Hippocratic oath and the Nuremberg code -Every patient should be familiar with these

Fifty Years Later: The Significance of the Nuremberg Code

Evelyne Shuster, Ph.D.

N Engl J Med

The Nuremberg Code

1. The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential.

This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion; and should have sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved as to enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision. This latter element requires that before the acceptance of an affirmative decision by the experimental subject there should be made known to him the nature, duration, and purpose of the experiment; the method and means by which it is to be conducted; all inconveniences and hazards reasonably to be expected; and the effects upon his health or person which may possibly come from his participation in the experiment.

The duty and responsibility for ascertaining the quality of the consent rests upon each individual who initiates, directs or engages in the experiment. It is a personal duty and responsibility which may not be delegated to another with impunity.

2. The experiment should be such as to yield fruitful results for the good of society, unprocurable by other methods or means of study, and not random and unnecessary in nature.

3. The experiment should be so designed and based on the results of animal experimentation and a knowledge of the natural history of the disease or other problem under study that the anticipated results will justify the performance of the experiment.

4. The experiment should be so conducted as to avoid all unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injury.

5. No experiment should be conducted where there is an a priori reason to believe that death or disabling injury will occur; except, perhaps, in those experiments where the experimental physicians also serve as subjects.

6. The degree of risk to be taken should never exceed that determined by the humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved by the experiment.

7. Proper preparations should be made and adequate facilities provided to protect the experimental subject against even remote possibilities of injury, disability, or death.

8. The experiment should be conducted only by scientifically qualified persons. The highest degree of skill and care should be required through all stages of the experiment of those who conduct or engage in the experiment.

9. During the course of the experiment the human subject should be at liberty to bring the experiment to an end if he has reached the physical or mental state where continuation of the experiment seems to him to be impossible.

10. During the course of the experiment the scientist in charge must be prepared to terminate the experiment at any stage, if he has probable cause to believe, in the exercise of the good faith, superior skill, and careful judgment required of him, that a continuation of the experiment is likely to result in injury, disability, or death to the experimental subject.

The Nuremberg Code is the most important document in the history of the ethics of medical research.1-6 The Code was formulated 50 years ago, in August 1947, in Nuremberg, Germany, by American judges sitting in judgment of Nazi doctors accused of conducting murderous and torturous human experiments in the concentration camps (the so-called Doctors’ Trial).7 It served as a blueprint for today’s principles that ensure the rights of subjects in medical research. Because of its link with the horrors of World War II and the use of prisoners in Nazi concentration camps for medical experimentation, debate continues today about the authority of the Code, its applicability to modern medical research, and even its authorship.1,2,4,5,8 The chief prosecutor at the Doctors’ Trial, General Telford Taylor, believed that one of the three U.S. judges, Harold Sebring, was the author of the Code.2 Two American physicians who helped prosecute the Nazi doctors at Nuremberg, Leo Alexander and Andrew Ivy, have each been identified as the Code’s author.5,8-11 A careful reading of the transcript of the Doctors’ Trial, background documents, and the final judgment reveals that authorship was shared and that the famous 10 principles of the Code grew out of the trial itself.

In this article I will explain the important role that physicians had in the prosecution of the Nazi doctors and in the formulation of the Nuremberg Code and summarize how medical researchers have used the Code as a guide over the past five decades.

The Doctors’ Trial

The main trial at Nuremberg after World War II was conducted by the International Military Tribunal. The tribunal was made up of judges from the four allied powers (the United States, Britain, France, and the former Soviet Union) and was charged with trying Germany’s major war criminals. After this first-of-its-kind international trial, the United States conducted 12 additional trials of representative Nazis from various sectors of the Third Reich, including law, finance, ministry, and manufacturing, before American Military Tribunals, also at Nuremberg. The first of these trials, the Doctors’ Trial, involved 23 defendants, all but 3 of whom were physicians accused of murder and torture in the conduct of medical experiments on concentration-camp inmates.7

The indictment of the defendants was filed on October 25, 1946, 25 days after the conclusion of the first Nuremberg trial by the International Military Tribunal. The Doctors’ Trial began on December 9, 1946, and ended on July 19, 1947. The case was heard by three judges and one alternate. Thirty-two prosecution witnesses and 53 defense witnesses, including the 23 defendants, testified. A total of 1471 documents were introduced into the record. Sixteen of the 23 defendants were found guilty; 7 of them were sentenced to death by hanging, 5 to life imprisonment, 2 to imprisonment for 25 years, 1 to imprisonment for 15 years, and 1 to imprisonment for 10 years. Seven were acquitted. The sentences were confirmed by the military governor, and, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case, the executions were carried out at the Landsberg prison.

For the United States and its chief prosecutor, Telford Taylor, the trial was a murder trial (and murder had been identified by the International Military Tribunal as a crime against humanity). Nonetheless, as Taylor pointed out in his opening statement, this was “no mere murder trial,” because the defendants were physicians who had sworn to “do no harm” and to abide by the Hippocratic Oath.12 He told the judges that the people of the world needed to know “with conspicuous clarity” the ideas and motives that moved these doctors “to treat their fellow human beings as less than beasts,” and that “brought about such savageries” so that they could be “cut out and exposed before they become a spreading cancer in the breast of humanity.”12 One recurring theme was the relevance of Hippocratic ethics to human experimentation and whether Hippocratic moral ideals could be an exclusive guide to the ethics of research without risk to the human rights of subjects. In the trial’s exploration of ideas that shaped medical-research ethics, three physicians had central roles: Leo Alexander, an American neuropsychiatrist, Werner Leibbrand, a German psychiatrist and medical historian, and Andrew Ivy, a renowned American physiologist.

Leo Alexander

Leo Alexander, a Viennese-born American physician, had joined the U.S. Army Medical Corps in 1942, before being stationed in England at the American Eighth Air Force base. At the end of the war, Alexander was sent on a special mission under the Combined Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee, an intelligence organization with members from several nations, and charged by orders from Supreme Headquarters of Allied Expeditionary Forces to gather evidence for the Nuremberg trials. Two days before the opening of the Doctors’ Trial, Alexander gave Taylor a memorandum entitled “Ethical and Non-Ethical Experimentation on Human Beings,” in which he identified three ethical, legal, and scientific requirements for the conduct of human experimentation.9 The first requirement established the right of the competent experimental subject to consent or refuse to participate in these terms: “the subject should be willing to undergo the experiment of his own free will. . . .” The second focused on the duty of physicians as expressed in the Hippocratic Oath, which Alexander restated in research terms: “the medical Hippocratic attitude prohibits an experiment if the foregone conclusion, probability or a priori reason to believe exists that death or disabling injury of the experimental subject will occur.” The third characterized good research practices.

On April 15, 1947, Alexander gave Taylor a second memorandum.9,11 In it he set forth in greater detail six specific conditions for ethically and legally permissible experiments on human beings. The first stated that

the legally valid voluntary consent of the experimental subject is essential. This requires specifically the absence of duress, sufficient disclosure on the part of the experimenter and sufficient understanding on the part of the experimental subject of the exact nature and consequences of the experiment for which he volunteers, to permit an enlightened consent.

The five other conditions established the humanitarian nature and purpose of the experiment and the scientific integrity and obligations of the investigator to the welfare of the subject.

Werner Leibbrand

On January 27, 1947, Werner Leibbrand, a German psychiatrist and medical historian at Erlangen University, opened the debate on medical ethics at Nuremberg.12 He explained to the court that German physicians at the beginning of the 20th century had adopted a “biologic thinking” according to which a patient was a series of biologic events, and nothing more than “a mere object, like a mail package.”12 Leibbrand insisted that such a view precluded any human relation between physicians and their patients and that it represented a perversion of Hippocratic ethics and “a lack of morality and reverence for human life.”12 He strongly condemned physicians who conducted experiments on subjects without their consent, and testified that this was also the result of biologic thinking.

During cross-examination, defense lawyers asserted that “civilized” nations such as France, the Netherlands, Britain, and the United States had performed dangerous medical experiments on prisoners, often without their consent. They cited American malaria experiments12-14 to argue that Nazi physicians had followed common research practices. Leibbrand replied that this American research also was wrong because “prisoners were in a forced situation and could not be volunteers.”12 Leibbrand insisted that “the morality of a physician is to hold back his natural research urge which may result in doing harm, in order to maintain his basic medical attitude that is laid down in the Oath of Hippocrates.”12 This strong accusation of American research by the prosecution’s first medical-ethics witness created major unanticipated problems for the prosecution. It therefore became necessary to broaden the scope of the trial by defining the conditions under which risky human experimentation is ethically permissible.

Defense lawyers explained that Nazi doctors were ordered by the state to conduct such experiments as the high-altitude, hypothermia, and seawater experiments on inmates at the Dachau concentration camp to determine how best to protect and treat German fliers and soldiers. They contended that these experiments were necessary and that the “good of the state” takes precedence over that of the individual.12 Leibbrand replied that “the state could order deadly experiments on human subjects, but the physicians remained responsible for [not] carrying them out.”12 Once these physiologic experiments became the centerpiece of the trial, reliance on psychiatrists alone was not possible. The prosecution needed a prestigious medical scientist who was an authority on research physiology and whose wartime scientific interests corresponded to those of the Nazi doctor defendants. This expert was Andrew Ivy.

Andrew Ivy

Andrew Ivy was an internationally known physiologist and a noted scientist. He also had first-hand knowledge of the Stateville Penitentiary experiments on malaria12,13 in his home state of Illinois, which the Nazi defendants attempted to liken to those performed on concentration-camp inmates. When the secretary of war, through the surgeon general of the army, asked the board of trustees of the American Medical Association to nominate a medical advisor to the Nuremberg prosecution, Ivy emerged as the natural nominee. On June 12, 1947, Ivy came to Nuremberg for the third time, this time to testify in rebuttal for the prosecution. His testimony, the longest of the trial, lasted four days.12

In direct examination, Ivy presented to the judges three research principles that he had formulated at the request of the American Medical Association and which, he said, reflected common research practices.12 His document entitled “Principles of Ethics Concerning Experimentation with Human Beings,” adopted by the American Medical Association House of Delegates in December 1946, read in part:

1. Consent of the human subject must be obtained. All subjects have been volunteers in the absence of coercion in any form. Before volunteering, subjects have been informed of the hazards, if any. Small rewards in various forms have been provided as a rule.

2. The experiment to be performed must be based on the results of animal experimentation and on a knowledge of the natural history of the disease under study, and must be so designed that the anticipated results will justify the performance of the experiment. The experiment must be such as to yield results for the good of society, unprocurable by other methods of study, and must not be random and unnecessary in nature.

3. The experiment must be conducted only by scientifically qualified persons and so as to avoid all unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injury and only after the results of adequate animal experimentation have eliminated any a priori reason to believe that death or disabling injury will occur. . . .15

Ivy explained that these common-sense principles mirrored the understanding shared by everyone in practice in the medical community.12 The first principle was that a physician would never do anything to a patient or subject before obtaining his or her consent. Ivy also asserted that, unlike Leibbrand, he did not consider prisoners to be in an inherently coercive situation and thus unable to give consent, because in democratic countries where the rights of individuals are respected, prisoners can always say yes or no without fear of being punished.12 He testified:

The American malaria experiments with 800 or more prisoners were absolutely justified, scientifically, legally and ethically even if they bring with them danger to human life. To treat malaria was an important scientific problem, and so long as the subjects volunteer and are explained the hazards of the experiments, there is no ethical reason against it. . . . If prisoners condemned to death are volunteers, then it was ethical to do just that.12

During cross-examination, Ivy acknowledged that there were no written principles of research in the United States or elsewhere before December 1946 and that the principles adopted by the American Medical Association were expressly formulated for the Doctors’ Trial.12 Ivy also recognized that the right of the research subject to withdraw from an experiment may not always exist, as in the malaria experiments in which the subjects had already been infected, or in dangerous experiments in which the subjects could be severely injured or fatally harmed. Ivy agreed with Leibbrand that researchers must refuse to conduct experiments on human beings when ordered by the state in order “to save lives,” because in such cases subjects would not be volunteers. He declared that “[t]here is no justification in killing five people in order to save the lives of five hundred” and that “no state or politician under the sun could force [him] to perform a medical experiment which [he] thought was morally unjustified.”12 Ivy also stressed that the state may not assume the moral responsibility of physicians to their patients or research subjects, arguing that “[E]very physician should be acquainted with the Hippocratic Oath [which] represents the Golden Rule of the medical profession in the United States, and, to [his] knowledge, throughout the world.”12 When, finally, defense counsel asked Ivy to reconcile the Hippocratic moral maxim that forbids physicians to “administer a poison to anyone even when asked to do so” with conducting potentially lethal experimental interventions on volunteer subjects, Ivy replied, “I believe this Hippocratic commandment refers to the function of the physician as a therapist, not as an experimentalist, and what refers to the Hippocratic Oath is that he must have respect for life and the human rights of his experimental patient.”12

Medical Ethics and Human Rights

The judges at Nuremberg, although they realized the importance of Hippocratic ethics and the maxim primum non nocere, recognized that more was necessary to protect human research subjects. Accordingly, the judges articulated a sophisticated set of 10 research principles centered not on the physician but on the research subject. These principles, which we know as the Nuremberg Code, included a new, comprehensive, and absolute requirement of informed consent (principle 1), and a new right of the subject to withdraw from participation in an experiment (principle 9). The judges adopted much of the language proposed by Alexander and Ivy but were more emphatic about the necessity and attributes of the subject’s consent and explicitly added the subject’s right to withdraw.

