Comments on "Homeopathy: Frontier Science"

These some selected wordpress comments on http://goodscience.wordpress.com/2007/11/24/hello-world/

Homeopathic remedies is the only way I treat
my animals when they are ill. Infact just recently
a remedy saved my cats life who had
two strokes in one day. I use remedies on
all my animals, they are much more successful
then “chemicals” because the problem is cured,
not masked. I encourage people to try the
natural way, the homeopathic way, before they
go the chemical route.

Sue
November 25, 2007

First off - Normal medicine does not mask symptoms. There isn't even any proof that painkillers block pain. Encouraging people to go the "natural way" is irresponsible.

I applaud this blog as a voice of truth in the darkness of our ongoing health care crisis. Homeopathy offers an unparalleled healing opportunity for both acute and serious chronic illness through an understanding of the complex tapestry of body & mind that has long eluded practitioners of “western medicine”. As the fastest growing alternative health care medicine in the world, it benefits us all to be open minded to the possibilities that lie beyond our current level of reasoning. Remember our predecessors who were so certain that the world was flat; the earth revolved around the sun, and that blood letting and leaches were the cure for removing ill humours of the body.

I've got some news for you: Medicine has changed since the 1850s. Oh, and like cures like is an understanding of the complex tapestry whatever? WTF?

It never ceases to astonish that intelligent, well-informed and educated human beings feel it is their prerogative to berate something they know absolutely nothing about. If only those who malign homeopathy could experience its effects.

There are people who know more about homeopathy than you, and they aren't the homeopaths.

Nancy, I for one have actually been treated by a qualified homeopathic practitioner as a child.
She was exceptionally good at talking to me as a patient, and at reassuring my anxious parents who had brought me there. I expect that were she to retrain as a counsellor she would do very well.
However, I remain unconvinced by the remedies themselves.

That's brainduck, by the way

Sue, conventional drugs do not “mask” symptoms. Antibiotics, for example, kill the bacteria that are causing an infection.

Nor is homeopathy “natural”: that would be herbal remedies which contain active ingredients, unlike homeopathic remedies.

Wendy Pollock, homeopathy is also “Western”; Samuel Hahnemann was a German & when I last looked, Germany was in Western Europe.

Woot! More skeptics!

Nancy is right– it is amazing the level of discourse of people.

All these posts debating semantics, definitions are frankly typical of critics who don’t know what they are talking about. Whether you think homeopathy is natural or not is BESIDE the point. Conventional medicine kills. Period. It can cause secondary problems which result in taking MORE drugs for the secondary problems the first drug creates.

There is too much interest in the world in protecting a system that has LOTS of problems. Why are you critics so afraid of trying something new in response to a system that doesn’t work?

Conventional medicine SAVES LIVES. Period. How would you like to not have conventional medicine with diabetes or pneumonia?

I am enjoying this blog. Here is my positive experience with homeopathy:

I am a mom of four kids ranging in age from 10-30 years so you can see I have been very busy raising them these last many years. I am also a former registered nurse who discovered homeopathy 26 years ago to help my second born who was suffering from severe eczema.

To say that I have witnessed first hand the incredible benefits of homeopathy is an understatement. I have seen kids who were too young to know about placebo effect healed from ear infections and coup, as well as flues and fevers, allergies, a pilonidil cyst, extracted wisdom teeth needing no pain killers, bronchitis, pneumonia, to helping with their various emotional difficulties- sleep problems, temper tantrums, among others.

Because of my medical training, I carefully evaluated their responses to the remedy, and took them to my local GP for the serious infections. She was willing to “wait and watch” as long there was improvement. I am happy to report that none of the kids EVER needed to take antibiotics or even pain killers nor fever reducers- homeopathic remedies were effective They are all happy and productive young adults, and the youngest is doing well.

I, too, have experienced the wonder of a good remedy. There is nothing quite like the deep feeling of well-being and peace that occurs after taking a well- indicated remedy. I have weathered the storms of menopause and now at 55 years of age am fit, healthy, no menopausal symptoms, and feel excited about my life and the next many years ahead of me. I am saddened as I read ads for all the various drugs, and their potentially severe and sometimes fatal side effects that people have to take for conditions that homeopathy could help them with.

For the BadScience people, I feel that you are telling me that if I venture beyond the horizon that I will fall off the flat earth……..and imagine my knowing that in fact the Earth is a wonderful green-blue sphere spinning and whirling through space because I have seen it from above.

OK, YOU DO NOT NEED TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE PLACEBO EFFECT IN ORDER FOR IT TO WORK. Should I get out my caps lock again? I hope not. And oh wow, homeopathy made your childen smarter? Wow!! And why do people go on about side effects? And how would homeopathy help? And how do us members of the "bad science cult" believe in anything remotely like a flat earth. Sorry, but really, YOU SHOULD ACTUALLY THINK BETTER ABOUT YOUR METAPHORS! (oh no, I hit caps lock again)

Gimpy,
Its good that the gloves are off and you are showing your real self- one that is full of hatred, prejudice and serious nastiness. Instead of the bad science treacle.

Now, Gimpy- have a question for you- read on another blog this:

“The fatal flaw of thinking by Bad, Simpson, et al is this:

SURGERY

I have yet to see a successful double blind, placebo controlled study on surgery!

Techniques have been developed through trial and error and even anecdotal. Is there a problem with that? Should we stop all surgery because it is not to your gold standard of purity, Simpson?

What is your answer to this?

WHAT?! So now the homeopaths are doubting surgery? WHAT?

Gimpy says……..

“I have taken goodscience off the list for refusing to condemn claims that homeopathy can cure autism, aids, cancer and several other diseases. I will not have sites promoting such nonsense in my blogroll.”

AAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Gimpy!! NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

*lolz*

By now the comments have turned into a huge flamewar. See the original article.