Described universally as a humane, low-cost,
nontoxic, noninvasive system of medicine that
especially offers benefits to individuals suffering
from diseases that fail to respond to conventional
treatment modalities, homeopathy is an alternative
and complementary option chosen by more than
500 million people in the world, says the World
Health Organization (WHO), which should be inte-
grated into conventional medicine. Also, the fed-
eral Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
recognizes homeopathic remedies as official drugs,
listed in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United
States(HPUS), first published in 1897 (published by
the American Institute of Homeopathy, 1980). The
FDA regulates the manufacturing, labeling, and
dispensing of homeopathic remedies, many of
which are available over the counter in health food
stores and pharmacies throughout the world.
Although conventional medicine practitioners
claim there is no benefit offered by homeopathy or
its thousands of remedies, proponents continue to
believe in its efficacy for relief from a multitude of
illnesses and conditions. Despite some disdain for the
premise of a remedy’s “energy imprint,” “essence,”
or “memory” of symptoms that calls forth the body’s
“vital forces” to elicit relief of those symptoms,
homeopathic treatment gained favor during the
1849 cholera epidemic in Cincinnati, Ohio: only 3
percent of the victims treated with homeopathic
remedies died, while 40 to 70 percent of the victims
treated with conventional methods died of the dis-
ease. In New Orleans, homeopaths treated 1945
victims of the 1879 yellow fever epidemic, with a
5.6 percent death rate, while conventional treat-
ment resulted in a 16 percent death rate.
Believed to be compatible with other medical
interventions and disciplines, homeopathic treat-
ments are “of tremendous value in reversing dis-
eases such as diabetes, arthritis, asthma, epilepsy,
skin eruptions, allergic conditions, mental or emo-
tional disorders, especially if applied at the onset of
the disease,” according to George Vithoulkas, direc-
tor of the Athenian School of Homeopathic Medi-
cine in Athens, Greece. “The long-term benefit of
homeopathy to the patient is that it not only alle-
viates the symptoms but it reestablishes internal
order at the deepest levels and thereby provides a
lasting cure” (excerpted from Alternative Medicine:
The Definitive Guide, Celestial Arts, Berkeley, Calif.,
2002, p. 273).
Homeopathy is practiced in the United States,
Europe, India, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and else-
where, and annual sales in the United States of
homeopathic remedies now exceed $150 million,
indicating a yearly increase in their use of 20 to 30
percent in the last 20 years.home remedies Also called folk remedies and
usually based on family history and methods
handed down from one generation to another,
actions that individuals can take on their own to
help combat illness and augment treatments pre-
scribed by a physician or other health professional.
For example, one home remedy for aching feet is to
massage them with olive or sesame oil. Another
example is the use of honey, which has antiseptic
and calming properties, for sore throat, diarrhea,
hay fever, asthma, and topical wounds. It is said
that the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates
touted a combination of honey, water, and certain
herbs as an antipyretic. Eating sprigs of parsley dis-
pels bad breath, and mint has long been known as
a remedy for indigestion. Home remedies may also
be based on ethnic traditions and beliefs.
See also FOLK MEDICINE; HIPPOCRATES.Hoxsey therapy A combination of herbs—red
clover, buckthorn bark, burdock root, stillingia root,
barberry bark, chaparral, licorice root, cascara
amarga, and prickly ash bark—in a potassium
iodide solution, plus a regimen of nutrition, supple-
ments, and counseling developed as a holistic treat-
ment for cancer by the coal miner–turned–herbal
folk healer Harry Hoxsey (1901–74). According to
reports, the cancer medicines were handed down to
the Illinois-born Hoxsey from his great-grandfather.
Hoxsey’s personal charisma and his belief in the
herbal solutions led him to fight accusations of
quackery from several powerful organizations,
including the American Medical Association (AMA)
and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Two
federal courts ruled in favor of Hoxsey’s tonics as
“therapeutic,” however, and Hoxsey operated the
Hoxsey Cancer Clinic in Dallas, Texas, which had
branches in 17 states. In a 1953 federal report to
Congress, the AMA, FDA, and National CancerHoxsey therapy 57