Pharmaceutical Industry .. some thoughts ....

[MGX]

Aspirin is a drug and is delivered in sufficient quantity to cause a reaction in the body. Diluting a substance to the point where you might be lucky to have one molecule of original substance and thinking it will do anything is absurd. You don't need to know anything fancy to understand that one molecule of aspirin won't cure a headache.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy is a primer on homeopathy.

If you're talking simply about home remedies, then there is probably efficacy in some of them.

[raptor]

I'm not sure of the strict definition of homeopathy, but a lot of it is under the principle that extreme dilution of herbs/extracts will cure illness. When I say extreme, I mean there's nothing left of the original chemical/ It's diluted down to nothing. I think that style is a load of crap. There may be a less extreme definition of homeopathy, and if so, I'll vote undecided. The placebo effect can be quite large, and while it may be a bogus way of curing problems, if it works, it works, eh?

That is the strict definition of homeopathy.

"If it works, it works" shouldn't be the approach to medicine. Maybe for some people taking some snake oil product correlates with getting better, but it's not by any means causal. IMHO it comes down to people falling for it as a scam. Remember all those Activ-On commercials?

[lxskllr]

That is the strict definition of homeopathy.

"If it works, it works" shouldn't be the approach to medicine. Maybe for some people taking some snake oil product correlates with getting better, but it's not by any means causal. IMHO it comes down to people falling for it as a scam. Remember all those Activ-On commercials?

I haven't had TV in years, so I don't remember the commercials. Regarding homeopathy/placebo effect... It at least won't cause harm. If people are willing to spend their money on bogus medicine without researching it, who am I to stop them? If it works for them great. Even if the cure is all in their head; good results are the desired outcome, and if it takes a sugar pill to get those results, does it really matter in the end?

[MGX]

Yes.

If people believe tiny dilutions in water will cure them what if they truly are ill and don't seek proper care? I think it's immoral to sell this modality just for that reason.

[lxskllr]

Yes.

If people believe tiny dilutions in water will cure them what if they truly are ill and don't seek proper care? I think it's immoral to sell this modality just for that reason.

People need to do their own thinking. It starts with the government taking the place of the brain you were born with, and ends up with snus and Four Loco getting banned because it's not in the users best interest. Some people you just watch them drive off a cliff, and smile as they go by. After you've done your part to tell them you don't think the car is going to fly, the end decision rests with them.

[raptor]

Yes, MGX. Same reason there was that class-action lawsuit against that Airborne vitamin C tablet claiming to prevent illness while flying.

[raptor]

People need to do their own thinking. It starts with the government taking the place of the brain you were born with, and ends up with snus and Four Loco getting banned because it's not in the users best interest. Some people you just watch them drive off a cliff, and smile as they go by. After you've done your part to tell them you don't think the car is going to fly, the end decision rests with them.

Well people do do their own thinking. That is why each homeopathic medicine has the not-approved-by-FDA label on it. I don't think anyone here is arguing that it should be banned.

There is actually a big hullabaloo in England over NHS funding a homeopathic hospital which prescribes the same sugar pill medicine.

[lxskllr]

Well people do do their own thinking. That is why each homeopathic medicine has the not-approved-by-FDA label on it. I don't think anyone here is arguing that it should be banned.

There is actually a big hullabaloo in England over NHS funding a homeopathic hospital which prescribes the same sugar pill medicine.

MGX implied that it should be banned, even if he didn't say it outright. For a first course of action, homeopathic remedies make a lot of sense for a lot of people. They're much safer than patent drugs, and many times work just as well or better. If that effect is placebo, who cares? Some people need to believe in something for it to work, and homeopathic drugs are a cheap, safe way to give them something to believe in.

[MGX]

I did not intend to imply that homeopathic modalities should be banned by the government. Besides, homeopathy doesn't seem very popular in the United States.

I should add that with new social medicine coming down the pike the government should not spend any money on modalities with no evidence of efficacy.

[lxskllr]

I should add that with new social medicine coming down the pike the government should not spend any money on modalities with no evidence of efficacy.

Depends on what you mean. I don't think homeopathic drugs are suitable for treating cancer, but I think they're absolutely valid for other uses. Depression, anxiety, sleep disorders... They're perfect as a first course of action. I guess you're relying on deception at some level, but all medical practice relies on deception. Your doctor really isn't as confident as he comes across. It's a mask to boost your confidence, and make you feel better about your treatment. Personally, I prefer absolute honesty, and I can accept that competent people don't have the answers to everything, but I think I'm in the minority.

[MGX]

To further explain one can use science and evidence to reach conclusions. The question that leads into based on conversation above is do we, as a people, want to spend tax money for modalities that have no evidence that they actually work? Homeopathy hasn't changed in 200 years. Science has changed because it learns from its mistakes. Things that don't work are discarded for that which does work.

[raptor]

One of my local natural foods grocers has a whole aisle dedicated to homeopathic medicine and I internally chuckle whenever I walk by.

[Darwin]

Homeopathic meds will "work" in the sense that a certain percentage of people using them will get better--the same percentage that gets better doing nothing at all. Lot's of "home remedies" are that way. They worked on someone at some time in the past so "logically" they must work now. At least herbs have actual chemicals in them that might do something such as willow bark, the original source of acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin. Botanicals will always be a great source for med development. That's why the Amazon basin,among other fecund tropicalities, is being combed for exotic botanical chemical sources. There's gold in them thar swamps.

[dreed2]

Ok guys.... I'm watching this documentary right now on television about the whole mafia that is standing behind the pharmaceutical industry and happens that I've been going through a major episode of anxiety and depression since I was 19 .... thanks God I'm a lot better now...

I though this is an interesting subject since the documentary I'm watching is literally scary ...
I've mentioned my conditions because I've been taking roughly 30 - 40 different kinds of drugs in 5 years and I was only feeling like hell every single day .... and they've mentioned Xanax (alprazolam) that I have been taking for 3 years and only I and God knows what the withdrawal from xanax feels like ....

They've said that Xanax to some extent is more dangerous than heroine ...

..... A lot of medications are causing tumors, and other diseases ....

My point is that the pharmaceutical industry seems to be killing people rather than helping them ..... Since I quit taking meds I started feeling a lot better ... it's over 2 years now ... and it's not only a coincidence...

Bottom line ........ It's better going natural all the way....

Sometimes ... I wonder how evil can some people be ....

It's all about money, as you've alluded to. Many people have anxiety attacks at one time or another. I had one, out of the blue, when I was in a crowded grocery store one day. Just left my shopping cart there and walked out of the store. But I didn't go to my doctor to get drugs for it. A close relative is on Xanax and she calls it her "happy pill". Unfortunately, she's developed a rare form of leukemia after being on Xanax for a number of years... What's worse, an anxiety attack or a rare form of leukemia?

[sgreger1]

I'm no expert at medicine but homeopathy is 100% baloney.

No, it's not. There is a lot of crap out there that puts people in danger, but the concept of using herbal or natural remedies instead of synthetic pills is very real. I have had much success with it many times in my lifetime. Just don't listen to the crazies that tell you to pray it away lol.