Does homeopathy work?

[arbitraryarsehole]

Interested in views from people who have had homeopathic treatments please. I'm open minded to alternative medicine but also don't want to waste my money if there is no benefit. Thanks 😊

Everyone talks about the placebo effect but there are other effects at work too. Regression to the mean as well.

'Anecdotes' aren't going to do anything for you. Remember literally all people who mistake correlation and causation die. Every single one of them. Therefore it is fatal to mistake the two.

"Molecules and cells are not the same thing.
Cells multiply in the body, and are much much bigger than single molecules to start with.
A single molecule cannot reproduce itself. Besides which, in homeopathic treatments, there is no molecule left because they have been diluted too much."

I am not a scientist but is it not possible that one molecule could be recognised by the body and healing come from that.

As I said earlier I am very pro conventional medicine - it's saved my life after all - but could there not be a place in the healing world for a different approach as well for different ailments.

I don't want to get in a fight but just wanted to put my thoughts across.

I have benefited from homeopathic treatments. In my twenties it alleviated the anxiety I was experiencing.
I personally believe there is a natural remedy for most common ailments and would try them before any over the counter drugs.

With regards to teething granules- are people on about Ashton and parsons powders?? This isn't homeopathy it's traditional herbal medecine- which is a very different thing- (and yes they work incredibly well)

At some point all children stop having teething pain.

What you need to establish is whether the homeopathy caused the pain to stop, or was just coincidentally administered before the pain would have stopped anyway.

That is what properly designed trials seek to establish.

‘Correlation is not causation’ is one of the first things any aspiring researcher is taught.

At 10 months old there's no possible way it can be "placebo effect".

Yes. The placebo effect has been noted in animals and babies. Placebo by proxy. A few theories as to why:

1. Babies and animals sense a reduction in anxiety in the administer of the placebo and calm down
2. The pain/symptoms are observed by the administer of the placebo and therefore thought to be reduced
3. Regression to the mean

It is frustrating when people state 'facts' when they are just wrong.

I don’t know if it works.
But I really don’t understand people on here complaining it’s ‘just’ a placebo effect.
As far as I’m aware, the placebo effect is very real thing. It means there’s a bodily reaction that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
Therefore, if it does work as ‘just’ a placebo, then that wouldn’t have happened, had it not been taken.
And does that not make it worth it?

Seeing a homeopath is totally different to seeing a GP. As you're paying privately, you have a lengthy time to go into depth about what your symptoms are. The homeopath will sit and really LISTEN, encourage you to speak and share and discuss things in far more depth than you'd ever get in a 10 minute GP appointment. They are skilled at making people feel understood and listened to. SKilled at making people feel they have choice and control and options in their healthcare.

This is a huge factor in why many people think it "works". That and confirmation bias.

There was actually an ethical debate about whether prescribing placebos, not strictly homeopathy, was a good idea. Many people ask for antibiotics they shouldn't have for example and 'feel better'. So prescribing placebos would be less harmful.

On balance people can source their own placebos, one of which is homeopathy, and pay themselves.

BTW actual drugs also have the placebo effect. Around 80% of things like morphine's painkilling effectiveness is placebo.

There's also the nocebo effect of course. MSG being an example.

No it doesn’t, it simply isn’t possible. Any positive effects are all in the mind, which is fine if it helps.

It amazes me how thick people can be.

No.

Agree, it works when an expert issues it and I'm a sceptic and an HCP. I've had hay-fever since a child, the one year I had a homeopath (who was also a qualified Dr) prescribe I didn't get it, had it ever since (too expensive to use again). Same with tonsillitis when pregnant and didn't want to take antibiotics. I've used Bach's flower remedies and stopped and started them to test as I wanted proof to myself that it was working, this time for breast feeding, lack of milk supply, it increased supply. I understand about placebo effect but have been told the RSPB use it and I dispute the fact that wild birds are aware of the placebo effect.

It is possible that one molecule can have an effect on one cell in the body - but that would never be enough to cure or even begin to help treat an illness.

@PicturesOfDogs I completely agree. If someone takes a homeopathic remedy which has a placebo effect and they get better, ok they have paid a lot for what is basically some water, but they're better and surely that's what's important?

When I was a teenager and I had awful hayfever that interfered with my ability to study, concentrate and do things like sit exams, I tried homeopathic hayfever tablets. I didn't know much about what they were and how they were supposed to work. They were not cheap. And they did absolutely nothing. I read up about homeopathy and felt a bit embarrassed that I'd bought them without realising the magical thinking behind them. What worked for my hayfever was meticulous anti-pollen hygiene, anti-histamines and at its very worst a long acting steroid injection to get me through my a level exams summer.

I look back and still feel annoyed that I wasted my money.

I wouldn’t be without it - for both physical and emotional stuff. My sister raised 3 children and says she’d never be without it - especially when they were little. I don’t give a toss what anyone else thinks of it - it’s like believing in a flat earth… until we discovered it was round. Vibrational medicine is the medicine of the future but faces great opposition imo because remedies cost pence not ££ Germany recognises homeopaths on health insurance. My homeopath has 8 years of study in homeopathy as well as a phD in her previous field - seriously bright intelligent and kind lady

One of my friends worked in a homeopathy producers. There is nothing in the solutions other than water.

It's diluted to the point that it has the 'memory' of a substance. In this case ALL water in the world would contain the same memory as all water is part of the water cycle. It's bollocks.

No.

It's not homeopathy but it does fall into the 'alternative medicine' category which is what the comment said.

Brilliant!

Natural remedies aren't homeopathy if they contain active ingredients.

I can tell you how it worked. Sugar acts as a painkiller in babies. Homeopathic teething powders contain sugar.

My partners dad works in alternative medicine practice (acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine) , I also have friends that have studied TCM and alternate practice.

I belive that some alternative medicine is very effective and there is evidence to show that some works (hence why in countries like China and Korea where its more heavily researched and practiced it will often be recommended and prescribed in standard medical practice)

Saying all of that homeopathy is a hard no. It just doesn't work and there is absolutely no reason that it should.

My dog started limping one day. Next morning, woke up happpily jumping around like nothing had happened. had I given her some homeopathic globules, I would also be here praising the miraculous cure. In reality she just got better without any intervention.

No of course 'water memory' is not a thing. If it was, like PP said, all water on earth would have all the memories.