Homeopathy: scientific or not?
Considering the present status of homeopathy, the critical question is where this alternative medicine system should be set and how to improve the quality management system for this alternative Medicine practice.
Abstract
We read the publication on “Special Dossier: “Scientific Evidence for Homeopathy”” with a great interest 1 and would like to share ideas on this issue. Homeopathy has become an alternative medicine system that is presently used worldwide, but there are several comments on its scientific reliability. It is usually mentioned that homeopathy’s effect is a kind of placebo effect 2. Although there are many publications on homeopathy, the proof of scientific merit is still a controversial issue, and some medical scientists point for the “hoax” problem in those homeopathy reports 3. Regardless of its actual biological effect, if we consider homeopathy as a kind of alternative medicine, it might psychologically support the patients at least. In addition, there are some new findings that homeopathy might be useful in preventive medicine such as prevention of tropical epidemic diseases such as dengue 4. This becomes a new hope for several developing countries. In our experience in Thailand, a tropical country in Indochina, some local physicians already use the homeopathy technique for dengue prevention, but there are several critics from others. Regarding the present status of homeopathy, the critical question is where this alternative medicine system should be set and how to improve the quality management system for this alternative medicine practice.