In the opinion of most US medical professionals, homeopathy is nothing but quackery. While herbs and supplements have remained largely outside of mainstream medicine, physicians have no problem accepting in principle that these could have effects in the body. In contrast, homeopathy is an approach to healing that sounds quasi-magical: homeopathic remedies are so phenomenally diluted that they contain no material substance in them except pure sugar (see below). Proponents of homeopathy claim that these so-called “high-potency” remedies possess some sort of healing energy field—a concept that does not sit well with medical professionals accustomed to seeing the world from a scientific perspective.
Nonetheless, homeopathy is used widely even today, especially in the United Kingdom, but also in the US and other countries. Some studies seem to provide evidence that homeopathic remedies can be effective.
The term homeopathy is formed from the combination of two Greek words: omio meaning “same” and pathos meaning suffering.1 This etymology reflects the homeopathic belief that a substance that causes certain symptoms in a healthy person can cure an ailing person of similar symptoms. Although this theory sounds superficially similar to the principle behind vaccines, homeopathy actually functions in a distinctly different manner. The homeopathic theory has some relationship to ancient healing traditions, but in many ways stands uniquely on its own ground, unrelated to other approaches.
Homeopathy is the invention of Samuel Christian Hahnemann, born in 1755 in Dresden, Germany, and educated as a physician.
The medical practices of the 18th century were remarkably unhelpful and invasive. A good example is bloodletting. Doctors commonly bled their patients of a pint of blood or more per treatment, in the belief that it would accelerate healing. More likely, however, bloodletting impaired the patients' ability to recover, rather than strengthened it, and the practice is undoubtedly responsible for many deaths.
Physicians also used strong laxatives to "cleanse" the body. These purgatives included very toxic drugs containing mercury or arsenic, and they too contributed to the great danger attendant on being visited by a doctor.
Samuel Hahnemann quickly became disillusioned by the standard medical procedures of his time; he gave up his medical practice and supported his family in part by translating old scientific and medical texts into German. In 1790, while translating William Cullen’s Materia Medica, he was struck by the lack of experimental basis for Cullen’s suggested uses for drugs. Hahnemann wondered how doctors could justify prescribing toxic substances without even knowing their effects on healthy people. He came to believe there was a correlation between the resulting symptoms of toxic doses of a given substance and the symptoms that the substance was being used to cure.
To explore his new theory, Hahnemann began collecting reports of accidental poisonings. Later, he tested various substances on himself and documented his reactions to them.
For example, he had read that Cinchona officinalis, or Peruvian bark, was used by South American Indians to treat malaria. Hahnemann took a high dose of Cinchona officinalis and his body reacted by breaking out in fever. Since malaria is characterized by fever, he perceived his own fever as evidence that a substance used to treat an ailment produced similar symptoms in a healthy individual.
Hahnemann then set out to experiment systematically with this hypothesis, ingesting other substances and carefully noting his reactions to them. He also gave substances to other healthy people. Hahnemann took detailed notes of the reactions. He recorded not only major physical symptoms, such as fever, but practically any sensation experienced by the person, including such details as a desire to lie down on one’s left side and restlessness that is worse in the early evening.
These "provings", as he called them, were recorded in homeopathic medical texts (such as the Homeopathic Materia Medica) and became the basis for homeopathic treatment.
Currently, provings are done in a different manner, using homeopathic dilutions of substances rather than the substances themselves. Currently, provings are more often done using high dilutions of substances; in other words, the homeopathic remedy is tested, not the underlying substance. This method is safer, even if not entirely consistent with the original theory.
Based on his observations, Hahnemann postulated three major laws of homeopathy: the first two proposed early in his practice, the third after 20 years of practicing. (There are at least six other relatively minor laws as well.)
The first law is known as the Law of Similars, or “like cures like.” This law states that “a substance that produces a certain set of symptoms in a healthy person has the power to cure a sick person manifesting those same symptoms.” The second law, or Law of Infinitesimals, states that diluting a remedy makes it more powerful.
These two laws in combination define the method of creating homeopathic remedies. The following is an example: the substance ipecac (today, an over-the-counter household remedy for poisoning) causes vomiting. According to the first and second laws of homeopathy, diluted ipecac would potentially treat vomiting, and the more it were diluted, the more effective it would be.
