4 ms·

I wish more German doctors would acknowledge what utter quackery homeopathy is. Three separate doctors wanted to prescribe me homeopathy stuff last year, ended

I wish more German doctors would acknowledge what utter quackery homeopathy is. Three separate doctors wanted to prescribe me homeopathy stuff last year, ended up not getting any help at all.

Joeri 2y ago
I think doctors do this when they want to give you a placebo. Pharmacies don’t carry placebos but they sure do carry a lot of products that don’t do anything except make you believe you took some medicine.
- Angostura 2y ago
  Hence the note that UK GPs would sometimes put on patient’s notes: TEETH Tried Everything Else Try Homeopathy
sgerenser 2y ago
In the U.S., sometimes a medicine is marked as “homeopathic” just to avoid regulation, and actually does contain a real active ingredient. This is the case with zinc lozenges (for colds), which contain an actual therapeutic dose of zinc but are presumably marketed as “homeopathic” since the FDA doesn’t regulate herbal or homeopathic “treatments.” Not sure if anything like that happens in Germany as well though.
- gwd 2y ago
  Is that "homeopathic" or "herbal / dietary supplement"?
  - sgerenser 2y ago
    It’s not actually homeopathic, but for some reason it uses the word “homeopathic” on the packaging (I’ve seen it on multiple brands). Example: https://coldeeze.com/collections/lozenges https://coldeeze.com/collections/lozenges
    - gwd 2y ago
      Weird! Particularly as searching for "homeopathic" on that page doesn't turn anything up. I guess it's one of those things where it might help and can't hurt: anyone who knows enough to know that "homeopathic" is bogus, can look at the ingredients and determine that it's actually got zinc.
- cbsmith 2y ago
  Yup. Our doctor recommended "homeopathic" medicine that was actually pretty standard treatment.
- captn3m0 2y ago
  this should count as false advertising.
- plorkyeran 2y ago
  https://www.arnicare.com/about/arnicare-topicals/arnicare-cream/ https://www.arnicare.com/about/arnicare-topicals/arnicare-cr... is another example I've seen. The active ingredient is "Arnica montana 1X HPUS 7%", meaning they start at 7% and do a single 10:1 dilution, resulting in .7%. This is a pretty normal strength for a normal non-homeopathic cream but it's pretending to be homeopathic to avoid FDA evaluation.
TillE 2y ago
I like the German doctors who offer acupuncture and aromatherapy and such. It's just as nonsensical, but at least it's probably relaxing.
- skrebbel 2y ago
  I had hayfever, it got worse every year. The pills worked but make me sleep half the day. After some years of that, my wife forced me to try all the hippie shit that I didn't believe in, and the acupuncture lady simply fixed it. Not reduced symptoms, just entirely gone, after a few treatments every year. It still doesn’t make sense to me. The only explanation I can think of is a placebo but wow placebos kick ass then!
quitit 2y ago
Discussions I have with doctors and pharmacists about this situation are generally unproductive. There is this pervasive resistance to change and deep ties to traditional approaches. A large chunk of the problem is that many common self-selection and over-the-counter medications are only by a doctor's prescription in German speaking countries. Low risk medications, which in other countries a consumer can safely select and administer, are only available over-the-counter at pharmacies, other low risk medications require a script - examples of these include basic pain medication(OTC), NSAIDs(RX), PPIs(RX), skin treatments(OTC), anti-fungals(RX), anti-biotic drops(RX). Pharmacies also generally have short hours on Saturday, and are not open on Sundays. Combining these factors leads to people seeking out a "solution", and those "solutions" are either homeopathic or merely just alcohol, since neither require a health care professional's assistance. There is also no shortage of homeopathic stores that promise therapeutic benefits, such as addressing fertility issues and chronic pain. Regulators regulate medicine, so non-medicines often fly under the radar, even when they're promoting medical therapies. There's so many ways that this system fails in comparison to modern approaches: Should a woman not have a sufficient stock of pain killers on a sunday during period cramps, her options would be to either beg a neighbour, or got to the emergency department of a hospital. In other countries, she could simply visit a supermarket or convenience store. Children with head lice can't receive a treatment without a doctor's prescription, but there's no shortage of proven ineffective products stocking pharmacy shelves, hoping that some desperate parent will buy it just to see if it works. A person with conjunctivitis needs to first visit a doctor, potentially waiting hours just to get the script, then hope that the pharmacy is still open. (Doctor's offices are frequently bogged down with people visiting for minor ailments because they can't get basic medications without it.) In the realm of sexual health: While other countries have dispensing sexual health clinics with easy access to treatments and prophylactic medications, those afflicted in Germany and similar are often needlessly waiting, or worse simply spreading disease. With some medications and inoculations only available via a hospital appointment. Overall it breeds distrust in the medical system and promotes unhealthy, worthless, scammy "alternatives".

