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Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine developed by Samuel Hahnemann in the 18th century[1]. Homeopathic practitioners offer treatment comprising diluted substances that can produce, in a healthy person, symptoms similar to those of the illness. To reduce the toxicity of substances such as arsenic, Homeopaths follow a system of serial dilution, comprising rapid shaking between each dilution, which is aimed at retaining the qualities of the substance in the diluent (usually water, sugar, or alcohol) whilst rendering it safe to ingest.

The levels of dilution involved in developing homeopathic medicine can be extreme to the point that the end product is materially indistinguishable from pure water, sugar or alcohol.[2][3][4] Practitioners select treatments according to a patient consultation that explores the physical and psychological state[5] of the patient, both of which are considered important to selecting the remedy.[6]

Homeopathy is scientifically implausible[7][8] and "is diametrically opposed to modern pharmaceutical knowledge."[9]. The lack of convincing scientific evidence supporting its efficacy[10] and its reliance on remedies without molecules have caused homeopathy to be regarded as pseudoscience;[11] quackery;[12][13][14] or, in the words of a 1998 medical review, "placebo therapy at best and quackery at worst."[15]

With rare exceptions, homeopathic remedies are considered safe[16][17], though homeopaths have been criticized for putting patients at risk by advising them to avoid conventional medicine, such as vaccinations,[18] anti-malarial drugs[19] and antibiotics.[20] In many countries, the laws that govern the regulation and testing of conventional drugs do not apply to homeopathic remedies.[21] Current usage around the world varies from two percent of people in the United Kingdom and the United States using homeopathy in any one year[22][23] to 15 percent in India, where it is considered part of Indian traditional medicine.[24] In the UK, the National Health Service runs five homeopathic hospitals,[25] and in the 1990s, between 5.9 and 7.5 percent of English family doctors are reported to have prescribed homoeopathic remedies, a figure rising to 49 percent in Scotland.[26]

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Homeopathic remedies

Homeopathy (also homœopathy or homoeopathy; from the Greek ὅμοιος, hómoios, "similar" + πάθος, páthos, "suffering" or "disease") is a popular alternative medicine developed by Samuel Hahnemann in the late 18th century,[1] based on the concept of similia similibus curantur ("like cures like").[27]

After taking a detailed history of a patient's physical symptoms and state of mind, homeopaths prescribe small quantities of substances that, at higher doses, could be expected to produce symptoms of the disease being treated.[27][28] They contend that remedies for disease can be created by repeatedly diluting certain substances, and shaking them between each dilution. The positive therapeutic power of the substance is allegedly retained by the diluent (water, sugar, or alcohol), while its negative effects are removed. The end product is usually so diluted that it is indistinguishable from pure water, sugar or alcohol by laboratory tests, but is still said to have a therapeutic effect. Mainstream medical practitioners label this a placebo effect.[29][2][30][4]

Homeopathic remedies are generally not tested and regulated under the same laws as conventional drugs. Usage varies around the world, with two percent of people in the UK and the U.S. using homeopathy in any one year,[22][31] while in India, it is considered part of the country's traditional medicine.[24] In the UK, the National Health Service runs five homeopathic hospitals,[32] and in the 1990s, between 5.9 and 7.5 percent of English family doctors are reported to have prescribed homoeopathic remedies, a figure rising to 49 percent in Scotland.[33] Homeopathic remedies are generally considered safe, with rare exceptions,[34][35] although there has been criticism that patients have been placed at risk by advice that they avoid conventional treatment such as vaccination, anti-malarial drugs, and antibiotics.[18][19][36]

