An Overview of Homeopathy

Summary
Homeopathy is a complete system of medicine that was developed in Germany and has been practiced since the early 1800s. It is based on the belief that every person has a vital force that can be disrupted or thrown out of balance, and when it is, the result is disease. Homeopathic treatment is aimed at stimulating that vital force in order to restore balance and health.

Among the controversial claims in homeopathy is the concept that ‘like cures like’. Based on this theory, one would treat fever by giving a small dose of a substance known to cause fever, or heart palpitations by giving a small, diluted dose of a substance known to cause heart palpitations in larger doses. One way to view this theory is that the symptoms of illness result from the body’s attempts to heal itself – a cough is the body’s attempt to rid itself of germs and impurities in the lungs and respiratory tract, for instance – so giving a substance that would produce a cough in a healthy person helps the body to stimulate its own healing mechanism.

Homeopathy is a holistic alternative medical discipline, in that it takes into account the whole body and not just the symptoms of a disease. It makes use of herbal and traditional remedies in dealing with illness, but the intent is not to eradicate the illness, but to stimulate the body’s own immune system to deal with it.

Homeopathic remedies are made by diluting natural substances that come from plants, animals and minerals in a series of prescribed steps. These remedies are regulated in the same manner as non-prescription, over the counter drugs. However, homeopathic remedies are treated as more akin to nutritional supplements, and need not undergo the testing that new over the counter pharmaceutical drugs must.

The Evidence For
While there have been some studies and reviews of studies that find some benefits to homeopathy, most medical experts agree that the research that has been conducted does not meet the standards for scientific proof. In many studies, homeopathic remedies were no more effective than a placebo.

The Criticisms
There have been some reports of illnesses associated with the use of homeopathic remedies, but FDA reviews determined that the remedies were not likely to be the cause of the illnesses. There are, however some risks associated with homeopathic remedies:

· Patients may feel worse for a time after beginning to take a homeopathic remedy. This is seen by homeopaths as a normal response by the body as it attempts to restore health.
· Liquid remedies contain higher levels of alcohol than is permitted for conventional drugs.
· The minute amounts of an active ingredients that are contained in many homeopathic medicines raise the question of how there could be any effect, helpful or otherwise, in taking them.
· Reviews and research of the effects of substances in ultra high dilutions have not shown any beneficial effects.
· In short, there is little evidence that homeopathy works at all, nor any explanations for why or how it might work.