4 ms·

This really ought to be hilarious; but then you realise that they're talking about penicillin. If one batch of one type of snakeoil distributed by one pack of c

This really ought to be hilarious; but then you realise that they're talking about penicillin. If one batch of one type of snakeoil distributed by one pack of charlatans has turned out to contain an antibiotic, how many others do too? And how many people out there are merrily munching down a couple of homeopathic sugar-pills when their piles flare up and making amazing new antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains? Homeopathy is actively harmful.

SideburnsOfDoom 13y ago
Unintentionally taking penicillin can be quite bad: some people are allergic to it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penicillin_drug_reaction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penicillin_drug_reaction
- eponeponepon 13y ago
  Sure, but that can happen to an individual with any substance - I might take any given medicine that I haven't had before and turn out to be viciously allergic. But if I take a homeopathic 'remedy' that contains an antibiotic previously usable to treat, say, E. coli, and have no noticeable reaction to it, then I just silently create a new strain of E. coli in my gut that happens to now be immune to the antibiotic, just itching to be caught by someone else when I forget to scrub my hands thoroughly... nothing bad happens to the individual, but the species suffers for my gullibility.
  - SideburnsOfDoom 13y ago
    > Sure, but that can happen to an individual with any substance It's particularly common with penicillin. This is why people who are allergic to penicillin know about it and check their medication so that they don't get some accidentally. This is IMHO probably the reason for this recall: it is an immediate danger to a significant number of people. Sadly increased antibiotic immunity in the environment is not viewed with the same level of concern as a sudden medical crisis that causes next of kin to sue.
brazzy 13y ago
I really don't see how accidental contamination during production makes Homeopathy more harmful than anythign else that can be contaminated. Would you also conclude that "Chinese food is actively harmful?" because someone somewhere made some dim sum that contained things it shouldn't? Homeopathy is harmful because it's a bunch of patent nonsense that does nothing and people spend billions on it that could be used for something productive.
ronaldx 13y ago
Sure, but: 1. Homeopathy is probably less harmful than whatever was prescribed as placebo in the past, and whatever would be prescribed in its absence. That is, in many cases it's literally replacing antibiotics in this role. That's makes it a net positive on this point. 2. Putting anything in your body is actively harmful in the sense that you describe. Most foodstuff/most everything contains pretty nasty bacterial strains and any number of contaminants. Anything is potentially allergenic to a proportion of the population. 3. That one homeopath made a mistake is bad, but does not damn the whole industry. We would not judge any other industry on the basis of one bad actor/one mistake.
- deleted 13y ago
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MicroBerto 13y ago
It's "actively" harmful in that it's indirectly harmful, if that makes any sense. The fact that it exists (and in such force) means that it is being used to replace modern medicine by several individuals. That is the true crime. Supplementing with some snake oil typically won't kill you. But using it to replace a real doctor's visit very well might. And that's basically the attitude that this industry has bred.

SideburnsOfDoom 13y ago

Unintentionally taking penicillin can be quite bad: some people are allergic to it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penicillin_drug_reaction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penicillin_drug_reaction

eponeponepon 13y ago
Sure, but that can happen to an individual with any substance - I might take any given medicine that I haven't had before and turn out to be viciously allergic. But if I take a homeopathic 'remedy' that contains an antibiotic previously usable to treat, say, E. coli, and have no noticeable reaction to it, then I just silently create a new strain of E. coli in my gut that happens to now be immune to the antibiotic, just itching to be caught by someone else when I forget to scrub my hands thoroughly... nothing bad happens to the individual, but the species suffers for my gullibility.
- SideburnsOfDoom 13y ago
  > Sure, but that can happen to an individual with any substance It's particularly common with penicillin. This is why people who are allergic to penicillin know about it and check their medication so that they don't get some accidentally. This is IMHO probably the reason for this recall: it is an immediate danger to a significant number of people. Sadly increased antibiotic immunity in the environment is not viewed with the same level of concern as a sudden medical crisis that causes next of kin to sue.

brazzy 13y ago

I really don't see how accidental contamination during production makes Homeopathy more harmful than anythign else that can be contaminated. Would you also conclude that "Chinese food is actively harmful?" because someone somewhere made some dim sum that contained things it shouldn't? Homeopathy is harmful because it's a bunch of patent nonsense that does nothing and people spend billions on it that could be used for something productive.

ronaldx 13y ago

Sure, but: 1. Homeopathy is probably less harmful than whatever was prescribed as placebo in the past, and whatever would be prescribed in its absence. That is, in many cases it's literally replacing antibiotics in this role. That's makes it a net positive on this point. 2. Putting anything in your body is actively harmful in the sense that you describe. Most foodstuff/most everything contains pretty nasty bacterial strains and any number of contaminants. Anything is potentially allergenic to a proportion of the population. 3. That one homeopath made a mistake is bad, but does not damn the whole industry. We would not judge any other industry on the basis of one bad actor/one mistake.

deleted 13y ago
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MicroBerto 13y ago

It's "actively" harmful in that it's indirectly harmful, if that makes any sense. The fact that it exists (and in such force) means that it is being used to replace modern medicine by several individuals. That is the true crime. Supplementing with some snake oil typically won't kill you. But using it to replace a real doctor's visit very well might. And that's basically the attitude that this industry has bred.