To wonder whether people on here know that teething powders are homeopathy?

[ArfAPandaTreacle]

Whenever the word 'homeopathy' is mentioned on here, you instantly get people saying that it's woo. Water doesnt have a memory etc.

But when someone posts asking why Ashton and Parsons is no longer on the shelf, you get a lot of replies saying how good it is, where you can get it, that Nelsons also do some (disclaimer - Ashton and Parskns and Nelsons and Boots own teething powder are all identical).

So out of interest, why when someone posts about teething powder do you never get anyone saying 'homeopathy is woo! Water has no memory.'

And why, when you have a 'homeopathy is woo' thread do you never get all those teething powder loving mums saying 'Actually, teething powder works really well for my baby.'

Please take this as the light hearted, inquistive thread that I intend it to be.

valium

I am a homeopath

Because I just said so. Which is all one needs to do to become one.

The NHS does support homeopathy but also recognises it has no effect outside of the placebo effect. Take a look at the NHS website on homeopathy.

NICE does not recommend Homeopathy for anything

I mean, if your GP also believed in astrology would you assume it must be true?

That wasn't meant to sound as rude as it came out

If you open your mind too much your brain falls out.

Yes samandi
Aspirin = willow bark
Penicillin = mould
Caffeine = various plants
Codeine = poppy
Etc
Always surprises me when people diss herbal medicines.
Probably too much confusion with homeopathy as this thread has shown

valium: There are NHS homeopathic hospitals - my GP is a homeopath and a 'proper' doctor. I wouldn't dream of presuming I know better than her and scoff at her qualifications.'

I wouldn't scoff at her medical qualifications either. I do scoff at her homeopathic beliefs. If she prescribes homeopathic medicine to patients in place of conventional medication I would report her as incompetent. Being a GP does not make you infallible, nor a better point of reference for whether or not to believe in something than objective scientific evidence.

great, it's probably because herbal medicine is seen as seperate to conventional medicine. Many conventional medicines are plant-derived, but once they are demonstrated to be efficacious and made into mainstream drugs they fall outside what many people identify as herbal medicine. So whilst of course recognising that the natural environment has a huge amount to offer the medical world, I would be dubious of 'herbal medicine'. Maybe even more so than homeopathy, since whilst homeopathy is intellectually fraudulent and a waste of money, herbal medicines, having active ingredients, can actually be harmful.

bonzo nicu gave ds3 sugar water when placing his cannula, they said there was research that it worked as a pain killer in newborns.

Sounds like a lot of people, including the OP don't know the difference between homoeopathic "medicine" (one which contains NO active ingredients), and Herbal medicine (which often do contain active ingredients, ie drugs of plant origin)!
They are not the same thing. Many real drugs are derived from plants, or contain drugs which are synthetic forms of chemical of plant (or animal), origin.

I have been amazed (and complained) to see homoeopathic anti-allergy "medication" on the shelf (in BOOTS, a Chemists!), next to actual real medications, and not on the "alternative" shelves. The product was packaged in such a way you would not realise it was homoeopathic without quite close reading... I feel sorry for those buying such things unknowingly.

Yeah so it's all hogwash I'm sure. Still doesn't explain the instance where it worked where conventional medicine had failed. This is not reported anecdote, I witnessed it as cause and effect. In my dog. So we can discount a placebo effect.

Maybe your dog just got better?

Oh, and one doggy is an anecdote. Not a clinical trial :)

Gee well gawsh I jus dunno if I can even rite c-ing as u fink we r so daft as 2 not no this fing!

Jumped up madam. Don't assume others have your limited intelligence.....

Not really sure who that's aimed at

This is not reported anecdote, I witnessed it as cause and effect. In my dog.

Ha ha, that's hilarious. Do you know what anecdotal evidence is?

I'm intrigued to know how you 'witnessed it as cause and effect'. Do you have x-ray vision into your dog's biochemistry?

The dog got better... because the dog was going to get better not because it had a homoeopathic "medicine".

Most people buying using these products for minor, self limiting illness with assume it has cured them when the illness has just run it's course - people who don't believe these products will work, DON'T buy them in the first place!

I know teething powders work to an extent cos I used them in myself. Dd was teething a few weeks a bit back and my wisdom teeth are coming through so have them a go. They just make your gums all tingly. So give you a sensation other than pain for a while which is a nice distraction

*Will assume

They make your gums tingly?

No they dont.

I dont know what you put on your gums but sugary powder wont make your gums tingle.

Ashton and Parsons Teething Powder contains Tincture of Matricaria (Chamomile) 0.002 ml in each dose, in a lactose base.

Nelsons Teetha contains Chamomilla (Chamomile) 6c* in lactose granules base.
*Where 6c is a dilution of the chamomile tincture, one in a hundred, hence 'c', and performed 6 times. At each dilution, the solution is shaken (not stirred :o))

Due to the nature of manufacture, A&P powder is 'herbal' and Nelsons Teetha is 'homeopathic'.

God it really annoys me when people confuse herbal medicine and homeopathy - they are totally different. It is not just about the dose; they have totally differing treatment paradigms!

Homeopathy treats like with like, meaning that they take a substance (not necessarily a plant) that would CAUSE similar symptoms to those the patient is experiencing, then dilutes that substance until there is no discernable molecule left of that substance in the water.

Herbal medicine uses plant parts (either the whole plant, the root, or the aerial parts) which have physiological effects on the body, eg causing diuresis (peeing more) or expectoration of mucus. The herb might be powdered and put into pills (therefore the person takes the whole plant), or prepared in a way that extracts the active ingredients using water or alcohol. Basically, a tincture has had the herb steeped in it for a few weeks, using the alcohol as a solvent for the active ingredient of the herb. Many herbs can also have their active constituents extracted using hot or cold water - herbal tea. Of course some herbs are used topically in creams, poultices etc.

With herbal medicine you are ingesting chemical components of the plant. With homeopathy you are not.

iismum whatever. It worked. I wouldn't use it for everything or frankly most things but it worked in one instance and I don't need to justify how I feel or the months of frustration as one thing after the other failed.

Glad your dog is better though Zombies, even if we can't agree on why he is

It's popping candy

Fair enough catgirl :)
What is laciccolina on about though? I suspect she intended to post on another thread maybe?