How does homeopathy work

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We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. The Theory. Principles of Homeopathy. Scientific Reseach. Homeopathic and Cancer. Side Effects and Safety.

Conventional vs. Homeopathic Remedies for Cancer. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles.

Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Related Articles. The Best Herbs for Osteoporosis. What Is Bryonia? Homeopathic Remedies for Ear Infections. Can Oscillococcinum Treat the Flu?

Alternatives to Chemotherapy: Holistic Options and Research. Topical Relief for Muscle Pain. It further stated that companies must have the competent and reliable scientific evidence the FTC requires for health-related claims, including claims that a product can treat specific conditions. In December , the U. Food and Drug Administration FDA proposed a new risk-based enforcement approach to homeopathic products.

The proposed approach would call for more careful scrutiny of products with the greatest potential for risk, including:. However, it is important to note that studies included in the assessment of evidence were required to meet a number of rigorous criteria e.

In total, 57 systematic reviews that contained individual studies were included in this assessment. A new review of evidence by the Australian government is currently underway.

Homeopathy is a controversial topic. A number of the key concepts underlying the theory of homeopathy are not consistent with fundamental scientific concepts as we understand them. However, recent research has begun to examine physical attributes of these preparations to determine if it will be possible to characterize them in the future. To learn more about vaccines visit www. Homeopathic products are regulated as drugs under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and are subject to the same requirements related to approval, adulteration, and misbranding as other drug products.

There are currently no homeopathic products approved by the FDA. The revised draft guidance proposes a comprehensive, risk-based enforcement approach to homeopathic products marketed without FDA approval.

Laws regulating the practice of homeopathy in the United States vary from state to state. Usually, individuals licensed to practice medicine or another health care profession can legally practice homeopathy. In some states, nonlicensed professionals may practice homeopathy. Arizona, Connecticut, and Nevada are the only states with homeopathic licensing boards for doctors of medicine holders of M.

In 15 states, a section of the naturopathic medical board examinations is on homeopathy. The Clearinghouse does not provide medical advice, treatment recommendations, or referrals to practitioners. Email: info nccih. The FDA oversees the safety of many products, such as foods, medicines, dietary supplements, medical devices, and cosmetics. See its webpage on Dietary Supplements.

The FTC is the Federal agency charged with protecting the public against unfair and deceptive business practices. A key area of its work is the regulation of advertising except for prescription drugs and medical devices. The site includes questions and answers about clinical trials, guidance on how to find clinical trials through ClinicalTrials. Clinical trials are necessary to find better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases.

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This publication is not copyrighted and is in the public domain. Homeopathy was founded in the late s in Germany and has been widely practiced throughout Europe. Homeopathic medicine views symptoms of illness as normal responses of the body as it attempts to regain health. Homeopathy is based on the idea that "like cures like.

In theory, a homeopathic dose enhances the body's normal healing and self-regulatory processes. A homeopathic health practitioner homeopath uses pills or liquid mixtures solutions containing only a little of an active ingredient usually a plant or mineral for treatment of disease.

These are known as highly diluted or "potentiated" substances. There isn't strong evidence from science to show that homeopathic medicines are effective for any specific condition. Some people have used homeopathy to maintain health and treat a wide range of long-term illnesses, such as allergies, atopic dermatitis , rheumatoid arthritis , and irritable bowel syndrome. They have also used it to treat minor injuries, such as cuts and scrapes and muscle strains or sprains.

Homeopathic treatment is not considered appropriate for illnesses, such as cancer, heart disease, major infections, or emergencies. Homeopathic remedies have been regulated in the United States since They are thought to be safe in most cases. In a conventional study, patients are randomized so that some get the drug, and others get placebo.

The researchers attempt to make the two groups of patients as identical as possible. Neither the researcher nor the patient knows whether they get the active drug or a placebo. Then researchers tabulate the results and do the statistics to determine if there was a drug effect that was different from the effect of the placebo.

For a drug to be determined effective, it has to reduce the symptom or improve the illness in a way that is statistically significant over the placebo. These types of studies count on the commonalities of individuals with common symptoms or illnesses, and seek to find treatments that can be applied to large populations.

For example, the impact of ibuprofen on individuals with joint pain from osteoarthritis would compare a specific dose of the medication on all similar patients matched for age, sex, level of disability, other medical illnesses, etc. If the ibuprofen made their joint pain decrease more than the placebo did, then ibuprofen would be considered an effective and recognized drug intervention for osteoarthritis. In homeopathy, the uniqueness of the individual is the key to effective prescribing. The entire picture of the individual, not the medical illness, is the basis of treatment.

One hundred different people with medically diagnosed osteoarthritis and joint pain each have different overall presentations, constitutions, levels of vital force, etc. The homeopath carefully selects both the remedy and potency that is the best fit for the uniqueness of the client. The correctness and effectiveness of the remedy is evaluated by its impact on the entire state of the individual.

In an osteoarthritis study, if their joint pain hasn't improved on the first recheck, but they have more energy, are sleeping better, and are more functional in their life, who is to say that the remedy is not effective? So, how does one evaluate if a certain homeopathic remedy is effective for a certain illness or symptom?

Many different types of studies have been done, and many do offer useful information. There are more than published, controlled clinical trials using homeopathy. Let's take a look at the range of research that exists. Five hundred adults with classical influenza were divided in half, with one group receiving the homeopathic remedy Oscillococcinum and the other placebo, in a double-blind fashion.

Patients recorded their rectal temp twice a day and noted the presence or absence of headache, stiffness, lumbar back pain, joint pain, shivers, cough, runny nose, and fatigue. Interpretations of the study differed according to perspective:. In homeopathy, sometimes multiple remedies that are indicated for relatively uniform conditions are used in combinations.

One French study looked at a non-classical, low potency combination of five remedies commonly used to support childbirth. The combo or placebo was given twice daily to pigs and dogs during the final month of pregnancy.

The efficacy was dramatic, with the remedy combination reducing the average duration of labor by 3. Note that many pharmaceuticals and medical products are also initially tested with pigs and dogs because a successful outcome with these animals often correlates with success in humans.

Dorfman et al.