We explore discordant opinions on the effectiveness of homeopathy.
Some dispute it, accusing it of being devoid of any scientific foundation. Others aim to demonstrate its effectiveness on the basis of irrefutable results. We try to shed light on the effectiveness of homeopathy and look with transparency at the two sides of the same coin that is the cure devised.
The debate on the effectiveness of homeopathy
Why is the effectiveness of homeopathy a debate that raises discordant words and thoughts behind it? Homeopathy uses preparations that have an individualized composition, designed for the individual, with the history of his personal health: each prescription is different in times, ways and dilutions. This factor already precludes the tools needed to produce large-scale evidence about the effectiveness of homeopathy.
Not only that: homeopathy is put on the same level as so-called “unconventional” medicines, an area in which chiropractic, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic, and even naturopathy are included. The pre-scientific character of these systems makes them, in the eyes of many doctors devoted to official medicine, invalid, since they were developed with intuitive or inductive procedures, far from the logic of modern science.
Scientific evidence of the effectiveness of homeopathy exists. For example, just consult a database like PubMed to find valid ones. In this database you will find research carried out in countries where homeopathy is not hindered by institutions, countries such as the United States, India, Brazil, Great Britain. In other areas of the world, homeopathy does not find institutional support, because this would touch precarious balances and would mean giving access to this discipline in hospitals, in the academic world, putting one’s hand to the fondi for public research, going to touch the interest of more than one pharmaceutical company.
Incontrovertible scientific data attest to the effectiveness of homeopathy: the homeopathic substances administered stimulate the reaction of the organism, directing it towards healing from various disorders, especially chronic ones (rheumatic diseases, migraine). The scientific literature shows positive results also in cases of patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Opinions on the efficacy of homeopathy
The doubts that come from official medicine with respect to homeopathy derive from an overview of the discipline, which is perceived as a rigid set of precepts dictated by its founder. It is then perceived as a discipline that promises effective results in the short term, an “easy” science, which enchants and persuades people in difficulty.
Detractors of homeopathy absolutely convinced that what is administered contains nothing. But let’s clarify a fundamental point better: homeopathy is based on the principle of homeopathic dilution and the idea that a substance dissolved in water retains its essence. For skeptics, this is an absurd belief, based on an alleged “memory of water.” The reasoning ends logically: a homeopathic preparation cannot do good, much less harm.
But how are the successes of the treatments explained by detractors? Simple psychological suggestion. Diseases such as colds and headaches can heal spontaneously: what happens, according to “official” doctors, is that the patient goes to the doctor when the symptoms are most acute and, when the latter regress, the person attributes the credit to the homeopathic medicine.
We will keep you informed about this hot pool of controversy, with the intention of moving away from the logic of interests, but wanting to privilege well-founded news that can prove useful on the front of the personal health of each of us.
