Homoeo Info

Publications like the Lancet are waging a "deliberate campaign" against homeopathy, it has been claimed.
Dr Bob Leckridge, former president of the Faculty of Homeopathy, accused anti-homeopathy activists of a concerted effort to remove the therapy from the NHS.
"Sadly it's not fair play because you only need to go to certain sites... blogs... and read the campaigners jumping up and down in glee like playground bullies when Tunbridge Wells' patients lose their homeopathic service," he said on this morning's Today programme.
"In fact the campaign involves going along to public meetings, infiltrating them not with local people, and attempting to persuade PCTs to not purchase homeopathy. It's not a level playing field, it's not open, it's not clear and it's quite devious."
Dr Leckridge reiterated the traditional argument of homeopaths that the therapy's focus on the individual rather than the illness provides a service the NHS cannot.
"Two-thirds of the patients who come to homeopathic hospitals on the NHS say the treatment relieves their symptoms. What are you going to do with patients who the so-called evidence based treatments have failed? You have to offer them something.
InTheNews.co.uk , Nov 16, 2007

Labels: UK

Recently, the statistics of increasing number of kidney patients in Bangladesh and trend of damage of kidney has been published in the newspaper. This critical situation is of great concern.
In this report, it has been said that the causes of this are contaminated food, diabetes and high blood pressure. These are causes according to the Allopathic kidney specialists. But, according to the Homeopathic observation, taking of excessive Alopathic medicines is the cause behind this.
Many of us do not know that the medicine we take enters into the blood and works there. Then the kidney has the responsibility to release these. For this, the more we take medicine, the more the kidney has to serve and for excessive functioning, a time comes when it becomes tired, weak and even non-functioning. It is also a fact that, the more we take medicine, the more we have to drink water. But many of us do not follow this, for which the kidney lacks in service.
The cause of the damage of kidney is Nephritis. The main cause of Nephritis is also medicine.
Though kidney works to release the medicine and its parts, sometimes small particles of medicine remain in the kidney. As time passes, many kinds of bacteria, chemical, etc. join the particle. It then disturbs the smooth functioning of kidney and clash occurs. It is called Anti-immune reaction. This reaction leads to non-functioning or damage of the kidney.
So, it can be said that, medicines cause more harm than blood pressure and diabetes, as use of medicine for a long time has bad effect.
In such a situation, Homeo treatment can ensure control of diabetes, high blood pressure and Nephritis within one or two years and can completely cure these. If even, Homeo medicine is required to be taken for years, it is better, because its quantity is always smaller and there is no apprehension of the particles to remain in the kidney to cause harm. So, there is no risk of kidney to be damaged.
Bashir Mahmud Ellias, The New Nation, Bangladesh - Nov 17, 2007

Labels: Bangladesh

In response to the recent recall of over-the-counter infant cough syrups, I would like to suggest a safe, natural, low-cost alternative. Homeopathy has a proven track record of assisting the body's own self-healing. Properly applied, homoeopathy can move quickly and effectively to deter many situations. Homeopathic alternatives are generally recognized as safe and are inexpensive.
On the Oprah Winfrey Show, Cindy Crawford declared that she takes her homeopathic first aid kit with her, especially when she is traveling with her children for bumps, bruises, and mosquito bites. Homeopathic remedies are easy to use and label directions should be followed.
Homeopathic remedies are proven effective in accordance with the United States (HPUS), regulated by the FDA and are free of are free of phenylpropanolamine, which caused the recall. Find out more about homeopathy, contact your local homeopath.
Vallejo Times-Herald, US - Nov 16, 2007

