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)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

there are so many cases which have become chronic in hands of allopathic system-
eg-once you get sinusitis it becomes chronic..
once you get diabetes,you are hooked for life..
once you get allergy,hypertension,psoriasis,epilepsy,hyperlipidemia,autism,the list is endless..
can so called modern medicine do anything??
isnt it ironic that 'witch craft medicine'-homoeopathy with placebo and such effects as described in this blog(which is purely a fancy of this blind person who cannot see properly the truth)have answers to all these?
how can a small baby,an unconscious patient respond to palcebo?go dear,do some more more homework on this..

Fiachra said...

Clutching at straws!
If all these factors are taken into account as being the "real" reason why homeopathy works, then you are also making an excellent argument for the orthodox/ allopathic medical practitioners to give up their day jobs.
Keep writing, I am sure more people than ever will go to homeopaths

Featured post

Homeopathy is not an effective treatment: Australian study of 225 researches

After reviewing 225 research papers selected from 1800 studies on homeopathy, a top Australian body for medical research has concluded that ...