Or, really, what is it a (homeopathic) remedy for?
I know only 2 things about homeopathic medicine:
It’s ineffective, at best, to put it very, very gently*
It’s based on a principle that symptoms can be treated with a low, sub-planckian dosage of plant/animal extracts that cause those symptoms (in larger doses)
Everything I’ve read says that epsom salt is harmless and has the same effectiveness as a placebo.
This idea stems from a muscle cramp treatment I bought that claims to be listed in the Homeopathic Pharamacopoeia of the US (didn’t notice THAT detail until after I’d ordered it). It’s active ingredient is listed as magnesium sulfate, aka epsom salt.
An Epsom salt foot bath is not a homoepathic remedy really, but it’s in the same class of treatments: those that have no evidence of providing any benefit. Thus, it’s perfectly reasonable to think that they might be grouped together despite having no other commonanlity.
Why do people soak their feet in Epsom salt baths then? Same reason they go to a chiropractor. It makes them feel better, even if it’s mostly psychological in the long run. The small amount of change to the characteristics of the water makes it feel like it’s doing something.
Under current FDA regulations a homeopathic remedy does not have to be proven either safe or effective. Labeling something as “homeopathic” relieves the seller of that responsibility.
Bill - quick Hijack - is this why in the US you frequently see things described as homeopathic when they are clearly not (ie, they are not major dilutions of the active)?
Not sure, but I was treated by a nurse who suggested I try homeopathic remedies and said she frequently used them and suggested them to patients, and practiced homeopathy generally. So, I asked her what sense she made of the tinctures (dilutions) that became more effective as they became less concentrated, and what sense she made of the law of similars. She had NO idea what I was talking about, said she’d never heard of these. But yes she meant homeopathy. By quizzing her I wound up thinking she meant non-traditional treatments in general, but she was absolutely clueless about homeopathy per se.
And I do think there are a few non-traditional treatments that work. I believe they’re “non-traditional” only because they haven’t been studied. I think that’s one of the sources of tomorrow’s traditional treatments. But who knows which ones are the ones that work?
Yeah, more and more I seem to hear “homeopathic” to be a synonym for “non-traditional.” In fact, I would wager the majority of the time I hear people use that word, it’s in that sense.
Not all products marketed as homeopathic remedies are so super-diluted as to lack any molecules of the purported active ingredient.* Some are of lesser dilutions which could possibly have some pharmacologic effect, though likely not what the manufacturer claims. Sadly, there are people who are drawn to the idea of a “gentle” or “traditional” remedy, and homeopathy fits the bill for them.
Then there are homeopathic drugs contaminated accidentally or deliberately with potentially harmful substances. The FDA has announced it’s working on new rules for homeopathic drug regulation after recalls involving microbial contamination and concerns about ineffectiveness (about time).
*there are homeopathic drugs which one really, really hopes contain nothing but water. Case in point: Lyssinum, which a Canadian homeopath prescribed for a young boy with behavioral problems that developed after he was bitten by a dog (the child reportedly had taken to hiding under a table and growling at classmates). Lyssinum is said to be prepared from saliva of a dog with rabies.
I could dip bottles into the Russian River north of San Francisco, before the sandbar at its mouth where all the semi-treated waste of towns and agribiz upstream has accumulated, and label the bottles as “homeopathic” <anything> because they’d contain infinitesimally few molecules of <anything>. I just can’t all them “epsom salts”.
My Dr has claimed that absorbing magnesium from a salt bath helps the body repair “micro injuries”, which is helpful for an aging but physically active person (if you know anyone like that )in that it can nip minor strains and such in the bud before they become more serious problems. No way this is homeopathic though- we’re talking 2+ cups of Epsom salts in a hot bath. I’d be interested in more detailed info on this though if anyone has it.
Also, a chiropractor reversed my scoliosis and made me better, though that was achieved through traction. The difference in the before/after x-rays is dramatic and convincing.
There are “homeopathic” zinc cold medications out there that are 2x. That is, 1:100 of zinc:whatever.
And several of the ads for these tout the effectiveness citing old (and now questioned) actual scientific studies. However, those studies were not all about homeopathy. They are not prepared in the usual tapping homeopathic method or anything.
The 1/100th ratio is just how many things are packaged. Look at melatonin pills of 300mcg*. The whole pill might weigh 1000 times that. So that’s “3x” right there but not at all homeopathic in its way of … “working”.
Clinically proven to be better than higher doses, btw.
I suggest consulting a competent physician who treats scoliosis i.e. an orthopedist.
It’s possible a mild case might be referred to a physical therapist.
The disadvantages of dealing with a chiropractor includes potential misdiagnosis, possible harm from aggressive manipulation and being steered to some type of expensive and useless woo.
)in that it can nip minor strains and such in the bud before they become more serious problems. No way this is homeopathic though- we’re talking 2+ cups of Epsom salts in a hot bath. I’d be interested in more detailed info on this though if anyone has it.