Homeopathy for the Elderly

2010-03-03T16:42:48Z

Homeopathy for the elderly doesn’t necessarily improve their quality of life but it may reduce the severity of some chronic conditions, says a new study.

For this study, researchers looked at data on nearly 4000 European seniors from Germany and Switzerland. This research looked only at elderly patients age 70 or older who were consulting a homeopathic physician for the first time. The physicians took baseline assessments then re-assessed the patients at 3 months, 1 year and again at 2 years after the initial consultation.

At the end of the study both the physicians and the patients reported that the patients complained of less-severe symptoms and in many cases the drop in severity was deemed “significant”. Overall quality of life, as measured by the patients, did not increase, however. Additionally, the number of medications taken by the patients did not change, even after 2 years of homeopathic care.

All the patients received “classic” homeopathic treatments.

Source:

Teut, M., et al. (2010). Homeopathic treatment of elderly patients—a prospective observational study with follow-up over a two year period. BMC Geriatrics.

Will You Participate In The 10:23 Protest?

2010-01-21T14:43:26Z

On January 30, 2010 at 10:23 a.m. several dozen (or perhaps even a few hundred) people calling themselves “homeopathic skeptics” or “consumer advocates” plan to protest outside the UK’s largest pharmacies to protest what they consider the chain’s hypocritical practice of selling homeopathic remedies even after an executive with the chain admitted that they don’t actually believe the remedies work.

According to the official protest website, one of the activities will involve the swallowing of entire bottles of homeopathic remedies to prove that even a massive “overdose” is completely incapable of “activating” anything in the body.

Does such a stunt interest you at all? Will watching someone swallow an entire bottle of something that homeopaths already agree can’t hurt you change your mind about homeopathy?

And what about the pharmacy chain’s role in all this? Do the powers that be at Boots have a responsibility to remove unproven but profitable homeopathic remedies? Do we really want to start demanding that our retail stores save us all from our own stupidity? If so, why aren’t they protesting colon cleansers? What about castor oil—often sold for something known as the “castor oil flush”?

Finally, what about the “delay of treatment” argument? Is the fact that someone might go to a homeopath before a mainstream physician really a good reason to outlaw “remedies” used by millions of people around the world?

Tell us what you think about the upcoming 10:23 protest. Will you go?

437 People Injured or Killed By Homeopathy, Says Blogger

2010-01-19T15:31:48Z

The guy behind whatstheharm.net has a list of 437 folks whom he claims have been injured or even killed by homeopathy. Some of people this site profiles were almost certainly already at the end of their lives and probably turned to homeopathy as a last-ditch effort. We’ve all heard, of course, about Coretta Scott King’s death in Mexico. Still others died after battling incurable diseases like HIV or AIDS.

In some of these cases you have to stop and say, “Hey, wait a minute. If homeopathy obviously wasn’t working, why did those folks continue to use it?” But some of the cases presented are truly heartbreaking. Perhaps the worst are those of children whose parents insisted upon treating with homeopathy to the exclusion of anything even resembling “modern” medicine. Story after story relates cases of children who died of malnutrition because their parents insisted upon clinging to a system that obviously wasn’t working.

Whether you believe in homeopathy 100% or you’ve come to this site as a confirmed skeptic, the homeopathy section over at whatstheharm.net makes for some pretty powerful reading.

Homeopathy Is Just "Energy", Says "Expert"

2010-01-18T17:40:06Z

Samuel Hahnemman, the founder of homeopathy, believed that his remedies work much like modern-day vaccines. Use a lot of the “active” ingredient and you have a disease; use just a tiny volume of the “active” ingredient and you “train” the immune system to attack the disease.

But Hahnemann—who believed very much in the scientific method of his day—developed his theories before the widespread acceptance of something called Avogadro’s law. The scientist Avogadro forever changed science by working out a formula that allowed scientists to measure things previously though unmeasurable—like how many atoms of belladonna would be in a single “dose” of a homeopathic remedy after the belladonna had been diluted hundreds (or even thousands) of times.

