3 ms·

Some do, others are based on other principles (Eastern medicine body energy etc.). We have homeopathic "cold pills" available at our local (mainstream) drugsto

Some do, others are based on other principles (Eastern medicine body energy etc.). We have homeopathic "cold pills" available at our local (mainstream) drugstore that visibly reduces a runny nose in our toddler when he has a cold. I've never _not_ seen these specific pills work in this way on small children. Does it defy conventional science? Sure. Do other homeopathic remedies work this well? No. Will I stop recommending them? Not to people with the brains to make a objective judgement about them. (Confirmation bias is the best friend of the placebo effect.) You just have to try different ones to find what works and what doesn't. Body chemistry is more complicated than big pharma would have us to believe ("ask your doctor if * is right for you").

nathan_f77 10y ago
> We have homeopathic "cold pills" available at our local (mainstream) drugstore that visibly reduces a runny nose It could be something simple like the act of swallowing that briefly clears up the runny nose. Next time you could just try a glass of water and see if that has the same effect. > I've never _not_ seen these specific pills work in this way on small children. I think it really could just be the action of swallowing. It could be the placebo effect. Or it could just be the running nose clearing up by itself. Next time you should try some NyQuil Cold & Flu. It's very safe, and it contains a nasal decongestant (phenylephrine). Homeopathic medicine doesn't contain any medicine, by definition. And even if they did contain some medicine, the active ingredient is supposed to be bad for you! It just makes no sense. > You just have to try different ones to find what works and what doesn't. It's good when you find one that works, because then you can use any of them. > Body chemistry is more complicated than big pharma would have us to believe Homeopathy chemistry is quite simple, though (H2O). I'm sorry if that's too harsh. I should mention that I've actually learned some new things about medicine recently. I always thought that generic drugs were identical to brand-name drugs, and that buying drugs from the original manufacturer was always a waste of money. That belief quickly disappeared after reading this article: http://fortune.com/2013/01/10/are-generics-really-the-same-as-branded-drugs/ http://fortune.com/2013/01/10/are-generics-really-the-same-a... It's easy to see how a poorly imitated time-release mechanisms can lead to problems when the drug is released too quickly or too slowly. I don't know how something like that slips past the FDA. I also didn't realize that generic companies have to reverse engineer drugs like hackers. I guess I assumed that the whole process would be made open source whenever the patent expires, because hacking together a cheap drug seems a little bit reckless. (I also just realized that this article could have been commissioned by someone in the pharmaceutical industry, since it's sort of encouraging people to buy more expensive drugs. But I don't think so, it looks like the author has a very good reputation and track record: http://katherineeban.com/about/biography/ http://katherineeban.com/about/biography/)
- explorigin 10y ago
  The thing I mentioned is a pill...not water (not even homeopathic water). Swallowing could account for a minutes-long change but I doubt hours long as I was seeing. Your criticism is not too harsh, it's just a strawman.

nathan_f77 10y ago

> We have homeopathic "cold pills" available at our local (mainstream) drugstore that visibly reduces a runny nose It could be something simple like the act of swallowing that briefly clears up the runny nose. Next time you could just try a glass of water and see if that has the same effect. > I've never _not_ seen these specific pills work in this way on small children. I think it really could just be the action of swallowing. It could be the placebo effect. Or it could just be the running nose clearing up by itself. Next time you should try some NyQuil Cold & Flu. It's very safe, and it contains a nasal decongestant (phenylephrine). Homeopathic medicine doesn't contain any medicine, by definition. And even if they did contain some medicine, the active ingredient is supposed to be bad for you! It just makes no sense. > You just have to try different ones to find what works and what doesn't. It's good when you find one that works, because then you can use any of them. > Body chemistry is more complicated than big pharma would have us to believe Homeopathy chemistry is quite simple, though (H2O). I'm sorry if that's too harsh. I should mention that I've actually learned some new things about medicine recently. I always thought that generic drugs were identical to brand-name drugs, and that buying drugs from the original manufacturer was always a waste of money. That belief quickly disappeared after reading this article: http://fortune.com/2013/01/10/are-generics-really-the-same-as-branded-drugs/ http://fortune.com/2013/01/10/are-generics-really-the-same-a... It's easy to see how a poorly imitated time-release mechanisms can lead to problems when the drug is released too quickly or too slowly. I don't know how something like that slips past the FDA. I also didn't realize that generic companies have to reverse engineer drugs like hackers. I guess I assumed that the whole process would be made open source whenever the patent expires, because hacking together a cheap drug seems a little bit reckless. (I also just realized that this article could have been commissioned by someone in the pharmaceutical industry, since it's sort of encouraging people to buy more expensive drugs. But I don't think so, it looks like the author has a very good reputation and track record: http://katherineeban.com/about/biography/ http://katherineeban.com/about/biography/)

explorigin 10y ago
The thing I mentioned is a pill...not water (not even homeopathic water). Swallowing could account for a minutes-long change but I doubt hours long as I was seeing. Your criticism is not too harsh, it's just a strawman.