Homeopathy

Homeopathy (also spelled hom?opathy or homoeopathy) from the Greek words ??????, hómoios (similar) and ?????, páthos (suffering), is a system of alternative medicine, notable for its controversial practice of prescribing water-based solutions that in many cases do not contain chemically active ingredients. The theory of homeopathy was developed by the Saxon physician Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843) and first published in 1796. It is growing in popularity in some areas where it is practiced today, but neither its empirical nor its theoretical foundation meets minimum scientific standards.

Safety of homeopathic treatment

As homeopathic dilutions are considered by skeptics not to have any direct effect at all, naturally they do not claim that the remedies themselves have any harmful effects. The main potential harm from homeopathic treatment, therefore, arises not from the remedies per se, but from the withholding of arguably more efficacious treatment, or from misdiagnosis of dangerous conditions (a general criticism that can be applied in any situation of negligent practice due either to medical negligence or the proferring of medical opinion by the non-medically qualified).

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