No longer could homeopaths claim that tiny “doses” worked to stimulate the body’s immune system because scientists could definitively prove that there simply weren’t enough atoms of the “active” ingredients to go around. Homeopathy had to come up with a new explanation and it had to come up with one quick.

Enter Dr. Charlene Werner, who in this video, explains that homeopathy doesn’t need “mass” to work. It simply needs vibrational energy.

Enjoy.

Homeopath/Blogger Takes A Swipe At Herbalists

2010-01-04T21:16:00Z

“Why Herbs Can’t Cure” is the title of a December 2008 blog post by an unidentified blogger claiming to also be a homeopath. What makes his (or her) piece so startling is its assertion that herbs can’t cure anything.

What’s not so startling is the closing line of the first paragraph—the one that explains that to truly understand healing you’ll need to come and “do” their for-cost homeopathy course.

We here at the HomeopathicDatabase.com understand the idea that disease is caused by an “imbalance” in the body’s energy force. (We don’t agree with it but we “get” it.) What we don’t understand is the our-way-or-the-highway attitude so many homeopaths seem to be adopting. We also don’t understand folks like this who can turn a completely blind eye to the role of germs.

So we ask you … is there room in your medical catalog for both traditional herbalism AND homeopathy? Or do you agree with these bloggers that herbs—in their words—“only supress” symptoms without actually addressing the actual “di-ease”?

Source:

Author Unidentified. (2008). Why Herbs Can’t ‘Cure’. Accessible from ycch.wordpress.com.

"Zicam is Homeopathic." Is it Really?

2009-12-21T11:00:50Z

All the squabbling going on in the UK over government funding for homeopathic medicine and the tabloid coverage of the alleged suicide attempt of the daughter of a famous pop star has certainly put homeopathy in the news lately. Add in the news coverage of the summer’s recall of several Zicam® products and you have a media feast for skeptics.

But getting lost in all the hubbub is this one simple question—What exactly does it mean for something to be “homeopathic”? The manufacturer of Zicam, for example, claims that its products are but are they really? Let’s look at Zicam as one example of a product marketed as “homeopathic” but which may not fit the strictest definition of what a homeopathic remedy really is.

Homeopathic remedies are, by definition, extreme dilutions that often exceed what chemists call “Avagodro’s limit”. In other words, they are often so dilute that each dose contains few (if any) molecules of the “active” ingredient. And the more dilute a remedy is, the “stronger” it is supposed to be.

But Zicam’s lozenges, for example, aren’t dilute at all. In fact, the “active” ingredient zinc gluconate-the one that’s been the subject of so many medical studies—is actually listed on the label as a “1X” preparation. Its other “active” ingredient, zice acetate, is listed as a “2X” preparation.

Does a 1X dilution sound “homeopathic” to you?

Sources:

Zicam, LLC. (2009). Information contained from product label.
Zicam, LLC. (2009). Homeopathy and Zicam. Accessed from zicam.com/HomeopathyandZicam December 20, 2009.

Dana Ullman Writes For Huffington Post, Gets Attacked by Critics

2009-12-14T11:00:27Z

Serious students of homeopathy know Dana Ullman as the founder of homeopathic.com and the author of several do-it-yourself books on homeopathic medicine. This week find him writing a piece for the blogging/news site HuffingtonPost.com.

As usual, both critics and believers were out in full force. And, as usual, a lot of mud-slinging ensured. Several commenters mocked Ullman’s various possible explanations of how homeopathy works—with some going so far as to call homeopathy a “pure scam” and users “ignorant”.

To be fair, Ullman gave homeopathy’s critics a lot to work with here. One of his possible explanations for how homeopathy works goes something like this: Scientists have discovered that by vigorously shaking the bottle (called “recussing”) they dislodge tiny particles of silica from the bottle and these tiny particles of silica might act like teeny-tiny little computer chips to help the water “remember” the healing.

