Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[GypsyRoseLee]

I'm not decrying or attacking anyone. I am just stating there is no scientific evidence to support the fact homeopathy works.

I know lots of people 'believe' in homeopathy. Lots of people 'believe' in God etc. As for the Royal family using it, what is that meant to demonstrate exactly? None of them are trained scientists are they?

[GypsyRoseLee]

Daisydot - my daughter suffered endless ear infections when she was very little. Something to do with her adenoids growing faster than the rest of her. Her GP said she would grow out of it, when the rest of her body caught up. And she did. She hasn't had another ear infections since she started nursery at 2.5 years.

[CLKD]

It is interesting to have some Research, wonder who funded it?  I have tried to read many Papers etc. but didn't understand them, I also typed many and again ....... it actually made it easier to type them 

[GypsyRoseLee]

Right so very thorough scientific tests have shown that homeopathy is purely placebo. Which is exactly what I have been saying all along.

[GypsyRoseLee]

Hasty, I have said in two posts on this thread that 'the power if the psyche on the body is phenomenal' and that 'there's nowt wrong with a placebo if it works'.

So I acknowledge the power of placebo and applaud its effect.

[dangermouse]

I suspect it's placebo to the same extent with drugs (about 50%) for those who think it's going to make them feel better, so not those who take without expectation or babies and animals but that it's main action is closer to immunology.

This was an interesting excerpt from the Italian Ministry of University Scientific and Technological Research:

“The Sense of Subtle Regulations:
The fact that the laboratory-revealed actions are often small [so higher but not significantly higher than placebo] should not be viewed as reducing the significance of findings because what counts in homeopathy is that a remedy is capable of ‘regulating' or ‘triggering' the body's response when it is on a far-from equilibrium state, and not that it acts as directly or dramatically as a chemical enzyme inhibitor. When the body is particularly sensitive, characterized by a high degree of instability and in the proximity of ‘bifurcation points' of its evolution, even a small influence could orient the entire homeodynamic system involved in the disease and thus become a determinant factor in the final result of the reaction. Complex systems typically include subsystems that amplify the small perturbations and chaotic dynamics known to require fine and repeated impulses rather than drastic changes. Such considerations are particularly true in the case of inflammation and the immune system, in which the same mechanisms can be used for defensive or offensive purposes (i.e. cure or self-destruction) depending on their site and the timing and entity of the reaction. This ‘double-faced' nature of the phenomena makes them susceptible to fine regulation.”

It can also depends on if you prefer a whole body ‘source of the problem' approach or a simpler treatment of symptoms as they crop up. The former will always take longer and cause flare ups but will more complete (as in when your immune system deals with a bacteria rather than antibiotics) and the latter will be fast and effective (certainly in the short term) but with side effects from the subtle effects it's pings onto the rest of the body.

[Hurdity]

The starting point for any medical remedy or treatment is whether there is any scientific basis or evidence that it has worked compared to placebo - otherwise anyone could take anything if a company or practitioner said that it worked  and sold it on this basis or as the next holy grail of treatment. Once this has been established (evidence of efficacy and lack of harm) then as has been said, placebo may play an important part in any cure or alleviation of symptoms along with the actual treatment being used.

I am sure it has been said earlier in the thread that for many conditions, relying on placebo can be dangerous - where real medical treatments eg replacement hormones where these are deficient (insulin, thyroxin), cancer treatments, certain immunisations etc to  name but a few.

Incidentally the Shang paper quoted earlier was a meta-analysis or review of other studies and is out of date now, although the findings do demonstrate a placebo effect as already stated.

If you want to see some more up to date reviews or comment on homeopathy here are some:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1800-studies-later-scientists-conclude-homeopathy-doesnt-work-180954534/
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2007/nov/16/sciencenews.g2
https://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/homeo.html
https://sciencebasedlife.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/homeopathy-is-nonsense-and-so-can-you/

I haven't read these.....

.....and finally - a few years ago on here similar discussions were had and some members got quite shirty (have since left!) - so much so that we almost had to have a section of the forum for the flat earth society, when it was suggested that science was getting in the way of free thinking, and had no place in the "alternatives" section! Hard to believe now and thank goodness those days have gone. However at the time someone sent me a quote  which I posted elsewhere and and in view of these discussions it does merit reposting.....

"Do you know what they call alternative medicine
That's been proved to work?
Medicine."

Tim Minchin

Luv2laff - I hope this thread answered your question and it has not dampened your cheerfulness and that you are still laffing!

Enjoy your weekend girls 

Hurdity

[CLKD]

Any date for the Italian Ministry info. dangermouse?

Relaxation therapy can help some people, my problem was, I couldn't find time to practice.  When I did so, within moments I would have a  on my lap and we would soon be asleep  but the effect gave my brain some rest.  That was in my worst years, the 1990s 

[dangermouse]

It was 2006, link is here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1375241/

Purr-therapy is my favourite alternative medicine!

[CLKD]

LOL - we have a new cat on the block, probably a Bengal  - he is brave enough to have a bit of fuss through our open window today  but I think he may become brave enough to leap through which won't please the other visiting cat  sorry I digress ........

Tnx dangermouse.  When less tired I hope to remember to have a read of your Link 

[bramble]

Hi, can anyone recommend a homeopathic med that I could take alongside my prescribed Sandrena? I also have a mirena coil for progesterone.
I'm hoping to find something homeopathic for libido. I also need to know whether it's ok to use homeopathic meds alongside prescription meds for menopause.
Thank you x

Can I just remind all of you who posted on this thread, just what the original poster asked. She did not ask whether homeopathy was right or wrong or even if it worked. She asked a simple question and it has turned into quite a fierce debate over whether it works or not, whether it can be proved scientifically etc etc.
What sort of impression is that to give a new member who has only made a few posts? I really do so hope she hasn't been scared off at the fact she has inadvertently opened a huge can of worms.
I suggest that if you want to continue the debate over the rights or wrongs of homeopathy, you start a  new thread.

Bramble

[Shadyglade]

Your quite right Bramble. Does not look like she has been on since the 3rd though.

[Claireylou]

Very well said Bramble 

[dangermouse]

Yes sorry, I did apologise for hijacking about my study dilemma! I think it's quite natural for threads to evolve though.

Hopefully my reply to the original question re how to treat libido with homeopathy was helpful, but advice on complementary/alternatives often gets challenged but really it should just be us saying what actually worked for us as that, certainly to me, is more valuable than any research trial!

Many women are helped with oestrogen HRT, which science supports, however, many women are not helped by it, which science fails to explain, so the doctors just say ‘it doesn't always work with everyone'. That to me is not strong science.

I could find endless articles and research about the dangers of excess oestrogen but I wouldn't dream of posting the links here as we are all taking our own calculated risks in what we choose to take, or not, and it would be uncalled for fear mongering.

Maybe it all comes down to that human trait, that we want everyone else to do what we're doing, as it's strengthens our own confidence in it? I'm sure no one means harm and hopefully the world has grown up to realise that there are no charlatans in complementary or alternative medicine trying to take peoples money, considering the time and money spent on training is often comparable to medical doctors and most has to be privately funded they'd be pretty dumb fraudsters!

[Shadyglade]

Valid points DM. In Germany homeopathic and herbal remedies are routinely prescribed alongside conventional medicines.