Whenever we discuss “alternative” medicine on here we usually get some folk arguing, “but what’s the harm?” Homeopathy doesn’t work beyond placebo, but placebo can be very effective so what’s the problem? See also, the recent vaccination thread.
Spotted this earlier, it’s an interesting read. Or in the words of half of the Internet lately, “this woman had a sick baby, what happened next will shock you!!1!”
That is Very Scary Indeed. If nutjobs want to kill themselves by using woo OK (as long as they are not contagious and hurt others) but hurting a child like that?
I really don’t understand the ‘whats the harm’ argument. I can see that it works on a very simplistic level, but we’ve essentially got people peddling products and advice that at best do no damage and at worst can lead to the death of the patient due to not receive proper care or in the case of vaccinations lead to the reoccurrence of diseases we’d nearly wiped out. I’m of the opinion that an awful lot of alternative medicine (not all of it, but a fair chunk) is essentially fraud and if people are harmed because of it then the practitioner should be held to account.
He was a bit of a ‘nutter’ and an arsehole. Refused medically proven life saving treatments, a lot of his staff were terrified of him in case he fired them, denied he had a daughter to avoid paying her support money…
Ok, but he was undoubtedly also very bright. It’s difficult to understand why he didn’t take better medical advice or why anyone does for that matter
I believe he was on record as stating it was a decision (not to immediately get medical treament) he deeply regretted and acknolwedged that if he had done, he would likely have survived.
On a separate note, I read recently that Novak Djovich (or whatever he’s called, that tall chap that plays tennis), was advised by his ‘nutrionist’ that his body was rejecting ‘wheat’ by doing the following experiment on him:
The tennis star Novak Djokovic believes he owes his stellar 2011 season to giving up gluten. In his book Serve to Win, he describes the moment his nutritionist Igor Cetojevicv gave him a slice of bread and told him to hold it against his stomach while he held his other arm out straight. Then Cetojevicv pushed down on his arm. “With the bread against my stomach, my arm struggled to resist Cetojevicv’s downward pressure. I was noticeably weaker,” the tennis star writes. “This is a sign that your body is rejecting the wheat in the bread,” Cetojevicv told him. (Djokovic did go on to have a blood test too.)
If we were being bloody-minded, I suppose we could suggest that considerable iatrogenic harm is certainly done to loads of children by proper medical doctors every year.
We’re inclined to be much harsher in judgment about harm done in the course of doing something abnormal.
Same as your boss being pissy about your week off work for a bike crash, but sympathetic to someone else’s persistent diabetes from too much sofa and ice cream.
Interestingly in India to practice homeopathy you have to be a qualified Doctor. My indian relatives are all Doctors who mainly studied here or in the States. Infact my grandfather was one of the top consultants in the country right up till he died at 87 still working and researching. He had a very broad view of medicine and prescribed ayerveda, homeopathy and conventional modern drugs.
I liked his stories of working in the interior of the Amazon in the 60s and realising very quickly that in such remote places local herbal medicine was a must due to the sheer remoteness after contracting some waterborne nastiness and being treated by local plant remedies.
I couldn’t see the original link for some reason (could be the firewall at work), but frankly no discussion about homeopathic medicine is complete with Mitchell and Webb’s input.
At present, in India, homeopathy is the third most popular method of medical treatment after allopathy and Ayurveda. There are over 200,000 registered homeopathic doctors currently, with approximately 12,000 more being added every year.
GrahamS – That data has nothing to do with homeopathy and that horrifying reality in India is why we fund 2 clinics in poor and remote regions with transport to hospitals for major operations and train local women to become nurses and midwives, vaccinate, provide nets and testing etc. Tbf Grandfather knew that homeopathy was a bit ‘subtle’ but its part of normal life there.
Personally I am very sceptical of the claims that some homeopaths make. However, a broader deeper understanding of our health is something that modern medicine often overlooks in the busy cash strapped clinical situation. Often older traditional practise(I don’t really mean homeopathy) provide a better ‘whole’ person approach which can be highly useful in a preventative way as well as treatment.
However, a broader deeper understanding of our health is something that modern medicine often overlooks in the busy cash strapped clinical situation
Really? You have insight into this or is it just knee-jerk anti-modernism? Cos whenever I hear doctors talking they are all about the whole person and finding ways to improve treatment with whole-person methods… most doctors aren’t stupid, after all.
There’s a lot of rhetoric in the US about modern medicine being procedure-led but they have a totally different business model. Just look at childbirth experiences there vs here for an example.