Homeopathy
Introduction
Homeopathy is an alternative medical system created by German physician Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. It is based on 2 unconventional theories:
- "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 lower the dose of the medication, the greater its effectiveness. Many homeopathic products are so diluted that no molecules of the original substance remain.
Preparations
Homeopathic preparations are prepared through serial dilution, agitation and formulation.
- The quantity of homeopathic substances in a product are reported in X or C dilution scales. X represents a 1:10 dilution and C represents a 1:100 dilution of solute: solvent. The number in front of the X or C is the number of subsequent dilutions.
- To illustrate, a potency of 6C (or 12X) gives a concentration of 10-12.
- The letters M and CM are used to represent greater dilution levels of 1000 and 10000.
Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States (HPUS)
The official compendium for homeopathic medicines is the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States (HPUS), which is recognized by the FDA and equivalent to the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP).
- The HPUS publishes standards for homeopathic substances, including the identity, origin and quality assurance methods.
- The HPUS also determines what dilution of each medicine can be sold over the counter or with a prescription.
The Science
Most evidence does not support the validity of homeopathy; however, many are advocates.
The remedies may provide a placebo benefit or may be labelled as homeopathic but actually contain measurable concentrations of drugs, nutrients or dietary supplements.
- A 2012 systematic review of case reports and case series concluded that using certain homeopathic products (such as those containing heavy metals like mercury or iron that are not highly diluted) or replacing an effective conventional treatment with an ineffective homeopathic one can cause adverse effects, some of which may be serious.
- A 2015 comprehensive assessment of evidence by the Australian government’s National Health and Medical Research Council concluded that there is no reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective for any health condition.
Summary
Healthcare professionals should be alert for a possible delay in consulting advice for serious symptoms by patients choosing homeopathy.
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