physical symptoms the lower the potency.

Remember, the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies depends on matching the symptom picture to the remedy picture as precisely as you can, and then taking the smallest possible dose for the least possible time. Once the remedy has delivered its message, your Vital Force will do the rest.

8. Can I give homeopathic remedies to babies or very young children?

Yes, but you may find it easier to give granule rather than pilule because granule dissolve more quickly and are more difficult to spit out.  you can always crush a pilule between two clean spoons.

9. What should I do if the symptoms get worse?

Aggravation, a temporary worsening of symptoms, is not unusual when taking homeopathic remedies. Aggravation is usually a good sign - it means that a remedy is working. If you have simply taken the wrong remedy, it will have no effect. In acute conditions, discomfort may increase for a few minutes, seldom for longer. In chronic conditions, aggravation may last longer, but very rarely for more than a day or two.

The correct thing to do in such circumstances is to stop taking the remedy and wait until your symptoms improve, as they almost certainly will. If improvement continues, there is no need to take the remedy again. If improvement stops, restart the remedy. Where improvement continues for a while, then stops, leaving you with nagging symptoms, take the remedy in a higher potency.

If worsening symptoms are accompanied by any of the following- a persistent temperature of 39 C [104 F] or over, spitting blood or passing blood in stools or urine, a rigid and painful abdomen, increasing breathlessness and chest pain, confusion or abnormal drowsiness - dial 911. If you have diagnosed a condition that is potentially serious, contact your GP or homeopathic physician at once.

10. What should I do if some symptoms improve but others don't?

If you feel better, gradually cut down the remedy dose - the physical symptoms should improve in time. If you get 'stuck', you may need another remedy, probably one that compliments the previous one.

If you experience relief from physical symptoms but find that mental symptoms remain troublesome, it may mean you have suppressed symptoms, although this is quite rare with homeopathy. It is more likely that your underlying condition is changing. To be on the safe side, however, antidote whatever remedy you are taking by drinking two cups of black coffee, or by taking the specific antidote (antidotes are given under each remedy described in the Remedy pictures).

11. What should I do if new symptoms appear?

First stop the remedy. You may be proving it. The symptoms should quickly disappear. If they do not, you may have the wrong diagnosis or remedy. Recheck, and call your homeopath if unsure.

12. What should I do if the symptoms get neither better nor worse?

Review your symptoms, being as specific as you can and see if you can find a more appropriate remedy.

13. Are there any substances I should avoid when talking homeopathic remedies?

Yes. Coffee, alcohol, tobacco, minty flavourings, highly perfumed cosmetics and toiletries, strong smelling household cleaners, all have the ability to antidote homeopathic remedies, and should be avoided completely in acute ailments. Certain aromatherapy oils should not be used while taking homeopathic remedies as they may also antidote the remedies. Avoid peppermint, camphor, eucalyptus, rosemary and the thymes. Lavender is acceptable only in less than a 2 per cent solution. If you have a chronic complaint and your symptoms are steadily improving with homeopathic treatment, you could gradually reintroduce some of them, but if the improvement suddenly stops they may well be the reason why.

14. How should homeopathic remedies be stored?

In a cool, dry, dark place, well away from things that smell, taking care to keep the tops of phials and containers well screwed on. Stored like this, homeopathic remedies remain potent for up to 100 years. Don't transfer remedies from one container to another. And keep them out of reach of children. They aren't poisonous, however much your child may take, but a small child may experience transient diarrhoea from the lactose sugar - and you're whole collection could be wiped out at one go!

15. Is Homoeopathy slow acting?

The pace of action of homoeopathic medicines depends upon many factors. Ifthe disease is of recent origin, the cure should be achieved within a short period. Insuch cases, if the selection of the medicine, its potency and repetitionschedules are correct, then homoeopathic medicines also work quickly.

In chronic cases, it takes more time for complete cure. Homoeopathic medicine, if correctly chosen, will never palliate the disease, rather it eradicates the disease permanently and completely, for which it is quite natural that more time may be required.

