Homeopathy [ˌ homøopaˈtiː] ( "similar suffering" from the Greek ὅμοιος, hómoios, "the same, similar and πάθος, páthos," the suffering, the disease ") is a controversial, widespread form of alternative medicine, which was created by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann ca. 1800.
Its most important and eponymous principle is the rule of similars: "Similar be cured by similar" (similia similibus curentur, Hahnemann). The key selection criterion for a homeopathic medicine is thus that it can cause symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those from which the patient is suffering. The patient receives the chosen remedy in the lowest possible dose, and in a specially prepared, "potentized" form. In the course of this preparation process the medical substance is iteratively shaken with water or alcohol or comminuted with lactose. The result is often extremely diluted so that the starting material is no longer detectable. This is to minimize adverse effects of the substance. Many homeopaths believe that by this preparation procedure the desired effect is also increased.
Those studies which meet present-day scientific requirements show in the overall view that the analysed homeopathic treatments have no medical effectiveness beyond the placebo effect. Moreover, for a similarity principle as a general active principle no plausible mechanism of action can be proffered. The same holds for the mechanical procedures (comminuting, shaking) that are applied in the potentization procedure. There is no evidence for an effect of extremely small doses of a substance. So-called high potencies arithmetically no longer contain any active ingredient whatsoever. The selective increase of desired effects in the potentization procedure that is presumed by many homeopaths contradicts scientific knowledge. For these and other reasons, homeopathy is often referred to as "para[-normal] medicine" or pseudoscience.
1 Basic principles
- 1.1 Similarity principle
- 1.2 Homeopathic provings of remedies
- 1.3 Potentization
- 1.4 The doctrine of chronical conditions
2 Development
- 2.1 History
- 2.2 Status in the German-speaking area
- 2.3 Homeopathy in other countries
- 2.4 Homeopathy under Nazism
3 Tendencies in homeopathy
- 3.1 Classical homeopathy
- 3.2 Scientifically critical homeopathy
- 3.3 Laypersons' homoepathy
- 3.4 Laypersons' associations
- 3.5 Homeopathy in veterinary medicine
4 Application
- 4.1 Choice of remedy
- 4.2 Dosage
- 4.3 Contraindications
- 4.4 "Homeopathic aggravation" / adverse reactions
- 4.5 Homeopathic repertory
5 Criticism of homeopathy
- 5.1 No resilient proof of efficacy
- 5.2 No plausible mechanism
- 5.3 Internal contradictions
- 5.4 Dangers of homeopathy
- 5.5 Other points of criticism
6 Related therapy forms
7 Literature
- 7.1 Primary sources
- 7.2 Secondary literature
- 7.2.1 Supporting
- 7.2.2 Critical
- 7.3 Scientific metastudies of efficacy
8 See also
9 References
Significant events in the history of the German homeopathy article
In 2007, this article was semiprotected for more than 5 months and protected for more than 6 months.
2008
- Edit war on whether to mention measles parties.
2007
- Categorisation as pseudoscience finally deleted; pseudoscience category de:Category:Pseudowissenschaft is deleted as ill-defined and disruptive (after 17 days of polarised discussion in the category's fourth CfD).
- Edit war about NPOV template.
- Section consisting of two quotations removed
- Consensus version of subsection 1.1 (Similarity principle).
- Edit war about categorisation as pseudoscience and alternative medicine.
- Dispute about NPOV template.
- Subsection 2.4 (Homeopathy under Nazism) added.
- First subsection (Vital force) removed from section 1 (Basic principles) without substitution.
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