ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: This study sought to assess the effectiveness of individualized homeopathic treatment on dermatological complaints in a public outpatient clinic. METHODS: Children and adults spontaneously seeking for homeopathic treatment for dermatological complaints were prescribed single individualized remedies and followed up for a minimum of 3 months; assessment was clinical and recorded graphically. RESULTS: Forty-nine patients met the inclusion criteria. Outcomes were positive (59%); no effect (4%); drop-out (37%), from which 6% was due to homeopathic aggravation. No manifestations of suppression were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Outcome studies are useful to point out to the effectiveness of individualized homeopathic treatment in dermatological complaints. Outcomes suggest that actions focusing on pathological categories do not lead to homeopathic suppression.
Subject(s)
Homeopathy/methods , Outpatient Clinics, Hospital/organization & administration , Patient Compliance/statistics & numerical data , Skin Diseases/therapy , Adult , Brazil , Child , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Outcome Assessment, Health Care , Professional-Patient Relations , Research Design , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
This paper describes the successful outcome of homeopathic treatment in a case of resistant livedoid vasculopathy (LV). LV is a rare disease characterized by chronic recurrent and painful ulceration of the lower limbs, frequently associated to atrophie blanche (AB), probably due to procoagulant conditions. Most literature reports single or very few cases; response to treatment is difficult, even resistant. This patient suffered LV for 7 years before seeking homeopathic treatment; ulcers recurred frequently, at intervals less than 3 months, in spite of continual use of pentoxyfilline. Configuration of signs and symptoms strongly pointed out to the prescription of homeopathic remedy Sepia succus that promptly elicited significant improvement of LV and the patient's overall state (non suppressive treatment). Considerations are made on the value of single case reports and the reliability of prescriptions grounded on consistent signs and coherence among the manifold features of individual disease.