16. Same ‘white Homoeopathic pills’ are given to all patients. How do we differentiate?

Homoeopathic medicines are prepared in dilutions initially. The globules are used as media for dispensing the homoeopathic medicines by putting a few drops of the medicine in them. Thus, these pills/powders become the vehicles/media only to retain/carry the medicinal properties and as such, the contents of different phials containing powders/pills vary from one another, qualitatively, although look alike.

17. Can Homeopathic medicines be taken along with allopathic(conventional) medicines?

Yes it is absolutely safe to take homeopathic medicines along with allopathic medicines. In many cases, it is observed that certain patients after continuing allopathic medicines for a long time, with relief in their symptoms become drug dependant. When they give up those medicines abruptly and resort to homoeopathic medicines alone, with the advice of homeopathic physicians, they react adversely resulting in aggravation of their complaints. This happens usually in patients suffering from Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension, Bronchial asthma and Epilepsy, etc. Instead of withdrawing the allopathic medicines suddenly, their doses can be gradually tapered, with the advise of their primary health care practitioner.

18. Where Do Homeopathic Remedies Come From?

Homeopathic remedies are derived from animal, vegetable or mineral sources and carefully produced by a process of dilution and vigorous shaking, called succussion, within a Homeopathic pharmacy. This process of "potentisation" releases the information or energy of the substance without the poisonous side effects which all orthodox drugs produce.

19. How Are Homeopathic Remedies Tested ?

Remedies are not tested on animals or sick human beings but on healthy individuals who then produce a symptom picture. These procedures are known as provings. A remedy which has the ability to produce a symptom picture in a healthy prover, has the ability to cure those symptoms in an individual with the same symptom picture.

20. Whether Homoeopathic medicines have any side effects?

Homoeopathic medicines have no side effects. The term 'side affects' of a medicine relates to modern pharmacology. These drugs are aimed at one area of the body such as the cardiovascular system, the gut, the kidneys, etc. Though they have a primary area of action, they also effect other areas of the body. If these other effects are undesirable, they are known as adverse side effects. For example,Streptomycin, an excellent anti-tuberculer drug, has been known to cause deafness. Here deafness is an adverse side effect of Streptomycin. On the contrary, Homoeopathic medicines are not employed against one particular area or organ of the body. Rather, these are chosen on the basis of the totality of symptoms of the patient and target the patient as a whole. Therefore, side effects, such as tissue destruction, do not occur under Homoeopathy.

21. What successes has homeopathy had?

Homeopathy has gained increasing acceptance in Canada, Britain, Europe and the United States since the 19th century owing to its success in treating people during various infectious disease epidemics.

The death rates from cholera, scarlet fever, typhoid, and yellow fever, following homeopathic treatment were significantly lower than from the orthodox medical treatment of the era.

For example, of 61 patients treated homeopathically at the London Homeopathic Hospital during the cholera epidemic of 1854, there were 15 deaths - whereas at the Middlesex hospital, where conventional treatments were given, there were 123 deaths from 231 cases. The comparative death rates were 16.4% for homeopathic trea

For example, of 61 patients treated homeopathically at the London Homeopathic Hospital during the cholera epidemic of 1854, there were 15 deaths - whereas at the Middlesex hospital, where conventional treatments were given, there were 123 deaths from 231 cases. The comparative death rates were 16.4% for homeopathic treatment and 53.2% for conventional treatment. (British Homeopathic Journal, October 1989, Vol.78)

The yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans and the Mississippi Valley in 1878 is another example of homeopathic success. In New Orleans, 1945 cases were treated homeopathically with 110 deaths (mortality of 5.6%). In the rest of the South, 1969 cases were treated homeopathically with 151 deaths (mortality of 7.7%). This is a favourable comparison with a mortality rate for conventional treatment of at least 16%. (Harris Coulter, [1982, 2nd edition] Divided Legacy: The Conflict between Homeopathy and the American Medical Association, pp.298-302)