Homeopaths are launching a new film about homeopathy. As you can see from the trailer above, this is a film that sets out to ‘educate and promote’ homeopathy to the world. It is conspiratorial in tone and credulous in its presentation and shows disgusting quackery being sold to parents of children with autism.
I have not been able to see the whole film yet – but the trailer clearly shows its misleading intent. Even the title is misleading. Homeopathy is a magic ritual masquerading as medicine. Most notably, the remedies do not contain any actual active ingredients – they are just sugar pills or water/ethanol mixtures. Any ingredients are diluted to the point where no original material can remain. “Just One Drop” should in reality be called “Not Even One Drop”. The trailers shows some of the magic ritual being enacted in the first ten seconds as the ‘remedy’ is repeatedly struck against a leather bound book – most often a Bible – as the inventor of this nonsense prescribed.
The film is made by Laurel Chiten – a filmmaker who says she believes she is telling a ‘David and Goliath’ story. Inherent in the homeopath mindset is the idea that they are suppressed by ‘Big Pharma’ and maligned by a dominant medical modality. Utter nonsense, of course but it looks like this film follows this well-trodden conspiratorial path. Chiten has previously made a film about alien abduction – so she is familiar with the world of barmpottery.
The blurb on its promotional web site make clear the credulous stance of the film,
Just One Drop tells a no-holds-barred look at the most controversial form of medicine ever invented. Homeopathy treats the entire person, not just the disease. It’s a specific form of medicine that uses minute doses of a highly diluted substance that stimulates the body to cure itself. It is these tiny doses that causes the most controversy. Researchers believe there is a release of energy in water that becomes mysteriously dynamic. Others think it’s purely psychological or worse, a form of deception or quackery. Yet millions claim homeopathy cures even though there is not yet a satisfying scientific explanation. It remains a mystery.
‘Treating the entire person, not just the disease’ is part of the meaningless mythology of homeopaths that is routinely trotted out. Any credible critique of homeopathy would not accept that as undisputed fact. Homeopathy does not ‘stimulate the body to cure itself’ since no cure can be demonstrated. There are not ‘tiny doses’ – homeopathy is ‘no doses’. Only propagandists and buffoons think homeopathy is ‘a release of energy’. This is pure pseudoscience without a scrap of evidence or rationale. There is not yet ‘a satisfying scientific explanation’ because there is nothing that needs to be explained. Until such time as homeopathy can produce consist and coherent evidence there is nothing to explain.
Now, of course, homeopaths have a right to make a film and to screen it. But this film should be recognised for what it is: propaganda. It sets out with a mission to “give homeopathy a voice, a voice that continues to be misinterpreted and misrepresented.” This is inspite of the fact that the overwhelming scientific consensus is that homeopathy is a placebo treatment that cannot treat any condition. This consensus is based on homeopathy’s claims that are thoroughly implausible and contradict the well established results of physics, chemistry and biology, and the lack of convincing and coherent evidence from the large number of clinical trials that have been conducted. Homeopathy is a pre-scientific view of medicine based on magical thinking – it has no role in the treatment of evidence. As propaganda, this film misleads people. If people were to take their claims seriously and treat illness that really should be treated by a doctor, they could be harmed.
Despite the placebo nature of homeopathy, it can still be deadly. Homeopaths have grandiose views of their capabilities and have no hesitation in treating people with serious and deadly condition. If a person were to use homeopathy in lieu of real effective medicine, they could die. Homeopaths in the UK support and promote ‘missionary’ homeopaths who travel to developing countries to set up clinics to treat HIV and malaria and to work in disaster zone. These practices are lethal. The PR group that is hosting the premier, 4Homeopathy, is associated with groups that support homeopathy clinics in Africa treating deadly disease.
Incredibly, the premier of the film is at the London West End Curzon Cinema. This film was supposed to also be the host of the dreadful Andrew Wakefield quack film about vaccines and autism – VAXXED. The Curzon saw sense and dropped the film. It is amazing that they have not reviewed their procedures about what sort of private screenings they show. Any due diligence on this film would have raised serious questions about the ethics of screening such a film.
There are many planned screenings of this film in the UK and around the world. Each screening appears to be managed by local homeopathy groups and many are in their own facilities or ‘village hall’ type set ups. Great. It is a shame though that some commercial cinemas seek to profit from this deadly nonsense. Along with the Curzon, the Komedia Cinema in Brighton is hosting the film and a follow up ‘Q&A’ with the film maker.
Homeopathy thrives because society shrugs and tolerates quackery. We do not think about the consequences on individual lives of misleading claims and ineffective treatments. We treat homeopathy as an eccentric hobby rather than a menace. Quackery like homeopathy should be as socially unacceptable as drink driving. There are consequences to irrational beliefs and commercial organisations should decide whether they too will turn a blind eye or take a stance and stand up for evidence, reason and proper informed choice in healthcare.
Homeopathy in the UK does not “thrive”. Any analysis of figures or reading reports that are in public domain suggest it is shrinking in the UK. It is worth looking at, for example, NHS spending figures that the Nightingale Collaboration managed to obtain. The Society of Homeopaths most recent submission to the Professional Standards Authority cited declining membership as a risk to their existance. It’s a fringe activity that is in slow decline.
A slick video only comforts the converted.
Ah my friend, As an RN I discovered homeopathy 18 years ago and cured recurrent colds and bronchitis and then became a homeopath using it effectively for myself, my family and friends. The science is there if you want to see it and more than that if you study it you will see it and even more than that if you use it intelligently you will benefit.
You discovered placebo and self delusion. “Cured” colds? They go away after a few days to a week anyway. So yours disappeared in less than 24 hours then?
7 Meta analysis have been done on Homeopathy and 5 were positive, 2 were negative. The Australian report is filled with bias, conflicts of interest and its scientific methods were questionable at best.
Loads of science supporting homeopathy, and dozens of countries support it, be open to health care my friend.
“Loads of science supporting homeopathy “ please cite actual references.
A nurse thinks that colds are cured with homeopathy?
Until you try homeopathy you should not comment. The above post sounds ignorant.
I have been treated fir skin conditions,grief and very bad pms with homeopathy and havd had fantastic results.All of these problems were untreatable with conventional medicine!
What does this suggest?
That you have no idea what you are talking about?
No, what this means is that this person experienced some benefit which they attribute to homeopathy. However, their experience cannot be extrapolated to the response others can expect to get from the same treatment (if indeed two ‘doses’ of homeopathic remedy can ever be considered to be the same in the way that 2 doses of allopathic medication would be considered equivalent).
I totally agree. Its big pharma they need to take a closer look at. I have also used homeopathics for years with complete sucess. If it isnt dangerous its not healthy according to them this article is frustrating to say the least.
Ah, the “don’t look at this, look at that” defense.
You think that alternative medicine is any different to big Pharma? It is worth billions, and they operate on the profit motive just like any other business. It’s not as if they’re giving their remedies away for nothing. Which they pretty much damn well should do because there is nothing in them :).
Wow, the ignorance is astounding! Just because you “want” something bad enough doesn’t mean it actually happens. Homeopathy is dangerous and numerous people have died from misdiagnoses.
Lol.. ignorance at its best right here. Poisen toxic synthetic drugs are whats dangerous and are what have killed thousands each year. HOMEOPATHY has worked, Is working and well continue to work. It will become the number one medicine people turn to in the coming years. You can quack on all you like. It makes me laugh that these people who are so against himeopathy havev never actually tried it but feel they can have such an oponion. Like I said just keep quacking on.
Like no has ever died after taking allopathic medicines.
Can you explain every phenomenon that happens scientifically?
Like thousands if not hundreds of thousands or more people haven’t died from homeopathic and other voodoo crap. I am going to take a wild stab here and say that most deaths from taking allopathic meds is due to not being taken as directed.
Your argument is completely invalid until we see “real” studies on these substances which neither you nor any of your other cultists can produce. All you can provide is hearsay and third (or fourth or fifth)-party accounts. You talk about “big pharma” which I agree sucks in many ways but it cannot beat the witch doctors who promise cures for everything from eczema to cancer and then go on to fleece millions of dollars from desperate people.
Misdiagnosis is not so dangerous as compared to pushing a simple disease to a complicated one by interruption of natural self healing process, which whole wild animals rely on…
I’ve tried homeopathy and it was useless. It was a waste of money. What does this suggest?
You took (or were given) the wrong remedy.
It suggests you are restless and don’t want to wait for anything, or you may be unlucky
Thanks for sharing me the trailer, I am highly supporter of homeopathy and I will watch the movie when it will release. Homeopathy is a great system of medicine.
I would wait until it has subtitles for your first language.
An unnecessary, xenophobic response that adds nothing to the debate.
there’s no use Anonymous to argue with the ignorants, who are just afraid to accept something unknown or not accepted by the mass-media, which is serving the Pharma-Mafia. I’m looking forward watching the movie,
Lucy. We do not accept things that are based on absurd premises and for which there is no compelling evidence. What criteria do you use to accept ideas?
