homeopathic medicine

edwardseco

Hey faith works wonders. Some of my extended family are deep into faith healing. Turn onto the religious channel for Benny Hinn. Get the name right you Brits! It "seems" to work for them. Get out your Reverend Ike prayer cloths and get that Cadillac..

edwardseco

Exactly and there are fewer critics of herbal remedies given that some of the more orthodox medical remedies came from that..

Haylo

Not all homeopathic medicines are plant based, for instance phosphorus, sulphur, petroleum and "mercurius corrosivus", aka Mercuric Chloride.

karuna

I think there's definitely something in that. Many people seem to find that their regular doctor has no time for them; spending time with someone willing to talk through things with you will probably help greatly.

Benny Hinn is a right one, I've watched some of his stuff recently. Derren Brown does the same thing in his "Messiah" series ,managing to "convert" a room full of people into believing in god- pretty good going for an atheist!

In my reality, gravity pushes things downwards, I breathe oxygen and petrol ignites easily. Are things different in yours? I suspect not. Chemistry is the same for all of us, unfortunately.


Just a quck question about Arnica- I'm not doubting you, but could you cite please where you found out that it really works for bruising, ie who said it and why you believe what they say. I can't remember any more where I got my information from when I was into herbal remedies so I'm interested to know.

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caz_a

no, it cannot be explained by biology or chemistry. but if you had studied homeopathy you would presumably know its physics - ie. energy.

i assume you are aware of Benveniste's experiements and the histamine studies where the memory of water has been demonstrated.
while the effect has been observed, it could be said to be unexplained by science, not 'unknown' - but this is a failing of current scientific knowledge; this doesn't make it untrue or impossible.

i can vouch for the fact that sepia works on some menstrual problems but it is not because it 'looks like blood'. it is because the symptoms match the remedy

when you are ill, the body produces symptoms. these are the body's way of externalising and getting rid of the disease. eg - if you get flu you produce a fever and sweat, which help to kill the microrganisms and expel any toxins. if you take a homeopathic remedy, it mimics and strengthens the symptoms the body is already producing in order to support the body's defences and this leads to cure.
as an example, the remedy made from onion can be used to treat colds or hay fever with streaming, burning eyes.

i have witnessed rapid and dramatic cures of babies and animals which could not be explained by the placebo effect. i have also seen that when the wrong remedy is given there is no effect, but when another is tried which is a better match, it works - sometimes within a couple of minutes.

you might also consider that most people who consult a homeopath do so after conventional medicine has failed. if they were so gullible, why didn't the allopathic meds work? - particularly if you take into account the fact that homeopathy, apparently, 'cannot possibly work', whilst conventional medicine is generally much more accepted.

Fibrositis
In a randomised placebo-controlled trial of patients with fibrositis, only those patients in whom Rhus
toxicodendron was ‘unequivocally indicated’ were admitted to the study. After 1 month’s treatment,
there were highly significant improvements in objective and subjective parameters.
Fisher P. An experimental double-blind clinical trial in homoeopathy. British Homoeopathic Journal
1986; 75: 142-147.

Fibromyalgia
A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial of individualised homeopathic treatment (LM
potency) versus placebo in 53 patients, concluded that individualised homeopathy is significantly
better than placebo in lessening tender point pain, improving the quality of life and overall health, and
less depression of persons with fibromyalgia. A broad selection of homeopathic medicines in LMpotencies
were prescribed and the trial was carried out over a 4 month period.
Bell IR, Lewis II DA, Brooks AJ, Schwartz GE, Lewis SE, Walsh BT, Baldwin CM. Improved clinical
status in fibromyalgia patients treated with individualized homeopathic remedies versus placebo.
Rheumatology Advance Access, January 20, 2004.
http://rheumatology.oupjournals.org/cgi/reprint/keh111

Allergies
Double-blind clinical trial comparing homeopathic preparations from common allergens (tree, grass,
weed) with placebo. 40 patients diagnosed with moderate to severe seasonal allergic rhinitis symptoms
were treated over a 4 week period. Results showed significant positive changes in the homeopathy
group compared with the placebo group (p<0.05). No adverse effects were reported.
Kim LS, Riedlinger JE, Baldwin CM, Hilli L, Khalsa SV, Messer SA, Waters RF. Treatment of
Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis Using Homeopathic Preparation of Common Allergens in the Southwest
Region of the US: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial. Ann Pharmacother. 2005 Apr;39(4):617-
24. Epub 2005 Mar 1. Related Articles, Links

ADHD
A randomised double blind placebo controlled crossover trial of 62 children showed significant
improvement of visual global perception, impulsivity and divided attention (p<0.0001). The trial
suggests scientific evidence of the effectiveness of homeopathy in the treatment of ADHD,
particularly in the areas of behavioural and cognitive functions.
Frei H, Everts R, von Ammon K, Kaufman F, Walther D, Hsu-Schmitz SF, Collenberg M, Fuhrer K,
Hassink R, Steinlin M, Thurneysen An. Homeopathic treatment of children with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder: a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled crosso

...loads more where these came from ... http://www.homeopathy-soh.org/whats-new/researchwn.aspx

actually, when my daughter had threadworms and generously gave them to me, we were cured by homeopathic remedies. interestingly, and actually pertaining to the orginal question, we both had different remedies - ie they were individualised according to our specific symptoms.

