Prior to the emergence of AIDS, few people were familiar with or cared about the immune system. Now, more than ever, the general public is interested in exploring ways to bolster immune response to prevent the progression of AIDS, as well as to reduce the number and intensity of opportunistic infections and to improve the overall state of their health. By strengthening a person’s own defenses, the body is best enabled to defend itself.
Homeopathy is one way to do this. Although no therapy can or will help every HIV+ person or everyone with AIDS, homeopathy is beginning to develop a reputation for helping people at varying stages of this disease. To understand what homeopathy has to offer, it is necessary to learn something about a different approach to infectious disease than simply attacking a pathogen.
As increasing numbers of physicians learn about homeopathic medicine, they will be exposed to viable alternative treatments which can play an integral role in the care and treatment of people with HIV and AIDS.
Homeopathic medicines, which include minerals, vitamins, and animal products, are natural substances given in very low doses. Homeopathy is based on the principle that “like cures like”, that is, substances that in large doses would cause adverse symptoms will, in small doses, treat those same symptoms. Homeopathy is highly individualized to a patient’s symptoms.
The treatment of people with HIV or AIDS requires professional health care, even when their ailments are seemingly minor. Ideally, they should receive treatment from a homeopath who is an M.D. or a D.O., but otherwise the best care is one that integrates homeopathic treatment with appropriate medical diagnosis and, in emergency situations, with appropriate medical treatment.
One of the advantages of using homeopathy in treating people with AIDS is that they tend to get various unusual symptoms, diseases, and syndromes which evade immediate diagnosis. A homeopath, however, can prescribe a remedy before a definitive conventional diagnosis is made. Because homeopathic medicines are prescribed on the basis of a person’s unique pattern of symptoms, a conventional diagnosis is not necessary for a curative remedy to be prescribed. Preliminary results of a study initiated by the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (CCRH) in 1989 testify to immunostimulatory role of homeopathic medicines in HIV infection.
A randomized placebo-controlled study during 1995-1997 to ascertain the treatment efficacy involved 39 people prescribed homeopathic medicines—Amyle Nitricum-30CH and Azadirachta indica-6X—taken as medicated globules. The individuals also underwent physical and breathing exercises, besides half ounce of honey and 30 grams to 50 grams of moong dal (green gram) sprouts in their daily regimen. At the end of each month, the individuals tested remained asymptomatic.
Despite the seemingly positive results that homeopathic medicines provide for people who are HIV positive, for those with early onset of AIDS, and for those with nonextreme cases of AIDS, most homeopaths do not observe significant improvement in treating people who have advanced stages of AIDS. But there are exceptions to this general rule, and numerous homeopaths find that select patients with advanced stages of AIDS experience dramatic improvement in their quality of life.
Dr. Issac Mathai, a homeopath based in Bangalore, India, recounts: “I have handled around 20 AIDS cases since 1987 with positive changes. The treatment, which improves our immune system by stimulating it to fight this immunity related disease, includes homeopathic medicines, herbal supplements and vitamins. This helps in AIDS cases as the condition itself is related to immunity. Besides, dietary or lifestyle changes make a lot of difference in the patient’s general health.”
Dr. Mathai mentions a 38-year-old, diagnosed HIV positive in 1985 along with his partner, who was asymptomatic after the treatment: “During the treatment his general health was good. Occasionally, he suffered from colds, coughs and stomach upsets, which were treated appropriately with acute homeopathic medicines. During this time his partner passed away. Yet he survived with maintenance medicines, which keep his immune system in good condition.”
Concludes Dr. Mathai: “Since homeopathic treatment is customized to a patient’s requirement, it could vary from person to person.”
Mumbai-based homeopath Dr. Mukesh Batra also treats HIV/AIDS. Says Batra: “We have treated about half-a-dozen AIDS cases in the three years. The treatment works on building up the immune system. Our success rate has been almost 100 per cent in treatments that relieve symptoms of AIDS patients such as repeated cold, cough, weight loss, diarrhea. A patient with AIDS was treated at our clinic in Mauritius a couple of years ago. He tested HIV positive. He was losing weight and had repeated attacks of cold, cough and pneumonia. With homeopathic treatment for about a year and a half he began to put on weight and his tests returned to normal.”
The history of homeopathy’s successes in treating infectious disease epidemics, the research that suggests the immunomodulatory effects of homeopathic medicines, and the clinical research on HIV+ and AIDS patients that indicates beneficial response to homeopathic medicines should command attention by physicians, scientists, and public health officials. Despite this body of work, it is both surprising and depressing that homeopathic medicine has been consistently ignored as a viable part of a comprehensive program in treating HIV positive and AIDS patients.
Link reference: http://www.lifepositive.com/body/body-holistic/AIDS/hiv-treatment.asp#homeopathy
