Homeopathy

An Illusion of Effectiveness

Dinesh Kumar Jain

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781000592696
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Alternative & Complementary Medicine

Taking a critical view, Homeopathy: An Illusion of Effectiveness is a treasure trove of information regarding the homeopathic system of medicine, reasoning through various unanswered questions concerning its principles and the scientific basis of its remedies. This book posits that the principles of homeopathy are inaccurate and homeopathic drugs have no therapeutic utility.

Features:

• Includes studies, observations, analysis, and conclusions of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy

• Proves that principles of homeopathy are scientifically baseless and homeopathic drugs have no therapeutic effect

• Provides a platform for creative and rational thinking

• Promotes evidence-based medicine

This book is the only one of its kind, explaining how Hahnemann framed the laws of this therapeutic system inaccurately due to lack of knowledge. At present, homeopathy is misleading the public and increasing morbidity and mortality because it is interfering with the application of modern medical science. This book will be useful in the medical community as well as the non-medical community, dispelling several myths associated with homeopathy by developing a rational approach based on scientific facts.

chapter oneLike cures like

DOI: 10.1201/9781003228622-1

Basic concept of homeopathy – one

There are two important principles of homeopathy. First, “like cures like”, which means treatment of a disease by the use of a small amount of drug that produces symptoms in healthy persons similar to those of the disease being treated.

Argument

There are two important principles of homeopathy. First, “like cures like”, which means if the symptoms of disease can be reproduced in the healthy body by a drug, then that drug is effective in that disease.

Similar symptoms in the remedy remove similar symptoms of the disease. The eternal, universal law of Nature, that every disease is destroyed and cured through the similar artificial disease which the appropriate remedy has the tendency to excite, rests on the following proposition: that only one disease can exist in the body at any one time. (Bennett & Brown, 2008, p. 16)

Second important principle of homeopathy is, “Dilution potentiates the action of drugs. Homeopathy outlines the therapy for various ailments with drugs in very high dilutions” (Satoskar et al., 2015, p. 1). “Lower concentration of a remedy (properly diluted and shaken vigorously {succussed}), the greater the effectiveness” (Marderosian et al., 2000, p. 1770). According to Hahnemann, the effect of drugs is potentiated by dilution even to the extent that an effective dose may not contain a single molecule of drug. Regarding dilution, “Thirtieth potency (1 in 10³⁰), recommended by Hahnemann, provided a solution in which there would be one molecule of drug in a volume of a sphere of literally astronomical circumference” (Bennett & Brown, 2008, p. 16).

Both of these principles of homeopathy were analyzed and found that the conclusion drawn by Hahnemann was wrong. “Hahnemann’s first principle was a generalization based on the fact that a large dose of cinchona bark induced in him a malarial paroxysm. The reason for this occurrence being that he had previously suffered from malaria and the gastric irritation excited the paroxysm” (Modell et al., 1976, p. 9).

Hahnemann could not understand the fact that his suffering with malaria and gastric irritation by cinchona bark was responsible for his recurrence of paroxysm. The cinchona bark contains quinine alkaloid. This alkaloid has antimalarial action. “In malarial fever, quinine has a direct action on the organism causing the disease and suppresses the elevated body temperature. Quinine may exercise a true antipyretic action. The effect of quinine on normal body temperature is negligible” (Krantz & Carr, 1965, p. 158). “Quinine has analgesic and antipyretic action and a definite lowering of body temperature occurs in fever from any cause. For this reason quinine has been used in many symptomatic remedies” (Dipalma, 1965, p. 1388).

Rigors or chills are common at the onset of various febrile disorders and may occur at regular or irregular intervals. The cardinal feature of rigor is shivering. Chills and rigors may be produced and perpetuated by intermittent administration of an effective antipyretic agent. This may cause a sharp depression of a raised temperature in a febrile state which precipitates involuntary muscular contraction. (Hart, 1985b, p. 737)

“Initially rigors also occur in acute gastrointestinal disorder” (French, 1945, p. 744).

