# Help me debunk this homeopathic woo that's found its way into my home. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 27, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169 "2012-04-27T19:36:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/1 "2012-04-27T19:36:04Z")
Okay, I chagrined to say that my wife insists on buying [these homeopathic teething drops](http://boiron.ca/en/products/children/camilia/), and I am not having much luck dissuading her from it. The packaging boasts that the product is “sugar free, alcohol free, neutral-tasting and has no side effects,” and I cannot persuade her that this is because the product is simply _water_. After all, she says, it says right there on the package: “Active ingredients: Belladonna 5CH, CHAMOMILLA 9CH, FERRUM PHOSPHORICUM 5CH,” and they sell it right there in the pharmacy. It must be legit! I have explained to her that the “CH” notation represents the magnitude of dilution, such that the 1ml single dose contains a tincture of belladonna which has been diluted to 1 part in 100, which in turn is diluted to 1 part in 100, and so on, five times – so that the original tincture of belladonna (itself mostly water and alcohol, of course) might be said to be “present” as 1/1,000,000,000 of a ml, while the chamomile tincture would be only 1/100,000,000,000,000,000 of a ml. I would think that that would be enough information to make an informed decision on – but the wall that I am hitting is that she doesn’t accept that this level of dilution makes the product indistinguishable from water, and she seems to be hung up on the idea that it must do _something_, or it would be illegal to sell it in a pharmacy or make medical claims about the product’s efficacy. (Which does indeed seem sensible.) Why\* is\* this bunkum legal, anyway? And is there any way to better articulate this? They’re asking 18 a box for this - I am having a hard time persuading her to use a dropper to administer 1ml of tapwater instead and put the .75 savings in the kids’ piggy bank. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/2 "2012-04-27T19:40:13Z")
Ask her why, if the medication actually contains effective ingredients, the dosage is the same regardless of the weight of the child. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/3 "2012-04-27T19:48:32Z")
Your wife has to take care of a teething child? Back away, slowly, don’t make any sudden moves, hide the sharp objects. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/4 "2012-04-27T19:55:34Z")
Belladonna? Just scream “POISON!!!” and run out of the house. ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/5 "2012-04-27T20:22:35Z")
Perhaps you could say that, well, homeopathic, so diluting it _more_ must be _better_, right? So take the original container, which she’s already bought anyway so it’s already done, and dilute that with a gallon of water. That ought to give you enough drops to last you through the teething. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/6 "2012-04-27T20:23:12Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Belladonna? Just scream “POISON!!!” and run out of the house. Actually, that’s not a bad idea. If **Larry’s** wife can’t be convinced that homeopathy is bullshit, he can show her this article: [FDA warns about belladonna in teething tablets](http://healthyliving.ocregister.com/2010/10/25/fda-warns-about-belladonna-in-teething-tablets/24974/). It’s got scary sentences in it like this: > [@article](#): > > On Saturday the FDA announced that Standard Homeopathic Company had voluntarily recalled assorted packages of Hyland’s Teething Tablets because they contain varying amounts of belladonna, a plant whose leaves and berries are toxic. Also called Deadly Nightshade, belladonna been used in cosmetics, medicines and as a favorite tool for murder since the Roman Empire. It might not convince her that homeopathy doesn’t work, but it might convince her to avoid homeopathic teething remedies with belladonna. The ignorance might remain, but hey, that $18 won’t get spent on bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/7 "2012-04-27T20:28:37Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Why _is_ this bunkum legal, anyway? And is there any way to better articulate this? Senator Royal Copeland, the sponsor of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 was also a homeopathic “doctor”. He made sure that homeopathic “drugs” were specifically exempted from federal testing. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/8 "2012-04-27T20:35:25Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Senator Royal Copeland, the sponsor of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 was also a homeopathic “doctor”. He made sure that homeopathic “drugs” were specifically exempted from federal testing. So who cares what a douchebag from 1938 did? Why are we NOW allowing this bullshit? Who is standing in the way (yet again) of a simple, rational decision to overturn this crap? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/9 "2012-04-27T21:03:57Z")
