What is Homeopathy?

I am currently recovering from a cold. I felt it coming on last Friday, and I didn't feel so great on Saturday and Sunday. It was nothing dramatic, but I did need a nap each day and I occasionally bordered on chills. A member of my ward recommended an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine that is alleged to help colds. I was skeptical, so I did a little internet searching and found that the product is homeopathic. What does that mean?

Homeopathy was developed around the time of the Revolutionary War by a German physician named Samuel Hahnemann in response to some of the unsavory treatments that were part of mainstream medicine at the time (e.g. bloodletting). Hahnemann developed an idea called the law of similars, which holds that symptoms of an illness represent the body's healing mechanism, so treating with something that would cause those symptoms in a healthy person is the way to cure the illness. Hahnemann also developed the law of infinitesimals, which held that the effectiveness of the treatment substance was stronger the more it was diluted. The substance was repeatedly diluted by powers of 10, with vigorous shaking at each step. In some cases, this repeated dilution results in a preparation that does not contain a single molecule of the original substance. Homeopathy proponents claim that the diluting solution (which often contains high levels of alcohol) retains some kind of imprint of the original substance, that aids healing.

To say that this departs from our current understanding of chemistry and pharmacology would be a great understatement.

Given this background, it may surprise you that the FDA regulates homeopathic drugs. FDA was given this responsibility in 1938 in a bill that was sponsored by NY Senator Royal Copeland, a homeopathic physician. FDA does not treat homeopathic drugs the same as other drugs. In contrast to other OTC drugs, homeopathic drugs do not undergo thorough testing for saftey and efficacy. Although there are some labeling requirements, they are not as strict as other drugs because, well, homeopathic drugs don't really have anything in them. So FDA doesn't really worry about reports of adverse reactions either because--again--there's hardly anything in them. (Here's a policy question for you: should insurance companies or medicare/medicaid cover homeopathic drugs?)

By Monday I was feeling better, although I still have some residual congestion. If I had purchased the recommended product, I might be convinced that it helped.

Note: Everything I have written about homeopathy comes from the FDA or the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (the NIH institute created at the behest of some congressional fans of alternative medicine). For a more critical analysis, see Quackwatch.

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