Homeopathy (also spelled homoeopathy or homœopathy) is a form of alternative medicine In Western culture, alternative "medicine" is any healing practice "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine", or "that which has not been shown consistently to be effective." It is often opposed to evidence based medicine and encompasses therapies with an historical or cultural, rather than a, first proposed by German physician Samuel Hahnemann Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann , a German physician, created an alternative medicine practice called homeopathy in 1796, in which practitioners use highly[1][2] diluted preparations. Based on an ipse dixit[3] axiom In traditional logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition that is not proved or demonstrated but considered to be either self-evident, or subject to necessary decision. Therefore, its truth is taken for granted, and serves as a starting point for deducing and inferring other truths[4] formulated by Hahnemann, which he called the law of similars, preparations which cause certain symptoms in healthy individuals are given in diluted form to patients exhibiting similar symptoms. Homeopathic remedies are prepared by serial dilution A serial dilution is the stepwise dilution of a substance in solution. Usually the dilution factor at each step is constant, resulting in a geometric progression of the concentration in a logarithmic fashion. A ten-fold serial dilution could be 1 M, 0.1 M, 0.01 M, 0.001 M... Serial dilutions are used to accurately create highly diluted solutions with shaking by forceful striking, which homeopaths term succussion, after each dilution under the assumption that this increases the effect. Homeopaths call this process potentization. Dilution often continues until none of the original substance remains.[5]
Apart from the symptoms, homeopaths use aspects of the patient's physical and psychological state in recommending remedies.[6] Homeopathic reference books known as repertories are then consulted, and a remedy is selected based on the totality of symptoms. Homeopathic remedies are, with rare exceptions, considered safe[7] though homeopathy has been criticized for putting patients at risk due to advice against conventional medicine Evidence-based medicine aims to apply the best available evidence gained from the scientific method to medical decision making. It seeks to assess the strength of evidence of the risks and benefits of treatments (including lack of treatment) and diagnostic tests such as vaccinations Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to produce immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens. There is strong evidence for the efficacy of the influenza vaccine, the HPV vaccine and the chicken pox vaccine among others. Vaccination is generally considered to be the most,[8] anti-malarial Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas , Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria, killing between one and three million people, the majority of whom drugs,[9] and antibiotics In common usage, an antibiotic is a substance or compound that kills bacteria or inhibits their growth. Antibiotics belong to the broader group of antimicrobial compounds, used to treat infections caused by microorganisms, including fungi and protozoa.[10]
Homeopathy's efficacy beyond the placebo effect A placebo is a sham or simulated medical intervention that can produce a placebo effect. In medical research, placebos depend on the use of controlled and measured deception. Common placebos are inert tablets, sham surgery, and other procedures based on false information. In one common placebo procedure, a patient is given an inert pill, told that is unsupported by the collective weight of scientific Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable, empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning. A scientific method consists of and clinical Clinical Medicine, formerly The Journal of the Royal College of Physicians, is a medical journal published bimonthly by the Royal College of Physicians in London. Originally titled Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London it commenced publication in 1966. It was doubly named between 1998 and 2000, and since 2001 it has appeared as evidence.[1][11][12][13][14][2] While some individual studies have positive results, systematic reviews A systematic review is a literature review focused on a single question that tries to identify, appraise, select and synthesize all high quality research evidence relevant to that question. Systematic reviews of high-quality randomized controlled trials are crucial to evidence-based medicine. An understanding of systematic reviews and how to of published trials fail to demonstrate efficacy conclusively.[15][16][17][18][19] Furthermore, higher quality trials Clinical Trials are conducted to allow safety and efficacy data to be collected for health interventions . These trials can take place only after satisfactory information has been gathered on the quality of the non-clinical safety, and Health Authority/Ethics Committee approval is granted in the country where the trial is taking place tend to report less positive results,[17][20] and most positive studies have not been replicated or show methodological problems that prevent them from being considered unambiguous evidence of homeopathy's efficacy.[1][13][21][22] A 2010 inquiry into the evidence base for homeopathy conducted by the United Kingdom's House of Commons Science and Technology Committee concluded that homeopathy is no more effective than placebo.[2]
Depending on the dilution, homeopathic remedies may not contain any pharmacologically active Pharmacology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function. If substances have medicinal properties, they are considered pharmaceuticals. The field encompasses drug molecules,[23] and for such remedies to have pharmacological effect Pharmacology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function. If substances have medicinal properties, they are considered pharmaceuticals. The field encompasses drug would violate fundamental principles of science.[14][24] Modern homeopaths have proposed that water has a memory that allows homeopathic preparations to work without any of the original substance; however, there are no verified observations nor scientifically plausible physical mechanisms for such a phenomenon.[24][25] The lack of convincing scientific evidence Scientific evidence is evidence which serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis[citation needed]. Such evidence is expected to be empirical and properly documented in accordance with scientific method such as is applicable to the particular field of inquiry[citation needed]. Standards for evidence may vary according to supporting homeopathy's efficacy[26] and its use of remedies lacking active ingredients have caused homeopathy to be described as pseudoscience Pseudoscience is a methodology, belief, or practice that is claimed to be scientific, or that is made to appear to be scientific, but which does not adhere to an appropriate scientific methodology, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, or otherwise lacks scientific status. The term is inherently pejorative, because it is used to assert that, quackery Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe the promotion of unproven or fraudulent medical practices. Random House Dictionary describes a "quack" as a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or qualifications he or she does not,[27][28][29][30][31] and a "cruel deception".[32]
