alternative medicine, not as safe as some people think.

[bananaandcustard]

www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/man-died-an-hour-after-being-treated-for-peanut-allergy-26531233.html

Recently suggested that I go to one of these types of alternative practitioners for one of my children. Why would I not go to a doctor trained in immunology but choose someone like this instead?

madness.

Anyone who even considered this is absolutely bonkers. Its sad that the gentleman died but it proves that this sort of thing is very dangerous

Annoys the crap out of me.

Often I see leaflets for treatments which will "cure" asd, learning difficulties etc. Mainly at yoga places actually. I've started asking reception to take them down.

This is from 2009.

I have a friend into this stuff. She has more money than sense.

Well I could say the same for allopathic medicine. I know quite a few people who have iatrogenic illnesses.
I go to whoever has the best medicine for my condition. My dd was catching everything going when she was 7 years old because of overprescription of antibiotics on the part of the doctor, who never once showed any concern for how often she was getting sick. In desperation I took her to an acupuncturist who prescribed her some Chinese herbs and she didn't get sick for another two years.

How is an acupuncturist qualified to "prescribe" any sort of herbal medicine, Chinese or not?

The acupuncturist was first qualified as an anesthetist and then studied acupuncture for two years in China. But more than anything his treatments worked

There's no cure for stupid

www.allergy-clinic.co.uk/skin-allergy/infantile-eczema/

scroll down to 'other therapies'

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1254746/Chinese-medicine-caused-kidney-failure-cancer-So-safe-popular-cures.html

am not against TCM totally, but that we have high street shops with little idea if the people inside them are well trained and qualified to diagnose and treat our health problems safely.

My dd was catching everything going when she was 7 years old because of overprescription of antibiotics
How do you know that?

Tcms are regulated and often prescribed by doctors in China. Tcms here can contain incorrect herbs, or illegal materials and are unregulated. You can get lucky and get a good herbalist qualified in China or you can get someone unqualified who just wants to make a buck.

People think herbals means safe and effective (which it can if regulated) unregulated and supplements are a gamble.

I could grow tobacco and opium. Would be all natural and organic. Might not be too safe though.....

I don't get this type of "medicine" at all. Surely if they were effective they would be prescribed by proper doctors.

It's all mumbo jumbo if you ask me, and dangerous to boot.

It is VERY dangerous.

Jim Humble created Miracle Mineral solution. It's basically bleach, diluted in water, mixed with an acid akin to orange juice & given orally or via enema in order to cure

Autism
Cancers
HIV

The thinking behind it is that autism is caused by parasites that mate on a full moon, so this solution kills them. Photos of 'parasites' are shared on their fb page, and they are actually the lining of the gut, which has been eroded away due to the solution.

YANBU but your average Joe Public is not very bright. People, understandably, get confused between homeopathy (water and sugar) and herbal (genuine ingredients that can interact with other medication you're taking).

I go to whoever has the best medicine for my condition.

And how do you know who that is?

TCM can be very effective used properly. Issue here is they're not single ingredient treatments so it's difficult to get them "passed" by the european standards whatever, and into mainstream usage.

So it's left as unregulated "alternative" treatments, which of course means it's pure luck as to whether you get some charlatan or someone who really knows their stuff. Herbal medicine can be very dangerous in the wrong hands, effective in the right ones (foxglove/digitalis, willow/aspirin, mould/antibiotics etc)...

I had a discussion about MMS on a different forum a few days ago. A poster asked for the opinion of doctors/health professionals on the forum about it saying her Heilpraktiker (alternative health practitioner in Germany) had recommended it despite not really knowing what it was. Some of the doctors and I (biologist) kept telling her it was dangerous and posted toxicology data and links to the WHO warning but she got all upset and called us mean and closed minded. I hope she is not going to take it but I'm not sure we made any difference with our arguments.
When I first looked at Jim Humble's page I wasn't sure if it wasn't meant to be satire or not.

More people will die from conventional medication than ever from alternative.

Alternative medicine is called alternative until it can be proven it works and is safe. When that happens it is then called medicine.

Here in Germany most GPs will have some sort of alternative training too and will try that first, before using conventional medicine. So no, its not all shit!

More people will die from conventional medication than ever from alternative.

More people use conventional medicine than alternative and for more serious conditions more likely to result in death, even with treatment, so this is meaningless.

Here in Germany most GPs will have some sort of alternative training too and will try that first, before using conventional medicine. So no, its not all shit!

Without knowing what specifically you are referring to by saying alternative training - homeopathy or herbal or acupuncture or something else - it's hard to discuss this. I live in a country where alternative treatments are often offered, some, like homeopathy may work solely on the basis of the placebo effect. Other treatments like acupuncture or herbal medicine actually may have an impact, depends on the condition and the treatment.

My parents were obsessed with taking vitamin C tablets (very high doses) every day. They had read a popular book by a man who claimed this prevented cancer. My mum died of a particular form of cancer. I've since read that it has been found that taking large doses of vitamin C can cause that kind of cancer (plus some others). The writer of the book made plenty of money out of it.