What is homeopathy?
Homeopathy is an alternative medicine based on the principle of similars. The homeopathic treatment consists of the prescription of homeopathic products, potentisations (stepwise dilutions in combination with strong shaking) of substances that would call the same symptoms as the disease to combat in pure form. While homeopathy is one of the most studied alternative medicine, attributed the clinical efficacy is not supported by scientific evidence. The operation of homeopathy is not greater than that of placebo. Homeopathy is therefore classified as pseudo science.
Homeopathic treatment method
The homeopathic method of treatment is based entirely on the prescription of homeopathic remedies, homeopathic. The collection of resources and the way one comes to the choice of a particular drug varies flow within homeopathy.
In the first place, one is watching on the symptoms of the disease. The homeopathic practitioner selects, in principle, an agent which is based on a substance that would evoke similar symptoms in healthy people. In classical homeopathy, however, let you in all sorts of characteristics of the patient, the type of constitution. Eventually, the homeopath prescribes an extremely dilute solution of a single (in classical homeopathy) or different raw materials. In practice, patients often choose themselves an agent from the shelves of the pharmacy or the drugstore.
Preparation of homeopathic remedies
Homeopathic remedies are prepared on the basis of a so-called mother tincture, or on the basis of verwrijving of substances in milk sugar with a mortar. A mother tincture is a concentrated extract of mineral, vegetable, animal or even human origin (called nosoden). The tincture is diluted in steps or verwrijving with each dilution to be considerably shaken each time, known as the ' tap '. This is called so, because this operation is deemed the means gaining strength: the energy signature is increasing. In addition, thereby also toxic substances as a means, such as arsenic. The shaking will take place by the bottle with the solution vigorously against a springy surface store.
Simplex and complex resources
in classical homeopathy one uses potential of a single substance, called simplex resources, as opposed to complex homeopathy that uses complex means, composed of a mixture of potencies.
Classical homeopaths write only a single agent at the same time, on the basis of a large number of characteristics of the patient, such as the individual characteristics of the chief complaint (the type headache from one patient may differ significantly from those of the other), reactions at temperature , types of weather, food, exercise / rest, and emotional and mental characteristics. Since the renewed momentum in homeopathy by the Greek George Vithoulkas one sees the world a tendency to apply homeopathy through the classic lines. It can be distinguished some schools, such as James Tyler Kent, Vithoulkas, Sankaran. Some schools are also given various means in alternation, but never simultaneously.
Clinically working homeopaths usually write for on the basis of the medical diagnosis with only a few individual characteristics of the patient. So there is less individual characteristics into account than in classical homeopathy is common, creating the risk in the eyes of the classical homeopaths reduces the homeopathic remedy is appropriate. This simplified method is indeed happen to the self-care medication (drug), in which people try to find themselves homeopathic remedies for their complaints.
Complex "homeopathic" mass products that can be purchased at drugstores and pharmacies without a prescription, are composed of a number of homeopathic remedies that have been designated relatively frequently at a particular diagnosis. They would be particularly suitable for simple, acute complaints, wherein the individual characteristics are less important.
Using homeopathic remedies
Home pathic remedies are provided in solid form, or in a solution.
- Granules or tablets are taken once or repeated. The lower potencies are often repeated, the higher potencies are usually intended for single intake. Usually, it is advisable to let the granules or tablets dissolve under the tongue.
- Dissolve in water. The drug is dissolved in a small amount of water, of which a portion is taken thereafter.
- Solution for repeated use. The drug is dissolved in a bottle, which contains water to which optionally some alcohol is added. From this bottle can then be taken several times a small quantity for ingestion. In between, may or may not succeed shake used, or the liquid stirred by the same.
- OLFACTIC, or smell dose. LM potencies are often taken by smelling a solution for repeated use. By variations in repetition, shaking strokes and manner of smell is considered to have better control over the dosage. Hahnemann showed patients sometimes smelling a bottle with grains. This method is nowadays hardly used anymore, and comes in many impracticable.
