To be driven mad by how many people are utterly convinced by homeopathy?

[Wannabuyawatch]

I am just completely baffled by how many educated, clued up people I know, including family members and many close friends, that do not question homeopathy in any way. It is complete nonsense that bases its "science" on the memory of water?? You might as well wave your magic wand and say Hocus Pocus. Of course the placebo effect can be a cure in itself but not for children?? Even my brilliant pediatrician tries to give me homeopathy (probably bc she thinks it will calm me down rather than my children!!)
There is a mum at school whose son has horrendous allergies and asthma. She has taken him off all his inhalers as she wants to "cleanse his system" and only gives him homeopathy. Arrrgh. I see the little boy in tears every day in the spring as he can´t sleep and is exhausted due to his breathing.
My MIL insisted on giving their old dog who was in agony and riddled with cancer homeopathy instead of conventional medicine and god, did it suffer, why why??
Don´t know why but it drives me mad…such an irresponsible industry that suckers vulnerable people in and leads some to give homeopathy instead of conventional meds in dangerous situations.

candycoated, can I ask you a question please? As social worker, would you do anything if you knew a parent was putting their child at risk by using homeopathy in the place of conventional medicine for something serious like asthma? Do social workers have those kibnds of powers?

I have no practical experience in safeguarding children but from a legal perspective, yes authorities can intervene. There is a specific section of legislation that enables action if the child is at risk of or has suffered from 'significant harm'. As in all cases, SS would work with the family to resolve the problems, rather than taking serious action such as; applying to the courts for a care order.

Paul, Why not just try actual medicine?
If you have an allergy, there are actual understood and proven ways to overcome your body's reaction that will actually make you feel better without any of the guess work or hope or three week wait
Surely that makes more sense than a wing and a prayer and optimism about magic water?

Thanks for answering candycoated.

sparechange, I don't like to burden my GP with things that are pretty trivial. It's not as though my throat has ever swollen up. I get migraines, told my GP and they didn't seem concerned about them.

Thanks for diagnosing me CorusKate.

What I mean by trivial is something that isn't an infection of some kind. I've ended up on IV antibiotics because of a UTI, but I won't end up in hospital because of a migraine.

Yes, I do know what a migraine is. They do put me out of action, but having fairly recently been through 3 and a half years of kidney infection which culminated in an open nephrectomy, perhaps I have a slighlty diferent perspective on pain. You probably don't believe that though do you?

Do you think I don't know that there are are other serious illnesses aside from infections. If you are going to belittle my experience I won't engage you any further.

This thread is causing all sorts of uppity fluffing !
Why the hell should anyone else tell others what to do . I don't get it .
As for the hysterical SS involvement - that's laughable too . My nephew was living in a drug den being raised by an addict who abused him on every level bar sexual. It took us 3 long years to get the authority to truly acknowledge the problem . Yet people here think they should step in when homeopathy is used to treat illness . ( laugh laugh laugh )

Why can't we chose for ourselves ?

Fine for mild emotional stress etc.

Taking a childs medication away is abusive and they should be reported to social services. Do school know they have done this?

'Right'
The right medical treatment ...
Um...let me sit down and write a list of how many times the NHS treatment has fucked up for my family .
Give me a few hours to do that please .

So, another give-enough-rope-to-fans-of-woo winds down. Always the same outcome, but always enjoyable.

Very very rarely perhaps . Who knows as those statistics can't exist .
In my experience children raised by less straight minded parents will have far less antibiotic treatment . Most 'alternative' thinking parents will know when to call in the gp . Lots of my more main stream mates are regular gp visitors.
Again though these are only my observations. !

All these threads seem to end the same though - I am always shocked by how people don't seem to agree to differ and live and let live .

I do believe the medical evidence which appears to show that homeopathy doesn't work.

However Arnica does work. It just does I have so much experience of it healing badly bruised people in record time.

I also have some family members who have found it helpful for dealing with the effects of chemo.

I think that's partly because it does use some plant based folk remedies which have an element of efficiency like calendula and arnica.

I don't like people being defrauded. Which is what many CAM practitioners are doing. And my children never go to the doctors. Well, one is 13 and has been twice- the other is 18 and has been probably 5 times. So nearly never.

Herbal arnica and calendula and homeopathic arnica and calendula are very different things.