Homeopathy for Children

Interview with John Twigg, Founder

talking to Louise Mclean, founder of the Homeopathy Heals Campaign.

14^th January 2010.

LM: How did it start, the idea of the Charity?

JT:  It comes from my background and the original idea goes back to when I was first introduced to homeopathy.   I began to feel great concern for the children being left behind, from a medical point of view.  Historically, homeopaths generally criticise the allopathic system as being detrimental to children's health.  I could no longer put myself in the position of being critical, yet abandoning them.  I reminded myself that in 200 years of homeopathy, at least 90% of innocent, sick kids remain deserted.

I decided to campaign to bring homeopathy particularly to the people I knew, the people who don’t get a chance to see it working.  So I started to treat people immediately.  Within the first few weeks of hearing the word homeopathy, I was giving remedies straight away and people were getting better and as you know, it is quite easy to get good results with children.

LM: Yes, because they are young and vital and haven’t had all the drugs in their system.  I felt the same way.  The pills are so cheap and when you see a child who needs something, why not just give it?  When the remedy picture is clear, it is nothing really to give what they need, if it takes up none of your time and costs virtually nothing.

JT: There are people  who know homeopathy works, people who can afford it and their children get homeopathic treatment.  But I was seeing working class people around me who were very ill, weren’t getting treatment and the knowledge of homeopathy was suppressed for them.  So I decided to try to get homeopathy to them and years later I still find I am doing the same thing - it is my glorious dream to get it out to the masses.  The Brotherhood of Man if you like.  Because I have feelings for these families and their children.  I have not changed my opinion in 30 years and the passion has not waned one bit.  In fact I would say that I am more passionate about it than ever.

LM: My idea would be to encourage homeopaths to give up one morning or one afternoon a month to treat children free.  It really isn’t that much.  Originally, I had an idea to promote homeopathy, suggesting people offer one free consultation per month and then they would have a queue of people wanting the free consultation.  If every homeopath did it, think of how many extra people would be introduced to homeopathy.  They would not only benefit from it but it would spark interest and spread the word.

JT: For this to succeed we have got to get past the first step and that is support from homeopaths to come along in one huge surge.  200 years and we have still not succeeded in taking it to 90% of families and children in this country.  Children are in desperate need of us.  We as homeopaths complain about drug and vaccination damage and yet we still leave people out there stranded.

LM: Even if homeopaths took up my idea of offering one free consultation a month, it would start a queue of people wanting it, who will then tell their friends.  If you treat the children free, then the mother will ask if homeopathy can treat her problems with her cycle, with fibroids or depression and then they will come as well.  Soon the mother will bring her husband and other relations and friends.  But we are not going to make those inroads unless we start reaching out a bit more. If everything’s starting to shrink we have got to make it expand. Initially we will get those people who thought about trying homeopathy but haven’t tried it yet.

JT: This is my vision -  to all unite in one great force.  If we all unite en masse, there is no stopping it Louise.

LM: We know that generally speaking it’s easier to treat children because the remedy pictures are clearer and they haven’t got long histories, so it is quicker to take the case. If we were treating children, we would get lots of other patients from there who would pay but at least we are helping the future generation.

JT:  I’ve had a guy walk in with a child screaming, one cheek red the other pale. You don’t take the case.  Within 30 seconds you have given the remedy Chamomilla and it has taken 30 seconds of your time but you’ve educated someone.

LM:  Exactly, they see their child calming down on the spot and it’s like a miracle.

JT:  And at the same time you tell them to take this bottle of Arnica with you and if your child falls over, either come back to us or give them Arnica immediately.  There’s so much that can be done Louise.  This has to be, it really does.

LM:  So if homeopaths could get together in each town and get a team together, find a place to give the free homeopathy and advertise it outside the clinic or home by putting up a notice, word would soon spread.

JT:  The advertising comes later.  The first step is to get the homeopaths willing to do it.  Once we get them, we start the Charity and then we can start to raise funds.  There are specialist people out there who know how to raise funds.  There are people who work in various areas who can help make this succeed.

