Homeopathy
When made correctly -- which is not always the case, either because the makers are incompetent or the product is an outright fraud -- homeopathic medicines work as directed. I've used them myself -- and veterinarians use them all the time. Double-blind studies, properly conducted, confirm that they work on animals of all kinds. The animals don't know what's in them and it can't be a placebo effect. So they work. (Homeopathic products are made by taking, say, a gram of substrate and diluting it with 100 milliliters [or other appropriate amount] of distilled water; one gram of the result is taken and diluted with 100 milliliters of distilled water; and this process is repeated a given number of times. Depending on how many times the process is repeated before the product is considered to be ready, Avogadro's Number guarantees that effectively there are no molecules or atoms of the original substance left in solution. Each time the maker performs a dilution, he or she then shakes up by hand the container holding the diluted product -- if this is not done, the results won't work. This shaking up is called "potentiation", and apparently involves the interaction of the electromagnetic field associated with the human body with the water that is used to dilute the product. Water has a kind of "memory" such that it retains the effects of everything it has encountered and interacted with up to a given point. In essence, this series of dilutions and potentiations "trains" the water to react in a certain way to the original substrate. Once the product is taken into the body, which in mammals constitutes around 75% of the anima's body, it "teaches" the water already in the body's tissues to behave in a certain way, thus bringing about the results. It is thus the "trained" water that does the job, rather than the original substrate by itself. Why this works isn't understood very well, but work it does when the product is correctly carried out according to the protocols given above and the product is given in proper dosages to the patient.
Please check out the links given herein and research the subject if you would like to learn more about homeopathy, products of which are a lot less expensive than equivalent medications from the big pharmaceutical companies, are at least as effective as the latter for a given health problem, and which, if taken as prescribed, have far fewer and far less serious deleterious side-effects than Big Pharma's medications, or none at all.
To make sure you aren't getting a fraudulent, ineffective, or harmful product, and make sure you are taking it properly, consult with a licensed naturopath or veterinarian who uses homeopathic products. One excellent source for more information about homeopathics and appointments with certified, licensed naturopaths and others who prescribe the products, check out Bastyr University (see also http://www.bastyr.edu/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastyr_University), a highly accredited and respected institution dedicated to alternative medicine and natural healing. There are other such institutions out there for those who do not live in areas served by Bastyr University (which is, however, online at http://www.bastyr.edu/student-life/library/websites).
Does it work? In spite of the fact that allopathic medicine has flatly rejected it as fraudulent (and see relevant sections of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy)? Again, ask veterinarians who use it on their patients, to excellent effect. Their patients can't talk, and properly conducted double-blind tests have been done on the use of homeopathic medications in veterinary clinics that eliminate the possibility that veterinarians who know what they're giving could be giving subtle cues to their patients that would bring about placebo or nocebo effects. In short, they work if taken as directed and properly prepared. Go figure.
Please check out the links given herein and research the subject if you would like to learn more about homeopathy, products of which are a lot less expensive than equivalent medications from the big pharmaceutical companies, are at least as effective as the latter for a given health problem, and which, if taken as prescribed, have far fewer and far less serious deleterious side-effects than Big Pharma's medications, or none at all.
To make sure you aren't getting a fraudulent, ineffective, or harmful product, and make sure you are taking it properly, consult with a licensed naturopath or veterinarian who uses homeopathic products. One excellent source for more information about homeopathics and appointments with certified, licensed naturopaths and others who prescribe the products, check out Bastyr University (see also http://www.bastyr.edu/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastyr_University), a highly accredited and respected institution dedicated to alternative medicine and natural healing. There are other such institutions out there for those who do not live in areas served by Bastyr University (which is, however, online at http://www.bastyr.edu/student-life/library/websites).
Does it work? In spite of the fact that allopathic medicine has flatly rejected it as fraudulent (and see relevant sections of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy)? Again, ask veterinarians who use it on their patients, to excellent effect. Their patients can't talk, and properly conducted double-blind tests have been done on the use of homeopathic medications in veterinary clinics that eliminate the possibility that veterinarians who know what they're giving could be giving subtle cues to their patients that would bring about placebo or nocebo effects. In short, they work if taken as directed and properly prepared. Go figure.