Teaching Homeopathy in Northern Virginia

"A lot of people know the word homeopathy, but they don't know what it is," says Christopher Johnson, ND (doctor of naturopathic medicine), who practices at Thrive Naturopathic in Alexandria. This 200-year-old system of medicine was founded by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann. "It's based on the principle that like cures like," explains Johnson. "That means a homeopath tries to find a substance that produces similar symptoms in a healthy person that are present in a sick person."

For example, onions irritate the eyes and make your nose run, which is similar to seasonal allergy reactions. To cure the allergy sufferer, a homeopath would prescribe a series of diluted onion solutions, which would ultimately counter the body's negative allergic reactions, such as the tears and the sniffles. Newcomers to this concept can gain a wider understanding of this alternative medicine at Johnson's "Intro to Homeopathy" class at the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College this spring.

The Basics: Three two-hour sessions are spread out over three weeks and students need to purchase a copy of Timothy Dooley's "Homeopathy: Beyond Flat Earth Medicine" ($11, Timing Publications). The first class is an overview of homeopathy and an examination of how it's used today. According to the World Health Organization, it's the second most widely used form of medicine in the world (bested only by herbal medicine) and it's most popular in Asia, South America and Europe. The second session explores the history of the practice. "People might be surprised to learn that there were more than 100 homeopathic hospitals in America in the early 20th century," says Johnson. Or that one strong public supporter of the medical alternative was President Warren Harding, whose parents were homeopaths.

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