|
 |
|
|
|
Treating Like with Like
Homeopathy was developed by a German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), who thought, correctly, that the medical treatments of his day -- bleeding, mercury, powerful laxatives, and drugs that caused vomiting -- did more harm than good. He closed his practice and worked as a medical translator to better acquaint himself with healing arts around the world.
Hahnemann became fascinated with cinchona bark, the first effective treatment for malaria. (Cinchona is the source of the antimalarial drug quinine.) In 1790, while experimenting with cinchona bark, Hahnemann ingested some himself and quickly felt cold, achy, anxious, thirsty, and ill -- the very symptoms of malaria that cinchona bark was used to treat. That experience led him to postulate his Law of Similars, the idea that the symptoms of an illness can be treated with the substances that cause the same symptoms in healthy people. The Law of Similars led to the term "homeopathy," which Hahnemann derived from the Greek for "treatment by similars," or using like to treat like.
Hahnemann theorized that substances that produced specific symptoms in healthy individuals -- medicinal herbs, animal materials, and natural chemical compounds -- might be used to treat diseases that produced similar symptoms. For the rest of his life, he tested hundreds of substances on himself and catalogued their effects. Eventually, he reopened his medical practice, prescribing only homeopathic medicines.
But from the start, homeopathy was attacked by the medical establishment, primarily because of Hahnemann's "Law of Potentization," his "minimum dose" idea that homeopathic medicines grow stronger as they become more diluted. Many doctors and scientists feel this violates the fundamental principles of chemistry, physics, and pharmacology, whose "dose-response relationship" principle says that the larger the dose, the greater the effect. Some medicines that homeopaths consider extremely powerful are so diluted that they contain not even one molecule of the active ingredient. Homeopaths postulate that the alcohol or water in which the substance is diluted somehow "remembers" the medicine and retains its action. Largely because of the Law of Potentization, many scientists and doctors have dismissed homeopathy, despite its enduring popularity in countries around the world. However, recent medical studies have shown that this alternative approach to healing may indeed have its merits, even if conventional science can't explain why.
|
|
|
|
|
Existing Medical Research
Until recently, homeopathy was not well researched by the medical establishment. Traditional homeopaths saw no reason to arrange studies, because they were convinced that it works. Most mainstream doctors didn't think it deserved serious study. But attitudes have changed since the mid 1980s, and several good studies have appeared, including the ones dealing with the following conditions:
- Asthma: researchers at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, studied 28 asthma sufferers whose attacks were triggered by exposure to household dust mites. Participants received either a placebo or a microdose of dust mites. Those in the homeopathy group suffered significantly fewer asthma attacks.
- Flu: British researchers gave either a placebo or the homeopathic flu medicine Oscillococcinum (oss-ill-oh-cock-SINE-um) to 487 people with flu symptoms, including sudden fever and muscle aches. After 48 hours, participants taking Oscillococcinum were twice as likely to report significant relief.
- Hay fever: the same University of Glasgow, Scotland, researchers mentioned above also treated 144 hay fever sufferers with either a placebo or a homeopathic medicine. Compared with the placebo group, those who took the homeopathic remedy showed significantly greater relief and less need for antihistamines.
- Infectious diarrhea: spread by contaminated water, this illness is a major cause of childhood death around the world. University of Washington researchers studied 81 Nicaraguan children with infectious diarrhea. Half the children received standard medical treatment -- a rehydration fluid containing water, sugar, and salt. The other half received standard care plus a homeopathic medicine. Among the children receiving only standard care, diarrhea lasted an average of four days. But in the homeopathy group it lasted only 2.5 days, a significantly faster recovery.
- Rheumatoid arthritis: is a potentially crippling form of joint disease. British researchers gave 23 RA patients standard pain medication plus a placebo, and another 23 patients standard medication plus a homeopathic medicine. The homeopathy group reported greater pain relief.
- Finally, at the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands, Dutch epidemiologists analyzed 105 studies of homeopathy from 1966 to 1990, most taken from French and German medical journals not usually translated into English. Of the 105 studies, 24 showed no benefit, but 81 showed significant benefit.
|
|
|
|
|
Common Uses
In classical homeopathy, you visit a homeopath who spends over an hour with you, asking all sorts of questions, not just about the complaint that brought you in, but also about your sleep habits, taste in food, preference for warm or cool weather, and many other questions. The homeopath's goal is to develop a "complete symptom picture" of you. Then the homeopath decides on the medicine that best fits your symptom picture and prescribes it to you.
