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homeopathic medicine

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jomifl | 17:11 Wed 26th Oct 2011 | Science
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Since the putative active ingredient in homeopathic medicine is diluted to statistical non -existence the adherents to this kind of therapy have explained that the curative properties reside in the memory of water(yeah right). Any comments?
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https://www.helios.co.uk/ This company, picked at random from a Google search, has the following quote on the first page of their website.

"to create a new source of potent, accurate and effective homeopathic remedies to bring about profound healing and relief of suffering".

They refer to 'remedies'.

Now unless my grasp of English isn't what I thought it was (and I know I'm repeating myself), remedies are cures.

They are suggesting they can provide cures.

I find this very dangerous.
as most people won't pay one penny out for any healthcare
'i work occasionally in a hospice and reflexology, relaxation and t'ai chi is really effective with palliative cases! '

^^^ Agreed. But none of those have anything to do with homeopathy and I don't think should be put on the same level as it. I don't think anyone has tried to cure HIV with t'ai chi.
certainly a worry if people don't get proper advice, but as most people won't pay one single penny out for any healthcare, because they think the NHS should provide everything free, we are quite safe!
is anyone in the UK trying to cure HIV with homoepathic remedies in the UK then? that certainly would inethical and worrying!
So as long as it's not happening in the UK it's ok? LazyGun made a really good point about homeopathic remedies being used in Africa to treat malaria and HIV and that I absolutely don't agree with. And Flip made a good point too about the use of the word 'remedy' and the link he used was for a UK site.
Cath, I was laughing at the idea the feeling somewhere on your foot could cure a headache!
Cath I fear that homeopaths do profess a cure for cancer

http://www.cancure.org/homeopathy.htm

"One approach is to use homeopathic remedies to target the tumors themselves. In this case, the homeopath selects remedies which match the symptom picture of the tumor itself (e.g. Conium Maculatum for hard immovable tumors that develop slowly). Homeopaths using this approach might also consider other symptoms (such as the individual’s food cravings, disposition, etc), but their primary focus is to target the tumor and reverse its growth. Some physician homeopaths also give remedies at the tumor site itself (in the form of an injection) to more aggressively stimulate a response."

At least in the US - it might be different here, I just did a quick search

Doesn't this worry you?

It worries me

Wild claims like this for homeopathy are one of the really big problems with allowing it to be practiced.

If this site were professing such success with pharmacuticals that hadn't had stringent controls and double blind tests they'd be closed down.
The country is full of graveyards whose residents pinned their hopes of being a homeopathic cure!
Homeopathy is a potentially very dangerous pseudo-science with no foundation in fact. Practitioners who have tentatively submitted their findings in acclaimed scientific journals, have had their claims subsequently ridiculed by their peers. Furthermore, some of the dilution figures are scientifically impossible to achieve.

Biochemically, the effect of a single molecule of a given chemical compound in a mammalian body is nothing higher than nil. We are all walking about with a good number of cyanide molecules and hundreds of other toxic substances in the body with no adverse effects.
One simple question to ask proponents of homeopathy:
how do you go about cleaning the dilution equipment after each use ?
Every time it is rinsed and washed, the residues (if any ?) will become more potent.
Also, we must not forget the role of "succussion" in the dilution process.
Would the "remedy" be less or more effective if it were tapped say 12 times after each dilution, rather than the prescribed 10 ? And what if you tap it against something other than the leather pad ?

The more you analyse it, the more ridiculous the whole thing becomes.
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Thanks to all for your contributions, strangely, considering how popular it is supposed to be there haven't been any posts supporting homeopathy, perhaps I should re-post it under religion. I have a few friends who are convinced it works and I am amazed at how apparently intelligent people are so easily swayed by anecdotal 'proof'. One is an artist and seems to think she understands the scientific method better than me. I wouldn't dream of telling her how to paint.
I thought cathfromsaron was supporting it?
Steve Jobs tried homeopathy for cancer; didn't work.

However, I know people who say it works for them on various ailments; it doesn't do so for me, but that doesn't mean I can deny their experience.
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'I think there is something in it' is possibly on the positive side of neutral, I agree, but hardly enthusiastic.
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Hi Jomifl -

Surely the main argument for any subject like this is whether the effects can be proven scientifically. 'Conventional' medicine is proven to work on the molecular level by affecting hormone release, the chemical properties of cells etc. Adherents of homeopathic medicine offer no mechanism or proof of how that branch of medicine scientifically affects the body or mind. The placebo affect has been proven in tests to be very powerful and that's the only way in which homeopathy can function.

Homeopathy seems to be reduced to a belief. There's a similar argument put forward by those who believe in astrology. They swear blind that star signs affect peoples' character and fortune, yet they can offer no mechanism by which the position of heavenly bodies can actually affect a person on Earth. They just resort to phrases such as "Well, they do!"

My aunt and her husband only accept homeopathic treatment. Not only that, but they drive more than 100 miles each way to take their dogs to a homeopathic vet! I can't understand that.
People's personal experience is a very strong factor in what they believe.

For example the other night I went to bed with an incredibly sore throat - when I woke up it had gone.

Had someone convinced me to try a homeopathic cure before I went to bed and had I not had a scientific training ( remember many people slept through Science at school) I would doubtlessly be convinced.

You won't convince such people by rational arguments about trials because they've often spent a lot of time telling everybody how great it is.

They're emotionally invested in the same way that climate change skeptics or people of a political persuasion are.

But that can be a benefit with homeopathy because it helps the placebo effect and I think we can exploit that as a treatment.

The really really important thing is that we strictly regulate to ensure it can only be oferred as a pain reduction technique and stop the dangerous practices of offering it as a cure for major ailments.

Meantime we have to keep kids more engaged in Science lessons
I believe there is a mechanism in astrology to affect the nature of the person. If everyone kept telling you that you were of a particular nature because of your birthdate and then treated you like that as well it could have an effect, particularly is the notion was widespread in your culture.
Steve Jobs had pancreatic cancer. This disease usually has a very poor prognosis with very low survival rates beyond a few months.

On the other hand it was a particular type that is not so fast. My ex had this type. She is still going a decade on but she has had three surgical interventions, chemotherapy, naturopathy, intravenous vitamin C, ayahuasca and anything else she thought might be worth a try.

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