Two incidents in the last ten days draw attention to the
real problems with homeopathy.
The first is the claim by some that homeopathy can cure
Ebola. Really. It is claimed that, just
as homeopathy can reverse HIV-AIDS, so it can be mobilized to find a cure for
Ebola. The Amma Resonance Healing Foundation in Ethiopia, established in
the Netherlands, is run by the British homeopath Peter Chappell. He and his
colleague Harry van der Zee claim their homeopathic remedy can
reverse Aids and they are part of a group of homeopaths who seek to cure
Ebola:
“The good news is that a small
international team of experienced and heroic homeopaths have arrived in West
Africa, and are currently on the ground working hard to examine patients, work
out the “genus epidemicus,” and initiate clinical trials. This work is being
done alongside the current conventional supportive measures and treatments
already in place. “
This follows other claims about the power of homeopathy in
offering cures for malaria, diphtheria, cholera and hepatitis as well as other
diseases. Homeopaths without Borders are on the ground and working – best of
luck with this effort!
High-quality scientific studies show that homeopathy does
not work for any particular medical condition. This position is even held by the
National Center of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (NCCAM), an
organization that has been given substantial criticism for being too friendly
to quack treatments. Not only that, homeopathy is incompatible with core
principles of chemistry and biology: the preparations are diluted to such a
degree that there are, statistically speaking, no active molecule of the
diluted substance whatsoever. In other words, treating Ebola virus disease with
homeopathy is equivalent to treating it with water or sugar pills.
The second incident was the call to action by one of the
leading homeopaths in the world to cure the ills of the oceans. British homeopath Grace DaSilva-Hill has written
to appeal to other homeopaths to drop some homeopathic remedies into the sea.
She tells homeopaths that those not close to the sea can instead drop
their remedies into a river. If even this is too challenging, then Grace advises
homeopaths that they can flush their homeopathic remedies down the toilet. The
remedy that is to be used today is called Leuticum – a homeopathic preparation
of the syphilis bacterium. The aim of this exercise: to heal the oceans.
If these two examples do not demonstrate that homeopaths are
not only very odd but dangerous, then I do not know what it will take to
convince you that they are. There is overwhelming evidence that homeopathy is
quackery. Why do we license it in Canada?
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