There is so much of hatred and venom in the post. Lacks logic and provides unfounded judgements without merits. I am wondering if the author has the guts to question money making pharma companies’ practices to push so many dangerous medicines without real benefits to people?
Not hatred and venom. Anger perhaps about dangerous misinformation that will harm people.
And the info given by allopathic mafia are true and accurate? A bunch of pure hearted people they dont know marketing or propaganda…lol
Why does the Royal family, Switzerland, India openly endorse homeopathy and many other european countries support homeopathy?
How can it be a placebo if it works on children and dogs? and there are studies to support it….
We should be open to all forms of health care and both allopathy and homeopathy/wholistic approaches can work together.
The Royal Family are well known idiots.
The Swiss government does not support homeopathy.
India is commiting a fraud against its people and anyway it is not that widespread.
Homeopathy does not work on dogs and children and there are no good studies to suggest otherwise.
People attack when they feel threatened. I practiced homeopathy for 10 years and saw how amazing it is. It even works on pets and farm animals, oh that blows the placebo theory away. How can you criticize something you have not tried, sad. I guess these sceptics are mainly young recently graduated medical practitioners or students. Wake up, big pharma is behind this, because it works and take money away from the billions they already make.
Paul – you are mistaken about homeopathy. Your personal interpretations of your subjective experiences as a homeopath do not trump the overwhelming scientific evidence that homeopathy is inert and cannot treat illness. You have failed to accommodate the very many subjective biases that people are prone to when assessing cause and effect in medicine. That is why scientific medicine exists. You clearly also have not engaged with the critiques if homeopathy otherwise you would know that the farm animal argument is a canard and easily dismissed. And you also fall into the common trap of protecting your false beliefs from counter argument by projecting belittling beliefs about your critics and wrapping yourself in conspiracy theory.
People flew airplanes into buildings screaming “God told me to”….subjective experience only reveals the psychology of the adherent not the truth or falsity of their ‘belief’. Real intellects demand real answers….pretend intellects accept pretend answers.
“That is why scientific medicine exists. You clearly also have not engaged with the critiques..”
Like Edzard Ernst: did you read him being criticized for fudging data:
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/355916
I like how trusting you are of the scientific research, so nice in a world of educated cynicism.
The use of homeopathy on pets and farm animals is ethically questionable and the use of homeopathic medicines by veterinary surgeons is legally questionable as well.
No, I am not a young, recent medical grad. I am an OAP who, at one time, permitted himself to be gulled by touts for this pseudomedicine.
If the touts for homeopathy want to lay this matter to rest for once and for all, all they need to do is to cite one (yes, just one) replicated robust-quality DBRCT that demonstrates that homeopathy is distinguishable from placebo.
Surely, with a history of over 200 years, it shouldn’t be that difficult?
Then I remember that these are the charlatans who would have us believe that, if you take a substance that has a concentration of one molecule of the original “active ingredient” per sphere the size of Earth’s orbit around the Sun and then dilute it even further, so that the concentration is now less than one molecule per known Universe, it has somehow become more potent.
The British Medical Journal is fairly reputable. http://www.bmj.com/content/321/7259/471
And it wasn’t difficult to find – surprising what you can find if you just type a few key words into Google.
Ah, but I see you want the study findings to be replicated – so this probably doesn’t reach the threshold after all
anon – do you think this is a quality trial with robust results?
Do you think the number of participants was enough to draw meaningful conclusions.
Do you think people got better on the trials if they took homeopathy?
If you ask yourself any of these questions with any seriousness you can only come to the conclusion that is junk science. Patients got worse with homeopathy – this is explained away as ‘aggregations’ – every result is positive for homeopathy! Always.
The conclusions of the trial reflect the worsening of conditions for some patients – ‘homoeopathic dilutions differ from placebo”. Note that the conclusions do not say that homeopathy relieved symptoms – because to results were too poor to say this.
In any small trial, you will see differences between arms of the trial – especially if you measure many things. Utter junk I am afraid.
The use of homeopathy on animals doesn’t blow away the placebo theory. There is at least one peer-reviewed scholarly article explaining that placebo works on animals.
“Ah, but I see you want the study findings to be replicated”
Of course. If it’s not replicable, it isn’t robust evidence, is it?
Even the authors said: “Larger trials are needed”. It’s only been 17 years, so I suppose it’s a bit unrealistic to expect them to have conducted another trial and published the results… /s
The trailer states (without evidence), “There are hundreds of thousands of doctors throughout the world doing it. 200 million people are using it. Are they all mad?”
More than 200 million people worldwide smoke tobacco. Perhaps there’s a reason that the bandwagon fallacy is a fallacy…
You should try it before making such claims. I hv been cured of back problems and spurs..while allopathic doctors said it has no cure other than surgery. My urticaria also cured.
I don’t know whether to feel sorry for these people or angry. I just read an article about a young lady with Hodgkins being treated by a Florida dr. (who finally lost his license), who has died in 2013 as a result of his quackery. Unfortunately, he’ll move on and continue with this horse shit. So yeah, I guess I am angry.
Did you also read about the fact that 99.8 % of patients who are treated with Chemo end up dead beacause of it. Go educate yourself out of ignorance for god sakes!
My word. Your evidence for this startling assertion would be fascinating. Or did you just pluck this figure out of the air?
I don’t think Anon plucked it out of the air…
99.8%??? Really? Don’t throw out numbers you wish were true without backing it up. That’s just moronic and really not even worth my time in responding.
The % seems to be incorrect.
The correct tabulated data shows medicine promoted by Andy Lewis killed and maimed 43 million people worldwide in 2012. Figures for 2016 would be much higher. In the USA medical errors is the 3rd major reason for people dying in 2015. This year it would be the 2nd most important reason.
This data is for dead in the hospitals. Those who end up dead in homes because of medical errors is additional.
Iqbal Krishna said:
Where is Andy promoting medicine?
99.8%?? Sorry to disappoint you, but actually 100% of people die, whether they use chemo or homeopathy! But just because one event follows another does not mean the first caused the second. This fallacy may lie behind some of the assertions along the lines of “I had some homeopathic remedy and later my pain / rash / sore throat etc got better so homeopathy must be the reason for the improvement” Sometimes these symptoms would simply improve with the passage of time, even in the absence of any treatment. Many people who take allopathic medicines get better by exactly the same process, which is why it is so important to test the treatment against a placebo – to see if the treatment is better than the (say) 30% who improve with placebo alone.
When you read these notes on death due to homeopathy, go through it another time closely. You will see an Andy Lewis behind it. Look more closely and the truth would be startling: homeopathy would have nothing to do with it. Then Google the reference for “Modern Medicine” for similar cases. You would find thousands of dead bodies.
@iqbal Krishna
I can’t make any sense out of your rather bizarre comment, but Google? Is that where you get your medical information from.
Alan Henness
Google is one of the neutral sources that puts in all the information at one place. Then one can shift through the details.
There are many others:
http://lynnemctaggart.com/of-dirty-medicine-and-double-standards/?bt_ee=2zkzlXt5WD1XB15lZqoLBxJ1o65ur1av6O6dHP+PiQPDZMORW7kYTcTjfzhoTcBF&bt_ts=1491583969132
Alan Henness
If you have time Google allows you to uncover truths: your spat with rosross:
http://synapses.co.za/homeopathic-anecdotes-data/
You are a professional writer against homeopathy: who pays for it?
Alan Henness
AND PROVIDE INFORMATION ON YOUR FUNDING AND LEANINGS.
tydty.com/2015/05/under-attack-try-smearing-someone-who-had-absolutely-nothing-to-do-with-it/
Iqbal Krishna said:
Google rankings depend on things like popularity, not veracity. To counteract that, Google takes action now to counter misinformation and promote information from reliable sources, particularly on things like health. That will not please quacks.
Iqbal Krishna said:
Bizarre. That’s certainly one instance where I’ve corrected her and others and exposed her lack of understanding and knowledge.
Well, there’s an accusation. Care to substantiate it?
Iqbal Krishna said:
Your link is incorrect, of course…
As for my ‘FUNDING’, perhaps you could try that Google thing you recommended to me earlier?
As for my ‘LEANINGS’, slightly to the left after I broke my leg as a youngster in a playground accident. (You won’t find that using Google.)
You think homeopathy is good? You obviously haven’t tried lacrimas monocerotis!
Seriously, there is nothing that homeopathy can treat that unicorn tears can’t treat faster and more effectively. My wife lost her left leg (I know, bloody careless!) in a car crash. A 3-day course of unicorn tears later, and she was fully bipedally ambulatory! My son’s pet guinea-pig (Gertie) died. We buried it next to the compost heap, Our family Lacrimal Monocerotist suggested irrigating the grave with unicorn tears. Gertie recovered and, 20 years later, she is still a treasured family pet. Eat your hearts out, homeopathists!
