So, When are we tagging Homeopathy as useless and suspend funds allocated to it?
It’s a strange question in Indian context, considering more than 77% of Indians approve the effectiveness of this medicine! It may seem like an outrageous accusation for those who haven’t kept themselves updated with recent developments in medical circles. But it is still a valid question, for lawmakers, media and medical associations of India.
Let me give you some background on this. UK MPs have urged to withdraw funding on Homeopathy and bring down all the medicine it offers, off the shelves. They have taken this stand after continuous recommendations from doctors, medical research centers, pharmacies and all other stakeholders who have authority to talk about it. As I read, it is only the Royal Family who has backed Homeopaths. Anyways, if government manages to demote it, millions of NHS funds will be redirected to something very useful.
Homeopathy is not “herbal medicine”, nor Ayurvedic, as a lot of people in India seem to think. Herbal/Ayurvedic medicines contain original ingredients which has healing power, which may or may not work. But Homeopathy starts from here and dilutes them to an extent that it hardly contains any of its original ingredients. In other words, even for a single molecule of original ingredient you need to consume tonnes your prescription. I am no doctor, but I don’t need to be one to understand something is terribly wrong here. For e.g., if I have temperature, I need some stuff which can go in and calm it, say 500 mg of paracetamol. In homeopathy they would prescribe 0.0000000ng of similar content (along with water) ; how would it do the same good?
This is just one of the complaints. There are several others. There is also an allegation that Homeopathy is never tested properly, and homeopaths never had proper answers for this. If the companies don’t test the medicine they sell, then who else is going to do that? We the victims? All available test results point that Homeopathy is no better than Placebos. That means, it may not work better than sugar pills, and the cure is purely physiological effect, for having taken some medicine. That’s cheating isn’t it? Also it’s not morally and ethically right for doctors to prescribe it.
On Indian funds read this link which says “the National Capital Territory of Delhi alone spent Rs 77 crore—or 7 per cent of its Rs 1,100 crore health budget—on homeopathy without a question being asked.”. A whopping 7 Cr is not justified, which otherwise could be spent on something very useful.
I don’t have any authority to promote it or ban it. All I have is questions and concerns. We need to reconsider this; otherwise tomorrow we may need to fund a portion of our budget for witchcraft as well.
The Bach 
Hmmm…Interesting. I did not know a lot about this topic, always knew that homeopathy wasn’t the real deal, but did not know the specifics. This article urges me to find more about it.
Thanks.
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Hi there. thanks for stopping by.
You sure need to read. There’s going to be a big debate in coming years. Lets see how it goes 🙂
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I think the test of what is effective is simple.Take a chronic disease like asthma-pump some allopathy-bronchodilators and cortisones.You will find the symptoms returning with greater vigour next time around.Same with antibiotics.
Take homeopathy for six months see the symptoms becoming weaker and getting eradicated in six months and no harmful side effects.
I say this from personal experience with my asthmatic son.
Using allopathy for other than non-acute symptoms(injury,acute pain etc.) is like using an AK-47 to kill a fly.
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I agree 🙂
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I agree.
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Allopathy may not give answers to all diseases, it may be corrupt, expensive and might bring side effects. All agreed. But you should consider the fact that Allopathic medicine is in such a system that , it is repeatedly tested , scrutinised and corrected. That also means you may not have these complaints on Allopathy may be in next few years. You may have new complaints but that is different issue altogether.
My point is shortcomings of allopathic medicine can not be used to justify homoeopathy.
Ofcource homoeopathy will not have any side effects, by description its mere water or sugar pills. “symptoms becoming weaker” probably would have happened even without taking those.
On dosage of allopathy , i don’t have enough knowledge. But I am sure there are government and NGO watch dogs worrying about it.
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i have been using H’pathy since my childhood for almost all ailements. It works like wonder.
i have seen some skin diseases getting healed in short time. it cant just be psychological to heal skin diseases!
medicine is a big mafia in western world. it is run by big guys, so big that it can influence governments.
H’pathy is cheap and hence a competetor to allopathy in its market share. simple buisiness rule – kill your competitor.
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I don’t know if it is psychological to heal skin disease, it could be. It could be your food habit, water , air .. so many factors. When sellers of these medicine could not prove it is working , how can we the users prove ?
On Medicine being Mafia. Do you think thousands of doctors and medical associations involved in it ? FYI in UK, they don’t get paid by patients or the drug companies. Its NHS which pays for them. It is highly unlikely chance that doctors get bribed here.
On it being cheaper: of course it is. It is described that it does not have any ingredient . If you minus packaging and adverts , its all profit. where as in other medicine system they need to worry about testing and adjusting dosage as well, that will account a lot.
The biggest question I have is with dilution. I haven’t heard any reasonable explanation for it.
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For people who believe in homeopathy, please please pleaaaase read the wikipedia article for once.. no dawkings.. no opinions.. just plain facts..
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Well, wikipedia isn’t that trustworthy itself. If there are solid sources backing it, then for sure, otherwise, not.
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Wikipedia has strong team of scrutinisers. So I think we can consider it in most of the cases.
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Well, they do, but sometimes they approve even blog posts as credible sources.
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Why not? if that blog is only reliable resource for that information ?
for e.g. mine 🙂
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Thanks I think 🙂 It supports me 🙂
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I don’t understand why should the government invest in Homeopathy… but about it’s usefulness, I changed my view two years ago.
A friend who knew I didn’t believe in homeopathy suggested I try it once, and no idea how it works but it did. No side effects, no other problems and a bottle of 14/- Rs whenever I suspect allergic sore throat.
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And Bach I had been admitted, twice, in hospital for the same thing earlier – fever, dehydration, drip, antibiotics and a lot of discomfort. Advised not to talk too much, wear a scarf all the time, got cancer check up done, even had an endoscopy – and continued to be really ill every few months.
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Sorry to hear that, hope you are OK now.
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Government invests in all medicine (subsidy , R&D etc).
My GF is backing me up with her own experience. She took some Homoeopathy medicine for skin disorder for years, and no effect at all. Then it was Ayurvedic I think, helped her.
For allergic sore throat, phone moms and grannys 🙂 Jeera kashay and so many other kashays can resolve it in minutes.
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Great post.. thanks for all the links.
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