Naturopathy Case

Natural Medicine has a rich and diverse cultural history. In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century, the practice we know today as Naturopathy began to evolve. Hippocrates is generally credited as the founder of natural medicine. His vast musings and teachings on the practice of medicine written in Third Century BCE are still used in our current medical system. One of his most famous quotes 'With regard to disease...do good, or do no harm' (Hippocrates n.d, p.152) has become the pillar of Naturopathic philosophy.

Benedict Lust, son of Sebastian Kneipp, a prominent hydro-therapist, was a passionate believer in natural medicine after curing himself from tuberculosis using natural techniques. Hailing from Germany, he brought to the United States in 1901 his 'nature care' ideas and after studying homeopathy in New York, founded the first naturopathy school in the world. He purchased the word Naturopathy off fellow homeopath Dr. John Scheel in order to define the thinking of natural medicine. In Lust's 1986 journal The Naturopath and the Herald of Health he writes: 'Naturopathy was not born of a sudden or a happen-so. It's progenitors have for eons been projecting thoughts and ideas and ideals whose communications are crystallized in the new therapy.' (Cited in Pizzorno, Murray 2013, p.34) Lust explains that although this terminology is new, the philosophies and wisdom of naturopathy are generations old.

Iridology was discovered and invented by a Hungarian physician called Dr. Ignatz von Peczely in 1867. After noticing changes in an injured owl's iris at a young age, Peczely went on to pursue medicine and began studying and recording patterns within the irides of his patients, in correlation to their illness or injury. In 1880 he published his findings in his book Discoveries in the Realms of Nature and Art of Healing. He also drew up the first iridology chart for examining the iris.

At a similar time a Swedish clergymen by the name of Nils Lijequist fell ill with malaria and began noticing a parallel between the strong drug prescription he was taking and the changing colour of his iris. 'Physician's were consulted for years. They always prescribed me iodine to besmear the swollen glands and quinine for malaria...years passed by and in the meantime I noticed how the colour of my eyes changed more and more; formally I had blue eyes, now they are greenish with red spots in them.' (Lahn 1914, p 12)

Over time the naturopathic practice has been refined and set guidelines are now in place. The term naturopathy is very broad and can encompass many different styles and variations in therapies and modalities. For this reason it became increasingly difficult to regulate a standard measure of practice for therapists. As modern society has evolved and expectations have changed, naturopathy has now encompassed six principles of naturopathic medicine as a basis of healthcare. This allows each practitioner to still deliver an individualized approach to healing whilst still operating under basic naturopathic guidelines.

The advancement in science and technology has increasingly benefited the iridology practice. Photographic and microscopic development allowed iridologists to gain an enhanced view into a patient's iris and better understand the workings of the eye. With the invention of the microscope, high definition camera lenses and computer imaging programs, a detailed and comprehensive picture can be used to assist the evaluation.

The philosophy of Naturopathy relies on six fundamental principles for optimum health. The primary notion underlying the modality is the inherent healing power of nature. The role of the therapist is to enhance this power within the patient. The other five guidelines involve favouring non-invasive techniques, encouraging healthy lifestyle habits, treating the person as a whole organism, emphasizing prevention and above all education to the patient, which allows them to become independent and not reliant on others for their own good health.