Or maybe there’s a problem with unverified and unverifiable anecdote.
I think you are totally disregarding the benefits of unicorn poo! I’ve heard that it comes out in an actual rainbow and tastes like ice cream!!! Yeaaaaay!!!!
Dear Andy Lewis,
You seem to have no other work left than just offending and writing madly on homoeopathy. If you are so free, write what evidence you have on best cures by “conventional” medicine rather wasting time and energy on something you yourself have zero belief. Clearly your article signifies that you do not know what is “evidence” is all about, and you stay with same old school thoughts. You are neither a drug inspector nor an authority to report on this- so your own article itself shows “meaningless scribbles” and “lack of character”- so at least you do not talk of “evidence”, and come on…. do not judge a system of medicine just based on some random video.
This is my messege to whomsoever have posted about….. homoeopathy ….is false….u are not having right to comment negative about homoeopathy until n unless u have studied or understood or experienced the treatment……..it’s a true scientific…rationalized and the most innovative..updated pathy.. close to nature…millions n trillions of patients are being benefited by homeopathy daily….confirm from them….or call me 9923130826 but.dont give pessimistic comments..
Then who has the right to comment? http://ukhomeopathyregulation.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/qualified-to-judge.html
Why are you so angry on it if it doesn’t work at all? There is a propaganda against homeopathy actually. As said it the video , nothing works all the time and with everyone! I think some basic questions are being asked in the video which need answers from the anti homeopathic team. We have seen positive results, when conventional medicines FAILED. At least for animals and kids you can not justify the “placebo” theory. It’s ok to question, to argue or to demand answers. But to spread hatred, is not fair.
Homeopathy is one of the advanced healing modality and based on quantum physics and nanotechnology.the whole concevable matter of the earth can be reduced to pea.is proved by quantum physics,which says 99 percent of matter is pure energy.
Atomic energy r all based on energy inside a single atom which is eqivalent to burning 200tons of carbon.
Homeopathy works on similar lines.
Please dont spread false information .95percent of cancer pt die because of chemo and radiation ,is written by allopathic doctors .
This is a harmless form of treatment .What more is that it works not only on humans but also animals.
And it’s not a placebo
Why do you insist on talking about things you clearly have absolutely no idea about? ‘Quantum physics and nanotechnology’. Ha Ha Ha.
So Andy, this blog has an interesting meter. When one actually penetrates the smokescreen illusion, one goes into moderation! Is this how you keep your fallacy alive? So looking forward to meeting you in public at one of your events to discuss you medical paradigm fallacy – won’t be able to moderate then will you!
I love the quantum. As soon as quantum physics appeared it became the answer to everything. Largely due to Depak Chopra I think. And now nanotechnology has appeared. And none of them know anything about either of them.
A good try Ajay jain, but your attempt at a spoof has already been done far, far better by ‘Dr’ Charlene Werner. She’s a difficult act to follow.
I think the efficacy of homoeopathy is unquestionable. The research should be on how it works inspite of the substance being sometimes nonexistent in a remedy after several dilution.
Well you think wrong.
I agree with Ace Biswas: the efficiency of homeopathy is unquestionable – Unquestionably it doesn’t work any better than placebo.
To realise the goal health for all, more funds for homeopathic research may be a good option. It has the potential to cure a lot many people including those who are guided by a pre-conceived notion and looks nowhere else.
Where do you think this funding should come from?
The fact that even when you cannot explain it scientific ally, there are so many well educated and informed people who use homeopathy and benefit from it must make you want to try it before you write anything on your blog. All are not fools.
How do you know they are not all fools?
So flu vaccine is any different! And the taxpayer stumps the bill for the fallacious flu vaccine. That is a far more urgent campaign to stop, where is the body count for homeopathy!
I read this blog sometimes and always get something from it but this piece really made me think and brought up some questions.
You mention how homeopathy can do harm and is maybe even killing people. Is there any scientific research which shows the scale of this? I occasionally see a tragic case in the papers and I have seen ‘what’s the harm’ website, but aren’t those cases anecdotal evidence like homeopaths use to claim their cures? Also when people go on about drugs harming and killing we can accept those tragedies by balancing with the benefit. Shouldn’t we take into account the reality of the placebo effect and the time homeopaths give listening to people having positive effects and balance that against the harm as well?
In cases where talking to people don’t have any effect on the underlying cause (such as cancer and infections) there is no positive effect to balance against the harm. Balancing is not done on modality it is done on cases. We already have positive scientific strategies for those cases where a caring and listening practitioner is effective – it is covered by psychology and psychiatry. The only difference is that most of them understand where talking is not enough and that pills with fanciful names but no content can’t exert physiological effects.
There are lots of famous doctors and nurse murderers, ie Crippin, Shipman – the latter passed his GMC audit as safe to practice, 2 weeks before being arrested by police for mass murder! Safe in their hands! You gotta be kidding, next they will be pushing mass compulsory vaccination and it will descend into total stupid
@Franklin Perterson
You do know Hawley Harvey Crippen was a homeopath, don’t you?
Newby, medicine in the US is the third leading cause of death after heart attacks and cancer, and that is being on the correct medication ie presciption. Painkillers in the US combined ie opiate and NSAID’s kill almost 60,000 people alone. Homeopathy death doesn’t even feature on the radar with those comparisons. Studies have shown that when doctors strike the death rate goes DOWN and that isn’t just cancelling elective surgery.
LOL!
But please detail the numbers of lives saved by conventional medicine, the number of people living longer and with a higher quality of life because of conventional medicine, the number of babies who survive birth because of conventional medicine and the number of those who are suffering less and in less pain because of conventional medicine.
And then give the same numbers for homeopathy so we can make a proper comparison.
Alan
“But please detail the numbers of lives saved by conventional medicine…………………..ng less and in less pain because of conventional medicine.”
This is ONE BIG LIE. The crude drugs used as medicine are responsible for the problems.
“Yet recently, just within the past few decades, amid all of these medical advances, something has gone terribly wrong. In many different ways we appear to be getting sicker. You can see the headlines every day. We are suffering from a mysterious array of what I call “modern plagues”: obesity, childhood diabetes, asthma, hay fever, food allergies, esophageal reflux and cancer, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, autism, eczema. In all likelihood you or someone in your family or someone you know is afflicted. Unlike most lethal plagues of the past that struck relatively fast and hard, these are chronic conditions that diminish and degrade their victims’ quality of life for decades.”
“The reasons for this disaster are all around you, including overuse of antibiotics in humans and animals, Cesarian sections, and the widespread use of sanitizers and antiseptics, to name just a few. While antibiotic resistance is a huge problem—old killers like tuberculosis are increasingly resistant and making a comeback—there now seem to be separate ones, affecting people with such scourges as Clostridium difficile (C. diff), bacteria of the digestive tract resistant to multiple antibiotics, a potential danger in the hospital, and a spreading pathogen, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which can be acquired anywhere. The selective pressure of antibiotic use is clearly increasing their presence. ”
Read Dr. Martin Blaser
Alan
Just because medicine saved 50(?) it gets the right to kill and maim 100?
Iqbal Krishna said:
Yet you fail to provide any evidence…
“Yet you fail to provide any evidence…”
I could see simple english from Dr. Blaser? You want a translation?
So it seems there is no scientific evidence to show that Homeopathy does more harm than good then. This weakens the argument somewhat.
Dear someone. You misunderstand then. Homeopathy is inert. It has no direct effects. It’s only effects can then be indirect and there are then good rational reasons to understand how harm will be done if it is used in place of effective treatments.
Yes you’re right, neglect, irresponsibly practioners who don’t know their boundaries cause problems. But we’re told by the homeopaths that large numbers of people use it and feel some sort of benefit whether placebo, time and attention or whatever. All I’m saying is that unless you have an Ernstproof study showing that harm really is significant you’re working with anecdotes just like them.
If I said that were you to drive your car at 50 mph into a brick wall, would you demand evidence that you would harm yourself?
Or to be more precise – you are misunderstanding the epistemological basis upon which we can know harm will be caused.
Happened to bump into the M.D. of WAB (Wallgreen, Alliance Boots) at a business conference the other day. During her presentation she claimed that all they do is based on science..After I collared her and asked her if I had heard correctly. She then slightly shifted her position to something along lines of ” mostly”. I then asked whether they would stop selling homeopathy since it has zero evidence base and she firmly said “No” and walked off. while major companies still promote and sell this nonsense we have a battle still to fight as they give credibility to bs.
Homeopathy, astrology, numerology, psychic healing and wishful thinking can all be lumped together.
I wish these followers would stop going to the same sources to validate their stand and try some other sources like for example: skeptic.com .
.
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
(attributed to George Carlin AND Mark Twain AND Proverbs 26:4 !- even Google can’t tell me definitively!)
