Of all homeopathic products on the market, combination remedies are arguably the most popular. You can find them prominently displayed in the homeopathic sections of most health food stores and placed near the cash registers in Whole Foods during cold season. Bestsellers, these products offer us the hope of a simple and straightforward solution: one medication for one diagnosis of anything that ails us, conditions ranging from teething, to head colds, to premenstrual syndrome, to hemorrhoids. But do they work?
Its not hard to grasp the concept involved in manufacturing combination remedies. Two or more remedies known to relieve a particular symptom are combined in the same tablet. The expectation is that either the chosen remedies will enhance each others actions, or that at least one of the remedies will be exactly what the patient needs.
These remedies exist right on the border between allopathic (conventional) medicine and homeopathic medicine. On one hand, these preparations are prescribed for a particular ailment in the same way as conventional drugs. On the other hand, the components of combination remedies are homeopathically prepared substances. Their...