# Homeopathy



## jimmyd0g (Oct 22, 2009)

Anybody got any thoughts on homeopathy? Mrs j. strongly believes in it, as does her son. From my own dealings with a homeopath (at Mrs j.'s behest) I feel that it is pseudo-science mixed with hope. Has anybody on here used a homeopath & seen an improvement in a medical condition that could not be obtained via conventional medicine?


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

Smoke and mirrors!

But....the power of the human mind is still the unknown quantity.


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## suedew (May 10, 2005)

look at the ages of the royals, and how seldom they appear to have serious illnesses or hospital stays.
Good advert for homeopathy.
Have used it with mixed results, was very good as an alternative to HRT which I couldn't tolerate. Not so effective for myasthma though
Sue


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

I don't believe in it. I think the " science" behind it is bogus and those who pay considerable amounts for bottles of distilled water are wasting their money.

However....I remember when my nephew was a toddler and bumped his forehead bringing up a huge purple bump. My sister( a firm believer in it all) dabbed it with a homeopathic dose of arnica and the bruise went down before our eyes.

No, I can't explain it either. My nephew was far too young to believe in it, the bump went down far faster than I would have predicted if full strength arnica had been used and no bruise was left.

G


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## suedew (May 10, 2005)

Grizzly said:


> I don't believe in it. I think the " science" behind it is bogus and those who pay considerable amounts for bottles of distilled water are wasting their money.
> 
> However....I remember when my nephew was a toddler and bumped his forehead bringing up a huge purple bump. My sister( a firm believer in it all) dabbed it with a homeopathic dose of arnica and the bruise went down before our eyes. G


My homeopathic treatment was in tablet form and cost less than a conventional prescription

Arnica is excellent for stopping bruising, can't remember how it works and can't be bothered to 'do a search' (Sorry Jezport)  
Could have done with an industrial sized tube for when i slid downstairs on my back a couple of mornings ago  :lol: 
Sue


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## jimmyd0g (Oct 22, 2009)

Further to my o/p, one of Mrs j.'s closest friends is a homeopath, she also teaches homeopaths & lectures on the subject at university. A couple of days ago, said lady's car was hit from behind a traffic lights. I asked if a visit had been made to A & E for a check up & was told 'Annette will be OK, she will give herself a remedy'. So, the years of training plus on job experience, of conventional doctors are dismissed, whilst one's immediate health is down to a 'remedy' that contains who knows what active ingredient.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

suedew said:


> Arnica is excellent for stopping bruising,
> Sue


Full strength arnica is very good ( as anyone who read the _What Katy Did _ books in their childhood will remember !) but my sister used it in a homeopathic dose; ie about one drop to a swimming pool of water.

G


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## suedew (May 10, 2005)

Don't forget that some homeopaths are also trained in conventional medicine.
Don't understand Faith healing either, but know it works for some people.
Can remember when acupuncture was condemned as having no basis in fact/science. Now availableon the NHS and can be very effective. 
If something works,whether we know how or why we shouild give it a chance.
Sue (RGN/RSCN)


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

One of my customers sons was given three months to live by the cancer specialist. He had advanced pancreatic cancer.
After three months he saw a homeopath. He lived for another three years.
I think the mind over matter aproach helped him greatly.

Dave p


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## mangolover (Mar 13, 2010)

Placebo power!


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## SpeedyDux (Jul 13, 2007)

If you truly believe in homeopathy it may work for you - same as the placebo effect can work for some people. Otherwise it is just voodoo science. 

I'm not saying all forms of alternative therapy are ineffective. Just homeopathy - didn't work for me anyway.


SD


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## grizzlyj (Oct 14, 2008)

jimmyd0g said:


> Further to my o/p, one of Mrs j.'s closest friends is a homeopath, she also teaches homeopaths & lectures on the subject at university. A couple of days ago, said lady's car was hit from behind a traffic lights. I asked if a visit had been made to A & E for a check up & was told 'Annette will be OK, she will give herself a remedy'. So, the years of training plus on job experience, of conventional doctors are dismissed, whilst one's immediate health is down to a 'remedy' that contains who knows what active ingredient.


