DRFseven

Since every alleged remedy, including conventional medications, are made up of chemicals, and since our thoughts, which have a proven effect on our immune systems, are made up of chemicals, as well, I would fine it surprising if some natural or homeopathic remedies didn't work. That being said, I think there is a lot of quackery and exploitation involved in the homeopathic business.

Synaesthesia

The AntiChris
As michael pointed out, it seems that pretty much every chemical we have has been dissolved in the oceans at one time or another. That would make ocean water the, uh, universal elixer.

Toto

This is how homeopathy works. The homeopath gives you a vial of little white pills, that have been "percussed" with drops of the remedy. He tells you that these little pills are like keys that will fit your immune system and hit it up just the right way, which is what makes you better. BUT - in order for the remedy to stimulate your immune system, you must avoid interfering with their operation - you must avoid all drugs, alcohol, and you must give up drinking coffee. And it helps to drink 8 glasses of water a day, juice your own carrots, and resolve your emotional conflicts. So if you do all of these things, and if the homeopath has a good bedside manner, you *will* find yourself getting better.

Corwin

From what I've seen, homeopathy is a lot like chiropacty. For what it works for, it works very well. For what it doesn't work for, you'll always find some fanatic that will claim that it does anyway. Homeopathy seems to be highly effective in dealing with biochemcial issues, like allergies. (Not surprising, since as I understand it it uses much the same approach that traditional medicine does.... expose the patient to small doses of the allergen so that you build up a tolerance for it.)

Will it cure cancer? No. Will it allow you to go out on a sunny day if you have severe grass allergies? Probably yes.

Coragyps

At this point, he's quit prescribin' and started meddlin'!!

Mad Kally

From <a href="http://www.quackwatch.com" target="_blank"> Quackwatch.com </a>

Pseudoscience relies heavily on subjective validation.

Joe Blow puts jello on his head and his headache goes away. To pseudoscience, this means jello cures headaches. To science this means nothing, since no experiment was done. Many things were going on when Joe Blow's headache went away -- the moon was full, a bird flew overhead, the window was open, Joe had on his red shirt, etc. -- and his headache would have gone away eventually in any case, no matter what.

A controlled experiment would put many people suffering from headaches in identical circumstances, except for the presence or absence of the remedy it is desired to test, and compare the results which would then have some chance of being meaningful. Many people think there must be something to astrology because a newspaper horoscope describes them perfectly. But close examination would reveal that the description is general enough to cover virtually everyone. This phenomenon, called subjective validation, is one of the foundations of popular support for pseudoscience.

Corwin

Subjective or objective, doesn't matter really. Not at this point. A chiropractor can clear up basic back, neck and leg pain, and a homeopath can reduce your allergic reactions and frequently boost your immune system overall somewhat. Neither of them can cure cancer or AIDS, and the good ones don't claim to be able to.

Mad Kally

Corwin,
Do me a favor and click on the quackwatch link. Scroll down and read about allergies and chiropractors.

Thanks,
Kally

[ May 20, 2002: Message edited by: Mad Kally ]</p>

Toto

?? I searched for allergies, found nothing.

Mad Kally

Here's something on food allergies:

Allergies: Dubious diagnosis and treatment

Proper medical evaluation -- done best by an allergist -- will include careful review of your history and skin testing with food extracts (using a prick or puncture technique) to see whether an allergic mechanism is involved in your symptoms. In cases where skin testing might be dangerous, a radioactive allergy sensitivity test (RAST) may be appropriate. The RAST is a laboratory test in which the technician mixes a sample of the patient's blood with various food extracts to see whether antibodies to food proteins are present in the blood. It is not as reliable as skin testing and is more expensive. A negative prick or RAST test indicates a low probability of allergy to the test substance. Positive tests, however, have much less predictive value [1].