Homeopathy
Posted by admin on Nov 13, 2008
A look at one of the largest organised ‘alternative’ medicines…
Some interesting YouTube videos on the topic…
James Randi talks about Homeopathy…
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BWE1tH93G9U
The study into Homeopathic medicines…
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z1QFZcnAi4&feature=related
The investigation into Homeopathy and malaria preventatives…
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=s1UJ_qGZ24k&feature=related
And a special thanks to TMTGAU for providing me with some more links to information and opinion on homeopathy…
Part 1…
http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=40
Part 2…
http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=403
A video debunking Homeopathy (goes for 2 hrs!)…
http://mediasite.uchc.edu/Mediasite41/Viewer/Viewers/Viewer240TR.aspx?mode=Default&peid=407916ea-6301-4ede-b04f-c3650e4073a7&pid=cb4535b1-6610-4f6f-9c47-89f4114476ec&playerType=WM64Lite#
Duration : 0:7:35
Not all medicine …
Not all medicine works for all people, be it allergy, misdiagnosis, or other. A perfect example of this is anti-psychotics to treat schizophrenia. My best friend is schizophrenic, and the method of medication is purely trial and error. Some things work, many don’t, some make it worse. He’s on pretty good meds now, no psychotic episodes, and he still functions well enough to study at uni.
I don’t see a difference between mainstream and alternative medicine though. If it works, it’s medicine
The short answer is …
The short answer is that they contain a natural protien that adjusts my immune system to reduce how severely it attacks the myelin sheath.
I’d take any treatment proven to work… I’ve never actually heard of bioresonance.
I’m against unproven treatments being offered alongside or in lieu of actual tested treatments
…for just the …
…for just the reasons you state; when tested most homeopathic preparations are almost completely made of water. It does to me seem rediculous that you can charge someone for bottles of water and they can claim it on medicare or whatever.
Alternative medicine should be able to exist alongside Western mainstream medicine but it needs to be tested independently. Some people do find that the mainstream medical remedies don’t help or make their conditions worse and something else is the answer.
Chinese hampster …
Chinese hampster ovaries?
I really wonder what in particular it is in the ovaries of Chinese hampsters that relieves the symptoms and slows the onset of MS? Is it hormonal, is it something more nutritional? Curious and very odd!
By the way, would you like a homeopathic treatment? *braces to avoid spit in the eye*
My parents in law work using bioresonance (which is used by GP’s as normal treatment in Germany and is particularly effective for allergies) and they are very against homeopathy…
Great video. …
Great video. Homeopathy can sometimes work. It’s called “diversional therapy” or the ‘placebo effect’. Or my preferred favourite that is just as effective - “going out into the backyard and throwing a ball to a dog” therapy. Just as effective and far cheaper.
I class homeopathy the same as praying - deluding yourself you are doing something when in fact you are doing nothing.
i think it is best …
i think it is best to get the treatment. in any case, it is wiser to plan than to pray. prayer is a horrible waste of time better spent planning an outcome. (although, meditation may be useful in certain circumstances).
Apparently …
Apparently homeopathy is only as good as a placebo, it’s benefits are minimal to none… however when Harvard Medical school investigated prayer, they found that those openly prayed for fared mildly (though significantly) worse than those who were not openly prayed for… prayer reduces your chances of recovery, while homeopathy simply does nothing whatsoever.
I think maybe prayer is the poor-man’s homeopathy
i thought when you …
i thought when you had a problem (disease or injury), all you have to do is pray?!
The placebo effect …
The placebo effect does have some benefit medicine, for example in drug rehabilitation.
That said, it is still something that should only be employed by trained medical practitioners, not quacks with no qualifications, selling snake-oil.
“if it helps me …
“if it helps me stop smoking, it’s all the same to me.”
Fair enough. This is a case where the result matters more to you than the truth.
I guess homeopathy is useless to us - as we know it’s just water, so we can’t even get a placebo effect from it.
I’ve heard arguments that using the placebo effect has a legitimate place in medicine - but personally - I’d rather not be lied to.
Don’t give me a sugar-pill and a lie - just give the situation to me straight.
“The problem with …
“The problem with the placebo effect, is that it only effects symptoms, not causes, and the effect is only temporary”
I think that criticism could be made of certain evidence-based medicines too. They presumably get on the market because they are effective at treating the symptoms - they’re not all necessarily targeting root causes, as root causes aren’t always known.
Unfortunately, this is a criticism you hear alternative-medicine proponents exaggerating to try to sell quack cures.
A few weeks ago, I …
A few weeks ago, I was quitting smoking (again), and had a nicotine patch on. Someone pointed out that in one trial, they fared barely better than placebo patches with no nicotine.
I told him that even if it is only a placebo effect, if it helps me stop smoking, it’s all the same to me.
The same could be said for things that reduce symptoms of minor ailments, like colds. The problem with the placebo effect, is that it only effects symptoms, not causes, and the effect is only temporary
“But placebo’s …
“But placebo’s don’t cure cancer, and they don’t prevent anthrax”
This is the worry - if people are tricked into believing homeopathy works, because of placebo effects - then how are they going to know that it can’t cure more serious ailments?
I think by allowing it at all, we’re potentially setting people up for a dangerous fail.
“I’ve always said …
“I’ve always said that if it’s a placebo, but it works, it’s not really a placebo…”
You’ve kinda lost me there! A placebo ‘working’ is the placebo effect - which in my understanding is a combination of people getting better anyway, along with positive effects on the immune system from things like reduced stress from thinking they have received medication.
I’ve always said …
I’ve always said that if it’s a placebo, but it works, it’s not really a placebo…
But placebo’s don’t cure cancer, and they don’t prevent anthrax, they only provide a temporary relief of symptoms, never a cure.
If homeopathy only dealt with treating colds & flu, it wouldn’t be an issue.
It’s when they risk the health and lives of people who simply don’t know better, in the name of making a quick profit, that they really me off
It’s astounding the …
It’s astounding the number of people who believe in this. People that I thought were reasonably sensible fall for this crap. (some in my family - who see through religion but not pseudo-medicine it seems)
The thing is - as a placebo delivery mechanism it could be quite effective.. especially if delivered by someone who takes time to listen to the patient and talk to them in a caring manner.
Placebos are one thing… but yeah - giving this credibility is just stupid.
I agree, Homeopathy …
I agree, Homeopathy is bullshit!