BBC -- WHO warns against homeopathy use

[politicat]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8211925.stm

People with conditions such as HIV, TB and malaria should not rely on homeopathic treatments, the World Health Organization has warned.

It was responding to calls from young researchers who fear the promotion of homeopathy in the developing world could put people's lives at risk.

The group Voice of Young Science Network has written to health ministers to set out the WHO view.

WHO TB experts said homeopathy had "no place" in treatment of the disease.

[TZ]

1. Unfortunately the people who need to hear this the most

are the least likely to hear it. When I was doing malaria research I heard about some really depressing ways people were trying to "cure" it...

[Warpy]

2. "Magic water" is much cheaper than malaria drugs

so people of little means will continue to try it. Unfortunately, that means they'll have even less money to spend on treatment that works when they get desperate enough, if they don't die first.

Snake oil salesmen prosper most where people can't afford real medical treatment. We're seeing more and more of that here in the US.

Conservatives really have turned us into a third world country.

[politicat]

3. Snake oil is the motivation behind John Mackey's BS

He and Whole Foods have a vested interest in keeping a third of the country inadequately covered. When you don't have insurance, you're more willing to shell out $8 for a tube of arnica gel than get proper pain care, or $6 for a bottle of valerian or St John's Wort than see an MD for short-term psychotropics and a cognitive behavioral therapist for therapy.

It's not 1759 anymore... and at least WHO realizes it.

[TZ]

4. hmm yeah, I didn't think of it that way...

You are probably right. I should have known when he went into that spiel about just eating right will cure everyone's sickness...Ugh.

[kimmerspixelated]

5. Well, since psychotropics are dangerous, maybe that's a good thing!

[TZ]

6. do you even know what a psychotropic is?

Or an SSRI or dopamine or seratonin for that matter? I think you should keep yourself to the woo forum. This is a forum for scientifically inclined.