In the traditional Hippocratic doctor–patient relationship, the patient is silent and dutifully obedient to the beneficent and trusted physician.16-18 Obviously, the patient must seek the physician’s help and initiate the therapeutic relationship with the physician.17 But once patients agree to be treated, they trust that the physician will act in their interest, or at least will do no harm.17,18 In research, which is outside the beneficent context of the physician–patient relationship, this trust may be misplaced, because the physician’s primary goal is not to treat; rather, it is to test a scientific hypothesis by following a protocol, regardless of the patient-subject’s best interest. It is therefore only through a conflation of treatment and research that Alexander and Ivy believed they could expand on Hippocratic ethics to protect the rights of subjects in human experimentation.19,20 Their Hippocratic view of medical research may have prevented them from adequately appreciating the risks to research subjects, which are many times greater than the risks to patients who are merely being treated.21 Hippocratic ethics, even when supplemented with informed consent, tend to submerge the subject’s autonomy into what the physician-investigator thinks is best for the subject.

Informed consent, the core of the Nuremberg Code, has rightly been viewed as the protection of subjects’ human rights. The key contribution of Nuremberg was to merge Hippocratic ethics and the protection of human rights into a single code. The Nuremberg Code not only requires that physician-researchers protect the best interests of their subjects (principles 2 through 8 and 10) but also proclaims that subjects can actively protect themselves as well (principles 1 and 9). Most strikingly, for example, in Hippocratic ethics the subject relies on the physician to determine when it is in the subject’s best interest to end his or her participation in an experiment. In the Nuremberg Code, the judges gave the subject as much authority as the physician-researcher to end the experiment before its conclusion (principle 9).

50 Years after Nuremberg

The Nuremberg Code has not been officially adopted in its entirety as law by any nation or as ethics by any major medical association. Nonetheless, its influence on global human-rights law and medical ethics has been profound.6 Its basic requirement of informed consent, for example, has been universally accepted and is articulated in international law in Article 7 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).6,22 Informed consent, with specific reliance on the Nuremberg Code, is also the basis of the International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects, the most recent guidelines promulgated by the World Health Organization and the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (1993).23

The World Medical Association, established during World War II, has been accused of purposely trying to undermine Nuremberg in order to distance physicians from Nazi medical crimes.24 The election of a former Nazi physician and SS member, Hans-Joachim Sewering, to the presidency of that organization in 1992 added credibility to that accusation.24 (Because of public criticism, Sewering later withdrew.) Nonetheless, the various versions of the Declaration of Helsinki promulgated by the World Medical Association since 1964, although attempting to have peer review supplement informed consent and even supplant it as their central principle in the context of “therapeutic research,” all implicitly acknowledge Nuremberg’s authority. Both the Nuremberg Code and the Declaration of Helsinki served as models for the current U.S. federal research regulations, which require not only the informed consent of the research subject (with proxy consent sometimes acceptable, as for young children), but also prior peer review of research protocols by a committee (the institutional review board of the hospital or research institution) that includes a representative of the community.25

The Nuremberg Code focuses on the human rights of research subjects, the Declaration of Helsinki focuses on the obligations of physician-investigators to research subjects, and the federal regulations emphasize the obligations of research institutions that receive federal funds. Nonetheless, by insisting that medical investigators alone cannot set the rules for the ethical conduct of research, even when guided by beneficence and Hippocratic ethics, and by adopting a human-rights perspective that acknowledges the centrality of informed consent and the right of the subject to withdraw, the Nuremberg Code has changed forever the way both physicians and the public view the proper conduct of medical research on human subjects. Fifty years after Nuremberg, we recognize the human-rights legacy of the Nuremberg Code and are better able to face the critical challenge of applying the Code in its entirety and enforcing its human-rights provisions.

100% ignorance from the science field-yes HOMEOPATHY is proven to work!

Research in Homeopathy

By  Robert Medhurst BNat ND DHom

300 studies

Claims are regularly made in the media and by various “authorities” that there’s no evidence for homeopathy. Whether this declaration is made through simple ignorance, stupidity or with the deliberate intent to deceive, would make an excellent topic for investigation. Either way, the assertion that there’s no evidence for homeopathy is plainly and clearly wrong. Shown below are abstracts from over 300 human, animal, plant and in-vitro scientific studies that attest the reality that there is indeed evidence for homeopathy, and lots of it. This is an update of an article I wrote on this subject several years ago.
Human studies 1. Albertini H, Goldberg W, Sanguy B, Toulza CL. Homeopathic treatment of dental neuralgia by Arnica and Hypericum. Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy, 1985, 3, 126-129. Carried out at the Faculty of Medicine of Marseilles, this placebo controlled study was designed to determine the effectiveness of Arnica 7C and Hypericum 15C for people suffering from dental neuralgia. 60 people received either 4 pilules of Arnica alternated with 4 pilules of Hypericum every 4 hours or placebo administered in the same way. Pain levels were assessed over 3 days from the beginning of the trial. From this assessment it was found that 12 of the 30 people who received the placebo had a positive response to this intervention, and 23 of the 30 people given the homeopathic medicines responded positively to these.

2. Alibeu JP, Jobert J. Aconite in Post-Operative Pain and Agitation in Children, Pediatrie, 1990, 45, 7-8, 465-6. In this double blind placebo controlled trial, 50 children suffering from post-operative pain and agitation were given either Aconite or placebo. The effects of Aconite were significantly better than placebo

3. Ammerschlager H., Klein P., Weiser M., Oberbaum M. Treatment of inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory tract – comparison of a homeopathic complex remedy with xylometazoline. Forsch Komplementarmed Klass Naturheilkd. 2005, Feb, 12, 1,:24-31. In a multi-centre, controlled, cohort study, 739 people suffering from rhinitis or sinusitis were given either xylometazoline (a drug commonly used for nasal congestion, sinusitis and hay fever) or a homeopathic combination. Both forms of therapy provided similarly effective results.

4. Baars EW, De Bruin A. The effect of Gencydo injections on hayfever symptoms: a therapeutic causality report. J Altern Complement Med. 2005 Oct, 11, 5, 863-9. In this study, 13 Dutch medical practitioners submitted patients (who between them had a mean history of hayfever of 9 years), for therapy involving injections of a combination homeopathic product. All but 1 patient were given the medication before the onset of the hayfever season and all were given it during the hayfever season. Of these 13, during the course of the trial 9 people found no increase in nasal and non-nasal hayfever symptoms when the hayfever season began or during it and only 1 of the 13 felt compelled to use conventional hayfever medication.

5. Baduluci S, Chirulescu Z, Chirila P, Rosca A.  Zinc: Immunoglobin Relationship in Patients with Cirrhosis of the Liver Before and After treatment with Zincum metallicum 5C. International Research Group on Very Low Dose and High Dilution Effects, 1993 Giri Meeting, British Homoeopathic Journal, April, 1994, 83, 84-100. 10 people suffering from Zinc deficiency as determined by atomic absorption spectrophotemetry were treated with Zincum metallicum 5C. Analysis following this treatment showed a substantial improvement in zinc levels.

 6. Banerjee A, Chakrabarty SB, Karmakar SR, Chakrabarty A, Biswas SJ, Haque S, Das D, Paul S, Mandal B, Naoual B, Belon P, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Can Homeopathy bring additional benefits to Thalassemic Patients on Hydroxyurea Therapy? Encouraging Results of a Preliminary Study. Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2010 March; 7(1): 129–136. In this observational study, 38 people suffering from thalassaemia who were taking hydroxyurea, were allowed to continue their use of hydroxyurea but were given one of several homeopathic medicines. The effects of this additional treatment were compared to the outcomes of another 38 people suffering from thalassaemia who used hydroxyurea alone, assessed immediately before and at 3 months after starting the homeopathic treatment. Of a range of haematological and clinical parameters, those people using the combined treatment showed an increase in levels of foetal haemoglobin over those on hydroxyurea alone, along with a reduction in serum ferritin. Where splenomegaly was present, a significant reduction in this was noted in those on the combined therapy and this group also noted an improvement in general health with a longer period allowed between blood transfusions.

7. Barnes J., Resch K-L., Ernst E. Homoeopathy for Post-Operative Ileus: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, 1997, Dec, 25, 4, 628- 633. 7 separate trials examining the effects of homoeopathic treatment for post-operative ileus after abdominal or gynaecological surgery when compared with placebo, specifically, for the time to first flatus after surgery. Subsequent analysis showed that homoeopathy provided superior results to placebo.

8. Bell IR, Lewis DA, Brooks AJ, Schwartz GE, Lewis SE, Walsh BT, Baldwin CM. Improved clinical status in fibromyalgia patients treated with individualized homeopathic remedies versus placebo. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2004 May;43(5):577-82. 53 people suffering from fibromyalgia took part in this trial, comparing individualised homoeopathic treatment to placebo. The levels of tender points and tender point pain as well as quality of life, mood and general health were assessed by the practitioners and subjects involved in the trial. 3 months after commencing treatment, all parameters were found to be improved by the use of homoeopathy when compared to placebo.

9. Belon P, Banerjee P, Choudhury SC, Banerjee A, Biswas SJ, et al. Can administration of potentized homeopathic remedy, Arsenicum album, alter antinuclear antibody (ANA) titre in people living in high-risk arsenic contaminated areas? I. A correlation with certain hematological parameters. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2006 Mar; 3 (1):99-107. To investigate whether or not potentised Arsenicum album has an effect on arsenic-induced elevations of antinuclear antibody (ANA), selected inhabitants of arsenic affected villages in India’s West Bengal were randomly assigned to receive either Arsenicum album or placebo. After 2 months of administration, it was found that not only did the remedy provide superior results in reducing the ANA titre, it also caused a correction of arsenic-induced haematological changes such as total count of red blood cells and white blood cells, packed cell volume, haemoglobin content, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and blood sugar level.

10. Belon P, Banerjee A, Karmakar SR, et al. Homeopathic remedy for arsenic toxicity? Evidencebased findings from a randomized placebo-controlled double blind human trial. Sci Total Environ. 2007 Jul 10. This was a pilot study carried out on 25 people from an Indian village where arsenic contamination was endemic and 18 people from another Indian village without arsenic contamination. These people were randomly assigned to receive either Arsenicum album 30C or a succussed placebo control. After 2 months on either active medicine or placebo, these people had their blood and urine assessed for arsenic as well as several widely accepted toxicity biomarkers and pathological parameters related to arsenic toxicity. The use of Arsenicum album 30C had a beneficial effect on these biomarkers. It was also found to improve the appetite and general health of those people who previously exhibited signs and symptoms of arsenic toxicity.

 11. Berrebi A, Parant O, Ferval F, Thene M, Ayoubi JM, Connan L, Belon P. Treatment of Pain due to Unwanted Lactation with a Homeopathic Preparation given in the Immediate Post-Partum Period. Gynecology, Obstetrics and Biological Reproduction, 2001, June, 30, 4, 353-7. 71 post- parturient women who were unwilling or unable to breast feed were divided into 2 groups, one being given a placebo and the other group being given a mixture of Apis 9C and Bryonia 9C, to determine the effects of either on lactation pain. A significant improvement was noted in the group using the mixture, when compared to those in the placebo group.

12. Bignamini M, Saruggia M, Sansonetti G. Homeopathic Treatment of Anal Fissures using Nitricum acidum Berlin Journal on Research in Homoeopathy, 1, 4/5, 286-287, December 1991. Patients using Nitricum acidum 9C once daily in a double blind placebo controlled trial found subjective relief with the medicine over the placebo.

13. Bornhoft G, Wolf U, Ammon K, et al. Effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of homeopathy in general practice – summarized health technology assessment. Forsch Komplementarmed. 2006;13 Suppl 2:19-29. This was an effectiveness and safety study on homeopathy carried out for the Swiss Federal Office for Public Health. Using Internet-based resources, manual search and contact with experts, and assessed according to internal and external validity criteria, investigators found that the trend was in favour of a therapeutic benefit from homeopathic intervention. In addition, it was stated by the authors of the study that, “…effectiveness of homeopathy can be supported by clinical evidence and professional and adequate application be regarded as safe. “

14. Brigo B, Serpelloni G, Homoeopathic Treatment of Migraine Berlin Journal on Research in Homoeopathy, 1, 2, March, 1991, 98-106. In this randomised, placebo controlled double blind study, 60 people suffering from migraine were treated using constitutional homoeopathy over a period of 4 months. Those patients in the control group experienced a reduction in migraine frequency from 9.9 attacks per month to 7.9 per month, while those in the treatment group reduced their monthly attack rate from 10 to between 1.8 and 3 per month.

15. Cairo J, Elliot BE, Barnouin J, Fleites P, Araoz A, Morales M, Verdura T, Sanchez M, Serrano C, Alvarez JL, Veillard JJ. Homeopathy in Cuban Epidemic Neuropathy: An Open Clinical Trial. British Homoeopathic Journal, 2001, 90, 150-157. In this uncontrolled trial, 15 people suffering from optic endemic neuropathy (group 1) and 16 people suffering from peripheral epidemic neuropathy (group 2) were given homeopathic Carbon sulph and homeopathic Tabacum for 30 days. The subjects were assessed for improvement in neurologic and ophthalmologic tests on commencement and again at 90 days after commencement of the trial. Those in group 1 experienced an averaged improvement of 73% and group 2 of 12.5%.

