Homeopathy

History of Homeopathy

Homeopathy (also spelled Homoeopathy or Homœopathy) is a form of alternative medicine, first proposed by German physician Samuel Hahnemann in 1796, that treats patients with heavily diluted preparations which are thought to cause effects similar to the symptoms presented. Homeopathic remedies are prepared by serial dilution with shaking by forceful striking, which homeopaths term "succussion," after each dilution under the assumption that this increases the effect of the treatment. Homeopaths call this process "potentization". Dilution often continues until none of the original substance remains.

Apart from the symptoms of the disease, homeopaths use aspects of the patient's physical and psychological state in recommending remedies. Homeopathic reference books known as repertories are then consulted, and a remedy is selected based on the totality of symptoms. Homeopathic remedies are considered safe, with rare exceptions. However, some homeopaths have been criticized for putting patients at risk with advice to avoid conventional medicine such as vaccinations, anti-malarial drugs, and antibiotics. In many countries, the laws that govern the regulation and testing of conventional drugs do not apply to homeopathic remedies.

Claims of homeopathy's efficacy beyond the placebo effect are unsupported by the collective weight of scientific and clinical evidence. While some studies have positive results, systematic reviews of all the published trials fail to conclusively demonstrate efficacy. Furthermore, higher quality trials tend to report less positive results, and most positive studies have not been replicated or show methodological problems that prevent them from being considered unambiguous evidence of homeopathy's efficacy.

Homeopathic remedies generally contain few or no pharmacologically active molecules, and for such remedies to have pharmacological effect would violate fundamental principles of science. Modern homeopaths have proposed that water has a memory that allows homeopathic preparations to work without any of the original substance; however, the physics of water are well understood, and no known mechanism permits such a memory. The lack of convincing scientific evidence supporting homeopathy's efficacy and its use of remedies lacking active ingredients have caused homeopathy to be described as pseudoscience or quackery.

Practice

Homeopathy is safe. Unlike other medicines, homeopathic medicines usually do not have any side effects. Their ability to cause structural damage is Nil. The reason for this is that homeopathic medicines act by stimulating the body's own defense mechanism and healing powers. They do not have any chemical action, so they do not have the potential to cause any sustained damage. The doses are given in sub-physiological quantities. So they can be given to children and adults alike without worrying about the dosage. Safe for every one.

Homeopathic medicines are very effective - in both acute and chronic conditions. Homeopathy in fact, is the only system of medicine which offers curative treatment (not palliative) to a large number of chronic ailments which have been labeled as 'incurable' by other schools of medicine. In acute ailments also, homeopathic remedies, if selected properly, give results faster then any other systems of medicine.

Homeopathy considers the complaints of a patient in totality. It views a person as a whole, as an integrated entity, and not as a mere collection of body parts. So it treats the person as a whole too. Thus one does not have to visit ten different 'specialists' for his/her ten different body parts. After all our body is more than a collection of parts! So homeopathy saves your time, money and health at the same time.

Homeopathic medicines are easy to administer. Homeopathic medicines are usually dispensed as sweet sugar pills, which are very easy to take. Due to this reason, children readily agree to take homeopathic remedies.

Homeopathic medicines are usually much cheaper than comparable allopathic and ayurvedic drugs. And also there is little stress on costly diagnostic procedures as homeopaths rely on the symptoms to find the right medicine for a person. So the overall cost of treatment is very little. Still this may not appear so to many people in western countries as homeopathic treatment is usually not covered by insurance companies. But that's myopic vision. One has to think of long-term gains. Under proper homeopathic treatment not only the person's immediate complaints improve, but also his/her susceptibility to disease decreases as there is a general improvement in health. So in the long run, there is better health,less medical consultations and the cumulative cost is very low.

Regulation and prevalence

Homeopathy is fairly common in some countries while being uncommon in others; is highly regulated in some countries and mostly unregulated in others. It is practised worldwide and professional qualifications and licences are needed in most countries. Regulations vary in Europe depending on the country. In some countries, there are no specific legal regulations concerning the use of homeopathy, while in others, licences or degrees in conventional medicine from accredited universities are required. In Germany, no specific regulations exist, while France, Austria and Denmark mandate licences to diagnose any illness or dispense of any product whose purpose is to treat any illness. Some homeopathic treatment is covered by the public health service of several European countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Luxembourg. In other countries, such as Belgium, homeopathy is not covered. In Austria, the public health service requires scientific proof of effectiveness in order to reimburse medical treatments and homeopathy is listed as not reimbursable but exceptions can be made; private health insurance policies sometimes include homeopathic treatment. The Swiss government, after a 5-year trial, withdrew homeopathy and four other complementary treatments in 2005, stating that they did not meet efficacy and cost-effectiveness criteria. The Indian government includes homeopathy as a part of the national health system and homeopaths are considered medical professionals. Conventional (Western) medical science is referred to in India as "allopathy" and its practitioners are called allopaths.