Dr. John H. Clarke, a world-renowned homoeopath, wrote many years ago, 'Homoeopathy, the most complete and scientific system of healing the world has ever seen', and homoeopaths all over the world have confirmed these facts during each succeeding decade.

Today, in spite of modern research, homoeopathy still maintains its supremacy, surviving ridicule by those who had little or no experience of it. There are instances recorded in homoeopathic literature of orthodox doctors setting out to 'debunk' homoeopathy and who, after practical experience, became convinced of its efficacy and adopted it in their practices.

It should be understood that homoeopathy is a system of treatment dealing with the individual patient. Every case is considered separately and the selection of the remedy must be controlled by the symptoms exhibited by the sufferer.

To make this clear let us consider two patients suffering from rheumatism. The first has pain in the lower limbs which are red, swollen, aggravated by heat and worse in the evening. The second has a dull aching in the joints of the wrists and elbows which is aggravated by bathing in cold water. Although both are suffering from rheumatism the symptoms are vastly different and the two patients would be given different remedies in order to overcome their troubles. This is more scientific than 'shot gun' prescribing, consisting of one remedy for every sufferer irrespective of the differing symptoms.

Every homoeopathic remedy has been taken by a number of healthy men and women (called provers) to ascertain the action of each drug on the human economy. After taking a specific remedy for a time symptoms began to appear and the provers became unwell. Every symptom that was felt or expressed was written down daily. Not only were physical symptoms experienced but those of the mind also, and after a while some provers were on the borderline of insanity. At a given time the proving was stopped and gradually provers returned to normality, but a very great deal of information had been gathered. These facts were collated and the Homoeopathic Materia Medica was built up.

Since the days of Hippocrates it has been known that 'like cures like' but it was Dr. Samuel Hahnemann who developed this knowledge and placed it one a scientific basis with the help of the provers, and the great lesson is that a substance that will cause symptoms in a healthy person will cure similar symptoms in a sick patient.

The same material medica is still used at the present time for there are no fashions in homoepathic medicines. Once it is known which symptoms a remedy will cure, this knowledge is for all time, it will never change.

In homoeopathic prescribing it is essential to select a remedy that, as near as possible, matches the symptoms of the disease. The more accurate the selection the greater the prospect of success.

When choosing the homoeopathic remedy it is essential to write down the exact location of the ache or pain and a description of it (in the patient's own words); also what makes it better or worse, even though temporarily - e.g., heat, cold movement, pressure etc.

Then the remedies should be studied and the one covering the greatest number of symptoms chosen

An index of symptoms is given near the end of this book for study and help in finding the best remedy to suit the individual set of symptoms.

The name of each homoeopathic remedy followed by a number indicating its strength is recommended in each case. For home prescribing it is advisable to use either the 6th or 12th potency.