A Report on Homeopathy Treatment

Mickey Carls^*
*Correspondence: Mickey Carls, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, United States, Email:

Brief Report

Homeopathy is a popular, albeit contentious, medical technique. In Italy, for example, it is estimated that around 4.1 percent of the population (nearly 2.5 million people) seeks homoeopathic care on occasion or on a regular basis, and these data, collected in 2013, suggest that homoeopathy is the most commonly used Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) by Italians. Similar findings have been recorded for other high-income countries in epidemiological research aimed at determining the global prevalence of homoeopathic use.

The German doctor Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843) was the first to develop homoeopathy, which is based on the administration of remedies in which active ingredients are so diluted that no evidence of them remains in the end product. In his experiments, Hahnemann discovered that selfadministration of a popular antimalarial medicinal plant (Cinchona) caused the same symptoms as malaria, although to a lesser extent. This led him to lay the groundwork for a new medical system known as "homeo-pathy," a noun formed by combining two Greek terms: "homeo-" (from "homoios," a prefix meaning "same," "same") and "-pathy" (from "patheia," or "suffering," a suffix generally designating all ailments). The right sickness remedy must be chosen by the homoeopathic practitioner based on the premise expressed by a Latin expression: "similia similibus curantur," according to Hahnemann (literally, like cures like). In other words, a therapeutic solution for a certain condition is advised if pharmacological quantities of the original chemical would potentially create the same effects on the body as the disease symptoms.

The method of making a homoeopathic remedy entails successive high dilutions of the original drug, as well as certain mechanical "succussions" or shakes (a process known as "dynamization" or "potentiation" that is thought to improve the treatment's potency). Every homoeopathic product is labelled with a Latin name (for example, Aconitum napellus) that indicates the original component that has been serially diluted. Latin is employed because of historical traditions and because it is more simply and unambiguously understood by all physicians globally. Homeopathic goods typically provide a brief summary of "how much" they have been diluted alongside their name: "30 CH," for example, indicates that the original principle has been diluted by a factor of 100 for 30 times (typically in a hydroalcoholic solution). More exactly, "CH" stands for "Hahnemann's Centesimal [dilution]," alluding to the German doctor's procedure for preparing homoeopathic treatments. Sucrose- and/or lactose-containing granules, globules (smaller than granules), and liquid drops for oral ingestion are common formulations of homoeopathic medications; alternative formulations for local applications such as creams, ointments, eyedrops, and nasal sprays are also available.

Homeopathy was first presented for the treatment of any condition and soon gained popularity, with one of the earliest institutions dedicated to it being established in the United States in the late 1800s (the American Institute of Homeopathy). Since then, various homoeopathic clinics and hospitals, including those with inpatient services, have sprung up all over the world; however, in Western countries such as the United Kingdom, public funding for these facilities has largely dried up in recent years, and the acceptability of this alternative medicinal system in publicly funded healthcare systems has been openly questioned. Similarly, in France, it was agreed that the public health fund would not cover the expense of homoeopathic treatments. Nonetheless, homoeopathic treatments are still reimbursed by public health insurance in some European nations, such as Luxembourg.

Although individual patients must pay for homoeopathic remedies "out of pocket" in Italy, there are a few outpatient clinics where the cost of homoeopathic consultations is partially or totally financed by the public healthcare system, depending on personal income. The case of Switzerland, where homoeopathy was reintroduced as a basic health insurance-subsidized practise with a general referendum in 2009 after being removed from the list of reimbursed medicines in 2005, demonstrates that, beyond scientific debate, popular support plays an important role in regulating homoeopathic practise. As documented in a lengthy report produced by the World Health Organization in 2001, precise homoeopathic restrictions vary widely around the world and are mostly based on national laws.