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Children's health

HOMOEOPATHY FOR CHILDREN

104 replies

MadameSin · 13/06/2013 20:51

Any of you used homoeopathy for their children rather than conventional meds?

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amistillsexy · 13/06/2013 21:09

I have, on and off, used homeopathy as first aid for my children. Teething powders/granuals when they were babies, Chamomila to calm, Arnica for bumps and bruises, etc.

I've also taken DS2 to a homeopath for help with his excema. It was evry bad, making the inside of his elbows and his back, stomach and thighs bleed. The homeaopathic treatment, along with my own homemade moisturising creams, has improved it no end.

I use a homeopath regularly myself, and have found homeopathy to be excellent, getting to grips with things that conventional medecine hasn't touched.

Many people on here don't have such positive things to say about it, though, and have strong opinions against it, so you might need some Wine before too long!

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reptilian · 13/06/2013 21:14

would echo what amistillsexy said - you must be prepared for a backlash, however, as a homeopath myself who has raised two children and got rid of eczema and allergies I must sing its praises no end! Wonderful stuff that allows children to heal themselves naturally. I wish your children a swift recovery.

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MistyB · 13/06/2013 21:18

Yep! First port of call for all illnesses. Works for us!

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incywincyspideragain · 13/06/2013 21:25

Works for us, dh is now a complete convert as this is the first season he's used homeopathy to manage his hay fever, it's first port of call for us for illness

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MadameSin · 13/06/2013 21:26

LOL! to comments regarding backlash. I have a son with ADHD, I have a very, very thick skin and am used to 'backlashes' of all sorts ... bring it on!! Grin

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hermioneweasley · 13/06/2013 21:27

Only if they're dehydrated and need a drink.

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ninjasquirrel · 13/06/2013 21:29

Ok, I will be the first to point out that they are just sugar pills. Literally. Nothing else. So they can't do any harm (unless the child is being denied actual medicine) but it's a combination of placebo effect and things getting better on their own.

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lurcherlover · 13/06/2013 21:30

Why would you buy expensive water rather than choose medicines which are licensed and proven to work?

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ninjasquirrel · 13/06/2013 21:30

Ok hermione made it as the first non-woo person.

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MadameSin · 13/06/2013 21:30

Hermione not a fan then?

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TondelayoSchwarzkopf · 13/06/2013 21:33

Use homeopathy all you like, it does sweet FA but rather than conventional meds Hmm - I really hope for your children's sake you don't.

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hermioneweasley · 13/06/2013 21:33

Nope. It's so far fetched, I cannot see why any remotely sensible person would ever, ever use it.

It's madness.

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newpencilcase · 13/06/2013 21:34

Well I'm not going to berate you - after all, what ever works.

However, Tim Minchin has valuable things to say on the matter .

It's 10 minutes long but very funny

"there's a word for alternative medicine that's been proven to work. It's called medicine"

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amistillsexy · 13/06/2013 21:37

Madame

Wine
Wine
Wine



Grin

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WidowWadman · 13/06/2013 21:37

You may also want to have a look at @homeoheretic's twitter feed. He's a trained homeopath, who made the realisation that it's all tosh.

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Alibabaandthe40nappies · 13/06/2013 21:38

No, because it is a pack of lies.

Pedalled by deluded and dangerous people to the gullible.

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hermioneweasley · 13/06/2013 21:39

OP, does your DC have a medical condition which requires some sort of active treatment?

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PlentyOfPubeGardens · 13/06/2013 21:40

Tic tacs are quite good, as are yellow smarties if you're not bothered about buying nestle. If they are actually ill though, take them to an actual doctor.

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IAgreeCompletely · 13/06/2013 21:41

Conventional all the way for me. Smile

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PacificDogwood · 13/06/2013 21:43

At least homeopathy does no harm.... unless it stops you from seeking actual medical help. And possibly to your wallet.

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hermioneweasley · 13/06/2013 21:47

Actually, I am a woo-pedaller myself. If my kids get a bump they absolutely insist on it being kissed better. Works every time.