16. Campistranous- Lavout JL., et al. Hypertension Trial. Boletin Mexicano, 1999, 32, 42- 47. 68 people suffering from mild to moderate hypertension were enrolled in a double-blind randomised clinical trial comparing individualised homoeopathic therapy with placebo. Successful results were obtained with 82% of those using homoeopathy compared with 57% of those using placebo.

17. Castellsague API, Sturza CM. Retrospective Study in Asthma, Revista Homeopatica AMBH, 1998, 37, 5-21. In this multi-centre retrospective (uncontrolled) analysis, 196 people were treated for asthma with homoeopathy. Of the 196, 54 were claimed to have been cured and improvement was seen in a further 117.

18. Cavalcanti AM, Rocha LM, Carillo R Jr, Lima LU, Lugon JR. Effects of homeopathic treatment on pruritus of haemodialysis patients: a randomised placebo-controlled double-blind trial. Homeopathy. 2003 Oct;92(4):177-81. Pruritis, commonly experienced by those undergoing haemodialysis, was treated in 20 subjects under double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial conditions comparing individualised homoeopathic treatment to placebo. Assessments were made at 15, 30, 45 and 60 days treatment, and after collating the results, researchers found that homoeopathic management reduced pruritis by 49%. The majority of the reduction in pruritis had occurred by day 30.

19. Chapman EH, Weintraub RJ, Milburn MA, Pirozzo TO, Woo E. Homoeopathic Treatment of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Journal of Head Trauma and Rehabilitation, 14, 6, December 1999, 521-42. In a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial involving 60 subjects and a 4 month follow-up period, homoeopathy provided significant improvement in parameters using measures such as “Difficulty with Situations”, “Symptoms Rating Scale” and a “Participation in Daily Activities” scale.

20. Chapman EH. Homeopathic treatment of patients with persistent mild traumatic brain injury. British Homeopathic Journal, 2000, 89, Suppl 1,S60. In a randomised, placebo-controlled trial, 50 people with persistent mild traumatic brain injury were treated either with their constitutional homeopathic remedy or placebo. The homeopathic treatment provided superior results to those from the placebo control.

21. Clark J, Percivall AA. Preliminary Investigation into the Effectiveness of the Homoeopathic Remedy, Ruta graveolens, in the Treatment of Pain in Plantar Fasciitis. British Journal of Podiatry, 2000, 3, 3, 81- 85. In a randomised double-blind trial, 14 people suffering from plantar fasciitis were given Ruta graveleons 30C or placebo. Those using the Ruta reported a greater level of pain relief than those using placebo.

22. Clover A, Ratsey D. Homoepathic Treatment of Hot Flushes. British Homoeopathic Journal, 2002, 91, 75-79. Researchers at the Tunbridge Wells Homeopathic Hospital in the UK enrolled 31 female outpatients who had complained of menopausal flushes in this trial. They were treated using individualised homeopathic management and after their initial consultation and at least one follow-up, patients completed their own self-assessment rating of the treatment. 79% of the women enrolled in the study reported a reduction in both the severity and frequency of hot flushes as a result of the treatment.

23. Colin P. Homeopathy and respiratory allergies: a series of 147 cases. Homeopathy. 2006 Apr;95 (2):68-72. In this case series, 147 consecutive patients suffering from respiratory allergy who attended a private homeopathic clinic were assessed for their response to constitutional homeopathic treatment. Of these patients, 105 were sufferers of ear, nose and throat allergies. Only 2 of these patients failed to respond to treatment and none experienced an exacerbation of symptoms. The other 42 patients were sufferers of pulmonary allergies, all except 5 of whom experienced relief, with 2 of these experiencing an exacerbation of symptoms.

24. Davidson JRT, Morrison RM, Shore J, Davidson RT, Bedayn G. Homeopathic Treatment of Depression and Anxiety. Alternative Therapies, 3, 1, January 1997, 46-49. In this trial, 12 subjects suffering from major depression, social phobia or panic disorder, were treated for 7 to 80 weeks with individually prescribed homoeopathic remedies and assessed on a clinical global improvement scale (CGIS) or self-rated SCL-90 scale and the Social Phobia Scale (SPS). Subjects were given homoeopathic treatment either because they asked for it directly or because conventional treatment had been unsuccessful. The overall response rates for homoeopathy were 58% on the CGIS and 50% on the SCL-90 and SPS.

25. Derasse M, Klein P, Weiser M. The effects of a complex homeopathic medicine compared with acetaminophen in the symptomatic treatment of acute febrile infections in children: an observational study. Explore (NY). 2005 Jan;1(1):33-9. In this non-randomised observational study carried out in 38 Belgian clinics, 198 children suffering from acute febrile infections were assessed for their response to either acetaminophen or a combination of homeopathic medicines. The children had their infection symptoms, which included fever, cramps, disturbed sleep, crying, and difficulties eating or drinking, assessed and graded for a response to their respective medicines. After taking the results from all variables into account, it was found that the homeopathic combination was as effective as acetaminophen. The tolerance to medicines was also assessed as part of this trial and in this respect it was found that the homeopathic combination was superior to the acetaminophen.

26. Dorfman P, Lassere NM, Tetau M, Homoeopathic Medicines in Pregnancy and Labor, Cahiers de Biotherapie, 94, April 1987, 77-81. In this randomised double blind trial involving 93 women,  a combination of homeopathic Caulophyllum, Actea racemosa, Arnica, Pulsatilla and Gelsemium, all in 5C potency, was used to determine its effect on the length of labor and complication rates. The medicine was used from the beginning of the ninth month of pregnancy, and reduced the average time of labor to 5.1 hours, in comparison to the placebo, the use of which was associated with an average labor time of 8.5 hours. The rate of complications for those using the homoeopathic combination was 11.3% while the complication rate under placebo was 40%.

27. Eid P, Felisi E, Sideri M; Applicability of Homoeopathic Caulophyllum thalictroides during labour. British Homoeopathic Journal, October, 1993, 82, 245-248. 22 women experiencing their first pregnancies were given homoeopathic Caulophyllum and their post-treatment deliveries compared to 34 labours retrospectively selected on the criteria used to select the test subjects. On analysis it was found that the women who were given the homoeopathic remedy had a reduction of the duration of labour by an average of 90 minutes.

28. Ernst E, Saradeth T, Resch KL, Complementary Treatment of Varicose Veins.. Phebology, 1990, 5, 157-163. Over a period of 24 days, the effects of a homoeopathic complex preparation and placebo on varicose veins were tested in a double-blind trial of 61 people suffering from this condition. The homoeopathic complex produced an averaged 44% improvement in the condition while those given the placebo experienced an averaged worsening of the disorder.

29. Ferley JP, Zmirou D, D’Adhemar D, Balducci F. A Controlled Evaluation of a Homoeopathic Preparation in the Treatment of Influenza-like Syndrome..Br J Clin Pharmacol, 1989, Mar, 27, 3, 329-335. 487 people suffering from influenza were assigned to either Oscillococcinum (Anas barb.) 200CK or placebo, twice daily for 5 days. Significant results were achieved with the medicine over the placebo in all areas measured. This trial was repeated in 1998 (Papp R, Schuback G, Beck E, Burkard G, Bengel J, Lehrl S, Belon P. Oscillococcinum in Patients with Influenza-like Syndromes. British Homeopathic Journal, April 1998, 87, pp69-76) with 372 people with the same results.

30. Fisher P., Greenwood A, Huskisson EC, Turner P and Belon P.  Effect of Homoeopathic Treatment on Fibrositis. British Medical Journal, 5 August, 1989, 299, 365-366. Patients using Rhus tox 6C three times daily in a double blind placebo controlled crossover trial found significant relief with the medicine over the placebo.

31. Fisher P. An Experimental Double-blind Clinical Trial method in Homoeopathy- Use of a Limited Range of Remedies to Treat Fibrositis. British Homoeopathic Journal, 1986, July, 75, 3, 1427. 24 subjects suffering from fibrositis were treated for the condition for 3 months with Arnica, Bryonia or Rhus tox, depending upon the similarity between the individuals’ symptoms and the clinical picture for
the remedy. Using scores for pain, number of tender spots, and sleep quality to determine the response to the therapy, these remedies produced a statistically significant improvement, but only when the remedy was well indicated.

32. Frass M, Linkesch M, Banyai S, et al. Adjunctive homeopathic treatment in patients with severe sepsis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in an intensive care unit. Homeopathy. 2005 Apr; 94, 2, 75-80. In this study, 70 people admitted to an intensive care unit suffering from severe sepsis were treated either with individualised homeopathic treatment or placebo. On reviewing the signs of sepsis, organ failures, need for mechanical ventilation and other parameters at 180 days after beginning treatment, 76% of the patients using homeopathy met survival criteria versus 50% of those on placebo.

33. Frass M, Dielacher C, Linkesch M, et al. Influence of potassium dichromate on tracheal secretions in critically ill patients. Chest. 2005 Mar;127(3):936-41. Stringy tracheal secretions often complicate or even prevent extubation of people breathing with continuous positive airway pressure. This issue provoked the development of a study involving 50 people breathing spontaneously with continuous positive airway pressure who were randomly assigned to receive either 5 globules twice daily of Kali bic 30C or the same dose and frequency of placebo globules. The study results were assessed using the amount of tracheal secretions from day 2 of the study, the amount of time spent by the subjects in the ICU in which they were staying and the time until successful extubation. After the results were assessed, it was found that those who’d been given the Kali bic produced less tracheal secretions than those on placebo, their stay in the ICU was shorter than those on placebo as was their time to successful extubation.

34. Frei H, Thurneysen A. Treatment for Hyperactive Children: Homeopathy and Methylphenidate Compared in a Family Setting. British Homoeopathic Journal, 2001, 90, 183-188. 114 children attending a paediatric practice where conventional and homeopathic medicines were used, and who were previously diagnosed with ADHD, were given individualised homoeopathic medicines (increasing potencies of the most similar LM remedy).  On a parent assessed basis (confirmed by the clinician), if a minimum 50% improvement was not noted within a certain period of time they were placed on Methylphenidate. 75% of the children responded to homoeopathy and 22% required Methylphenidate. 3% of patients did not respond to either regime.

35. Frei H, Thurneysen A. Homeopathy in Acute Otitis Media in Children: Treatment Effect or Spontaneous Resolution? British Homeopathic Journal, 2001, Oct, 90, 4, 180-2. In a study involving 230 children with acute otitis media, homoeopathic treatment was compared with placebo to determine whether homoeopathic treatment provided a faster resolution of symptoms than placebo. After 12 hours, 72% of those using homoeopathy experienced significant relief of symptoms, which was 2.4 times faster than the response to placebo.

36. Frei H, Everts R, von Ammon K, et al. Homeopathic treatment of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled crossover trial. Eur J Pediatr. 2005 Dec, 164, 12, 758-67. 83 children diagnosed as suffering from ADHD using DSMIV criteria were treated with individually prescribed homeopathic medicines. Using the Connor’s Global Index scale it was determined that 63 of these children responded to treatment. These children were then randomised to receive either placebo or homeopathic medicines for 6 weeks and at this point were crossed over to receive placebo if they’d been using the homeopathics or visa versa. At the end of this period it was found that homeopathic therapy provided significantly better results than placebo.

37. Frenkel M, Hermoni D. Effects of Homeopathic Intervention on Medication Consumption in Atopic and Allergic Disorders. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 2002, Jan-Feb, 8, 1, 769. In a study carried out at the Technicon-Israel Institute in Haifa, Israel, 48 patients were treated for allergic disorders with both homoeopathic and conventional medicines, and monitored for their level of use of the conventional medicines. Over the 3 month monitoring period, 56% of patients reduced their conventional medication use by an average of 60%.

38. Friese KH, Kruse S, Ludtke R, Moeller H. The Homoeopathic Treatment of Otitis Media in Children. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 35, 7, 1997, 96-301. In this trial, 131 children suffering from medically diagnosed otitis media were split into two groups. 28 were treated by a team of four ear, nose and throat practitioners using singly or in combination, nasal drops, antibiotics, secretolytics or antipyretics (Group B). 103 children were treated by one homoeopath using single homoeopathic remedies (Group A). The average duration of pain for Group A was 2 days, as opposed to 3 days for Group B. 70.7% of the Group A children were free of recurrences within the first year of treatment and 29% had a maximum of 3 recurrences while in Group B, 56.5% were free of recurrences within the first year of treatment and 43.5% had a maximum of 6 recurrences.

39. Friese KH, Zabalotnyi DI. Homeopathy in acute rhinosinusitis : A double-blind, placebo controlled study shows the efficiency and tolerability of a homeopathic combination remedy. HNO (Organ of the Deutsche Gesellschaft der Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenärzte) 2006 December, 19. Using a randomized, double-blind study method, 144 people with acute rhinosinusitis were treated with a either a combination of homeopathic remedies (Group A) or placebo (Group B) and assessed at days 0, 7, 14 and 21 of treatment using a 5 point sinusitis symptom score (the worst score being 20). After analysing the results it was found that those in Group A experienced a drop in symptom scores from 12.1+/-1.6 to 5.9+/-2.0 points after 7 days. Those in Group B found a decrease from 11.7+/-1.6 to 11.0+/-2.9 points (p<0.0001). The final results showed that the homeopathic combination resulted in freedom from complaints in 90.3% of the patients and improvement in a further 8.3%, whereas in the placebo group, the complaints remained unchanged or became worse in 88.9% of the patients.

