Lately, researchers in Britain looked at the results from the best research projects about homeopathy. After careful study, they decided that there was little reason to believe that homeopathic remedies work. Some people wonder why homeopathic remedies can be sold in the US if there is no solid proof that they work. In 1938, US Senator Royal Copeland of New York, who was also a homeopath, obtained a special federal provision exempting all substances in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia from the tests for safety and efficacy required for other medications. Consumer Reports Magazine and other public protection groups have urged Congress to remove these exemptions, so that homeopathic remedies, like others, must be shown to work and to be safe before they are marketed.
Most scientists say that homeopathic remedies are basically water and can act only as placebos.
However, homeopathic remedies offer the opportunity for self care, using products that are safe and have no side effects. Homeopathic remedies help many people get through these problems with fewer symptoms, and the treatments may shorten the length of these illnesses. Many avid supporters swear by homeopathic remedies for allergies, colds and flu, and other minor but very annoying ailments. Homeopathic remedies have not been shown to have any impact on serious illness. In fact, using homeopathic remedies may delay diagnosis and standard treatment of serious illness when time is of the essence.