The regulation and prevalence of homeopathy Homeopathy is fairly common in some countries while being uncommon in others and is highly regulated in some countries and mostly unregulated in others. Regulations vary in Europe depending on the country. In some countries, there are no specific legal regulations concerning the use of homeopathy, while in others, licenses or degrees in is highly variable from country to country. There are no specific legal regulations concerning its use in some countries, while in others, licenses or degrees in conventional medicine from accredited universities are required. In several countries, homeopathy is covered by the national insurance coverage to different extents, while in some it is fully integrated into the national health care system. In many countries, the laws that govern the regulation and testing of conventional drugs do not apply to homeopathic remedies.[33]
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General philosophy
A homeopathic remedy prepared from marsh Labrador tea. The "15C" dilution shown here contains no molecules A molecule is defined as an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by very strong chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from polyatomic ions in this strict sense. In organic chemistry and biochemistry, the term molecule is used less strictly and also is applied to charged organic molecules of the original herb.Homeopathy is a vitalist Where vitalism explicitly invokes a vital principle, that element is often referred to as the "vital spark," "energy" or "élan vital", which some equate with the "soul" philosophy which interprets diseases and sickness as caused by disturbances in a hypothetical vital force Vitalism has a long history in medical philosophies: most traditional healing practices posited that disease was the result of some imbalance in the vital energies which distinguish living from non-living matter. In the Western tradition founded by Hippocrates, these vital forces were associated with the four temperaments and humours; Eastern or life force The term energy has been widely used by writers and practitioners of various esoteric forms of spirituality and alternative medicine to refer to a variety of phenomena, sometimes supposed to be directly perceptible to some observers, who have usually undergone some form of training or initiation.[citation needed] This 'energy' is sometimes. It sees these disturbances as manifesting themselves as unique symptoms. Homeopathy maintains that the vital force has the ability to react and adapt to internal and external causes, which homeopaths refer to as the law of susceptibility. The law of susceptibility implies that a negative state of mind can attract hypothetical disease entities called miasms to invade the body and produce symptoms of diseases.[34] However, Hahnemann rejected the notion of a disease as a separate thing or invading entity and insisted that it was always part of the "living whole".[35]
Hahnemann's "Law of similars"
Hahnemann observed from his experiments with cinchona Cinchona or Quina is a genus of about 38 species in the family Rubiaceae, native to tropical South America. They are large shrubs or small trees growing 5–15 metres in height with evergreen foliage. The leaves are opposite, rounded to lanceolate and 10–40 cm long. The flowers are white, pink or red, produced in terminal panicles. The fruit is bark, used as a treatment for malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas , Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria, killing between one and three million people, the majority of whom, that the effects he experienced from ingesting the bark were similar to the symptoms of malaria. He therefore reasoned that cure proceeds through similarity, and that treatments must be able to produce symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the disease being treated.[36] Through further experiments with other substances, Hahnemann conceived of the law of similars, otherwise known as "let like be cured by like" (Latin Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. With the Roman conquest, Latin was spread to countries around the Mediterranean, including a large part of Europe. Romance languages such as Aragonese, Corsican, Catalan, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Sardinian, Spanish and others, are descended from Latin, while: similia similibus curentur)[37][38] as a fundamental healing principle. He believed that by inducing a disease through use of drugs, the artificial symptoms empowered the vital force to neutralise and expel the original disease and that this artificial disturbance would naturally subside when the dosing ceased.[36] It is based on the idea that a substance that in large doses will produce symptoms of a specific disease will, in extremely small doses, cure it.
Critics have labeled Hahnemann's law of similars an "ipse dixit" "axiom In traditional logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition that is not proved or demonstrated but considered to be either self-evident, or subject to necessary decision. Therefore, its truth is taken for granted, and serves as a starting point for deducing and inferring other truths",[4] in other words an unproven assertion made by Hahnemann, and not a true law of nature Natural law or the law of nature has been described as a law whose content is set by nature and that therefore has validity everywhere. As classically used, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior. The phrase natural law is opposed to the positive law (meaning "man-made law&.[3]
Sat, 22 May 2010 12:05:28 GMT+00:00
Food Consumer That's a fundamental difference and further to this point, my website,www. homeopathic .com. In homeopathy like in the broad field of natural medicine, ...
Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:10:52 PDT
Prof George Vithoulkas talks about Homeopathy and various erroneous beliefs, like prescribing homeopathic remedies based on the doctrine of ... espanol.video.yahoo.com.