Labels: USA

A two-part special report explains how homeopathy faces growing pressure in the UK, while it enjoys an remarkable boom in India.
The first part of the Special Report, written by Udani Samarasekera, The Lancet Senior Editor, writes about the anti-homeopathy movement which seems to have been gathering pace in the UK over the last couple of years. Anti-homeopathy campaigners are irritated by a symposium which will take place in London, on December 1st; it is looking at the role of homeopathy in HIV/AIDS treatment and is organized by the Society of Homeopaths.
Michael Baum, professor emeritus of surgery, UCL (University College London), a well-known critic of homeopathy, suggests that homeopaths are becoming overconfident.
Baum, and UCL colleague David Colquhoun, among others sent a letter to all Primary Care Trusts in the United Kingdom expressing their concerns about homeopathy gaining a footing as part of the NHS (National Health Service).
Surprisingly, and to the dismay of several UK doctors and scientists, homeopathy received some unanticipated support. The MHRA (UK Medicines and Regulatory Agency) decreed that manufacturers will only be required to provide safety evidence and data on what the homeopathic remedy is traditionally used for - this is not the case with conventional medicines.
Raekha Prasad, a journalist, writes about the booming homeopathy industry in India in the second part of the Special Edition. In India 100 million people depend exclusively on homeopathy for their health care.
According to SP Singh, Indian Ministry of Health, homeopathy has no side-effects. He added that a small amount of medicine can help a large number of people. He adds "Homoeopathy has a biological effect..all homoeopathic medicines are therapeutically proven." This is despite the fact that most evidence points the other way.
India is in a tiny minority in its recognition of homeopathy as a legitimate system of medicine.
Medical News Today, UK - Nov 16, 2007

Labels: India, UK

London: Even as homeopathy gains popularity in India, it is coming under pressure in Britain, with a proposed seminar on its role in the treatment of HIV/AIDS sparking protests.
The seminar, organised by the Society of Homeopaths and scheduled to be held here on Dec 1, has invited criticism from Michael Baum, professor emeritus of surgery at the University College London (UCL), according to the medical journal The Lancet.
The Lancet has also slammed the growing popularity of homeopathy in India.
'People say homoeopathy cannot do any harm but when it is being promoted for HIV then there is a serious problem,' Baum is quoted as saying in a two-part special report in the medical journal.
Baum and others had sent a letter last May to all primary care trusts in Britain to voice concern about homoeopathy treatment through the National Health Service (NHS).
Seemingly in response, one trust stopped NHS funding for the Tunbridge Wells Homeopathic Hospital, one of five that provide homoeopathy treatment on the NHS.
Despite this, says the report, homoeopathy remains popular with the public, with the 2007 market estimated to be worth 38 million pounds ($78 million). This figure is expected to rise to 46 million pounds in 2012.
Baum believes the public backs homeopathy in the belief that it is herbal medicine.
Several studies, including one by The Lancet, have shown that the clinical effects of homoeopathic remedies are placebo effects.
Earthtimes, UK - Nov 15, 2007

Labels: India, UK

Once we laughed at primitive superstitions. Now we teach them in TAFE colleges.
You'd laugh, if children like nine-month-old Gloria Thomas weren't paying for our retreat from reason in this Ylang-Ylang Age.
A coroner in Sydney this month held an inquest into Gloria's agonising death from severe bacterial infections.
The child had been so riddled with eczema that her skin was paper dry and split in many places.
The court was told Gloria's parents, of Indian background, had preferred to treat her not with drugs tested under the Western scientific method that has made us so healthy and long-lived, but with homeopathic cures.
Homeopathy is one of the "alternative therapies" now so fashionable among people who burn incense.
Its theory, developed by a German quack in the 1770s, is that a very little of what hurts you will make you better. Mimic the symptoms to trigger the cure.
As the British medical journal Lancet reported two years ago, the one problem with this theory is that none of the trials of this "therapy" over the past 150 years have shown it actually works.
The University of Berne even checked the findings of 110 trials of homeopathy, only to discover - what a surprise - nothing worked better than sugar pills.
And so, of course, it seems to have turned out with Gloria, who screamed from her pain before she died.
That some of us are superstitious isn't news, I know.
Nor is it news that some of us are so superstitious that we're a menace to ourselves and to others.
Four years ago in Melbourne another coroner investigated the death of a toddler whose parents had refused to treat her epilepsy with anti-convulsant medicine.
They, too, tried homeopathy, which worked exactly as as it did with Gloria.
There are other deadly "alternative therapies", of course - alternative, that is, to therapies that work.
But what astonishes me with homeopathy is that a treatment so bogus should be taught in our TAFE colleges and even a university.
What should be damned in our temples of reason is now preached instead.
Victoria University is the most scandalous example, offering a Bachelor of Health Science - Naturopathy and Homeopathy last year, with courses even in "vibrational medicine" to teach "energy healing, the role of intuition, spirituality and all other areas related to the metaphysical".
For this New Age trash to be packaged by a university into a degree is tragic.
Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun/Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia - Nov 15, 2007