Thanks, Andy, for a great website.
Don’t forget chiropractic “medicine”. I was a victim of this quackery a couple of years ago. No excuse except a feeling of desperation after many ortho and pain manangement visits before finally finding an ortho doc who found the problem in one visit. I rejoice for each “school” that is shut down.
Why is flu vaccine any different to homeopathy, I mean all the studies on flu vaccine show it is useless and it is full of utter garbage, even Cocraine who did the longest ever study ie 96 season flu vaccine study – concluded that flu vaccine was implausible at best and we should not be wasting £18 million a year of NHS money. The dept of health replied – “It makes old people feel more comfortable they have done something!” I mean that has to be far more disgusting than homeopathy Andy, surely, and the tax payer is paying for it.
“Why is flu vaccine any different to homeopathy,”
Because good evidence shows that the flu vaccine has (albeit small) benefits and no harms. It therefore has a greater balance of benefit to harm than homeopathy, which has zero benefit.
“I mean all the studies on flu vaccine show it is useless and it is full of utter garbage”
That is quite simply not true, is it? In fact, far from being “all the studies”, I would venture that the truth is that none of the studies shows what you assert.
“even Cocraine who did the longest ever study ie 96 season flu vaccine study – concluded that flu vaccine was implausible at best and we should not be wasting £18 million a year of NHS money.”
That isn’t true either, it’s it? If you wish to continue to pretend that either of your assertions is true, all you need to do is cite.
However, this is all a red herring, isn’t it, in a ham-fisted effort to distract from the simple fact that there isn’t even one replicated robust DBRCT that demonstrates unequivocally that homeopathy is distinguishable from placebo.
If you can understand:
http://www.nogracias.eu/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Lancet-Infect-Dis-MA-AC-Vacuna.pdf
The mess that is scientific medicine:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4375804/
Iqbal Krishna, you wrote:
“If you can understand:
http://www.nogracias.eu/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Lancet-Infect-Dis-MA-AC-Vacuna.pdf”
I can indeed understand it. You clearly did not. The clue was in the conclusion:
“…we should maintain public support for present vaccines that are the best intervention available for seasonal influenza.”
Your other link points to a review of cherry-picked literature (clue: no mention of criteria for inclusion). Classy!
Just like Canard: turn a blind eye to real truth:
INDIA
“Government needs to take a dynamic approach in its endeavors to reduce its wasteful exercises and to save hard earned public money.”
In consideration of future redundancy, it is a necessary step for India to expeditiously upscale its manufacturing and marketing practices.
Conclusion
“A cocktail of pandemic panic, publicity propaganda, and scientific misconduct turned a new medicine with only modest efficacy into a blockbuster. It appears that the multiple regulatory checks and balances gave way as science lost its primacy and pharmaceutical enterprise lost no time in making the most of it. This reminds one of Prof R. P. Feynman’s statements after Challenger space shuttle disaster.
“Reality must take precedence over public relations as nature can’t be fooled”.
REUTERS
“There is no credible way these drugs could prevent a pandemic,” said Carl Heneghan, one of the lead investigators of the review and a professor of evidence-based medicine at Britain’s Oxford University.
The review’s main findings were that the medicines had few if any beneficial effects, but did have adverse side effects that were previously dismissed or overlooked.
“Remember, the idea of a drug is that the benefits should exceed the harms,” Heneghan said. “So if you can’t find any benefits, that accentuates the harms.”
All this for $ 3 billion. Impressive as always.
Iqbal Krishna, you wrote: “In the USA medical errors is the 3rd major reason for people dying in 2015”
That is quite simply not true (which is probably why you did not bother to cite any evidence for your remarkably silly claim). The top ten causes of death in the USA in 2015 were, in order:
Heart disease
Cancer (malignant neoplasms)
Chronic lower respiratory disease
Accidents (unintentional injuries)
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases)
Alzheimer’s disease
Diabetes
Influenza and pneumonia
Kidney disease (nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis)
Suicide
Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/282929.php
Not much change at the top since 2002, and still no appearance of iatrogenic harm: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310.pdf
You should also note that “medical error” includes things like failing to give medicine or giving the wrong medicine – so it would include all death caused indirectly by giving pseudomedicines like homeopathy.
Steve Tonkin
Please see reference.
http://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i2139/rapid-responses
Or better still:
“The number of funerals we have performed has fallen drastically,” said Hananya Shahor, the veteran director of Jerusalem’s Kehilat Yerushalayim burial society. “This month, there were only 93 funerals compared with 153 in May 1999, 133 in the same month in 1998, and 139 in May 1997,” he said. The society handles 55% of all deaths in the Jerusalem metropolitan area. Last April, there were only 130 deaths compared with 150 or more in previous Aprils. “I can’t explain why,” said Mr Shahor.
Meir Adler, manager of the Shamgar Funeral Parlour, which buries most other residents of Jerusalem, declared with much more certainty: “There definitely is a connection between the doctors’ sanctions and fewer deaths. We saw the same thing in 1983 [when the Israel Medical Association applied sanctions for four and a half months].”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1127364/
Doctors strike work and ruin undertaker business.
A pubmed report says that in the past 40 years every time doctors struck work, mortality in the region went down. The report used data from all over the world.
Iqbal Krishna, you initially claimed: “In the USA medical errors is the 3rd major reason for people dying in 2015”
I asked you for evidence for that claim. In your gish-gallop reaction, you cited two opinion pieces (Clue #1: opinions are not evidence), one of which referred to Israel (Clue #2: Israel is not the USA). Is this because you have no evidence for the claim that you actually made?
If the research paper of Doctors from John Hopkins published in BMJ is gish-gallop for you, you should continue with your association with allopaths and Le Canard(!). This belief in canard spread about homeopathy would lead you to be a statistic for the death and disability figure in not too distant future.
best of luck
Iqbal Krishna, you wrote: “If the research paper of Doctors from John Hopkins published in BMJ is gish-gallop for you..”
Nope, that’s not what I said. But then, you already knew that.
Yet you have *still* failed to produce even a smidgeon of evidence for your remarkably inane pronouncement: “In the USA medical errors is the 3rd major reason for people dying in 2015”. Is this because you knew it was untrue when you wrote it?
It seems you you don’t understand simple english also.
Steve Tonkin, what do you know about homeopathy? I suppossed that all you know about homeopathy you have read in misleading pages as this one, with partialised information. Why don´t you visit proper web pages about homeopathy, written by experts in the field. Nobody who has never tried or practised homeopathy has the right to ignore or attack the real benefits of its treament. I invite you to visit the Homeopathic Research Institute page HRI and you will check the homeopathic advances in the last years, obviosly with an open mind, not with your bias and closed mind. And check the following link where you can confirm that the third cause of death in USA are the medical errors, http://time.com/4316818/leading-cause-of-death-medical-errors/
@gui58
What did Steve Tonkin get wrong?
As for the HRI website, they have certainly published articles about homeopathy. It mentions ‘1015 clinical trials on homeopathy’. Which are the best ones to look at?
Oddly, I can’t immediately find a link to their latest meta analysis and systematic reviews. Do you know where they are?
A little disappointed you didn’t conclude a little more clearly. Vague claims as “contradict the well established results of physics, chemistry and biology, and the lack of convincing and coherent evidence from the large number of clinical trials that have been conducted” is on the same level as the racistis.
Many will get the impression from this post that the scientific attitude is to see homeopathy as possibly a evil form of therapeutics. But if you had dug a little more into the utter ad-hoc excuses of its central tenets in the context of everything we know about physical – chemistry and biology of UHD, instead of merely illustrating them with images and a rapid description -the subject would be clarified. Not only is there zero scientific evidence for “debunking” doing what it claims to do.
Andy argumentes are fake and absurd. Are you serious?
“This is inspite of the fact that the overwhelming scientific consensus is that homeopathy is a placebo treatment that cannot treat any condition.”
“Andy”. Can you share me the “overwhelming consensus”? Post here!
I have used homeopathy with great success, I was a skeptic and had got no real treatment tgat stopped my ocular migraines via allopathic medicine over many years. decided I had nothing to loose except a bit of money. Saw a homeopath got some homeopathy drops within one week my migraines dropped from four times a week to one and the course continued for five weeks, The migraines stopped completely at week three. It is now some months and I have not had a return of my migraines.
And you have excluded everything else that could have caused this? For instance my wife stop having migraines after she went through menopause.
If she would have consulted a good homeopath doctor, she did not need to wait so long.
But she suffered migraine till menopause, just spending her most enjoyable moments of young and middle age in pain..
As Dara O’Briain said “It’s water!” And if she hasn’t excluded other possible causes it’s fairytales!
It’s your illusion that allopathy is the only contractor of supplying health, just pausing the suffering / feeling of diseases for some moments and then complicating it to a graveous condition is your business. Allopathy had never eradicated any disease but just shifted it to a more complicated situation. Continued research and on going trail and errors using public money , health and happiness has just given more of hypochondriacs…
There is no such thing as ‘allopathy’. It is a delusional concept made up by homeopaths.
