Homeopathy & Healthy Aging

Does using homeopathy, along with other preventive measures, such as supportive, nourishing, natural medicines, offer anything useful to people in their later years? yes, indeed — for more reasons than just healthy aging and improved quality of life.

- Dr Amy Rothenberg

I will never forget the first time I treated an older patient. I was a mere 26-year-old, fresh out of naturopathic medical school, and before me sat a woman of 98 with long, flowing white hair and bright eyes that lit up her face. The fine wrinkles around her mouth broke into an easy smile when I walked into the room. Perhaps, she was amused at how young they were letting people practice medicine, and a woman to boot…

She shared her story of deep and overpowering sleepiness ever since she’d had cataract surgery four months earlier. Falling asleep frequently might not seem to be a real complaint in someone of this age, but for this patient, it was. Her 80-year-old daughter, who had brought her in to see me, confirmed that her mother had never been like this before the surgery. As I sat in awe of the two older women and the grace, gentleness, and good humour with which they related to one another and the world, I had found yet another reason to love my job.

GROWING OLDER

In 1900, the average life expectancy in the US, for instance, was 47 years. By 2000, that number had increased by about 50 per cent to the current age of 74. More than 35 million people, about 12 per cent of the US population, are older than 65. This number will nearly double by 2030. The ‘very old’ [considered to be older than 85] make up the fastest growing segment of our population at 1.5 per cent. In the year 2000, just 1 out of 5,578 reached the ripe old age of 100; in 2050, this is predicted to rise to 1 out of 472.

Living longer than they used to, people are experiencing more of the effects of aging and general wear-and-tear than did previous generations. For this reason, healthcare issues have become central to many of our aging patients. Likewise, adults caring for their own parents must face all manner and form of healthcare decisions.

HOMEOPATHY’S ROLE