Labels: Australia

On this World Diabetes Day, we have to remind ourselves of the UN Resolution 61/22 which requires all member countries to develop national policies for the prevention, treatment and care of diabetes. This is an indicator of the alarming situation caused by the ailment which by and large is the result of self- indulgence, negligence and callousness.
It seems rather strange, that an ailment which fifty years ago, was little known, very expensive to treat and even now become more common than the common cold everywhere in the world.
What is needed today is the readiness of the people to seek proper advice on the ailment.
An ideal state can be reached only step by step, and each step has to be such that it can be managed by the particular individual. For instance, when a diabetic patient rushes through the daily routine, one activity encroaches on the time and space of another and causes great mental strain, aggravated by the fear of not performing well.
Being in this state of mental stress continuously, eventually nullifies the effectiveness of the medication. On the other hand, one can do everything from waking up in the morning to bed time according to a regular schedule i.e., more or less at fixed times of a day.
This regularity allows a person some time before and after each activity, and this will go a long way in achieving equanimity and thus be free from mental stress.
The basic philosophy of the Homeopathy system of medicine is to treat the mind and the body together. Any diagnosis always factors in the mental condition as well as the physical disorder, before suggesting any treatment.
The prescription is always accompanied by a few simple suggestions to the individual to overcome the idiosyncrasies which are impediments to a ready response to the drugs. In this way the patient gets the counselling proper to his condition.
Homeopathy controls diabetes effectively. It is gentle in its action and can be easily accepted by any physical constitution of the human being. By boosting the natural healing mechanism of the body it prevents fatalities like renal failure.
Above all, it does not cause any side effects even after decades of using the drugs and is within the affordability of the common man. By offering a regimen that the patient feels comfortable with, it ensures that people suffering from diabetes do want to be treated and keep it under their control.
Dr. R. Thiyagarajan, India/Ceylon Daily News, Sri Lanka Nov 14, 2007

Labels: India, Sri Lanka

Picture this. I am staying in a remote cottage in Cornwall without a car. I have a temperature of 102, spots on my throat, delirium, and a book to finish writing. My desperate publisher suggests I call Hilary Fairclough, a homeopath who has practices in London and Penzance. She sends round a remedy called Lachesis, made from snake venom. Four hours later I have no symptoms whatsoever.
Dramatic stuff, and enough to convince me that while it might use snake venom, homeopathy is no snake oil designed for gullible hypochrondriacs. Right now, though, a fierce debate is raging between those, like me, who trust homeopathy because it works for them, and those who call it shamanistic claptrap, without clinical proof or any scientific base.
There have been a number of articles in the press recently criticising homeopathic remedies as worthless at best, and potentially lethal at worst, if they are being taken instead of tried-and-tested conventional medicines for conditions such as malaria or HIV.
I have found myself cited, and drawn into this, because I am on record as supporting homeopathic practice in general, and in particular the Maun homeopathy project, a clinic in Botswana set up by Fairclough.
The organisation Sense About Science and journalists such as Ben Goldacre and Nick Cohen are targeting a symposium in London in December that will discuss HIV and Aids and the homeopathic response to such diseases. Of particular concern is a claim by the British homeopath Peter Chapel and his Dutch colleague, Harry Van Der Zee, that Chapel has developed a remedy, PC1, that can be used to treat the HIV virus.
As a patron of Fotac (Friends of the Treatment Action Campaign) that has been fighting President Mbeke's lunatic insistence that HIV sufferers just need Vitamin C and a good diet, I am dismayed by any claim that may deter HIV sufferers from taking anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs). And so is Peter Fisher, an NHS doctor, director of the Faculty of Homeopaths, and, incidentally, homeopath to the Queen. Good homeopaths know the value of conventional medicine and do not seek to undermine that value. Fairclough's clinic, and her talk at the symposium, concentrate on using homeopathy to support the ARV programme by alleviating the side-effects of ARVs, and boosting the patient's immune system so they are better able to fight off the opportunistic viruses that follow behind HIV, and the drugs necessary to suppress it. There is no suggestion that homeopathy can replace ARVs.
Jeanette Winterson/Guardian Unlimited, UK - Nov 12, 2007

