Placebo or Panacea: The Scientific Debate and Skepticism of Homeopathy

Homeopathy!! Some people might be hearing this word for the first time but before you think it isn't a medical term, let me quickly quote WebMD.com. C'mon, I see that look in your eyes, you are like why don't you quote a real article? While it is written on one of the WebMD writeups that shows that it is a medical system, I will prefer to use PubMed NCBI as a quote of reference, from the article authored by Natalie Grams, which says "Homeopathy is a medical system devised by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann". That said, what is Homeopathy?

Homeopathy depends on certain principles such as Like Cures Like and that principle goes on the basis that what made you sick can be the remedy to cure you. For example, if someone experiences swelling after a bee sting, homeopathy suggests using a highly diluted form of bee venom as a remedy. Similarly, fever may be addressed with a highly diluted preparation of the Belladonna plant, known to induce fever. This approach extends to various other substances like red onion and arnica, which are believed to remedy the problems they can cause.

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The second principle of Homeopathy is potentization which has to do with the dilution and agitation of ingredients that can be harmful and activates the curing power of those ingredients. These ingredients are dissolved in alcohol, and could also be dissolved in distilled water after which the current solution is diluted 10 times more. This is done continuously until the desired solution is given as sugar palettes or orally.

While a lot of people have praised this system, it has received a whole lot of backlash from lots of scientists. For instance, potentization has been one of its biggest criticisms. If homeopaths want to do a 6X potency mixture, then they will need to put the ingredient into a solution at a ratio of 1 to 10, and succuss it for a total of six times. This can even become more complex if the potency is a C then the ingredient would be in the concentration at a ratio of 1 to 100. When you wonder what the criticism is, homeopaths follow the principle that the more diluted the ingredient, the more potent it is but in reality, it doesn't make sense even to me.

I think I should add my own thoughts on this. If the less concentrated ingredient in the dilution means more effectiveness, then it means that a diluted toxic compound of 30C could still harm me. Did you get that? Well, let's continue with the post of homeopathy.

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Compared to when homeopathy was invented, medicine has changed. Humans have been living longer and health has improved thanks to technology, modern diagnostic, and scientific research and evaluations. While some people will say it works for them, based on my above argument, it is nothing but a placebo. How will you tell me that sugar water diluted into 1 billion places can cure cancer? That is just how homeopathy works.

Scientists have come to the conclusion that people who say they got remedies from homeopathy are only having the placebo effect. If people believe that a thing will cure them, the fact that they trust that agent alone is enough to create their desired effect. Also, the fact that the body would always combat illness is another thing, so even if a person is given water and told that it would heal them while the body does its work, they will believe the water did the curing and not their body.

With homeopathy, a lot of people can resist modern scientific treatment when they need it thereby leading to the loss of their lives or that of their loved ones. Also, most people who believe in homeopathy do not get vaccinated, and this is another problem that we face as scientists.

Reference

• (https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-is-homeopathy)
• (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6399603/)
• (https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy)
• (https://www.nhsinform.scot/tests-and-treatments/medicines-and-medical-aids/complementary-medicine/homeopathy)
• (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1676328/)