Homeopathy for the Elderly

Homeopathy for the elderly can be useful as it fulfils all the parameters required for being an ideal system of medicine for Geriatric care, says Dr Nikunj Jani, consultant homeopathic physician from Mumbai. Read on to know more…

Old fashioned homeopathy medicine chest.

Pic courtesy: http://wellcomeimages.org/Wikimedia Commons

I will never be an old man.

To me, old age is 15 years older than I am.

                           – Francis Bacon

This century’s biggest achievement is longevity. All over the world life expectancy has risen, leading to a sharp rise in the number of older persons. As per the UN projections, globally the percentage of people over 60 is rapidly increasing and will reach 29 percent (of the total population) by the year 2025.

For a developing country like India, this may pose mounting pressures on various socio economic fronts including pension outlays, health care expenditures, fiscal discipline, savings levels etc. The economic burden of caring of the aged population will be enormous. Changes in the family and social structure will make care of the elderly problematic. Again this segment of population faces multiple medical and psychological problems. Geriatric population explosion is rapidly engulfing developing countries and India is no exception. In India, elderly population is estimated to be 300.96 million by 2051 (12% of total population), as compared to 75.93 millions in 2001 census

What is Geriatrics?

Geriatrics is the branch of medicine that focuses on health of aged patients. The prime aim of geriatrics care is to treat and prevent disease, disability or illness of old people as well as promote general health of senior citizens. A geriatrician is a doctor who is specialized in providing clinical cares for adults. 

What is Homoeopathy?

Homeopathy is one of the most frequently used forms of Complementary and Alternative Medicine across the world. Homeopathy for the elderly can be useful as it fulfils all the parameters required for being an ideal system of medicine for Geriatric care. Homoeopathy has been established for about 200 years by a German Physician named Dr. Samuel Hahnemann. It is based on the ‘principle of similars’. Highly diluted preparations of substances that cause symptoms in healthy individuals are used to stimulate healing reactions in patients who display similar symptoms when ill. Homoeopathy believes in treating patients holistically, medications are specific to the individual, rather than diseases. Homoeopathy is a safe effective and scientific system of Medicine accepted in over five continents of the world and today is one of the leading alternative medicine systems of the world. 

What is Geriatric Medicine & How it differs from Homeopathy 

Pic courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Geriatrics differs from adult medicine in many respects. The body of an elderly person is substantially different physiologically from that of an adult. Old age is the period of manifestation of decline of the various organ systems in the body. This varies according to various reserves in the organs. Many people cannot differentiate between disease and ageing effects (e.g. renal impairment may be a part of ageing but renal failure is not and urinary incontinence is not a part of normal ageing). Geriatricians aim at treating the disease and decreasing the effect of ageing on the elderly. The decline in physiological reserve in organs make the elderly vulnerable to disease and liable to have complications from mild problems

Functional ability, dependence and quality of life issues are of greater concern to geriatricians perhaps than to adult physicians. Treating an elderly person is not like treating an adult. A major difference between geriatrics and adult medicine is that the elderly sometimes cannot make decisions for themselves. The issues of privacy, legal responsibility, informed consent, etc must always be considered. Elder’s abuse is also a major concern in this age group. In a sense, geriatricians also, often have to “treat” the caregivers and sometimes, the family, rather than just the elders.

Elderly people are highly prone to mental morbidities due to ageing of the brain, problems associated with physical health, cerebral pathology, socio-economic factors such as breakdown of the family support systems, and decrease in economic independence. The mental disorders that are frequently encountered include dementia and mood disorders.

The elderly have specific issues as regard medications. They are particularly subjected to multiple medicines due to multiple diseases and with the advent of Super- speciality in medicine; the Specialists just prescribe medications to their specific specialty not reviewing other medications used by the elder. Multiple diseases mean multiple prescriptions. This leads to more drug-related side effects, interactions and omissions. Sometimes side effects of the drugs may be more than its beneficial effects.

Atypical presentation of illness in the elderly is very common. Presentation may be obscure, misleading or silent. Elders may suffer from heart attack without pain in the chest. They may have stomach ulcers, gall bladder complaints or appendicitis without any abdominal pain. Hence, only a specialised physician like a geriatrician can make an accurate and early diagnosis.

The most important issues of Geriatric practice are immobility, instability, incontinence and impaired intellect/memory. Health issues in older adults may also include decrease in the activities of daily living, use of multiple medications, impaired vision and hearing and depression.

How Can Homeopathy Help & When

Themedicines are safe and non toxic, they have no danger of overdose; Medicines are not addictive, easy to preserve, less expensive in comparison to conventional regimes. In acute and chronic disease, whether the symptoms are physical, mental, or emotional, Homeopathy produces subtle, yet often dramatic, healing. From newborns to elder peoples, most people can benefit from homeopathy. Homoeopathy is not a cure-all system of medicine and it does not reject the great discoveries of modern medical science; but only its commercial abuse. Homoeopath is more concerned with the sick individual and his sickness rather than the mere names of diseases. Thus, great success and curative actions have been possible in patients suffering from allergies, cancers and various auto-immune disorders.

People suffering from common infections tend to get rid of their recurrence when treated Homoeopathically because their immune system is strengthened. In other diseases Homoeopathy can prevent unnecessary surgery (e.g. In cases of Piles, Fissure, Tonsillitis, Calculi, etc) provided these have not grown beyond the capability of the patient’s immune system or have created undesirable mechanical pressure or very gross pathology, which needs surgical intervention. Even in frank surgical cases, homoeopathic medicines can help lessen post-operative shock and hasten healing & recovery. Homoeopathy’s relevance in this day and age is far greater, as man is tampering with the body’s capacity to fight disease by leading an unhealthy lifestyle, abusing the body with stress, unhealthy food and drinks, feeding heavy doses of drug substances indiscriminately, which lead to immuno-suppression. It can be taken by all , right from infants to old people.

Homoeopathy is effective in treating a wide range of diseases from acute inflammations to raging epidemics, from chronic degenerative illness to deep-seated mental and emotional disturbances and, it is safe, non-toxic, gentle, and cost-effective.

Is Homoeopathy Useful in Geriatric Conditions? 

A recent study conducted on 3981 elderly patients treated by homoeopathic physicians in primary care practices in Germany and Switzerland found that the severity of the complaints consistently demonstrated substantial improvements following homeopathic treatment, which were maintained through 24 months of follow up. Homeopathic medical therapy may play a beneficial role in the long-term care of older adults with chronic diseases. Of all the specialities of medicine, geriatrics is a branch which needs a holistic approach; it is also a branch where modern medicine has openly accepted its limitations. Here diagnosis and investigations constitute a small part of the therapeutic process. The need is to understand the person and his/ her surroundings and their socio-cultural background. Along with medication, auxiliary and ancillary measures like diet, exercise, physiotherapy, group activities, support also are the mainstays of treatment.

Homoeopathy fulfils all the parameters required for being the most ideal system of medicine for Geriatric care. Also the cost effectiveness of homoeopathy is much more compared to all other systems of medicine. This can be a great help to the elderly, who already have depleted source of income. Homoeopathy can play a great role in addressing a major healthcare concern of our country effectively.

(The views expressed in this feature are solely of the author)