Yes, of course water is natural, but what does that have to do with medicine?
For those following along at home, “homeopathic medicine” is nothing but water.
[Modding] Please do not imply that other posters in GQ are unintelligent. [/Modding]
I’ll go ahead and ask for a cite for that.
Homeopathic medicine is so diluted and the molecules of the original substance so sparse, it essentially is just water.
Aren’t all vitamin pills pretty much worthless to people who eat anything resembling a reasonable diet?
Might as well ask about all the people taking vitamin pills of any sort.
Ok, point taken.
So most of you agree that homeopathic medicine is BS then? Interesting.
Is it really surprising? The Straight Dope tends to at least try to be somewhat fact-based and attracts that sort of person. I’m betting you’ll find the consensus here is that such things as homeopathy, pyramid schemes, magic(k), astrology, cartomancy, chiropracty as an answer to ALL ills are going to be met with skepticism if not outright ridicule.
If you can find any studies that say that homeopathy works any better than the placebo effect, you can show them if you like.
This is thread doesn’t really pose a factual question. I’ll move it to In My Humble Opinion.
Gfactor
General Questions Moderator
beaten
For the record, “homeopathy” is not the same thing as “alternative medicine”, or “herbal medicine”. Herbal medicine is basically medicine that we don’t know whether it works or not. Some of it might, but the things that we know work don’t get called “herbal medicine”, they just get called “medicine”. Of course, the flip side is that we also don’t know what, if any, side effects they might have, which sometimes leads to people getting very sick or dying from taking “all-natural” drugs.
Homeopathy is the idea that if you mix a little bit of toxin into water, and then dilute the mixture so much that there’s no toxin whatsoever left, that the resulting pure water can somehow magically cure diseases similar to the effect the toxin would have produced. Proponents of homeopathy like to point out that it has no side effects, which is true, but only because it has no effects whatsoever, being nothing but water.
Alternative medicine is a broad umbrella that covers all sorts of things, and includes pretty much everything except the stuff that’s known to work. In addition to untested drugs like herbs, and overpriced water like homeopathy, it also includes acupuncture, aura manipulation, and anything else you can think of that you can claim does something and sell to someone.
Not surprising, but I don’t really place homeopathy and natural medicine in the same box as pyramid schemes and astrology. Also, no one ever said anything could cure ALL ills. I believe I even stated that I take it if the symptoms can be treated naturally, but if it’s worse, I’ll resort to OTC medicine.
I guess, for me, it’s a situation where I’d rather try out something natural rather then feed myself pill after pill if I can help it. I’m also a huge believer in therapy over medication for things like depression, anxiety and phobias. That said, I realize there are situations where medication is needed and fully support that. I’ll take it myself if I have to (I have been on prozac and other drugs for depression and anxiety), and I’d never make fun of, or judge, someone who chose medication first.
I also try a cool compress for a headache, a hot water bottle for menstrual cramps and honey for a dry cough and sore throat before I medicate too. I just prefer to try the natural route.
Thanks for the clarification. I suppose I’m mostly referring to alternative medicine.
But based on the definition of homeopathy, is that not what vaccines are - when they’re live (small amount of ‘toxin’ or ‘allergen’ given to try to boost the immune response)?
Homeopathy requires you to dilute the product to the point that there are no active ingredients remaining. Homeopathic products are basically magic (in that they don’t work, there’s no reason they should work, and they magically separate you from your money).
This is nothing like a vaccine.
Ah, I see. Thanks.
If that’s all “Airborne” does for you, it would make far more sense to simply drink a glass of orange juice every day.
Or eat spinach, broccoli or other dark green veggies every day.
I’m in too bad a mood to participate in this thread.
Ever been to Whole Foods? Tons of bright, well-educated and very affluent people browsing through and buying the homeopathic tinctures.
You’re forgetting what was already mentioned above. It’s fizzy. People like fizzy. It’s also cheap, that is, cheaper per milligram of Vitamin C.
I don’t buy the stuff, but my housemates buy the knock-off brand. I’ve used it when I was sick. The fizz seems to open my sinuses in the same way as steam, without all the fuss. And, when I’m sick, I don’t want to eat roughage (which upsets my stomach more than the drainage). And I definitely don’t want to drink orange juice. That stuff burns.
As for the whole “created by a teacher” ad campaign–think about it. It’s an appeal to the everyman, with the added bonus that the everyman in question happens to spend her time in a germ factory of second graders. If it works for her in that harsh environment, people think it will work for them.
It also appeals to the American Dream of not having the (right kind of) education, yet still making something of yourself. It appears to be homegrown, which inspires people who want to support American products. It appears that the lady is a small business owner, another thing Americans like to support.
So, despite the anti-science theme, there are a lot of reasons a smarter person may want to use this product.
People have told me it’s bunk but if I take like a huge amount of vitamin C (not just a few tablets…like enough to induce diarrhea), my cold symptoms go away. It’s great.