Introduction To Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a disputed branch of unconventional medicine, that sees diseases as disturbances or imbalances in the life force (vital force) of the patient. More than 200 years ago, Samuel Hahnemann (a German physician) propounded Homeopathy, based on the conjecture that substances that induce certain symptoms in healthy individuals, can cure diseases that are typically characterized by the same symptoms. He opined that ‘like cures like‘, and called this concept the ‘Law of Similars‘. Seriously. No kidding. That is the foundation of all of homeopathy. And to think that Hahnemann wasn’t particularly known for his sense of humour!
Trivia
The concept of a life force, and the view that diseases are manifestations of disturbances or imbalances in the life force, did not come into existence with Homeopathy. These hypothetical ideas have their origins in antiquity, and continue to be concepts of central importance in medical philosophies that originated thousands of years ago, like Indian Ayurveda, and traditional Chinese medicine. This life force is called ‘Prana’ in Hindu beliefs, and ‘Qi’ or ‘Chi’ in Taoist philosophy.
History Of Homeopathy
Hahnemann formulated his theories on the basis of his experiments with the Cinchona shrub. (The bark of this shrub was used to treat Malaria for hundreds of years.) Hahnemann’s contemporary – Dr. William Cullen – a Scottish physician, had claimed in his medical transcripts, that the bark of Cinchona can cure Malaria, and it can also cause Malaria. Skeptical of Cullen’s claims about Cinchona being able to cause Malaria, Hahnemann decided to test it on himself. He started ingesting large (but non-lethal) quantities of extracts from the bark of Cinchona everyday, and about two weeks later, began experiencing fever, shivering, and joint pain – symptoms which also happen to be associated with early Malaria. Based on this experiment, he concluded (erroneously) that the bark of Cinchona can cure Malaria because it can cause some of the symptoms of Malaria in a healthy individual!
And so, an entire system of medicine was developed on the basis of a single observation.
Trivia
Cinchona is the name given to certain species of large shrubs (or small trees) with evergreen foliage, native to tropical South America. The bark of the Cinchona shrub contains Quinine – a chemical compound that has antipyretic (alleviating fever), anti-inflammatory, analgesic (relieving pain), and anti-malarial properties. Quinine was isolated and named in 1820. The antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects of the bark of Cinchona shrub, however, had been known for hundreds of years before that. The Quechua Indians of Peru were known to use it as a muscle relaxant, to control shivering. Its first reported use against Malaria was in Rome, in 1631. It is no longer recommended as the first line of treatment against Malaria, because of its toxicity and adverse effects like nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, vertigo, dizziness, headache, etc.
Cinchona Calisaya Illustration (Franz Kohler)
Dilution In Homeopathy
Hahnemann realized, probably through empirical observation, that giving appreciable doses of such symptom-causing substances to patients only exacerbated their symptoms. Fortunately, even in those times, aggravating the condition of patients and making their symptoms more severe was seen as a bad thing by Hahnemann. Therefore, he proclaimed that these symptom-causing substances should be diluted in either alcohol or water, to a point where no trace of the original substance itself could be detected in the solution.
Let’s assume, strictly for the sake of argument, and for no more than 42 seconds, that such substances could, possibly, by some stretch of a frivolous imagination, have some action against diseases that caused similar symptoms. How would such a highly diluted solution deliver any useful amount of the substance to the patient? Hahnemann theorized that the solution retains a memory of the original substance, regardless of the extent of its dilution. He expounded that the vital force of the original substance would continue to exist in the solution, and have the same therapeutic properties as the original substance, thereby curing the patient of his disease without making him experience any adverse effects of the medicine. Fantastic. But irrational, and simply not true. We’re no longer talking about science here; we’re talking about faith, about spirituality, and about mysticism.
Dilutions are central to homeopathy. The strength of a homeopathic solution is called potency. The higher the dilution, the more the potency. Higher dilutions are supposed to be stronger, and more effective, than lower dilutions. For a lower amount of some substance to be more effective against a disease (or a disease causing organism) than a higher amount of the same substance, is just fundamentally wrong, to say the least. Reminds me of the deadly face-to-foot style of kung-fu in Kung Pao: Enter the Fist (Movie, 2002).
Homeopathy contradicts all known mechanisms of action of chemicals on (disease causing) organisms. It goes against our understanding of typical dose-response relationships.
The Extent Of Dilutions In Homeopathy
When homeopaths tell you that homeopathic solutions are diluted, they really mean that. The original symptom-causing substance (called the mother tincture) is typically diluted in either alcohol or water to a point where just about 1 part of the substance can be found in several billion parts of alcohol (or water). More specifically, mother tinctures are usually diluted to scales between 1:10^12 to 1:10^60. Which means that if you were to get yourself a typical bottle of those sweet homeopathic pills, you would be lucky to get 1 molecule of the original substance in it!
Homeopathy claims to be able to cure serious diseases by using virtually untraceable amounts of substances that, in most cases, have absolutely no effect on the disease-causing organisms.
That’s insane. But it’s even more insane (and disturbing) for a significant part of the world’s population to adopt, accept, and endorse this unscientific and illogical system of prescribing inefficacious sweet pills as medicine, called homeopathy!
[ UK Science and Technology Committee concludes that Homeopathy is no better than placebos. ]
The Dangers Of Homeopathy
Homeopathic remedies, by themselves, are mostly harmless, and usually safe. They do not have any side effects – ever – simply because there is nothing in them to affect the body in any way. In fact, I actually like chewing on those sweet little pills doused in homeopathic solutions. The trouble begins when people move away from scientifically proven, established medical treatments and try their luck with Homeopathy.
