We have always used homeopathic teething remedies for our children, and they certainly seemed to help. But outside of teething, many people don't understand the broader range of homeopathic remedies and wonder if they really work. The truth is that homeopathic medicine is a bit confusing! We will see what the science says to better understand homeopathic remedies, what they are and how they work.

What is homeopathy?

Many people think that homeopathy is a generic term for natural medicine. But homeopathy is its own unique therapeutic system.

Homeopathic remedies are made from natural substances such as plants and minerals. Some are made from animal products (like snake venom!). These remedies are diluted until almost nothing of the original material remains. The more diluted the remedy, the more powerful it is thought to be.

History of homeopathy

Homeopathy was created in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. The system is based on his doctrine.

While translating medical texts, one passage piqued Hahnemann's interest. It said that the Peruvian bark was a remedy against the paludism because of its bitter quality.

Hahnemann did not believe that bitterness was the reason for his effectiveness, since other substances are also bitter. To better understand the Peruvian bark, Hahnemann took a dose. At that time, he had symptoms similar to those of malaria. According to him, a substance that causes a certain symptom in a healthy person also cures that symptom in a sick person.

He then spent his career doing "feats". These are primitive studies where he and his colleagues gave various substances to healthy people and recorded the symptoms they caused. These records became the basis for what each substance could be used to heal.

Why are homeopathic remedies so popular?

At the time Hahnemann studied homeopathy, allopathic medicine was crude and ineffective. Bloodletting, purging, and using multiple medications without knowing how they might interact were the norm.

Homeopathy, on the other hand, was safe (because of the low dose) and focused on the patient as a whole rather than on a single pathology. This has made it popular with many people.

And he continues to be popular, and his popularity is growing even among educated middle-class people, for some of the same reasons. Although anecdotal evidence is not as scientifically useful as clinical studies, it is still worthwhile. Many people swear by homeopathy.

How do homeopathic remedies work?

Homeopathic remedies are labeled with their dilution power. You may have seen homeopathic products with these labels:

X (ratio 1/10)

C (ratio 1/100)

LM (ratio 1/50,000).

These potencies can be further modified by adding a number to represent how many times the remedy has been diluted and succeeded. For example, 6C means that a remedy was diluted 1:100, then shaken and diluted 1:100 six times.

As you can see, the remedies end up very diluted, which homeopaths say makes them more powerful. They are so diluted that they no longer contain the original substance.

It is not known exactly how homeopathic remedies work in the body. But there are some theories about how homeopathy works.

The main theories

Here are two main theories:

• Water Memory - The water that dilutes the remedy "remembers" the information of the original substance. This is supported by some research that has shown that Raman and Ultra-Violet-Visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy can distinguish between homeopathic remedies and even different dilutions.
• Water Structure - The structure of water changes when it is diluted. Research in South Korea has shown that there are larger groups of molecules in dilute solution than in concentrated molecules. This unexpected discovery may explain why highly diluted homeopathic solutions are still potent.

Because we don't know exactly how homeopathy works, it's hard for many people to believe.

Safety Guidelines for Homeopathic Medicines

Homeopathic remedies are considered safe by a large part of the general population, but are they really? To monitor the growing number of homeopathic products on the market, from coughs to chronic illness, the FDA launched a "risk-based enforcement approach" in 2016. This means that some (but not all) aspects of homeopathic remedies are supervised by the FDA.

What conventional medicine says about homeopathic remedies

Critics of homeopathy argue that it simply doesn't make sense and therefore can't be real. And that's understandable. There is no clear mechanism of action that is agreed upon and supported by science.

Homeopathy defies the fundamental laws of physics and chemistry. For example, the amount of dilution. At some point, a solution will be diluted enough that nothing of the original substance remains. Manyhomeopathic remedies go beyond this point. It is mainly water or alcohol.

In addition, it is commonly accepted that more of a substance (not less) will cause a greater reaction. Homeopathy says the opposite, that less is more.

The evidence that Hahnemann was giving 200 years ago is also difficult to take seriously. These studies were not controlled as quality studies are today.

Critics also say that homeopathy just doesn't work. There are no significant medical studies that support homeopathic remedies. In fact, a systematic review revealed that homeopathy is no better than placebo.

Why do homeopaths disagree?

Proponents of homeopathy disagree despite the overwhelming evidence above. And they also have a pretty good argument.

Unreliable clinical studies

According to an article from the University of Minnesota, clinical studies are not as useful for studying homeopathy. Laboratory research focuses on a disease and a drug. Homeopathy is never a universal treatment. For example, people with joint pain would be grouped together in a clinical study. But homeopathy sees each of these people (with the same symptom) individually. They all have different general presentations, constitutions, life force levels, etc. They would then be treated with different homeopathic remedies.

Research into this individualized "prescription" is finding benefits in homeopathy. One study included only those patients whose homeopathic assessment indicated the remedy Rhus Tox. He concluded that there was a significant improvement over placebo under these conditions.

Mechanism of action of homeopathic remedies

Critics say that homeopathy is impossible. But proponents argue that the mechanism of action is not impossible because the explanation of how homeopathy works is based on quantum physics, not basic physics.

If you know anything about quantum physics, you'll know this is weird (and fascinating). One of his fundamental ideas is that a particle can be in two places at once. Quantum physics, in many ways, is impossible according to classical physics. Therefore, proponents of homeopathy believe that the mechanism of action is simply not yet fully understood.

In addition, they argue that the mechanism of action of some pharmaceuticals is also unknown, but is still prescribed. According to Wikipedia, there are 67 drugs with unknown mechanisms of action.

Dilution does not make a substance less beneficial

Homeopaths argue that there are many pharmaceutical products that work in the same way as homeopathy. But no one says they are charlatans. Some pharmaceuticals have an effect at low doses and the opposite effect at high doses, as suggested by some research published in 2009.

Homeopathic remedies despite lack of research

More focused research is needed to know for sure if homeopathy really works. But that doesn't stop people from using it anyway.

A 2016 Harvard study found that Americans who use homeopathic remedies see a benefit to using them. This is especially true if they see a homeopath for their remedies. But critics might argue that this is a placebo effect.

Another point to weigh: according to this NBC article, 13% of physicians use antibiotics as placebos. Homeopathic remedies, even if they don't work at all, are a placebo choice that at least won't wreak havoc on the all-important gut microbiome.

In addition, many people use homeopathic remedies as a last resort when other things don't work. Other times, people use homeopathic remedies as part of a holistic natural health regimen that they find after deciding to avoid conventional treatments (such as vaccines or chemotherapy). Choosing to use homeopathic remedies is usually only one part of a holistic health regimen.

What do you think? Does homeopathy work? What is your experience?

Sources:

Rao, M. L., Roy, R., Bell, I. R., & Hoover, R. (2007, July). The determining role of structure (including epitaxy) in the plausibility of homeopathy. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17678814

Samal, S., & Geckeler, K. E. (2001, November 07). Unexpected aggregation of the solute in water during dilution. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12240122

A systematic review of systematic reviews of homeopathy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1874503/

Is there good scientific evidence for homeopathy? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/explore-healing-practices/homeopathy/-there-good-scientific-evidence-homeopathy