Patients often ask me this question. We love to be able to understand things. The honest answer is we don’t know yet how does homeopathy work. But we do know that it works, both from experience of patients and practitioners, and from a number of scientific studies.
Just to draw a parallel, we didn’t know how aspirin worked for about 100 years, despite all the money poured into conventional medical research. The first clinical trial of aspirin was conducted in 1876, and in 1950 aspirin entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most popular pain relief in the world. But only in 1971 John Vane explained how it works.
Currently, we spend 0.001% of the medical research budget on homeopathy. Is it really so surprising that we don’t have all the answers yet? Below are my own humble thoughts on the matter.
Like cures Like
Homeopathy is based on the principal of “like cures like.”
We’ve all heard that the best hangover cure is a small drink the following morning. That well-known “hair of the dog that bit you”. Homeopathic remedies work in a similar manner.
Remember how your eyes and nose are streaming when you chop an onion? Well, next time you have a common cold with a runny nose and watering eyes try a homeopathic remedy Allium Cepa. It’s prepared from an onion, therefore it cures these exact symptoms!
Another example is that of a coffee. Drink too much coffee and you feel agitated and restless, your heart pounding and your thoughts racing. If you experience these symptoms lying awake at night, full of ideas and plans, Coffea Cruda may help. It’s a remedy prepared from coffee berries. It will gently calm your mind and allow you to fall asleep.
Homeopathy and conventional science
Homeopathy has attracted a lot of scepticism. This is simply because the scientists have been trying to understand homeopathy using conventional chemical method.
Homeopathic remedies are mostly diluted beyond Avogadro’s number. They contain no molecules of the original substance. Therefore, homeopathy cannot be explained by the system that the conventional science is trying to apply.
It’s like asking the lab to analyse the CD that has Beethoven’s music recorded on it. The lab will come back with the results listing various plastics and metals, but it won’t find the music.
Homeopathy and minute doses of medicine
According to the Arndt-Schulz law, or hormesis:
- large concentrations of biological agents halt physiological activity;
- moderate concentrations depress it;
- and small concentrations stimulate it.
Many scientific studies explore this subject.
Homeopathic remedies contain extremely low concentrations of biological agents. Some suggest that homeopathy belongs to the field of nano-pharmacology.
Twelve independent research laboratories in five different countries (USA, France, Italy, Russia and India) have discovered that homeopathic medicines contain nanostructures. Many now consider that homeopathy is the original nanomedicine.
I hope you found this helpful. If you have any questions or would like to book an appointment, please feel free to contact me. I am a qualified professional offering expert homeopathic treatment in Dublin and Online. Family discounts available.
