Oscillococcinum

Oscillococcinum is a homeopathic remedy that is used to relieve the symptoms of influenza (flu). It is one of the most popular of all homeopathic remedies. It is unusual in that it is a proprietary preparation; the name "Oscillococcinum" is owned by a French company, Boiron, its sole manufacturer.

The ingredients of a 1 gram tube of Oscillococcinum are listed as:

• Active: Anas Barbariae Hepatis et Cordis Extractum HPUS 200CK (extract of the liver and heart of wild duck)
• Inactive: 0.85g Sucrose, 0.15g Lactose

Preparation

1. Fill a sterile one litre bottle with a mixture of pancreatic juice and glucose
2. Take one Barbary duck, chop off its head, extract its liver and heart
3. Add 35g (1.2oz) of the duck's liver and 15g (0.5oz) of its heart to the bottle.
4. Let the bottle stand for 40 days; the liver and heart will dissolve
5. Fill a clean glass container (of any size) with ultra-pure distilled water
6. Add one drop of the duck mixture
7. Shake vigorously ("succussion")
8. Empty the container
9. Refill the container with water
10. Repeat the steps of shaking, emptying and re-filling 200 times
11. Use the resultant water to moisten 5mg lactose tablets.

The Efficacy of Oscillococcinum

Since the repeated emptying and refilling of the glass dilutes the solution by at least 100 times, the original drop of duck is diluted by 100²⁰⁰, or 10⁴⁰⁰. This is significantly more than the number of atoms in the universe, so it is vastly improbable that even a single molecule derived from the original animal will remain. Homeopathic practitioners contend that the water has been "potentized" by the duck's tissues.

There is debate over the efficacy of Oscillococcinum. Since it is used for the relief of symptoms of flu, a self-limiting disease which lasts for a random number of days, the best it can do is shorten the duration of those symptoms. If one takes Oscillococcinum and one's flu goes away, then it is easy to attribute this to the Oscillococcinum. However, the infection would have passed in any case.

Various clinical trials of Oscillococcinum have been conducted. Some seem to show that Oscillococcinum can reduce the duration of the symptoms of flu. The statistical significance and the scientific rigor of these studies is debated, and in any case the placebo effect could be the result of taking Oscillococcinum.

In a recent review of the published clinical studies by A. J. Vickers and C. Smith for the Cochrane Library, the authors reported that the studies showed that Oscillococcinum possibly reduced the duration of the flu by about six hours, but has no effect on preventing flu. They concluded the data are not strong enough to make a general recommendation to use Oscillococcinum [for flu].

External links

• Boiron The French company that manufactures Oscillococcinum
• the Cochrane Library
• The True Story of Oscillococcinum
• Homeoinfo
• CSICOP Alternative Medicine and the Laws of Physics.
• Cochrane Review
• Baltimore Sun Story on Oscillococcinum as an alternative to flu shots.

References

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2004, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD001957.pub2. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001957.pub2.