Can you have a bad reaction to homeopathic remedies?

[lovecloud]

Sorry for the silly question, bought a helios homeopathic kit and although it comes with a manual it does not really explain exactly what is in the remedies and how they work etc.

I just find it hard to believe that these tiny little identical balls can work this magic the manual claims.

You cant have an allergic reaction can you?

No you can't, although if you are taking homepathic remedies for a chronic condition you can find that old symptoms come back, or current ones worsen before they get better. But this won't apply to the remedies in a childbirth kit,l which are for the acute problems you have in childbirth.

the pills all look identical, and are all identical lactose, but each has an infintesimal amount of the potentised specific remedy. The idea is sort of, that by introducing into the body a miniscule amount of something that the body can recognise, it kick starts the immune system to deal with the symptoms that that substance produces. And if they happen to be the same as the symptoms you are having anyway, the original symptoms are "cured" as well. Well, taht's my version of why it works, translated from the original C17th texts which use much more flowery language! For example, rhus tox, which "cures" symptoms of chickenpox (itching etc) is derived from an extract of the poison ivy plant.

I have to say I don't have experience of homepathy in childbirth, but have seen it work miracles in my dd, and help me through a terrible pregnancy.

I've just posted here for first time and seen your message. Yes, I used a homeopathy kit whilst in labour, it was given by my homeopath (has 5 kids, 4 born at home) - I believe the kit worked so well that I was able to cope without anything else - got to 10cm without realising.
Have also used homeopathy on my dd for conjunctivitis (cleared up after 12 hours) and for not scratching with chicken pox - no scratching.
I think it's best to go to a recommended practitioner, though, rather than try to work it out yourself.
Good luck,
Rosie

where did you get this kit from,

I'm not sure who your message is for, jellyjelly, but my birth kit was made up by my homeopath and consisted of about 20 different remedies which were to be used specifically for diff circumstances during labour and birth - it's not a kit in a box, as such. Since having my dd I have been using a kit (which IS in a box!) made by Ainsworth's (recommended by another homeopath friend) - who have their own website. I have just remembered that I also used calendula a few months after the birth as my numerous stitches were still really bothering me, and a few weeks later the dull achey feeling had gone.

Yes it's perfectly safe Lovecloud, just sugar and water.
The reason why you find it hard to believe is that they can't. It's something called the placebo effect.
If this works for you, fantastic.

Kathy1972

So you are saying they are placebos? Duds???

Thats what my dh said.

Yeah that's right Lovecloud, there was a big study recently that looked at the evidence for homeopathy and found it didn't work....
There are literally thousands of articles on the web about it but you might want to look at Wikipedia for some links to both sides - \link{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy\Wikipedia homeopathy article}
As well as there not being any convincing evidence that it does work, there's the problem that for it to work would go against some very basic science, because the amount the original liquid is diluted by is so large. There was a theory a few years ago that it worked because of something called 'the memory of water' which a French scientist claimed to have discovered, but he could not reproduce the experiments he claimed had worked, when he was asked to repeat them under controlled conditions.

However, when I say it doesn't work, that is not to say that a lot of people don't derive enormous benefit from it. The placebo effect (basically, people getting better because they believe they will get better) is a genuine phenomenon. There are people on Mumsnet who claim homeopathy helped them to go through labour without any other pain relief, and I don't think there's any reason to think they're lying - clearly their belief in the homeopathy has unlocked something very powerful in their brains that has allowed them to do what is, after all, a considerable achievement. The point is that it was their own mind that allowed them to do this, rather than some mystical property of the sugar pills in the box. If you had given them ordinary sugar pills and told them they were homeopathic it would have worked just as well. (I am expecting to get shouted down for saying that. )

By the way, I have just looked at the Wikipedia article and apparently some homeopathic remedies could spark a bad reaction, not because of the homeopathic content but because of other ingredients. However, if you bought it from a reputable supplier it would probably be safe.

I'm not going to shout you down Kathy, but will disagree with you politely.

There have been studies of homeopathic remedies v. placebo which have shown that for some conditions (childhood ear infections was one) homeopathy does work. I do agree taht many cases of homeopathy working can be down to the placebo effect, and also the counselling like consultation that takes place whenver you vist a reputable practioner, but not all successes can be down to this. I am the most cynical person I know, but the effect of constitutional homeopathic remedies on both my children was so amazing that I am now training to be a homeopath myslef.

Homeopathy doesn't go against known science - it just cannot be understood or explained by it. The effect of potentised remedies works on a quantum rather than chemical level, and homeopaths never claim that the remedy itself cures - it simply restores the vital force (a hippy-dippy term for the immune system IMHO) and so kick-starts the body into curing itself.

So lovecloud - kathy and I at least agree on one point - it isn't going to harm your labour, and might help it, so take the remedies, but do be prepared to have other pain relief options (I'm an elective c-section gal myself)

I'm afraid all the big science comes down against homeopathy, of late. There's been lots of mainstream media coverage, and in the New Scientist as well.

