Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Move over pellets, liquids, and creams. Homeopathy is going mainstream.
It's called sprayology, and you can find it at a mall near you. Homeopathic oral sprays designed to fix what ails you.
There's "man power" to rejuvenate the male body... "immuno-booster" to restore your natural defenses... "diet power" helps balance metabolism and relieve common symptoms like eccessive appetite, food cravings and water retention... and "acne tonic" to relieve the pain of blemishes.
Michael Cantwell, M.D./ CPMC Health & Healing Clinic: "EVERYBODY WOULD LIKE A SIMPLE SOLUTION TO THEIR PROBLEMS. THE IDEA THAT YOU COULD SPRAY IT AWAY IS A REALLY WONDERFUL ONE, AND I COULD SEE WHERE IT WOULD CATCH ON FROM A CONSUMER STANDPOINT. THE QUESTIONS IS WHETHER THERE IS DATA BEHIND IT."
Dr. Michael Cantwell is both an M.D. and a homeopath at the Institute of Health and Healing at California Pacific Medical Center.
He says the data for homeopathy is compelling as far as studies of individual remedies for certain conditions like asthma, eczema and hayfever.
But the sprays use more of a shotgun approach.
Michael Cantwell, M.D./ CPMC Health & Healing Clinic: "THESE ARE SPRAYS THAT ARE MULTIVPLE REMEDIES TOGETHER. OFTEN TIMES FOR INDICATIONS SUCH AS WEIGHT LOSS, FATIGUE, MUCH MORE NON-SPECIFIC COMPLAINTS. THERE'S REALLY NO DATA FOR THESE."
Which begs the next questions: Are they safe?
Michael Cantwell, M.D./ CPMC Health & Healing Clinic: "THEY'RE CERTAINLY SAFE. AND THEY CERTAINLY APPLY A THERAPY THAT IN THE PAST HAS BEEN SHOWN TO WORK FOR SOME DISEASES. WOULD I USE THEM? IF I HAD THE MONEY, AND I WANTED TO TRY SOMETHING SIMPLE. IT'S SAFE. IT CAN'T HURT YOU. WILL IT WORK? MAYBE."
Homeopathic remedies are regulated by the FDA. But they don't always require manufacturers to prove safety or efficacy, allowing most to be sold without a prescription.
As for price, the sprayology bottles run about $30 each and should last for a month.