There is always a possibility of relapse of malaria. Relapses of malaria occur when malarial parasites persisting in the liver, reenter the bloodstream, and patients should be followed for one month to detect the infection (Plorde, 1983, pp. 1190–1192). The form of malarial parasite that persists in the liver is not destroyed by quinine present in cinchona bark. It was observed, “Malaria may remain latent for many years. Reappearance is brought about by cold, general depression of health or through some intercurrent malady” (Hart, 1985a, p. 285).

The main constituent of cinchona bark is quinine. “Oral administration of quinine often results in nausea, vomiting and epigastric pain” (Satoskar & Bhandarkar, 1988, p. 655).

By these observations we can conclude the following:

1. Quinine is the main component of cinchona bark, which is effective against malarial fever. Effect of quinine on normal body temperature is negligible.
2. Hahnemann had suffered from malaria. Just after this, he took cinchona bark and got malarial paroxysm. The cause of this incidence can be explained as: (a) within one month of malarial attack, the chance of malaria relapse is very high. Relapse may occur by acute gastrointestinal problem or any intercurrent malady. Hahnemann had taken cinchona after symptomatic cure of malaria. Gastrointestinal problems created by cinchona could be responsible for recurrence of malarial paroxysm. Normal body temperature is not altered and malarial paroxysm does not occur in a normal healthy person after taking cinchona. (b) Second explanation can also be given for recurrence of malarial paroxysm. At the time of Hahnemann, the actual cause of malaria was not known. Ronald Ross discovered the transmission of malaria by anopheline mosquitoes in 1897 and also discovered malarial parasites, and diagnosis of malaria depends on identification of the parasite in the blood (Park, 1997, pp. 188–193). The paroxysm of fever with chill, which Hahnemann suffered after taking cinchona, might not be malaria, because at that time the cause of malaria was not known. So confirmation of malaria was not possible by demonstration of malarial parasites in blood. There are so many causes of fever with chills. It might be possible that Hahnemann had suffered from other diseases having symptoms of fever with chill. It was just coincidence that at that time he took cinchona and he wrongly concluded that this paroxysm was of malaria and due to cinchona.

If the principle of homeopathy is true, then quinine should produce rigor in a healthy body. But studies say that quinine does not produce rigor. If Hahnemann is true, then quinine should produce rigors in the healthy body because quinine is effective in malaria, which is characterized by rigors with fever. I will write again that in medical science, conclusions cannot be drawn by single observation or observation in a few persons. Those doctors who believe in single observation or observation in a few persons and draw conclusions on this basis only don’t know anything regarding medical science. During single observation or observation in single or few persons, there are various factors which may influence the observation and thus give wrong conclusions.

Hahnemann and his followers made this mistake. In therapeutics, controlled study and experiments on many patients, decided with the rules of statistics, should be done to draw the right conclusion.

References

• Bennett, P. N., & Brown, M. J. (2008). Clinical pharmacology (10th ed.). Edinburgh, United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone.
• Dipalma, R. J. (1965). Chemotherapy of protozoan infections: Malaria. In J. R. Dipalma (Ed.), Drill’s pharmacology in medicine (3rd ed., pp. 1376–1391). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Book Company.
• French, H. (1945). An index of differential diagnosis of main symptoms (6th ed.). Bristol, United Kingdom: John Wright.
• Hart, F. D. (1985a). Fever prolonged (prolonged pyrexia). In F.D. Hart (Ed.), French’s index of differential diagnosis (12th ed., pp. 275–288). London, United Kingdom: Wright.
• Hart, F. D. (1985b). Rigors or chills. In F. D. Hart (Ed.), French’s index of differential diagnosis (12th ed., pp. 737–740). London, United Kingdom: Wright.
• Krantz, J. C., & Carr, C. J. (1965). The pharmacological principles of medical practice (Indian 6th ed.). Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins Company.
• Marderosian, A. H. D., Krantz, A. M., & Riedlinger, J. E. (2000). Complementary and alternative medical health care. In A. R. Gennaro (Ed.), Remington: The science and practice of pharmacy (20th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 1762–1779). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
• Modell, W., Schield, H., & Wilson, A. (1976). Applied pharmacology (American ed.). Toronto: W.B. Saunders Company.
• Park, K. (1997). Park’s textbook of preventive and social medicine (15th ed.). Jabalpur, India: Banarsidas Bhanot Publisher.
• Plorde, J. J. (1983). Malaria. In R. G. Petersdorf, R. D. Adams, E. Braunwald, K. J. Isselbacher, J. B. Martin, & J. D. Wilson (Eds.), Harrison’s principle of internal medicine (10th ed., pp. 1187–1193). New Delhi, India: McGraw Hill.
• Satoskar, R. S. & Bhandarkar, S. D. (1988). Pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutics (11th ed.). Mumbai, India: Elsevier and Popular Prakashan.
• Satoskar, R. S., Rege, N. N., & Bhandarkar, S. D. (2015). Pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutics (24th ed.). Mumbai, India: Elsevier and Popular Prakashan.

