It can perhaps also be looked at in the context of the concept of “integrated medicine”. Responsible homoeopaths do not claim that homoeopathy can cure cancer or AIDS, but they like to suggest that it can be used as a palliative (of course, this contradicts their claim that homoeopathy addresses the causes of disease while medicine only treats symptoms) or to relieve the side-effects of chemotherapy (thus neatly raising the fact that effective treatments have side-effects). This enables homoeopaths to claim that homoeopathy “can help” with cancer/”be used to treat” cancer patients etc.

Consider the most concentrated ‘actives’ Calendula and Hamamelis
in D1 potency. Note that only 1.326g of the D1 potency was added.
eg for 100g we in effect have only 0.1326g of both Calendula and Hamamelis plant added.
At 0.132% this is nearer to the D3 potency or more exactly around 1 part per 750.
Note also that the original Mother tincture is an Ethanol/Water extract that is unlikely to extract all ‘active ingredients’ in the plant.

Would we therefore expect clinical effects from Traumeel S at these concentrations bearing in mind that any Polysaccharides, glycosides ect would be expected in concentrations in the Traumeel S product in parts per million or 10s of parts per million?

At these levels the ‘actives’ are close to possible levels of impurities in the Ph Eur water used as an excipient.

100 g contains: Arnica montana, radix D3, 4.416g; Calendula officinalis D1, Hamamelis virginiana D1, 1.326g each; Bellis perennis D1, Hypericum perforatum D3, 0.295g; Millefolium D1, 0.265 g; Symphytum officinale D4, 0.295g; Aconitum napellus D3, Belladonna D3, 0.147g each; Hepar sulphuris calcareum D6, 0.074g; Chamomilla D1, Echinacea angustifolia D1, Echinacea purpurea D1, 0.442g each.

It’s certainly disappointing that the headlines have focused on the positive spin rather than the actual story, which is “it doesn’ work”.

It was essentially written by the Royal London Homeopathic Hospitital – an institution under considerable threat and therefore, with a huge vested interest in generating good publicity. SO, pick a cochrane review that is bound to work – “homeopathy does not cause side effects in cancer patients” – no one would dispute this – and let the inevitable positive headlines ensue. Throw in some distinctly un-homeopathic like treatments and you can show some side benefits of ‘homeopathy’ maybe working.

But the point is, that these ‘working’ treatments are most unlike what goes on in the RLHH. Headlines like the BBC “Homeopathy ‘eases cancer therapy’” must be a godsend because it makes it look like the system of homeopathy actually works when this reviews quite clearly shows that there is no evidence for this.

Is this deliberate manipulation? I would have to conclude that Cochrane have been subverted here for vested interests.

Their “Calendula lotion” is described as being “Calendula officinalis MT HPUS 10%”. I presume that “MT” stands for “mother tincture”, meaning undiluted alcoholic solution in homeopathic terminology. Presumably that would make the 1x a 1/10 dilution of that… so still pretty strong.