homeopathy/alternative medicine in pharmacies

Akrasia

Pharmacys are places that people go to get medicine to make them better when they're sick, which is why I get really annoyed when I see them pushing 'natural healing' on their shelves with no attempt at a disclaimer or any indication that the products in the homeopathy range are not licenced medicines.

Pharmacists have ads on the whole time telling people to speak to them for medical advice. How can someone trust a pharmacist to give them honest or reliable information on which medications to take when there is a whole shelf in their store dedicated to quackery and magic sugar pills. They wouldn't sell them if they didn't want people to buy them.

For those who want to waste their money on distilled water or other 'natural' products, there are plenty of health food shops or other hippie run businesses where they can waste their money. I have no problem with people buying whatever potions they want in an alternative health shop (as long as they're not being poisoned) but pharmacys should not be permitted to sell or promote non medicines as medicines.

It's wrong.

krudler

"I've got a degree in homeopathy!"
"you've got a degree in baloney!"

--Kaiser--

In Britain, homeopathic medicines are being paid for on the NHS.

Now that's wrong, using taxpayer money for expensive, useless snake oil

Saila

everything is wrong when you think about long enough though

back in line soldier, none of that freethinking!

4leto

Yay a bit of chemist bashing on boards today and its about time, the greedy cntus.

fontanalis

Saila wrote: »

everything is wrong when you think about long enough though

back in line soldier, none of that freethinking!

Hmm I can't tell if you think this woo is to be taken seriously or not.

Akrasia

Saila wrote: »

everything is wrong when you think about long enough though

back in line soldier, none of that freethinking!

what about a lovely sunset?

Snakeblood

If you're at an accident, you never hear someone shout 'Let me through, I'm a herbalist!'

/Dee.

I've no time for remedies that aren't clinically proven. Apart from whiskey and lemon.

Fremen

Scientifically speaking, homeopathy is bunk. The placebo effect, on the other hand, is very real. Under certain circumstances, it's very effective and in general it's poorly understood.

There's something to be said for having placebos available on the market. I guess it all depends how much these homeopathic alternatives cost. If they're as cheap as aspirin, and as long as the alternatives aren't doing any harm (say, people foregoing real treatment in favour of homeopathy), I'm for it.

upforit101

Kill all the Pharmacists, they deserve it.

the groutch

homeopathy, along with reiki and fung shui are byproducts of the boom, people getting paid for bull****ting.

noxqs

Homeopathy is the worst of lies - especially when you hear the 'anecdotal evidence' brigade chirping in (It's called the placebo effect..). "My ma had a <insert terrible pain> which <doctor/health authority> couldn't get rid of and homeopathy worked. Ergo it works" which means absolutely 0. Nothing. Nil.

--Kaiser--

noxqs wrote: »

Homeopathy is the worst of lies - especially when you hear the 'anecdotal evidence' brigade chirping in (It's called the placebo effect..). "My ma had a <insert terrible pain> which <doctor/health authority> couldn't get rid of and homeopathy worked. Ergo it works" which means absolutely 0. Nothing. Nil.

What I find hilarious is that the 'remedy' is diluted so much that there is a greater than 99% chance that the pill is nothing but water

Ghost Buster

It is possible to over does on homeopathy though.














You can drown...

Saila

Akrasia wrote: »

what about a lovely sunset?

ESPECIALLY a lovely sunset! 5,000 kittens are slaughtered every day world wide to please the sun gods

reprazant

Akrasia wrote: »

Pharmacys are places that people go to get medicine to make them better when they're sick, which is why I get really annoyed when I see them pushing 'natural healing' on their shelves with no attempt at a disclaimer or any indication that the products in the homeopathy range are not licenced medicines.

In fairness, Pharmacies also sell deodorant,shampoo and other such non-medicine stuff.

Not everything in a pharmacy is medicine based.

sensibleken

the groutch wrote: »

homeopathy, along with reiki and fung shui are byproducts of the boom, people getting paid for bull****ting.

