Q: I am a 54-year-old male. I have suffered from lupus since my early 20s, which has caused me to have various skin rashes, pericarditis, arthritis and other illnesses over the years. I have been treated with various medications, most of which led to unpleasant side effects. A friend has advised that I try homeopathic treatment. What do you think?
A: Lupus, which is also known as SLE, or systemic lupus erythematosis, is an unpleasant and chronic illness for which there is no known cure. It can affect almost any organ in the body, from the skin to the heart, as it causes damage wherever connective tissue is found.
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Various medications may be used to try to alleviate the symptoms of lupus. These include immunosuppressants such as steroids or Methotrexate, or anti-inflammatory medications. Topical skin ointments and creams containing cortisone are often used to help control the skin rashes.
Since it is an autoimmune disorder similar to rheumatoid arthritis, many of the same treatment methods have been used. Lupus tends to have a relapsing and remitting course so that fortunately, many of the unpleasant symptoms do not last for more than a few months at a time and the sufferer can be quite well between bouts. This tendency for spontaneous improvement makes it difficult to tell if credit can be given to treatments such as homeopathy, herbs or diet.
Homeopathy was first developed by a German doctor named Samuel Hahnemann about 200 years ago. He did this in reaction to the dangerous treatments that were the only methods available to physicians at the time, such as blood letting, scalding the skin or administering dangerous chemicals such as arsenic and mercury. Hahnemann speculated that if a large amount of a certain substance caused illness in a healthy person, then small amounts of the same thing could treat those symptoms in someone who was ill. His experimentation led him to use smaller and smaller doses of the substance and so he began to dilute the substances in factors of 10. For example, a 6X dose is a one in 10 dilution diluted six times over, or one part in a million.
It is difficult to understand how such minute strengths of a substance could possibly work. Some people attribute the success of homeopathic treatments to a placebo effect while others believe that the cure is simply the disease going into remission or curing itself with the passage of time. Also, due to inaccurate labelling methods, some remedies may actually contain an effective dose of real medicine. In some instances, alcohol may be used as a base for the medication, leading to a “feel-good” response.
Most medical authorities do not take any specific position to ban homeopathic treatments, because the diluted doses of medication are not considered harmful. The only way it can be detrimental is if a person suffering from a serious illness such as diabetes, schizophrenia or cancer omitted to take their medically prescribed treatments in favour of the homeopathic approach.
Homeopathy is not covered by provincial health plans. It may be covered by some private insurance packages.
Clare Rowson is a medical doctor with a practice near Belleville, Ont. Her columns are intended for general information only. Individuals are encouraged to also seek the advice of their own doctor.