Hi

I thought the whole thing was the fact that it has been so diluted that there won't be any active ingredient in it at all?!

I've had acupuncture from a Physio with other treatment and I'd say it helped. I've also been hypnotised, and been trained to do it, which does nothing for my hayfever at all but has had a big effect with a few other things, which felt weird but really good at the time. It revolutionised my wifes approach to scuba diving overnight. Homeopathy is next on the list to try!

Has anyone read The Field by Lynne McTaggart? Or anything else by her? Perhaps to be taken with a pinch of salt but still interesting.

Jason


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## Suenliam (Mar 22, 2006)

Being a doubting Thomas I really feel homeopathy should not work, but I know people who swear by it. I can't explain how some Vets use it to good effect on animals either :? 

Sue


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

There is no science in Homeopathy. Any parallel between taking a homeopathic remedy & being "cured" is nothing to do with what you've taken. 

Homeopaths will recite add infinitum/nauseum the trials that "support" their theories. The validity of the vast majority can easily be called into question. Scientific research into medicine has to be done with large groups, double blind & properly randomised trials. Everything peer reviewed. Homeopathy does'nt pass the test.

If you'd like a short synopsis, go & have a read of a book by Ben Goldacre. It's called "Bad Science" & will explain in laymans terms why homeopathy is pure hokum.

If believeing in this sort of thing is doing anyone any good, I'm delighted for them. I personally see it in the same lght as deitys, the afterlife & faries.

That is all.

£0.02

D.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Nobody has seen fit to mention that a lot of modern medicines have come from the old way of herbs and plants.

cabby


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

cabby said:


> Nobody has seen fit to mention that a lot of modern medicines have come from the old way of herbs and plants.
> 
> cabby


This is indeed true but the active ingredient in these herbs etc is usually used in medicinal quanitities eg an infusion of willow bark was made by boiling up the bark and the whole infusion was then drunk.

Nowadays we can synthesise the active ingredients and make aspirin tablets which are much easier to deal with when you have a headache.

Homeopaths would have us believe that 2 molecules of the willow bark infusion gives "memory" to the bucket loads water with which they dilute it and that this is effective.

I've not taught molecular chemistry for more years than I care to remember to believe rubbish like this !

G


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

I wonder if I could drop one spot of diesel in a swimming pool full of water, and run the van on it for the next 20 years or so?? :? 

As analogies go, this one is not soooooooo far off!!

Dave


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

I was offered homeopathy treatment, but I turned it down.



I didn't want to be turned into a pathetic ****  



Apologies to all my gay oppos :wink:


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Spacerunner said:


> I was offered homeopathy treatment, but I turned it down.
> I didn't want to be turned into a pathetic ****
> Apologies to all my gay oppos :wink:


What made you change your mind then Spacey?

Dave :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

Being a typical motorhomer, I have a mortal fear of being rear-ended. :lol: :lol:


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## SPACEFLOWER (Oct 22, 2006)

Idid not know he had {and hve been married to him for over forty years}  :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## dikyenfo (Feb 16, 2008)

I did have ,a few years ago a problem with some sort of spot lergy which developed into being covered with spota all over except hands and face. When I was on the beach people wend in a circle to avoid me and the hospital cut bits off me and I had the usual strip-downs for examinations once in public when the door was left open and the result was they had no idea what it was.
My wife ,bless, took me to a **** jobbie and it took a long time until she came to some conclusion and I had various pills to take in a specific order and time.
I told the woman that it was all scallops and I did not think any of this was any use as I had been getting worse for 7 years. However SHE INDOORS said take 'em -so I did.
I went back after 3 weeks and stripped off again and there were no spots which surprised said expert. She duly said that she could fix the whatever permantly and more pills at various times again.
To this day after 20 years they have never returned and something went on that doctors coult fix so I have been forced to admit that there is something that maybe works after all.