The ideas behind homeopathy are regarded by mainstream scientists as "diametrically opposed to modern pharmaceutical knowledge."[7][8][37] Claims for its efficacy beyond placebo are unsupported by the collective weight of scientific and clinical studies.[38][39][40][41] The lack of convincing scientific evidence,[10] and its contradiction of basic scientific principles, have caused homeopathy to be regarded as pseudoscience,[42][43][44][45] or, in the words of a recent medical review, as "placebo therapy at best and quackery at worst."[15]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference homhist1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "Dynamization and Dilution". Creighton University Department of Pharmacology. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
  3. ^ Smith, Trevor. Homeopathic Medicine Healing Arts Press, 1989. 14-15
  4. ^ a b "Similia similibus curentur (Like cures like)". Creighton University Department of Pharmacology. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
  5. ^ Hahnemann, Organon of medicine, aphorism 217 [1]
  6. ^ Hahnemann, Organon of medicine, aphorism 5[2]
  7. ^ a b Shang A, Huwiler-Müntener K, Nartey L; et al. (2005). "Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homoeopathy and allopathy". Lancet. 366 (9487): 726–732. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67177-2. PMID 16125589. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Ernst2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Johnson T, Boon H (2007). "Where does homeopathy fit in pharmacy practice?". American journal of pharmaceutical education. 71 (1): 7. PMID 17429507.
  10. ^ a b Jerry Adler. "No Way to Treat the Dying" - Newsweek, Feb 4, 2008
  11. ^ National Science Board (April 2002) Science and Engineering Indicators, Chapter 7, "Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding" - "Science Fiction and Pseudoscience" (Arlington, Virginia: National Science Foundation Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences)
  12. ^ Wahlberg, A. (2007) "A quackery with a difference—New medical pluralism and the problem of 'dangerous practitioners' in the United Kingdom," Social Science & Medicine 65(11) pp. 2307-2316: PMID 18080586
  13. ^ Atwood, K.C. (2003) "Neurocranial Restructuring' and Homeopathy, Neither Complementary nor Alternative," Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery 129(12) pp. 1356-1357: PMID 14676179
  14. ^ Ndububa, V.I. (2007) "Medical quackery in Nigeria; why the silence?" Nigerian Journal of Medicine 16(4) pp. 312-317: PMID 18080586
  15. ^ a b Ernst E, Pittler MH (1998). "Efficacy of homeopathic arnica: a systematic review of placebo-controlled clinical trials". Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960). 133 (11): 1187–90. PMID 9820349. Cite error: The named reference "Ernst" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  16. ^ "Zicam Settlement". Online Lawyer Source. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
  17. ^ Chakraborti, D; Mukherjee, SC; Saha, KC; Chowdhury, UK; et al. (2003). "Arsenic Toxicity from Homeopathic Treatment". Clinical Toxicology. 47 (1): 963–967. doi:10.1081/CLT-120026518. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ a b Ernst E, White AR (1995). "Homoeopathy and immunization". The British journal of general practice: the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners. 45 (400): 629–630. PMID 8554846.
  19. ^ a b Jones, Meirion (2006-07-14). "Malaria advice 'risks lives'". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  20. ^ Critical review of The Science of Homeopathy from the British Homoeopathic Journal Volume 67, Number 4, October 1978
  21. ^ "Legal Status of Traditional Medicine and Complementary/Alternative Medicine: A Worldwide Review" (PDF). World Health Organization. World Health Organization. 2001. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  22. ^ a b Tindle HA, Davis RB, Phillips RS, Eisenberg DM (2005). "Trends in use of complementary and alternative medicine by US adults: 1997–2002". Alternative therapies in health and medicine. 11 (1): 42–9. PMID 15712765.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ Thomas K, Coleman P (2004). "Use of complementary or alternative medicine in a general population in Great Britain. Results from the National Omnibus survey". Journal of public health (Oxford, England). 26 (2): 152–7. PMID 15284318.
  24. ^ a b Singh P, Yadav RJ, Pandey A (2005). "Utilization of indigenous systems of medicine & homoeopathy in India". Indian J. Med. Res. 122 (2): 137–42. PMID 16177471.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ Hospitals, British Homeopathic Association; Hunter, Mark. "Use of homeopathy in NHS not justified", British Medical Journal, March 9, 2002.
