by Charlie Albuery
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| image source: subwayblogger.com |
I am (well, was) one of the worst hay-fever sufferers I have ever known. Then, one day, my mother booked me in to see a homoeopathist.
For those of you who don’t know, homeopathy is a branch of alternative medicine whereby (and this is where it gets weird) any imbalances in your body chemistry can be corrected by the consumption of a specific element. Personally, I’m a sulphur type (apparently).
Now, I know what you’re thinking --- something along the lines of ‘Pffft, alternative medicine is ridiculous. I’ll go back to popping my painkillers and using my steroid allergy relief spray' (which doesn’t work, by the way). Admittedly, that was completely my viewpoint on the subject up until a year and a half ago.
That was when I had my first appointment, I was handed some pills and told that they were sulphur and my sulphur levels were dangerously low; for two days they would aggravate my symptoms (not sounding good) and then my pain would slowly begin to fade. I took another course each three months, when the symptoms returned, and, until about a month ago, I assumed I was completely cured.
Then the sneezing returned. For those of you who’ve never heard me sneeze (i.e. have never been within a half-mile radius of me during July or August), it’s highly unpleasant and draws stares and laughter.
With my symptoms back, I visited my homoeopathist who informed me that my current meds had penetrated as deeply as they would go and I needed a higher concentration to clear the allergy’s inner core. By this point I’m feeling sceptical, to say the least, but I’m taking the new tablets and hoping for a result by the end of the week.
With my symptoms back, I visited my homoeopathist who informed me that my current meds had penetrated as deeply as they would go and I needed a higher concentration to clear the allergy’s inner core. By this point I’m feeling sceptical, to say the least, but I’m taking the new tablets and hoping for a result by the end of the week.
This is the interesting bit: most anti-unorthodox medical professionals claim homeopathy only works on the basis of a temporary placebo effect, but I think it actually worked for me --- at least for a while.
What do you think? Are you of the opinion that it all sounds like the magic jargon they use to heal the hobbits in Lord of the Rings? Or do you feel that the idea of magic disease stabilizers is a comforting and valuable one? Please comment with your opinion.
P.S. Just because I'm leaning slightly in favour of homeopathy, don’t therefore assume that I’m OK with acupuncture or any other half-baked remedy schemes
P.P.S. My Homeopathist is called Dr. Hardy. If you’re having problems that traditional medicine isn’t working for then check him out at the North Street Homeopathic Clinic (023 9247 1757)
Its highly possible that if you tried acupuncture you may discover firsthand the powerful healing effect of Qi moving. Often hayfever or other allergies occur when Qi or energy is stagnant.
ReplyDeleteMuch love,
Auntie Denise
There is a reason it only appeared to work for a while, it never work at all. Psychologically you attributed taking the pills as the cause for the alleviation in your suffering when it is far more likely to been, as you mentioned, the placebo effect, or some coincidental factor that you have not looked for. The continuation of Homeopathic practices is based to this fallacy of causality that keeps their patients returning.
ReplyDeleteSulphur, while essential in the human body because of the role it plays in the composition of the amino acid methionine, is completely, and utterly unrelated to Hay Fever. Hay Fever is an over-reaction of the immune system to the stimulus of certain particulates in the air. This causes production of Histamine, an inflammatory agent which causes the sneezing. The steroid allergy relief spray, which you so quickly disregard, have been proven (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1034/j.1398-9995.1999.00713.x/full) to reduce the symptoms of Hay Fever while not curing the inherent condition by blocking the receptor cells of Histamine.
Homeopathy is idiocy incarnate. Fools fooled by theories that were considered out-dated by the 19th century, and proved false at the same time. The definition of medicine is "The science or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease" and the methods used in "alternative" medicine are in no part scientific. There is a reason they are branded as alternative, it is because there is no factual evidence to suggest they have any effect at all. When a medicine is proved, by repeatable studies with recordable effects, to work it stops being alternative. I find it abhorrent that a mother would take her child to a brand of healing that relies upon the circumstantial and anecdotal evidence of strangers in order to prove itself.