How does homeopathy work?
Homeopathy is the art and science of healing by safe, gentle, and natural methods. The word homeopathy is coined from the Greek words 'homoios' meaning like or similar and 'pathos' meaning suffering (similar suffering). It works on the principle of 'similia similibus curentur', or let 'likes be cure by likes' which means that what will cause will cure. Homeopathy is the art and science of healing by safe, gentle, and natural methods. The word homeopathy is coined from the Greek words 'homoios' meaning like or similar and 'pathos' meaning suffering (similar suffering). It works on the principle of 'similia similibus curentur', or let 'likes be cure by likes' which means that what will cause will cure.
Therefore, according to the Law of Similars, a substance that when taken in crude form causes a set of symptoms or disease in a healthy person can cure similar symptoms occurring during an illness when treated with small, often infinitesimal, potentised doses of the same substance. This substance will help to stimulate the body's own healing power to effect a deep and long-lasting cure. The concept has been known since Hippocrates in 450 BC, and has been further developed down the ages until more scientific examination was undertaken by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann in the 18th century.
Based upon the homeopathic principle, suppose a person has hay fever, with watery eyes and a burning nasal discharge. Instead of giving an antihistamine to dry up the discharge, a homeopath might prescribe Allium cepa - a tiny dose of onion specially prepared by a homeopathic pharmacy - because onion is known to cause watery eyes and a burning nasal discharge. Similarly, suppose a person can't sleep because of agitation or an overactive mind, instead of giving a conventional "sleeping pill," a homeopath might give Coffea - a homeopathic preparation of coffee. Along the same lines, someone experiencing nausea and vomiting would receive a homeopathic medicine made from a substance that would normally cause nausea and vomiting in a healthy person when taken in a crude form.
The dilutions and the memory of water theory
The aspect of homeopathy that is implausible for many people is that the medicines are often – though by no means always – diluted to the point where there may be no molecules of original substance left. The leading current proposal for how such 'ultramolecular' dilutions work is that water is capable of storing information relating to substances with which it has previously been in contact.1
The structure of water
Recent research on hydrogen bonds in water provides some support for this 'memory' theory. The Swiss chemist, Louis Rey, found that the structure of hydrogen bonds in homeopathic dilutions of salt solutions is very different from that in pure water.2 He reached the conclusion that the phenomenon results from the vigorous shaking of solutions that takes place during homeopathic 'succussion'. Moreover, using the laboratory technique called spectroscopy, other researchers have found that different homeopathic medicines and different dilutions of the same medicine can be distinguished from each other, even though all should contain nothing but water.3
Molecular clusters
An alternative mechanism is suggested by the results of research from South Korea. Studies on molecular clustering in water solutions showed that as a solution is made more and more dilute, very stable and larger ‘clumps’ of material develop in dilute solutions rather than in more concentrated solutions.4 This means that residual molecular clusters of the original substance might just be present in homeopathic dilutions. Succussion might also be responsible for creating very tiny bubbles (nanobubbles) that could contain gaseous inclusions of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and possibly the homeopathic source material.3
Highly diluted substances exert an effect
However they work, there is increasing evidence that homeopathic dilutions have a demonstrable effect on living organisms examined under laboratory conditions. Researchers in Germany have observed an inhibitory effect of an ultra-diluted chemical on the bacterium Vibrio fischeri.5 And there is important work from a consortium of European laboratories showing that very high dilutions of histamine may exert a biologically significant effect on the white blood cells that take part in the immune response.6
Positive outcomes in 75% of studies
Viewing the evidence overall, there is some experimental support for the idea that ultra-molecular homeopathic dilutions may possess unique physical properties and can exert physiological effects. A systematic review evaluated 67 in-vitro experiments in 75 publications of research on homeopathic dilutions.7 A majority of papers reported measurable effects from highly diluted substances. Positive findings were obtained in nearly three-quarters of all replicated studies, but no positive result was stable enough to be reproduced by all investigators.