I’ve been reading about the Maun Homeopathy Clinic in Botswana here. It is a depressingly dangerous combination of danger, delusion and humanitarianism.
It might be surprising to some to see me have a good word to say about homeopathists, especially when that word is humanitarianism but I honestly believe that these volunteers actually care about their patients – why else go out to Botswana for living expenses only when you can make a comfortable living off the worried well here in the UK?
They are still deluded though; their magic water and sugar pills do nothing for their patients. Their delusions are bad for their patients and may even endanger the homeopaths themselves.
The delusions seem to have their root in confirmation bias. There’s this for example. Volunteer homeopath Arun Mushiana says:-
“The homeopaths are so loved here, and at the clinic we see daily miracles.”
There then follows an anecdote about an un-named woman who allegedly recovered from malaria after being treated with homeopathic medicine. Now I’m no medic but I’ve heard of recurring malaria – where the disease periodically flares up and dies down. It is my suspicion that this patient was given the “medicine” when she was close to being at her worst and when her symptoms died down, the homeopath claimed the credit.
There’s also this which I reached by clicking on a link on the website of our old friends the Society of Homeopaths. It is claimed:-
“In some cases we clearly snatch people from the brink of death”
Again, this is confirmation bias – AIDS sufferers symptoms vary from day to day.
It is admitted that when a patient gets too ill (when s/he really is seriously ill) only antiretrovirals can help but even here the homeopath misses the point that if the ARVs are administered early enough after infection then the onset of full-blown AIDS can be delayed – sometimes for years. Even if they are not administered until the symptoms of AIDS have appeared, they will keep the patient alive and in some approximation of health.
Because the clinic’s patients are not given ARVs until they are seriously ill, they will die and this is where the homeopaths healing fantasies will turn against them. They claim to be miracle workers so what will the families of the dead assume?
Because there is such a stigma about HIV/AIDS in southern Africa many will not admit that a family member is a sufferer. Often they will insist that the patient has been poisoned. When the patient dies after taking the strange foreign potions they may assume fatal poisoning.
He who lives by confirmation bias may die by confirmation bias.
Tags: AIDS, malaria, Maun Homeopathy Clinic, Society of Homeopaths, Southern Africa
November 28, 2007 at 10:27 am |
What do you know about homoeopathy? what qualifies you to make any of the statements above?
November 29, 2007 at 11:07 am |
I know enough about homeopathy to know it doesn’t work. I know enough about Southern Africa to know that the AIDS crisis is being made worse by people peddling worthless cures.
To which statements in particular are you objecting and what are your objections?
February 25, 2008 at 10:47 am |
Homoeopathy is developed practically & scientifically in India. In India you can find all about Homoeopathy.
So you cant make such silly statement that it doesn’t work. Homoeopathy is having very important role in HIV AIDS.
February 25, 2008 at 11:21 am |
Supply some evidence that it works.
June 10, 2008 at 11:37 am |
You’ve got something wrong.
The anti retro-viral drugs are made available by the government of Botswana. Presumably they have their own criteria that dictates when the expensive drugs are given. Going to the homeopathy clinic makes no difference as to when a patient receives the drugs. The project works alongside the very overstretched conventional medical resources. If you read the website properly you’ll see lots of positive comments about the use of the drugs in treating HIV, and the role that homeopathy can play in relieving symptoms both of the condition and in side effects from the drugs.
June 10, 2008 at 6:23 pm |
I also see nonsense such as claims that homeopathy snatched someone “from the brink of death”. And there is no evidence that homeopathic sugar pills work any better than placebo sugar pills when it comes to relieving symptoms.
June 17, 2008 at 3:14 pm |
Homeopathy cures where Convenntional Allopathic Medicine (CAM) fails
June 18, 2008 at 7:15 am |
Please give proof of a case of non self-limiting illness being cured by homeopathy. Please supply sufficient references for checking. And since you claim homeopathy works where “allopathy” fails, let’s make it a case conventional doctors have declared incurable.
July 17, 2008 at 6:56 am |
There are number of diseases which are labeled as ’surgical’, where homoeopathy works curatively and can avoid surgery except where tissue changes have occurred, or where there are congenital abnormalities. Some such ailments where surgery could be avoided are: Tonsillitis, Piles, Fissure, Fistula, Appendicitis (except gangrenous), ear discharge, Vocal cord nodules, Polyp in nose-ear, Kidney & ureter (small) stones, Uterine Fibroid (small), Ovarian Cysts, Warts, Corns, etc.
July 17, 2008 at 10:38 am |
So give us an example, with references.
September 14, 2008 at 12:39 am |
[...] and charlatans. Even without Government denialism, ignrance allows quackery to roam free. As I have mentioned before, homeopaths are acting out their healing fantasies in [...]
March 6, 2009 at 4:56 pm |
I am a homeopaths I have a few cases where homeopathic remedies had done away with polyps for children who were suffereing from sleeping disturbance due to the blockage of brreathing. I have at lease six of these.
Prevention of Hernia operation where the hernia was very painful to a musician who prepared for an audition – he played the trombone and this gave him the hernia now for the second time. He had an emergency operation perscrivbed in two days time, but he did not have to do it after a few doses of the remedy, the pain had gone situation setttled.
I have a cancer (desmoid) patient who had his third operation on his right arm and also radiation. now the cancer has cropped up in his palm – now for two years he is my patient. the doctors proposed to cut his palm off. two years ago he listened to the doctors now his sarcoma is decreasing slowly and he experiences less and less pain.
Three of my colleague patients were cured of apendicitis.
March 6, 2009 at 6:21 pm |
Some evidence please.