Fúcking reiki!!!:mad:

I got that once after a recomendation of a friend. It is the biggest, dumbest scam I have ever encountered.

noxqs

What I find hilarious is that the 'remedy' is diluted so much that there is a greater than 99% chance that the pill is nothing but water

That's the entire point of homeopathy. The less there is the more effective.

Because water has memory..

(According to those who believe in such nonsense).

sensibleken

noxqs wrote: »

That's the entire point of homeopathy. The less there is the more effective.

Because water has memory..

(According to those who believe in such nonsense).

well it remembers to go cold!

fontanalis

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

What I find hilarious is that the 'remedy' is diluted so much that there is a greater than 99% chance that the pill is nothing but water

Going by their logic all you have ot do is throw an aspirin (or probably one thousandth of an aspirin) into a reservoir and anyone who drinks form teh supply will have their sore head cured.

Saila

noxqs wrote: »

That's the entire point of homeopathy. The less there is the more effective.

Because water has memory..

*head explodes*

Akrasia

Fremen wrote: »

Scientifically speaking, homeopathy is bunk. The placebo effect, on the other hand, is very real. Under certain circumstances, it's very effective and in general it's poorly understood.

There's something to be said for having placebos available on the market. I guess it all depends how much these homeopathic alternatives cost. If they're as cheap as aspirin, and as long as the alternatives aren't doing any harm (say, people foregoing real treatment in favour of homeopathy), I'm for it.

The placebo effect is the equivilent of your mammy kissing the booboo better.
I wouldn't mind if some of the foxy pharmacy staff offered that service, but selling snake oil is unethical.

fontanalis

noxqs wrote: »

That's the entire point of homeopathy. The less there is the more effective.

Because water has memory..

(According to those who believe in such nonsense).

I wonder does it remember metals from the pipes or any excrement or urine that may have ended up in there?

Chuck Stone

Snakeblood wrote: »

I've no time for remedies that aren't clinically proven. Apart from whiskey and lemon.

Vitamin C in the lemon helps recovery from cold (AFAIK) and the whiskey acts like a general anasthetic.

Tastes nice too on a cold winters evening in a country pub.

spdmrphy

reprazant wrote: »

In fairness, Pharmacies also sell deodorant,shampoo and other such non-medicine stuff.

Not everything in a pharmacy is medicine based.

True, but it's unethical to sell water with a outrageous mark up and claim it can cure / treat illness.

I am a Pharmacist, and refuse to recommend it to any customers, and will readily tell people there is no evidence to support it's use, and there is plenty of evidence to show it is a load of bollox. It's still on the shelves, but it's not my pharmacy so I have no control over that.

Evidence based medicine is the only way.

conorhal

reprazant wrote: »

In fairness, Pharmacies also sell deodorant,shampoo and other such non-medicine stuff.

Not everything in a pharmacy is medicine based.

In fairness, deodorant makes me smell better and shampoo cleans my greasy hair, does homeopathy do exactly what it says on the tin?
If Pharmacies are going to offer homeopathic remedies they may as well go the whole hog and and offer voodoo cures too:

"Eh, I do you have anything for a throbbing headache"

Pharmacist: "Here, take two ....chickens, cut their throats, dip their tail feather in the blood and spatter it where it hurts, if you don't feel unhexed by tomorrow morning I reccomend that you make an appointment to see your GP..."

Spare us.

Snakeblood

spdmrphy wrote: »

True, but it's unethical to sell water with a outrageous mark up and claim it can cure / treat illness.

I am a Pharmacist, and refuse to recommend it to any customers, and will readily tell people there is no evidence to support it's use, and there is plenty of evidence to show it is a load of bollox. It's still on the shelves, but it's not my pharmacy so I have no control over that.

Evidence based medicine is the only way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIuKtp3yCTw

spdmrphy

And don't get me started on Vit C. Useful only for keeping scurvy at bay. Will have feck all effect on cold / flu symptoms.