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

Zebedee said:


> [
> What made you change your mind then Spacey?
> 
> Dave :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


HA!! The penny just dropped.

Wait till I see you down the wine bar! :evil: :lol: :lol:


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## geordie01 (Apr 20, 2006)

i used to suffer terrible hay fever nothing the doctors gave me worked.
was in a chemist one day and got my eye on a homeo remedy and thought why not nothing to loose. never had hay fever since and that was 15 years ago. mentioned it to a guy in a pub once and he tried it and it worked


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## jimmyd0g (Oct 22, 2009)

Almost as a follow-on thought to my original post, if homeopathy is successful, as some say, why do conventional doctors train for so long before even getting on the bottom rung of the career ladder? Why not just train as a homeopath instead?


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Spacerunner said:


> HA!! The penny just dropped.
> Wait till I see you down the wine bar! :evil: :lol: :lol:


I can hardly wait for that pint of distilled water with it's distant memory of a John Smith's beer molecule!! 8O :lol: :lol:

Dave


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## vmeldrew (May 3, 2007)

Our son had terrible eczema, virtually from birth, which developed into allergy asthma and by the time he started grammar school he was being prescribed with stronger inhalers and antibiotics. We could not have plants in the house, had to have carpets without pile, he could not tolerate animals or dairy products, my wife could not put perfume on until we had left the house.

After taking him to a homeopath, a qualified MD, he could do without his inhalers within a very short time and could soon tolerate all the other things including having a dog as a pet. He is now 35 and the only symtoms he ever has is the odd sneezing fit if something like perfume irritates him.

You could say he simply grew out of it, but it was a very quick recovery and some coincidence.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

vmeldrew said:


> Our son had terrible eczema, virtually from birth, which developed into allergy asthma and by the time he started grammar school he was being prescribed with stronger inhalers and antibiotics. .......You could say he simply grew out of it, but it was a very quick recovery and some coincidence.
> .


I'm not suggesting this is true in your son's case but, when I taught at a boarding school at least 5 new boys out of the intake of 15 or so into my house each year used to come with asthma, eczema and other auto-immune allergies. Within a week of the beginning of term I can guarantee that all but one or two of them had stopped using their inhaler or asking for any other medication.

G


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## chickann (Sep 17, 2010)

jimmyd0g said:


> Almost as a follow-on thought to my original post, if homeopathy is successful, as some say, why do conventional doctors train for so long before even getting on the bottom rung of the career ladder? Why not just train as a homeopath instead?


can only think of one thing, money.


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## busterbears (Sep 4, 2010)

I think so much depends on the person and their approach to any illness/condition etc.

Not all medical treatments work the same for everybody, producing different reactions.

2 examples

Hayfever - got antihistamines from GP when really bad, knocked me out completely, missed about 3 days of my life and did nothing to help the hay fever. Have used homeopathic remedy for years very effectively.

Tennis Elbow (particularly bad case lasted 3 years) - steriod injections didn't impact, fluid removal from joint didn't help, anti inflammatory tablets and topical creams made no difference either, physio suggested accupuncture, first attempt a disaster, once all needles in the affected arm, horrible red blotches appeared on the other arm mirroring the placement of the needles, spooky!

hope you find something that works for you


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## ardgour (Mar 22, 2008)

Yes I have tried homeopathy - prescribed by a homeopath who is also a qualified GP - and it worked despite my scepticism.
In my case it was a severe allergy to horses (which began in childhood after having anti-tetanus serum which was horse serum based), after a month on the little white pills I could go in to the stable and groom a horse without any symptoms. My daughter had a severe and lasting reaction to the BCG vaccine which was resolved by 3 homeopathic doses of tuberculin. 
Just because our current level of scientific knowledge cannot explain it does not mean it is not true.
People cite the 'evidence' for conventional medical treatment but remember that much of it does not have a good basis in evidence
At least homeopathic treatments are low cost and cause no harm, the fact that the medical establishment attack them so viciously suggests to me they are feeling insecure

