Doctor of homeopathy sheds light on practice’s growing popularity, and the myths

Covid-19 triggered many more people to become proactive when it comes to protecting their health and this included an increase in interest in alternative medicine.

Among the alternative medicine options available, homeopathy – developed in the late 1700s in Germany – is among the most common.

It is described as a medical system based on the belief that the body can cure itself. Those who practice homeopathy use tiny amounts of natural substances, like plants and minerals, to stimulate the healing process.

University trained Audrey Janse van Vuuren is a doctor of homeopathy who mixes her own customised medication, specific to each of her patients.

She started her Beacon Bay practice and business seven years ago after relocating from Krugersdorp, Gauteng, where she had a practice for eight years.

There is a lot of confusion over people who term themselves “homeopathic doctors” but who are in reality untrained enthusiastic amateurs.

The real homeopathic doctors, who can legally put “doctor” in front of their name, are university trained. Van Vuuren is part of the latter.

She spent six years studying at the then Witwatersrand Technikon (now University of Johannesburg), studying the same subjects studied by student doctors in their first three years.

The next two years were more patient-orientated using homeopathic diagnostic and healing methods, including natural medication, under the stewardship of lecturers. Her final year involved writing a thesis.

“I recall several students in our first year who had failed to get into medicine for a general practitioner doctor’s degree.

“Many had opted for homeopathy because they thought it would be easier.

“Sadly, they didn’t realise it was very similar to a medical doctor’s training,” Van Vuuren said.

Of the 40 students doing the course she completed, only two graduated in five years — others may have graduated, but not in the prescribed time. 

“There is a belief that homeopathic doctor’s numbers are growing but the increase is not really huge, but what is true is that there are many more patients who are moving from general practitioner [GP] practices to qualified, and I must stress qualified, doctors of homeopathy.

“My business, and it is a business, is growing steadily.”

She controversially attributes the growing popularity of homeopathy to many patients becoming weary of GPs prescribing the same treatment for recurring illnesses — often long courses of antibiotics.

It was a case of a short-term attack on the symptoms without a careful analysis on the causes, she said.

“I became aware of alternative medicine when I was only six years old. Not, obviously linking it to homeopathy.

“I was a sickly child, full of allergies, and always in and out of our family doctor’s [rooms].

“My mother was tired of it and a friend recommended a homeopath, who analysed my situation and provided medication which worked.

“Common sense says this cannot be a placebo impact, not with a young child.”

After matriculating, she worked for a dispensing GP as a secretary.

“I learnt a lot and could guess what medication would be prescribed to patients, and I was seldom wrong.

“But what I did learn was how to assist patients claim from medical aids, something they don’t teach at university.

“The knowledge still is a great financial help to my patients, who can claim.”

She conceded that the views on the value of homeopathy from GPs and homeopathic doctors were miles apart.

A retired anaesthesiologist, who preferred to remain anonymous, shared his views.

“I don’t think my opinions will please either set of doctors, but the downside for the homeopaths is that their methods and drugs have never, to my knowledge, been through the strict medical trials that conventional medicine has to undergo, and that’s a weakness.

“A positive for them is that patient numbers are growing and people appear satisfied with the treatment results.

“And if this is purely due to placebo results, so what?

“If a patient is cured or assisted, then great.”

He said patients who were satisfied with the results would return and become long-term patients.

Backing the anaesthesiologist’s views is that the country’s foremost medical aid group, Discovery, has included registered homeopathic doctors’ treatment fees in its reimbursement structures, albeit subject to plan restrictions.

Van Vuuren said her approach to a new patient differed widely from the typical GP’s.

She spends an hour with them discussing their medical history and this includes their state of mind.

It is never a case of one treatment curing all.

“It’s interesting that when 10 or so people are exposed to a virus only a few get sick, which suggests they have underlying health issues, with the problems often in their immune systems.

“My focus is on the underlying symptoms.

“I don’t shove antibiotics down their throats. Suppressing symptoms does not cure anything.”

Medication plays a big part in her job but she does not prescribe off-the-shelf cures.

She mixes her own customised medication, specific to each patient.

“I call my dispensary my ‘happy place’ because it is calming.

“I make simple to complex remedies that I have formulated and mixed myself.

“There is an ongoing conflict between GPs and homeopaths,” she said, “which could be because many of them [GPs] don’t really understand what we do, but another reason is the unqualified people who call themselves homeopathic doctors.”

In South Africa, homeopathy is a regulated profession, and homeopathic doctors must meet certain requirements to practice.

To become a homeopathic doctor in South Africa, you must have a Bachelor of Homeopathy degree from a recognised university (University of Johannesburg or Durban University of Technology).

The correct choice of homeopathic medicine was dependent on an in-depth analysis of each individual patient, Van Vuuren said.

An example was that when examining a group with severe headaches, each sufferer could get a different cure.

Some, but not all, homeopathic treatment is covered by the national insurance of several European countries, including Denmark, Germany, the US, UK, and Luxembourg.

In other countries, such as Belgium, France, and the Czech Republic, homeopathy is not covered.

In 1992, the Council of the European Communities stated in the preamble to its directive that homeopathy was officially recognised in certain member states but only tolerated in others.

People posing as GPs or homeopaths, without recognised degrees, could face criminal charges, according to the Health Professions Act 1974 (Act No 56 of 1974) Section 17.

It mandates registration with the council as a prerequisite for practising any health profession and failing to register and practicing without authorisation constitutes a criminal offence.

Van Vuuren advised patients that if they were suspicious of any health professional, they had a right to request that they see their credentials.

A clear warning sign was fake doctors always demanding cash payments.

According to Google searches, it is clear many GPs in SA are wary of homeopathy.

Quotes include: “The effectiveness of homeopathic preparations is disputed within medical science.

“You should never stop taking conventional drugs without the knowledge and approval of your doctors.”

“There’s no good quality evidence that homeopathy is an effective treatment.”

“Homeopathic clinical studies are full of methodological and statistical flaws.”

Countering this is a breakdown of the five-year homeopath full-time study degree.

The course has a core of medical subjects, including anatomy, physiology, medical microbiology, biochemistry and epidemiology, and the clinical sciences of pathology and diagnostics.

This is complemented with subjects in classical, clinical and modern homeopathy and homoeopharmaceutics.

Germany has a long tradition of homeopathy and is known for its integration of homeopathic medicine into its healthcare system.

Homeopathy is often taught as part of medical education in Germany, and there are several universities and institutions that offer courses and training in homeopathy.

Ted Keenan interviewed Dr Janse van Vuuren on DispatchLIVE (Google) at midday on Monday.

Her views are not designed to lure patients away from health practitioners but do expose the myths about homeopaths, the licenced ones.

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