Debunking things like this is done a lot of times with personal experience. She has to try it for herself, and since she has a suffering child, I assume she will be better able to determine if it has been effective. For those who know me know that I try things for myself, if someone hands me a pier reviewed double blind study that proves that X does nothing, but I try X and it works, I’m going to use X, those studies were just proven inaccurate, by what method I dont know. If she does get them and they appear to help hopefully you will come back here and at least ask why they appeared to work while regular tap water doesn’t seem to. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/10 "2012-04-27T21:07:22Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > For those who know me know that I try things for myself, if someone hands me a pier reviewed double blind study that proves that X does nothing, but I try X and it works, I’m going to use X, those studies were just proven inaccurate, by what method I dont know. By the placebo effect or the “things often just get better on their own anyway” effect. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/11 "2012-04-27T21:09:33Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > For those who know me know that I try things for myself, if someone hands me a pier reviewed double blind study that proves that X does nothing, but I try X and it works, I’m going to use X, those studies were just proven inaccurate, by what method I dont know. There’s a word for that. Coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/12 "2012-04-27T21:32:36Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > So who cares what a douchebag from 1938 did? > > Why are we NOW allowing this bullshit? > > Who is standing in the way (yet again) of a simple, rational decision to overturn this crap? Because that douchebag from 1938 was the one who wrote the law that’s still in effect. It’s the law that basically established the modern FDA. We could, in theory, repeal the law and write a new one. But get serious for a minute. What do you think the new law would look like? We’d replace an exemption for homeopathy with fifty exemptions favoring other special interests. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/13 "2012-04-27T22:26:25Z")
Even if you can convince her to stop with this homeopathic nonsense, don’t be surprised if the next thing she brings into the house is an amber teething necklace. A lot of these mommies who are into woo think that amber has some kind of magic pain relief effect. Unfortunately, my experience has been that people who believe in woo are pretty much impossible to reason with. Most of the mommies I know who have used this stuff seem to be good at convincing themselves that it worked and no science you can show them will trump their gut feeling “I used it and it worked!” ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/14 "2012-04-28T00:05:51Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > if someone hands me a pier reviewed double blind study that proves that X does nothing,. It’s so hard to find qualified piers these days. ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/15 "2012-04-28T00:16:16Z")
See if you can get her to watch [this lecture](http://uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=16719&subject=health) (meant for general public audiences) from the University of California. Less than ten minutes in, the speaker (an M.D. specializing in integrative medicine) explains why just about anyone can get something onto a store shelf without having to prove that it actually does anything. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/16 "2012-04-28T00:54:20Z")
Show her a video of James Randi’s lecture on homeopathic drugs, easily found on Youtube. He explains how when he went before the US congress he ingested two full bottles of homeopathic sleep “medicine,” (the bottle recommended two pills, lol) and made his hour-long or whatever presentation without any effect of any kind. No, they don’t have to do anything to be sold in pharmacies. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/17 "2012-04-28T01:03:06Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > Who is standing in the way (yet again) of a simple, rational decision to overturn this crap? Senators Orrin Hatch and Tom Harkin. They co-sponsored the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. Essentially, that’s the “go to” law that makers of herbal, natural, and homeopathic “medicine” use to avoid having to deal with the FDA. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/18 "2012-04-28T01:07:08Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Show her a video of James Randi’s lecture on homeopathic drugs, easily found on Youtube. He explains how when he went before the US congress he ingested two full bottles of homeopathic sleep “medicine,” (the bottle recommended two pills, lol) and made his hour-long or whatever presentation without any effect of any kind. No, they don’t have to do anything to be sold in pharmacies. [Here ya go.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWE1tH93G9U) ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/19 "2012-04-28T02:33:30Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Debunking things like this is done a lot of times with personal experience. She has to try it for herself, and since she has a suffering child, I assume she will be better able to determine if it has been effective. > > For those who know me know that I try things for myself, if someone hands me a pier reviewed double blind study that proves that X does nothing, but I try X and it works, I’m going to use X, those studies were just proven inaccurate, by what method I dont know. > > If she does get them and they appear to help hopefully you will come back here and at least ask why they appeared to work while regular tap water doesn’t seem to. It’s called the placebo effect. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169/20 "2012-04-28T03:30:22Z")
does the placebo effect work on babies who know nothing of medicine? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-debunk-this-homeopathic-woo-thats-found-its-way-into-my-home/620169.md?page=2)