40. Gasssinger CA, Wunstel G, Netter PA Controlled Clinical Trial for Testing the Efficacy of the Homoeopathic Drug, Eupatorium perfoliatum, D2 in the Treatment of Common Cold. Arznei Forsch, 1981, 31, 4, 732-736. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either Aspirin or Eupatorium perfoliatum 2X. The latter was found to be as effective as Aspirin in reducing the duration and severity of symptoms.

41. Gerhard I, Wallis E. Individualised Homeopathic Therapy for Male Infertility, Homeopathy, 2002, 91, 133-144. An observational pilot study investigated the effect of individualised homeopathic therapy for 45 sub-fertile males, with specific reference to sperm count and quality, hormone levels and the general level of health. Sperm count and sperm motility were improved by homeopathy and the improvement was comparable with conventional treatment.

42. Gibson RG, Gibson SL, MacNeill AD, Gray GH, Dick WC, Buchanan WW. Salicylates and Homoeopathy in Rheumatoid Arthritis. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 1978, 6, 5, 391-395. In this study, carried out at the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital, 41 people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis were treated with enteric coated aspirin and 54 people suffering from the same condition were treated with individualised homeopathic treatment. The results of the two forms of therapy were compared at the end of the trial and it was found that those on homeopathic treatment did considerably better than those on aspirin. In addition, 16 of the 41 people taking aspirin during the trial experienced side effects while those taking homeopathics experienced no side effects.

43. Gibson RG, Gibson SL. Homoeopathic Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Evaluation by Double Blind Clinical Therapeutic Trial. Br J. Clin. Pharmac. 9, 1980, 453-459. 46 patients using a number of different homoeopathic medicines, prescribed according to homoeopathic principles, were given this medicine or a placebo with their normal anti-arthritic drug. The trial was carried out blind and significant results were achieved with the homeopathic medicine over the placebo in all areas measured.

44. Gimeno L.Q. Homoeopathic Treatment of Human Papilloma Virus infections previously treated by Other Methods. British Homoeopathic Journal, October 1996, 85, 194-197. In this study, 14 people suffering from recurrent HPV, previously unresponsive to microsurgical procedures, were treated with individualised homeopathy and assessed via cytology prior to treatment, during, and 1 year after commencing treatment. At the final 1year assessment, 11 of the 14 subjects were declared to be cured.

45. Gmnunder R, Kissling R. The Efficacy of homeopathy in the treatment of chronic low back pain compared to standardized physiotherapy. Zeitschrift für Orthopädie und ihre Grenzgebiete, 2002 Sep-Oct;140, 5, 503-8. In this controlled, randomised, prospective study, 43 people suffering from chronic low back pain were treated for two months either by homeopathy or by standardised physiotherapy. Assessment based on the initial and final clinical investigations, an Oswestry questionnaire, and visual analog scale, found that the most successful method of treatment was homeopathy.

46. Goldstein MS, Glik D. Use of and satisfaction with homeopathy in a patient population. Altern Ther Health Med. 1998 Mar;4(2):60-5. Carried out in 9 homeopathic clinics in the Los Angeles area, this study was done to determine the success or otherwise of constitutional homeopathic practice as assessed by the people who’d undergone this therapy. The study also looked at the characteristics of the people involved in the study. Information was provided by 77 clients. At 4 months after treatment, 71% of clients reported improvement in their health status. This is contrasted with the fact that 80% of all clients enrolled in this survey had had previous orthodox medical treatment for their condition which they had found unsuccessful. The most common presenting complaints involved the respiratory, gastrointestinal and female reproductive systems and most clients were highly educated but had little knowledge of homeopathy prior to their treatment with it.

47. Guthlin C., Lange O., Walach H. Measuring the Effects of Acupuncture and Homeopathy in General Practice: An Uncontrolled Prospective Documentation Approach. Biomed Central Public Health, 2004, 4, 1, 6. 5000 people were treated for various ailments using acupuncture, and 900 people were treated using individualised homeopathy, by medical practitioners in a number of clinics throughout Germany. Most of these people had previously been treated using conventional drugs. After treatment, of those being treated using acupuncture, 36% stated that they felt “very much better” and 49% felt, “somewhat better”. Of those being treated using homeopathy, 39% stated that they felt “very much better” and 38% felt, “somewhat better”.

48. Haidvogl M, Riley DS, Heger M. Homeopathic and conventional treatment for acute respiratory and ear complaints: a comparative study on outcome in the primary care setting. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2007 Mar 2;7:7 The aim of the authors of this study was to compare the effectiveness of homeopathic treatment for acute respiratory and ear complaints with orthodox medical treatment for the same conditions. 1577 clients from 57 clinics from Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the USA were enrolled in the study. They were asked to rate their response to either therapy at 14 days after beginning treatment. 86.9% of those given homeopathic medicines declared that they had had either a complete recovery or major improvement in their symptoms. 86% of those given orthodox medical treatment reported the same thing. Subgroup analysis found that 88.5% of children given homeopathics reported a complete recovery or major
improvement in symptoms whereas 84.5% of those given orthodox medical treatment reported similar success. In addition, the onset of improvement within the first 7 days after treatment was significantly faster in those with homeopathic treatment, both in children and adults.

49. Haila S, Koskinen A, Tenovuo J. Effects of homeopathic treatment on salivary flow rate and subjective symptoms in patients with oral dryness: a randomized trial. Homeopathy. 2005 Jul, 94, 3, 175-81. In this blind, placebo-controlled study, 28 people diagnosed with xerostomia (dryness of the mouth) were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or individually prescribed homeopathic medicines. Assessed using un-stimulated and wax-stimulated salivary flow rates and visual analogue scales at the end of the trial, 26 of those people using homeopathic treatment and none using placebo were found to have had significant relief. Following the assessment of these results those on placebo were switched to homeopathic therapy, after which all experienced relief from their xerostomia.

50. Harrison RE, Burge TS, et al. Homoeopathic Treatment of Burn Scars. British Homoeopathic Journal, October 1993, 82, 252-254. 4 people suffering from hypertrophic scarring subsequent to burns were treated with homeopathic Graphites for 3 months. All 4 subjects were relieved of these symptoms. No controls were used for comparison.

51. Hill N, Stam C, Tuinder S, van Haselen RA. A Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial investigating the efficacy of a Homoeopathic After-Bite Gel for Reducing Mosquito bite induced Erythema. Eur J Pharmacol, 1995, 49, 103-108. 68 people were bitten at least 3 times by mosquitoes. One of the bites was treated with an after-bite gel containing homoeopathic ingredients, another of the bites was treated with a placebo gel, and the third bite remained untreated. Erythema associated with the bites was measured before and regularly after treatment at all of the bite sites and the subjects rated the degree of pruritis experienced at the sites. The active gel provided results that were significantly superior to the placebo or no treatment.

52. Hitzenberger G, Kom A, Dorsci M, Bauer P, Wohlzogen FX. Controlled randomised Double Blind study for the Comparison of the Treatment of Patients with Essential Hypertension with Homoeopathic and Pharmacologically Effective Drugs. Weiner Klinische Wochenschrift (Klinische Wochenschrift), 1982, 94, 24, 665-670. In this randomized double-blind cross-over trial, 10 people suffering from essential hypertension were treated either with standard pharmaceutical products or homeopathic medicines. Pharmaceuticals were found to provide superior blood pressure reducing effects but homeopathic were found to be the better choice for the management of the subjective symptoms of hypertension.

53. Issing W., Klein P., Weiser M. The homeopathic preparation Vertigoheel versus Ginkgo biloba in the treatment of vertigo in an elderly population: a double-blinded, randomized, controlled clinical trial. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2005, Feb, 11, 1,155-60. Over a 6 week period, 170 people with an age range of 60- 80 years with atherosclerosis related vertigo were treated for this condition using either a homeopathic combination or herbal gingko biloba. Using a patient-assessed dizzyness questionnaire and practitioner assessment via line walking and other tests as methods of measurement, participants found that the homeopathic combination provided outcomes as good as those with gingko.

54. Itamura R, Hosoya R. Homeopathic Treatment of Japanese patients with intractable Atopic Dermatitis. Homeopathy, 2003, 92, 108-114. In this uncontrolled study, 17 people suffering from intractable atopic dermatitis undertook individualised homoeopathic treatment for the condition in conjunction with their existing pharmaceutical therapy, for a period of up to 2 years and 7 months. On an
objective assessment and the patient’s own assessment, all patients experienced in excess of 50% improvement by the end of the trial.
55. Itamura R. Effect of homeopathic treatment of 60 Japanese patients with chronic skin disease. Complement Ther Med. 2007 Jun;15(2):115-20. 60 people were enrolled in this uncontrolled trial which was carried out in Obitsu Sankei Hospital in Kawagoe which was designed to determine the effect of individualised homeopathic medicines on several common skin disorders. These disorders included atopic dermatitis, eczema, acne, urticaria, psoriasis and alopecia universalis. Treatment occurred over a period of 3 months to 2 years and 7 months and subjects were permitted to use conventional dermatological treatments while taking part in the trial. Using the trial participants’ own assessment, improvement or otherwise was assessed using a nine-point scale similar to the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital Outcome Scale. On this basis, 6 people reported a complete recovery, 23 reported a 75% improvement, 24 found a 50% improvement and 7 had a 25% improvement). In all, 88.3% of patients reported over 50% improvement.
56. Jacobs J, Jiminez J, Gloyd SG, et al. Treatment of Acute Childhood Diarrhoea with Homoeopathic Medicine. Paediatrics, May, 1994 93, 5, 719-725. In a randomised, placebo controlled trial with 81 children suffering from acute diarrhoea, individually prescribed homoeopathic medicines were found to be superior to placebo.

57. Jacobs J, Jimenez M, Malthouse S, Chapman E, Crothers D, Masuk M, Jonas WB. Acute Childhood Diarrhoea- A Replication. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 6, 2000, 131-139. In a replication of a previous trial carried out by Jacobs and others, 116 Nepalese children aged 6 months to 5 years suffering from diarrhoea were given an individualised homoeopathic medicine or placebo over a 5 day period. Results assessed at the end of this period showed homeopathy to be superior to placebo as a means of relieving diarrhoea.

58. Jacobs J, Springer DA et al. Homeopathic treatment of acute otitis media in children: a preliminary randomized placebo-controlled trial. Pediatr Infect Dis J, 2001, 20: 177-83. 75 children suffering from acute otitis media were given homeopathic treatment or were given treatment with placebo. On assessment it was found that homeopathy provided an improved outcome from this condition.

59. Jacobs J, Jonas WB, Jimenez-Perez M, Crothers D. Homeopathy for childhood diarrhea: combined results and meta-analysis from three randomized, controlled clinical trials. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2003 Mar;22(3):229-34. In this meta-analysis (an analysis carried out to determine overall trends in a group of similar studies) three double blind clinical trials of diarrhoea in 242 children aged 6 months to 5 years were analysed as one group. The children received either an individualised homeopathic medicine or a placebo, for 5 days after each unformed stool. Records were kept by parents and the duration of diarrhoea was defined as the time until there were less than 3 unformed stools per day for 2 consecutive days. Diarrhoea ceased in those taking homeopathic medicines after 3.3 days and after 4.1 days in those using placebo.

60. Jacobs J, Herman P, Heron K, Olsen S, Vaughters L. Homeopathy for menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors: a preliminary randomized controlled trial. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2005, Feb, 11, 1,:21-7. This study compared the effects of an individualised homeopathic prescription with a homeopathic combination and placebo in 55 women suffering from menopausal symptoms for a period of 1 year. Both the individualised and combination homeopathic therapy provided an improvement in symptoms over placebo, with the individualised homeopathy showing the best outcomes over the first 3 months of the assessment period.

 61. Jeffrey SL, Belcher HJ. Use of Arnica to Relieve Pain after Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 2002, Mar-Apr, 8, 2, 66-8. 37 patients who had undergone carpal tunnel release surgery were given a combination of Arnica tablets and Arnica ointment or placebo. After 2 weeks of therapy, the group using Arnica reported a significant reduction in pain.

62. Karow JH, Abt HP, Fröhling M, Ackermann H. Efficacy of Arnica montana D4 for Healing of Wounds after Hallux valgus Surgery compared to Diclofenac. J Altern Complement Med. 2008 JanFeb;14(1):17-25. In this randomised, double-blinded, parallel group study, 88 people who were recovering from foot surgery were randomly assigned to receive either Arnica 4X at a rate of 10 pilules 3 times daily or Diclofenac 50mg 3 times daily. Both therapies were used for 4 days following the surgery. At day 4, subjects were assessed for their postoperative irritation, mobility, pain level, and their use of analgesics. Analysis of the results at this point showed that Arnica and Diclofenac provided the same level of reduction in wound irritation (including swelling) and mobility. Subjective assessment by patients rated Arnica as superior to Diclofenac for mobility. Diclofenac was superior to Arnica for pain reduction and there was no significant difference in analgesic use during the 4 days following surgery. It was also noted in the study that Arnica was 60% cheaper than Diclofenac.

