6B - Alternative Medicine

Question 1

Allopathic

Answer 1

is used by many in the alternative medicine community to refer mainstream/conventional/Western medicine
-also termed biomedicine

Question 2

Common practices of Allopathic Medicine

Answer 2

bloodletting, leeches, cold water dousing, administration of highly toxic substances, powerful laxatives
little control over education, licencing

Question 3

Naturopathic Medicine: What is Naturopathy

Answer 3

Naturopathy is broad term used to describe a variety of medical practices with an overall theme of avoidance of use of synthetic drugs and surgical interventions
-many practitioners use the theory of vitalism

-most popluar in the US and Canada

Question 4

Naturopathic medicine: Vitalism

Answer 4

living organisms are different from non-living things because they have some non-physical or spiritual element that non-living things lack”

Question 5

Naturopaths are typically divided into 3 categories

Answer 5

1. Tradition naturoopath
2. naturopathic physician
3. other health care providers who employe naturopathic services.

Question 6

Naturopathic : Warnings

Answer 6

some naturopathic treatments have shown to be not beneficial and many have been shown to be harmful or potentially harmful
example: - ozone therapy, chelation therapy, vitamin and mineral therapy.

Question 7

When are vitamin supplements a good idea (as agreed by all sides)

Answer 7

• Folic acid / folate / vitamin B9 for pregnant women up to week 12
• Vitamin D for all pregnant and breastfeeding women, kids aged 6 months to 5 years, people 65 and up, people in low-sun situations (Canada in winter, people who cover up most of their skin for cultural reasons, people who are housebound)
• Vitamin A, C, and D for all children 6 months to 4 years, especially those who are fussy eaters

Question 8

Herbal Medicines

Answer 8

• Little regulation
• little quality control
• studies have shown that there are filler contents not listed on label.

-Many of the most effective herbal medicines have been found to contain pharmaceuticals that would be prescribed to treat the same ailment

Question 9

Homeopathic medicine

Answer 9

-founded by Samuel Hahnemann

Question 10

homeopathic medicine: keynote or first-line symptoms

Answer 10

• symptoms that were common to all patients.

Question 11

Homeopathic Medicine: The Principle of Similars

Answer 11

• first principle of Homeopathy
• notion that a substance that produces particular symptoms in a healthy person will cure those symptoms in a sick person
• Hahnemann was able treat illness with the substances that matched the symptom profile and was able to produce beneficial results
• Homeopathy began to be challenged by conventional medicine in 1930s

Question 12

Homeopathic : 2. The prociple of Infinitesimal Dose

Answer 12

Hahnemann claimed that the more times he diluted a remedy, the more potent the cure became

Dilution also reduced the toxic effects of the cures of the time

Question 13

Preparation of Homeopathic Remedies

Answer 13

Tinctures of plants are dissolved in water and/or alcohol and allowed to stand for 2 to 4 weeks

shaken occasionally during this time, then strained; strained solution is called “Mother of Tincture”

solution is then diluted and mixed by 10 hard strikes against an elastic body

solution then diluted and mixed by 10 hard strikes against an elastic body. Called “succussing”
Solution diluted again, and again. Usually by factor of 10 (1 d), 100 (1 c), or 1000 (1 m)
Hahnemann advocated 30C dilutions; 10C and 15C are commonly used today

Question 14

How Do Homeopaths Explain How Homeopathy Works?

1. Quantum Physics and Magnetic Fields:

Answer 14

del Guidici, an Italian physicist, theorized that water molecules form structures that store electromagnetic signals. Supported by experiments by Ludwig, a German biophysicist

Shin-Yin Lo, researcher at American Technologies Group, found that water can contain non-melting structures that are stable and high temperatures and give off a magnetic signature
Homeopaths believe that this magnetic field matches a magnetic field caused by the illness in patients and prompts a healing response in the body
Hahnemann called this vital force

Question 15

How Do Homeopaths Explain How Homeopathy Works?

2. Non-Local Effects:

Answer 15

Local effects are things readily explained by classical physics

A leaf falls from a tree in autumn. The leaf falls because of gravity. Gravity is the local effect

Non-Local effects refer to outcomes seem to occur but cannot be explained by classical physics

Question 16

How Do Homeopaths Explain How Homeopathy Works?

3. Magic Consciousness:

Answer 16

“A state of consciousness that still has access to the general connectedness of all beings.”

If patient and homeopathic doctor enter is state through their interactions, the patient can experience real benefits

Question 17

How Do Homeopaths Explain How Homeopathy Works?4. The Principle of Specificity of the Individual

Answer 17

• Treatment for a given physical condition must be matched to the unique symptoms of the individual
• The illness is not treated
• The person with symptoms of illness _______ is treated
• Homeopaths have identified more the 200 symptom patterns associated with headache and each has its own remedy
• location in head, effect of temperature, improvement with body position (standing, sitting, laying), patient’s physical build, energy levels, time of day when symptoms worst, person’s mood, body temperature, appetite, thirst

Question 18

Troubling Questions about Homeopathy

Answer 18

• No plausible mechanism of action
• Principle of Similars has no significant solid foundation
• Principle of Infinitesimal Dose has no significant solid foundation
• Why does solution “remember” only the homeopathic remedy molecules and not others?
• the vast majority of studies that support homeopathic methods did not stand up to a major scientific test: reproducibility
• Studies by other researchers, using the same methods, did not show clinical efficacy
• Why doesn’t homeopathy tackle more serious conditions like cancer and dementia?

Question 19

Why Have Some Studies Shown Homeopathic Treatments to be Effective?

Answer 19

• Poor study design: researcher bias, subjective assessments, not double-blind, not placebo controlled
• Placebo effect: Highly variable, depending on field of study. One concrete example: 39% of placebo patients, 36% of 4 mg patients, and 50% of 6 mg patients pain relief following administration of morphine
• Therapeutic effect of better care and consultation
• Unassisted natural healing – the illness resolves itself and this is attributed to the homeopathic therapy
• many homeopathic treatments report worsening of symptoms until day 7 of treatment
• Unrecognized treatments: improved diet, exercise, treatment for a different issue, etc.