With time and in these years after the great health emergency that we have had since 2020, many “new” therapies have appeared before our eyes, offering alternatives or solutions to different conditions that previously only had a few therapeutic options and with very little margin of success.
On this occasion, we are going to talk about a different route of administration that by itself is also considered a therapeutic, where the most curious thing is not the novelty but where it originated and where we can see that different therapeutic edges (allopathy and homeopathy) seem to converge and finally have something in common.
It should be noted that as in any other topic, I always say that this information is for educational not therapeutic purposes. For that, you can consult your health provider or, if you prefer, consult me. Never rely on a video or only on some writing to make decisions regarding your health.
Definition
Microdosing is a form of treatment where drugs are used in tiny amounts (1,000 to 15,000 times less than usual).
They are dissolved in a hydroalcoholic vehicle and are applied to the sensory endings, mainly of the tongue, as a therapeutic method.
It is prepared from the dose of the drug needed for each patient in 24 hours, dissolved in 20 mL of vehicle, and administered according to the clinical response of the patient. It can be started with a frequency of 2 drops, 3 or 4 times a day.
Microdose treatments are increasingly attracting the attention of the world, due to their high effectiveness in acute and chronic diseases, for their safety, and for considerably reducing public health costs.
Similarities and Differences with Homeopathy
Microdosing and homeopathy are two therapeutic approaches that share certain similarities but also have significant differences:
Similarities:
- Both practices are based on the idea that tiny doses of substances can have therapeutic effects on the body.
- Both microdosing and homeopathy use extremely high dilutions of active substances, which means that the amount of the original substance in the final product is very low.
- Both therapies seek to reduce adverse effects of conventional treatments.
- Both therapeutics are currently used in integrative medicine protocols in Cuba, Nicaragua, Brazil, Argentina, and Russia.
Differences:
- Homeopathy is based on the principle of similarity, i.e., that a substance that causes symptoms in a healthy person can be used to treat those same symptoms in a sick person. Microdosing, on the other hand, is not governed by this principle and can use a variety of substances for different therapeutic purposes.
- In homeopathy, dilutions are usually much higher than in microdosing. In homeopathy, the active substances are repeatedly diluted in water or alcohol, while in microdosing, the dilutions are usually less extreme.
- Homeopathy has a more holistic approach and considers not only the physical symptoms, but also the emotional and mental aspects of the person. Microdosing can focus more on the physical aspects of health.
- In microdosing, allopathic medicines are used (initially), medicinal plants and their best known form are Psilocybe mushrooms or entheogens.
- Homeopathy has the principles of dynamization, which are activated by succussion. On the other hand, in microdosing, the medications are not shaken.
- In microdosing, the maximum effectiveness of the medicine is sought by reducing adverse effects; in homeopathy, it is sought to stimulate the body’s homeostasis capacity so that it can be cured by its own means in its physical, mental, and emotional spheres.
Origins of microdosing
This technique is currently widely used for the administration of different substances of natural origin mainly, among which we can find mushrooms, mescaline, entheogens (psychoactive substances), cannabis derivatives, herbal products, bach flowers, etc.
The most exciting thing is that this therapy emerged, at least in Mexico inside the prisons, when Dr. Eugenio Martínez-Bravo was imprisoned due to a misunderstanding regarding the self-defense groups in Guerrero. Somehow, being in prison, he ended up attending to other comrades in the infirmary, where, due to the lack of medicines, he had to administer them in a diluted form, finding sound effects in some patients and not in others. He hypothesizes that administering drops of the diluted drug stimulates the local sensory endings, where the signals are sent to the hypothalamus and from there to the cerebral cortex, then reaching the site of action of the administered drug.
Currently, this theory has yet to be demonstrated. However, it has been experimented with drugs such as captopril (used for high blood pressure) in some studies in Cuba and published in the journal Cielo, obtaining therapeutic results in a verifiable way, which simply demonstrates that this therapy and route of administration is effective and safe as long as it is done correctly.
Conclusion
Nowadays, a lot has been done in the treatment of conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders, bipolarity, post-traumatic stress syndrome, etc., where neither psychological therapy nor conventional medications themselves have obtained satisfactory results. The possibility of using some substances such as psilocybin, MMDA, CBD, THC, and mescaline has been seen, which, in combination with psychotherapy, have shown promising results in the health and quality of life of patients.
It is here where microdosing and its knowledge of origin become quite relevant because although many others claim to be its invention, this technique has originated in homeopathy for several centuries. However, its modern origin could have been due to the need for Dr. Eugenio to be able to treat his patients using only the means at his disposal.
To conclude, he highlighted the importance of therapeutic integration, where several medical systems can embrace each other and take the best of each one either to complement each other or to reduce the adverse effects of each other, improving their effectiveness, the therapeutic attachment of the patient and in some cases improving the patient’s life expectancy and quality of life.