“pushing a simple disease to a complicated one by interruption of natural self healing process, which whole wild animals rely on”
Would that be the same “interruption of natural self healing process” that has seen human life expectancy soar, the elimination of smallpox, an enormous reduction in the incidence of poliomyelitis and numerous other debilitating diseases?
You are clueless.
Send one American with all possible drugs to Bangladesh to live in a slum. And send one Bangladeshi to USA with zero medicine. Let us see the increased life expectancy of the American compared to the Bangladeshi and then you write a new post on advantages of allopathic drugs. Consult Andy for reasons why the American died so early.
“…..and numerous other debilitating diseases..”
“Yet recently, just within the past few decades, amid all of these medical advances, something has gone terribly wrong. In many different ways we appear to be getting sicker. You can see the headlines every day. We are suffering from a mysterious array of what I call “modern plagues”: obesity, childhood diabetes, asthma, hay fever, food allergies, esophageal reflux and cancer, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, autism, eczema. In all likelihood you or someone in your family or someone you know is afflicted. Unlike most lethal plagues of the past that struck relatively fast and hard, these are chronic conditions that diminish and degrade their victims’ quality of life for decades.”
Quite contrary to your information: Ask Andy for detailed information. And all these disease are caused by allopathic drugs and treatment processes.
http://martinblaser.com/excerpt.html
Read the excerpt. The book may be beyond your understanding.
It still amazes me how threatened western medicine is by Homeopathy. Consider this: if Homeopathy has no effectiveness and is a placebo at best, why is it we have documented cases (in our clinic and worldwide) of infants and animals getting better? Last I checked infants and animals don’t have the ability to experience a placebo effect. I also point you to the many studies that western medicine ignores. I suspect skeptics will ignore them as well but ignoring this effective therapy, and disparaging it when you know nothing about how it, dooms people to pharmaceutical drugs and their harmful side effects.
Look at our documented history by hospitals of treating epidemics. Homeopathy out performed drugs when treating Cholera, Yellow Fever, Diphtheria & Influenza.
http://www.homeopathycenter.org/treatment-epidemics-homeopathy-history
“The suppressed report revealed that (for Cholera) under allopathic care the mortality was 59.2% while under homeopathic care the mortality was only 9%”
I have read at least one peer-reviewed journal article that shows that animals are susceptible to placebo. And if you think it’s so successful feel free to infect yourself with cholera and treat yourself with homeopathic remedies. I’m surprised that many of you fan boys haven’t done this already.
Really? American hospitals have records going back over 100 years of effective use of Homeopathy on major illness and all you can say is to infect yourself? I guess you’re so invested in drugs, why don’t you eat at Burger King everyday and raise your cholesterol so you can then take Lipitor. No intelligent person would believe that animals are susceptible to placebo. I challenge you to produce that “one” article and show us the methodology for getting inside an animal’s head. Are infants also susceptible? Your ignorance is astounding.
guerillasurgeon
” it’s so successful feel free to infect yourself with cholera and treat yourself with homeopathic remedies. I’m surprised that many of you fan boys haven’t done this already.”
This issue was settled long back. http://homeoint.org/morrell/londonhh/outbreak.htm
“Of the 61 cases of cholera treated, 10 died, a percentage of 16.4; of the 331 cases of choleraic and simple diarrhœa trated, 1 died. The neighbouring Middlesex Hospital received 231 cases of cholera and 47 cases of choleraic diarrhœa. Of the cholera patients treated 123 died, a fatality rate of 53.2 per cent., amont the victims being one of the nurses.”
guerillasurgeon
What has not changed is the attitude of the “scientific medicine” fans.
“That by introducing the returns of homœopathic practitioners they (the Treatment Committee) would not only compromise the value and utility of their averages of Cure, as deduced from the operation of known remedies, but they would give an unjustifiable sanction to an empirical practice, alike opposed to the maintenance of truth and to the progress of science.”
Homeopathic medicine has moved a long way ahead.
https://www.thequint.com/fit/if-homeopathy-is-hogwash-why-are-millions-still-buying-it
Robert said:
Thanks for the warning, but I’ve just checked the packet of paracetamol in my bathroom cabinet and it looked as serene and as unworried as it usually does. I’ll check by local pharmacy later to make sure the medicines have proper protection and are not cowering at the back of the shelves in fear. But I’m really worried now my local branch of Boots: homeopathy has infiltrated them and is sitting among the shelves of ‘Western’ medicine. What is to be done?
Oooh, you challenge me eh?
Conzimus/Evans, Caregiver placebo effect for dogs with lameness from osteoarthritis.
Benedetti, Placebo response in animals.
Gruen/Dorman/Lascalles, caregiver placebo effect in analgesic trials for cats with naturally…..
I was a little worried I couldn’t find the original article I spotted years ago about dairy cows, but obviously there’s been quite a bit of work about this in the intervening period. Enjoy.
Since using homeopathics, I haven’t had a cold or flu in 10 years, and I don’t take the flu shot. As soon as I feel a symptom (sore throat, stuffy nose, sneezing, etc.) I take the appropriate homeopathic and the symptom never advances and goes away within hours. Call it a placebo if you like but I don’t get sick.
Why do you think the homeopathic substance is in any way related to your observed lessening of symptoms?
What would happen if you do not take the substance?
Robert, you wrote: “As soon as I feel a symptom (sore throat, stuffy nose, sneezing, etc.)” and followed it later with: “I don’t get sick.” Did you not realise that you described some signs and symptoms of acute rhinitis (i.e. you did get sick)?
Most of these negative resposnes are trolls who absolutely do not have your health and well being in mind. They are following the money, or should we say the threat to the loss of it. Homeopathy has helped my family enormously. In fact it is the medicine we have used for generations. We feel secure in knowing that we use remedies that are safe, have no side effects, are easy to obtain and most importanlty work so quickly to alleviate our suffering. Trolls have no clue, obviously.
All you need now is some evidence to back up your claims rather than just bold assertions.
Bold… and bald assertions…
You are not interested in evidence. If you were, you would spend the time reading the multiple double & triple-blind placebo controlled studies conducted over many years. We see results in our practice daily with people and pets where doctors and vets were not able to help. We also work together with doctors and vets and they are admitting homeopathy is a benefit to their patients. You need to get a life and stop wasting people’s time with your uneducated nonsense.
Robert said:
Which ones?
Robert – please cite a review of the studies that supports your claims.
“They are following the money,”
Please feel free to cite your evidence for that assertion – and for the other ones you made in your post. As far as I can see, the only money involved here is that which homeopaths (you claim to be one: http://homeopathyworldcommunity.ning.com/profile/HeidiSchor ) stand to lose (*) when people wake up to the simple fact that your nostrums are based on magical thinking and are fully explained by placebo and regression to the mean.
* Must be quite a tidy profit in hawking water and/or pharmaceutically inert sugar pills to the gullible and desperate for thousands of $/£/€ per kilo.
(Name of company : Income, R&D, Sales in US $ billion)
(J & J : 71.9, 9, 28.9)
(Roche: 53.4, 11.7, 11)
(Pfizer: 52.8, 7.9, 14.7)
(Novratis: 48.5, 9, 11.9)
(Merck : 39.8, 10.1, 9.8)
(Glaxo: 37.7, 4.7, 15.74)
(Total: 304.1, 52.4, 92.04)
In % terms, sales expenses are larger than that of FMCG companies like Sears!!!!!!
Well said.
Robert, you wrote: [a lot of things for which you provided no evidence plus] “the multiple double & triple-blind placebo controlled studies”
I don’t believe that there are any replicated, robustly conducted, double- (or triple-) blinded randomised control trials that demonstrate that homeopathy is distinguishable from placebo. However, if what you imply is true, you shouldn’t have any difficulty in citing one such trial (yes, only one).
Until such time, the Nullius In Verba principle applies to your various assertions.
Andy has a PhD. Subject I am not aware of.
I posted 9 links. Waiting for the moderator to approve the post.
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Pharmacology/dc-bits/spence-jacm-05.pdf
Is that one of your nine? A self-assessed customer satisfaction survey completed by self-selected homeopathy believers that did not measure treatment outcomes and did
not show that participants’ perceived improvement was due to any homeopathic product they
might have been given? Seriously?
Do I need to look at the rest?
http://www.explorejournal.com/article/S1550-8307%2806%2900563-5/abstract
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229905000221
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1475491611000154
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007078597800440
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19590483
28 Part Research: https://hpathy.com/scientific-research/database-of-positive-homeopathy-research-studies/
28 Part Research: https://hpathy.com/scientific-research/database-of-positive-homeopathy-research-studies/
Yeah. You said that… But can you spot any problems with that Gish Gallop?
