Because more and more patients want gentle therapies without side effects, homeopathy has been gaining more and more followers for years - despite all the doubts. He who heals is right, is the famous quote from Hippocrates, the founder of scientific medicine. And homeopathy heals, say doctors and patients. We spoke to general practitioner Dr. Markus Wiesenauer about this.

How does homeopathy work?
Quite simply - the remedies activate the body's self-healing powers, the immune system is stimulated to fight and destroy the invading pathogens. This is easy to observe in the case of illnesses such as a cold or a urinary tract infection.

People keep saying that it doesn't work ...
Oh yes ... It's true, you can't prove the effect in a test tube. But homeopathy works! It works on babies with fever, for example - and babies know nothing about globules or conventional medicine. The same applies to animals. Dogs and horses are treated very successfully with globules, for example for osteoporosis. And animals really can't tell the difference between what medicine they are given.

Which diseases are best treated with globules?
Of course I can't treat diabetes or cancer with globules, that's quite clear. But you can use them to alleviate the side effects of chemical medication, for example. Homeopathy works very well for hay fever and many chronic illnesses - namely when the body's self-healing powers are working. There is a ten-year study on hay fever that clearly proves the effect of homeopathy.

How many homeopathic remedies are there?
We now have around 2,000 different remedies available. As a doctor, I have a good 300 to 400 remedies that I prescribe. For self-medication, however, five substances are enough to cover almost everything. These are Aconitum D6 for fever, Belladonna D6 for feverish middle ear and throat infections, Cantharis D6 for urinary tract infections, Chamomilla D12 for spasmodic pain such as menstrual periods and Rhus toxicodendron D12 for acute pain and severe overloading of the human musculoskeletal system.

What do the potencies actually mean?
Homeopathic remedies contain substances from plants, animals or the earth. These substances are processed. Bee venom, for example, is gradually dynamized, thus losing its toxicity and allergic potential. The result is a remedy that activates the immune system. D6 means that the remedy has been processed six times, D12 twelve times. The higher the potency, the stronger.

How quickly do homeopathic remedies work?
Chronic illnesses cannot be magically cured, but an improvement can be felt after a few days. If you feel a cold coming on, you should start taking the remedy immediately, as it will then be more effective. The same applies to hay fever: the sooner, the better. At the first symptoms, take Galphimia glauca to relieve the allergy.

Can you take several remedies at the same time?
I wouldn't necessarily recommend that. It is often said that homeopathy has no side effects, but this is not true. You should not take the remedies at random, as this can worsen the symptoms or cancel out the effect of the medication. And you shouldn't take them for longer than three or four weeks. Many opponents of homeopathy also criticize the fact that a remedy does not work at all. That can happen, but then it's because I as a doctor have prescribed the wrong medicine. Then I have to start all over again.