Influenza: Homeopathy, What Works

• In the largest clinical trial to date of a homeopathic medicine, Dr. J. P. Ferley and associates in 1989 studied the use of a homeopathic preparation sold under the trade name Oscillococcinum, made from a highly dilute extract of duck heart and kidney, which is thought to be a reservoir of wild influenza virus. Oscillococcinum is the best-selling flu remedy in France, and is also popular in the United States. It was given to 237 patients with influenza symptoms, while 241 other flu patients received placebo. After forty-eight hours, 17.1 percent of the treatment group had recovered, compared to 10.3 percent of the placebo group. Patients under age thirty were found to respond better than those over thirty. However, the remedy was not found to be effective in patients with severe flu.

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From THE BEST ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: WHAT WORKS? WHAT DOES NOT? by Dr. Kenneth R. Pelletier.
Copyright © 2000 by Dr. Kenneth R. Pelletier, Inc.
Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, New York.

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Unless otherwise indicated, Dr. Kenneth R. Pelletier. All Rights Reserved.
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