Homoeo Info

Panaji: The 16th National Homeopathic Conference will be jointly organised by the Research Society of Homeopathy, India and Shri Kamaxidevi Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Shiroda, Goa on February 9 and 10, 2008 at the Kala Academy, Panaji.
Addressing a press conference today, the principal of Shri Kamaxidevi Homeopathic Medical College, Dr Arvind Kothe, said the objective of the conference is to ascertain the role of Homeopathy in the National Health Programme and to enhance the scope of Homeopathic practice at primary and secondary levels of health care delivery systems.
The theme of the conference is ‘National Health Programme and Homeopathy’ and it will have seven sessions on various topics like national rural health mission, lifestyle-related diseases, vector-borne diseases, reproductive child health, mental health, AIDS – case studies and multi-disciplinary research in Homeopathy.
Apart from 500 delegates from all over India who are expected to participate, delegates from countries like Switzerland, Bulgaria, Thailand, Malaysia and Nepal will also attend the conference.
Navhind Times, India - 14 Dec 2007

Labels: India

Homeopathy literally means ‘similar suffering’. It is based on the principle that ‘like cures like’, or that small amounts of poison and disease-causing substances can cure your illness. Like it or not, they must be greatly diluted: the second principal principle says ‘less is more’; or the higher the dilution, the more effective is the medicine.
Many homeopathic ‘medicines’ are so diluted that not a single molecule of the original substance is left. Yet homeopaths believe that the ghost or ‘spirit-like essence’ of the substance remains in the diluent, which is good enough to do the job. It has been pointed out such dilute products contain less of the intended substance than of contaminants like dust particles and insect faeces, which cannot be kept out even in cleanest manufacturing conditions.
Nowadays attempts are being made to defend the ‘spirit-like powers’ claimed for such medicines by resorting to the theory of relativity, and declaiming that ‘subatomic fields’ do the work after the substance is gone. You don’t have to be Einstein to see these are not the world’s greatest scientists. As for the big scientists themselves, they are repeatedly warning against homeopathy.
Some people may argue that we should not listen to snooty voices coming from the West (especially from someone who is both Sir and King). They forget the home of homeopathy was the West ~ at a time when the West was undeveloped. Now they’re developed, and are shutting their homeopathic colleges. Perhaps it’s time for us to catch up.
So is homeopathy mere quackery? I prefer to duck the question. There’s always a small chance that it will one day be proved right. There’s also a chance we’ll discover the earth is flat, or that global warming can be cured by more of the same; but unless cap costs go through the roof I won’t worry my head about it.
The Statesman, India - 14 Dec 2007

Labels: India

On Thursday, Washington Homeopathic Products (WHP) announced that recent studies show that standard antibiotics and steroid nose sprays provide little or sometimes zero relief from the symptoms associated with sinus infections. The studies also show that people suffering from sinus infections generally got better within approximately two weeks whether they took antibiotics, steroids, or placebos.
The recent studies conclude that someone wanting relief from a sinus infection may pay for a doctor's visit and a prescription without getting any symptom relief. What's more, the person may suffer side effects from the prescribed antibiotics, which are the most commonly prescribed treatment for sinus infections, particularly amoxicillin. Amoxicillin may cause side effects including fever, flu symptoms, nausea, diarrhea, seizure, allergic reactions, and drug interactions.
According to the WHP, which was established in 1873 to serve as the homeopathic pharmacy for the Washington DC community, including the National Homeopathic Hospital, says that homeopathic remedies are far more effective than prescription drugs and have no risk of adverse side effects when a person needs treatment for a sinus infection.
In contrast to allopathic medicine, which suppresses symptoms instead of curing their cause, homeopathy fortifies the natural curative mechanisms within the human body.
"Because [homeopathic] medicines are inexpensive, safe, and easy to use, individuals can learn to handle many common illnesses for which people regularly seek medical help," says William Shevin, MD.
Associated Content, US - 14 Dec 2007