63. Kassab S, Cummings M, Berkovitz S, van Haselen R, Fisher P. Homeopathic Medicines for Adverse effects of Cancer Treatments. Cochrane Database Systematic Review. 2009 Apr 15;(2):CD004845. Cochrane Reviews investigate the effects of interventions for prevention, or treatment of illness, or rehabilitation from illness, in a healthcare setting. Most Cochrane Reviews are based on overviews of randomized controlled trials and other forms of evidence that are deemed to be appropriate. This review was conducted to determine what, if any, evidence (in the opinion of the Cochrane reviewers) exists for the treatment by homeopathy of the effects of conventional cancer therapies. A search through numerous databases revealed 8 controlled trials involved in this area of study, 7 of which were placebo controlled and 1 of which was against an active treatment. In total, the trials covered the outcomes of 664 people who’d been variously suffering from the adverse effects of radiotherapy, chemotherapy or breast cancer treatment. Of the 8, 2 trials exhibited beneficial effects from homeopathy. One of these involved a comparison between the effects of a topical corticosteroid and a homeopathic mother tincture of calendula for the prevention of dermatitis from radiotherapy where the calendula proved to be superior to the drug. The other involved the successful use of a homeopathic complex for stomatatitis caused by chemotherapy.

64. Kayne S. A Pilot Trial to Study the Perceived Effectiveness of Homoeopathic remedies bought Over The Counter (OTC) in British Pharmacies. Journal of the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital NHS Trust, 1997, January 23-24, 90-94. 1000 questionnaires were sent to 8 UK pharmacies, requesting them to pass the questionnaires to customers. These, questionnaires asked the customers whether or not they found OTC homoeopathic medicines effective for the conditions for which they were purchased. A total of 257 users responded, and the accumulated results showed that 83% of respondents felt better after taking the product.

65. Keil T, Witt CM, Roll S, Vancea W, Webera K, Wegscheiderb K,  Willich SN. Homoeopathic versus Conventional Treatment of Children with Eczema: A comparative Cohort Study. Complementary Therapies in Medicine (2008) 16, 15—21. This was a prospective, multi-centre, parallel-group, comparative cohort study was conducted in urban and mixed urban—rural regions of Germany. 118 children suffering from clinically defined eczema seen at 54 homeopathic practices and 64 conventional medical practices were treated for the condition with the respective therapeutic protocols normally used in these clinics, i.e. individualised homeopathic or conventional medical therapy. Treatment occurred
over a period of 12 months and the outcomes of the 2 different methods of therapy were assessed at 6 months and 12 months by the children or their parents on the basis of eczema signs and symptoms and the quality of life. Overall, on the basis of clinical symptoms and quality of life, there was little difference in the response rates of both groups to their respective therapies although at 12 months after starting treatment, those children who were treated homeopathically had a greater level of recovery from symptoms than those treated with conventional medicine. No adverse reactions were reported for either group

66. Kim LS, Riedlinger JE, Baldwin CM, Hilli L, Khalsa SV, Messer SA, Waters RF. Treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis using homeopathic preparation of common allergens in the Southwest Region of the US: A randomized, controlled clinical trial. Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 2005, Apr, 39, 4, 617-24. In this double-blind trial, 34 people diagnosed with moderate to severe seasonal allergic rhinitis were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or a combination of potentised allergens (made from the pollens of trees, grasses or weeds identified as allergens). After the 4 week treatment period using 2 sprays 3 times a day of either the potentised allergen mix or placebo, the trial subjects were assessed on the basis of their allergy specific symptoms using 3 separate questionnaire formats (RQLQ, MOS SF-36 and the WPAI). The potentised allergen mix showed significant positive changes compared to placebo.

67. Klopp R, Niemer W, Weiser M. Microcirculatory effects of a homeopathic preparation in patients with mild vertigo: an intravital microscopic study. Microvasc Res. 2005, 69, 1-2,10-6.The aim of this non-randomized, open study was to test the effectiveness of a homeopathic combination product on variables related to microcirculation in 16 people suffering from vestibular vertigo, compared to a control group of 16 untreated people also suffering from vestibular vertigo. Measurements were carried out in two areas (defined by selecting 60 blood-cell perfused nodal points of arterioles, venules, and capillaries with a mean diameter > or = 40 microns): the cuticulum/subcuticulum of the inside left lower arm and an area 5 mm behind the left earlobe. After 12 weeks of treatment, those people receiving the homeopathic preparation exhibited an increased number of nodal points, increased flow rates of erythrocytes in both arterioles and venules, increased vasomotion, and a slight reduction in hematocrit vs. baseline. None of these changes were observed in the control group. Measurements were also made of partial oxygen pressure and the numbers of cell-wall adhering leucocytes, both of which were significantly increased in the test group compared to the control group. All of these parameters were associated with a reduction in the severity of the vertigo symptoms, both on patient as well as practitioner assessment.

68. Kneusel O, Weber M, Suter A. Arnica montana Gel in Osteoarthritis of the Knee: an open, multicenter clinical trial. Advanced Therapies, 2002, Sep-Oct, 19, 5, 209-18. In this uncontrolled study, 79 people suffering from mild to moderate osteoarthritis of the knee were given a gel containing Arnica and asked to apply it twice daily. They were assessed at 3 and 6 weeks for pain, stiffness and functional ability of the knee. Both assessments showed a significant reduction in pain and stiffness, and a significant improvement in the functional ability of the knee.

69. Kulkarni A, Nagarkar BM, Burde GS. Radiation protection by use of homoeopathic medicines. Proceedings from the 8th Conference of Radiation Oncologists of India, Bombay, December 1986, reported in Hahnemann Homoeopath Sand, 1988 Jan,12, 1, 20-3. 82 patients receiving radiotherapy were randomly assigned to receive placebo, Cobaltum 30C or Causticum 30C as a means of assessing the effects of these against dermatological reactions to the radiotherapy. The homeopathic medicines provided a significant reduction in the degree of radiation reactions when compared to placebo

70. Lamont J., Homoeopathic Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). British Homoeopathic Journal, 1997, 86, 196-200. 43 children with ADHD were given either a placebo or an individualised homeopathic medicine, in accordance with a double blind partial crossover dose regime. When the results were compared at the end of the trial, it was found that the homeopathic treatment for ADHD was superior to that using placebo.

71. Launso L, Kimby CK, Henningsen I, Fonnebo V. An exploratory retrospective study of people suffering from hypersensitivity illnesses who attend medical or classical homeopathic treatment. Homeopathy. 2006 Apr;95 (2):73-80. This study reports the results of orthodox medical treatment compared to the homeopathic treatment of various hypersensitivity illnesses in 88 people. 34 of these people were treated using orthodox medical means and 54 using constitutional homeopathy. 24% of those treated medically experienced an improvement in their condition while 57% of those treated with homeopathy experienced similar relief.

72. Ludke R, Weisenauer M. A Meta-analysis of Homeopathic Treatment of Pollinosis with Galphimia glauca. Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift, 1997, 147, 14, 323-7. In this analysis, 7 randomised double-blind placebo controlled trials and 4 trials without placebo controls were examined to determine the therapeutic benefits of Galphimia glauca in pollinosis. In all studies except for one, Galphimia showed significant benefit over placebo where placebo controls were used, or showed significant clinical benefit where the remedy was not compared to placebo. The recovery rates for Galphimia were comparable with those seen with conventional anti-histamines, but without the same side effects.

73. Maas HPJA. Ulcerative Colitis treated with Homoeopathy British Homoeopathic Journal, July 1993, 82, 179-185. In this retrospective case analysis, 24 people suffering from ulcerative colitis were treated in an Argentinian clinic using constitutional homoeopathy over periods of up to 19 years. Of these 24, 16 patients were assessed as having good outcomes.

74. Manchanda RK, Mehan N, Bahl R, Atey R. Double Blind Placebo Controlled Clinical Trials of Homoeopathic Medicines in Warts and Molluscum contagiosum, CCRH Quarterly Bulletin, 1997, 19, 25-29.  This trial was reported in two parts, one to evaluate the efficacy of homoeopathy for warts (remedies included Ruta graveolens, Nitricum acidum, Dulcamara, Causticum and Thuja) the other to evaluate the homoeopathic remedy, Calcarea carbonica, for Molluscum contagiosum. Placebo controlled studies involving a total of 147 subjects using single remedies in 30C potencies three times daily, 200C twice daily and 1M daily, for 15 days, showed that homoeopathy was superior to placebo. Thuja was the most successful of the remedies used for warts.

75. Marian F, Joost K, Saini KD, von Ammon K, Thurneysen A, Busato A. Patient Satisfaction and Side Effects in Primary Care: An observational study comparing Homeopathy and Conventional Medicine. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2008 Sep 18;8(1):52. This was a study carried out by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health designed to determine levels of patient satisfaction and the perception of side effects following the use of homeopathic medicine. It was part of a national program designed to evaluate complementary and alternative medicine use in Switzerland. The bulk of the data used in the study came from questionnaires filled in over a specific 4 day period supplied by physicians using conventional medicine, physicians using homeopathic medicine, and from patients who’d filled in questionnaires mailed to them 1 month after treatment. 170 practitioners were involved in the study. A total of 3126 questionnaires were received by the researchers and analysis of these revealed the following.  21% of those treated with homeopathy reported “complete resolution” of the presenting complaint versus 28% of those on conventional therapy and 53% reported “complete satisfaction” with
homeopathic treatment versus 40% of those given conventional therapy. The rate of side effects reported by those using homeopathy was less than those given conventional medicine.

76. Maronna U, Weiser M, Klein P. Comparison of the Efficacy and Tolerance of Zeel comp. and Diclofenac for the Oral Treatment of Gonarthrosis. Biological Medicine, 2000, 29, 3, 157-158. Diclofenac, a non-steroidal inflammatory drug, is a commonly prescribed medicine for rheumatic diseases. The effects of this drug were compared to those of Zeel, a homoeopathic complex preparation, with 121 people suffering from gonarthrosis. The trial was designed as a randomised, double-blind, actively controlled parallel study. Assessments for pain, stiffness and functional ability were carried out at 2, 4, 6 and 10 weeks after commencing treatments and by the end of the 10 week period, there were no statistical differences observed in the outcomes of both treatment regimes. The homoeopathic complex product and the drug were equally effective in the management of gonarthrosis.

77. Mathie RT, Farrer S. Outcomes from homeopathic prescribing in dental practice: a prospective, research-targeted, pilot study. Homeopathy. 2007 Apr;96(2):74-81. This paper presented the results of a study into the effectiveness of individualised homeopathic medicines for the management of common dental complaints and the effectiveness of a specific protocol used to collect such data. 14 dentists who routinely practice homeopathy contributed data to the study and data from the observations of and by 726 individual patients were collected. Of the 496 patients who were able to be followed up, 90.1% reported a positive outcome, 1.8% experienced a deterioration of the condition and 7.9% of patients reported no change.

78. Matusiewicz R. The effect of a homoepathic preparation on the clinical condition of patients with corticosteroid dependant bronchial asthma. Biomedical Therapy, 1997, June, 15, 3, 70-74. In this double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study, 40 people suffering from corticosteroid- dependant bronchial asthma were given either placebo or a combination homeopathic formula, every 5 to 7 days by subcutaneous injection. Using standard spirometry and granulocyte function to measure the response, researchers found that the combination product provided superior results to placebo.

79. McCutcheon LE. Treatment of anxiety with a homoeopathic remedy Journal of Applied Nutrition, 1996, 48, 1& 2, 2-6. 72 people with above-average levels of anxiety were enrolled in this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial and assigned to either a test or control (placebo) group to assess the relative benefits of a combination homeopathic product designed to relieve anxiety. Using sleep loss as a measure of anxiety, the combination product produced results that were better than those from placebo.

80. Milewska G, Trzebiatowska-Trzeciak O. Homoeopathic Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal British Homoeopathic Journal, October 1993, 82, 249-251. Alcohol withdrawal and delirium tremens experienced by 30 alcoholics was the focus of this uncontrolled study carried out in a Polish medical clinic. Patients were treated with individualised homeopathy and their progress followed for 2 months. The treatment resulted in a reduced duration of alcohol withdrawal time and delirium tremens in all patients.

81. Mohan GR, et al, Cervical Spondylosis- a Clinical Study, British Homoeopathic Journal, July 1996, 85, 131-133. In this uncontrolled study, 154 people suffering from cervical spondylosis were prescribed either homoeopathic Calcium fluoride, or a remedy selected via repertorisation of their mental and physical general symptoms, and their progress monitored for 1 year. Of those given Calc fluor, clinical improvement was seen in 60% of cases. 48% of those given the remedy arrived at by repertorisation reported clinical improvement.

82. Mohan GR, Anandhi KS. Efficacy of homeopathic drugs in dermatitis of atopic diathesis. Homoeopathic Links, 2003, Winter, 16, 4, 257-260. The authors treated 31 people suffering from either atopic skin and respiratory symptoms, or atopic skin symptoms alone. Both groups were treated with individualised homeopathic therapy over a period of 5 years. During a 6 month assessment period following this treatment, the authors determined that 41% of the group with skin and respiratory symptoms achieved not less than a 76% improvement in symptoms and 58% of the group with skin symptoms alone achieved this outcome.

83. Mohan GR. Efficacy of Homeopathy in Childhood Asthmas. Homeopathic Links, Summer 2007, Vol 20, 104-107. This paper reports of work done in India by homeopath, GR Mohan, looking at the results of the homeopathic treatment of 81 children suffering from clinically defined asthma who had previously been treated unsuccessfully with conventional medicine. This open study involved the use of individually prescribed homeopathic medicines for a period of 2 years as a means of reducing the recurrence of asthma attacks. Results were assessed according the 12 point Modified Borg Scale, a subjective scale used to assess the severity of dyspnoea. At the end of the allotted 2 year period, the results were analysed and it was found that asthma had become controlled in 60.5% of children who’d been treated with homeopathy, and some control was achieved in a further 21%. 12.3% of the group failed to respond to the treatment. The medicines used most frequently in this study were Arsenicum album, Merc solubilis, Hepar sulph, Arsenicum iod, Antimony tart, Pulsatilla and Calc carb.

