People living with HIV or AIDS have been using complementary therapies since the beginning of the epidemic. Prior to the advent of Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART), HIV-positive people used complementary therapies to cope with acute and chronic symptoms as well as to boost immunity. Since the introduction of more effective allopathic medications, more HIV-positive patients continue to use complementary therapies “to improve general well-being, reduce symptoms and to manage the side effects of HAART.”
Given well-documented interest in using complementary therapies by people living with HIV, the question remains as to why homeopathic medicine remains unknown and ignored within the AIDS movement. The American Homeopath Dana Ullman made this point very succinctly when he said; “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.” As the AIDS epidemic has created more awareness about the importance of our immune systems, Homeopathy’s history of successfully treating infectious diseases should be taken into consideration in fighting immune-related diseases such as HIV. We already know that some of the best homeopathic prescribers in the history of Homeopathy, such as Hahnemann, Lippe, and Boenninghausen, were able to cure people suffering from virulent infectious diseases with much lower death rates than their allopathic colleagues. Given the efficacy of ‘Hahnemannian Homeopathy’ in treating virulent epidemics that included scarlet fever, typhoid and cholera, I wonder why the homeopathic community in North America has not stepped up to the challenge of treating people affected by the greatest epidemic of our time?
There may in fact be several reasons to explain why people living with HIV are not accessing homeopathy such as financial limitations, lack of knowledge about the modality and stigma. Because of the success rates of the old masters of Homeopathy in treating all types of disease, but especially infectious disease, I want to examine the effectiveness of using ‘Hahnemannian Homeopathy’ or a more pure form of our art and science in the treatment of people living with HIV or AIDS. Even though we know the history of the efficacy of homeopathy, most of the homeopathic literature on HIV suggests that only the newer or more modern methods can be successful in treating often complex health histories common in HIV-positive people. This paper will focus on providing a manual for Homeopaths to utilize in the treatment of people living with HIV or AIDS that is based on the writings of Hahnemann and not based on the often appealing and speculative beliefs that are promoted by appealing and charismatic modern practitioners. I hope that this is a first step that will encourage more homeopaths to view HIV as any other chronic disease and increase the knowledge and reputation of our amazing medical system within the AIDS movement.
