Is this ‘alternative medicine’ really an effective alternative?
Hello again! It’s been a minute since we have posted due to…well, many reasons; BUT we are back and if you are still here, you’re a real one. Thanks for sticking with us. Today we bring to you a collection of our thoughts on homeopathic treatment and whether it is deserving of the stigma surrounding its use. Let’s get into it!
**DISCLAIMER: This post was not aimed at anybody in specific, nor meant to offend.
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A month later, the bottle is empty of its roasted contents but your cough still wreaks havoc. This is the story often associated with homeopathic treatment, including mine. But in that case, why does it continue to be one of, if not THE most popular alternative to the more conventional option – ‘allopathy’ or modern medicine?
Homeopathic medicine was discovered and initially implemented into the medical field as a clement healing process, and quite the opposite to gruesome and painful mainstream treatments(at the time), such as bloodletting. Bloodletting was an extremely taxing form of treatment and was often done in vain, as the condition of the already weakened patient would only worsen. …What a perfect time to propose another method of(scientifically unproven) healing! Only this time, the patients would not have to endure the pain of a thousand blazing suns in the process. And so, ‘homeopathy’ was born.
In the modern-day, homeopathic remedy is still religiously practiced in many parts of the world, including Brazil, India and Switzerland. In 7 billion people, we can roughly assume that some swear by it, while others swear when it’s mentioned; and the rest of us, are aware of this conflict…have expressed a vague curiosity…and yet, are visibly unbothered by its existence(until now, obviously). And so, the million, no, 7.4 BILLION-dollar(and rising) question is…does ingesting concoctions likely found in Shrek’s pantry(aka. homeopathy) REALLY work?
Where’s the evidence?
With the field of homeopathy still being in its stages of infancy, there has been very little scientific evidence that proves that it actually works.
Most homeopathic research involves something known as a Randomized-placebo Controlled Trial(RCT). For now, the RCT is the only strong lead that is currently available to us. Speaking of which, what exactly is the process of conducting RCTs and how do such trials help in the pursuit of homeopathy?
For those who don’t know, the ‘Placebo Effect’ is “the idea that your brain can convince your body a fake treatment is the real thing” and the key to the billion-dollar industry’s success. In an RCT, there are two groups present – a control group that receives a placebo dummy pill that contains no ‘medicine’, and another group that receives the actual homeopathic pill. An important point to be noted is that these types of trials are double-blinded, meaning that neither the practitioner nor the patient is aware of the treatment being provided (i.e. no one can tell which is the control group, and which is the ‘normal’ group because the pills, visually, look the same). Essentially, both subjects believe they may have ingested the ‘real’ pill and convince their mind and body that they are receiving the treatment. If the results come out identical for each pill, then this suggests that the contents of the pill did nothing except trick the mind into thinking the ‘medicine’ cured the ailment when, in fact, the body did it itself – the placebo effect in full action.
These trials have been extensively accepted, but, unfortunately, a large percent of the results obtained from these trials have been reported to be inconclusive. Only around 5% giving out positive results. This is possibly due to the fact that these small, sugary drugs work in different ways depending on who takes it.
So, is homeopathy possibly just a hoax…?
With barely any funding for homeopathic research, it is doubtful that the mere crumbs’ worth of research currently conducted will lead us to a definite answer. However, as the industry grows, so are the chances that proper research and analysis can occur. Finally, some good news…and hopefully, some scientific evidence! After ages of waiting, researchers in Europe took some steps in the right direction after disclosing the results of an experiment, which states that dilutions of histamine(allergy medication) may be helpful in increasing the functions of white blood cells, and in turn, help our immune system fight allergies.
Nonetheless, homeopathy still has a long way to go for more people to start believing in its properties. Any solid evidence – that’s already long past its due date – will likely ease this process. Buckle up, Homeopathy, it’s going to be a wild ride for you; will people see you in a different light during the desperate times of an ongoing pandemic…?
For the times they are a-changin’: Homeopathic remedies to cure COVID-19?!
Don’t worry, I know what you’re thinking. I’m thinking it too – utter insanity. However, as shocking as it may sound, there have been a few records of successful homeopathic treatment for the virus currently taking over the world.
USA: Recently, the American Institute of Homeopathy(AIH) launched a database to log COVID-19 cases worldwide and plan to manage them with “genuine homeopathy”. From this initiative, the AIH have released a document with how five(yes, only five) patients diagnosed with the virus utilized a variety of homeopathic prescriptions to combat the various symptoms each of them were facing(eg. dry cough, sore throat,…etc.).
