Another Bad Year for Pharmaceuticals.
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Cold and Flu Drugs Pulled From Market While Cholesterol and Anti-Depression Drugs Called Into Question
by Nancy Gahles DC, CCH, RSHom(NA)
National Center for Homeopathy
Published: January 29, 2008
First, it was the announcement that anti-inflammatory drugs like Vioxx
and Celebrex created life threatening side effects. Now the FDA is
banning over-the-counter cold and flu drugs for toddlers and infants
and the cholesterol drug Vytorin has been found to be potentially
dangerous. On top of that, a new study in the New England Journal of
Medicine (January 2008) raises serious questions about why drug
companies have failed to report large numbers of negative studies on
their leading anti-depressant drugs.
Is it time for Americans to consider healthier alternatives?
Two
hundred years ago a system of medicine called homeopathy was
discovered. Since that time, it has been a life-saver in many of the
deadliest epidemics of the last two centuries while also proving to be
a great option for patients with a wide variety of chronic diseases.
So what is this system of medicine and why don’t Americans know more about it?
Homeopathy
is based on a law of nature. It relies on an idea that dates back to
Hippocrates – namely that substances capable of causing symptoms can
cure those same symptoms when administered to the sick. The medicines
employed in homeopathy are from plants, animals and minerals, are
extremely gentle, can be used by the young and old, are regulated by
the FDA as Class 2 drugs, and have an outstanding safety record.
When
homeopathy first arrived in America from Europe, it was little noticed
until the great and deadly epidemics of the 1800s. Results obtained by
homeopathy during these epidemics reveal a very important and clear
constancy: namely, a very low mortality rate when compared to medicine
of the day as well as to that of contemporary times. This constancy
remains, regardless of the physician, institution, time, place or type
of epidemic, including diseases carrying a very high mortality rate,
such as cholera, smallpox, diphtheria, typhoid fever, yellow fever and
pneumonia [1].
So what happened? Where is homeopathy today in
our American health care system? The success homeopathy enjoyed in its
earliest years brought it some powerful adversaries. During the great
epidemics of the 1800s, homeopathy was so successful and became so
popular that conventional practices began to suffer, losing their
patients and their livelihood. The American Medical Association was
started in part as an attempt to thwart the rise of homeopathy. Conventional doctors, being far more numerous than their homeopathic
counterparts, organized and made it extremely difficult for homeopaths
to practice [2]. Eventually homeopathy faded from the American
landscape.
Today we are left with age-old prejudices.
Conventional doctors and their pharmaceutical allies know little about
homeopathy, yet are quick to dismiss it as impossible. "The medicines
are too dilute" they say. "No studies have been done".
Well, does it work? What does modern science now tell us?
New
research emerging from laboratories like Penn State University’s world
renowned Material Science Laboratory, and others, are now finding that
homeopathic medicines do in fact have unique structures – and that
structure more often than composition determines a substance's
properties [3,4,5,6]. Given these new findings, the claim that
homeopathy is impossible can be completely dismissed.
But are
there clinical studies showing effectiveness? Yes. In fact, large
numbers of pre-clinical and clinical studies published in esteemed
medical journals like Rheumatology, Annals of Internal Medicine,
Pediatrics, The International Journal of Neuroscience and others,
report the biological effects of homeopathic remedies. What's more,
multiple published observational studies on thousands of patients
around the world are overwhelmingly positive for homeopathic treatment
in real world clinical practice [7,8,9,10,11,12,13].
Ten's of
millions of patients in Europe and Asia use homeopathy regularly. It
is a wonderful option for patients of any age and suffering from any
illness. For parents looking for safe options to banned OTC products
to treat colds, flu, and allergies, homeopathy is a wonderful tool. For adults with coughs, sore throats, nausea, diarrhea, fever, chills
and all other forms of acute illness, homeopathy works wonders. For
simple first aid in emergencies, homeopathy is indispensable. For the
millions of Americans suffering with chronic diseases of all
dimensions, homeopathy can improve their lives.
There is really
little doubt that homeopathy works. And it is inexpensive and
accessible. With a little training (very important!), anyone can use
homeopathy successfully to treat simple acute conditions. For more
challenging disease states, it is always best to find someone who has
trained extensively in the field. Many have said that homeopathy is
the most challenging form of medicine to practice well. To learn out
more about this extraordinary system of medicine for yourself and your
family, visit www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org. The National Center
for Homeopathy is the organizing body for homeopathic medicine in the
United States and a great source of basic information, research
articles, education, and so much more. (A complete copy of this article
with research citations is available at
www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org under "Media").
Nancy Gahles DC, CCH, RSHom(NA)
President
National Center for Homeopathy
Alexandria, VA
1.
Saine A. A Debate: Homeopathy – Quackery or a Key to the Future of
Medicine. The Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine 2008;
Volume 14, #1
2. Coulter H. Divided Legacy – the Conflict between Homeopathy and the American Medical Association 1982; North Atlantic Books
3.
Rao ML, Roy R, Bell IR et al. The defining role of structure (including
epitaxy) in the plausibility of homeopathy. Homeopathy 2007; 96
(3):175-82.
4. Elia V, Niccoli, M. New physico-chemical
properties of extremely diluted aqueous solutions. Journal of Thermal
Analysis and Calorimetry 2004; 75:815-36.
5. Elia V, Niccoli, M.
Thermodynamics of extremely diluted aqueous solutions. Annals of the
New York Academy of Sciences 1999; 879:241-8.
6. Rey L.
Thermoluminescence of ultra-high dilutions of lithium chloride and
sodium chloride. Physica A: Statistical mechanics and its applications.
2003; 323:67-74.
7. Bell IR, Lewis DA, 2nd, Brooks AJ et al.
Improved clinical status in fibromyalgia patients treated with
individualized homeopathic remedies versus placebo. Rheumatology 2004b;
43 (5):577-82.
8. Bell IR, Lewis DA, 2nd, Lewis SE et al. EEG
alpha sensitization in individualized homeopathic treatment of
fibromyalgia. International Journal of Neuroscience 2004c; 114
(9):1195-220.
9. Eizayaga FX, Aguejouf O, Belon P et al.
Platelet aggregation in portal hypertension and its modification by
ultra-low doses of aspirin. Pathophysiol Haemost Thromb 2005; 34
(1):29-34.
10. Frei H, Everts R, von Ammon K, Kaufmann F,
Walther D, Hsu-Schmitz SF, Collenberg M, Fuhrer K, Hassink R, Steinlin
M, Thurneysen A. Homeopathic treatment of children with attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder: a randomised, double blind, placebo
controlled crossover trial. Eur J Pediatr. 2005; 164 (12):758-67.
11.
Sevar R. Audit of outcome in 829 consecutive patients treated with
homeopathic medicines. British Homoeopathic Journal 2000; 89 (4):178-87.
12.
Witt C, Keil T, Selim D, Roll S, Vance W, Wegscheider K, Willich SN.
Outcome and costs of homoeopathic and conventional treatment
strategies: a comparative cohort study in patients with chronic
disorders. Complement Ther Med. 2005a; 13 (2):79-86.
13. Sevar
R. Audit of outcome in 829 consecutive patients treated with
homeopathic medicines. British Homoeopathic Journal 2000; 89 (4):178-87.