Trust me. I'm a homeopathic doctor...

The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (more commonly referred to as the "health regulator") has approved the creation of a register of qualified homeopaths.  This has been criticized by some as giving "credibility to quackery".  So what's the problem?  Homeopathy (from the Greek - same suffering) is based on the belief that "like cures like" - that is that a small dose of whatever has made you ill will cure you.   Although there has never been any empirical proof of this, it is an idea that goes way, way back and came to particular prominence in the 18th century. What opens it to charges of quackery is that the substances used as a cure (that is, whatever has caused the illness) are diluted and diluted until no molecule of the original substance remains.  So what you are taking is just water - or whatever liquid has been used in the dilution process.  The theory is that the water - or whatever - retains a "memory" of the substance.  So - quackery?  There's plenty of evidence that if someone is taking something which they believe will cure them, they do sometimes recover - do not underestimate the power of the human mind.  The other side of the coin is that if homeopathic remedies are pursued in place of conventional treatment you may be putting your health - life even - at serious risk. Your choice, but you need to understand the pros and cons.