And what about Andy’s question about your evidence?
It’s not my job to educate you. If you are interested, do your own research. If not, don’t. I personally see people’s lives become better through Homeopathy on a daily basis, especially children and teens. I don’t know what you do with your time.
You don’t say for whom that’s intended, but if it was your job to educate us, you might be advised to get a new one. But it is your job to back up any claims you make.
As Andy asked: “please cite a review of the studies that supports your claims.”
I sent 9 links of studies. If that’s not good enough for you then so be it.
Ah. The ‘never mind the quality, just look at the number of them’ gambit. Hilarious!
But do you think any of the other eight are going to withstand scrutiny any better than your first? Which one do you believe is the most compelling?
And what about Andy’s question to you?
Access to over 150 placebo controlled clinical studies with all references: https://homeopathic.com/case-homeopathic-medicine-historical-scientific-evidence/
Robert – we all know that there are a lot of studies into homeopathy. We also know that they are almost always poor quality studies with ambiguous results. That is why I asked you for a review study that systematically tries to draw conclusions from the available evidence takin into account such factors as study size, robustness and methodologies.
You do not appear to understand the importance of this.
Robert
Are you able to answer the questions that have been asked about the references you’ve cited?
Robert, you wrote:
sent 9 links of studies Indeed you did. None of which met the criteria (replicated, robust, randomised, double-blinded). Epic fail!
If it doesn’t meet the criteria, of course it’s not good enough. In fact it’s Ca2SbMg4FeBe2Si4O20.
Help me get the etiquette right, Robert: Do you prefer the appellation “deluded” or “charlatan”.
Oh you mean like the official studies used for FDA approvals of the hundreds of drugs that have killed thousands of people and damaged millions with their horrible side effects. Sorry, I don’t have any of those types of studies. I’ll be you even think global warming is true.
Robert:
No, I don’t mean those. I mean one (yes, just one) replicated, robustly conducted, double-blinded, randomised control trial that demonstrates that homeopathy is distinguishable from placebo.
But then, you already knew that is what I meant.
Presumably you cited that page because you have read the “over 150” studies. Which of them meets the criteria in bold in my 11:33 post?
I guess the hundreds of people and pets we’ve successfully treated really weren’t because there is no systematic study to prove it. The woman’s migraines didn’t go away. The child with ADHD didn’t settle down and focus better. The anxiety and nightmares of another didn’t disappear. The rash unsuccessfully treated by a dermatologist didn’t go away. The stage 4 cancer patient didn’t get his appetite back after one session. The parrot didn’t stop biting its owner after 2 days. They all, plus hundreds more, must be deluded. The last link has tons of scientific proof you choose to ignore and I have practical real world experience with hundreds of people so I’m fine with your disbelief. Maybe you need to be fine with it and move on.
Those are merely unverified (and unverifiable) anecdotes.
So far, Robert, all you have posited in defence of homeopathy are:
* Unverifiable anecdotes
* A pretence that placebo does not work on infants or animals
* A pretence that “western medicine” is threatened by homeopathy
* A number of links, none of which is to a study that meets the criteria above
Do you really expect to convince anybody with that? Or are you merely trying to defend an income source?
Alternative medicine isn’t as big an industry as proper medicine, but then it doesn’t work. It’s still worth thirty-four billion or more a year though. Of course they give their remedies away for free, not being concerned with the profit motive at all./Sarc in case it was needed.
I gotta laugh at this article because the way it is presented, as defensive and frightened, makes me want to see the movie now.
The funny thing is that he made many statements based on opinion as if it were fact…then he said he didn’t even watch the movie!! Ha ha ha! I think the author is afraid that homeopathy might really work but he doesn’t want to admit it. And THAT intrigues me to want to see it!
I guess an educated person would realize there is a place for both medicine and homeopathic, along with other alternatives to coexist and be beneficial. Those who think they no it all are the ones who are brainwashed.
Your guess is wrong. Your spelling is a bit off too.
Hey, ease up there, Andy: at least the Unknown sojer categorised ‘medicine’ and ‘homeopethic'(sic) as distinct from each other.
@gui58
“what do you know about homeopathy? ”
Quite a lot, actually. I used to use it,and tout for it, until the cognitive dissonance became too much to bear. Also, a very good friend used to be a homeopath (also until the cognitive dissonance became intolerable, plus intellectual and moral integrity).
“Nobody who has never tried or practised homeopathy has the right to ignore or attack the real benefits of its treament (sic).”
Are you really trying to pass that off as “reasoning”? By that silly mental process, nobody should criticise the use of crack cocaine unless s/he has tried it for him/herself.
“I invite you to visit the Homeopathic Research Institute page ”
I know it well. The HRI (https://www.hri-research.org/resources/homeopathy-the-debate/essentialevidence/clinical-trials-overview/#) touts five out of six meta-analyses as being positive. Let’s look at the conclusions of those five so-called “positive” meta-analyses:
Kleijnen et al. 1991: ‘… not sufficient to draw definitive conclusions because most trials are of low methodological quality and because of the unknown role of publication bias’
Linde et al. 1997: ‘…we found insufficient evidence from these studies that homeopathy is clearly efficacious for any single clinical condition.’
Linde et al. 1999: ‘We conclude that in the study set investigated, there was clear evidence that studies with better methodological quality tended to yield less positive results.’
Cucherat et al. 2000: ‘… the strength of this evidence is low because of the low methodological quality of the trials. Studies of high methodological quality were more likely to be negative than the lower quality studies…’
Mathie et al. 2014: ‘The low or unclear overall quality of the evidence prompts caution in interpreting the findings.’
NB: these are the ones of which the HRI stated: “five were positive”. I wonder how negative something had to be to be relegated to the quack-invented “inconclusive” category (which, of course, honest researchers call by its correct name: “negative”, because they have failed to refute the null hypothesis!)
“And check the following link where you can confirm that the third cause of death in USA are the medical errors,”
Ah, a news magazine’s report on a blog post. Do you really think that counts as “convincing evidence”? Really?
When you say cognitive dissonance became too much to bare do you mean you couldn’t understand the workings of it AFTER you had no relief? Plenty of times you will find patients on their second or third allopathic practitioner, in search of relief. Get a better homeopath.
Alan Henness please check here: https://www.hri-research.org/hri-research/learning-more-from-existing-evidence/systematic-review-programme/
I’m not sure that something funded by a homeopathic hospital, looking into homeopathy lives up the ideals of research somehow.
So, you think it is the ideal of research in conventional medicine, that most of its research to be financed by the big pharma?
gui58 said:
I’m quite familiar with that page. I asked you which are the best ones to look at? And where are Mathie et al.?
No, I do not mean that. Odd as it may seem, if I’d meant that, I would have said that. The homeopath we were seeing at the time was (still is?) considered to be one of the best in the country.
Just gave homeopathic Phosphorus 30c to a child with a persistent, unremitting cough who hadn’t slept for 3 days and nights. The remedy was chosen using materia medica with the following symptoms: Respiration, quickened; Generals, cold air, worse from; rusty sputa; worse lying on the left side. In addition, the child had the characteristic signs of phosphorus: thin, tall, narrow chested, transparent skin. I am fairly certain the cough came on from a change in the weather and exposure to cold and damp. The cough began diminishing after the first dose, there was an exteriorization of the illness with much vomiting of mucus 45 minutes after the first dose. Child has slept through the night for two consecutive nights with some intermittent coughing at longer and longer intervals. The beauty of homeopathy isn’t that it is perfect or that it ‘makes sense’ to the materialist. The beauty of homeopathy comes from the study of science and Hahnemann and remedies and practice on individuals that takes a lot of time, care and patience. There is nothing here to promote propaganda, it is just unfortunate that we have been tricked into thinking that we know better than nature how to cure.
Awww…bless…
I feel sorry for this child. Let’s hope you haven’t irrevocably damaged this child’s health. I worry for his/her future.
Jane what do you know about homeopathy? I would be worry to give conventional treatment to the child, at least with homeopathy avoids the inconvenient and sometimes dangerous side effects of the conventional medicines. Children are the most benefited by the homeopathic treatment. Please inform yourself first properly about homeopathy before give wrong opinions and misinform people. It is easy to lie and repeatdly say that homeopathy it is not more than a placebo, but based in wrong sources, if you check properly you will find many random double blind clinical trials which results conclude that homeopathy is superior to placebo. The problem it is that skeptical people like you and other in this blog focus only in the homeopathic clinical trials with bad results against homeopathy, forgetting that even in conventional clinical trials there are bad results also, and that it is not a sufficient reason to affirm that conventional medicine is worthless or that it is the same as placebo
Sceptics do not just focus on the ‘bad results’ of homeopathy. We focus on the fact that it is a steaming pile of nonsense that is used by buffoons to treat vulnerable people.
