Fresh doubts raised over homeopathy

[emad]

Fresh doubts raised over homeopathy
26 August 2005

The power of homeopathic remedies has come under fresh challenge with a team of scientists describing them as weak and producing nothing more than a placebo effect.

The study at Switzerland's University of Berne, published in The Lancet, throws more doubt on the effectiveness of alternative medicines.

Alternative medicine is a booming business. Just this week the Prince of Wales, a passionate campaigner for integrated health, has commissioned a report into its benefits, reportedly in an attempt to persuade the Government to offer more of the many therapies on the NHS.

But researchers ran comparisons between 110 randomised placebo-controlled trials of homeopathy with 110 conventional-medicine trials.

http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/PA_NEWA11681071125031797A00?source=PA%20Feed

[PSPS]

1. Isn't this like saying, "Fresh doubts raised over Earth being flat"?

[PurgedVoter]

2. I'm repeating this from another conversation.

From the time I was 14 to the time I was 30 I have been congested. I tried everything. I constantly produced snot. It did not help my career at all. Then I tried a product called Bioallers. It worked instantly. The long term effect is that I can pass for normal. I still carry napkins 23/7, but now I don't have to replenish my supply hourly. After reading and researching homeopathy, it looks to me like there is a lot of room for fakes and placebos. There are a lot of claims that make no sense at all. Since there is room for fakery and incompetence in the field, I suspect that most homeopathy is worthless. However, compared to one particular product, all the other meds (including the prescribed ones) are placebo. Some antihistamines and decongestants have helped for a while, but the drying in the long term make the problems worse. For me, there are four medications that have been effective against allergic congestion, Tiger Balm, The original Altoids, Fisherman's Friend, and Bioallers. Bioallers is the only medication that has had long term effect. So as for me, I am quite certain that some homeopathic medicines work. I have no link to their company apart from buying their fairly expensive product semiannually.

[BlueJazz]

4. I'm not so sure we are talking about the same thing.

I'm familiar with Bioallers and they do contain a fair amount of herbs and "Active Ingredients"..unlike the usual Homeopathic junk. :)

[BlueJazz]

3. Yep..It's just another scam in the Modern Day "New-Age" crap.

I had one "expert" on Homeopathy explain how she makes up a cure for sinus infection. I won't go into the whole process but after she's done, the "Active Solution" is about a trillion parts water to One part "essence". What a Pile of Crap!

[LizMoonstar]

5. There's a big difference between 'alternative medicine'

as a general term, and homeopathy as one kind of alternative medicine. I've found that a lot of remedies are called homeopathic when they're really more accurately some other kind of alternative remedy (BioAllers being one, I would guess). True homeopathy probably doesn't do much other than induce a placebo effect, which is valuable in itself, but other things with actual ingredients in them ;) can be very effective.

[Skinner]

6. Locking

please see this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=228x10346