a lot of people think "homeopathic" means "herbal,"

Yeah, this is why the people I know who've used homeopathic stuff have used it. I thought so myself until well past college, and so did other smart people I know.

I know another smart person who just grabs a bunch of stuff from the shelf when he's sick, in the hopes that something will work, and so he's got homeopathic stuff in his medicine cabinet along with the rest. I don't think his strategy is unreasonable; sure, he ends with some duds, but it's worth it to him to not spend ages standing there puzzling over the minute differences between brands like I've been known to do.