In addition, several homeopathic home medical guides have been published that recommend medicines for specific ailments. Homeopathic remedies are available over-the-counter in many health stores and increasingly, in traditional drugstores.
Historical and Folkloric Use
Despite the controversy surrounding it, homeopathy was very popular in the United States in the 19th century, with many famous people endorsing it, for example, Mark Twain and John D. Rockefeller.
But by the early 20th century, attacks by the American Medical Association and the arrival of antibiotics almost wiped out homeopathy in America. However, it has remained quite popular in Europe and India. Over the last 25 years, homeopathy has enjoyed a modest renaissance in the United States.
Dosage and Administration
Homeopathic medicine typically comes in little tablets or pellets, which you dissolve on your tongue several times a day. When the treatment works, relief typically comes within 12 to 48 hours.
Homeopathic medicines are known by their Latin names. Sold over the counter, they are so diluted that they have never been shown to cause harm, and are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Homeopathic medicines come in various potencies, which indicate how many times they have been diluted. The 6th potency (6x or 6c) means that the medicine has been diluted six times. The 12th potency (12x or 12c) means a dozen dilutions. Remember -- homeopaths believe their medicines become stronger as they become more diluted, so the 12th potency is considered to be more powerful than the 6th.
Usually, homeopathic medicines are taken in the 6th, 12th, or 30th potency every few hours for a day or two. If you do not experience relief, try another medicine or consult a homeopath or conventional doctor.
Storage
Homeopathic medicines should be handled carefully. Keep the vials tightly capped, away from direct sunlight, and at room temperature. After removing what you need, recap the vials quickly. Wash your hands before handling the medicines. Handle homeopathic remedies as little as possible. Shake the recommended number of pellets or tablets from the bottle into its cap and then into your mouth.
|
|
|
|
|
How to Use Homeopathic Remedies Safely
- If a homeopathic medicine does not provide sufficient relief in 48 hours, try another medicine or consult a homeopath.
- If homeopathic treatment does not provide significant relief after one week, consult a conventional doctor for mainstream care.
- Homeopathic medicines do not cause side effects, as pharmaceuticals often do. But shortly after taking homeopathic medicines, you may feel sleepy or notice some aggravation of symptoms. Homeopaths call this a "healing crisis" and take it as a sign that the medicine is working. Healing crises are most likely when taking high-potency homeopathic medicines (30th potency). They usually pass within 12 hours.
|
|
|
|
|
Websites, Organizations & Manufacturers
- The National Center for Homeopathy
801 North Fairfax Street, Suite 306
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 548-7790
nchinfo@igc.apc.org
- North American Society of Homoeopaths
122 E Pike Street, Suite 1122
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 720 7000
- Homeopathy Home
- Homeopathy Online
Sources & Further Reading
Books
1. Collinge, William, Ph.D., The American Holistic Health Association Complete Guide to Alternative Medicine. New York: Warner Books, 1996.
2. Cummings, Stephen and Dana Ullman. Everybody's Guide to Homeopathy. New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 1997.
3. Ullman, Dana. The Consumer's Guide to Homeopathy. New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 1995.
Find more books on health and wellness at  barnesandnoble.com.
Articles
1. Ferley, J.P. et al. "A Controlled Evaluation of a Homeopathic Preparation in the Treatment of Influenza-like Syndromes," Br. J. Clin. Pharmacology (1989) 27:329.
2. Gibson, R.G. et al. "Homeopathic Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Evaluation of Double-Blind Clinical Therapeutic Trial," Br. J. Pharmacol. (1980) 9:453.
3. Jacobs, Jennifer, M.D., and Richard Moskowitz, M.D. "Homeopathy," in Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Marc S. Micozzi, M.D. (ed.) Churchill/Livingstone, NY, 1996.
4. Jacobs, J. et al. "Treatment of Acute Childhood Diarrhea with Homeopathic Medicine: A Randomized Clinical Trial in Nicaragua," Pediatrics (1994) 93:719.
5. Kleinjen, J. et al. "Clinical Trials of Homeopathy," BMJ (1991) 302:316.
6. Reilly, D. et al. "Is Homeopathy a Placebo Response? Controlled Trial of Homeopathic Potency with Pollen Hay Fever as a Model," Lancet, (10-18-86) p. 881.
7. Reilly, D. et al. "Is Evidence for Homeopathy Reproducible?" Lancet (12-10-94) 344:1601.
| |
|