Consideration of illness and healing
Classical homeopaths say be aimed at strengthening and rebalancing of the individual who has the disease, direct combat, instead of the pathogen or the pathological process. It is therefore aimed at strengthening its own defenses by stimulating the inherent self-healing capacity, the fish medicatrix naturae.
The homeopathic vision is that one is not only interested in the pathology and diagnosis of the disease but also in the way the disease in a given individual is expressed, ie how one eczema patient is different from the other. The symptoms that a patient has, both the symptoms that are observable at the latest if the symptoms that the patient feels in his eyes are a manifestation of the disease state. For the homeopaat are in principle all relevant symptoms. These are all involved in the homeopathic diagnosis, even if there are the current diagnostic agents with no pathological changes could be demonstrated. Hahnemann in the Organon states that in his view a patient is cured only if the general well-being has returned and all the symptoms, in the broad sense that takes into consideration the homeopathy before, have disappeared.
Minimum dose
From observations of the disease he had already seen that the second disease had to be stronger than the first. Hahnemann had assumed that by prolonged high doses of medication the patient was artificially ill taken a drug disease, so it seemed that the original disease had disappeared while it was suppressed in fact, waiting for the drug disease had disappeared to fester then. Hahnemann, he studied how the dose of the drug disease could make just strong enough to be stronger than the disease of the patient, but then again so light that the patient experienced hardly affected by the artificial drug disease.
Scientific research
Scientific recognition
Homeopathy by scientific institutions is not recognized as effective therapeutics. Scientific the operation of a treatment will only be recognized as the effect can not be explained by other (such as psychological) than the effects of treatment. Although homeopathy, acupuncture after, all "complementary forms of treatment" has the most number of published scientific studies, independent studies show that the effect of homeopathy is not greater than that of placebo. Even after controlling for biases in the reporting of treatment results can any effects adequately explained by placebo effects.
Research into the action
In 1835 was held in Nuremberg the first double-blind study. This study showed that the drug, a homeopathic saline had no effect. In 1966 the German homeopath Fritz Donner published a study into the effectiveness of homeopathy which he performed during 1936 to 1939. He came to the understanding that it was no more effective than the effect of a placebo. Since that time, studies have shown different results. In meta-examine the results of many studies are compared and an assessment is made of the quality of the study design.
Recent meta-studies in leading medical journals:
- British Medical Journal 1991: Researchers J. Kleijnen, P. Knipschild and G. ter Riet come in 1991 concluded that evidence for the efficacy of homeopathy is sufficiently positive to draw any decisive conclusions.
- The Lancet 1997: In a meta-analysis, researchers K. Linde come to the conclusion that these studies provide insufficient evidence that homeopathy is effective for any condition.
- Journal of Clinical Epidemiology: Additional research by Linde in 1999 leads to the conclusion that the quality of double-blind study a negative impact on the score for homeopathy.
- British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2002: Researcher Edzard Ernst (also trained as a homeopath) comes to the conclusion that any homeopathic remedy does not work better than a placebo.
- The Lancet 2005: In August 2005 the authoritative journal The Lancet published an article in which British and Swiss science again 110 "randomized placebo controlled" studies into the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies and therapies views. They found no evidence that these treatments and agents work better than a placebo.
Also about the efficacy of homeopathy in animals discussion by the lack of evidence. Animals showing in scientific studies or a placebo effect, but this varies with people: after all, animals are not supposed to realize what effect is intended with a certain treatment. The evaluation of the treatment, however, will be done by people, by various psychological effects (see above) can be deceived. Also, homeopathic treatments in animals mostly used in diseases which are difficult or impossible to evaluate objectively, such as nervousness, an excess of libido and so on. Many effect is attributed to the attitude of the owner, if those who believe in the effect of the treatment he relaxes and respond to the animal.