I believe that "all" (1) research medications, (2) regulatory-approved prescription medications, (3) herbals, indeed (4) all substances ingested, rubbed on, or other given as a treatment to "a patient", can have a "placebo effect" on that patient.

Dennis

Dennis Mazur

the key is medications and doctor patient relationships have a placebo effect as well. i believe the questioner was asking specifically about scientific validity of homeopathy whicj i dont believe has evidence basis at all compared with herbal medicinem

I believe there is research showing that if you tell a patient or study participant (e.g., in placebo research studies) that they are receiving a placebo, some patients and participants also have a "placebo response" to what they are receiving.

Dennis

Dennis Mazur

Homeopathy by definition is the treatment "with the same" element that produces the disease or the symptom. It seeks to provoke a response in the organism similar to that of the causal effect.

The "other therapies", with chemical products or with "natural" products (from nature: phytotherapy or others), are based on halopathy or treatment with "the opposite".

I think that is the differentiating aspect between homeopathy, which had its place in the ancient history of medicine, with conventional therapies (chemotherapy) or alternative (naturopathy).

All therapy has a certain and variable degree of placebo depending on the characteristics of the process and the patient.

That is my understanding of its claim. However some of the dilutions are too great for a single molecule to even work on an antigenic basis. I am not aware of any controlled study on this mode of treatment and therefore I do not recommend it. If anyone knows such a study please advise here.

Homeopathy is very effective in Pediatrics and in veterinary medicine, two fields in which placebo effect has little space. I think that the scientific basis of homeopathy are unknown because practitioners and laboratories that produce homeopathic formulas have not bothered to investigate their mechanisms of action.

For excellent informations and references on research in homeopathy, go to: https://www.hri-research.org

See their FAQs also.

A perfect read to treat ignorance : Bornhöft, G. et P. Matthiessen (eds) (2011). Homeopathy in Healthcare. Effectiveness, Appropriateness, Safety, Costs, Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 234 p.