Homeopathy , Explained

what exactly is homeopathy?

This 200-year-old approach to healthcare operates on the belief that “like cures like.” Depending on your symptoms, you’ll be given a very diluted substance that, at full strength, is known to trigger similar symptoms. The thinking is that this activates your body’s innate healing response.

what are the medicines made from?

Homeopathic medicines are derived from natural substances like plants, minerals, and animals. It’s counterintuitive, but homeopathy contends that the more diluted a medicine is, the more powerful it is, so there are often negligible amounts of the original substance in the finished product. This is why you’ll see homeopathic medicines made from things like arsenic and strychnine. Boiron’s Apis mellifica, for example, a remedy for bug bites and stings, is made from bees; its Rhus tox, a treatment for joint pain, is made from poison ivy.

how quickly do homeopathic medicines work?

If your symptoms are acute—a sudden flare-up of seasonal allergies, for example—the medicines can work within a half hour or so, and only need to be taken until you feel better. For a more chronic condition like ongoing insomnia, it could take longer before you see results.

what are the side effects?

Homeopathic medicines aren’t known to have side effects, which means you can use more than one at the same time or use them to complement another treatment. And because they’re so diluted, proponents say it’s virtually impossible to overdose.

are homeopathic medicines regulated?

Yes, but it’s complicated. Because homeopathic medicines are classified as drugs, they are regulated differently than herbs and supplements. Facilities that manufacture homeopathic medicines get inspected by the FDA to make sure they comply with recognized standards for producing pharmaceuticals. The medicines themselves must use ingredients found in the reference publication Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States—this is why you’ll see the letters HPUS on the packaging. But, at least at the moment, homeopathic medicines aren’t required to have FDA approval. And none do. The reasons why are complex, but one key factor is that the FDA changed its policy a few years ago, which has resulted in confusion and legal challenges.