Sunday, 16 May 2010

Watch Your Prescription

Ever wondered what kind of substances are used to initiate preparation of homeopathic "medicines"?.

Here is a sample list:
(1)Raw bovine testicles
(2)Crushed honey bees (Apis mellifica)
(3)Belladona (deadly nightshade)
(4)Cadmium
(5)Sulphur
(7)Arsenic
(8)Poison nut (Nux vomica)
(9)Spanish fly (Cantharis)
(10)Venom of bushmaster snake
(11)Nosodes made of diseased or pathological products such as faeces, urinary and respiratory discharges ,blood and tissues of patients
(12) Aconite
(13) Dog milk (Lac canidum)

.............and many more such substances. Of course, it is futile to search for any scientific basis behind drug preparation in homeopathy. The claimed basis "like cures like" is nothing but non-sense and fails in the face of established fundamentals of science. Of course, modern medicine uses vaccines with low doses of causative antigens but then that's a real science. And homeopaths don't claim that every disease has immunological basis.


Sunday, 9 May 2010

HOW HOMEOPATHY WORKS -II

Alternative explanations for "cures" :

A variety of alternative explanations have been offered for how homeopathy, if the remedies themselves are ineffective, may appear to cure diseases or alleviate symptoms:

  • Unassisted natural healing - time and the body's ability to heal without assistance can eliminate many diseases of their own accord
  • Unrecognized treatments - an unrelated food, exercise, environmental agent or treatment for a different ailment, may have occurred
  • Regression toward the mean - since many diseases or conditions are cyclical, symptoms vary over time and patients tend to seek care when discomfort is greatest, they may feel better anyway but because the timing of the visit to the homeopath they attribute improvement to the remedy taken
  • Nonhomeopathic treatment - patients may also be getting nonhomeopathic care simultaneous with homeopathic treatment, and this is responsible for improvement though a portion or all of the improvement may be attributed to the remedy
  • Cessation of unpleasant treatment - often homeopaths recommend patients stop getting conventional treatment such as surgery or drugs, which can cause unpleasant side effects; improvements are attributed to homeopathy when the actual cause is the cessation of the treatment causing side effects in the first place
  • Lifestyle changes - homeopaths often recommend diet and exercise, as well as limitations in alcohol or coffee consumption and stress reduction, all of which can increase health and decrease symptoms
  • The placebo effect - the intensive consultation process and expectations for the homeopathic preparations can result in the release of endorphins or other body-effecting chemicals which alleviate pain or other symptoms, or otherwise affect an individual's biology
  • Psychological healing - the care, concern and reassurance provided by a homeopath as part of the consultation can assure the patient the symptoms are minor and easily treated, or alleviate tension that could exacerbate a preexisting condition. This can be particularly effective when physicians have limited time with the patient or are unable to provide a diagnosis or treatment.
( source WIKIPEDIA)

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