(goes well in hot whiskeys though)

Benny_Cake

I work with a woman who could only be described as an evangelist for homeopathy and anything alternative or "holistic".Any evidence to the contrary is dismissed as the lies of Big-Pharma,whereas of course,"alternative" medicine which is now big-business would never stoop to such lows.She is constantly sick and refuses to get her kids vaccinated because of mercury in the vaccines etc...I try to avoid getting into any conversation relating to this as it sends me up the wall!There are only 2 types of medicine in the world: those which work and have evidence to that effect, and those that don't. It's completely unethical for pharmacists to stock the second type,although,sadly,they can probably argue that there is a market for it.

Dara O'Briain got it right:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMvMb90hem8

maximoose

I like that they sell it, it gives me more opportunities to mock people who believe in it.


Power balance wristbands bring a whole new level of idiocy though....

hooradiation

Benny_Cake wrote: »

She refuses to get her kids vaccinated because of mercury in the vaccines

The term for people like this is anti-vaxxer, presumably because "fucking stupid" isn't descriptive enough.

Einhard

Saila wrote: »

ESPECIALLY a lovely sunset! 5,000 kittens are slaughtered every day world wide to please the sun gods

/begins to frantically round up kittens.

Knasher

fontanalis wrote: »

I wonder does it remember metals from the pipes or any excrement or urine that may have ended up in there?

Of course, which is why, as a licensed practitioner of homeopathy, I am able to sell you this drinking water which has been specially trained to forget any past impurities.

spdmrphy

Just for reference if anyone is interested...

http://www.quackwatch.com/

http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/knowledge.html

OutlawPete

I agree ..

Wrecks my head the crap they sell in chemists and tout as been cures for disorders and diseases.

Some of the stuff has little or no scientific evidence to warrant their sale alongside medicines which have had to go through the rigours of having to prove that they do indeed have the effect on the body that they were proclaimed to have had, such as antibiotics, painkillers, diabetic medicines (amongst many others).

Homoeopathy, SSRIs - yeah, 'tis fcuking annoying alight.

mcmoustache

sensibleken wrote: »

Fúcking reiki!!!:mad:

I got that once after a recomendation of a friend. It is the biggest, dumbest scam I have ever encountered.

But...but... you're normally so sensible, ken.

Were you young, desperate, on drugs or otherwise vulnerable? I could understand a sane person falling for homeopathy because the pseudo-scientific jargon is pretty good at convincing someone who has a limited scientific understanding. Reiki, on the other hand, is still basically magic healing. The closest attempt at making it sound convincing is by using terms like auras and chakras which are far from sciency.

sensibleken

mcmoustache wrote: »

But...but... you're normally so sensible, ken.

Were you young, desperate, on drugs or otherwise vulnerable? I could understand a sane person falling for homeopathy because the pseudo-scientific jargon is pretty good at convincing someone who has a limited scientific understanding. Reiki, on the other hand, is still basically magic healing. The closest attempt at making it sound convincing is by using terms like auras and chakras which are far from sciency.

Ive had my moments. And in my defence I didnt quite know what it wasand it was so an ex would stop nagging me.

skregs

noxqs wrote: »

That's the entire point of homeopathy. The less there is the more effective.

Because water has memory..

1: Add 1% Homeopathic mix of water to 99% dilutution of water.
2: Water gains the power of water, homeopathically, creating double water.
3: Repeat step 1 repatedly using double water mix to create super water.
4: One glass of super water is enough to irrigate an entire farm in Africa.
5: Economy is saved.


SCIENCE!

TheyKnowMyIP

Junk Science imo.

Saila

OutlawPete wrote: »

Homoeopathy, SSRIs - yeah, 'tis fcuking annoying alight.

hang on, are you saying you think SSRI's iare n the same category as homeopathy, they are clinically tested

TheyKnowMyIP

Saila wrote: »

hang on, are you saying you think SSRI's iare n the same category as homeopathy, they are clinically tested

By the drug companies, no less. Testing only means something if it's carried out fairly.

