Homeopathy for diarrhea

Study on homeopathy for diarrhea heralds US breakthrough

Homeopathy, a form of alternative medicine popular in Europe and India, has received a major boost in the United States. While studies on homeopathy have appeared in European and Indian medical journals, American researchers tended to ignore it.

In May 1994, homeopathy made its first appearance in a US medical journal when a scientific study was published in Pediatrics, the well-respected journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Jennifer Jacobs, MD, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington and a practicing homoeopath, studied 81 Nicaraguan children suffering from acute diarrhea. Diarrhea is a leading cause of childhood deaths worldwide.

In the study on homeopathy for diarrhea, all the children were given oral dehydration therapy. In addition, half were treated with one of 18 homeopathic medicines. These medicines were individually selected based on the child’s symptoms and condition. The other half received a placebo.

Jacobs found that the group treated with homeopathic medicine had a “statistically significant” decrease in the duration of diarrhea. Children in this group recovered 15 to 25 percent faster than children in the control group.

Even mainstream scientists were impressed. The editor of Pediatrics described Jacob’s study as “solid”.