Chris


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## mangolover (Mar 13, 2010)

*Placebo effect...*

http://www.badscience.net/2007/11/a-kind-of-magic/


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## andyandsue (Sep 7, 2008)

*facts facts facts*

read the excellent " BAD SCIENCE" by Ben Goldachre he sucessfully defended him self against the big pill pushing companies n the high court, hes a GP and writes well on the subject


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## grizzlyj (Oct 14, 2008)

How many people who have posted such black and white "its bogus" type responses would absolutely refuse such a treatment if other things (even from your years of training GP) hadn't been successful?

As I suggested in my earlier post my wife had real problems learning to scuba dive. She really wanted to so that she could join me, but having paid for the course they were very patient, so she spent months going every week, kitted up but could not jump in. Floods of tears in her mask, and deeply upset.

I don't think many GP's would have much of an idea of how to get her past that? Anti-depressants?!?

There is a lot of info about how homeopathy has worked on humans and animals as has been mentioned. Theres a lot about how it can't work too. So no one can definitely say it doesn't work. The Earth was definitely flat until it wasn't, and even then I'd imagine a lot of learned people disagreed 

How can you have a Homeopathic GP? Doesn't the years at med school teach them that something unproven within that sphere simply can't work?

Grizzlys comment on kids entering boarding school suddenly not needing their inhalors, well where did the inhalors come from if not the extensively trained GP? Prescribing drugs to kids who subsequently proved they absolutely didn't need them? They must be quacks! The badscience article above (and the Lancet version, which is hardly different anyway) reads to me like someone firmly enshrined inside the fortress of Medicine not liking the smallfry outside the walls who don't conform to his model of the world. It doesn't prove anything, he just points out that many people aren't strictly honest (and he's paid to be a journalist commenting on pseudoscience, so if he didn't say all that he wouldn't get paid! )

Jason


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## jonesy1 (Sep 28, 2008)

Thank you mangolover.  I found the bad science article interesting, 

and puts my own feelings about homeopathy into an academic 

context, something I am not capable of doing. What I would like to 

see is someone who prescribes homeopathic remedies deal with 

the issues raised, point by point. Are there any takers?

jonesy1


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## ardgour (Mar 22, 2008)

Why do people get so heated about this subject? We have freedom of choice in this country and if an individual chooses to use homeopathy, or conventional medicine, that is their choice - and before anyone screams about misleading claims of effectiveness just remember that conventional medicine is riddled with misleading and 'bad' science. 
It is only recently as people have used freedom of information requests that we are starting to uncover just how much smoke and mirrors is involved in the mainstream medical treatments - Ben Goldacre conveniently ignores this, the amount of fraud in medical research is proving to be scarily high. He also takes a simplistic view of 'good' evidence, I used to think a meta-analysis was a good way of reviewing the known evidence till I was shown how to design a meta-analysis that would give the outcome you want.
If people want to use homeopathy, regardless of the evidence or lack of it, that is their decision, equally if they want to believe it is mumbo jumbo that is also their choice.


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## Westbay (Mar 15, 2008)

Some of you lot are just too sceptical. I have a couple of homeopathic treatments I swear by:

Shy, frighten of going out and meeting people? 

My ‘No fear’ pill is a c30 dilution. The water that it is made from once had a single molecule that, in AD 1200 Genghis Khan pee’d into a mighty Mongolian river while turning to a cohort and remarking “Well, that’s Kara-Khitan Khanate, Caucasus and the Khwarezmid finished off – what’s this afternoon got for us?”


Too aggressive, violent nature? 

The ‘Pacifier’ pill might be the one for you. Again there might be one molecule in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 that remembers passing the Sangam at Allahabad when Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s ashes were immersed on 12 February 1948.

All positively guaranteed to work.


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