I think the basic principles of homopathy are interesting, and the idea of remedies being chosen specifically for your illness, its symptoms and (to some extent?) your personality, is all really appealing. It probably results in a stronger placebo effect, iyswim. (There is variation in the placebo effect. Fake surgery works better than fake injections which work better than fake pills.)

i don't fully believe it is placebo as when i was preg i was taking homeopathic pills to strengthen immune system and develope muscle tone etc. before i started taking them i had alot of headaches which faded at the same time i started taking the tabs, at first i didn't relate the 2 until the third time i forgot to take them for a few days and had a terrible headache, then it clicked!

placebo effect can't cure something you weren't taking the medicine for in the first place!

also, homeopathic chamomilla works wonders on my dd when she's colicy or teething and she's too young to know that taking medicine makes you better, hence it can't possibly be the placebo effect

lol lockets, crossed posts but same point!

Babies do get better on their own, sometimes.

And if you're calmer and happier, believing you're doing something good to make your pregnancy better, that might reduce your stress, and hence your headaches.

(And part of how placebos work, is you not thinking they're placebos. Obviously.)

at the end of the day does it really matter? they work so how can they possibly be a bad thing whether it's in my head or not.

although i still say, anyone who's seen the instantaneous effect it can have on a baby who's been screaming for hours, will agree there's got to be something more to it.

Very quickly cos I'm doing oral exams all day....

Re placebo effect on children - there has been some research into placebos used on children and animals (which I have not seen) and the thinking is that the placebo effect does still work. The mechanism is that it works on the carers who either communicate their newfound calmness and expectation of recovery to the child/animal, or change their view of the symptoms so that they think they are getting better, or any combination of those two. I agree that that is harder to believe than the direct placebo effect on people who themselves expecting a cure, but I think it's just about plausible. Will have to find the research and see if it looks any good!

I suppose another possibility might be that the baby stopped crying cos you gave it something sweet.
When we were a bit older (not relevant to the baby point), my mother used to give us a vitamin c tablet for any ailment (except a wasp sting, for which you got a glace cherry). Worked wonders!

Eve I don't quite get what you mean about 'placebo effect can't cure something you weren't taking the medicine for in the first place' - why not? After all, you might have been expecting a general sense of improvement from taking the pills, which would have contributed to your headaches going away. Or the headaches might have been partly caused by anxiety about your general health, and when you took the homeopathy it removed the anxiety and hence the headaches. (Or, of course, the headaches might have gone away by themselves - that's exactly the kind of change that does happen when you're pg.) Either way, it doesn't really matter, as the important thing is your headaches went away in a perfectly safe way and you did not end up taking any medicines that might have harmed the baby.

Anyway most people on this thread seem to be pretty much agreed - in terms of the OP, it's unlikely to do any harm and might help you cope, but it would be a good idea to consider other options.

Thanks Kathy and everyone else.

I can see and agree with both points of view, I'm glad I started this thread and will keep an open mind still when using the remedies and be happy to know there will beno side side effects. I am using the Helios Birth Kit.

I am quite a responisive person, I am be hynotised wuite easily and find it simple to get into a relaxed state suring meditation etc so I am sure I will have a positive response to the remedies whether its a placebo effct or genuinley working!

Its very interesting though, think I would like to read more into homeopathy.

Thanks!

hi haven't read it all but regarding the placebo effect it does work on animals too. Our organic dairy uses it on the cows and I've heard of it successfully used on horses.

The recent studies that I saw proved that homeopathy cant work in theory - not that it doesnt work.

Um, the studies I saw showed that it didn't work any better than placebos.

They've been saying for ages that the science doesn't work out.

So the fact that in the 1800s the homeopathic hospital in Chicago had a much lower death rate for cholera cases than the allopathic hospitals is down to the placebo effect is it? I think not (although there may have also been better sanitation etc). I agree that small children might know they're being given something and expect to get better abut don't see how it can be the case with a small baby.

Homeopathy does work - when I had my ds the midwife said that she could tell who was taking arnica by how quickly the stitches healed - and my mum had a knee operation a couple of weeks ago and the nurse who took her stitches out was amazed how quickly she had healed up - arnica again (and trials have actually proved arnica works).

Just because you don't understabnd how something works, does not mean it doesn't. But you do have to pick the right remedy and you can't just buy things over the counter. If you are using the Helios kit don't take several remedies together - they will just work against each other. Take one, see if you have an improvement and if not take another one.

You can get kits from Helios or Ainsworths (google them) - but ideally see a homeopath.

And I can also vouch for amazing results with my ds - and I used it myself when pregnant and did not suffer with my usual hayfever (although that could have also been down to a depressed immune system - has anyone else experienced fewer allergic reactions when pregnant?)

There are always counterarguments with these things but they can't hurt you unless you take far too many of them (unlike allopathic drugs which can be very dangerous, as we have witnessed this week. If you want to read more on this get one of Miranda Castro's books. (and no I am not a homeopath or on commission!)

Um, actually, science now understands why honeybees fly.

And for ages, science said "we don't know how honeybees can fly, but we'll work it out". But science is saying "we don't know how homeopathy could work, but we also know it doesn't, at least not better than placebos do".

for many years scientists were the one's saying the the earth was definitely, positively the center of the universe. that there was no other possibility... they were wrong on that and many others. most of the research thats been done was by pharmacutical companies, and they're hardly going to put themselves out of business are they?