Homeopathic medicine uses symptoms as a guide to correcting an imbalance in the individual, whether that imbalance is on the physical, mental or emotional level. Rather than simply controlling symptoms, the homeopathic practitioner recognizes that all symptoms are expressions of how the body defends itself. Symptoms form part of a disturbance that affects the entire individual, and are not just local to a particular body system.
Homeopathy takes into account the most unusual symptoms affecting an individual. These symptoms are referred to in homeopathy as the characteristic symptoms for the patient. The homeopathic remedy is selected according to the characteristic symptoms associated with the individual, not just the symptoms that belong to a particular ailment or illness.
