My take on "Homeopathy: The Alternative Medicine Used By Millions"

The Huffington Post posted this seemingly even handed article about Homeopathy on 27 September 2017  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/09/27/homeopathy-the-alternative-medicine-used-by-millions_a_23224475

It sadly is an example of "balance" that softens the actual facts about Homeopathy, Homepaths and their patients.  I have purposely ignored logical inconsistencies to focus on the accommodations made by a reporter. 

That Homeopaths are unregulated dispensers of sugar pills, alcohol solutions and other substances that contain no medicinally effective ingredients is appalling.  Calling this practice "medicine" is an affront to medicine. Calling their ridiculously diluted substances "remedies" is an illogical dodge. That the practice has existed for 250 years and even proponents cannot demonstrate how their product works is ridiculous. 

I got very angry.  The crossout and red are mine.  

Steve. 

Homeopathy: The Alternative Medicine Used By Millions

 27/09/2017 1:39 AM AEST | Updated 27/09/2017 1:39 AM AEST

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·         Natasha HindeLifestyle Writer at The Huffington Post UK

Millions of people use homeopathy around the world, despite it being advised against by various medical and science bodies.

Most recently, the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) issued a damning report on the so-called benefits of homeopathy.

The council said claims for homeopathy are “implausible” and “inconsistent with established scientific concepts”, warning that promoting homeopathy may pose harm to patients who delay medical treatment in favour of an alternative cure.

It has since called for greater regulation of homeopathic products.

What is homeopathy?

Homeopathy is an alternative form of medicine unproven practice, that is not medicine, used to treat both acute and chronic conditions - Homeopathic treatments, Homeopaths call them "remedies" can be given as pills, capsules or tinctures (liquid extracts made from herbs, animal parts, bodily excretions, minerals, poisons, venom, or even starlight.). 

It is based on a series of pre-scientific, implausible ideas developed in the 1790s by a 

German doctor called Samuel Hahnemann. One of the utterly incorrect main ideas is 

that ‘like cures like’, so any substance which could produce symptoms in a healthy person 

could cure similar symptoms in a person who is sick. 

For example, onions make your eyes water and your nose burn when you chop them. So, if you’re experiencing hay fever - where the symptoms are watering eyes and a burning nose - many homeopathy websites argue that a treatment made from onion could (in theory) relieve it. This is course, is patently ridiculous and proven false.

Another provably incorrect idea from Hahnemann is that highly diluted substances are 

better for treating ailments. Homeopaths and their subjects and proponents believed giving 

the smallest amount of medicine can prompt a better healing response in the body, with 

fewer risks of side effects.  This is false and ignores the century of testing and careful dose 

monitoring that medicine and science have shown to work.

To be seen to be fair, The British Homeopathic Association says: “The holistic nature of 

homeopathy means each person is treated as an unique individual and their body, mind, spirit and emotions are all considered in the management and prevention of disease. Taking all these factors into account, a homeopath will select the most appropriate medicine based on the individual’s specific symptoms and personal level of health to stimulate their own healing ability.”

That homeopaths treat patients with actual medical disorders and there is no legal regulation of homeopathic practitioners in the UK currently is a disgrace. They are not doctors, yet they are permitted to behave as therm.

What do people use homeopathy to treat?

According to the NHS, homeopathy is used for an extremely wide range of health conditions. Some of the most common conditions include: asthma, ear infections, hay fever, mental health conditions, allergies, dermatitis (an allergic skin condition), arthritis and high blood pressure.

What evidence is there to suggest it works?

There’s no credible evidence surrounding supporting homeopathic treatments and whether they work. EASAC said homeopathy most likely causes a “placebo effect” in individuals - where the person believes they feel better because of their trust in the treatment rather than the treatment itself.

The NHS Choices website says “there is no good quality evidence that homeopathy is an effective treatment for these or any other health conditions”. Despite this, there are two NHS hospitals which provide homeopathy and some GP practices also offer it.

Meanwhile the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which advises the NHS, has issued advice on the use of homeopathy in three areas. It does not recommend using homeopathy to treat otitis media with effusion (OME) or for treating lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in men. It also said women should be advised against using homeopathy for induction of labour.

Cristal Sumner, chief executive of British Homeopathic Association (BHA), told HuffPost UK the EASAC findings are “little more than a rehash of previously published negative studies and reports, carefully selected from the wider body of homeopathic research to exclude any quality evidence supporting the efficacy of homeopathy”.

BHA said there’s a growing body of published research showing that homeopathy has a positive effect. One study from 2005 reported that 70% of 6,544 patients with a wide range of chronic conditions reported positive health changes following homeopathic intervention.

 This was however, an observational study, but is based solely on “how the participants felt”, rather than actual outcomes.

What does the report mean for the future of homeopathy?

EASAC has called for regulatory requirements to ensure all products for human and veterinary medicine are based on verifiable and objective scientific evidence. It said in the absence of evidence backing up health claims, a product should not be approved for wider use.

The council concluded that advertising and marketing for these products and services should be accurate and clear. In short, they should not be making any bold claims without the evidence to back it up.