Is it true that homeopathy has no side effects because it has no effect at all?

Question

Dalli the Lama: it's fine for conditions which would resolve themselves anyway. I get it.

Answer 1

what is homeopathy

Answer 2

well i believe that it has no effect but it has some potentially dangerous side effects. Homeopathy is not a qualified medicine practice. I suggest you to opt for alopathy.

Answer 3

Homeopathy is on the contrary very effective and it is true that it has no side effect (but you do get reactions during the cure - like getting worse before getting better).

In France, homeopathy is reserved to medical doctors. No one else can be a homeopath. Do you think that would be the case if it was ineffective?

Answer 4

this is quite controversial .... i would say there are some affects but because of the usualy very low concentrations of active ingrediants there should be very few side affects from them, however sometimes the exipients (other stuff, not active ingrediants) can cause some side effects too such as stomache craps with swallowed medicines. on the other hand there are people out there who say the effects you experience from homeopathy is just psycological therefore following agumentitive reasoning you could say the the patient may experience lots of side effects since they would also be psycological, as well as beneficial affects.

Answer 5

It doesn't work. It's just water.

As for these trials that another poster mentioned, they do not prove the that homeopathy has any benefit whatsoever. In fact it scored the same as a placebo.

Answer 6

actually, its saved my sister's life. I dont remember her having any serious side effects, they were planning her funeral but they saved her life.

I couldnt believe it either.

Answer 7

If using it instead of conventional treatment leads to deterioration of health, then that's a side-effect. It is fine for chronic non-life threatening illnesses.

Answer 8

That depends on whom we ask. Some people dismiss the unfamiliar for that reason alone (e.g., you). Others unsuccessfully self-treat when they need the knowledge and experience of a professional. Then, we have those whose health (lives) changed because of homeopathy, when all else (conventional and natural) had failed (e.g., me). We are the ones who usually become homeopaths in order to help others who request assistance. Let's see...unfounded theory (you)...personal and professional experience (me)? As with all else in life, belief is an individual matter.

I will admit the principles behind homeopathy are pretty hard to wrap one's mind around. It took me about 7 years to "get" it, although I saw with my eyes that it worked. Like electricity, which we see through the light in the bulb.

EDIT:

For those with inquiring minds with space for the unfamiliar:

http://www.nationalcenterforhomeoapthy.o...

http://www.homeopathicdirectory.com

Answer 9

yes, it doesn't work whatsoever. If you have a headache it is SO much easier just to either lie down or take paracetemol  

Answer 10

To understand homeopathy, you need to consider the state of medicine in the late 18th century.  The Royal College of Physicians had abandoned pharmacology as being the preserve of old-fashioned apothecaries and treated everything with purges, poltices, cupping, leeches and laudenham.

Homeopathy came about as an alternative form of medicine.  The theory behind it was to reinforce the "vital force" - at least 150 years before the idea of an auto-immune system was postulated.

Through the Faculty of Homoeopathy at the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital, an exhaustive system of clinical trials was carried out.  They invented double-blind tests.  Homeopathic medicines have been tested far more than modern drugs. If they had no effect, someone would have noticed.

Homeopathy only faded in popularity when patent medicines became the norm in the early 20th century.  People generally prefer a quick fix to a slow healing.

The Royal College of Physicians and the drug companies like to put about stories that homeopathy doesn't work.  In the immortal words of Mandy Rice Davies, they would say that wouldn't they.

I'm sure you'll get plenty of answers about dilution and that homeopathic remedies contain none of the active ingredient.  Unfortunatelty, the medical profession tend to abandon mathematics after "A" level and are unfamilar with quantum mechanics.  I don't know whether homeopathic remedies work or not, but there's no mathematical reason why they shouldn't.