84. Mojaver YN, Mosavi F, Mazaherinezhad A, Shahrdar A, Manshaee K.. Individualized homeopathic treatment of trigeminal neuralgia: an observational study. Homeopathy. 2007 Apr;96(2):82-6. This uncontrolled study, carried out in the Department of Oral Medicine at Iran’s Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, was designed to discover if individually prescribed homeopathic medicines could provide relief from medically diagnosed trigeminal neuralgia. 15 people suffering from the condition were enrolled in the study and after receiving their individual prescriptions they were assessed monthly using a Visual Analogue Scale to gauge the severity of their symptoms. After the results were assessed at 4 months it was found that individualised homeopathic treatment was associated with an average reduction in pain intensity of more than 60%.

85. Müller-Krampe B, Oberbaum M, Dipl-Math PK, Weiser M. Effects of Spascupreel versus hyoscine butylbromide for gastrointestinal cramps in children. Pediatr Int. 2007 Jun;49(3):328-34. In this observational cohort study, 204 children under 12 years of age suffering from gastrointestinal spasms and cramps were given either hyoscine butylbromide, a drug commonly prescribed for these conditions, or Spascupreel, a homeopathic complex. After a 1 week period of treatment, the results from these interventions were assessed by a practitioner reviewing reports from the child’s parent or carer using severity of spasms, pain or cramps, sleep disturbances, eating or drinking difficulties, and the frequency of crying, to measure outcomes according to a 4 point scale. Analysis of the results showed that both medicines provided similar levels of benefit.

86. Muscari-Tomaioli G, Allegri F, Miali E, Pomposelli R, Tubia P, Targhetta A, Castellini M, Bellavite P. Observational Study of Quality of Life in patients with Headache, receiving Homeopathic Treatment. British Homoeopathic Journal, 2001, 90, 189-197. In this study, 53 people suffering from headaches were treated by the individual study authors using constitutionally prescribed homeopathic medicines, completing SF-36 health-related quality of life questionnaires before and 4-6 months after beginning the treatment. More the 60% of the subjects experienced an improvement in the condition.

87. Oberbaum M, Schreiber R, Rosenthal C, Itzchaki M. Homeopathic Treatment in Emergency Medicine, a case series. Homeopathy, 2003, 92, 44-47. In this study, 15 people suffering from orthopaedic trauma were treated in a medical centre with homoeopathy, in addition to standard medical
treatment. Treatment was commenced 24 hours after admission. All patients initially received homeopathic Arnica 200C and anxiety was treated with Aconite, Opium, Ignatia or Arsenicum album, all in 200C potency. 24 hours following this treatment, the majority of patients reported a reduction in pain and anxiety. 48 hours after admission, patients were treated with individualised homoeopathic remedies. At discharge, 67% of patients rated the homoeopathic treatment as successful.

88. Oberbaum M, Galoyan N, Lerner-Geva L, et al. The effect of the homeopathic remedies Arnica montana and Bellis perennis on mild postpartum bleeding–a randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled study: preliminary results. Complement Ther Med. 2005 Jun, 13, 2, 87-90. Forty women experiencing post-partum bleeding were randomly assigned to receive a mixture of Arnica 30C and Bellis 30C, Arnica 6C and Bellis 6C, or placebo. Mean haemoglobin values were measured at 72 hours post-partum, at which point it was found that those women given homeopathic therapy experienced significantly less change in haemoglobin values than those given placebo.

89. Pai PN; Thiosinaminum in the Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis with Calcaneal Spurs. British Homoeopathic Journal, October, 1992, 81, 173-175. In this uncontrolled study, 43 people suffering from plantar fasciitis and calcaneal spurs were treated with homeopathic Thiosinimum, Thiosinimum and Merc cor, or Thiosinimum and Merc biniod. Thiosinimum alone proved to be the therapy most likely to be helpful in resolving recently developed cases.

90. Pai PN. Nephrotic Syndrome. British Homoeopathic Journal, 1969, 58, 94. In a case series, 23 children suffering from clinically diagnosed nephrotic syndrome were treated using individualised homeopathic medicines for periods varying from 1 month to 7 years. Subjects received acute and/or chronic treatment for the condition and in several acute episodes, corticosteroid therapy was used, in addition to homeopathic management. For the majority of the children treated either with homeopathic or a combination of homeopathic and corticosteroid therapy, the severity of the symptoms they had previously experienced was reduced. The main homeopathic remedies used in the cases mentioned in this study included homeopathic Apis mellifica, Arsenicum album, Natrum muriaticum and Silica.

91. Pomposelli R, Piasere V, Andreoni C, Costini G, Tonini E, Spalluzzi A, Observational study of Homeopathic and Conventional therapies in patients with Diabetic Polyneuropathy. Homeopathy. 2009 Jan;98(1):17-25. Researchers at the University of Verona in Italy designed this observational study to compare the effects of homeopathic therapy with conventional drug therapy for diabetic neuropathy. Over a 12 month period, 32 patients treated with homeopathy and 29 patients given conventional drug therapy were assessed for clinical symptoms and quality of life at baseline, 6 months and 12 months after beginning treatment. Improvement from baseline polyneuropathy symptoms was noted in both groups but only those treated homeopathically reached outcomes that were statistically significant. Both groups experienced improvements in blood pressure and body weight as well as levels of fasting blood glucose and glycated haemoglobin. In addition, only those in the homeopathy group noted an improvement in quality of life scores over the period of the study. It was also noted that homeopathic treatment was more economical than the conventional drug alternative.

92. Popov A.V. Homoeopathy in the Treatment of Patients with Fibromyoma of the Uterus. British Homoeopathic Journal, October 1992, 81, 164-167. In this study, 84 women suffering from various forms of uterine fibromyoma were prescribed individualised homeopathic medicines over a period of 1 to 3 years. Assessments at the end of the treatment period found that pain was improved in 79% of the subjects, abnormal bleeding was improved in 75% of subjects and in the majority of subjects the treatment resulted in a reduction of fibromyoma volume.

300 total- more Studies on Homeopathy see link ;

http://www.adelaidehillsnaturopath.com.au/cms-assets/documents/90300-999990.research-in-homeopathy-2.pdf

Plant kingdom Homeopathic remedies

Sources of Homoeopathic remedies –

Lets start with the Vegetable Kingdom (Plant Kingdom)

WHOLE PLANT

Without roots – Alfalfa, Lobelia inflata, Ocimum sanctum, Ranunculus sceleratus

With roots – Aconitum napellus, Aethusa cynapium, Arnica montana, Belladonna, Chamomilla, Chelidonium majus, Conium, Drosera, Dulcamara, Euphrasia, Hyoscyamus, Hypericum, Ledum palustre, Pulsatilla, Ruta graveolens, Spigelia, Stramonium

ROOTS

• Fresh    : Arum triphyllum, Bryonia alba
• Dried   : Ipecacuanha, Ratanhia
• Aerial  : Ficus indica
• Root & rhizome : Aletris farinose

STEMS

• Flowering stem: Cactus grandiflorus
• Stem with leaves: Clematis erecta, Sabina
• Rhizome: Gelsemium, Helleborus, Podophyllum, Sanguinaria canadensis, Veratrum album, Veratrum viride
• Corm: Colchicum autumnale, Crocus sativus
• Bulb: Allium cepa, Allium sativum

LEAVES

• Dried: Coca, Eucalyptus, Tabacum, Gymnema sylvestre
• Fresh: Digitalis purpurea, Rhus tox, Justicia adhatida, Kalmia latifolia, Ficus religiosa

YOUNG SHOOTS

• Asparagus officinalis, Pinus sylvestris

FLOWERS

• Flower bud: Prunus spinosa
• Stigma: Crocus sativus
• Flowering heads   (with leaves): Calendula, Eupatorium perfoliatum
• Flowering heads   (without leaves): Cannabis sativa, cina, Melilotus alba, Solidago

SEEDS

• Fresh : Avena sativa, Cucurbita pepo, Ignatia, Syzygium jambolanum
• Dried: Cocculus indicus, Coffea cruda, Nux moschata, Nux vomica, Sabadilla, Staphysagria, Carduus marianus.

BARK

• Fresh outer bark: Abies Canadensis, Salix nigra, Viburunum opulus,
• Dried outer bark: Cinchona, Mezereum, Conduranga
• Inner bark: Cinnamomum, Fraxinus Americana, Prunus virginiana
• Fresh bark of root: Baptisia tinctoria, Berberis vulgaris, Hamamelis
• Dried bark of root: Gossypium
• Bark of root and stem: Robinia

Bark of trees: Azadhirachta indica, Jonosia asoka, Terminalia arjuna

FRUITS

• Fresh fruits (berry) – Agnus castus, Crataegus, Sabal serrulata
• Fresh leaves and berries – Viscum album
• Dried fruits (Nuts) – Aesculus glabra
• Pulp – Carica papaya
• Juices          :  Aloe socotrina (Inspissated juice of leaves), Opium (gummy juice of poppy), Anacardium occidentale (black oily juice of shell).
• Resins:  Abies nigra, Guaicum
• Gum-resins:  Asafoetida
• Balsams      :  Balsamum peruvianum

Volatile oils:  Oleum santali, Oleum gaultheria

Fixed oils    :  Oleum crotonis, Oleum ricinis

Alkaloids     : Atropine, Morphine,  Nicotinum

Glycosides : Digitalin

CRYPTOGAMIA

Thallophyta :

Algae – Fucus vesiculosus

Fungi – Agaricus muscarius, Bovista, Secale cor, Ustilago

Lichen – Sticta pulmonaria

Bryophyta: – Polytrichum juniperinum

Pteriophyta: – Lycopodium (Spore), Equisetum hymale

data shared from homeobook.com

Homeopathy for cold and flu season

homeopathy

Homeopathy for Cold and Flu Season (Two Homeopaths Share Ideas)

 

As I type this, I’m battling my first cold of the season.  It’s annoying, but not nearly the knock-me-off my sails type illnesses of the past.  Over the past few days, I’ve changed homeopathic remedies for my cold depending on the symptoms.  Homeopathy is a powerful way to treat common colds and flus without harmful side effects.  Basically what would have lingered for weeks before my knowledge of homeopathy disappears in a matter of days.  It’s also, as I said, much weaker of a cold, given the remedies affect to bolster my body’s immune system.

Now, two professional homeopaths Lora Roberts of 360 Homeopathy and Kelly Callahan of Concentric Healing will share their ideas on cold and flu season.  *This post is for informational purposes only, and DOES NOT constitute medical treatment*

 

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Homeopathy for all seasons: Colds, the flu and you!

by: Lora Roberts, 360 Homeopathy

With the cold air already sneaking up on us and winter approaching, now is the perfect time to have some homeopathic remedies on hand to help with fall and winter ailments. I have thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful fall weather in the midwest this year. As much as I like to procrastinate and enjoy these beautiful days, I also know planning for optimal health for the winter is needed. They say if you don’t plan, you plan to fail so let’s be proactive!

First a little background is helpful–What is Homeopathy? Homeopathy is a natural therapeutic method of medical treatment that is based on the philosophy that a substance which causes symptoms in a healthy person can also remove symptoms in a sick person as long as the substance is highly diluted. The Homeopathic remedy stimulates the body’s natural healing process. Homeopathic remedies are traditionally made of plant, animal, or mineral elements rather than synthetic forms. Homeopathic remedies are the only other health products along with conventional drugs that are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Homeopathy views illness as effecting the entire individual (mind-body- spirit) and treats the whole person rather than just the symptoms, disease or specific body parts.

The treatment helps the body heal itself rather than suppress or control symptoms. Homeopathy acts at an energetic level, therefore it has a broad effect: shifting mental, emotional , and physical symptoms.When situations arise and self treatment is appropriate here are some remedy suggestions for the flu and cold season. Colds and flu are generally considered acute illnesses and are self limiting which means they will eventually resolve themselves in time without intervention. To distinguish the difference, colds are generally accompanied by a runny nose and mild fever and flus usually present with respiratory illness with high fever, chills, muscle aches and prostration.These remedies can be purchased in a 6c or 30c potency and can be found at many local natural health stores and pharmacies. When dosing in these acute situations, the remedy can be repeated 3-4 times a day for a duration of 7-10 days and reducing the amount as the symptoms improve.

Oscillococcinum: a great remedy to have on hand in your first aid kit. As soon as you start feeling run down or have other flu-like symptoms, such as headache, body aches, chills and fever, take Oscillococcinum. I say this is the lazy man’s remedy for someone who doesn’t want to do a lot of thinking about their illness and just take something to make the pain go away.

Aconite: works great in early stages of a illness, especially within the first 12 hours of showing cold and flu symptoms, colds with a sudden onset and symptoms after exposure to cold wind/weather, dry cough and flushed face.

Bryonia: common flu remedy, ideal for those with body aches and pains, excessive thirst, desire to remain still and aggravated by the slightest movement

Gelsemium: lack of thirst, flu like symptoms with overall weakness, shivering and heaviness of limbs, exhaustion with lethargy and droopy eyes. FYI- this was the #1 remedy used during the 1918 flu pandemic

Allium Cepa: great for colds with excessive burning acrid discharge of the nose, nose “runs like a faucet”, profuse flow of bland tears, constant sneezing

Kali Bichromicum: helps to clear out the last of cold symptoms, sinus headaches, crusting inside the nose, sticky-stringy nasal secretion, constant clearing of the throat, blocked sinuses.

