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Homeopathy Fights Influenza
Flu bugs bite millions of Americans each year. The virus usually takes one to two weeks to run its course, but a double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in the British Homeopathic Journal (1998 Apr;87:69-76) suggests a homeopathic remedy may reduce flu's symptoms and duration.
Rosemarie Papp, Ph.D., of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, and colleagues studied the effects of a 200K dilution of Oscillococcinum, a homeopathic preparation of Anas Barbariae Hepatis and Cordis Extractum (heart and liver extract of the Barbary duck), on 372 patients with influenzalike syndromes. They wanted to know whether the treatment would eliminate symptoms faster or improve the patients' overall conditions more than placebo within 48 hours. Boiron of Sainte Foy Les Lyon, France, which manufactures the remedy in accordance with the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, collaborated on and funded the study.
Researchers randomly assigned 188 patients to receive Oscillococcinum and 184 to receive placebo. Patients took one dose consisting of 200 globules sublingually three times daily for three days. After 48 hours, 19.2 percent of the patients taking Oscillococcinum had no symptoms and 43.7 percent had clearly improved, compared with 15 percent in the placebo group who had no symptoms and 33.5 percent who had improved. The degree of improvement was statistically significant.
Further, researchers found that after five days of recording body temperature and flu symptoms, 26.4 percent of patients taking the remedy and 32.3 percent of those taking placebo still had symptoms, a statistically significant difference in favor of the remedy.
After seven to 10 days, practitioners assessed patients' health and found that 80.1 percent of patients taking Oscillococcinum no longer had flu symptoms while 77.1 percent of placebo-group patients had recovered—not a statistically significant difference. This finding is not surprising considering the duration of the disease is between five and 10 days.
The researchers concluded that their trial "confirms the curative effect of Oscillococcinum." However, to investigate prophylactic effectiveness, additional studies are needed.