Hahnemann’s third law, the Law of Chronic Disease, states that “when disease persists despite treatment, it is the result of one or more conditions that affect many people and have been driven deep inside the body by earlier allopathic therapy.”2
The word allopathic, which is sometimes today used to describe conventional medicine, was also a creation of Hahnemann and was used as the opposite of “homeopathic.” Allopathic means “other than the disease,” while homeopathic means “same as the disease.” In other words, homeopathy uses remedies that, when taken in high doses by healthy people (according to the first law), cause symptoms similar to those of the disease it is intended to treat. However, the allopathic remedies used by conventional physicians, such as prednisone for asthma, do not have the same relationship. They simply relieve the symptoms, and for that reason (according to homeopathic theory), don’t get to the heart of the problem.
Hahnemann felt that allopathic treatments were actually harmful. A person with a skin rash provides an example. To Hahnemann, such a condition represents the body’s attempt to “release” a deeper illness. Homeopathic treatment would seek to facilitate such a release. In contrast, allopathic remedies, like cortisone cream, “suppress” the rash and thereby drive the illness back into the body.
Note that herbal remedies are also allopathic, according to this principle. Taking St. John’s wort for depression, according to homeopathy, is just as likely to worsen the underlying problem as using Prozac. Furthermore, herbs, like drugs, are said to interfere with the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies. Thus, contrary to popular opinion, homeopathy and herbal medicine are not compatible.
In further work developing the third law, Hahnemann elaborated on the various types of deeply buried diseases that could be the roots of many illnesses. He focused ultimately on psoriasis and syphilis as the primary underlying “miasms” beneath many health problems. However, this feature of his theory is less popular with today’s practitioners of homeopathy.
Hahnemann’s theory of homeopathy is now known as constitutional (or classical) homeopathy. This holistic art looks at the symptom picture of a person, including psychological, emotional, physical, and hereditary information, and tries to choose an appropriate remedy. Recently, however, a simplified form of homeopathy has developed, disease-oriented (or symptomatic) homeopathy, in which remedies are given based solely on specific diseases.
Both types of homeopathy have been studied scientifically, although disease-oriented homeopathy has received more attention for the simple reason that it is easier to study.
The Practice of Homeopathy: Constitutional Homeopathy vs. Disease-Oriented Homeopathy Hahnemann’s theory of homeopathy is now known as constitutional (or classical) homeopathy. This holistic art looks at the symptom picture of a person, including psychological, emotional, physical, and hereditary information, and tries to choose an appropriate remedy. Recently, however, a simplified form of homeopathy has developed, disease-oriented (or symptomatic) homeopathy, in which remedies are given based solely on specific diseases.
Both types of homeopathy have been studied scientifically, although disease-oriented homeopathy has received more attention for the simple reason that it is easier to study.
Homeopathy is highly respected in Britain, where it is part of the national health care system. It is also widely used in India and, to a lesser extent, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, South Africa, and South America. In the United States, homeopathy is becoming more widespread again after a period of decline.
In the US, over-the-counter homeopathic remedies are available in pharmacies and healthfood stores. Unlike herbs and supplements, manufacturers of homeopathic products are allowed to make strong healing claims on the labels, in part because one of the founders of the organization that became the Food and Drug Administration, Senator Royal Copeland, was a homeopathic physician. He made sure that homeopathic medicines were given a specially protected status.
