Immune Mechanism: A ‘Double-Edged Sword’
“The Immune Mechanism: “A Double-Edged Sword” means that the immune mechanism (consisted of antibody-mediated mechanism and T cell-mediated mechanism), just like one edge playing the role of giving benefit (immunity) as it destroys the agent of infection, and another one can be detrimental as it will cause tissue/cell damages and then give rise to immune diseases (immunopathology).
What’s the significant role of the immune system in your health?
The immune system protects you from microbes (i.e. bacteria, fungi, virus, protozoa) that cause infection, and potentially harmful substances such as toxins and allergens. You may actually consider your immune system as your internal army protecting their headquarters (your body) from invaders and enemies.
Anything that is not a natural part of the body is regarded as a foreign material or a harmful invader and will be attacked by your immune system as a protective mechanism. In particular, the T-cells, which are the primary infection-fighting cells of the body, do this job for you. Moreover, the T regulatory cells must control the quantity and type of T-cells released in your body. This mechanism ensures that your immune system maintains balance and does not go berserk.
However, not everybody has a perfectly functioning immune system. Many individuals struggle with having a weak disease resistance while others have an immune system that is overreacting to the point of attacking your own healthy cells.
Rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus (SLE), Psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative colitis, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis are just a few of the 80 types of autoimmune diseases that affect the population.
When we talk about an “autoimmune disease,” it means you have a condition related to an over-reactive immune system. In other words, your immune function is out of balance and attacking your own body tissues resulting in pain, swelling, and many other symptoms depending on which areas of the body are affected.
HOW HOMEOPATHY CAN HELP TO CURE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES
Homeopathy treats the person as a whole. It means that homeopathic treatment focuses on the patient as a person, as well as his pathological condition. The homeopathic medicines are selected after a full individualizing examination and case-analysis, which includes the medical history of the patient, physical and mental constitution, family history, presenting symptoms, underlying pathology, possible causative factors, etc. A miasmatic tendency (predisposition/susceptibility) is also often taken into account for the treatment of chronic conditions. A homeopathy doctor tries to treat more than just the presenting symptoms. The focus is usually on what caused the disease condition? Why ‘this patient’ is sick ‘this way’. The disease diagnosis is important but in homeopathy, the cause of the disease is not just probed to the level of bacteria and viruses. Other factors like mental, emotional and physical stress that could predispose a person to illness are also looked for. Nowadays, even modern medicine also considers a large number of diseases as psychosomatic. The correct homeopathy remedy tries to correct this disease predisposition. The focus is not on curing the disease but to cure the person who is sick, to restore the health.