HOMEOPATHY

 HOMEOPATHY

Hahnemann conceived of homoeopathy while translating a medical treatise by the Scottish physician and chemist William Cullen into German. Being sceptical of Cullen's theory that cinchona cured malaria because it was bitter, Hahnemann ingested some bark specifically to investigate what would happen. He experienced fever, shivering, and joint pain, symptoms similar to those of malaria itself. From this, Hahnemann came to believe that all effective drugs produce symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the diseases that they treat. This led to the name "homeopathy," which comes from the Greek? hómoios, "-like" and? pathos, "suffering."

The doctrine that those drugs are effective and produce symptoms similar to the symptoms caused by the diseases they treat, called "the law of similar," was expressed by Hahnemann with the Latin phrase similia similibus curentur, or "like cures like

As Hahnemann believed that large doses of drugs that caused similar symptoms would only aggravate illness, he advocated for extreme dilutions. A technique was devised for making dilutions that Hahnemann claimed would preserve the substance's therapeutic properties while removing its harmful effects. Hahnemann believed that this process enhanced "the spirit-like medicinal powers of the crude substances." He gathered and published an overview of his new medical system in his book, The Organon of the Healing Art (1810), with a sixth edition published in 1921 that homeopaths still use today.

Miasma and disease

In the Organon, Hahnemann introduced the concept of "miasma" as the "infectious principles" underlying chronic disease and as "peculiar morbid derangement[s] of vital force." Hahnemann associated each miasm with specific diseases and thought that initial exposure to miasms causes local symptoms, such as skin or venereal diseases. He asserted that if these symptoms were suppressed by medication, the cause went deeper and began to manifest itself as diseases of the internal organs. Homeopathy maintains that treating diseases by directly alleviating their symptoms, as is sometimes done in conventional medicine, is ineffective because all "disease can generally be traced to some latent, deep-seated, underlying chronic, or inherited tendency." The underlying imputed miasm remains, and deep-seated ailments can be corrected only by removing the deeper disturbance of the vital force.

Hahnemann's hypotheses for miasms originally presented only three local symptoms: psora (the itch), syphilis (venereal disease), or sycosis (fig-wart disease). Of these, the most important was psora, which is described as being related to any itching diseases of the skin and is claimed to be the foundation of many further disease conditions. Hahnemann believed it to be the cause of such diseases as epilepsy, cancer, jaundice, deafness, and cataracts. Since Hahnemann's time, other miasms have been proposed, some replacing illnesses previously attributed to the psora, including tuberculosis and cancer miasms.

It was introduced to the United States in 1825 by Hans Birch Gram, a student of Hahnemann.[50] The first homeopathic school in the United States opened in 1835, and the American Institute of Homeopathy was established in 1844. Throughout the 19th century, dozens of homeopathic institutions appeared in Europe and the United States, and by 1900, there were 22 homeopathic colleges and 15,000 practitioners in the United States.

One reason for the growing popularity of homeopathy was its apparent success in treating people suffering from infectious disease epidemics. During 19th-century epidemics of diseases such as cholera, death rates in homeopathic hospitals were often lower than in conventional hospitals, where the treatments used at the time were often harmful and did little or nothing to combat the diseases.[56]

Consultation

Homeopaths generally begin with a consultation, which can be a 10–15-minute appointment or last for over an hour, where the patient describes their medical history. The patient describes the "modalities" or if their symptoms change depending on the weather and other external factors. The practitioner also solicits information on mood, likes and dislikes, physical, mental, and emotional states, life circumstances, and any physical or emotional illnesses. This information (also called the "symptom picture") is matched to the "drug picture" in the materia medica or repertory and used to determine the appropriate homeopathic remedies. In classical homeopathy, the practitioner attempts to match a single preparation to the totality of symptoms (the similar), while "clinical homeopathy" involves combinations of preparations based on the illness's symptoms.

Homeopathic pills are made from an inert substance (often sugars, typically lactose), upon which a drop of liquid homeopathic preparation is placed and allowed to evaporate.

