A vet's inside track on homoeopathy.

[MRC_Hans]

Done. (No, I'm not homeoskeptic).

Hans

 

[Badly Shaved Monkey]

Done. (No, I'm not homeoskeptic).

Hans

How predictable is Sarah? But will she say anything in response to the story or does she look away from the screen when she selects your convenient link?

 

[Mojo]

Hey! Where'd it go?

 

[Rolfe]

Hey! Where'd it go?

Stalin's airbrush strikes again. Can't say I'm surprised. I don't imagine they want any reference at all to Mr. Edwards' experiences on their holy web site.

Rolfe.

 

[Badly Shaved Monkey]

Hey! Where'd it go?

Chit-Chat Forum. Wouldn't want actual animal owners to read the truth.

Here it is

 

[MRC_Hans]

How predictable is Sarah? But will she say anything in response to the story or does she look away from the screen when she selects your convenient link?

Sarah is very predictable. She never has a clue.

Hans

 

[The Bad Astronomer]

I'm also slightly puzzled by the comment that "Remedies charged out at over £10 actually cost pence to produce (including materials and labour)."

Actually, there's an interesting bit of logic here I have not yet seen applied to homeopathy.

This stuff really is incredibly cheap to make. So why do they charge so much for it?

If homeopaths really want to help people, wouldn't they cut their profit margin somewhat? Medical pills (you know, the kind that actually work) are expensive in part because of years of R&D that go into them (and of course profiteering, etc etc). But homeopathy needs no further research, really, and the cost to make what are essentially sugar pills or doses of water can't be more than a few pennies per pound.

And if homeopaths were really serious about replacing "western" medicine (you know, the kind that actually works) then it's in their interest to undercut medical costs. Yet homeopathic medicine costs as much as if not more than "western" medicine.

That doesn't seem rational, does it? Interesting.

 

[Zep]

BA, at the risk of repeating myself once again, the foremost motive for the vast majority of these woo-woo practices, homeopathy included, is money. Accept that and all the rest falls into logical place - the silly silly theories, the high-falutin' medical talk, the pseudo-scientific blarney...it's all for getting the moolah out of the punters. Very few of these folks does this for philanthropic reasons.

 

[Rolfe]

I once posted a simple explanation of the profit margins on that forum. It was while we were trying to persuade that woo Alphonse to take her grossly thyrotoxic cat to a proper vet for proper treatment. Wim the Woo accused me of lying about the efficacy of methimazole (the correct treatment, which Wim was busy denouncing as dangerous poison) in order to protect vets' profit margins. "Homoeopathy is cheap and safe" he repeatedly announced.

So I called him on the "cheap" bit, analysing the overheads of a homoeopathic practice (the small room and the pot plant) compared to a properly-equipped veterinary surgery, and the actual cost of producing the magic sugar pills (and hence the obscene profit margins) compared to licensed drugs which have to undertake expensive validation and quality assurance testing.

I accused him of puffing up the magic sugar pills in order to protect his fat profits.

The post was deleted within the hour.

Rolfe.

 

[Zep]

Indeed, Rolfe! And you know why? You were rashly exposing their secrets to the world without being in their masonic fellowship.

Incidentally, have you ever followed any of the associated links from the hpathy site? I have - you can pay your own weight in bullion for myriads of homeopathic treatments, software and medicines, and even buy or set up your own homeopathic pratice with their "starter kits"! Just send them your credit card number and bingo! - it's all yours. So PLEASE don't try to expose the underlying scam, OK? It's how they make their living...

 

[RSLancastr]

Bob remarked that he'd looked closely at the human literature on the subject, and it did seem to him that there was something there.

Bob should read what ferrets have written on the subject. They are generally quite insightful, though their research is often not as thorough as one would like.