“Be well prepared for your journey!”

Interview with homeopathy expert Sven Sommer

"Homeopathic globules are ideal travel companions: They take up hardly any space, but are a great help in self-treatment of mild but annoying complaints such as coughs, colds, earaches or diarrhea. And for more severe complaints, they support the immune system and the effectiveness of conventional medicines - and usually without any side effects!"

The renowned homeopathy expert Sven Sommer, author of the compact guide “Homeopathic Home and Travel Pharmacy” and numerous other books, together with the conventional medical practitioner Dr. Werner Dunau, has compiled important information and numerous recommendations for the (self-)treatment of complaints from A to Z at home and when travelling.

The “Homeopathic Home and Travel Pharmacy” is now available in an updated edition in a practical compact format. Why is this guide such an important travel companion?

Sommer: Imagine you are abroad and get sick. Communication problems and the search for a doctor make your situation even more difficult. It is simply practical and helpful to have a small guide with you that allows you to make a certain diagnosis and, in addition to general behavioral tips, offers you homeopathic and conventional medical treatment suggestions.

The public debate about homeopathy and its effectiveness is currently making headlines again. What arguments and research results can you use to convince opponents of this alternative healing method?

Sommer: In my essay “Homeopathy – 100 pages”, which will be published in September 2017 by Reclam, I explore for the first time the theory that the homeopathic active principle was already established as a survival-promoting and thus evolutionary principle when the first cells were formed. According to this, the self-repair mechanisms of the cells are stimulated. There is no doubt today that homeopathy is effective as a form of therapy. There are enough user studies to prove this. However, there is no reliable evidence to date as to whether homeopathic remedies work in individual cases… so that is still pending. However, since a survey found that one in four people in Germany is now a convinced user of homeopathy because the remedies seem to have helped them personally, and most of those surveyed had used the remedies themselves, there is nothing to speak against responsible self-treatment with homeopathic remedies. It is important to seek professional advice if in doubt or if you have serious complaints. Our guide gives you tips on when you should do this.

Above a certain dilution, homeopathic remedies no longer work chemically, but only biophysically. What does this mean, and what advantages does this process offer?

Sommer: We assume that a certain amount of information transfer takes place during the production of the remedies. How exactly this works is not yet known. The advantage is that due to the high dilution, only a few or no chemical molecules of the original substance are left and therefore there is only a vanishingly small probability of conventional side effects. This safety aspect makes the self-administration of homeopathic remedies so interesting.

Business travelers and last-minute vacationers in particular often neglect the necessary travel preparations with regard to health. Which preventative measures are absolutely essential?

Sommer: It is generally important to have adequate insurance cover. Check this and take out good travel insurance if necessary. Of course, I still recommend our guide and a first aid kit with the most important supplies and medication. That way you can go on your trip well prepared.

Which homeopathic remedies and which medications should you definitely take with you if, for example, you are planning a trip to exotic regions?

Summer: A jungle trip in Borneo can be exotic, but so can a trip to Antarctica. It's understandable that you equip yourself differently for these trips. This should also be the case with your travel first aid kit! But fever, cough or earache can plague you all over the world just as much as at home. That's why a general travel first aid kit is important, which you should then expand specifically for the respective long-distance trip. And our guide in your luggage gives you tips on when the fever could be malaria, the cough pneumonia and the earache otitis media and what you can do about it.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to provide medical care, not only abroad but also in many rural areas. Is the trend towards self-treatment with alternative medicine a sensible response to this development?

Sommer: Self-treatment with alternative medicine is generally a sensible decision for most acute complaints. Whether it's a cough, cold, hoarseness, sore throat or earache, diarrhea, etc., acute complaints are usually caused by viruses, and conventional medicine offers nothing useful here other than painkillers and fever reducers. Nevertheless, doctors still prescribe antibiotics far too often, even though they don't help at all with viral diseases. They only cause harm because they also kill the good bacteria in the intestines, which play an important role in the immune system. Not to mention the resistance that occurs. "Wait and see" is what responsible conventional doctors recommend here. In alternative medicine, however, we know of lots of ways to strengthen and support the immune system in a meaningful way. As already mentioned: the only important thing is that you know when to seek professional advice. A good guide helps with this.

In addition to general and conventional medical measures and recommendations, your guide contains the most common homeopathic remedies. For which complaints is one or the other treatment recommended, and how can homeopathy and conventional medicine complement each other?

Sommer: Generally speaking, for milder complaints and simple viral infections, homeopathy is generally sufficient, while for moderate and severe complaints, a combination of homeopathy and conventional medicine is recommended. For example, in the case of a bacterial infection, homeopathy stimulates the body's own immune system, while conventional medicine - such as antibiotics - kills the pathogens, so that the therapies complement each other in a meaningful way. A major advantage of homeopathy is that it generally has no known side effects or interactions with other medications.

Book tip:
Sven Sommer: Homeopathic home and travel medicine cabinet. With conventional medical tips from Dr. Werner Dunau. Mankau Verlag, 2nd updated edition 2017, paperback, 11.5 x 16.5 cm, full color, 220 pages, 9.99 euros (D) / 10.30 euros (A), ISBN 978-3-86374-010-8.

Link recommendations:
More information about the guide "Homeopathic Home and Travel Pharmacy"
To the reading sample in PDF format
More about Sven Sommer
To the Internet forum with Sven Sommer