Dear Sir,
The article “Treatment of canine atopic dermatitis with a commercial homeopathic remedy: a single-blinded, placebo-controlled study” (Can Vet J 2002;43:601–603) was a welcome surprise.
As a practitioner of homeopathic therapy, I am pleased that The Canadian Veterinary Journal publishes alternative methods of treating animals. It was sad to discover, though, that, in this study, a traditional approach of disease management was used and homeopathic principles were ignored. The outcome of the study, therefore, was, in my opinion, invalid, and I wish to respond to the article.
Homeopathic principles state that the patient should be treated and not his or her symptoms or clinical signs. Clinical signs are merely an expression of the disease state of the patient. This study focused only on the clinical sign pruritus, and its reduction of intensity. There was no regard for the individual, the age of the patient, the duration of illness, concurrent illness, behavioral changes, previous or concurrent therapy, nutrition, or environment.
A professionally trained homeopath would likely have found unique differences between patients and given them individual remedies, which could have changed the outcome of their illness quite dramatically. In this study, all patients were given the same remedy. Corticosteroids (which were administered to some of the patients) are known to counteract homeopathic remedies and are contraindicated, in the same way that you would not drive a car with the brakes on. Homeopathic therapy relies on a fully functioning immune system for a successful outcome.
Also, homeopathic remedies do not act as predictably as the medicines that we are used to, such as corticosteroids or antihistamines. An older animal, with concurrent illness, and many years of previous therapies will take a longer time to come back to health with homeopathic therapy than will a 6-month-old puppy. By contrast, both will likely respond similarly to a dose of steroids. Occasionally, a homeopathic aggravation occurs in patients; that is, clinical signs get slightly worse before getting better. This is not necessarily a negative sign and is likely a curative response. In this study, this occurrence would have been missed completely.
In conclusion, homeopathy can be very rewarding when its principles are respected. There are numerous over-the-counter complex homeopathic products on the market for which miraculous cures are claimed. In fact, it takes a practitioner a lot of study and experience to be effective in homeopathic therapy. Unfortunately, it is difficult to design a clinical study that takes the individuality of patients into account.
Footnotes
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