Homeopathy and Herbalism

People sometimes confuse Homeopathy and Herbalism because both systems use herbs as medicines. Their methods of preparing these materials, however, are very different. The Herbalist may use an age-old formula for making an herb tea or a poultice, but can also improvise in the manner of an experienced cook departing from a recipe. As one herbalist expressed it, " Herbalism is more an art and tool of divine nature than a science..... It is very difficult for an herbalist to tell specifically when he or she would use this or that herb in a formula." In this system that depends on the herbalist's intuition and experience, it is standard practice to increase the effect of a formula by combining a number of herbs.

This "artistic" approach to preparing medicine has its dangers. A great many herbs are toxic, particularly when the person ingests a large amount. But the self-help herbalist has no way of knowing what constitutes a "safe" dose, since this information is seldom provided in herb books. In the Journal of the American Medical Association, a doctor recently reported three cases of poisoning, one fatal, resulting from three young women, independently, dosing themselves with large amounts of oil from the pennyroyal plant.

Homeopathy bears no relation to the free-spirit approach and practices of Herbalism. Homeopathy is scientific medicine; its rules were developed by following the procedures of the scientific method. Homeopathic medications are prepared according to an exact process and prescribed accordingly to the law of similars. A physician usually administers only a single remedy at one time. Finally although many Homeopathic remedies are made from poisonous herbs or plants, the potentized remedy contains only minute amounts of the original substance and is nontoxic.