Labels: UK

Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx. It causes hoarse voice or the complete loss of the voice because of irritation to the vocal folds (vocal cords).The larynx, or -gitis is often due to persistent acute laryngitis and commonly affects smokers. Because cancer of the larynx may cause hoarseness, a person whose symptoms persist more than a few weeks should be evaluated for cancer (see Nose and Throat Cancers: Laryngeal Cancer ).
Signs and symptoms
Laryngitis often makes you feel the need to constantly clear your throat. Other signs and symptoms may include:
* Hoarseness * Weak voice * Tickling sensation and rawness of your throat * Sore throat * Dry throat * Dry cough
There have been few studies examining the effectiveness of specific homeopathic remedies. A professional homeopath, however, may recommend one or more of the following treatments for laryngitis based on his or her knowledge and clinical experience. Before prescribing a remedy, homeopaths take into account a person's constitutional type.
Ricky Hussey/American Chronicle, US - Nov 12, 2007

Labels: USA

Selecting the best nutraceuticals or nutritional supplements for a particular health care solution often involves some trial and error, even for health care practitioners.
Babette "Babs" L. Clough, APH, RN, LAC a local homeopath, has begun using the latest biotechnology tool to eliminate trial and error and get patients on the road to better health far more quickly. The improvement also lowers health care costs for most clients.
The biotechnology involved comes from ZYTO Corp. (Pink Sheets: ZYTC) of Orem, Utah. By combining quantum science, biology, and information theory ZYTO technology provides an interface between living things and computers allowing them to talk to each other, according to company founder and C.E.O. Dr. Vaughn R. Cook, OMD.
"Our mission is to help patients to have the highest possible quality-of-life by determining the root causes of their problems, and eliminating or reducing them, as much as possible, using three integrated forms of medical evaluation and treatment-Western Medicine, called allopathic; European Medicine, called homeopathic; and Asian Medicine, called Oriental Medicine," said Clough.
Clough said use of ZYTO technology has improved compliance, and a higher percentage of clients keep their follow-up care appointments.
"Most health care practitioners are not yet aware that technology exists to help them avoid trial and error when deciding health care solutions for their clients, so Babs Clough is to be commended for being at the forefront of this innovative advancement in alternative health care," said Cook.
Clough's clinic is the Optimal Health Associates and Pain Management Center at 1750 Locust Street, Suite A in Reno.
Biotech News/PR Leap (press release), US - Nov 12, 2007

Labels: USA

Susan Curtis, a qualified homoeopath and director of the organic herbalist and skincare chain Neal’s Yard Remedies, has co-written a new book, Looking Good and Feeling Younger, containing tried and tested natural approaches to turning back the clock.
Here are some of the book’s top tips for holding back the years...
BRAIN BOOSTERS: Keep your mind agile by doing crosswords, brain-teasers or puzzles every day.
SKIN SAVERS: Forget expensive collagen treatments. Rosehips, drunk as a tea or sprinkled into salads, are rich in collagen-producing vitamin C.
STRESS BUSTERS: Drop the quick fixes. Caffeine, alcohol, tobacco may make you feel better in the short term, but they’ll rob your body of key stress-busting nutrients, damage your adrenal system and lead to exhaustion.
LIBIDO LIFTERS: Phytoestrogens (plant-based hormones) may buffer the effects of declining oestrogen in peri and post menopause. Add more soya products, cabbage, probiotic live yogurts and fennel to your diet.
HEART HUGGERS: Good cardiovascular health is crucial to living a long, vigorous life, so looking after your heart and the blood vessels that supply it is essential. Give up smoking, get 30 mins of aerobic exercise daily and cut down on salt and fat. Monitor your alcohol intake (limit it to one or two units a day) and get regular blood pressure and cholesterol checks.
Pauline Holt, Sunday Sun/ic Newcastle.co.uk, UK - 11 Nov 2007