Andy Lewis, I am not sure that homeopathy is a pile of nonsense as you said. Maybe the science behind homeopathy is to much for your undestanding. Do you think that after more of 200 hundred years of homeopathic existence, patients and doctors as I, would not stop using homeopathic treatment if they would find bad results? It is evident the good results and I insist that people with a narrow mind like you never will accept the evidence in favour to homeopathy just because see, hear and say only their arguments against homeopathy. I hope you and your family never have a serious side effect with the medicines you defend. I invite you to check the following homeopathic arguments, there you will find another source that I am sure will not convince you about your false ideas about homeopathy, but at least I tried and I will continue to see everyday the good results of homeopathic treatment in my patients and see their treatment satisfaction, many of them which came to my office because of the bad results with conventional medicine. See the following link: https://www.hri-research.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Understanding-the-Homeopathy-Debate-26-Sept-2017.pdf
Deary me. You do realise that the Homeopathic Research Institute is just a couple of people who rent a room above a kebab shop or something?
The nonsense theyt publish is nothing but ill-argued propaganda to fool the weak minded. Well done.
The HRI seem to have gone up in the world recently. They now seem to be above (or below) an estate agent at 142 Cromwell Road, London.
Oh, but wait! That looks like it’s just a <a href="https://www.registeredaddress.co.uk/offices"virtual office.
Andy you think that saying lies or misinforming people will change the opinion of million of people benifited with homeopathy? The following words are from the HRI web page, you can chek that it is not what you are saying about that organization, “Welcome to HRI
HRI is an innovative international charity created to address the need for high quality scientific research in homeopathy. The charity was founded by physicist, Dr Alexander Tournier, who previously worked as an independent researcher for Cancer Research UK, conducting interdisciplinary research at the boundaries between mathematics, physics and biology.
How does homeopathy work? What can homeopathy treat?
Scientists, doctors and homeopathic clinicians working with HRI are looking for answers to these key questions, using the most rigorous methods available”.
You are very disrespectufull, I invite you to be less passionate and better inform about homeopathy.
gui58 said:
It’s not clear who this is aimed at, but perhaps you can say what Andy or are uninformed about?
To d writer of this stupid article. Sir first of all pls learn biology and physics subjects like quantum physics which d legendary Einstein showed so clearly.d quantum physics says everything is made up of energy only at its subatomic level.so homeopathy is based on this fact.Hanneman as he said d theory dat hpathy cures d patient as a whole but not d disease is purely based on d very sublest aspects of quantum physics. Hpathy knows d entire patient as a bundle of energy at suble level n d hpathy says d disese r nothing but only outward visuals of disturbance in suble energy level n all body parts made up of same energy.so d dilutions only take d suble energy of gross crude medicines as quantum energy into it dat can modify d said diseased outcome by correcting d disturbed sublest energy of body.so if anyone discards homeopathy theory he is dicarding d quantum physics and Einstein himself.based on it atom bomb was invented. I dont think who superficilly disregards hpathy might b a gr8 scholar but must b a layman who does not know d abc of midern quantum physics. Millions of cases of cures from hpathy is clearly evident in uncurable cases.whoever disregard hpathy pls go to college back to learn biology n atomic science otherwise with little logic stupid brain can nt understand d science of Sir Einstein or Sir Hanneman.
This is a word salad of meaningless nonsense by someone who knows nothing about physics or the history of physics. Unfortunately every so often someone like you appears and says “quantum” when actually knowing nothing about it. It’s like the God of the gaps. We don’t knows so we’ll insert quantum here.
Ah yes, quantum physics. The branch of science with which people who know exactly sod all about quantum physics can explain anything.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20674839
Large-scale application of highly-diluted bacteria for Leptospirosis epidemic control.
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2156587214525402
A Reevaluation of the Effectiveness of Homoeoprophylaxis Against Leptospirosis in Cuba in 2007 and 2008
https://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e6184/rr/616928
Andy: should you start again?
Andy: you have any update on homeopathic nosode trial for leptospirosis epidemic in Cuba?
I am informed it was very successful.
I am confident the quacks who conducted any trial would find ways to think it successful.
This is what I read::
“The authors of the Cuban homeopathic leptospirosis trial were not homeopaths. They were veteran conventional medical researchers and scientists who had been manufacturing, testing and implementing the use of conventional vaccinations for decades. They were highly respected in the vaccine world. Their work had previously been published in many of the major vaccine journals such as, Vaccine, Human Vaccines, Expert Review of Vaccines, etc.” They were from Finlay Institute – a WHO-designated research center).
Your comment.
You checked reference above?
Andy lewis
“I am confident the quacks who conducted any trial would find ways to think it successful.”
Who all from this list is a quack? They are from Finlay Institute.
Gustavo Bracho, Enrique Varela, Rolando Fernandez, Barbara Ordaz, Natalia Marzoa, Jorge Menendez, Luis Garcıa, Esperanza Gilling, Richard Leyva, Reynaldo Rufın, Rube n de la Torre, Rosa L Solis, Niurka Batista, Reinier Borrero, and Concepcio n Campa.
You can check research gate for their profile.
All of them.
Finlay Institute cleared for vaccine development and production by WHO employs quacks. Research gate carries details of researcher profiles and their work is filled with quacks identified by Andy Lewis.
Considering the above statement is not correct, the corollary would automatically be correct: Andy Lewis is the REAL quack going around calling others “quacks.”
Andy Lewis: you are one bad loser.
It was highly successful – as marketing fodder for uncritical homeopaths. Otherwise not so much.
But perhaps you can say why those who informed you thought it was ‘very successful’?
You figure prominently in the message: regretfully rather disdainfully.
“Alan Henness, who calls himself a ‘challenger of misleading health claims,’ continues to make vague assertions and accusations without having any grasp of the basic facts.
“Presumably then, if homeoprophylaxis for Leptospirosis was so successful and saved so many lives, the Cuban health authorities will have been boldly rolling it out all over Cuba for the last five years?”
Is this correct?
“Based on the results achieved with leptospirosis, the Cuban Ministry of Health began using homeopathic prophylaxis and treatment for other infectious epidemics, including dengue fever, ‘swine’ flu, hepatitis A and conjunctivitis – all with similar success.”
The nosode was 200c
I await your answer to the question I asked.
Alan
Large-scale application of highly-diluted bacteria for Leptospirosis epidemic control
(Finlay Institute, Ave. 27, La Lisa, Havana City, Cuba: is a homeopathic institute?)
A Reevaluation of the Effectiveness of Homoeoprophylaxis Against Leptospirosis in Cuba in 2007 and 2008
“The results support the previous conclusions that homoeoprophylaxis can be used to effectively immunize people against targeted infectious diseases such as leptospirosis.”
Check researchgate profile and work of Gustavo_Bracho.
You sound sick.
I’ll tell you what, if you can’t answer my question, perhaps you could comment on the following…
You suggested I look up Bracho – why not look up Isaac Golden, the other author of the second paper and who was consulted on the first? You said:
“The authors of the Cuban homeopathic leptospirosis trial were not homeopaths. They were veteran conventional medical researchers and scientists who had been manufacturing, testing and implementing the use of conventional vaccinations for decades. They were highly respected in the vaccine world.”
Let’s look at the judgement in the FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Homeopathy Plus! Australia Pty Limited [2014] FCA 1412.
“25 Dr Golden is an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Science, Information Technology and Engineering at the University of Ballarat. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy from Swinburne University of Technology awarded in 2004 on the topic of Potential value of Homeoprophylaxis in the Long-Term Prevention of Infectious Diseases and the Maintenance of General Health in Recipients, together with diplomas in naturopathy and homoeopathy from the Melbourne College of Naturopathy in 1990 and the Melbourne College of Homoeopathy in 1989 respectively. To the extent that Dr Golden’s report was admitted, it was largely confined by orders under s 136 of the Evidence Act to a description of the philosophical approach of homeopathy to the treatment and prevention of disease as opposed to evidence on the effectiveness of homeopathy in preventing whooping cough. The closing submissions for the Respondents repeatedly overlooked the limited basis on which Dr Golden’s evidence was admitted, submitting that it showed that there is a reasonable basis in homeopathic science for the representations about homeoprophylaxis. However, given the terms of the order, his evidence simply could not be put to that use.”
Golden is a homeopath and was put up as an expert witness on homeopathy – and homeoprophylaxis in particular – in the case against anti-vaxxer Fran Sheffield. The judge concluded:
“33 At its heart, the difficulty with Dr Golden’s report was that it cast no light upon the reasoning by which the opinions given were reached. Crucially, just as the figure reached in Dasreef as to the likely level of exposure to dust lacked reasons by which the connection between the specialised knowledge and the evidence was demonstrated, equally no such connection between the evidence as to the alleged efficacy of homeoprophylaxis in the prevention of whooping cough (or other diseases) and the application of specialised knowledge was identified by Dr Golden’s report. As such, the evidence fell well short of meeting the requirements of s 79 of the Evidence Act. In those circumstances, I had no discretion. The passages in question were not admissible. ”
Golden wasn’t much of an expert at all.
