What is Homeopathy?

Homeopathy ("home-ee-AH-pah-thy") is also known as homeopathic medicine. It’s a whole medical system that originated in Europe. Homeopathy seeks to stimulate the body's ability to heal itself by giving very small doses of highly diluted substances that in larger doses would produce illness or symptoms. (an approach called "like cures like")

Developed in Germany, this form of health care has been practiced in the United States since the early 19th century. Practitioners are commonly called homeopaths.

• Every Person has energy called a vital force or self-healing response. When this energy is disrupted or imbalanced, health problems develop. The aim is to stimulate the body's own healing responses.

• Treatment involves giving extremely small doses of substances that produce characteristic symptoms of illness in healthy people when given in larger doses. This approach is called "like cures like."

• Research studies have been contradictory in their findings. Some analyses have concluded that there is no strong evidence of effectiveness. However, others have found positive effects, but none have been scientifically verified.

• It is important to inform all of your health care providers about any therapy that you are currently using or considering, including homeopathic treatment. This is to help ensure a safe and coordinated course of care.

Homeopathy comes from the Greek words homeo, meaning similar, and pathos, meaning suffering or disease. It is an alternative medical system. Alternative medical systems are built upon complete systems of theory and practice, and often have evolved apart from and earlier than the conventional medical approach used in the United States.

Conventional medicine, as defined by NCCAM, is medicine as practiced by holders of M.D. (medical doctor) or D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) degrees and by their allied health professionals, such as physical therapists, psychologists, and registered nurses. Some conventional medical practitioners are also practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine.

Key Concepts:

• Homeopathic treatments seek to stimulate the body's defense mechanisms and processes so as to prevent or treat illness.

• Treatment involves giving very small doses of substances called remedies that, according to homeopathy, would produce the same or similar symptoms of illness in healthy people if they were given in larger doses.

• Treatment is individualized. (tailored to each person) Homeopathic practitioners select remedies according to a total picture of the patient, including not only symptoms but lifestyle, emotional and mental states, and other factors.

In European countries, training is usually pursued either as a primary professional degree completed over 3 to 6 years or as postgraduate training for doctors.

In the United States, training is offered through diploma programs, certificate programs, short courses, and correspondence courses. In addition, it may be offered as part of a medical education in naturopathy.

Laws about what is required vary among states. Three states (Connecticut, Arizona, and Nevada) license medical doctors specifically for homeopathy.

Naturopathy, also known as naturopathic medicine, is an alternative medical system that emphasizes natural healing approaches (such as herbs, nutrition, and movement or manipulation of the body). Some elements of naturopathy are similar to homeopathic medicine, such as an intent to support the body's own self-healing response.

What do homeopathic practitioners do in treating patients?

Typically, patients have a lengthy first visit, during which the provider takes an in-depth assessment of the patient. This is used to guide the selection of one or more homeopathic remedies. During follow-up visits, patients report how they are responding to the remedy or remedies, helping the practitioner make decisions about further treatment.

What are homeopathic remedies?

Most homeopathic remedies are derived from natural substances that come from plants, minerals, or animals. A remedy is prepared by diluting the substance in a series of steps. Many remedies are so highly diluted that not one molecule of the original natural substance remains. Remedies are sold in liquid, pellet, and tablet forms.

How does the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate homeopathic remedies?

Because of their long use in the United States, the U.S. Congress passed a law in 1938 declaring that homeopathic remedies are to be regulated by the FDA in the same manner as nonprescription, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, which means that they can be purchased without a physician's prescription. Today, although conventional prescription drugs and new OTC drugs must undergo thorough testing and review by the FDA for safety and effectiveness before they can be sold, this requirement does not apply to homeopathic remedies.

Remedies are required to meet certain legal standards for strength, quality, purity, and packaging. In 1988, the FDA required that all homeopathic remedies list the indications for their use (i.e., the medical problems to be treated) on the label. The FDA also requires the label to list ingredients, dilutions, and instructions for safe use.