Labels: USA

For the first time Australian cats and dogs will be trialled on a homeopathic medicine to treat frazzled nerves. Makers of the treatment, called 'anxiety', say it will relieve symptoms of stress in pets caused by thunderstorms, fireworks and car travel in animals.
Animals will be spilt into two groups and given either the real thing or placebo formula which is dropped into the pets mouth at least three times daily.Vets and owners will not be informed on which group an animal belongs to until after results have been collated.
Over three months the animals will be monitored for calm behaviour during thunderstorms and fireworks and not drooling or throwing up while travelling in cars.
To pass Australian regulations the herbal remedy, which will retail at $30 for a 15ml a bottle, will need to show no side-effects and 77 per cent of owners must report that their animals have been cured by the medication.
The use of homeopathy in veterinary medicine is controversial. Critics say current research, and scientific investigation is not of a high enough standard to provide reliable data.
Sunday Times.au, Australia - 13 Dec 2007

Labels: Australia

In a new book, The Homeopathic Revolution: Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy (North Atlantic Books, 2007), Dana Ullman presents strong evidence derived primarily from Charles Darwin’s own letters about the treatment he received from a homeopathic physician. Ullman suggests that Charles Darwin would not have lived long enough to have completed his seminal work, The Origin of Species, in 1859 if he didn’t get homeopathic treatment ten years previously.
It is well known that Darwin became very ill during his trip to South America in the late 1830s. His health continued to decline, and he was so ill that he couldn’t attend his own father’s funeral in 1848. He suffered from severe and constant nausea, heart palpitations, widespread boils, and trembling for 12 years, and by 1849, he had suffered from fainting spells and spots before his eyes for two years. According to Darwin’s letters, he was not able to work one day in every three.
Finally, in 1849, he sought the treatment from Dr. James Manby Gully, a homeopathic physician who owned a hydrotherapy spa. Although Darwin was skeptical of homeopathy, he obediently took the prescription of homeopathic medicines his doctor gave him, and within a month, his health was considerably better. Darwin didn’t have nausea for a month, gained some weight, took a seven mile walk (which he was previously unable to do), and then wrote to a friend, “I am turning into a mere walking and eating machine.” After just a month of treatment, he had to admit that Dr. Gully’s treatment was not quackery after all.
Ullman also has uncovered some of Darwin’s own experiments using extremely small “homeopathic” doses of various ammonia salts and watched their significant effects on insect-eating plants (Drosera rotundifolia). He was so shocked by his experiments that he had his son replicate them, and ultimately, he felt embarrassed to have to report on their surprising findings. Although Darwin provided details about the exceedingly small doses he tested, he never used the word “homeopathic” when referring to these experiments. He wrote, “I am quite unhappy at the thought of having to publish such a statement” about these results. An endorsement of homeopathy by Darwin at that time might have led to great antagonism against his new theories about life and evolution.
Many famous people benefited from Dr. Gully’s care, including Charles Dickens (novelist and writer), Alfred, Lord Tennyson (poet), Florence Nightingale (famed nurse), George Eliot (British novelist), Thomas Carlyle (Scottish essayist, satirist, and historian), Edward Bulwer-Lytton (British novelist, playwright, and politician), Thomas Babington Macaulay (first Baron Macaulay, poet and politician), and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce. Further, three prime ministers sought Dr. Gully’s care, including William Gladstone, Benjamin Disraeli, and George Hamilton-Gordon, as well as Queen Victoria herself. Hamilton-Gordon described Dr. Gully as “the most gifted physician of the age.”
Dean Draznin/EurekAlert (press release), DC - 12 Dec 2007

Labels: USA

New Delhi: Homoeopathy appears set to grow at 25-30 per cent over the next three years to become a Rs. 2,600-crore industry, driven largely by increasing interest and the inclination of the people towards this alternative system of medicine.
Making these projections, Assocham on Sunday said the current size of the homoeopathy market in the country was estimated to be Rs. 1,250 crore. While the pharma industry would grow at 13-15 per cent, homoeopathy would register a growth rate of 25-30 per cent on the back of growing number of alternative medicine users.
“Homoeopathy has been effective in treating chronic aliments like arthritis, diabetes, obesity and respiratory, hair and skin problems,” the chamber said and pointed out that during 2006-07, 4-5 crore patients resorted to homoeopathic treatments and this was likely to grow to 10 crore in the next two to three years in view of its growing acceptability among the masses.
Though homoeopathic treatment lasted longer than allopathic medication, an increasing number of people, Assocham president Venugopal Dhoot said, preferred the former since they did not have to worry about side effects.
10/12/07 The Hindu, India

Labels: India