Science Forums 2

[CraigD]

In case all our readers aren’t familiar with modern theories of homeopathic medicine, here’s a brief summary:

All homeopathic medicine involves the administering of dilute quantities of a (usually) physiologically active ingredient, typically something similar to the suspected cause of the illness being treated. In this sense, it is much like the conventional, and very successful, medical practice of inoculation, where a controlled amount of live or dead pathogen is administered, causing a mild infection, which results in ones body’s immune system becoming “trained” to combat a later infection of that pathogen.

Where homeopathy diverges from the medical mainstream is in how extremely dilute the active ingredients in its remedies are, usually “30C+”, or less than 100^30 parts inactive to 1 part active. The theory holds that the more dilute the active ingredient, the more effective the treatment.

To my mind, there are 2 major modern variants of homeopathic theory. The first holds that the solution must contain at least a little bit – perhaps just a single molecule of the active ingredient, or it will have no effect

The later holds that even if the solution is so dilute that a dose of it contains not one bit of the active ingredient, it will still have a powerful effect. These theories hold that the inert ingredient – almost always water – retains a “memory” of its contact with the active ingredient, and that it is this that actually produces the therapeutic effect.

There’s been no compelling scientific evidence that these techniques work.

In terms of safety, though, homeopathic remedies are typically more pure of any potentially dangerous substance than tap water, so they’re very unlikely to do any harm to a patient. The main danger cited by opponents is that a patient undergoing homeopathic medical treatment may chose to forgo conventional treatment, allowing an otherwise treatable illness to progress to a dangerous or fatal stage, or that practitioners of homeopathic medicine may overcharge for their remedies, bilking desperate people out of money they need for basic sustinance or conventional treatment.