Akrasia

While there are certainly problems with the drug certification process and there are issues with publication bias and controversial claims about the clinical efficacy of some drugs, it is going a little bit too far to claim that homeopathy is equal to ssri medication. there is no active ingredient in homeopathy. their mechanism is magic not science.

Genghiz Cohen

sensibleken wrote: »

Ive had my moments. And in my defence I didnt quite know what it wasand it was so an ex would stop nagging me.

Ex, because you dumped her as soon as you found out the crap she made you endure?
Jab in the ribs would have been in order too you know.
"Get this healed ya bitch!" *Pow

positron

skregs wrote: »

1: Add 1% Homeopathic mix of water to 99% dilutution of water.
2: Water gains the power of water, homeopathically, creating double water.
3: Repeat step 1 repatedly using double water mix to create super water.
4: One glass of super water is enough to irrigate an entire farm in Africa.
5: Economy is saved.


SCIENCE!

I know homeopathic doctors (?) who prescribe a lot more than water. Yeah, some of it is probably nurofen in water, but they do loads of other stuff these days too. Saying homeopathy is all just water is like saying allopathy is all just Penicillin.

I know a lot of people who vouch by the homeopathic medicines they are taking, but yeah, I am sure it's the placebo effect, and the tricky part is that you have to believe in it (that is, be ignorant about it) for the placebo effect to happen.

TheyKnowMyIP

Akrasia wrote: »

While there are certainly problems with the drug certification process and there are issues with publication bias and controversial claims about the clinical efficacy of some drugs, it is going a little bit too far to claim that homeopathy is equal to ssri medication. there is no active ingredient in homeopathy. their mechanism is magic not science.

SSRI's don't really have any sort of valid neuro pathiophysiology behind them. They are basically just a placebo. There is enough evidence out there to support the idea that these drugs are not scientifically valid.

FWIW, I would lump Biological Psychiatry in with Homeoapathy. Neuroscience and Neurolgy are a whole different kettle of fish though. These professions don't just "come up" with diseases.

Not to mention, the chemical imbalance theory that underpins the vast majority of these drugs(if not all) has been proven scientifically to be false. This is not an opinion, it is scientific fact.

earlyevening

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMGIbOGu8q0

I love this. Homeopathic A+E.

Sofaspud

positron wrote: »

I know homeopathic doctors (?) who prescribe a lot more than water. Yeah, some of it is probably nurofen in water, but they do loads of other stuff these days too. Saying homeopathy is all just water is like saying allopathy is all just Penicillin.

The whole philosphy of homeopathy is based on the dilution of whatever substance is the cause of the problem, often set in Pill form. So diluted Nurofen wouldn't be used as a headache medicine. Maybe they'd use a 1,000,000 part water - 1 part Kopparberg solution for that.

Chuck Stone

Saila wrote: »

hang on, are you saying you think SSRI's iare n the same category as homeopathy, they are clinically tested

Yes they are clinically tested and they are shown to have little more effect than placebo.

For severly depressed patients they have moderate results against placebo.

Sky King

I saw James Randi going on about this. His vids are on youtube where he easts about 10 boxes of homeopathic sleeping tabs at the start of every lecture!

In terms of scale - homeopathy is equivalent to taking a grain of rice sized amount of 'active ingredient' and dissolving it in a glass of water the size of the solar system.

http://bodygeeks.com/2011/02/james-randi-swallows-entire-pack-of-homeopathic-sleeping-pills-doesnt-fall-asleep/

Fckin eejits.

bleg

I'm not happy about it. Although ask your pharmacist if it works and they'll say no it doesn't.

Most of the front of shop ordering is not done by the pharmacist.

Most just supply it because a patient has asked for it and they can't get it anywhere else.

MazG

Not that any of the posters so far need convincing, but here is an excellent story-strip by Darryl Cunningham about Homeopathy.

http://darryl-cunningham.blogspot.com/2010/06/homeopathy.html

In response to the question posed by the OP - I agree that homeopathic 'remedies' should not be available in pharmacies.