Alternative Asthma Treatments-Homeopathy

The principles underlying homeopathy reach back to Hippocrates, the Greek physician of antiquity who is hailed as the father of medical practice. Hippocrates believed that certain substances caused disease and that taking the same substances, when diluted sharply down, would cure the disease. This theory was popular in the United States in the 1700s but fell out of favor when it failed to produce the results expected of it. Homeopathy is still recognized in Britain by the National Health Service as the only alternative form of healthcare.

There is little evidence that homeopathy works, but doses of all substances used are so low that they can't cause any trouble. For example, according to Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, writing in 1842, "Doctor Hahnemann, father of homeopathy, describes dilutions of a billionth, trillionth, quadrillionth ... and much higher" for treatment of actual patients.