Waiting Room
Homeopathy
A critical look at homeopathy.
Tracy Morton MD
A walk through a pharmacy or health food store will often reveal a shelf of homeopathic remedies, claiming to treat conditions such as asthma, depression, headaches and dementia. In the past five years, there has been a resurgence of interest in homeopathy and the use of these products. What is homeopathy and what does the evidence say?
Homeopathy was invented by a German physician, Samuel Hahnemann, over 200 years ago. At its core is the idea that illness can be treated with specially prepared dilutions of a substance that at full strength causes the same symptoms as the illness. The ‘remedies’ are prepared by serial dilution and shaking, which proponents claim imprints information into water. The more the substance is diluted, the more potent the water becomes because of the transference of the ‘spirit like’ nature of the substance. The most potent remedies are so dilute that none of the original ingredient remains in the final product.
To put the degree of dilution used by homeopaths into perspective, mixing just one drop of an original substance into all the water on the planet would give a product of only medium potency. Higher potency remedies are diluted far more than this. Furthermore, since water will have been in contact with millions of different substances throughout its history, critics point out that any glass of water is therefore an extreme dilution of almost any conceivable substance, and so by drinking water one would, according to homeopathic principles, receive treatment for every imaginable condition.
It is this degree of dilution that makes the effectiveness of homeopathy so unlikely. There is no rational basis to believe in the transference of a ‘spirit-like’ power into water by the shaking of a solution. There have been many studies done on homeopathic preparations showing that they do not differ in any way from water (or alcohol, in remedies that use this as the diluent). Furthermore, the conceptual framework underlying homeopathy, though plausible 200 years ago in the era of pre-scientific medicine, has not stood the test of time in which there have been stupendous advances in our understanding of biology, physiology and the origins of disease.
One of the central homeopathic tenets, “like cures like,” states that administering a toxic substance in minute quantities will cure a sick person because nature will not allow two similar diseases to exist in the body at the same time. Thus homeopaths introduce a similar artificial disease into the body that will “push the original one out.” This is not consistent with modern knowledge about illness and the body.
Setting aside the theory, the key question is: does it work? There has been a huge amount of research, much of it of poor quality (by the standards of clinical research). Several reviews have been done using standard methods for quality evaluation and analysis of clinical trials on homeopathy. Consistently, reviewers conclude there is little evidence that homeopathy works any better than placebo.
The more interesting question for me is not whether homeopathy is better than placebo, but why does this placebo seem to be so effective at treating so many different conditions? The true strength and power of homeopathy rests in its ability to activate the so-called placebo effect. At its core, this is the activation of a person’s self-healing processes by enhancing the expectation that he/she will become well. Maybe we should be paying more attention to placebo.
Some people feel that if homeopathy appears to be helpful and safe, then scientifically valid explanations or proofs of this alternative system of medicine are not necessary. The fact remains that over two centuries, millions of people have used, and continue to use, homeopathic remedies. Why? Because doing so makes them feel better. Whether this is due to the placebo effect does not matter a great deal. What matters is their belief it is working. Enhancing our innate healing processes (even if through a sort of self-deception) may be the best healer of all.
Resources
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy
www.thecochranelibrary.org: search term = homeopathy
• http://nccam.nih.gov/health/homeopathy/
• http://www.holisticonline.com/Homeopathy/hol_homeopathy.htm
• Ernst, E. A systematic review of systematic reviews of homeopathy. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology: Vol 54(6), 2002. p 577-582
Homeopathy: effective, but why?
Julie Chaplin CHHP
You are unique. The combination of your emotional, mental, and physical entities defines who you are as a unique individual. When you experience pain, discomfort, suffering, or illness, the symptoms are yours.
However, our medical system will treat you, along with everyone else experiencing the same symptoms, with the same diagnosis and, therefore, with the same medication. Conventional medicine believes that symptoms belong to disease; if you experience symptom x then you have disease y. For example, if you suffer from a runny nose and cough, you have a cold. Medicine is then used to remove these symptoms by suppressing the cough and the runny nose. However, without finding the root cause of the symptoms or helping to strengthen the body against the symptoms, our body can become weaker and thus prone to further disease.
Homeopathic medicine, however, considers you a unique individual and realizes that symptoms belong to people, not diseases. Homeopathy works by stimulating the body’s own healing responses to help rebalance our vital life force from the disturbances that have manifested themselves as unique symptoms. Homeopaths examine each individual by taking many factors into consideration such as physical and psychological characteristics including, but not limited to, lifestyle, fears, and personality.
Homeopathy is a holistic form of medicine developed in 1790 by Dr. Samuel Christian Frederick Hahnemann. Homeopathy became popular as an effective alternative to the harmful and often fatal methods such as blood-letting and purging. Based on the theory that “like cures like,” homeopathy is the practice of treating an ill person using a substance that produces similar symptoms in a healthy person—similar to that of vaccinations and allergy shots.
Hahnemann’s remedies are shaken vigorously between each dilution, thereby removing the toxic effects of the offending substance while maintaining its essential healing qualities. Homeopathic remedies contain no molecules of the offending substance due to serial dilution and are therefore safe for infants, children, pregnant and lactating women, the elderly and animals.
The Homeopathic College of Canada, together with the International Academy of Homeopathy Inc., believes that “The time has come for homeopathic medicine to be taught, practised, and experienced as the art and science of comprehending the totality of the human body and its emotional and spiritual expressions.” The American Institute of Homeopathy was organized in 1844 three years before the American Medical Society was formed. By the late 19th century, one out of every six physicians was a homeopath.
There is controversy over the effects of homeopathic remedies having a placebo effect. However, homeopathy has been scientifically tested and proven to be effective. Unfortunately, not until the late 1990s was research on homeopathy allowed to be published in mainstream medical journals.
In a large study done in 1997, published in The Lancet, one group of arthritic patients was treated with homeopathy and anti-inflammatories. The second group was treated with medical drugs and a placebo. The first group showed significant improvement with 42 percent able to stop taking the anti-inflammatories. The second group showed no improvements—none—and 40 percent had to stop taking their drugs due to side effects.
Homeopathic remedies are most effective for common complaints, but are also used for a wide range of conditions and ailments. If you do have recurring and chronic symptoms, it is best to see a professional homeopath who will treat you as a whole being—not just treating your symptoms—and will prescribe remedies that closely match your physical, mental, and emotional characteristics.
As stated by the Homeopathic College of Canada, “When a small, often infinitesimal dose of a substance is administered to a person who exhibits symptoms of illness, that substance can stimulate the body’s own healing abilities to effect a deep and long-lasting cure.”
Resources:
• www.canadahomeopathy.com
• www.homeopathy.edu
• Homeopathy: The Principles and Practice of Treatment by Dr. Andrew Lockie and Dr. Nicola Geddes
• Homeopathic Remedies by Asa Hershoff, M.D.
• Discovering Homeopathy by Dana Ullman
• The Complete Family Guide to Homeopathy by Dr. Christopher Hammond
• Or check out your local health food store for a variety of remedies along with contact information for local Homeopathic & Naturopathic practitioners.
Your Comments on Waiting Room
No one has commented yet on this article.