Homeopathy
OK. So, this is going to wander somewhat, as I'm having decidedly random thoughts. So I'm going to hide it behind a cut.
I was having a conversation the other day about, of all things, homeopathic medicine. Now, I know, there's a lot of cynical people around these days who'll immediately jump on that and say "it's not proper medicine - it's only complementary medicine", and I suppose that's fair enough. In fact, it was exactly that difference between 'proper' and 'alternative' medicine that sparked off the conversation in the first place. And yes, I'd been drinking. A bit.
Anyway, before I start, I'm not about to start trying to 'convert' everyone to homeopathy. So don't worry. Just bear with me - I'm sure there's a point in here somewhere, just itching to get out.
Right. I've heard a lot of people dismiss homeopathic remedies - including quite a few members of the medical profession. In fact, some Doctors are openly derisory - one that I know of calling it 'nonsense', 'placebo' and even 'snake-oil and moonshine'. In fact, although Glasgow has the only homeopathic hospital in Scotland (if not Britain - I'm not sure about that) it's nigh on impossible to persuade your average GP to write out a referral for it. Now, I'm not trying to be unkind to Doctors, here, but there is a certain... reluctance to accept anyhing other than canonical medicine as a means to 'treat' an ailment. Given that their professional status is based on years of training and a lot of hard work getting where they are, I can understand that. To turn to, let's say, a proper Michelin-starred chef, and say "I know you have vast experience and many years of training in the culinary arts, but could you please give me some tomato sauce to go with my fillet steak (which, by the way, I'd like cooked within an inch of becoming charcoal...)" Most chefs I've encountered would respond with a swift kick to the testicles, followed by an insertion of said steak into an orifice. Any orifice. Chefs aren't fussy.
Now, as I understand it, these days Doctors aren't actually allowed to hit you, or insert large chunks of overcooked meat products where the sun don't shine, but I would imagine that insulting their professional status, their experience, and their expert knowledge by demanding to do things 'the wrong way' would probably upset them slightly. As I said, I can understand that.
However.
I do have some experience of using homeopathic remedies. Which... well, it was that or take me to the doctor every week. I was just a teensy weensy bit accident prone as a small monkey, which shouldn't surprise anyone, really. I had a propensity for falling off, into and through all sorts of things. There was also a fair amount of getting bitten and/or stung by insects/small animals/other people's kids/goats/ducks, and so on. So I was very, very familiar with the use of things like Arnica, Calendula, Combudoron, WCS dusting powder, etc etc etc...
Now, as an adult, (well, outwardly) I know homeopathic medicine shouldn't work. The whole idea is preposterous - by reducing the quantity of the active ingredient, you increase its effectiveness - it makes no sense at all. Logically, the opposite should be true. But it isn't. Equally illogical is the fact that many of the ingredients present in homeopathic remedies should actually cause the symptoms they are supposed to be treating. Actually, though, it makes a certain amount of sense. By stimulating the body's immune response, they're actually forcing you to heal yourself. And then it occurred to me that 'proper' medicine sometimes has the opposite effect - it tries to heal you by blocking the body's natural immune response. And in doing so it causes the symptoms it should be curing. Don't believe me? Go find a headache remedy. Ibuprofen. Something like that. Go on. Right now. Go to your bathroom shelf, bedroom drawer or old sock basket - wherever it is that you store your medicines - take out the slip of paper inside the packet, and have a look at the side effects. May cause headaches? Right.
Anyway. That's just an example. Like I said, I'm not trying to convert anyone. I suppose the point I'm making is that presuming something doesn't work just because it appear to make no sense is a very narrow way to go on. It just approaches the same result from a different angle. And, of course, it'll only work up to the point where the body still has a capacity to heal itself - beyond there, you need a proper Doctor...
Right. That's enough of that. There was going to be more, but I'll put it in a different post, otherwise this one'll get ridiculous.
I was having a conversation the other day about, of all things, homeopathic medicine. Now, I know, there's a lot of cynical people around these days who'll immediately jump on that and say "it's not proper medicine - it's only complementary medicine", and I suppose that's fair enough. In fact, it was exactly that difference between 'proper' and 'alternative' medicine that sparked off the conversation in the first place. And yes, I'd been drinking. A bit.
Anyway, before I start, I'm not about to start trying to 'convert' everyone to homeopathy. So don't worry. Just bear with me - I'm sure there's a point in here somewhere, just itching to get out.
Right. I've heard a lot of people dismiss homeopathic remedies - including quite a few members of the medical profession. In fact, some Doctors are openly derisory - one that I know of calling it 'nonsense', 'placebo' and even 'snake-oil and moonshine'. In fact, although Glasgow has the only homeopathic hospital in Scotland (if not Britain - I'm not sure about that) it's nigh on impossible to persuade your average GP to write out a referral for it. Now, I'm not trying to be unkind to Doctors, here, but there is a certain... reluctance to accept anyhing other than canonical medicine as a means to 'treat' an ailment. Given that their professional status is based on years of training and a lot of hard work getting where they are, I can understand that. To turn to, let's say, a proper Michelin-starred chef, and say "I know you have vast experience and many years of training in the culinary arts, but could you please give me some tomato sauce to go with my fillet steak (which, by the way, I'd like cooked within an inch of becoming charcoal...)" Most chefs I've encountered would respond with a swift kick to the testicles, followed by an insertion of said steak into an orifice. Any orifice. Chefs aren't fussy.
Now, as I understand it, these days Doctors aren't actually allowed to hit you, or insert large chunks of overcooked meat products where the sun don't shine, but I would imagine that insulting their professional status, their experience, and their expert knowledge by demanding to do things 'the wrong way' would probably upset them slightly. As I said, I can understand that.
However.
I do have some experience of using homeopathic remedies. Which... well, it was that or take me to the doctor every week. I was just a teensy weensy bit accident prone as a small monkey, which shouldn't surprise anyone, really. I had a propensity for falling off, into and through all sorts of things. There was also a fair amount of getting bitten and/or stung by insects/small animals/other people's kids/goats/ducks, and so on. So I was very, very familiar with the use of things like Arnica, Calendula, Combudoron, WCS dusting powder, etc etc etc...
Now, as an adult, (well, outwardly) I know homeopathic medicine shouldn't work. The whole idea is preposterous - by reducing the quantity of the active ingredient, you increase its effectiveness - it makes no sense at all. Logically, the opposite should be true. But it isn't. Equally illogical is the fact that many of the ingredients present in homeopathic remedies should actually cause the symptoms they are supposed to be treating. Actually, though, it makes a certain amount of sense. By stimulating the body's immune response, they're actually forcing you to heal yourself. And then it occurred to me that 'proper' medicine sometimes has the opposite effect - it tries to heal you by blocking the body's natural immune response. And in doing so it causes the symptoms it should be curing. Don't believe me? Go find a headache remedy. Ibuprofen. Something like that. Go on. Right now. Go to your bathroom shelf, bedroom drawer or old sock basket - wherever it is that you store your medicines - take out the slip of paper inside the packet, and have a look at the side effects. May cause headaches? Right.
Anyway. That's just an example. Like I said, I'm not trying to convert anyone. I suppose the point I'm making is that presuming something doesn't work just because it appear to make no sense is a very narrow way to go on. It just approaches the same result from a different angle. And, of course, it'll only work up to the point where the body still has a capacity to heal itself - beyond there, you need a proper Doctor...
Right. That's enough of that. There was going to be more, but I'll put it in a different post, otherwise this one'll get ridiculous.