I wish more German doctors would acknowledge what utter quackery homeopathy is. Three separate doctors wanted to prescribe me homeopathy stuff last year, ended up not getting any help at all.

Joeri 2y ago

I think doctors do this when they want to give you a placebo. Pharmacies don’t carry placebos but they sure do carry a lot of products that don’t do anything except make you believe you took some medicine.

Angostura 2y ago
Hence the note that UK GPs would sometimes put on patient’s notes: TEETH Tried Everything Else Try Homeopathy

sgerenser 2y ago

In the U.S., sometimes a medicine is marked as “homeopathic” just to avoid regulation, and actually does contain a real active ingredient. This is the case with zinc lozenges (for colds), which contain an actual therapeutic dose of zinc but are presumably marketed as “homeopathic” since the FDA doesn’t regulate herbal or homeopathic “treatments.” Not sure if anything like that happens in Germany as well though.

gwd 2y ago
Is that "homeopathic" or "herbal / dietary supplement"?
- sgerenser 2y ago
  It’s not actually homeopathic, but for some reason it uses the word “homeopathic” on the packaging (I’ve seen it on multiple brands). Example: https://coldeeze.com/collections/lozenges https://coldeeze.com/collections/lozenges
  - gwd 2y ago
    Weird! Particularly as searching for "homeopathic" on that page doesn't turn anything up. I guess it's one of those things where it might help and can't hurt: anyone who knows enough to know that "homeopathic" is bogus, can look at the ingredients and determine that it's actually got zinc.
cbsmith 2y ago
Yup. Our doctor recommended "homeopathic" medicine that was actually pretty standard treatment.
captn3m0 2y ago
this should count as false advertising.
plorkyeran 2y ago
https://www.arnicare.com/about/arnicare-topicals/arnicare-cream/ https://www.arnicare.com/about/arnicare-topicals/arnicare-cr... is another example I've seen. The active ingredient is "Arnica montana 1X HPUS 7%", meaning they start at 7% and do a single 10:1 dilution, resulting in .7%. This is a pretty normal strength for a normal non-homeopathic cream but it's pretending to be homeopathic to avoid FDA evaluation.

TillE 2y ago

I like the German doctors who offer acupuncture and aromatherapy and such. It's just as nonsensical, but at least it's probably relaxing.

skrebbel 2y ago
I had hayfever, it got worse every year. The pills worked but make me sleep half the day. After some years of that, my wife forced me to try all the hippie shit that I didn't believe in, and the acupuncture lady simply fixed it. Not reduced symptoms, just entirely gone, after a few treatments every year. It still doesn’t make sense to me. The only explanation I can think of is a placebo but wow placebos kick ass then!

quitit 2y ago

Discussions I have with doctors and pharmacists about this situation are generally unproductive. There is this pervasive resistance to change and deep ties to traditional approaches. A large chunk of the problem is that many common self-selection and over-the-counter medications are only by a doctor's prescription in German speaking countries. Low risk medications, which in other countries a consumer can safely select and administer, are only available over-the-counter at pharmacies, other low risk medications require a script - examples of these include basic pain medication(OTC), NSAIDs(RX), PPIs(RX), skin treatments(OTC), anti-fungals(RX), anti-biotic drops(RX). Pharmacies also generally have short hours on Saturday, and are not open on Sundays. Combining these factors leads to people seeking out a "solution", and those "solutions" are either homeopathic or merely just alcohol, since neither require a health care professional's assistance. There is also no shortage of homeopathic stores that promise therapeutic benefits, such as addressing fertility issues and chronic pain. Regulators regulate medicine, so non-medicines often fly under the radar, even when they're promoting medical therapies. There's so many ways that this system fails in comparison to modern approaches: Should a woman not have a sufficient stock of pain killers on a sunday during period cramps, her options would be to either beg a neighbour, or got to the emergency department of a hospital. In other countries, she could simply visit a supermarket or convenience store. Children with head lice can't receive a treatment without a doctor's prescription, but there's no shortage of proven ineffective products stocking pharmacy shelves, hoping that some desperate parent will buy it just to see if it works. A person with conjunctivitis needs to first visit a doctor, potentially waiting hours just to get the script, then hope that the pharmacy is still open. (Doctor's offices are frequently bogged down with people visiting for minor ailments because they can't get basic medications without it.) In the realm of sexual health: While other countries have dispensing sexual health clinics with easy access to treatments and prophylactic medications, those afflicted in Germany and similar are often needlessly waiting, or worse simply spreading disease. With some medications and inoculations only available via a hospital appointment. Overall it breeds distrust in the medical system and promotes unhealthy, worthless, scammy "alternatives".