The effectiveness of homeopathic remedies in treating common ailments

1 The Effectiveness of Homeopathic Remedies Homeopathy represents a transition away from conventional medicinal and pharmacological treatments. While homeopathy is, in one respect, a more traditional and time-honored approach to health care (with many homeopathic treatments having been used for centuries in different cultures around the world), in the West its emergence in the field of medicine is relatively new and still not quite fully embraced. As a result of this hesitancy within the health care industry in terms of what to think about homeopathic remedies, researchers have delved into the subject in hopes of providing concerned stakeholders with some clarity. This paper will show that the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies has been well-established by current literature and that many homeopathic remedies may be considered effective approaches in health care treatment. In the end, however, it all comes down to the patient’s preference: if a patient prefers a pharmaceutical approach to a homeopathic one (and vice versa) it is well within the patient’s rights to obtain that type of care. As homeopathy has been around for centuries and is essentially regarded as simply a natural treatment of ailments, it is reasonable to examine some of the homeopathic traditions that have been used in different cultures before regarding the current scholarly literature on the subject. In traditional Chinese medicine, foods are a common way to treat a range of ailments and are considered a staple in Asian homeopathic remedies. Yào shàn for instance is a traditional Korean method of using medicinal herbs and spices in cooking to treat both physiological and mood-related symptoms (Hwang, Park, Kim et al., 2014). In various cultures, marijuana has been viewed as a natural homeopathic alternative to treating pain. And throughout the world, cultures have produced through own drugs from nature for centuries. It is only recently, within the last hundred years or so, that in the West prescription drugs made by pharmaceutical companies have come to replace natural remedies. Homeopathic remedies can be used to treat nearly any type of complaint. Homeopathic practitioners assert that nature has the cure for everything. For instance, vitamin C and vitamin D have been shown to be effective against urinary tract infections (UTI) when used in conjunction with colloidal silver and probiotics (Barillo & Marx, 2014). Indeed, silver possesses numerous antimicrobial properties, which is why spoons for infants were made from silver in centuries past (Barillo & Marx, 2014, p. 3). A closer look at history shows that many cultures have had remedies for different ailments that could be treated by going to nature (since there was no pharmacy like there is today). Lee and King (2003) support the findings of Barillo & Marx (2014) by showing that herbal remedies do still work for treating problems: Goldenseal and Oregan Grape are effective homeopathic alternatives to pharmaceuticals for patients suffering from a UTI because both have properties that destroy bacteria and support the human immune system. Itamura (2007) has shown that homeopathic approaches to treating a range of skin diseases can be an effective way to treat rashes. And Kyziridis (2005) shows how ancient cultures in both the East and West used natural herbal remedies to treat patients suffering from mental maladies. Even simple old garlic has its use in treating people who suffer from high cholesterol (Steiner, Khan, Holbert & Lin, 1996). What all of these studies show is that natural homeopathic remedies do work and that they have been studied and tested by real scientists and researchers who verify their claims. So why aren’t they used more often? For one thing, health care today is an enormous industry that is centered around providers providing treatments promoted to them by pharmaceutical companies and subsidized by government (Goldhill, 2009). Instead of practicing preventive medicine (which is in a large way what homeopathic medicine is), providers are incentivized by subsidizing governments to give unnecessary treatments that are more harmful than good. As Goldhill (2009) indicates, the health care industry is not really in the business of making people healthy: if it were, it would go out of business. Yet, the story is even worse than that. The major problem with today’s focus on pharmaceutical remedies is that the prescriptions are often addictive and have harmful side effects that in turn require more prescriptions to counter-act that negative effects of the first batch of chemicals introduced into the patient’s body. One of the more pernicious outcomes of such heavy reliance on pharmaceuticals is the outbreak of the opioid epidemic, which has its roots in Big Pharma (Semuels, 2017). The inexpensive and actually effective homeopathic remedies that have been available for time immemorial (such as olive leaf extract, oregano oil, probiotics, etc.) have been marginalized by the pharmaceutical industry in the same way hemp was marginalized (and even criminalized) by the textiles industry even though it was a superior product in every way. Homeopathic remedies on the other hand