New Delhi:

The scientific expertise and research community have largely called for a more moderate acknowledgement of the system that appreciates both its strengths and limitations. As India observes World Homeopathy Day 2025, let's discuss this medical alternative from its scientific basis to the need for proper regulations for its application.

Considered just sweet toffees at one point, homeopathy is slowly getting back its rightful place in the field of healthcare, especially in curing chronic illnesses such as autoimmune disorders, skin allergies, migraines and mental health issues.

Homeopathy: More Than Just Sugar Pills

Dr Subhash Kaushik, Director General of CCRH, had an interesting take: "Homeopathy, the sweet pill. I will take your question as a compliment because if you get relief simply from symptomatology or signs of any disease or chronic illness, then we see that as an honour. It proves that we are treating the disease. So it is sweet pills, when you are surrounded by medicines with a lot of side effects and when we are treating mental illness or lifestyle disorders. If we get relief through these sweet pills then it should be taken as a compliment."

Despite immense popularity, there are skeptics that see homeopathy as just a placebo or a harmless alternative. Such charges are rejected by some respected practitioners who vehemently affirm that under correct application by expert hands, homeopathy does have the potential to bring about concrete therapeutic results.

Scientific Backing and Expanding Applications:

"CCRH undertakes, coordinates, promotes, develops and disseminates scientific research in the field of homeopathy. Our aim is to undertake and coordinate the research which contributes towards public health," Dr Kaushik said.

He stressed that modern research is revealing the mechanisms of working homeopathic medicines. "We have gone into MoUs with many reputed universities across India, where they are telling how the medicine is working through signalling pathways, nanoparticles and other aspects of physics, chemistry, and biochemistry. They are doing work for us."

CCRH is an apex organisation for promoting and coordinating scientific research in homeopathy under the aegis of the Ministry of AYUSH. Besides clinical treatment, it involves areas like drug standardisation, nanoparticle research, agro-homeopathy and others.

Tackling Chronic Ailments and Mental Health:

"Through this, in homeopathy, we have 34 institutes and units across India where we are doing specific research in integrative setups like osteoarthritis, mental diseases, dermatitis, lifestyle diseases, diabetes, blood pressure. We are getting good results as compared to when patients are taking only standard treatment of medicine," Dr. Kaushik noted.

One of the most popular areas where homeopathy is getting attention is where it cures chronic diseases for which allopathic intervention appears limited such as chronic migraines, skin conditions like eczema, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), autoimmune disorders and mental health conditions as anxiety and depression.

Integration, Not Competition:

"This is the rise of integration, derived from collaboration, not competition. We are having MoUs with AIIMS and have personally worked in AIIMS Jhajjar during the first wave of COVID-19, where we added homeopathy to the standard protocols of moderate COVID-19 cases and we got good results. This paper is now published in one of our best journals," he said.

The new approach in homeopathy isn't about replacing allopathy, it’s about integration. The idea is to use homeopathy as an adjunct to mainstream treatments, especially where standard therapies fail to deliver full relief or come with undesirable side effects.

He further elaborated, "We are not disturbing their standard protocol. Whatever the patient is getting, that continue. We just add homeopathic medicine to the protocol. Plus, we are taking another group where we give only placebo, that’s called RCT (Randomized Controlled Trial). Patients don’t know whether they’re getting homeopathy or placebo, but after analysing the results, we clearly see that the group getting homeopathy shows better recovery and less dependency on antibiotics, with comparatively fewer side effects."

Misconceptions and Risks of Self-Medication:

A key concern among practitioners is the widespread misconception that homeopathy has no side effects at all. This myth, they warn, leads to rampant self-medication, overdosing and delays in seeking appropriate medical advice.

"Homeopathy is cost-effective and generally has fewer side effects, but excess of anything is bad. When you are taking homeopathic medicine on your own, without consulting a qualified physician, then there is a 100 percent chance of side effects. Suppose one medicine is prescribed for three times a day for seven days but you are taking it for months together. Even food taken in excess has side effects," cautioned Dr. Kaushik.

Agro and Veterinary Homeopathy:

One of the lesser-known but fast-evolving frontiers in homeopathy is its application in agriculture and veterinary science. Researchers are using homeopathic preparations to treat livestock and even enhance crop quality.

“Recently, we have done a lot of interventions in agro-homeopathy. We are treating crops with homeopathic medicines and they are yielding very good results,” explained Dr. Kaushik.

Farmers using these techniques have reported reductions in the use of antibiotics in cattle and poultry, which is especially significant in the context of rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Celebrating World Homeopathy Day 2025:

As the global homeopathy community prepares to mark World Homeopathy Day 2025, CCRH is leading a grand celebration at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The event is expected to bring together over 8,500 delegates, including researchers, students, practitioners, policymakers and experts from various allied sciences.

“All our collaborators from different universities, veterinary science and agro-homeopathy are coming. We have parallel lecture series where they can show their results. We are having students, practitioners, researchers, policy makers. It is a platform for two days of rigorous brainstorming to see what homeopathy has achieved and what the future roadmap may be,” said Dr. Kaushik.

With rising lifestyle-related ailments and a growing demand for personalised, gentle therapies, homeopathy is finding new relevance. However, its growth must be backed by rigorous science, responsible practice and clear public awareness.

The revival of interest in homeopathy, as seen through both clinical results and academic collaboration, suggests that this age-old system of medicine may not just be about sweet pills, it may indeed offer bitter truths to its critics and sweet relief to patients in need.

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