Una verdad simulada

Homeopathy is considered a credible medical treatment in India. Here is a quote from Wikipedia that is accurate description of the current scientific status of Homeopathy:

Claims of homeopathy’s efficacy beyond the placebo effect are unsupported by the collective weight of scientific and clinical evidence. Supporters claim that studies published in reputable journals support the efficacy of homeopathy; however, there are only a handful of them, they are not definitive and they have not been replicated. Several high-quality studies exist showing no evidence for any effect from homeopathy […] (emphasis mine)

A typical homeopathic remedy uses such dilute “solutions” that there is no scientific reason for an active ingredient to be present in the remedy. Here is a video of James Randi debunking fundamental principles of Homeopathy. No, to the best of current scientific knowledge, water does not retain memory long enough as claimed by homeopaths.

Any argument on this topic that I have with friends and family ends with one of the two rhetorics: that I have bought into the Western agenda; or that Allopathy is an imperfect science and that doctors are not able to find cure to all diseases.

The first accusation is quite laughable because Homeopathy itself was started by a German physician, Samuel Hahnemann; last I checked, Germany was a “western country”. Secondly, that is a recourse some people take to justify their beliefs in something without the requisite proof (ad hominem, anyone?).

The second argument is even weaker. You may not like contemporary medicine, but it is the best shot we have got in treating diseases and ailments that plague us. Eradication of life threatening diseases happened through Science; steep increase in life expectancy and decrease in infant mortality is causally linked to Scientifically sound practices, potent drugs and vaccines.

My mother started having Asthama attacks when I was 12. When the family doctor couldn’t help, she turned to Homeopathy. Her condition worsened in mere weeks. My argument that my mother’s asthama could not have worsened because of ill-effects / side-effects of homeopathic “medicines” is also met with equal roll-of-eyes response from my aunt. She is equally firm in her belief that homeopathy worsened my mother’s asthama.

Until a few years back, I believed that homeopathy is useful as a placebo. But not anymore. I have now reached the same conclusion as my aunt — that homeopathy was dangerous to my mother’s health — for different reasons. Homeopathy was dangerous not because of its side effects, but because my mother delayed going to an Asthama and Allergy specialist since she was trying out homeopathic remedies.

What made me change that view was this post by Orac, about a little girl of Indian origin in Australia, who needlessly lost her life because her parent’s belief in homeopathy. The girl’s parents are convicted of manslaughter by gross criminal negligence. As an Indian, I found this quote very troubling:

The court heard the couple took Gloria to various health professionals, but while they abandoned each conventional medication she was prescribed within a short time of starting it, they solidly pursued homeopathic remedies.
[…]

But the couple, who were raised and educated in India where homeopathy is accepted as equivalent to conventional medicine, were steadfast to their homeopathic remedies and ignored completely or quickly discarded other treatment.

[…]
[Thomas Sam]: “Conventional medicine would have prolonged her life… with more misery. It’s not going to cure her and that’s what I strongly believe.”
(emphasis mine)

Eczema has no known cure, but it is not life-threatening.

Hat tip: Orac, Phil and Skeptico.

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