The guidelines for homeopathic remedies are found in an official guide, the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, which is authored by a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization of industry representatives and homeopathic experts. The Pharmacopoeia also includes provisions for testing new remedies and verifying their clinical effectiveness. Remedies on the market before 1962 have been accepted into the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States based on historical use, rather than scientific evidence from clinical trials.

Have any side effects or complications been reported from the use of homeopathy?

The FDA has learned of a few reports of illness associated with the use of homeopathic remedies. However, the FDA reviewed these reports and decided that the remedies were not likely to be the cause, because of the high dilutions.

Here is some general information that has been reported about risks and side effects in homeopathy:

• Homeopathic medicines in high dilutions, taken under the supervision of trained professionals, are considered safe and unlikely to cause severe adverse reactions.

• Some patients report feeling worse for a brief period of time after starting homeopathic remedies. Homeopaths interpret this as the body temporarily stimulating symptoms while it makes an effort to restore health.

• Liquid homeopathic remedies can contain alcohol and are permitted to have higher levels of alcohol than conventional drugs for adults. This may be of concern to some consumers. However, no adverse effects from the alcohol levels have been reported either to the FDA or in the scientific literature.

• Homeopathic remedies are not known to interfere with conventional drugs; however, if you are considering using homeopathic remedies, you should discuss this with your health care provider. If you have more than one provider, discuss it with each one.

• As with all medicinal products, a person taking a homeopathic remedy is best advised to…

Contact a health care provider if symptoms continue unimproved for more than 5 days.

Keep the remedy out of the reach of children.

Consult a health care provider before using the product if the user is a woman who is pregnant or nursing a baby.

What has scientific research discovered?

This section summarizes results from individual clinical trials (research studies in people) and broad analyses of groups of clinical trials.

The results of individual, controlled clinical trials of homeopathy have been contradictory. In some trials, homeopathy appeared to be no more helpful than a placebo; in other studies, some benefits were seen that the researchers believed were greater than one would expect from a placebo.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses take a broader look at collections of a set of results from clinical trials. In sum, systematic reviews have not found homeopathy to be a definitively proven treatment for any medical condition.

Are there scientific controversies associated with homeopathy?

Yes. Homeopathy is an area of complementary and alternative medicine. (CAM) Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine, and alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine. Controversy and debate is largely because a number of its key concepts do not follow the laws of science.

It is debated how something that causes illness might also cure it.

It has been questioned whether a remedy with a very tiny amount (perhaps not even one molecule) of active ingredient could have a biological effect, beneficial or otherwise.

There have been some research studies published on the use of ultra-high dilutions (UHDs) of substances, diluted to levels compatible with those in homeopathy and shaken hard at each step of dilution. The results are claimed to involve phenomena at the molecular level and beyond, such as the structure of water, and waves and fields. Both laboratory research and clinical trials have been published. There have been mixed results in attempts to replicate them. Reviews have not found UHD results to be definitive or compelling.

There have been some studies that found effects of UHDs on isolated organs, plants, and animals. There have been controversy and debate about these findings as well.

Effects in homeopathy might be due to the placebo or other non-specific effect.

There are key questions yet to be subjected to studies that are well-designed - such as whether it actually works for some of the diseases or medical conditions for which it is used, and if so, how it might work.

There is a point of view that homeopathy does work, but that modern scientific methods have not yet explained why. The failure of science to provide full explanations for all treatments is not unique to homeopathy.

Some people feel that if homeopathy appears to be helpful and safe, then scientifically valid explanations or proofs of this alternative system of medicine are not necessary.

Is there research on homeopathy?

Yes, the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine supports a number of studies in this area. For example:

• Homeopathy for physical, mental, and emotional symptoms of fibromyalgia - a chronic disorder involving widespread musculoskeletal pain, multiple tender points on the body, and fatigue.

• Homeopathy for brain deterioration and damage in animal models for stroke and dementia.

• The homeopathic remedy cadmium, to find out whether it can prevent damage to the cells of the prostate when those cells are exposed to toxins.

Source: The National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine.
For More Information, go to: nccam.nih.gov or call 1-888-644-6226.

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