Homeoprophylaxis

Domain XII · Complementary, energy & biofield · Samuel Hahnemann, Isaac Golden · 1801

What it is

Definition as its proponents give it. Homeoprophylaxis (also spelled homoeoprophylaxis, abbreviated HP, and marketed as "homeopathic vaccination", "homeopathic immunisation" or "homeopathic vaccines") is the use of homeopathically prepared substances with the aim of preventing specific infectious…

Format

• 3. How consent was obtained. Consent was framed as "choice" between two methods presented as equivalent, after the parent had been told that vaccines were short-lived, unreliable or ineffective. The Federal Court found the vaccine claims false and the implied scientific basis for homeopathy…
• 4. The "course". The practitioner supplied a programme of nosodes or symptom-matched remedies targeting a list of childhood infectious diseases, which parents gave to the child at home over months to years. The proponent's programme ran across childhood, with parents completing a questionnaire for…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• The sequence below is a composite of what courts, regulators and the proponent's own thesis describe. Steps the sources do not describe directly are marked.
• Licensed nosodes sold as natural health products (Canada), now with mandatory "not a vaccine" labels.
• In the UK, a BBC investigation reported in 2013 that homeopathic pharmacies listed products described as "vaccines" and suggested homeopathic preventatives for whooping cough and (in a 2011 Newsnight investigation) malaria; the medicines regulator asked for the "vaccines" to be removed from websites.

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence: a randomised, blinded, placebo-controlled trial led by McMaster University (150 previously vaccinated university students given homeopathic "vaccines", placebo or conventional vaccines) found no antibody rise in the homeopathic or placebo groups, against clear rises after conventional…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• social isolation, loss of support after a decision.
• the client turning to another alternative seller; shame about money spent.
• one parent using the decision as leverage in a custody dispute; coercive control.
• your own frustration leaking into contempt; collusion with a client to avoid the topic.
• a family that has no GP (help them register); a practitioner of HP acting as the only health contact.

Problems the guide addresses

• Asking about complementary use and vaccination without judgement
• Exploring meaning, fears and the client's explanatory model
• Autonomy-respecting decision support
• Coordinating with the client's doctor, nurse or pharmacist
• Children: consent, assent and safeguarding
• Co-parent and family conflict
• Guilt, regret and grief after a preventable illness
• Betrayal by a trusted practitioner and financial harm
• Group and community pressure
• Reporting routes

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.