[ Homeopaths risking lives by offering remedies against Malaria. ]
It is dangerous, sometimes even life threatening, to choose homeopathy over mainstream medicine for the treatment of serious ailments.
Personal Experience
I got into a heated argument with my sister a few years ago, because she insisted on using homeopathic medicine to bring down the 103°+ F fever that her three year old son was running. I tried explaining the utter uselessness of homeopathy to her, and kept asking her to consult a mainstream paediatrician, or at least give my nephew some paracetamol to control his fever in the meantime, but she refused to listen. She gave him a few sweet pills prescribed by a local homeopath, and waited for the fever to come down. And waited. His temperature continued to linger above the 103° F mark, even 3 – 4 hours after the homeopathic dose. I finally managed to convince my sister to give him a paediatric dose of paracetamol, and he was his usual playful self again in about half an hour or so. We did visit a paediatrician the next day, and it all turned out just fine. Homeopathy, however, had failed miserably at something as basic as bringing down a moderately high fever.
Homeopathy Myths
- Myth: Homeopathy takes time because it cures the disease completely.
Fact: Homeopathy takes time because it doesn’t do anything. The body’s own immune system eventually gets rid of the infection, if it can. - Myth: Homeopathy doesn’t treat symptoms, it treats the underlying disease.
Fact: It is indeed true that Homeopathy does not treat symptoms; unfortunately, it does not treat the underlying disease either. Various scientific studies and controlled clinical trials have concluded that homeopathy is no better than placebo. - Myth: Homeopathy offers effective remedies for fever and pain.
Fact: Once again, the effect of Homeopathy on fever and pain is no more than that of a placebo. And how come homeopaths claim to have a remedy for fever? Fever is a symptom – it is not a disease in itself. And if homeopathy doesn’t treat symptoms, we shouldn’t see homeopaths prescribing pills to bring down fever! These pills don’t work anyway.
[ The claim that homeopathic arnica (prescribed as a painkiller) is efficacious beyond a placebo effect is not supported by rigorous clinical trials. ] - Myth: Millions of people all over the world can’t be wrong!
Fact: They most certainly can be. The better part of the world believed that the Earth was the centre of the universe until about 500 years ago! - Myth: Millions of people benefit from Homeopathy every year.
Fact: Millions of people think that they benefit from Homeopathy. They get better on their own, thanks to their own immune systems. - Myth: Homeopathy can boost an individual’s immunity against diseases, and can be used effectively for prophylaxis.
Fact: Homeopathy has no effect (beyond that of a placebo) on an individual’s immunity; using it for the prophylaxis of any disease is ineffectual and absurd.
I do, however, see a silver lining here. Homeopaths, at times, as a part of their treatment, recommend a few positive lifestyle changes to their patients. This is usually a good thing. (Hahnemann himself emphasized that good health cannot be achieved or maintained without a nutritious diet, proper hygiene, adequate rest, and regular exercise.) I also believe that most, if not all homeopaths truly believe in what they do, and in the efficacy of homeopathy. Through this post, I have only attempted to illustrate the logical flaws inherent in the very concept of Homeopathy. I hold nothing against the homeopaths who make a genuine attempt to cure patients by prescribing innocuous little sweet pills. But in the absence of a rational, scientific, demonstrable mechanism of action, Homeopathy is just a system of belief, not a system of medicine.
The Voice Of Reason
If believers in Homeopathy choose to continue with their homeopathic treatments, they should be free to do that. To the uninformed, a placebo is sometimes better than a pharmacologically active chemical preparation, for the purpose of treating minor ailments – those that a normal human immune system can easily resolve on its own. But to ignore the proven effectiveness and life-saving capabilities of mainstream medicine in favour of Homeopathy for potentially serious medical conditions, is illogical, and a definite risk to life and general well-being.
A Special Note On Hahnemann’s Noble Intent
Hahnemann developed Homeopathy at a time when western medicine was rife with unscientific, painful, unnecessarily invasive, often dangerous, and sometimes lethal measures being purported as treatments for common ailments. Personally, I would much rather give my own immune system a chance to combat and cure any illness, than resort to any of the inane, irrational, and atrocious methods of medical treatment prevalent in western medicine in the late 1700s! Hahnemann was gravely concerned about the severe adverse effects and suffering commonly associated with the standard medical practices of that time. He splendidly grasped a basic rule of medicine – something that quite a few physicians and surgeons don’t understand even today – to do no harm! In fact, he gave up his medical practice for a few years and started working as a language translator, because he could not bring himself to administer the dreadful cures of western medicine to fellow human beings. For that thought alone, I have the utmost respect for Samuel Hahnemann. When Homeopathy was introduced to the world (more than two centuries ago), it was indeed better than the frighteningly illogical absurdities of western medicine being practised at that time, simply because it caused absolutely no adverse effects. In essence, Homeopathy relied entirely on the human body’s own immune system to fight off infections. But times have changed, and Homeopathy, in my opinion, has served its purpose, and served it well. It’s just time for all of us to move on now. Mainstream medicine, for the most part, is not as absurd as it used to be. It has its flaws, but it saves lives.
I look forward to hearing from people knowledgeable about Homeopathy, if they have rational, credible explanations to any of the fantastic claims that homeopathy makes. I am interested in seeing some scientific proof of the efficacy of Homeopathy – or at least a logical, believable explanation of its mechanism of action, without getting into unverifiable spiritual or supernatural claims. I will not argue against faith and belief systems, so if all you have to say is, “I just know it works!”, then please don’t go through the trouble of posting a response here.
Nonpareil Cognition 