Conventional medicine views symptoms as signs of illness. Modern treatments are intended to fight disease by targetting the virus causing the symptoms. According to homeopathy, however, symptoms are actually the bodies way of fighting 'dis-ease' (verb not noun.) Homeopathy teaches that symptoms are to be encouraged, by way of prescribing a remedy in miniscule doses that in large doses would produce the same symptoms seen in the patient. These remedies are intended to stimulate the immune system, helping to cure the illness.
Homeopathy is generally unregulated, prompting suggestions that homeopathic doctors could potentially cause more damage than harm. Also, patients who rely fully on homeopathic techniques, denying any conventional medicine, are at risk of leaving some easily treatable diseases (such as some early skin cancers) until they become untreatable.
Scientific trials with the use of placebos have shown little success in treating disease. Diluting substances as much as homeopathy does should vastly decrease any effects they may have. Interestingly, recent research indicates that in certain situations the further diluted a substance, the more its molecules tend to clump together. Some see this as the beginnings of evidence supporting homeopathic therapies. However this doesn't explain why the substances need to be diluted, just that they might remain active after this preparation, and many scientists doubt that it has any implications with regard to homeopathy at all.
Homeopathic practitioners ascribe the lack of success in controlled trials to the the absence of emotional doctor-patient bond that is necessary in order for treatment to be successful. Despite these claims, further trials continue to show limited success.
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