doctors at lincoln's bedside

[Eva Elisabeth]

(02-14-2015 03:58 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  [quote='L Verge' pid='44008' dateline='1423932532']
Linda Anderson is our Seward expert... There were at least several others, I believe, over the course of Seward's treatment, but Linda is much better on the Seward subject than anyone I know.

(02-14-2015 03:58 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  Dr. T. S. Verdi - "was a Washington homeopath who was employed as the Sewards' family physician."

I've several times now read about homoeopatic doctors and patients receiving homoeopathic therapy back in those days. I wonder how accurately these terms are used, i.e. does it refer to real homoeopathy or to allopathic treatment with natural remedies?

Since I've often heard people (incorrectly) using the term "homoeopathy" for any treatment with natural remedies, thus also the allopathic way, here the difference goes:

Homoeopathy is a system created in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann. He claimed that "like cures like" (similia similibus curentur). A substance (miasm) that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people will cure similar symptoms in sick people (a bit like vaccination). Furthermore dilution increases potency, and the dilution goes well past the point where no molecules of the original substance remain in the remedy. Thus it lacks biological plausibility and scientific evidence and is contraversal.
Such as using chamomile for disinfectant purposes or against gastroimtestinal issues is allopathic treatment with a natural remedy ("allos" means "different") as pharmacological agent in the common way.

Back to my question - was it really homoeopathy or rather allopathic treatment with natural remedies people were treated with?