We’ll let you draw your own conclusions from that one.

Source:
Ullman, D. (2009). How Homeopathic Medicines Work: Nanopharmacology At Its Best. Retrieved from HuffingtonPost.com November 12, 2009.

AAHP Clarifies the "Overdose" Story

2009-12-11T01:38:25Z

Following the recent news coverage of a famous pop star’s daughter’s alleged “overdose” on the popular homeopathic remedy Traumeel®, the American Association of Homeopathic Pharmacists has issued a press release they hope will clarify the situation just a bit. In it, they remind readers that the homeopathic remedy in question was, in fact, not an “antihistamine”—despite news stories referring to it that way. They also remind readers that many news reports have mentioned both Traumeel® and sleeping pills.

Traumeel® is a combination formula most commonly used to treat muscle soreness and sprains. It is not generally used as a cold remedy. The AAHP claims that this particular remedy has a long history of safe use and has never before been the cause of an overdose.

PLEASE NOTE: We have chosen not to name the alleged victim or her famous father and respect their request for privacy. We hope our readers understand.

"Homeopathy" & "Herbal Medicine" Not The Same

2009-12-08T16:32:26Z

With all the press homeopathy has gotten over the past few days, we here at HomeopathicDatabase.com thought this might be a good time to remind casual users of “alternative” medicine that homeopathy and herbal medicine are two entirely different practices based on two entirely different philosophies and using two entirely different types of “remedies”.

If you’re new to homeopathy and aren’t sure why we’re making such a fuss about something that seems so simple, here are a few things homeopaths want you to know the next time you reach for a natural remedy:

Homeopathy isn’t an offshoot of herbal medicine. In fact, it was created by a licensed physician as an alternative to the harsh pharmaceuticals and the—at least in his opinion—absolutely barbaric practices like blood-letting that were common during his time.
Homeopathy never seeks to kill germs or cure diseases. Homeopathy’s sole purpose is to spur the body’s own natural immunity. As homeopaths like to say, the body ultimately heals itself.

Some other key differences between homeopathy and herbal medicine to consider include:

Herbal medicines are exclusively made of plants.
Homeopathic remedies, by contrast, can be based on plants, animals or even minerals.

Herbal medicines are often taken “full strength”. Capsules may contain whole petals or leaves.
Homeopathic remedies, on the other hand, are always extremely diluted.

Herbal remedies are taken to affect a change in the body.
Homeopathic remedies “cure” nothing. They simply trigger the body to heal itself.

Why does any of this matter? Well, the practices of homeopathy and herbal medicine are based on very different ideas. Know which term to use when you get to the health food store is a big step toward getting exactly the product you need.

Britain's Prince Charles Fights for Homeopathy

2009-12-02T16:39:11Z

Britain’s Prince Charles, who has long been an advocate of “alternative medicine” has reportedly met with Health Secretary Andy Burnham to express his concern over what’s being described as a “crackdown” on unlicensed alternative practitioners like herbalists and homeopaths. Details are sketchy but have been reported by several media outlets.

Currently in the UK, practices like homeopathy is largely unregulated—as it is here in the U.S.—and just about anyone can get in on a piece of Britain’s alternative medicine pie. It’s value? Around £1.5 billion a year.

Advocates of licensing want to force all persons “treating” patients or selling “remedies” to obtain a license. This will, they hope, legitimize practices like homeopathy before new EU regulations take effect in 2011.

The Royal College of Physicians opposes any such “licensing” saying, essentially, that practices like homeopathy are nothing short of pseudoscience and quackery. Any legal recognizing of such therapies and practices will, they believe, simply make unproven treatments “respectable”.

Although most of us here in America might find such “royal” involvement in medical law a bit puzzling, Prince Charles has long been an advocate of alternative and complementary medicine. He was, after all, behind the Foundation for Integrated Health and has endorsed a line of remedies known as Dutchy Originals.

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