A more dilute solution is described as having a higher "potency" and thus is claimed to be stronger and deeper-acting.[104] The general method of dilution is serial dilution, where the solvent is added to part of the previous mixture, but the "Korsakovian" method may also be used. In the Korsakovian method, the vessel in which the preparations are manufactured is emptied and refilled with solvent, with the volume of fluid adhering to the walls of the vessel deemed sufficient

As performed by Hahnemann, proving involved administering various preparations to healthy volunteers. The volunteers were then observed, often for months at a time. They were made to keep extensive journals detailing all of their symptoms at specific times throughout the day. They were forbidden from consuming coffee, tea, spices, or wine for the duration of the experiment; playing chess was also prohibited because Hahnemann considered it to be "too exciting," though they were allowed to drink beer and encouraged to exercise in moderation. At first, Hahnemann used undiluted doses for provings, but he later advocated provings with preparations at a 30C dilution, and most modern provings are carried out using ultra-dilute preparations.

Lack of scientific evidence

The lack of convincing scientific evidence supporting its efficacy and its use of preparations without active ingredients have led to characterizations of homeopathy as pseudoscience and quackery,[1 or, in the words of a 1998 medical review, "placebo therapy at best and quackery at worst." The Russian Academy of Sciences considers homeopathy a "dangerous 'pseudoscience' that does not work" and "urges people to treat homeopathy 'on a par with magic.'" The Chief Medical Officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, has stated that homeopathic preparations are "rubbish" and do not serve as anything more than placebos. In 2013, Mark Walport, the UK Government's Chief Scientific Adviser and head of the Government Office for Science, said, "Homeopathy is nonsense; it is non-science." His predecessor, John Beddington, also said that homeopathy "has no underpinning of scientific basis" and is being "fundamentally ignored" by the Government.

Jack Killen, acting deputy director of the National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, says homeopathy "goes beyond current understanding of chemistry and physics." He adds: "There is, to my knowledge, no condition for which homeopathy has been proven to be an effective treatment." Ben Goldacre says that homeopaths who misrepresent scientific evidence to a scientifically illiterate public have "... walled themselves off from academic medicine, and critique has been all too often met with avoidance rather than argument".

In an article entitled "Should We Maintain an Open Mind about Homeopathy?" published in the American Journal of Medicine, Michael Baum and Edzard Ernst - writing to other physicians - wrote that "Homeopathy is among the worst examples of faith-based medicine... These axioms [of homeopathy] are not only out of line with scientific facts but also directly opposed to them. If homeopathy is correct, much of physics, chemistry, and pharmacology must be incorrect...".

What Conditions Does Homeopathy Treat?

It's used for a wide variety of health issues, including some chronic illnesses:

"             Allergies

"             Migraines

"             Depression

"             Chronic fatigue syndrome

"             Rheumatoid arthritis

"             Irritable bowel syndrome

"             Premenstrual syndrome

It can also be used for minor issues like bruises, scrapes, toothaches, headaches, nausea, coughs, and colds.

Don't use homeopathic medicine for life-threatening illnesses, like asthma, cancer, and heart disease, or in emergencies. You should also avoid using it in place of vaccines.

"             "Like cures like"-the notion that a disease can be cured by a substance that produces similar symptoms in healthy people.

"             "Law of minimum dose"-the notion that the lower the dose of the medication, the greater its effectiveness. Many homeopathic products are so diluted that no molecules of the original substance remain.

Homeopathic products come from plants (such as red onion, arnica [mountain herb], poison ivy, belladonna [deadly nightshade], and stinging nettle), minerals (such as white arsenic), or animals (such as crushed whole bees). Homeopathic products are often made as sugar pellets to be placed under the tongue; they may also be in other forms, such as ointments, gels, drops, creams, and tablets. Treatments are "individualized" or tailored to each person-it's common for different people with the same condition to receive different treatments. Homeopathy uses a different diagnostic system for assigning treatments to individuals and recognizes clinical patterns of signs and symptoms that are different from those of conventional medicine.

What should I expect if I try it?

When you first see a homeopath, they'll usually ask you about any specific health conditions and your general well-being, emotional state, lifestyle, and diet.

Based on this, the homeopath decides on the course of treatment, which often involves homeopathic remedies given as pills, capsules, or tinctures (solutions).

Your homeopath may recommend that you attend one or more follow-up appointments so the remedy's effects on your health can be assessed.

When is it used?

Homeopathy is used for an extremely wide range of health conditions. Many practitioners believe it can help with any condition.

Among the most common conditions that people seek homeopathic treatment for are:

"             Asthma

"             Ear infections

"             Hay fever

"             Mental health conditions, such as depression, stress and anxiety

"             Allergies, such as food allergies

"             Dermatitis (an allergic skin condition)

"             Arthritis

"             High blood pressure

There's no good-quality evidence that homeopathy is an effective treatment for these or any other health conditions.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which advises the NHS on the use of treatments, doesn't recommend using homeopathy in the treatment of any health condition.