  26. ^ Ross, S; Simpson, C.R.; McLay, J.S. "Homoeopathic and herbal prescribing in general practice in Scotland", British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, volume 62, issue 6, 2006, pp. 647-652, 645-646; Papers cited by Ross et al for the English figures are Perry R, Dowrick CF. "Complementary medicine and general practice: an urban perspective", Complement Ther Med. 2000 Jun;8(2):71-5; Thomas KJ, Nicholl JP, Fall M. "Access to complementary medicine via general practice", Br J Gen Pract. 2001 Jan;51(462):25-30; White AR, Resch KL, Ernst E. "Complementary medicine: use and attitudes among GPs", Fam Pract. 1997;14:302–6.
  27. ^ a b "Homeopathy," Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2008.
  28. ^ "Homeopathy ward escapes cutbacks", BBC News, May 17, 2005.
  29. ^ Note that standard medicine accepts the therapeutic value of placebos.
  30. ^ Smith, Trevor. Homeopathic Medicine Healing Arts Press, 1989. 14-15
  31. ^ Thomas K, Coleman P (2004). "Use of complementary or alternative medicine in a general population in Great Britain. Results from the National Omnibus survey". Journal of public health (Oxford, England). 26 (2): 152–7. PMID 15284318.
  32. ^ Hospitals, British Homeopathic Association; Hunter, Mark. "Use of homeopathy in NHS not justified", British Medical Journal, March 9, 2002.
  33. ^ Ross, S; Simpson, C.R.; McLay, J.S. "Homoeopathic and herbal prescribing in general practice in Scotland", British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, volume 62, issue 6, 2006, pp. 647-652, 645-646; Papers cited by Ross et al for the English figures are Perry R, Dowrick CF. "Complementary medicine and general practice: an urban perspective", Complement Ther Med. 2000 Jun;8(2):71-5; Thomas KJ, Nicholl JP, Fall M. "Access to complementary medicine via general practice", Br J Gen Pract. 2001 Jan;51(462):25-30; White AR, Resch KL, Ernst E. "Complementary medicine: use and attitudes among GPs", Fam Pract. 1997;14:302–6.
  34. ^ "Zicam Settlement". Online Lawyer Source. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
  35. ^ Chakraborti, D; Mukherjee, SC; Saha, KC; Chowdhury, UK; et al. (2003). "Arsenic Toxicity from Homeopathic Treatment". Clinical Toxicology. 47 (1): 963–967. doi:10.1081/CLT-120026518. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  36. ^ Critical review of The Science of Homeopathy from the British Homoeopathic Journal Volume 67, Number 4, October 1978
  37. ^ Johnson T, Boon H (2007). "Where does homeopathy fit in pharmacy practice?". American journal of pharmaceutical education. 71 (1): 7. PMID 17429507.
  38. ^ Brien S, Lewith G, Bryant T (2003). "Ultramolecular homeopathy has no observable clinical effects. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled proving trial of Belladonna 30C". British journal of clinical pharmacology. 56 (5): 562–568. PMID 14651731.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  39. ^ McCarney RW, Linde K, Lasserson TJ (2004). "Homeopathy for chronic asthma". Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online) (1): CD000353. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD000353.pub2. PMID 14973954.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  40. ^ McCarney R, Warner J, Fisher P, Van Haselen R (2003). "Homeopathy for dementia". Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online) (1): CD003803. PMID 12535487.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    "Homeopathy results". National Health Service. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  41. ^ "Report 12 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (A–97)". American Medical Association. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
    Linde K, Jonas WB, Melchart D, Willich S (2001). "The methodological quality of randomized controlled trials of homeopathy, herbal medicines and acupuncture". International journal of epidemiology. 30 (3): 526–531. PMID 11416076.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    Altunç U, Pittler MH, Ernst E (2007). "Homeopathy for childhood and adolescence ailments: systematic review of randomized clinical trials". Mayo Clin Proc. 82 (1): 69–75. PMID 17285788.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  42. ^ National Science Board (April 2002) Science and Engineering Indicators, Chapter 7, "Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding" - "Science Fiction and Pseudoscience" (Arlington, Virginia: National Science Foundation Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences)
  43. ^ Wahlberg, A. (2007) "A quackery with a difference—New medical pluralism and the problem of 'dangerous practitioners' in the United Kingdom," Social Science & Medicine 65(11) pp. 2307-2316: PMID 18080586
  44. ^ Atwood, K.C. (2003) "Neurocranial Restructuring' and Homeopathy, Neither Complementary nor Alternative," Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery 129(12) pp. 1356-1357: PMID 14676179
  45. ^ Ndububa, V.I. (2007) "Medical quackery in Nigeria; why the silence?" Nigerian Journal of Medicine 16(4) pp. 312-317: PMID 18080586
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