are not in the least addictive—and, as the research indicates, they are effective. However, as in all research, there are studies that appear to contradict the findings of other studies. In this case, the same is true. Some researchers, such as Ernst (2002) and Shang, Huwiler-Müntener, Nartey et al. (2004) have attempted to show that the positive effects off homeopathic remedies are really just placebo effects. In other words, they performed trials in which homeopathic remedies were compared to “remedies” in which only a placebo was given and no actual treatment, though patients were told they were receiving the homeopathic treatment. Their results indicated that both treatments produced the same outcome and that the so-called remedies of homeopathy were all based on the concept of psychological persuasion—i.e., the patient believes he is getting treatment and thus convinces his body to begin to improve and heal itself. To answer those objections, Ludtke and Rutten (2008) conducted their own trial tests and showed that the outcomes obtained by Ernst (2002) and Shang et al. (2004) were highly dependent on the set of analyzed trials. In short, Ernst, Shang and the rest of the researchers demonstrated confirmation bias in their reporting by focusing only on those trials that showed what the researchers set out to prove. They ignored all the other findings indicating that homeopathic remedies are not just a placebo effect. Moreover, numerous other studies, already cited in this study have shown the effectiveness of homeopathy in a range of forms and situations. From Barillo & Marx (2014) to Hwang et al. (2014) to Steiner et al. (1996), there is no lack of evidence to show that homeopathic remedies are effective forms of treatment. The major roadblock to implementing them in more mainstream medicine is, of course, the roadblock of the health care industry itself. The pharmaceutical industry employs its own researchers, lobbies government officials, and targets health care providers and practitioners to get its drugs pushed onto an unsuspecting public. By focusing on treating instead of preventing illness, the industry does the work of the Big Pharma and ensures that there will always be another round of testing needed, treatment sought, and prescription medicines ordered. Homeopathic remedies would put an end to that entire chain of practice—which is why the pharmaceutical industry is against homeopathy, as Hagopian (2015) has revealed in his expose on the hidden agenda of the Food and Drug Administration, which essentially provides governmental support for Big Pharma and serves to enforce laws that protect the industry. In conclusion, homeopathic remedies are effective. In fact, they have been used for centuries by societies and civilizations all over the world. They have been used because they are typically easily attainable, found in nature, and help to treat ailments without causing any debilitating side effects so long as they are taken in moderation. From the use of marijuana in pain management to the use of colloidal silver in the treatment of infection to the use of traditional Chinese medicine in the preparing of foods, homeopathic remedies can be found virtually anywhere one looks and in any society. Indeed, it is only in the last century that the West has turned away from traditional medicine, which is homeopathy, towards a dependency on chemicals produced by pharmacists (drug makers) in laboratories. Having turned its back on the traditional methods in favor of the fast acting but often not without harmful side effects (for instance, antibiotics do tend to kill off the good bacteria that humans need in their gut to maintain their health), modern societies have lost touch with the healing powers found in nature. Nonetheless, homeopathic practitioners and researchers in the medical community are shining more light on the forgotten art of traditional healing. Homeopathic remedies are, therefore, effective and should be acknowledged as such—as the evidence of research shows and as the centuries of use by cultures all over the world also supports. References Barillo, D., Marx, D. (2014). Silver in medicine: A brief history BC 335 to present. Burns, 40(S1): 3-8. Ernst, E. (2002). 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Complementary Therapy Strategies: Myths, Facts, and Lifestyle. Urinary Tract Infection. UK: Springer. Lüdtke, R., & Rutten, A. L. B. (2008). The conclusions on the effectiveness of homeopathy highly depend on the set of analyzed trials. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 61(12), 1197-1204. Semuels, A. (2017). Are pharmaceutical companies to blame for the opioid epidemic? The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/06/lawsuit-pharmaceutical-companies-opioids/529020/ Shang, A., Huwiler-Müntener, K., Nartey, L., Jüni, P., Dörig, S., Sterne, J. A., ... & Egger, M. (2005). Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homoeopathy and allopathy. The Lancet, 366(9487), 726-732. Steiner, M., Khan, AH., Holbert, D & Lin, R. (1996). A double-blind crossover study in moderately hypercholesterolemic men that compared the effect of aged garlic extract and placebo administration on blood lipids. 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