If you’ve not read all of that court judgement, I can thoroughly recommend it. It’s quite enlightening.
Thanks for the ‘diagnosis, Iqbal…
I’ll tell you what, if you can’t answer my question, perhaps you could comment on the following…
You suggested I look up Bracho – why not look up Isaac Golden, the other author of the second paper and who was consulted on the first? You said:
“The authors of the Cuban homeopathic leptospirosis trial were not homeopaths. They were veteran conventional medical researchers and scientists who had been manufacturing, testing and implementing the use of conventional vaccinations for decades. They were highly respected in the vaccine world.”
Let’s look at the judgement in the FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Homeopathy Plus! Australia Pty Limited [2014] FCA 1412.
“25 Dr Golden is an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Science, Information Technology and Engineering at the University of Ballarat. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy from Swinburne University of Technology awarded in 2004 on the topic of Potential value of Homeoprophylaxis in the Long-Term Prevention of Infectious Diseases and the Maintenance of General Health in Recipients, together with diplomas in naturopathy and homoeopathy from the Melbourne College of Naturopathy in 1990 and the Melbourne College of Homoeopathy in 1989 respectively. To the extent that Dr Golden’s report was admitted, it was largely confined by orders under s 136 of the Evidence Act to a description of the philosophical approach of homeopathy to the treatment and prevention of disease as opposed to evidence on the effectiveness of homeopathy in preventing whooping cough. The closing submissions for the Respondents repeatedly overlooked the limited basis on which Dr Golden’s evidence was admitted, submitting that it showed that there is a reasonable basis in homeopathic science for the representations about homeoprophylaxis. However, given the terms of the order, his evidence simply could not be put to that use.”
Golden is a homeopath and was put up as an expert witness on homeopathy – and homeoprophylaxis in particular – in the case against anti-vaxxer Fran Sheffield. The judge concluded:
“33 At its heart, the difficulty with Dr Golden’s report was that it cast no light upon the reasoning by which the opinions given were reached. Crucially, just as the figure reached in Dasreef as to the likely level of exposure to dust lacked reasons by which the connection between the specialised knowledge and the evidence was demonstrated, equally no such connection between the evidence as to the alleged efficacy of homeoprophylaxis in the prevention of whooping cough (or other diseases) and the application of specialised knowledge was identified by Dr Golden’s report. As such, the evidence fell well short of meeting the requirements of s 79 of the Evidence Act. In those circumstances, I had no discretion. The passages in question were not admissible. ”
Golden wasn’t much of an expert at all.
If you’ve not read all of that court judgement, I can thoroughly recommend it. It’s quite enlightening.
“You suggested I look up Bracho – why not look up Isaac Golden, the other author of the second paper and who was consulted on the first?
You are trying to imply, that Isacc Golden was smart and was able to fool/coerce Bracho in agreeing to sign the follow up report? Or was Bracho a dumb lamb led by Golden, as he wanted to?
The researchers at Finlay Institute (a WHO designated facility) with years of experience in vaccine development, were foolish enough to accept Golden’s suggestions, lock stock and barrel and prepare results as he wanted to. You really have a poor opinion about researchers in scientific vaccine. I agree with your sentiments. People in scientific medicine work for years and remain clueless in their area of expertise. With WHO clearing such institutes, there is no reason why the world would ever be better medically.
The list of stupid researchers:
Gustavo Bracho, Enrique Varela, Rolando Fernandez, Barbara Ordaz, Natalia Marzoa, Jorge Menendez, Luis Garcıa, Esperanza Gilling, Richard Leyva, Reynaldo Rufın, Rube n de la Torre,
Rosa L Solis, Niurka Batista, Reinier Borrero, and Concepcio n Campa.
None of them a homeopath.
Then Golden was able to influence the Leptospirosis bacteria and these agreed to reduce infecting number of people and it was easy for Cuban government to be led up a pre-determined route.
How many red herrings do you carry in that little cap of yours?
ROFL!
Have you bothered to read the original papeer? Did you spot any shortcomings?
Let us first close your earlier implied message:
“Issac Golden, fooled the experienced (morons?) developers and researchers of scientific vaccines from the Finlay Institute. They quietly signed on the dotted line for a trial design, data check and review and conclusion dictated by Golden. These idiots, followed Golden around like lambs forgetting all their education and past experience, doing exactly as he guided them to do.”
“Repeat for the follow up study.” There after Golden blindfolded the mentally bankrupt Cuban health officials, and led them to start using homeopathic prophylaxis and treatment for other infectious epidemics, including dengue fever, ‘swine’ flu, hepatitis A and conjunctivitis – successfully.
The biggest foolishness: the trial was done with 200c nosode.
And all this while, WHO officials were sitting twiddling their thumbs and waiting for their turn with Golden?
Confirm I read you correct, Get off the floor, wipe the stupid grin off you face and then we discuss trial.
Awww… bless…
Not even close.
BTW, do you understand what the Reply button is for and why it’s useful?
Alan
Time you started collecting fig leaves. One may not be enough.
“In his comments, it is clear that Alan Henness has not understood the distinctions between an observational study of a population; a randomised controlled trial using a sample of a population; and the need and reasons to randomise the sample in the latter, but not the former. This distinction is covered in most books on basic medical statistics, to which I direct his kind attention.” (Ever come close to a book on medical statistics or you also have a PhD from Andy’s favorite school?)
“……..Alan Henness asserts confidently that: ‘….it would be ethically wrong to base a health intervention on such an unsound trial.’ The people of Eastern Cuba may count themselves fortunate that Alan Henness is not their Chief Medical Officer.”
David Eyles is down right polite. Prince Charles used one boot on Ernst at Exeter. I was wondering if his other boot was still available.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, Iqbal…
You haven’t read it, have you|?
ROFL!
May not be a very bad idea to remain on floor. The homeopathic world can use you as a door mat while walking over you.
Awww… bless, Iqbal. You’re completely clueless, aren’t you?
Iqbal is just another Quacker……hahahahaha
“You can check research gate for their profile.”
Research Gate profiles are not refereed. Anyone can put just about anything (plausible) s/he likes in his/her profile.
Similarly, anyone can publish on Research Gate – it’s not refereed. Pretty much the same is true for any Open Access repository.
Andy Lewis, how much money do you got from pharmaceutical associations to show Homeopathy is a *Quack Treatment*???
Surely your personality is quack but not Homeopathy
ROFL! Oh you are funny, Ranjha Kom! No one needs any money from ‘pharmaceutical associations’ (and why would they pay anyway?): the evidence shows homeopathy to be quackery all by itself.
“‘Treating the entire person, not just the disease’ is part of the meaningless mythology of homeopaths that is routinely trotted out.”
How does that song go again? Your head bone’s coneected to your, neck bone, your neck bone’s connected to your, back bone. Etc.
No single part of the human body exists in isolation, so why NOT treat the whole person?
Anyway ironically treating the entire person not just the disease is exactly what happens every time you take painkillers or antibiotics. Go figure.
If it’s too low in dilution then it’s too low to be harmful, but might be clinically effective purely for placebo purposes. If it makes someone feel better they might, for example, cook a healthy meal rather than get takeout. They might go for a walk outside and increase vitamin d levels rather than watch TV, they might put down their phones and engage with other humans face to face, thus increasing mental wellbeing. There are many ways to good health, only the ones which profit big pharmaceutical companies are researched.
Homeopathy does not seek to cure severe diseases (and nobody should suggest that it does) but more work alongside natural body processes to optimise health.
For me personally I used aconite to help control fear and anxiety around horse riding. I didn’t expect it to work (no teenager takes their mum seriously) but it did, I was aware that my fear had not gone away, but somehow it stopped me feeling it.
I’ve also seen it and similar remedies used on farm animals to calm them to prevent them injuring themselves from panicking against restraints whilst various other “treatments” are carried out (farm animals don’t really qualify for human levels of anaesthesia).
Your article is biased, ignorant and out of line, you obviously know know nothing about Homeopathy, and have never experienced it, yet you write such rubbish and trash something that has saved millions of lives or alleviated symptoms of severe illness of millions of people! try something before maligning it !!
Spend your time trashing main stream medicine which kills millions of lives every year, in the name of science!
3/4 of the world believes in God something that is not seen nor proven!!
Homeopathy works regardless of whether science can prove how it works.
Hi Jen
Please list the things Andy got wrong about homeopathy, in order of importance, please.
Thanks.
Hi Jen
Please list the things Andy got wrong about homeopathy, in order of importance.
Thanks
If you haven’t seen the whole film, how can you possibly review it. I thought it was excellent by the way, just a shame so many lack real scientific imagination to investigate how something works. Of course Big Pharma hate to think of losing money so their position is understandable.
What did it show that convinced you there was something worth investigating?