At a time when some are vehemently opposing homeopathy, I believe it is important to report on the experience of 20 years of homeopathic practice in the pediatric surgery department of the CHU of Grenoble. This experience highlights the benefits of a peaceful collaboration between conventional and homeopathic medicine.
This approach was initiated at the CHU of Grenoble in the early 1980s when I first worked as an assistant clinic head in pediatrics and later as an associate in neonatology. I then observed the importance of events occurring during pregnancy and early childhood. I appreciated the possibilities that homeopathy offered to hospitalized children in these departments and later in pediatric surgery.
In the pediatric surgery department of the CHU of Grenoble, along with Dr. Alibeu, we established a care protocol that was shared on the hospital’s intranet network. The significant originality was that prescriptions could be made by pediatric nurses who were trained for this purpose, allowing for immediate action. The prescription was particularly useful for sleep disorders. We distinguished between the child who whimpers, the one who cries, the one who has nightmares, and the one who startles: all these behaviors corresponded to well-defined remedies. Observing aggravations and improvements also helped in selecting the appropriate remedy. Once the correct remedy was found, the effect was almost immediate.
Each year, there were "Pain Management Days" where a poster titled "The Homeopath’s Corner" was displayed among others, foreshadowing the relationship that should exist between conventional medicine and homeopathy. All of this was under the benevolent supervision of Dean Sarrazin, who wished to create a university diploma in homeopathy.
As Professor Jean-François Dyon, then head of the pediatric surgery department at the CHU of Grenoble, reports: "Dialogue and collaboration with homeopathic doctors existed in the Pediatric Surgery department for many years with efficiency and without conflict, for the treatment and comfort of children. This fact is not only possible but desirable. In our experience, homeopathy has proven to be very effective in well-targeted indications. The handover was taken over by pediatric nurses trained to administer remedies according to the care protocol. Let’s continue studying homeopathy! The money saved from its delisting could and should be used for homeopathy research in hospitals."
Dr. Alibeu, former pediatric anesthesiologist and later head of the Pain Assessment and Treatment Center at the CHU of Grenoble, recalls that "homeopathy was used in the department to treat and prevent perioperative pain, nausea, vomiting, digestive disorders, fears, anxiety, agitation, edema, and hematomas." "With Dr. Jobert, we published an article in the journal Pédiatrie in 1990 titled:" Aconite in Homeopathic Dilution and Postoperative Agitation in Children.
This article detailed a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized study conducted in the pediatric surgery department on 50 children. It showed that the homeopathic dilution of Aconite (4CH) was highly effective in treating postoperative agitation, with 95% positive results compared to 30% with placebo. Therefore, contrary to the claims of critics, there are controlled studies convincingly supporting the efficacy of homeopathy. Science is discreet, but it is undeniable. Hypotheses exist that require further exploration by neuroscience researchers, with quantum theory supporting the effectiveness of high dilutions."
A range of homeopathic remedies continues to be used in hospitals, combining effectiveness with low cost and the absence of adverse effects.
Professor Piolat, a pediatric surgeon and head of department at the CHU of Grenoble, expresses his regrets: "In the pediatric surgery department, homeopathy can no longer be prescribed by doctors or administered by nurses following the protocols that were in place a few years ago and had become standard practice. Subsequently, homeopathy was used according to prescriptions from the child’s homeopath. A few years ago, some ’star’ remedies remained, such as Aconite, Arnica, Nux vomica, Vipera in granules, and topical applications for phlebitis after infusions. The disappearance of homeopathy has left a gap in indications where it added value and was effective. It should be granted the means for research in a university hospital setting."
This experience of peaceful collaboration between both medical approaches, supported by research, received backing from a member of the National Academy of Pharmacy, Jean Calop, emeritus professor at the University of Grenoble Alpes. "Homeopathy is a controversial subject, and the Academy of Pharmacy, a noble assembly, has taken a hard stance to prevent its teaching in pharmacy faculties," he explains. "I was personally involved in organizing the Homeopathy University Diploma at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Grenoble, based on the principle that teaching can be contradictory and that everyone, through this education, can form their own opinion. The experience of homeopaths is important to report. Nanotechnology is currently advancing, and progress in the infinitely small is far from over. We do not yet have the level of proof to demonstrate the presence of nanomolecules at certain receptors, but this is a reductive view. Current research on innovative medicines is no longer focused on chemical products but on understanding cellular language through biochemical messages; all innovative medicines selected this year come from biotechnology. Not a single one is chemically derived.
The cellular language is extremely complex but fascinating: it involves nanobiology with receptors, enzyme activators, and inhibitors. Cancer will find a solution in this direction: every oncologist is now convinced of this. Homeopathy, which identifies the body’s responses in certain pathologies to understand them, finds pathways in this approach that will eventually enlighten and convince even the most skeptical. Excluding it from pharmacy education is unjustifiable on both clinical and scientific grounds. There are doubts, but no certainties. Let science progress and listen to the clinical successes that some patients testify to."
The conclusion of these experiences is that homeopathy can be perfectly integrated into patient care pathways. It can even be the basis for innovative research.
Jacques Jobert, written in 2020, for the Mediapart Club