perfect opportunity to test homeopathy

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Batman

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#154515 30-Oct-2014 15:17

Homeopathy is using a very very very very small amount of said poison to neutralize said poison

Administer ebola to ebola patients! How clever! The WHO would never have thought of that

i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10680331/MP-signs-petition-to-use-homeopathy-to-treat-Ebola

MikeB4

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#1165087 30-Oct-2014 15:23

with the number being killed by this disease it is astounding that a MP would be so stupid and insensitive. Witch Doctors need to be eliminated not encouraged.

sbiddle

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#1165093 30-Oct-2014 15:31

I didn't realise people were serious when they said I could fill my car with 50l of water and a few mls of petrol and it would still work!

wasabi2k

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#1165099 30-Oct-2014 15:38

Your numbers are off - for it to be homeopathic it needs to be diluted to the point that there isn't ANY active ingredient anymore.

from wikipedia:

Dilution usually continues well past the point where no molecules of the original substance remain

So 1 drop of Petrol in several thousand litres of water...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy

gzt

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#1165122 30-Oct-2014 15:53

Joker97: Homeopathy is using a very very very very small amount of said poison to neutralize said poison

It appears to be a bit more complex than that. Reading some of the links given by the petition it seems that a patient is given an infintesimal (in the billionths) amount of a substance which if given in a larger dose would cause the same symptoms and this can magically prevent a disease with those exact same matching symptoms from taking effect. I do not know of any reputable trials which have ever proved this approach any better than the effects of a placebo or nothing at all.

The petition does ask the WHO to test the approach first - which might in fact be a good idea simply because it seems that several large trials have been conducted in third world countries already for various diseases and there is a mistaken belief (in my view) that it has worked. Maybe something worked in these cases (which would be a good thing) but I find it very hard to believe it was the homopathy itself.

wasabi2k

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#1165125 30-Oct-2014 15:59

homeopathy has been proven to be quackery multiple times - ffs it was created in the 18th century to overcome 'miasms' in the body ffs.

Again from Wikipedia:

Since better quality trials have become available, the evidence for efficacy of homeopathy preparations has diminished; the highest-quality trials indicate that the remedies themselves exert no intrinsic effect.[16][49]:206[147] A review conducted in 2010 of all the pertinent studies of "best evidence" produced by the Cochrane Collaboration concluded that "the most reliable evidence – that produced by Cochrane reviews – fails to demonstrate that homeopathic medicines have effects beyond placebo."[148]

Not even a cent of public funding should be spent on anything even remotely related to this bollocks.

mdooher

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#1165132 30-Oct-2014 16:08

wasabi2k:
Not even a cent of public funding should be spent on anything even remotely related to this bollocks.

Or the way I see it. If you believe homeopathy works, or even that there might be something to it, you are an idiot.

That so many people do think it works is simply a testament to the gullibility of the human race.

...."The memory of water" ... give me a break

Matthew

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#1165154 30-Oct-2014 16:17

mdooher: If you believe homeopathy works, or even that there might be something to it, you are an idiot.

The placebo effect (as distinct from nothing at all) is real and does work in many cases. This is a legitimate topic of research. Personally if someone describes to me a long standing but non-lifethreatening condition that has been remedied by the use of homeopathic medicine then I consider it inhumane to argue with them because I do not want to disrupt the progress of their 'cure'.

If they want to then advocate treating the masses for ebola then I will tell them all about the problems with that ; ).

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#1165155 30-Oct-2014 16:17

mdooher

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#1165161 30-Oct-2014 16:27

gzt:
mdooher: If you believe homeopathy works, or even that there might be something to it, you are an idiot.

The placebo effect (as distinct from nothing at all) is real and does work in many cases. This is a legitimate topic of research. Personally if someone describes to me a long standing but non-lifethreatening condition that has been remedied by the use of homeopathic medicine then I consider it inhumane to argue with them because I do not want to disrupt the progress of their 'cure'.

If they want to then advocate treating the masses for ebola then I will tell them all about the problems with that ; ).

That's cool, I'm obviously a bit further toward the sociopathic end of the scale than you...I just tell them that its the placebo effect and that they are wasting there money... normally the word idiot gets put in there too.

The way I figure it the fact you were stupid enough to try something impossible and then somehow believe it works speaks volumes.

Taking something that has even a remote possibility of working and then the placebo effect kicking in however is totally different.; now that I get.

Matthew

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#1165407 31-Oct-2014 00:07

And politicians wonder why everyone thinks they are stupid. Doesn't surprise me in the slightest that he is a green party politician.

jpoc

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#1165442 31-Oct-2014 07:31

I am waiting for the Greens to praise the Japanese for their homeopathic approach to whale conservation.

shk292

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#1165466 31-Oct-2014 08:19

How about a real test - take all those who signed the petition to W Africa, infect them with Ebola then administer a homeopathic remedy as the only treatment. All the survivors can then act as living testaments to the power of homeopathy

Batman

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#1165527 31-Oct-2014 09:21

to be fair, it was reported as worded as "homeopathy as good as conventional medicine" (which we know none exists other than TLC - tender loving care)

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#1165536 31-Oct-2014 09:32

A guy who was a Homoeopath (and in fact a Chiropractor as well) once told me that their job was amusing the mind whilst nature takes it's course.

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#1165546 31-Oct-2014 09:45

Alt-text: Dear editors of Homeopathy Monthly: I have two small corrections for your July issue. One, it's spelled "echinacea", and two, homeopathic medicines are no better than placebos and your entire magazine is a sham.

[Edit: adding alt-text]