About Homeopathy » An Introduction

Homeopathy (also spelled homoeopathy or homoopathy) is a form of alternative medicine originated by Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), based on the hypothesis that a substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people will cure that disease in sick people.^[1] This hypothesis is known as "the law of similars" or "like cures like". Scientific research has found homeopathic remedies ineffective and their postulated mechanisms of action implausible.^[2][3][4] Conventional medicine generally considers homeopathy to be quackery.^[5][6][7]

Homeopathic remedies are prepared by serial dilution in alcohol or distilled water, followed by forceful striking on an elastic body, called "succussion". Each dilution followed by succussion is assumed to increase the remedy's potency. Homeopaths call this process "potentization". Dilution usually continues well past the point where none of the original substance remains.^[8] Apart from the symptoms, homeopaths consider the patient's physical and psychological state and life history,^[9] consult homeopathic reference books known as "repertories", and select a remedy based on the "totality of symptoms" as well as traits of the patient.

The low concentrations of homeopathic remedies, often lacking even a single molecule of the diluted substance,^[10] lead to an objection that has dogged homeopathy since the 19th century: how, then, can the substance have any effect? Modern advocates of homeopathy have suggested that "water has a memory" - that during mixing and succussion, the substance leaves an enduring effect on the water, perhaps a "vibration", and this produces an effect on the patient. However, nothing like water memory has ever been found in chemistry or physics.^[11][12] Conventional medicine has found that higher doses usually cause stronger effects, whereas homeopathy claims the opposite.

Homeopathic remedies have been the subject of numerous clinical trials, which test the possibility that they may be effective through some mechanism unknown to conventional science. These studies have generally found that homeopathic remedies perform no better than placebos,^{[13][14][15][4][16]} although there have been a few positive results.^[17][18][19] Because of the extremely high dilutions, most homeopathic remedies are, at least, harmless. Patients who favor homeopathic cures over conventional medicine do, however, incur some risk of delaying diagnosis and effective treatment.^[20][21][22] The regulation and prevalence of homeopathy vary greatly from country to country.^[23]