What are the regulation issues?

There's no legal regulation of homeopathic practitioners in the UK. This means that anyone can practice as a homeopath, even if they have no qualifications or experience.

Is homeopathy safe?

Homeopathic remedies are generally safe, and the risk of a serious adverse side effect from taking them is thought to be small.

Some homeopathic remedies may contain substances that aren't safe or interfere with the action of other medicines.

Herbs and other plants, minerals, venom from snakes, and other substances can be used to make homeopathic remedies. They are diluted again and again and "succussed" or shaken vigorously between each dilution. The process of sequential dilution and succussion is called potentization.

How does homeopathy work?

Homeopathic remedies start with substances, such as herbs, minerals, or animal products. These substances are first crushed and dissolved in a liquid, usually grain, alcohol, or lactose, mechanically shaken and then stored. This is the "mother tincture." Homeopaths then dilute tinctures more with alcohol or lactose, either 1 part to 10 (written as "x") or 1 part to 100 (written as "c"). These tinctures are shaken, yielding a 1x or 1c dilution. Homeopaths can further dilute these tinctures two times (2x or 2c), three times (3x or 3c), and so forth. Many times, professional homeopaths will use much higher dilutions because they believe the more diluted the substance, the more potent its healing powers.

Homeopathic remedies aim to stimulate the body's healing mechanisms. Homeopaths believe that physical disease often has mental and emotional components. Hence, a homeopathic diagnosis includes physical symptoms (such as feverishness), current emotional and psychological state (such as anxiety and restlessness), and the person's constitution. A person's constitution includes qualities related to creativity, initiative, persistence, concentration, physical sensitivities, and stamina. The right remedy for a condition will take all of these aspects into account, so each diagnosis and remedy are individualized. That means three people with hay fever could need three different prescriptions.

Health food stores and some pharmacies sell homeopathic remedies for a variety of problems. Homeopaths often recommend taking remedies for no more than 2 to 3 days, although some people may need only 1 to 2 doses before they start feeling better. In some cases, homeopaths may recommend daily dosing.

What happens during a visit to the homeopath?

Your first visit to the homeopath can take from 1 to 2½ hours. Because homeopaths treat the person rather than the illness, the homeopath will interview you at length, asking many questions and observing personality traits, as well as unusual behavioural and physical symptoms. The homeopath may also perform a physical examination and possibly order laboratory work.

What illnesses and conditions respond well?

Scientific evidence is mixed. In some clinical trials, homeopathy appeared to be no better than a placebo. In other clinical studies, researchers believed they saw benefits from homeopathy. More research is needed.

Preliminary evidence shows that homeopathy may be helpful in treating childhood diarrhea, otitis media (ear infection), asthma, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, symptoms of menopause (such as hot flashes), pain, allergies, upper respiratory tract infections, sore muscles, and colds and flu. Some professional homeopaths specialize in treating serious illnesses, such as cancer, mental illness, and autoimmune diseases. In fact, several studies suggest that homeopathy may have a role in symptom relief and improving the quality of life of cancer patients. You should not treat a life-threatening illness with homeopathy alone. Always make sure that all your healthcare providers know about the therapies you are using.

Homeopathic medicines, because they are diluted, generally do not have side effects. However, some people report feeling worse briefly after starting a homeopathic remedy. Homeopaths interpret this as the body temporarily stimulating symptoms while it makes an effort to restore health. In people who have serious illnesses, these temporary aggravations of symptoms can be very harmful. Suppose you have a serious physical or mental illness. In that case, you should only use homeopathy under the guidance of a trained practitioner and inform everyone on your healthcare team about any homeopathic medicines you are taking.

Homeopathic medicines that are sufficiently diluted are not known to interfere with conventional drugs. However, if you are currently taking prescription medicines, you should consult your doctor if you are considering using homeopathic remedies.

Is homeopathy regulated?

The U.S. Congress passed a law in 1938 declaring that homeopathic remedies are to be regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the same manner as nonprescription, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. This means you can purchase homeopathic medicines without a doctor's prescription. Unlike conventional prescription drugs and new OTC drugs, which must undergo thorough testing and review by the FDA for safety and effectiveness before they can be sold, homeopathic remedies do not have to undergo clinical trials.

Homeopathy also uses the principle of a single remedy, which states that one remedy should cover all the physical, emotional, and mental symptoms of an illness.

