NEW DELHI: Homeopathic treatment for common illnesses affecting children below two years of age is superior to allopathic treatment, a study published in European Journal of Paediatrics (EJP) has claimed.
In the study, researchers at Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) Collaborative Outpatient Department of Jeeyar Integrated Medical Services (JIMS) Hospital in Telangana compared health status of 108 children, from birth to 24 months of age, who were treated either homoeopathically or conventionally for diverse acute illness episodes such as fever, diarrhoea, and respiratory infection, among others.
In the homoeopathic group, conventional medical treatment was added when medically indicated.
Researchers found homoeopathic group participants experienced significantly fewer sick days over the 24 months than did those in the conventional group. “There was a median of five sick days over the 24-month period in the homoeopathic group compared with a median of 21 sick days in the conventional group. After adjustment, the number of sick days in the homoeopathic group was one-third of that in the conventional group,” the study stated.
It added that using homeopathy as the mainstay of treatment also led to fewer respiratory sickness episodes in the children over the 24-month follow-up period. No statistically significant difference between the two groups was found in diarrhoeal episodes or diarrhoeal days.
No significant adverse reactions or deaths were noted in either group, according to the study.
Antibiotics were required for 14 sickness episodes in children in the homoeopathic group compared to 141 in the conventional group. The researchers said the study suggests that homoeopathy can reduce antibiotic use and even improve medical outcomes, albeit with a conventional medical backstop.
“Integrating homoeopathic treatment with routine conventional infant and child healthcare may offer a safe, effective, and inexpensive alternative to antibiotics,” they added.