chapter twoDilution increases potency

DOI: 10.1201/9781003228622-2

Basic concept of homeopathy – two

Second important principle of homeopathy is dilution and trituration potentiates the potency of a drug.

Argument

Second important principle of homeopathy is, “Dilution potentiates the potency”. Hahnemann derived this principle by the following observation and experiment. Hahnemann found that “Trituration of mercury increased its pharmacological effect” (Modell et al., 1976, p. 9). He observed that potency of mercury increased after dilution and trituration. Later on this conclusion was analyzed and it was found that increased potency of mercury was not due to dilute and triturated mercury. “This increased effect was due to oxidation of mercury, first to mercurous and later to mercuric oxide” (Modell et al., 1976, p. 9). The potentiated effect that Hahnemann observed was due to mercuric oxide. This second important principle of homeopathy again was due to wrong generalization of wrong observation.

Today it is also known that “Elemental mercury cannot react wi...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• About the author
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Like cures like
• Chapter 2 Dilution increases potency
• Chapter 3 Criticism of allopathy
• Chapter 4 Knowledge regarding diseases
• Chapter 5 Nomenclature of diseases
• Chapter 6 Cures means removal of symptoms
• Chapter 7 External factors for diseases
• Chapter 8 Rejection of pathological investigations
• Chapter 9 Mechanism of cure
• Chapter 10 Interaction of diseases
• Chapter 11 Causes of chronic diseases
• Chapter 12 Change the drug treatment
• Chapter 13 Only homeopathy is best
• Chapter 14 Curative power of medicine
• Chapter 15 Displacement of pathological symptoms
• Chapter 16 Mercuric chloride and syphilis
• Chapter 17 Effect of opium
• Chapter 18 Manic episode
• Chapter 19 Scarlet fever and belladonna
• Chapter 20 Grinding gives power and color
• Chapter 21 Treatment of cholera
• Chapter 22 Psora
• Chapter 23 Development of psora
• Chapter 24 Skin diseases
• Chapter 25 Wart and localized treatment
• Chapter 26 Psychiatric symptoms
• Chapter 27 Dynamization
• Chapter 28 Fever, injection, and vaccination
• Chapter 29 Suffering with two dissimilar diseases
• Chapter 30 Tuberculosis
• Chapter 31 One disease protects from another disease
• Chapter 32 Therapeutic effectiveness
• Chapter 33 Bright’s disease and syphilis
• Chapter 34 Fistula in ano
• Chapter 35 No organ can make the body sick
• Chapter 36 Bacteria are harmless
• Chapter 37 Hahnemann opposed old school of medicine
• Chapter 38 Termination of acute and chronic disease
• Chapter 39 Syphilis causes termination of life
• Chapter 40 Treatment of syphilis
• Chapter 41 Sycosis
• Chapter 42 Venereal diseases
• Chapter 43 Chancroid and chancre
• Chapter 44 Allopathic drugs suppress symptoms
• Chapter 45 Fig-wart diseases and gonorrhea
• Chapter 46 Suppressed manifestations must come back
• Chapter 47 Psora and spiritualism
• Chapter 48 St. Anthony’s fire and leprosy
• Chapter 49 Pathogenesis of psora
• Chapter 50 Awakening of internal psora
• Chapter 51 Suppression of itch and tinea capitis
• Chapter 52 Epilepsy and exanthema
• Chapter 53 Confusion
• Chapter 54 Repetition of dose and medicine
• Chapter 55 Hahnemann accepted failure
• Chapter 56 Research on homeopathy
• Chapter 57 Conclusion
• Index