Skeptics ,Science and Mice

Well, it seems the skeptics are planning another of their mass overdoses this weekend. The whole idea of a mass overdose clearly shows how little they know about homeopathy. A single dose (1 pill or 100 pills at the same time still count as a single dose) of a remedy will only have any effect if the remedy fits the persons physical and emotional symptoms. So taking a random remedy is unlikely to do anything. If by chance they take a remedy that does fit them then there would be positive effects.

Homeopathy is extremely safe, especially when compared with allopathic medicine. As a conservative estimate the painkiller Vioxx is thought to have killed 2000 people in the UK, and that is just one drug. However, if you repeatedly take a 'wrong' homeopathic remedy for a long time there is a good chance you will produce symptoms that are related to that remedy and not to you. The homeopathic materia medica has been developed from just such experiments known as provings. Healthy people took homeopathic remedies, often over a period of weeks to see what symptoms were produced. The results are collated and when someone has symptoms which fit the picture produced by a proving then we know that remedy is very likely to help them.

The dictionary definition of a skeptic is someone who doubts the value or truth of an idea or a belief. Doubting something is reasonable but it seems to me whatever evidence, research papers and personal stories indicate homeopathy has an effect, they continue to say it's unscientific and impossible. The skeptics don't seem to even want to look at the research available, let alone consider that there are many papers showing plants, animals, young babies and cells have responded to homeopathic preparations. No placebo effect with that lot.

Science, according to Wikipedia, 'is an enterprise that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the world'. Theories can and do alter according to new evidence and theories. Science is not static and new ideas help move things forward. It seems the skeptic approach is to just say 'homeopathy is rubbish' and refuse to look at anything that challenges that view which seems decidedly unscientific to me.

For an interesting perspective on the mass overdose have a look at the exellent blog Elephants and Mice

And for sound, sensible and scientific information about homeopathy have a look at the website Extraordinary Medicine.

Stunts such as mass overdoses and negative articles in the press have very little effect on the public at large and only serve to stimulate discussion. The vast majority of people come to see a homeopath because they have friends or relatives who have been helped by homeopathic treatment. Most of them don't tweet, blog or really care what some journalist in London says about anything. If there is a story about homeopathy in the media, most people don't remember whether it was negative or positive. If someone has benefited from homeopathic treatment, any negative story is likely to prompt them to say how much it helped them.

I, and many other homeopaths, actually get much busier when the skeptics pull stunts. So we will look forward to a busy few weeks. Thanks guys!

Indian adventures in Bentham.. second attempt

Apologies for being a bit quiet lately. We have been preoccupied with house renovations but I'm now slowly venturing back into the real world!

The talk in November about my Indian adventures got cancelled due to the snow so it has been rearranged for Wednesday 16th February, weather permitting.

Sole to Soul, Grasmere Drive, Bentham

Wednesday 16th February

6.30pm for tea and cake and 7pm start

I spent time in Kolkata in 2008 and 2009 on a postgraduate homeopathy course. This involved lectures and many hours in various clinics throughout the city.

But it wasn't all hard work. I also did some travelling in Darjeeling, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and attended a huge Bengali wedding.

So come along to a colourful slide show of my travels and be transported to India for a couple of hours.

£2 including refreshments and homemade cakes.
Let me know if you are coming so I have enough goodies for everyone.


0800 2980701 or 07932 159099
jo@jorhodeshomeopathy.co.uk

Barges unloading near Howrah Bridge, Kolkata

Indian Adventures.. in Bentham

Colourful Kolkata trucks

Sole to Soul

Grasmere Drive, Bentham

Homeopathic Adventures in India

Tuesday 30th November
6.30 for 7pm start

I spent time in Kolkata in 2008 and 2009 on a postgraduate homeopathy course. This involved lectures and many hours in various clinics throughout the city.

But it wasn't all hard work. I also did some travelling in Darjeeling, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and attended a huge Bengali wedding.

So come along to a colourful slide show of my travels and be transported to India for a couple of hours and escape the grim winter weather!

£2 including refreshments and homemade cakes. Let me know if you want to come so I make sure we don't run out of cakes.

0800 298 0701 or 07932 159099
jo@jorhodeshomeopathy.co.uk

Science for Homeopaths Day in Manchester

Earlier this year I was appointed onto the Society of Homeopaths Research Committee. One of the things I feel is important is to give homeopaths and students the information they need to deal with the common criticisms we face as a profession.

Myself and Emily Peckham, both homeopaths and chemists, will be doing a CPD day on Science for Homeopaths in central Manchester on Thursday 25th November. There is a lot of controversy about dilutions and so we will be explaining, in simple terms, what Avogadro's number is all about and why it is such a contentious issue. We will also be looking at the weirdness of water and some other areas of science which are not as clear cut as you might think. We will look at the analytical evidence which shows that extremely diluted solutions are measureable using a variety of analytical techniques. The majority of work done in this area is actually done by chemists and physicists and is nothing to do with homeopathy.

The aim is to make some complex scientific ideas accessible to all and give participants tools to answer critics in a scientific manner. There will also be a detailed list of websites, references and a bibliography for further reading and research.

On the day we will bring some of these scientific papers and books for you to have a look at and there will also be some time available for general discussion and networking.

Science for Homeopaths

Quaker Meeting Rooms, Mount St, Manchester

Thursday 25th November

To book go through the Society of Homeopaths website or call the office in Northampton.


The Society of Homeopaths website has an excellent research section which has been written by Rachel Roberts.

The British Homeopathic Association also has comprehensive research pages. Their magazine Health and Homeopathy contains very clear and interesting articles on particular health topics and remedies which can be dowloaded from the website.

Homeopathic Camp and festival fun

I have mentioned several times on this blog the great work that Marcus and the Travelling Homeopaths Collective do at festivals. If you are going to a festival this summer there is still time to catch up with them for a chat or some treatment at the Moors festival, Solfest, Lime Tree music festival and The End Of The Road.


THC have a homeopathic camp in the summer and this time it is 11th to 15th August. It has a friendly festival feel for homeopaths, students, their friends and families with lots to keep everyone entertained. Speakers this year include Misha Norland, Kaaren Whitney, David Mundy, Robert Davidson, Jerome Whitney and Michael Thompson. There will also be Indian music, childrens area, storytelling, a sauna and some great veggie food.

For more info see the flyer here

I had a brilliant time at Glastonbury working in the clinic and its always a wonderful opportunity to talk to people about homeopathy and get them to experience it first hand. As it was very hot and dusty we treated a lot more people than usual for hayfever and sunburn and many came back to say they were feeling better after their remedies which is always good to hear.

We seemed to have a lot more people coming in for a chat who were disillusioned with their current treatment and wanting to know if homeopathy might be able to help with longer term problems like depression, menstrual or menopausal symptoms, recurrent infections, ME and chronic fatigue, stress, IBS and many more. We do not treat those sort of chronic problems at festivals so always refer people to a homeopath near where they live.

There have been a lot of negative stories in the press about homeopathy lately so it was lovely to talk to so many people face to face who genuinely wanted to find out more about what we do. Something our critics often forget is that the vast majority of people try complementary therapies because they are not happy with their current treatment and a friend or relative has benefitted from something different. That sort of personal recommendation will far outweigh any number of negative articles in a newspaper or on a blog.