“Homeopathic cold remedies work.”
Homeopathic cold remedies have not been shown to work: well-run trials found they do no better than a placebo for preventing or treating colds.
Homeopathic cold remedies will not prevent a cold or help you get over one any faster than a placebo. They are not a substitute for treatments that have been tested.
Check cold products for the word "Homeopathic" on the label, and skip those if you want something that has been tested.
Safety note: Not every product labeled homeopathic is highly diluted: some contain real amounts of ingredients that can cause side effects or interact with medicines. In 2017 the FDA warned that some homeopathic teething tablets for babies contained too much belladonna, a toxic plant. Liquid homeopathic products may contain alcohol.
Talk to a healthcare professional if: you are thinking about giving a homeopathic product to a baby or young child.
Reviews of trials in children and of the best-known homeopathic flu remedy found no reliable benefit, and the best-run trials found none at all. Confidence is moderate rather than strong because the trials are small and few of them test adults with colds.
Homeopathic cold remedies have not been shown to work: well-run trials found they do no better than a placebo for preventing or treating colds. A major Australian government review also found no reliable evidence that homeopathy works for any health condition.
Many homeopathic products are diluted so much that no molecules of the starting substance remain. A 2022 Cochrane review of 11 trials with 1,813 children found no consistent benefit for preventing or treating colds and similar infections; every trial at low risk of bias showed no benefit, while the trials reporting benefits had weaker methods, and four trials were funded by homeopathy makers. For Oscillococcinum, a remedy made from duck heart and liver diluted 200 times, two prevention trials with 327 adults found no clear drop in flu-like illness. Two low-quality treatment trials reported more people feeling better at 48 hours, but the difference was gone by day four, and the reviewers called the evidence not compelling. No homeopathic product is approved by the FDA, and none has been reviewed by the FDA for safety or effectiveness.
- Hawke K, King D, van Driel ML, McGuire TM. Homeopathic medicinal products for preventing and treating acute respiratory tract infections in children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2022;12(12):CD005974. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD005974.pub6. PMID: 36511520. PMCID: PMC9746041
- Mathie RT, Frye J, Fisher P. Homeopathic Oscillococcinum for preventing and treating influenza and influenza-like illness. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2015;1:CD001957. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001957.pub6. PMID: 25629583. PMCID: PMC6726585
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Homeopathy: What You Need To Know. Last updated April 2021
- US Food and Drug Administration. Homeopathic Products. Content current as of January 17, 2025