WolfThomas said:
This sums up how I feel about homeopathy
Homeopathy is an ancient healing science invented in the late 18th century. Homeopaths understand the law of similars and and the law of infinitesimals. If a substance can create a symptom, the same substance given in very dilute solution has an opposite, therapeutic effect. For instance, homeopathic preparations of coffee are used as a treatment for insomnia. Homeopathic remedies are often diluted to such a degree that not a single molecule of the active ingredient remains, however, the memory of the original substance alters the energetic field of the solvent, enhancing the therapeutic effect.
It has recently been discovered that the principles of homeopathy can be applied to firefighting. Sodium is an alkali metal. In its elemental form it is highly reactive, and will spontaneously burst into flame when exposed to moisture. A homeopathic preparation of sodium (200C or 1 part sodium in 100²ºº parts water) is an excellent remedy for combustion. In accordance with the law of infinitesimals, higher dilutions are even more effective. In a recent study, fires treated with homeopathic sodium were extinguished much faster, and caused significantly less structural damage than untreated fire
Daystar Clarion said:
Any claim that it works can, at best, be attributed to a placebo effect.
Plus the principle of "regression to the mean". Basically that most of the time, if you do feel sick you will end up getting better of your own accord. So taking it and getting better is correlation not causation.
That quoted part there. Simply brilliant, may I ask where you found that?
pearcinator said:
In theory Homeopathy makes sense...vaccines to snake/spider bites, mad cow disease etc. all contain a trace amount of the venom/virus. Your body remembers what is 'bad' (cos it knows what made you sick) and destroys all future 'bad stuff' before it makes you sick again.
People who take medication all the time get sick more often cos they aren't letting their body do its job. Thus makes them weaker and more reliant on medication.
Decent post for someone who doesn't have complete understanding in molecular biology, but allow me to give you a few pointers.
Mad cow disease can not be treated as far as I know and it's not caused by a virus, but rather by a group of defective proteins called prions. These prions will in turn transform working proteins to prions while the immune system is trying to break down all of the prions thus the immune system will start breaking down the central nerve system.
Vaccines do not carry small traces of "the bad stuff" they carry inactive pathogens which presents the anti-gen so that the B-cells will create anti-bodies and memory cells so the real pathogen can be taken care of more quickly in the case of future exposure.
The medicines you are talking about aren't taking over the immune system's job and making it weaker. The immune system doesn't need exercise. The reason why people who overuse medications often get sick more often is because most non-prescription medicines repress the immune system. If you cough, have a runny nose, a rash and/or a fever you feel pretty sick. That's not because you got an infection, that is the result of the immune system fighting an infection. If you find the feeling too unpleasant you might take an ibuprofen to lower the fever and get some relief, but at the cost of your immune system working to a lower degree.
As for the rest, I think 90% of what's wrong with you will pass by itself. However if what's wrong with you is within those 10% then it can be very dangerous not to treat it. You might not trust medicine, but because of it small pox is extinct, tuberculosis is a low risk disease (if you live in the wealthy part of the world) and gonorrhea is now nearing extinction. The idea behind homeopathy might be good, but apart from the fact that all you're getting out of it is water and a placebo effect it fails to account for that some chemicals are dangerous even in untraceable fractions.
Edit: Sorry for the wall of text. No need to read all of it unless you are interested
