Why does Homeopathy seem to irk skeptics the most?

On the other hand, babies - like everyone else - can get better all by themselves. I believe the most common reason for people to be taken in by useless treatments, be they mainstream or alternative, is because of regression to mean. Many conditions do get better without treatment and, understandably, people wrongly attribute their recovery to whatever they've been taking. It's a fallacy called post hoc ergo propter hoc.

There's no need to be rude. The scientific method is the best method of accurately evaluating treatment though there are some pragmatic limitations on its use. Anecdotes, on the other hand, can only indicate that there may be something worth investigating using the scientific method. They are worthless in themselves.

 

Actually they can

Because they respond strongly to a mother figure and if the mother has a positive affect then so will the baby

 

What is the mechanism involved? How does a molecule of Hydrogen and Oxygen do this?

 

How interesting. It seems the reason the Boiron family won't spare a few million to fund some really good quality research to demonstrate once and for all that homeopathic remedies work is because they need every spare penny to settle all those lawsuits.

Source

 

Not within a few minutes.

yes, I'm sure. However, babies are not aware of that.

If they convince people to give the product a try, then that's good enough.

If anyone here has a baby going through the teething stage- fretfulness, runny nose, flushed cheeks, restlessness and so on, then try the homoeopathic remedy.

It's much better for the baby than frequent doses of paracetamol syrup.

 

If you're talking about teething pain, it certainly can get better of its own accord within a few minutes.

I'm sure you're being facetious and haven't really missed the point entirely but in case you have, the point is that you are erroneously assuming a causal connection where none exists. Homeopathic remedies typically have no active ingredients and are based on flawed principles and there the totality of scientific evidence indicates that it's a crock.

Good enough to help the line the pockets of scammers like Boiron, yes, but a total waste of money for the customer. (And, anyway, aren't the remedies supposed to be 'individualised'?)

If people are going to claim this nonsense works, the onus is on them to at least explain the mechanism. How is the pain inhibited? What is the exact process?

Over to you.

 

Yes you will be treated for that broken leg whether you have insurance or not.

If she had a broken leg and was turned away at the ER she could sue. Heck we even treat illegal aliens for free.

 

No. The severity of the symptoms do vary, but the baby is off colour for weeks.

It worked. Not only once, but every time I used it.

Not necessarily.

One pops a few tablets into the babies mouth and within a few minutes he or she begins to stop the grizzling and dribbling. The flushed cheeks die down, the nose stops running and the baby generally perks up, for a good couple of hours or more.

I tried the tablets myself first and I found they dissolve away into nothing in a matter of seconds.

I don't know how they work. They consist of nothing but tissue salts and milk sugars - but they do work.

 

That may be the case for a newborn, but not for a baby of a year old.

 

Tissue salts and milk? So where does the 'like treats like' principle come into it? What is the name of this remedy?

 

I know the OP is quite old but I only recently signed up to PF and I admit I didn't read every page of this thread so apologies if this has already been said.

Personally speaking, homeopathy doesn't annoy me more than, say, "psychic surgery". However, homeopathic medicines are in most pharmacists I go into. I bet most of us know someone, possibly even an otherwise intelligent person, who swears by homeopathy. It's even recommended by some people who actually have qualifications that entitle them to call themselves doctors.

It's not the homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine that is any worse than any other - it's just that it's the most prevalent.

 

Are you aware that it is incredibly easy to produce endorphins? How do you know it was not you and the way you applied the compound that caused the baby to settle?

 

Not here in Aussie land - not too sure because we are less tolerant of "bull dust" or whether we simply never had support for it or legal structure allowing it in the first place

 

Is it?
I don't claim to know , but find it very hard to believe that this is the case after the media battering it has taken in the last few years .
Surely the double Blind Test results versus placebos should have brought people back to sanity .
It is interesting however to try and guess how it became as popular as it did , when , even on common sense grounds , it sounds implausible -- and that's phrasing it charitably
Of course there may be a percentage of people who are highly suggestible and gullible and this treatment " works " for them . If so , let them be .
Perhaps it is --- Happy is the Fool who does not know he is one .

 

Then I'm curious - what alternative medicine would you say is more prevalent in your neck of the woods?

 

These people are the biggest
http://www.blackmores.com.au/detox

 

the traditional remedy for teething pain was oil of cloves.

but I found a cuddle and distraction was also useful ... will have to see if it still works as I will be a grandma soon!

 

Homeopathy is something of an "official" medical placebo treatment. Thus because of its prevalence, it makes sense to be a primary target for alternative medicine skeptics.

 

For tooth ache, but not teething problems.

It doesn't work that well. You've probably forgotten.

 

How do you mean?

I just popped a couple of the little tablets in the baby's mouth.

 

New Era biochemic remedy for infants teething pains.

 

yes, for teething.

it does - and I think Bower mentioned the release of endorphins.

a kiss really does make things better.

 

I think that most successful modern medications are simply well working old medicine recipies, only reformatted into pills. So, a large part of the so called modern medication is only a con, for the purpose of more profits to the insurance companies.

Congrats.

It is amazing how well a cuddle works even on adults.

 

so true.

TLC is the best medicine for many of lifes ills ... and can make a lot of other things easier to bear.

 

I think the biggest problem I have with homepathic medicine is that all to often, people will jump on it because it claims to be "homeopathic", and totally ignore other methods that are known to work.

Or even more dangerous, since most of these "cures" are available over the counter, people will use them instead of going to a doctor and getting a true diagnosis of their condition.

And such a huge majority of what is available for sale this way is nothing but snake oil, I think it has ruined the reputation of all such medicines.