Homeopathy is a therapeutic method that appeared at the end of the 18th century. It was all thanks to the work of the doctor Samuel Hahnemann, who described the method of preparation of homeopathic medicines and who thought that the medicine of that time caused more harm to patients than the disease itself.

Homeopathy is based on 3 basic principles:

1) Law of similarity or similarity: This law means that, if 10 grams of a natural substance causes vomiting, then 10 centigrams (a microdose) will cause the vomiting to stop.

2) Individualization of the patient and not the disease: It focuses on alleviating the patient’s particular symptoms. Homeopathy, unlike traditional medicine, is responsible for treating sick people, not diseases. That is, if you have a headache, in allopathic medicine (medicine used by general practitioners) they would prescribe the same medicine that they prescribe to everyone who has a headache. However, the homeopathic method would look for the most suitable remedy for you.

3) Infinitesimal doses: This method consists of administering substances in infinitesimal doses to the patient, which in higher doses would cause the effects of the disease to be treated. However, due to its diluted format, it alleviates the patient’s symptoms.

Nowadays many people prefer to use homeopathy because it guarantees that the treatment will be personalized to their needs and symptoms, but does this method work?

In an investigation carried out by a German insurer, the insured were divided into 2 groups and analyzed for 3 years:

1^st group) The Children consumed homeopathic medicines whenever they felt ill. With the passage of this 3-year period, these children tended to get sick less and needed fewer antibiotic treatments (-17%)

2^nd group) The insured Children were treated with allopathic drugs, and they required 74% more antibiotic treatments than the first group.

Through this study we can only assume homeopathic medicine can be used for diverse health problems. This study also analyzed the statistics of people with depression who were hospitalized…. In this part of the study, the results indicated that a higher percentage of people who were treated with conventional medicine had to continue their treatment in a hospital, compared to people treated with homeopathy.

Now that you know this information, would you consider using it when receiving any treatment?

Author: Nerissa Álvarez

Review: Betzabe Guido

Editor: Valerie Llamosa

References

Avello L, Marcia, Avendaño O, Cristian, & Mennickent C, Sigrid. (2009). General aspects of homeopathy. Medical Journal of Chile, 137 (1), 115-120.

Echamp (2020). Homeopathy: economical and effective. Echamp.eu

Ugarte Libano, R .. (2010). Homeopathy and AEPap. Pediatrics Primary Care, 12 (45), 165-167.