Posted by viridis on March 12, 2003, at 1:50:01
In reply to Re: homeopathy, posted by Cecilia on March 12, 2003, at 0:38:38
In my opinion, "homeopathy" (narrowly defined, involving doses so small that any active ingredient is essentially nonexistant) is just silly.
We saw a homeopathic vet for quite a while, who failed to detect a major heart problem with a beloved dog and instead prescribed homeopathic "cures" while he went downhill steadily, until a canine cardiologist correctly diagnosed the problem. He died not long afterwards, but at least had a pretty good quality of life in his last days, with real meds that alleviated fluid buildup in the lungs etc.
My wife still swears by homeopathic treatments for allergies etc., but I think this is just placebo effect. We argue about this quite a bit (or used to; now I don't bother, since placebo effect is fine with me if it works).
I do think that many herbs have beneficial effects (at therapeutic doses), and use various "alternative" treatments, if there's some active ingredient present. And, some homeopaths may genuinely address lifestyle and nutrition issues in a positive way. I just don't buy the ultradiluted dose approach -- as a scientist, it seems highly improbable that this would work.
poster:viridis
thread:207975
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030310/msgs/208329.html