Homeopathic medicine is designed to stimulate internal healing mechanisms. Treatments are individualized, and only one medicine is given at a time. Practitioners watch and wait to see if the therapy is working before trying something else.

The reasons for this are that the potential for interactions is unknown, one medicine may cancel the other, and if more than one remedy is taken at a time, it's difficult to tell which one is working.

However, sometimes, a homeopathic treatment will initially aggravate symptoms before showing an improvement. Proponents of homeopathy say a slight worsening of the condition is normal at the beginning and a sign the medicine is prompting the body to heal itself.2

Homeopathic remedies are generally safe and without significant side effects since they use only a small amount of a highly diluted substance.

RISING POPULARITY

Thanks to the then-barbaric methods of allopathy, homeopathy caught on like wildfire in Europe and America. Besides royal patronage in European countries, it had renowned proponents like Dickens, Disraeli, Yeats, Thackeray, Goethe, and Pope Pius X. The discipline received a tremendous boost in the 1830s when a cholera epidemic swept Europe. While conventional doctors had a death rate of 50 percent, homeopaths cured 80 percent of their patients. Homeopaths also enjoyed tremendous success in treating cases of yellow fever, typhoid, and scarlet fever.

Homeopathy had a large impact on the practice of medicine. The first homeopathic hospital opened in 1832, and homeopathic medical schools opened all over Europe. Homeopathic hospitals and practitioners often had better outcomes compared to their allopathic counterparts. These improved outcomes were undoubtedly due to the harmful nature of allopathic remedies of the time compared to the non-toxic nature of homeopathic remedies. Thus, the general public began to tout the benefits of homeopathy and demanded better treatment from all physicians.

The new system began taking rapid strides in the New World after Hans Gram, a Dutch homeopath, emigrated to the USA in 1825. In 1844, the American Institute of Homeopathy was formed, America's first national medical society.

Alarmed, conventional doctors formed the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1846. Their primary agenda seemed to halt homeopathy in its tracks. Yet, by 1900, 22 homeopathic colleges, a hundred hospitals, over 1,000 homeopathic pharmacies, and 29 different journals devoted to homeopathy had sprung up in the USA. And nearly 20 percent of doctors were practicing homeopaths.

Between 1829 and 1869, the number of homeopaths in New York doubled every five years. Besides effectively treating infectious diseases, homeopaths provided care for many acute and chronic diseases. Since patients under homeopathic care lived longer, some life insurance companies even offered a 10 percent discount to homeopathic patients! Mark Twain was all praise for the alternative remedy in an 1890 issue of Harper's magazine: "The introduction of homeopathy forced the old school doctor to stir around and learn something of a rational nature about his business." The other advocates included William James, H.W. Longfellow, Nathanial Hawthorne, and Daniel Webster.

By the early part of the twentieth century, homeopathy was in serious decline. The last pure homeopathic medical school in the U.S. closed in 1920, although Hahnemann Medical School in Philadelphia continued to offer homeopathic electives until the 1940s.

Homeopathic practice requires individualization of each treatment, demanding more time than allopathy. This meant that there was more money to be made through allopathy-another blow in the solar plexus for the complementary remedy.

Patients used homeopathy for chronic, physical problems, as well as emotional complaints.14, 15, 16 The most frequent diagnoses for which they seek homeopathy are allergic rhinitis in adult males, headache in adult females, and atopic dermatitis in children.17 Homeopathy is one of the most common CAM therapies in cancer care in Europe, ranging from 11% across cancer diagnoses.18 up to 19% in breast cancer patients19 Among younger cancer patients in Germany, 45% reported that they had used homeopathic remedies during their illness.20

To conclude, homeopathy is likely where the harm is. Although homeopathic remedies do not directly harm patients, it is very possible that harm could occur in homeopathy patients who refrain from seeking traditional medicine.

Patients in the NHS could be indirectly harmed if funds are spent on homeopathy that could have been spent on mainstream care. Patients who are prescribed homeopathic treatments are likely being deceived and, thus, are being treated unethically.

Homeopathy is currently weakening public confidence in the NHS, the MHRA, and science and medicine in general, and also doing a disservice to productive forms of complementary medicine. Most of these unethical effects could be minimized by withdrawing NHS funding for homeopathic practice and educating the public about the lack of an evidence base for homeopathy.

In other words, it would be more ethical for the NHS to stick to treatments of proven worth. There was once a homoeopathic hospital in Tunbridge Wells, but it was closed because 'the NHS has to decide the best use of money on the evidence of clinical effectiveness.' Other NHS trusts would do well to follow this example.