Arsenicum: chilly & anxious with diarrhea and vomiting. Helpful for the gastric flu.

Nux Vomica: another great remedy for a gastric flu, increased diarrhea and vomitting and an all over toxic feeling. The patient is often chilly and impatient.

Merc. Vivus: cold symptoms with increased saliva and a painful need to swallow. They often are very hypersensitive to temperature changes.

Hepar Sulph: this individual is cold all over and worse from uncovering. They are extremely irritable and don’t like to be touched, esp. near the head (think of a screaming child who doesn’t want the doctor anywhere near their ears). It is helpful for an extreme sore throat with sharp pains that effect the ears.

Last but not least for individuals who want a more prophylaxis/preventative option Influenzinum is beneficial. One popular protocol is to take one dose once a week for 4 week in ascending potency moving from 30C up to 10M. Every year a new batch of this remedy is made and it contains the three most recent strains of the flu virus. Many homeopathic pharmacies also offer a combination Influenzinum that offers a remedy made from the flu strain of multiple years.

Homeopathic care is cost effective, has been used successfully for over 200 years and promotes gentle healing. For chronic complaints and other health concerns it is helpful to seek a qualified Homeopathic Practitioner. The homeopathic process is both simple and noninvasive.

Cheers to health! Remember even when illness strikes our body is expressing health and giving us messages. Listen and treat appropriately!

 

Thanks so much Lora! Now, here’s Kelly’s take on cold and flu season…

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Homeopathy for Sniffles and Sneezes

by: Kelly Callahan of  Concentric Healing

Last week, This American Life, a popular documentary style radio program on NPR, did a show on Tylenol, and the shocking risks on taking this seemingly benign pain killer and fever reducer. The only surprise was that it was actually on a national radio station that is often unfailingly on the side of conventional medicine.

You have to ask yourself- is this what I want in my medicine cabinet? How do I want to respond to my child’s seasonal illnesses?

If any part of your answer is- I want to use natural, safe medicines, that will not only help reduce suffering but actually be a benefit to the immune system… well, look no further!

Whether it’s those first runny noses or the full-on flu, homeopathic remedies are that safe, natural medicine.

Homeopathy has been used for over 200 years and has a proven track record of efficacy for not only seasonal illnesses, but the big epidemics in the history books (at least in this country) like yellow fever, diphtheria, cholera, and more. Using single substances from nature (plants, minerals, etc…) the remedies deliver a highly diluted, energetically potentized dose that interfaces with the child’s own energy, and gives it the boost it needs to complete the healing it is already trying to do. For a great tutorial on how homeopathy works, check out: http://homeopathyplus.com.au/category/tutorials/  These Aussies do a great job of breaking down homeopathy.

But back to alternatives for your medicine cabinet.  Here are a few remedies that are must-haves, bringing your child(ren) relief, and peace of mind for parents everywhere who are looking for a way out of the pharma-matrix.

Aconite (monkshood)

This might be the one remedy I would take to a deserted island (but man, I would fight tooth and nail if I could only bring one!!). Aconite is the perfect remedy for fall and winter, because it helps the vital force (chi in Chinese medicine… your essential energy that regulates balance in your body) reconcile from fright, shock, and exposure. If the body can’t rebalance after exposure to a cold dry wind, or a fright that comes as a shocking surprise, then a fever and/or cough may come about as a result.

For example, let’s say you go on a hike and up at the top, the wind is going strong, even though the sun is shining. Later that night, you hear a dry barking cough and go to check up on your little one. Sure enough, he has a high dry fever, bright red cheeks, and raspy seal-barking cough that sounds like croup coming on. A few doses of Aconite 30c or a 200c if you have it, should help ease the fever and may resolve the condition altogether.

You can use Aconite for just the barky croupy cough, as long as there is no discharge present yet (goopy nose, congestion in the lungs). It is also a go-to for the first twinges of a sore throat that feels tight and dry.

Hepar Sulph

Hepar sulphuricum is one of those strange mineral combinations unique to homeopathic medicines. I love this remedy, and it follows Aconite well for when the fever might drop, but the cough advances and there’s congestion in the chest. This is definitely a second-stage remedy, where the condition has advanced to producing mucous.

The cough will still sound croupy- dry and barking. The patient often has a *very* sore throat, so painful to swallow, and warm drinks are the only thing that makes it better. There is an oversensitivity to pain- the ear, the throat, or even conjunctivitis of the eye.  The pain in the throat is like a fishbone sticking in it, and it may radiate up to the ear.

Mentally and emotionally, the child is so sensitive to their pain and intolerant of discomfort they become grouchy and irritable.

 Belladonna

Belladonna is a well-known and often used remedy for children and fevers. The key indications for the remedy are: pulsation, congestion, inflammation.

Belladonna conditions tend to come on quick. As in, your kid came home from school, he was fine and then by dinner, he’s red (inflammation) in the face with a raging fever. There may be delirium with the fever and glassy eyes. A throbbing, right sided headache might be present as well. Any motion, light, or noise makes the symptoms worse.

The suddenness, redness and inflammation that are characteristic of Belladonna may come with any symptoms picture- like a sore throat, a headache (without the fever), ear infection. There may also be a barking cough. But like Aconite, this is more of a first stage remedy, when things come on quick, but before everything settles into mucous and discharge (goopy yellow snot, that kind of thing).

The difference between Aconite and Belladonna? With Belladonna there’s an element of intensity and violence- it comes on fast, and the child may rage or strike out. The redness and pulsation are marked. With Aconite there is more a state of fear, and a desire for protection. The fever is high and dry, but without the intense inflammation of Belladonna.

 Arsenicum album

Arsenicum is a great remedy for colds and certain indications of flu. The mental state is strong, and important to prescribing- that of anxiety for health and deep insecurity. The anxiety can be for one’s own health, or that of another. I wrote about this remedy in my first post about going back to school, and how the child who might need Arsenicum will have a strong need for order and cleanliness, and what we consider to be ‘OCD’ symptoms.

Physical symptoms include extreme chilliness, with an inability to get warm. The patient is huddled in blankets by the woodstove or heater and *still* can’t get warm. They want company and in a weird twist, want to sip cold, or cool water (rather than a hot beverage). Their pains are burning- in the stomach for example, and any discharges are also burning- leaving the skin raw and red in its wake. There might be diarrhea and vomiting. The head may feel like it is burning and a cold pack will make it feel better, all the while, the patient still feels chilly! Symptoms are always worse between midnight and 2 am (think coughing).

You can start with Arsenicum if the initial symptoms are violent, consistent sneezing and a persistent chill. A few doses of this remedy in a 30c potency may help thwart a nasty bout of illness!

All of these remedies are available where homeopathics are sold. Follow the dosing instructions on the bottle. In general, if you have not seen a shift by the fourth dose, then the remedy is not a good match. Likewise, if you see major improvement, hold off on giving additional doses unless the symptoms return or progress stalls.

An important note about fevers. Many parents find themselves tethered the thermometer when their child has a fever, and religiously monitor the condition degree by degree. The key? Watch the child, not the numbers. A fever is an appropriate response on behalf of the immune system to activate antibodies and kill off bacteria. By keeping a child well hydrated and using appropriate homeopathic remedies, you can enable this vital healing response. If you see your child become listless and in great pain, disordered breathing or pulse rate, then you can help cool the body gently with cool (not cold) cloths on the hands the feet. Cooling the body too quickly can be a shock to the system. Make sure she stays hydrated.

If you have a homeopath, contact him or her to help you monitor and choose appropriate remedies. Look up natural supports for fevers *ahead of time* so that you aren’t panicking when the time comes and find yourself reverting to the Tylenol. Consider switching to a care provider that is knowledgeable and supportive of a less invasive approach.

These four remedies- aconite, hepar sulph, belladonna, and aresenicum-  when used for the conditions indicated, may bring great relief and help cut the duration of illness and potentially reduce secondary infections. There are many, many homeopathic remedies and if you find that one of these doesn’t give the results you’re looking for, another remedy is indicated. I frequently blog about remedies for acute home use at my blog- www.concentrichealing.blogspot.com. The National Center for Homeopathy is also a fantastic resource for the home prescriber.

It can be scary to see our vibrant little ones under the weather, and as a mother, I can think of no greater peace of mind than knowing *exactly* what I am allowing into my child’s body. With homeopathy, I have no fear of recalls, toxic side effects, or overdosing. Like exercising a muscle, when the immune system ‘gets a workout’ by overcoming an acute illness, it comes out the other end stronger and more resilient. Let’s support, not suppress.

 

That’s a boatload of information.  Thanks for Kelly and Lora for contributing to this blog.  Homeopathy has changed my life and my family’s wellbeing.  I hope you learn more about it.  Remedies can be found at health food stores, Vitamin World, Mariano’s and Whole Foods.  This post is not sponsored, and is intended for informational and education purposes only.  

 article can be found at momnivores-dilemma

Succussions of homeopathic remedies (why,what,how,when)

*The reason for including this article in my blog unfolded itself from a discussion I had with a client about how her homeopath suggested using 5 pills for each dose, and keep re dosing daily (same potency, same remedy no succussions,5 pills)…..I was horrified! (and realized that many practicioners do not read the Organon)

Succussions

in the 6th edition of Organon Hahnemann suggested giving  8, 10, or 12 succussions to the medicinal solution. In the 5th edition he spoke of using 1 to 10 to activate the solution just prior to ingestion. In aphorism 281 of the 6th Organon ( Boericke’s edition) Hahnemann notes that there is a great difference in the levels of sensitivity of various individuals.

“If a cure is to follow, the first small doses must likewise be again gradually raised, but less and more slowly in patients where considerable irritability is evident than in those of less susceptibility, where the advance to higher dosage may be more rapid. There are patients whose impressionability compared to that of the unsusceptible ones is like a ratio of 1000 to 1.”

This rather profound statement holds many keys to the selection of the potency and dose. I call this the *sensitivity scale* because it give us an idea of the vast differences in the susceptibility of individuals to the action of the remedies. What a #1 sensitivity would not even feel will cause a dangerous aggravation in a #1000 sensitivity. Through years of experiments I have found that those of a hypersensitive nature and physical constitution (700 -1000+) do better on less succussions (1-4). Those of average sensitivity (300 to 700) do well on a moderate number of succussions (4, 5, 6, 7). Those who are hyposensitive (1 to 300) may need a higher number from the start (6 ,9, 10, 11, 12).

Those with very sensitive nervous systems often do not need the stimulation that a large number of succussions produce. In such cases a small increase in the amount is a better option than increasing the number of succussions. This increases the “amplitude” of the remedial powers but does not over stimulate the potency factor. I start the sensitive, nervous and changeable temperaments with a smaller number of succussions than those of average sensitivity. They do better on less teaspoonfuls (a coffee spoon), fewer succussions (1 to 3), and more water in their solutions (6, 8 or more oz). The ultra hypersensitive should be given the dose diluted in several dilution glasses (2 to 6, etc.). In this way the liquid dose becomes tremendously flexible in a way that the old pellet dose cannot be. This is what allows for the speeding of the cure to 1/2, 1/4 or less the time of the static dry dose which is prone to accumulate in the vital force and produce aggravations.

It is best to start with a conservative dose until one is sure of the true homoeopathicity of the chosen remedy. Only increase the amounts and succussions when necessary. Over medication always produces aggravations which slow down the cure, and runs the risk of producing accessory symptoms which disrupt the case. If the accessory symptoms become strong they will cancel the homoeopathicity of the simillimum changing the symptom pattern and disrupting the case. Sometimes, the routinist homoeopath is caught in the vicious cycle of treating the symptoms they are producing without knowing it. They think they are treating new layers, removing the causes, or stimulating a healing crisis, when in fact, they are like a dog chasing its own tail. They are going around in circles. Be gentle with the vital force.

written by david little

Homeopathic research evidence a massive 200 page PDF file!

Click to access Homeopathy%20Research%20Evidence%20Base%207.7.16%20Master.pdf

Homeopathy Research Evidence Base: References Curated by Iris Bell M.D., Ph.D., and Peter Gold  2016

Aabel, S., et al. (2001). “Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies of homeopathic solutions.” The British homoeopathic journal 90(1): 14-20.  Aabel S.  Prophylactic and acute treatment with the homeopathic medicine Betula 30c for birch pollen allergy – a double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of consistency of VAS responses.    Brit Hom J 2001;90(2): 73-78.. Aabel, S., et al. (2000). “Is homeopathic ‘immunotherapy’ effective? A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with the isopathic remedy Betula 30c for patients with birch pollen allergy.” The British homoeopathic journal 89(4): 161-168. Aakster, C. W. (1986). “Concepts in alternative medicine.” Social science & medicine 22(2): 265-273. Aasland, O. G., et al. (1997). “Norwegian physicians and alternative medicine. Knowledge, attitudes and experiences.” Tidsskrift for den Norske laegeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny raekke 117(17): 2464-2468. Abanades S, Duran M et al. Development and implementation of a research-training program in Homeopathy within the Master’s degree for medical doctors of the University of Barcelona (UB)  Homeopathy, Volume 103, Issue 1, January 2014, Page 81  Abanades S. Quality assessment and response to the Spanish Health Minister’s report regarding the scientific clinical evidence of homeopathy  Homeopathy, Volume 103, Issue 1, January 2014, Pages 81-82 Abbasi AR, Morsali A: Influence of solvents on the morphological properties of AgBr nano-structures prepare…………….more via link posted (200 pages total)

Myths and facts about Homeopathy

by Miranda Castro FSHom, RSHom (NA), CCH, Contributor to Homeopathy on Allthingshealing.com

Editor´s Note from Judith Hanna Doshi: Miranda’s article lays out some of the common misunderstandings about Homeopathy. Although it is usually promoted as a “safe, gentle and effective” mode of treatment, it must be recognized that Homeopathy is a complex treatment modality that requires considerable skill to administer and manage effectively, preferably by a professional homeopath. If poorly done, it can cause aggravations and even complicate the existing disease picture. Fortunately, these effects are usually short lived and in no way resemble the toxic effects of conventional treatments that leave their imprint permanently.

