What is Lac humanum?

Lac humanum is a homeopathic remedy. It is made from human breast milk. The Latin name is Lac Homo sapiens, and it is also called human breast milk.

The milk is diluted over and over in water and alcohol. Each step is shaken hard. At 30C, a common strength, not one molecule of the milk is left.

Homeopaths choose it for a person's mood and life story, not for a named disease. Common themes are feeling cut off from other people, low self-worth, and strain between a mother and her child.

Here is the plain verdict. Trials do not show that it works better than a dummy pill (placebo). Its use in homeopathy is real and written down, but traditional use is not proof that something works.

How does Lac humanum work?

The honest answer is that it is not clear it does anything at all.

Homeopathy rests on two old ideas. The first is that a thing which causes a symptom can also treat it. The second is that shaking and diluting makes a remedy act more strongly.

Neither idea fits what we know about the body. At 30C there is no milk left to act on you. Any change people feel is likely the placebo effect, which means feeling better because you expect to.

Homeopaths match this remedy to the person, not to a test result. That match comes from case notes and provings, not from trials.

What forms does Lac humanum come in?

It comes in a few simple forms.

The most common is small round pills or pellets made of lactose (milk sugar) or cane sugar. Liquid drops in water and alcohol are also sold. Some homeopaths make it up to order for one patient.

Strengths are written as 6C, 30C, 200C or LM. The higher the number, the more times it was diluted. Shops most often stock 30C.

Where it comes from:

This is a newer remedy, not an old one.

Homeopathy began with Samuel Hahnemann in Germany around 1796. Milk remedies from animals such as the dog and the cow were added during the 1800s.

Human milk was tested and written up by homeopaths in the 1990s. A proving is a record of what healthy people report while taking a remedy. So the remedy has a real but short record, held within one tradition.

What does Lac humanum help with?

• Feeling cut off or left out: This is the main theme homeopaths link to the remedy. It comes from provings and case notes, not from trials. No study has tested it for this.
• Low self-worth: Homeopathic texts describe a person who feels small or not good enough. There is no trial evidence. Talking therapy has good evidence and should come first.
• Strain between a mother and her child: Homeopaths report using it when the bond feels broken or too tight. This is case reporting only. Family support services are the tested route.
• Worry and clinginess in children: Used by some homeopaths for a child who cannot bear to be apart from a parent. No trials support it. Tell your doctor if a child's worry stops normal life.
• Low mood after giving birth: Sometimes offered for sadness after birth. There is no evidence it helps. Low mood after birth can get serious fast, so speak to a midwife or doctor.
• Worries about breastfeeding and milk supply: Homeopaths have used it for milk that is too little or too much. No trial backs this. A feeding specialist or midwife can check the latch and the baby's weight.
• Long-running itchy skin rashes: Reported in some case notes for eczema-type rashes. No study has tested it. Creams and doctor-led care have real evidence.

Which foods are rich in Lac humanum?

1. Human breast milk: the source of the remedy, though a 30C pill holds none of it

What are the side effects of Lac humanum?

• Most people notice nothing at all
• Wind or a loose stomach from the milk sugar in the pills
• A sting in the mouth from the alcohol in liquid drops
• A short flare of old symptoms, which homeopaths call an aggravation; it is not proven to come from the remedy
• A rash, in the rare case that you react to the pill base
• Lost time, which is the real risk: an illness can grow worse while you wait

Good to know:

Direct harm from the remedy itself is very unlikely. At 30C there is no milk left, so there is little that could act on you.

The pills are mostly sugar. A tiny amount of lactose (milk sugar) is in most of them. That is fine for nearly everyone, but not for people with galactosaemia, a rare illness where the body cannot handle milk sugar.

The bigger danger is what you might not do. If you use this instead of care that works, a treatable problem can get worse.

How much Lac humanum should you take?

• Recommended daily: No dose has been set by any health body, because no trial has found an effect. In practice, homeopaths often give 3 to 5 pills of a 30C strength, or a few drops of the liquid. Many give one single dose and then wait. Do not take it in place of a medicine your doctor has prescribed.
• Best time of day: There is no proven best time. Homeopaths often suggest first thing in the morning or at bedtime, away from food and drink.
• With or without food: Usually taken on an empty mouth, about 15 minutes before or after food or drink. The pills are meant to melt under the tongue.
• Time to effect: No reliable time frame exists. Homeopaths may say hours to weeks. Since trials show no effect beyond placebo, any change you feel may come from other causes.
• How long to take it: Keep any trial of it short. Two to four weeks is plenty. If nothing has changed by then, stop and think again. If your symptom is getting worse at any point, stop and see a doctor.