Australia: Call For Homeopathy Rules

[Kyuuketsuki]

The Sydney Morning Herald: Call For Homeopathy Rules

The NSW Coroner has found there is sufficient evidence for the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider laying charges against the parents of a baby who died after they treated her with homeopathic remedies.

Gloria Thomas died in May 2002 in Sydney Children's Hospital of sepsis, or bacterial infections.

The nine-month-old, who was severely malnourished, had been suffering from such terrible eczema that much of her skin was split.

The inquest at Glebe Coroner's Court has been told the cracks in her skin caused the baby agonising pain and were a potential source of entry for the bacteria that killed her.

Parents Thomas Sam, a homeopath, and IT professional Manju Samuel treated her with homeopathic remedies rather than her prescribed medication.

State Coroner Mary Jerram terminated the inquest today after finding there was a reasonable prospect the evidence presented to the inquiry could convince a jury to convict "a known person or persons of a serious crime".

Ms Jerram said the evidence showed the known person or persons caused Gloria's death and that their negligence warranted criminal punishment.

Read The Rest Of The Article Here

I am reading Ben Goldacre's "Bad Science" at the moment and, having just read the chapter on Homeopathy (where he pretty much destroys any claim they have to any evidence basis to their quackery), this is welcome news. As I recall the UK government was planning a crackdown (via some kind of sales legislation?) on the kind of people that claim this kind of crap works.

Kyu

[Edward]

That's the problem with homeopathic cures. If they were at all effective, they'd be perscribed by MDs. All the effective ones have been brought into the realm of modern pharmacuticals. Even Marijuana has a pharmacutical use in the form of Marinol, which is used as an apetite stimulant.

It's true! Chewing the bark of an oak tree, or whatever, will help prevent a heart attack, so guess what? We made aspirin out of it.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

That's the problem with homeopathic cures. If they were at all effective, they'd be perscribed by MDs. All the effective ones have been brought into the realm of modern pharmacuticals. Even Marijuana has a pharmacutical use in the form of Marinol, which is used as an apetite stimulant.


It's true! Chewing the bark of an oak tree, or whatever, will help prevent a heart attack, so guess what? We made aspirin out of it.

Sorry to be a noodge. I can't quite follow your post. Are you saying there are effective homeopathic remedies? If so, please name one.

Or do you perhaps mean naturopathic?

A great many "natural remedies" work including: Willow bark,from which we get aspirin,foxglove (heart) quinine (malaria) valerian (sedative) St John's Wort (depression) and even mint,which is good for stomach upsets; Penny royal,a type of mint has been used as an abortificant. Another type, bergamot, is used in Early Grey tea, and of course spearmint,to flavour chewing gum.---- There are hundreds of traditional natural medicines which are either still used or have been synthesised into modern drugs..

It's actually not known if mainstream medicine is already using the best,nor does anyone have any idea what natural remedies are yet to be discovered.

Traditional western medicine has been more deductive than empirical,which is one reason there were so many wrong ideas for so long,(EG before germ theory,there was "miasma")

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miasma_theory_of_disease


Doctors still use deduction to form a diagnosis more than any other tool. Doctors still make a LOT of mistakes ,which they're often still able to bury.---and even the very best hospitals remain very unhealthy places to be.


Queen Victoria took dope for menstrual pain .Today it continues to be used for chronic pain and in the treatment of glaucoma amongst other things.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_cannabis

[Tiberius]

Yeah, natural remedies exist and they work. What doesn't work is the homeopathic method, diluting stuff doesn't make it more powerful, it defies all known science. Tim Minchin has a nice beat poem about the difference:

[youtube]ujUQn0HhGEk[/youtube]

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

@Adrian

Thanks, great bit. Tim's an Aussie of course,with the healthy Aussie contempt for religion . You can tell the bloke is married.If not he would have sat there nodding sagely at everything the airhead said,whilst working out how to get into her knickers----.



I was thinking of cartoon I thought I still had,but I can't find it. It has a strange looking man at the beach with an eyedropper. The caption being ;"The evil homeopath poisons the world's oceans"

HRH Prince Charles is unofficial patron of British homeopathy.