Many homeopaths, believing that the explanation of how homeopathy works is secondary to its success with literally millions of patients, have traditionally refused to reveal the names of the medicines they give. This and the lack of information they have provided about their practice has led to an aura of secrecy in which myths abound. It is worth looking at a few of these misapprehensions.

Myth: ‘Homeopathy is a form of herbalism’

In my experience, this is the commonest myth of all. While it is certainly true that a proportion of the remedies a homeopath uses are based on plants, and though, as in homeopathy, the herbalist prescribes on the individual, the principles that govern the two therapies are quite different.

Many plants have known healing properties; herbalism is concerned with the known sphere of action of a plant based on its chemical constituents as well as its known healing qualities. Herbalism has existed for thousands of years—for as long as we have records—in some form or another and has its roots in mother earth. It is the only form of medicine used by wild animals.

Homeopathy, on the other hand, is based on a very different set of principles. Homeopathic remedies are not used in the material dose; nor are they based solely on plants, using as they do poisons, metals, and disease products. Homeopaths generally prescribe one remedy at a time rather than the mixtures of plant tinctures that herbalists employ. And, of course, homeopathy in its modern form is a mere 200 years old.

Myth: ‘Homeopathy is safe’

In the same way that homeopathy can cure—dramatically and permanently in many cases—it can also cause harm. Kent said that he would rather share a room with a nest of vipers than be subjected to the administrations of an inexperienced homeopath! Potential dangers are:

Unintentional provings

If you take too many homeopathic pills over a period of time it is possible to ‘prove’ the remedy—that is, to suffer from the symptoms that the remedy was supposed to cure. This can mean that although your own symptoms may improve initially, they may worsen again if you continue to take the pills. Worse still, if the remedy did not fit your picture—was not right for you—you may experience symptoms you never had before.

 

This is a danger with self-prescribing or over-the-counter prescribing, where there is no professional homeopath to monitor the symptoms. In my first year in practice a woman rang me one day in a frantic state, desperate for help. She told me the following story:

I asked for help at a homeopathic chemist for thrush, which I had suffered from for several months, and was prescribed Nux vomica 30 over the counter and told to take it three times daily. After a few days I experienced a marked improvement in my condition, so I carried on taking it. After a week of no further changes my symptoms started to get worse so I carried on taking it. I finished the bottle of pills and went back to the pharmacy and told them my thrush was now as bad as when I had started taking the remedy. They gave me another bottle of Nux vomica 30 and told me to continue with the treatment. It is now two months since I started on this remedy and my thrush is unbearable. It is so bad I can’t sleep at night and I am irritable all the time. Please help me.

I advised this woman to stop taking the pills and to antidote the remedy with strong coffee and camphorated ointment (to counteract its effects) and within twenty-four hours she was back to her old self, having slept well for the first time in over a month. The thrush was back to where it had been before she took the Nux vomica—annoying but manageable.

A colleague of mine tells of a six-month-old baby who was treated at a local hospital as an emergency out-patient in a state of collapse. The nurse on duty was a student of my colleague’s and discovered that the mother had been giving her baby Chamomilla 6 several times a day for colic since soon after birth. As soon as the homeopathic remedy was discontinued for a period of time the muscle tone returned.

It is important to be on your guard against this over-use of homeopathic medicines.

Confusion of the symptom picture

If a remedy has not been prescribed on the whole person it will work in a limited way, curing a restricted number of symptoms. In these cases some complaints remain and it is possible to end up giving one remedy after another in order to try to ‘get rid’ of the remaining symptoms. In the end the whole picture becomes so changed that it is difficult to find the similimum (that single remedy that was needed at the very beginning).

The professional homeopath has different ways of dealing with this phenomenon in order to get back to the original symptom picture. If you find that you are prescribing one remedy after another with only limited effect, then do get professional help.

Suppression

A homeopathic remedy can cure a superficial symptom such as skin eruption in the same way that, for example, the application of a Cortisone cream can. This will only be the case if the remedy has been prescribed on the skin complaint (single symptom) without taking into account the whole person and/or the cause. The effect is to push the disease further into the body. Constitutional treatment will often commence with the original symptom resurfacing. Suppression is not common in homeopathy but is possible. In self-prescribing, if your complaint disappears but you feel much worse in

yourself (i.e. your moods and your energy) then it is likely that you have made a poor choice of remedy—antidote it and get some professional advice.

Myth: ‘Homeopathy is form of vaccination’

People often say that they understand homeopathy to be like a vaccination in that the patient is given a small quantity of the disease he already has in order to make him immune to it.

This is not true. Homeopathy and vaccination have similar, not the same, concepts and very different practices. Vaccines work on the physical body in a very specific way, in that they stimulate the immune system directly to produce specific antibodies as if that person has contracted that particular disease; in so doing they are, of course, stressing the immune system. Many vaccines have been known to produce permanent side effects. They must be tested on animals and then on humans to verify their safety, and even then children and adults are often damaged on a physical, emotional or mental level.

A homeopathic remedy works in a totally different way. Homeopathic remedies affect the energy patterns or vital force of a person and by so doing stimulate the body to heal itself. They are administered orally in a diluted (and safe) dose as opposed to being introduced directly into the bloodstream, as is the case with vaccination thereby bypassing the body’s natural defense system and stressing it in a way that is not fully understood. Homeopathic medicines are not tested on innocent animals and do not have side effects.

Myth: ‘Homeopathic remedies are placebos’

This myth can be rephrased to read ‘You need to believe in it for it to work.’ This is patently ridiculous to anyone who has experienced or prescribed a successful homeopathic cure for, say, a head injury or a middle-ear infection.

A placebo is an unmedicated pill which the patient believes contains something that will cure him or her. Double-blind trials always involve the inclusion of a control group taking a placebo instead of the medicine being tested in order to rule out the individual’s ‘suggestibility’.

It is because homeopathic remedies do not always work that they are sometimes believed to be ineffective and, because routine prescriptions such as Rhus toxicodendron for rheumatism and Chamomilla for teething babies are freely available from high-street chemists, people are wrongly persuaded into thinking that they need not consult a homeopath (or an adequate first-aid book). If the remedies do not work it is assumed that homeopathy does not work; if they do work it is attributed to a placebo effect—some double blind!

Homeopathic medicines work effectively on babies and animals, neither of whom are open to being affected by placebos.

It is always essential to individualize the remedy to fit the patient and not the disease, to ensure that the underlying principles are observed so that the element of chance is decreased and homeopathy can be seen to work.

Of course, there are many people who will recognize the experience of consulting a practitioner who inspires belief and hope, who left them feeling buoyant and encouraged. But if this initial rapport is not backed up with good solid prescribing, then no amount of that positive ‘transference’ will cure the patient.

Myth: ‘Homeopathy is mysterious and unscientific’

The fact that homeopathic medicines are prepared in a pharmacy or a laboratory and that their preparation involves a particular technique subject to precise and clearly stated controls (it does not involve mysterious and secret processes which put it into the realm of white magic or alchemy) is enough to convince many people of its validity.

Homeopaths have traditionally justified their practice by their results, without feeling a need to explain how their methods work. The homeopathic philosophy or doctrine is a set of rules for practice—one that hasn’t changed since it was formulated 200 years ago. These rules and principles constitute a unified hypothesis whose validity is tested out empirically—with cured patients confirming the hypothesis.

Harris Coulter, in his book Homeopathic Science and Modern Medicine (The Physics of healing with Microdoses), discusses this issue at great length and also describes many of the trials that have been conducted over the past fifty years or so using plants, animals and humans as controls to prove the effectiveness of homeopathic medicines.

Reprinted from The Complete Homeopathy Handbook by Miranda Castro

Homeopathic remedy Ruta Graveolens for injury to tendons

1)            First and foremost think about Ruta graveolens for injuries to the ligaments, tendons and the periosteum or lining of the bones. This remedy is of use in areas where the skin is close to the bone, and in injuries to cartilage and fibrous tissue.

(Remember Hypericum perforatum is for injuries to nerve tissue, Arnica montana to muscle  tissue, and Bellis perennis to soft tissue.) Ruta graveolens is for fibrous tissue such as ligaments and tendons. Keeping these few essential facts about the remedies in mind will help you greatly in knowing which one to select in a trauma situation.

Consider Ruta graveolens in fractures, or bruising of the bone and the periosteum from injuries such as a blow from a hammer. The injuries can be slow to heal from, and there can be a lot of pain in the bones as well as bruising.

Under this category of injuries you can think of muscle pulls and strains, and Injuries where the parts are twisted. Ruta graveolens is well known for injuries to the thigh. Knee or ankle injuries where the ligaments or tendons are pulled and torn fall under this category of complaint and can be greatly helped by this remedy.

2)            Overstrain, overuse, overexertion are all words that apply well to Ruta graveolens. Examples of overuse types of injuries that Ruta graveolens is well known for are:

Tennis elbow. Ruta graveolens is a specific for this situation.

Eyestrain. Ruta graveolens is the remedy you need to think of for non-inflammatory injuries of the eye that are caused from overexertion of the ocular muscles. Seamstresses, people working at the computer for hours at a time, or anyone else doing fine work with the eyes can benefit from this remedy for their eyestrain. It is also good for headaches and vision disturbances caused by overuse of the eyes. I would suggest dabbing the cream around the eyes to help relieve this symptom, or you can take the remedy in potency.

Carpal tunnel syndrome. Ruta graveolens is of great benefit for overuse injuries of typists, musicians, computer programmers and other people who use their wrists excessively.

3)            Hardened or thickened areas or nodules over the bones, periosteum or tendons caused by overuse or injury. Construction workers, mechanics and farmers who develop thickenings or nodular growths on their hands from holding their tools all day long can benefit greatly from Ruta graveolens. This remedy can help when there has been permanent flexing of the hands or feet caused by overuse or exertion of the hands or feet.

One of my husband’s relatives has permanent flexing of the fingers of his hands and of his toes. At a family reunion one day, he complained about his arthritic pains and I asked him if he would like to try some Ruta graveolens cream to see if it would help. It turned out that this cream helped him a great deal with the pain.

4)            Back Problems. Think of Ruta graveolens for helping to relieve back pain. The characteristic Ruta graveolens back pain would be a bruised sensation, as though the person had fallen on the back or received a blow to the back or coccyx. Ruta graveolens also has weakness and lameness of the back and lower extremities from overstrain, lifting or spraining the back. You can also think about Arnica montana in this situation, as both are good for overstrain injuries of the back.

Other back problems that Ruta graveolens addresses are herniated disks with characteristic Ruta graveolens  causation, such as overstrain and overexertion. The remedy helps people who strain their backs easily, or where the vertebrae slip out of place easily. Think of Ruta graveolens for morning back pain and for wounds to the spine.

5)            Dental and Mouth Problems. This remedy has a wide field of action where it comes to dental problems. You should consider Ruta graveolens for the following conditions:

a)    Trauma to the tooth, where the tooth is loosened in the socket or knocked out of position.

b)    Bone and periosteal pain following dental surgery, or pain after injection of a local anesthestic.

c)    Pain of dry socket, at the beginning of an infection.

d)    To help reduce the pain and trauma of tooth extraction, if Arnica montana does not help sufficiently.

e)    To ease the discomfort associated with fitting and adjusting braces.

f)     To help heal jaw fractures.

6)            Sciatica. Ruta graveolens can help with very severe sciatic pains with the characteristic Ruta graveolens pain sensation listed above, as well as bruised and darting pains. The pains are often aggravated at night when the patient lies down, and are worse on first motion like Rhus toxicodendron. The pains begin in the back and extend to the hips and thighs.

7)            Prolapsus ani. Ruta graveolens is good for prolapsus ani and many other symptoms pertaining to the rectum, including constipation. It has pain in the rectum when sitting, and is a good remedy for hemorrhoids and strictures of the rectum where the symptoms fit with Ruta graveolens.

8)            Lameness after sprains, especially of ankles, wrists and knees. Ruta graveolens is one of the first remedies to be thought of for injuries to the knees. It is good for bursitis of the knee, and is useful where the knees give way on going up and down the stairs, and the foot turns under from weakness of the ankles. The hamstrings feel shortened and weak.

9)            Surgery. Ruta graveolens should be given after joint surgery in potency to assist in healing.

10)            Ganglion cysts. Ruta graveolens is listed in highest degree in homeopathic materia medicas for ganglion cysts of the wrist.

11)            Pain in the feet. Ruta graveolens can help with pain in the bones and tendons of the feet. The pains are aggravated on stepping, standing and walking. The pains in the feet are often described as bruised, sore, raw and tender.

12)            Other things to know about Ruta graveolens. Ruta graveolens is a rheumatic remedy, meaning that the patient is aggravated by cold, wet and stormy weather. Ruta graveolens helps with the bruised bone pains from injuries, strains or dislocations.

As you can see there is a great deal to be said about Ruta graveolens as it has a very wide range of usefulness.