kalbarri, i suggest you ask around for a good homeopath and get a proper consultation and an individualised remedy.

caz_a

i can clear up the confusion here. the dilution does not determine whether something is homeopathic or not, according to classical homeopathy.

something is homeopathic if it is prescribed according to homeopathic principles, ie. according to the law of similars (like cures like) ... eg onion example in previous post

this could be undiluted, a 1x dilution (1 in 10) or CM (1 in 100,0000), it doesn't matter if it is < or > avagadro's number

karuna

I know about Benveniste's experiments and the fact that they were not replicable under blinded conditions. They only worked when the person doing the test knew which was the homeopathic remedy and which wasn't. Once she was made unaware of which was which, the results showed no evidence of water memory.

Most of the rest of your post is unevidenced assertion and anecdote, apart from the trials, which you know I will just reply to with the Lancet 2005 meta-analysis, which you will then attempt to show flaws in.

Frankly I do not want to get into a debate with a homeopath, what would be the point? You won't change your mind and I won't change mine. And this isn't the place.

If you do want to continue might I suggest the UKSkeptics forum (google brings it up quite readily)? I can be found there along with others of my ilk and plenty of homeopathic supporters. More appropriate forum for this discussion I think.

caz_a

well, we're in agreement about something, because i don't really want to get into a continuing debate with you either... i just wanted to counter some of your 'unevidenced assertions' and explain some common misconceptions

btw, the lancet meta-analysis is widely regarded as highly flawed - google it

kalbarri

yes, i did actually ask for somewhere to get hold of homeopathic medicine in a certain region.

machadinha

Interesting discussion. Caused me to check Wikipedia on homeopathy; doesn't seem to leave much of it standing, with many of the above arguments repeated or expounded on there.

btw Karuna, you can check their arnica entry. It is only Wikipedia, of course, hardly to be used as an authoritative source, though it does normally link on to further sources. Arnica preparations are quite commonly applied where I live for sprains and sores etc. though, I wasn't aware there's anything fuzzy about it. And yes, it would rather fall under herbal or traditional medicine to me, not homeopathy (inasmuch as Peak's seems to be an Indian brand btw, I remember all the "ayurvedic" soaps and toothpastes and whatnot on sale there. I was never under the impression this meant more than a neat catchline, I wonder how they would get officially classified so. What's ayurvedic soap or toothpaste supposed to be anyway as opposed to the non-ayurvedic kind, can someone explain?):

Be all that as it may,

As homeopathy is pretty wide-spread in India, I imagine just enquiring with some local pharmacies or doctors it shouldn't be hard to get what you're looking for. Your hotel will often be helpful to point you to a place they recommend.

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kalbarri

thanks machadinha.

PeakXV

It seems there is alot of ignorance & misconceptions as to the allowable potency/percentages of medicinal properties involved in the composition of these, often, effective remedies. In this thread alone we have had impressions and/or definitions anywhere from 0%(re: pure 'sugar & water') to 100% concentration(re: undiluted active ingredient) ..... no wonder there is so many varying opinions & confusion on the topic.

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caz_a

kalbarri,
you will probably find a homeopath or a pharmacy in this directory. http://www.hpathy.com/dirhomeopath/index.asp

if you try and get the remedy which matched your symptoms last time and carry it with you, you may find that that if your symptoms are slightly different if you get worms again, the remedy will not work.
this is because hom. remedies are not prescribed according to specific diseases but to the particular symptoms of the individual.
it would be better to consult a homeopath or take advice in a pharmacy if you do get worms again.

i have just looked in my repertory and there are over 100 remedies for worms.
there are 19 which have both worms and yellow discolouration of eyes. in order to pin it down further, i would need to know more symtoms. but as i said, this may not help you next time - better to worry about it if and when it happens - you're never too far from a homeopath in india.

you don't say what kind of worms you are worried about - i assume threadworms. there are some home remedies you can try which reduce the ease with which the worms can reproduce and reinfect you --

you can try putting vaseline around the anus, at night especially - so the worms can't come out and lay their eggs so easily.

also a garlic clove up the bum may deter them - take off the skin carefully and make sure the clove is intact or it will sting!

hope this helps!

chAos

This isn’t hard to answer. Drug companies are more interested in developing products they can patent.

I think it takes something like 8 – 10 years for a product to make it through lab and human clinical trials in order to get medical approval. It doesn’t make fiscal sense for one company to do all the legwork and make that investment for something that is already widely available and therefore not patentable.
After Company X does the research, then Companies A, B, C & D would be able to sell the same thing at a lower price.

It would have to be a consortium, or a third party, to do the research knowing everyone will benefit from the research. I didn’t look closely, but probably what is being done by the the group that caz_a linked to?

Yes to these 3 points, in my experience.

And I actually wasn't expecting the homeopathic remedies to work at all; was very skeptical and thought I'd try them just to prove they didn't work, but they did.

cooksisters

I am all for Homeopathy and it works, at least for me. I go to the main Nelsons which is just off Bond Street and they give good advice too. The common medcines are ofcourse found in all the Holland and Barrat stores -- but the Nelson HQ has a good many more.