Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I'm not a doctor, but I've used over the counter "western medicines" and homeopathic medicines. We still have a chest full of western medicines, but we've also come to trust the homeopathic medicines from Boiron (including Oscillococcinum). (B&T Natural and Wellness brands are other brands we've tried and found true to their claims.) I firmly believe the claim on the Oscillococcinum box that taking the medicine as recommended at the first sign of the flu decreases the effect of the flu. We have now been using (and reusing) this product for over 3 years and we're sold on it's effectiveness though it's hard to explain.
The negative reviews I have read on Amazon are not by people who have apparently used the product, but rather by people who are attacking homeopathic medicines in general. In researching Oscillococcinum online, I found a few very critical attacks on the homeopathic medicine manufacturing process and claims that they couldn't work. The critics claim that the product is a placebo because it's so diluted that the final product does not contain traceable amounts of the active ingredients. That seems like a reasonable claim, but homeopathic medicines are more effective when the doses of the active ingredients are smaller, which seems counter intuitive based on our experiences with western medicines.
If it is true that Oscillo is just a placebo, then a double blind study of Oscillo when compared to a placebo should generate similar results. I have found interesting results from double blind studies done on Oscillococcinum that seem to tell the another side of the story on the product.
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A double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of 100 patients showed that, when given at the onset of influenza-like symptoms, Oscillococcinum worked better than the placebo in reducing the symptoms of chills (85.7% vs. 57.1%), stiffness (72.5% vs. 41.9%) and fever (79.1% vs. 40%). Also 80% of patients given Oscillococcinum' reported the treatment to be a success vs. 38% in the placebo group.'
In a double-blind, clinical trial of 300 patients with influenza-like symptoms, 55% of the patients taking Oscillococcinum' reported no chills after four days, compared with 27% of the placebo- controlled group. More patients in the Oscillo' group also reported no aches after four days-70% were ache-free compared with 48% in the placebo group. Fever in the Oscillococcinum' group was significantly lower starting on the I second day of the treatment, compared to the placebo group.'
In a double-blind, clinical trial of 478 patients published in The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology in 1989, researchers studied Oscillococcinum's effect on nine influenza-like symptoms-fever, headaches, stiffness, lumbar and particular pain, shivers, cough, coryza and fatigue - versus a placebo. The proportion of patients who recovered within 48 hours of treatment was significantly superior among the Oscillo group than the placebo group.
A recent double-blind, clinical trial of 372 patients performed by f researchers at a German University and published in April 1998 yielded results similar to those published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (above). The complete disappearance of symptoms after 48 hours was significantly superior among the Oscillo group than among the placebo group. This clinical trial also showed that treatment of influenza-like symptoms with Oscillococcinum' has positive effect on the decline of symptoms and on the duration of the disease.
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I tend to believe these double blind study sources, especially since I've tried the product and know what it's done for me and my family. We're sold on Oscillo.
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