Perhaps I should start selling my kisses to those with non specific ailments. That has no potential to end badly does it?

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MadameSin · 13/06/2013 21:48

I've always used conventional meds for my children. However, the thought of pumping amphetamines into my son to help him concentrate in class turns my stomach frankly .. so, after listening to Radio5L the other morning about ADHD and hearing a mum's success story after using homoeopathy to help her ADHD son, I was curious. Conventional meds treat ADHD like-4-like i.e. they put speed into a hyperactive child ... which is unusual. From what I understand homeopathy works the same way. Watched the TM video btw, v. funny Grin

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exexpat · 13/06/2013 21:50

OP - do you actually know how homeopathy is supposed to work? It is based on the completely bonkers theories of someone in the 18th century to do with like curing like, and how slapping a flask with a leather strap makes water remember things, and how remedies become more powerful the more you dilute them etc. Although those ideas might have seemed logical 200 years ago, they have been proven wrong by two centuries of scientific progress. The only way homeopathy could possibly work is through the placebo effect.

Homeopathy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Homeopathy i/ˌhoʊmiˈɒpəθi/ (also spelled homoeopathy or hom?opathy; from the Greek hómoios- ὅμοιος- "like-" + páthos πάθος "suffering") is a system of alternative medicine originated in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann, based on his doctrine of similia similibus curentur ("like cures like"), according to which a substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people will cure similar symptoms in sick people.[1]
Hahnemann believed that the underlying causes of disease were phenomena that he termed miasms, and that homeopathic remedies addressed these. The remedies are prepared by repeatedly diluting a chosen substance in alcohol or distilled water, followed by forceful striking on an elastic body, called succussion.[2] Each dilution followed by succussion is said to increase the remedy's potency. Dilution usually continues well past the point where none of the original substance remains.[3] Homeopaths select remedies by consulting reference books known as repertories, considering the totality of the patient's symptoms as well as the patient's personal traits, physical and psychological state, and life history.[4]
Scientific research has repeatedly found homeopathic remedies ineffective and their postulated mechanisms of action implausible.[5][6][7][8] The scientific community regards homeopathy as a sham ;[9] the American Medical Association considers homeopathy to be quackery ,[10][11] and homeopathic remedies have been criticized as unethical.[12]
The low concentration of homeopathic remedies, which often lack even a single molecule of the diluted substance,[13] has been the basis of questions about the effects of the remedies since the 19th century. Modern advocates of homeopathy have suggested that "water has a memory" ? that during mixing and succussion, the substance leaves an enduring effect on the water, perhaps a "vibration", and this produces an effect on the patient. This notion has no scientific support.[14][15] Pharmacological research has found instead that stronger effects of an active ingredient come from higher, not lower doses.
Homeopathic remedies have been the subject of numerous clinical trials. Taken together, these trials showed at best no effect beyond placebo at worst that homeopathy could be actively harmful.[16] Although some trials produced positive results,[17][18] systematic reviews revealed that this was because of chance, flawed research methods, and reporting bias.[7][19][20][21] The proposed mechanisms for homeopathy are precluded by the laws of physics from having any effect.[22] Patients who choose to use homeopathy rather than evidence based medicine risk missing timely diagnosis and effective treatment of serious conditions such as cancer.[23][24] The regulation and prevalence of homeopathy vary greatly from country to country.[25]

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PacificDogwood · 13/06/2013 21:50

I think homeopathy and herbal medicine gets confused quite a lot: arnica pillules at whatever dilutes = nonsense
arnica cream with an actual concentration of active indgredient = works.

I know which one I paid good money for to treat my tender bits postnatally with Grin.

Having said that, growing up, our family dr was also a homeopath and I survived. Every single cold I had, got better with his treatment. Imagine!! Wink

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hermioneweasley · 13/06/2013 21:52

Madame, the principle of like for like in homeopathy is overridden by the fact that it is just water. Honestly, just water. The like for like principle (whether you feel it makes sense or not) is irrelevant, because it is just water.

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