Principles of Homeopathy
The term homeopathy is derived from the Greek words homeo (similar) and pathos (suffering from disease). The first basic principles of homeopathy were formulated by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann in the late 1700s. Curious about why quinine could cure malaria, Hahnemann ingested quinine bark and experienced alternating bouts of chills, fever, and weakness, the classic symptoms of malaria. From this experience he derived the principle of similars, or "like cures like": that is, a substance that can cause certain symptoms when given to a healthy person can cure those same symptoms in someone who is sick.
Hahnemann spent the rest of his life extensively testing, or "proving," many common herbal and medicinal substances to find out what symptoms they could cause. He also began treating sick people, prescribing the medicine that most closely matched the symptoms of their illness. The information from this experimentation has been carefully recorded and makes up the homeopathic materia medica, a listing of medicines and their indications for use. According to the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, homeopathic medicines, or remedies, are made from naturally occurring plant, animal, and mineral substances.
By the end of the 19th century, homeopathy was widely practiced in the United States, when there were 22 homeopathic medical schools, more than 100 homeopathic hospitals, and an estimated 15 percent of physicians practicing homeopathy. The practice of homeopathy (along with other types of alternative medicine) declined dramatically in the United States following the publication of the Flexner Report in 1910, which established guidelines for the funding of medical schools. These guidelines favored AMA-approved institutions and virtually crippled competing schools of medicine. In the past 15 years, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in homeopathy in this country. It is estimated that approximately 3,000 physicians and other health care practitioners currently use homeopathy, and a recent survey showed that 1 percent of the general population, or approximately 2.5 million people, had sought help from a homeopathic doctor in 1990 (Eisenberg et al., 1993).
Those who are licensed to practice homeopathy in the United States vary according to state-by-state "scope of practice" guidelines, but they include M.D.s, D.O.s, dentists, naturopaths (N.D.s), chiropractors, veterinarians, acupuncturists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Three states now have specific licensing boards for homeopathic physicians: Arizona, Connecticut, and Nevada. Specialty certification diplomas for those prescribing homeopathic drugs are established through national boards of examination for M.D.s/D.O.s and N.D.s. Self-help as well as professional training courses in homeopathy are offered through the National Center for Homeopathy (NCH) in Alexandria, Virginia. NCH serves as an umbrella organization for consumer support of homeopathy as well as a focus for coordination among an increasing number of organizations and specialty societies offering lay and professional training programs in homeopathy.
Homeopathic medicine also is currently widely practiced worldwide, especially in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. In France, 32 percent of family physicians use homeopathy, while 42 percent of British physicians refer patients to homeopaths (Bouchayer, 1990; Wharton and Lewith, 1986). In India, homeopathy is practiced in the national health service, and there are more than 100 homeopathic medical colleges and more than 100,000 homeopathic physicians (Kishore, 1983).
In the United States today, the homeopathic drug market has grown to become a multimillion-dollar industry; a significant increase has occurred in the importation and domestic marketing of homeopathic drugs. Homeopathic remedies are recognized and regulated by the FDA and are manufactured by established pharmaceutical companies under strict guidelines established by the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States. Products that are offered for the treatment of serious conditions must be dispensed under the care of a licensed practitioner. Other products offered for the use of self-limiting conditions such as colds and allergies may be marketed as over-the-counter drugs.
Homeopathy is used to treat both acute and chronic health problems as well as for health prevention and promotion in healthy people. Homeopathic medicines are prescribed on the basis of a wide constellation of physical, emotional, and mental symptoms. The one remedy that most closely fits all of the symptoms of a given individual is called the similimum for that person. Thus, homeopathic treatment is individualized, and two or more people with the same diagnosis may be given different medicines, depending on the specific symptoms of illness in each person. A person with a sore throat, for instance, may need one of six or seven common remedies for sore throats, depending on whether the pain is worse on the right or left side, what time of day it is worse, what the person's mood is, and his or her body temperature, thirst, and appetite (Jouanny, 1980).
Hahnemann also discovered that if the homeopathic remedies were "potentized" by diluting them in a water-alcohol solution and then shaking, side effects could be diminished. He found that after the medicines were potentized to high dilutions, there was still a medicinal effect, and side effects were minimal. Some homeopathic medicines are diluted to concentrations as low as 10-30 to 10-20,000. This particular aspect of homeopathic theory and practice has caused many modern scientists to reject homeopathic medicine outright. Critics of homeopathy contend that such extreme dilutions of the medicines are beyond the point at which any molecules of the medicine can theoretically still be found in the solution (When to believe..., 1988).
On the other hand, scientists who accept the validity of homeopathic theory suggest several theories to explain how highly diluted homeopathic medicines may act. Using recent developments in quantum physics, they have proposed that electromagnetic energy may exist in the medicines and interact with the body on some level (Delinick, 1991). Researchers in physical chemistry have proposed the "memory of water" theory, whereby the structure of the water-alcohol solution is altered by the medicine during the process of dilution and retains this structure even after none of the actual substance remains (Davenas et al., 1988).
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