Why does Homeopathy seem to irk skeptics the most?

Just remember marijuana is "natural" and so aren't many plants and animals that if you eat them you die.

 

todays marijuana is not natural. it has been selectively bred to produce a higher THC content.

but point taken - belladonna, which was a common remedy for a number of conditions in earlier times, is from deadly nightshade. and there are numerous remedies that, if taken in excess, can cause severe illness and even death.

same as many modern medications.

 

The 'natural' fad irks me more than homeopathy, at times. Anthrax is natural, cancer is natural, typhoons and ice ages are natural. Television is artificial, cars are artificial, many life-saving medicines and surgical procedures are artificial. Natural does NOT mean good.

 

It tastes vile. Why would you inflict it on a toddler?

Well, no. It didn't make my cold sore better.

 

You obviously got an insufficient dose.

 

Manuka Honey -- possibly very good
Caudal epidural -- a miracle as far as I am concerned . Though not really alternative .

 

Ah! I wasn't aware that Merck* - one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies - dabbled in homeopathy but it doesn't particularly surprise me. No doubt it's a nice little earner for them.

Ingredients
Calc. Fluor. (Calcium Fluoride) 6X,Calc. Phos. (Calcium Phosphate B.P.C.) 6X,Ferr. Phos (Iron Phosphate B.P.C) 6X,Mag. Phos (Magnesium Phosphate B.P.C. 1949) 6X,Silica (Silicon Dioxide) 6X, Lactose

Interestingly, the various ingredients of this particular remedy are only diluted by 10^6, so the chances of actually getting a molecule of them on one of the pillules is somewhat higher than the more usual homeopathic dilutions. However, the most important ingredient is undoubtedly the last one on the list: lactose - the sugar the pillules are made of. Sucrose solution is commonly given to infants for pain relief. Basically, you're giving the kid a very expensive sugar. Any relief the baby may feel as a result of this remedy has nothing whatever to do with homeopathy.



*From the website: Seven Seas is a Merck Company
Registered in England under Co No:00351663

 

I think that's rather understating it. At a concentration of 1 in a million, if you take a pill weighing a gram or two you are certain to get very many molecules of the ingredients. Sometimes people underestimate just how tiny most molecules are - they're not all the size of DNA molecules. Some things are considered poisonous at lower concentrations.

But that's because this particular item has an unusually high concentration (or, to put it another way, "low potency") of the active ingredients, for a homeopathic medicine. By their own standards, this medicine ought to be next to useless, since it follows homeopathic nomenclature but uses the very weak 6C concentration.

 

Belladonna is/was the basis for Atropine - a bloody useful drug

 

bloody useful - as well as extremely toxic.

of course, its like a lot of other things - in very low doses (maybe not as low as homeopathic doses!) they may be beneficial, but at higher doses they may be toxic.

even dietary supplements .... lols I am sure you could point to the down side of having too much iron, too much vitamin B etc as well as the downside of too much atropine much better than I ever could!

 

It works far better than a kiss and cuddle and is a lot cheaper and has fewer side effects than calpol

Try it.

 

It is amazing how pervasive the placebo effect is, isn't it? And with infants you could well argue that there isn't really a moral downside to using placebos like there might be with adults.

 

An infant doesn't understand the placebo effect.

 

They certainly don't understand what is happening to them when the placebo effect takes place, that much is true. But it DOES effect them, make no mistake. There are reasons why trials need to be double-blind.

 

My brother was diagnosed diabetic in 1990. He read about all the side effects of the meds and decided to start a regimen of homeopathy and alternative treatment. He died horribly in 2001. Truth is, all medicine is toxic, that's how they work. People think that be taking the meds they can be cured but they ignore the other parts, you know, diet and exercise. The object is to get to the lowest dose possible. Any medicine or therapy that includes "clinically proven" on the label is spurious, you want to get well? Don't wait for the medicine to control your symptoms, your doctor doesn't have time to hold your hand, lose the weight, get on an effective diet (I like any of the Mediterranean diets) and do regular exercise. ie. take control of your own health because you're the reason things went south to begin with. Get on the internet and read, you know those pamphlets and classes the doctor offered? Yeah, you know, use them. Homeopathic meds are a cynical joke companies use to prey on lazy people. Other examples are spurious claims of vitamins (some are good), books like the Whitaker Wellness Group put out, and nearly all the diet pills sold on TV.

 

My kids did fine on Calpol and are now healthy adults. What's the price difference with Calpol? I find it hard to believe it's "a lot cheaper" when so many Seven Seas products are so expensive.

 

Homeopathy is very good and this drudge is not having any side effects

 

I think you meant to say that homeopathy is crap and doesn't have any effects beyond placebo.

 

Perhaps you missed the title of his post... "not."

 

Yeah, I did. Apologies HP.

 

You do understand the meaning of placebo effect?

People get better because they believe they are taking something that will make them better.

Explain how a baby would know that.

 

They obviously do not. However, babies DO know body language. That is one of the reasons double-blind tests exist - people administering medications and/or placebos can influence the outcome of a test even when they do not say a word. That is a known fact.