To his surprise he found that the more the remedy was diluted, the more active it became, while dissimilar remedies were ineffective. He called his method of dilution potentization and numbered the potencies to indicate the dilution ratio. This paradox, that a lesser amount could be more effective than a larger dose of the same substance, was unacceptable to the scientific community in Hahnemann's time. He and his followers were ridiculed, but homeopathy survived because it achieved remarkable results. Other doctors have continued Hahnemann's work and today's Homeopathic Materia Medica makes the records of years of provings available to homeopathic physicians.
Homeopathic physicians consider it better to treat the sick person rather than the disease.
The orthodox Homeopath will sit with his patient for one or two hours, soliciting information on how the patient feels throughout his entire body and mind. Once the doctor has a picture of the whole person, he consults the Materia Medica to find the one best remedy for all of the symptoms. Because homeopathic doctors look at patients as whole persons , rather than a series of symptoms or carriers of a disease, they often prescribe different remedies for patients suffering from the same disease. This makes controlled studies problematical, but basic principles of homeopathy indicate clearly why this must be so. The remedies which are made come from animal, vegetable, chemical and mineral sources.