Steroids

When appropriate Homeopathic medicine acts fast , people often ask or feel that the physician is using steroids in the garb of homeopathy for quick results .This statement is based on misinformation spread by the quarters whose interests will be jeopardized if homeopathy receives the status it deserves in the national health delivery system.

Homeopaths of integrity and commitment to their profession do not use steroids and in fact have no need to. Their material medical is very rich in remedies with a vast range of curative effects.

Some patients come to homeopaths because nothing else has helped . These people view homeopathy as their last resort and have a general perception that homeopathy is slow acting. If prescribed correctly, it can give you instant relief, however if you have been suffering from a chronic disease for years ,it is only natural that homeopathy will take longer to cure.

The remedies come mainly from plant, animal and mineral sources. The most important aspect, however, is not the source but the special method of their preparation which involves a repeated process of mixing, diluting and shaking till the chemical properties of the substances to be used as remedies are totally eliminated. This systematic and calculated process of remedy preparation, introduced by a German physician, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, about two centuries back, has dual advantage: i) it arouses the deeper therapeutic power of the remedy which remains latent in the presence of chemical properties and ii) it renders the remedy totally safe as with the washing away of the chemical properties, there remains no chance of chemical toxicity.

Homeopathy is a extremely safe system of Medicine even for children. Primarily, any medicine administered to children must be free from harmful effects. Unlike antibiotics and other such medicine, Homeopathic pills do not affect digestion; does not lower resistance power; does not produce allergies and does not harm even if taken for long-term.

In few laboratories, tetrasoltum salts, a cheapest method which does not require any precision instruments, have been used under ‘Colorimetric method’ for determination of reducing sugars. In this test, the reaction depends upon the reduction of tetrasoltum blue salt to give a highly coloured compound known as Farmazan. Under controlled conditions, the amount of Farmazan developed is proportional to the quantity of steroid or any reducing sugar present in the material being tested.

So if the drug contains any lactose, it will impart a strong colour with tetrazoltum blue salt which will give a false impression of the presence of a steroid. Secondly, if the alcohol used in this method is not completely free from aldehyde. It will interfere with the reaction and impart some characteristic colour, which may again give a false positive reaction for a steroid. So this method is not the right method to determine the presence of steroids in the drug.

Most homoeopaths use lactose(sugar of milk,made from Goat milk ,imported from Holland), as a base for holding the pills, containing the homeopathic remedy, together in the powders. The pills themselves are made of cane sugar, a reducing sugar. Moreover, almost all homeopathic remedies have alcohol as a diluting agent. One can see how homeopathic remedies, either as pills, powders or in alcohol, are likely to give a false positive test for steroids if this method is used.

“Methods used to test the Steroids”
Proper methods used to test steroids are Liberman Buchard test , This layer chromatography method and the UV absorption method.

Almost all steroids show UV absorption between 235 and 240 NM in dehydrated alcohol or methanol in a clear solution. A complete spectrum of this solution is taken between 400 NM and 220 NM on a suitable spectrophotometer. If any steroid is present, it will show maxima at 240 NM.

Before accepting a claim that the tested medicine does contain a steroid, one must find out what testing procedures were used to eliminat the possibility of a mis-leading result. If tests conclusively prove that the medicine given is indeed a steroid, under the guise of a homeopathic remedy, then one must confront the doctor and seek an explanation or complain to the Homeopathic Council so that disciplinary action can be taken against the erring doctor. Unsubstantiated allegations against any doctor are most unfair and damaging to his professional integrity and indeed to the profession.