Although this does appear quite endearing **shoutout to all the healthcare workers killin’ it on the frontline! Thank you for all you’ve done!**, and we would love to spread any signs of hope for the society, there is still no scientific explanation present as to how and why the prescribed medication acted as it did. I also believe that a five-patient sample is way too small to arrive at a logical conclusion, or one that can be extrapolated to entire populations, in relation to a pandemic such as Coronavirus. Nevertheless, let’s go ahead and peel back the layers of this onion.
The recently released documentation indicates that homeopathic medicine was administered around TWO WEEKS after the patients had been diagnosed. This means that they had been taking conventional medication in that period. Imagine that you’ve been sick for almost half a month, but no medicine seems to be working and you’re now highly anxious and worried for your life. You are practically playing yourself into the hands of ‘reassuring’ homeopathic doctors. Considering that clinical recovery from COVID-19 is 2 weeks(mild) or 3-6 weeks(severe)…I’m not sure how much magic a homeopathic remedy could pull off; not to mention, when it’s two weeks late. Thus, this would naturally lead me to believe that the homeopathic treatment given to the patients was given only once it was certain that they were on the road to recovery and ‘the worst of the storm’ had passed.
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India: Not one to be left out, the Ministry of AYUSH has now approved the mass distribution of ‘Arsenicum Album 30’ to the public..without conducting any trials. Yes, in India’s situation(significantly fewer cases than the USA), they are more focused on using homeopathic remedies as preventative measures–rather than cures–for COVID-19…but nothing has really improved. The Hindu published an article in which it stated: “Corporators freely distribute bottles of Arsenicum Album 30 as a feel-good factor for constituents; experts fret as no data exists on efficacy against COVID-19”. Coronavirus – a global pandemic – and these guys think that psychological comfort is the key to a surefire way out?! Well, at least we can be certain that the ‘experts’ who don’t feel so good, sure haven’t consumed any yet.
Homeopathic doctors everywhere are pushing for their treatments to be given a shot on the pretext of its healthy reputation during epidemics. They say: “Homeopathy has a good track record with epidemics and infectious diseases, therefore people should keep their biases aside and should try all treatments possible to save lives amid this pandemic.”. Honestly, I can’t argue with that particular statement…but the overall lack of caution and order amongst the actions by the ministry and the public is not so promising. Since May 8th, supposedly 20 LAKH people have received homeopathic medicine designed to fend off the disease(pills that haven’t even been tested yet!). Brilliant. 20 Lakhs of citizens given false hope that their panacea is on the same wavelength as a roasted sea sponge.
Keeping in mind that the use of homeopathy for COVID-19 is still emerging, we will have to sit tight and wait for any new updates on its effects. For a method having next-to no scientific proof, this alternative medicine sure does like to compete with traditional, scientifically-proven allopathy.
The Verdict
After sending ourselves from pillar-to-post to try and decipher the ins and outs of homeopathy, a decision must be made. In my eyes(and those of the fretting experts), I do not believe it is ethical to sell and/or use treatments whose effects – good or bad – on your body have not been proven. Yes, there are definitely some success stories to its name, but unfortunately, in the big picture, the CONs continuously seem to outnumber the PROs of homeopathy. Sure, there are no side effects…but is it sensible to prescribe something that can be taken for five years(been there, done that)…with little to no effect at all? It’s the worst kind of cliffhanger. And yes, it is great knowing that your prescription is all-natural…but it’s the 21st century and thanks to fillers…half the population isn’t even all-natural.
At the end of the day, the efficacy of any remedy boils down to whether it can save lives or not, and this depends on how well it fights and fends off pathogens. Without a clear understanding of the relationship between a particular pathogen and the designated prescription, how can you determine the dosage, the progression of the disease, or the recovery time? There are other forms of alternative medicine that may prove helpful, and even have logical and scientific proof to back them up. Conclusively, I can say that homeopathy may not be the way to go.
Do you agree? Or do we agree to disagree? Let us know what you think in the comments!
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Resources:
- Kurzgesagt Video – https://youtu.be/8HslUzw35mc
- https://www.hri-research.org/resources/essentialevidence/use-of-homeopathy-across-the-world/
- https://www.britishhomeopathic.org/evidence/how-does-homeopathy-work/
- https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/evmmk4/are-homeopathic-remedies-safe
- https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/Global-Homeopathy-Products-Market-Will-Reach-USD-15-98-Billion-by-2024-Zion-Market-Research.html
- https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/placebo-effect-untested-homoeopathy-drug-being-distributed-widely/article31645532.ece
- https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/time-to-bring-homeopathy-in-the-fight-against-coronavirus-say-experts-2573939.html
- https://homeopathyusa.org/uploads/Case%20management%20of%20the%20COVID%20patient%20with%20genuine%20homeopathy-An%20update.pdf
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/mental-health/the-power-of-the-placebo-effect
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