Homoeopathy was one of many fringe practices that arose during the nineteenth century in response to the brutality (vomiting, enemas, bleeding) and failure of orthodox medical practice. These included mesmerism, naturopathy, hygienic medicine, phrenology, hydropathy, herbalism, Christian Science, osteopathy and chiropractic. These had little in common but all were agreed in their condemnation of orthodox medical practice. Many of the practitioners were unqualified and quacks, but also many qualified doctors incorporated the alternative medicine practices into their clinical practice. Homoeopathy was founded by a German physician, Samuel Hahnemann in the late Eighteenth century and grew in popularity over the nineteenth century. It is based on the principle that like cures like – a substance causing symptoms in a healthy person can be used to treat similar symptoms in a sick person (the law of similars), and that the more diluted the substance is the more potent it is (the law of infinitesimals).
It is easy to deride homoeopathy today for its lack of both logic and evidence but examination of the 1867 edition of the British Pharmacopoeia reveals its attractions. About a quarter of the drugs listed would today be considered more harmful than curative, including arsenic, cyanide, mercury, ergot, aconite, belladonna, hemlock and tobacco. There are few drugs listed still in use today (e.g. digitalis, morphine). The remainder were a mixture of herbal remedies(e.g. decoction of oak bark, extract of lettuce), metals (e.g. copper, silver, gold, lead), simple chemical compounds and some animal products (e.g. purified ox bile, lard, leeches). Alcohol featured quite strongly – various tinctures based on proof spirit, sherry and spirit of French wine (which seems to have been a synonym for brandy). Just as for homoeopathy there was no evidence base for any of these.
