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Alternative Medicine: Homeopathy

Mythopoeika said:
Bad news for my friend, who has recently decided to start practising homeopathy again.
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I dunno, all he has to do is cure some people and save some lives... oh right I see.
 
escargot said:
I dunno, all he has to do is cure some people and save some lives... oh right I see.
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She gave me some stuff to help with my diabetes, but it isn't working.
I'm just giving it a chance.
 
escargot said:
I was joking. You can't prescribe insulin unless you're a doctor. You can give out bollocks though, there's no restriction on that.
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My friend is a bit of a believer. I'm just being a guinea pig, kinda. I know it won't work.
 
Mythopoeika said:
My friend is a bit of a believer. I'm just being a guinea pig, kinda. I know it won't work.
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If your friend believes she can cure or help people with their illnesses, and they do too, and stop taking their real treatment, she could kill someone. This has happened. I hope it doesn't come to that for her!
 
escargot said:
If your friend believes she can cure or help people with their illnesses, and they do too, and stop taking their real treatment, she could kill someone. This has happened. I hope it doesn't come to that for her!
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She wouldn't dare tell anyone to come off their conventional medicine.
 
What happens if you dilute some nitroglycerin? Can I turn water balloons into homeopathic hand grenades?
 
The late Robert Aickman was a very talented author - writing some very unsettling short stories with highly Fortean themes.
His evident intellect and intelligence sadly didn't extend to medical matters though. After being diagnosed with cancer, he ignored conventional treatment and put his faith in homeopathy. Needless to say, he died just over a year later.
 
blessmycottonsocks said:
The late Robert Aickman was a very talented author - writing some very unsettling short stories with highly Fortean themes.
His evident intellect and intelligence sadly didn't extend to medical matters though. After being diagnosed with cancer, he ignored conventional treatment and put his faith in homeopathy. Needless to say, he died just over a year later.
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He died in the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital. Well, you would, wouldn't you.
 
Have you heard the one about the guy who died from an overdose of homeopathic "medicine"?
- He forgot to take his pills one day...
 
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Tempest63 said:
I have had the Chinese version of acupuncture and the Western acupuncture at my osteopath. Both gave relief from the symptoms I was experiencing at the time. Of all the alternative therapies hypnotherapy gave the best results.
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Does this suggest that a large number of illnesses are purely mental? (I don't mean consciously self-inflicted). And when the mind is 'distracted' or given a reason to believe that it is 'cured' the pain stops? As with the placebo effect?

Very badly expressed - I'm no scientist, just a poor jobbing logician. I'm not suggesting the pain is any less real to the sufferer.
 
escargot said:
I'm sure she wouldn't but they might anyway! Desperate people can be irrational.
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I (briefly) dated a homeopathic practitioner and she said she always advised her customers to stay on their prescribed medicines. If she found they had stopped she refused to treat them further , but presumably the customer would still be at risk.

On the other hand anti-depressants came darn near to totally ruining my life until I found the strength to wean myself off them (aided by external events) so I don't believe the doctors have got it all right either :)
 
Cochise said:
On the other hand anti-depressants came darn near to totally ruining my life until I found the strength to wean myself off them (aided by external events) so I don't believe the doctors have got it all right either :)
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Anti-depressants don't work for some people, sometimes you have to try different varieties. I accept they didn't work for you. They certainly work for me though and for millions of other people, helping us to function at a higher level than would otherwise be possible.
 
Cochise said:
Does this suggest that a large number of illnesses are purely mental? (I don't mean consciously self-inflicted). And when the mind is 'distracted' or given a reason to believe that it is 'cured' the pain stops? As with the placebo effect? ...
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No - it doesn't necessarily suggest illnesses are "mental" (in the sense of "psychological", as opposed to "physiological").

The total set of Tempest63's quoted allusions plus this thread's topic consists of acupuncture, hypnotherapy, and homeopathy. These are 3 different traditions, each of which focuses on a particular context or facet of individual functions:

- homeopathy ---> physical / physiological
- acupuncture ---> neural / sensory
- hypnotherapy ---> behavioral / psychological

The boundaries among these things aren't solid, and some problems may involve a combination of some or all these aspects.

You specifically mentioned pain management. This is a good example of a problem that may involve all these functional contexts.

Pain can manifest as a result of something amiss in any of these 3 contexts, and it may require intervention in all 3 areas to alleviate it.

Unless there's a physiological / biochemical origin for pain, homeopathy is unlikely to be of any use. Conversely, if there is such a physical root cause, hypnotherapy isn't likely to help much beyond masking or hiding pain's conscious perception. Acupuncture may help alleviate the sensation of pain, but it won't directly aid you in overcoming dependency on painkillers.

Any of these approaches (as well as "scientific" medicine) can induce a placebo effect. Whether or not a beneficial outcome counts as a placebo effect depends on whether the decisive intervention affects the real cause of the malaise.
 
Xanatic* said:
What happens if you dilute some nitroglycerin? Can I turn water balloons into homeopathic hand grenades?
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Don't forget to shake the bottle of nitroglycerine vigorously before diluting.:eek:nick:

Best done outdoor. well away from anything.
 
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