LM: The important question is where we would see the children.  It could be at a clinic or person’s house with a notice at street level, saying:

‘Free Homeopathy for Children Clinic Wednesday Afternoons’ or perhaps

4 p.m. – 6 p.m. or 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. so babies and toddlers could be seen before the mothers collect the older children from school.  Or it could be a monthly clinic.

JT: It has got to be national.  The perception is important.  The NHS is a name that works.  Whether it works as a function is a different matter but it works as a name.  I think it is important that we have this one banner name Homeopathy for Children for all homeopaths to work under throughout the whole country.

The clinics can come in any form.  It depends how much funds we can raise.  If we can raise enough, we can start a clinic in every town.  There is already one which has offered their facilities and that is Dr. Trivedi who has offered his clinic, which is an established clinic already in Leicester.  Now we can also have clinics all over the country.

LM: We might be able to find sympathetic doctors who will give homeopaths some space to see children.

JT: We don’t know what direction this will take.  It could be a practitioner will temporarily help with their premises or established clinic.  We might even have enough funds to create clinics with the Homeopathy for Children banner.  Initially we have got to get started and then it will grow.  I would like to see it grow into a huge concern as big as the NHS.  A lovely dream Louise.  Eventually, I would like people to be able to go out of their doors to the end of the road and see a homeopathic clinic.  Nowadays, people go out of their doors and can see an NHS clinic. There are a lot of homeopaths saying the treatment is the wrong treatment.  So come on, let’s alter that situation, let’s turn it around so that the clinics are actually homeopathic clinics.  It’s a dream but why can’t it happen?

LM: I know.  It would be marvellous.

JT: The only people stopping it is ourselves.  We are the first obstacle, the first step and then we have got to really entice these people to us.  Those kids are ill for the rest of their lives Louise.  We have got to stop this.  At the same time we can help the homeopaths who need the income, who can’t spend much time, we can help them as well.

LM: I think so because if everything is starting to slowly dwindle, thanks to the incessant attacks from the media, then we have got to start expanding in the other direction fast.  We have got to do something.

JT: Quickly.

LM: What I try and tell people is the only way we are going to save homeopathy is if enough of the public demand it, then they won’t be able to try and ban it or anything because there would be too much of a public outcry.

JT: You are right and we will only ever get that 5% of the population using homeopathy, because of the way we do it. We will never ever get any more because those are the people who come to us.  So let’s get more.  We can only get more by going to the people who never come to us.

LM: This is going to ultimately create more business and more paying patients.  We need to get away from the competitiveness and turf wars and unite on this.  It can be a win/win situation for all.

JT: We are supposed to be getting people better.  I understand that homeopaths need an income but they could help in other ways.  There are many ways this Charity can be helped and if people put their name down that would help to inspire other homeopaths.

LM: I am sure that it would increase the overall patient numbers because it would be getting the word out.

JT: This is behind the overall concept.  When I announced the Charity, I realised that if the parents see homeopathy working for their children, parents will talk to other parents.  They see homeopathy working they have been told can’t work.  Then more homeopaths will be needed and more colleges will be needed.

LM: We have got to do things on the ground at grassroots level because the press won’t help us, TV won’t help us.  We haven’t got any help from the media at all, quite the reverse.  The Homeopathy Heals Campaign is getting people to put stickers in their cars, windows, clinics. You have to do things on the streets and it is the only way we are going to succeed.

JT: The potential is massive.  In order to have proof, you will never ever beat a person taking a remedy who gets better.  There can never be any better proof than that.

LM: Exactly and this is what we have to demonstrate widely and if patient numbers are dwindling, the only way we can do it is to give some away free because a miracle is still a miracle.

JT: Patient numbers are dwindling because all the potential patients out there are informed that homeopathy cannot work.  They believe it.  The message is put out to create a state of fear. These children need to get well because then they will improve at school, their behavioural patterns will alter.  You need to get the message out to the adults because they are the parents.  The children will not walk to the clinics on their own.

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