Acetic Acid: Surgery Support
Aconite: Sports Injuries, Surgery Support
Aconitum: The Common Cold
Aconitum Napellus: Ear Infections, Surgery Support
Aesculus: Hemorrhoids
Ambra Grisea: Vertigo
Antimonium Crudum: Warts
Apis Mellifica: Rheumatoid Arthritis
Arnica: Bruises, the Common Cold, Head Injury, Sports Injuries, Stroke, Surgery Support, Venous Insufficiency
Arnica Montana: Childbirth Support, Fibromyalgia, Sports Injuries
Arsenicum: Diarrhea
Arsenicum Album: Cancer Chemotherapy Support
Artemisia Cina: the Common Cold
Asafoetida: Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Asclepias Vincetoxicum and Sulphur: Asthma
Aurum: High Blood Pressure
Baryta Carbonica: High Blood Pressure
Belladonna: Bladder Infections, Breast Engorgement, Childbirth Support, the Common Cold, Ear Infections, Migraines, Radiation Therapy Support, Sports Injuries, Stroke
Bellis Perennis: Sports Injuries, Surgery Support
Berberis Vulgaris: Bladder Infections, Rheumatoid Arthritis
Bryonia: Breast Engorgement, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia
Bryonia Cretica: Rheumatoid Arthritis
Calcarea Carbonica: Osteoarthritis, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), Rheumatoid Arthritis, Venous Insufficiency, Warts
Calcarea Fluorica: Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis
Calendula: Minor Burns, Sports Injuries, Surgery Support
Cantharis: Bladder Infections, Minor Burns
Carbo Vegetabilis: Surgery Support, Tinnitus
Caulophyllum: Childbirth Support
Causticum: Rheumatoid Arthritis, Warts
Chamomilla: Diarrhea, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), Sports Injuries
China Regia: Surgery Support
Chininum Sulphuricum: Tinnitus
Cimicifuga: Childbirth Support
Cocculus: Vertigo
Collinsonia: Hemorrhoids
Colocynthis: Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Conium: Vertigo
Cuprum: the Common Cold
Cyclamen: Migraines
Drosera: the Common Cold
Echinacea: Insect Bites and Stings
Echinacea Angustifolia: Sports Injuries
Echinacea Purperea: Sports Injuries
Equisetum: Bladder Infections
Eupatorium Perfoliatum: the Common Cold
Euphorbium: Hay Fever
Euphrasia: the Common Cold
Ferrosi Phosphas: the Common Cold
Ferrum Phosphoricum: Ear Infections
Galphimia Glauca: Hay Fever
Gelsemium: Migraines, Stroke
Graphites: Tinnitus
Hamamelis: Hemorrhoids, Sports Injuries, Venous Insufficiency
Hepar Sulphuris Calcareum: Sports Injuries
Homeopathic Cough Syrup: the Common Cold
Homeopathic Mouthwash: Cancer Chemotherapy Support
Human Growth Hormone: General Health and Well-being
Hypericum: Sports Injuries, Surgery Support
Ignatia: Migraines
Isopathic Remedies: Hay Fever, Insect Bites and Stings
Kali Carbonicum: Osteoarthritis
L52: the Flu
Lachesis: the Common Cold, High Blood Pressure, Migraines
Ledum: Insect Bites and Stings, Surgery Support
Ledum Palustre: Osteoarthritis, Radiation Therapy Support, Rheumatoid Arthritis
Lycopodium: Gastritis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Mercurius Solubilis: Cancer Chemotherapy Support, Sports Injuries
Millefolium: Sports Injuries
Natrum Muriaticum: Migraines, Warts
Natrum Sulph: Head Injury
Nitricum Acidum: Hemorrhoids, Warts
Nux Vomica: Gastritis
Opium: Surgery Support
Oscillococcinum: the Flu
Petroleumm: Vertigo
Phosphorous: the Common Cold, Surgery Support
Phytolacca: the Common Cold
Plantago: Surgery Support
Podophyllum: Diarrhea
Pulsatilla: Ear Infections, Gastritis, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
Raphanus: Surgery Support
Raphanus Sativus Niger: Surgery Support
Rhus Tox: Fibromyalgia, Osteoarthritis, Sports Injuries
Rhus Toxicodendron: Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sports Injuries
Sarcolactic Acid: Sports Injuries
Sepia: Warts
Silicea: Migraines
Solidago: the Common Cold
Staphysagria: Bladder Infections, Surgery Support, Warts
Strychnos Nux Vomica: Rheumatoid Arthritis
Sulphur: Cancer Chemotherapy Support, Migraines, Radiation Therapy Support, Warts
Symphytum: Sports Injuries
Symphytum Officinale: Osteoarthritis
Thuja occidentalis: Warts
Uragoga Ipecacuanha: the Common Cold
Urtica: Insect Bites and Stings
