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Homeopathy Antipathy

Homeopathy rests on the premise of treating sick persons with extremely diluted agents that - in undiluted doses - are deemed to produce similar symptoms in a healthy individual. Its adherents and practitioners assert that the therapeutic potency of a remedy can be increased by serial dilution of the drug, combined with succussion or vigorous shaking. In common with conventional medicine, homeopathy regards diseases as morbid derangements of the organism. However, homeopathy states that instances of disease in different people differ fundamentally. Homeopathy views a sick person as having a dynamic disturbance in a hypothetical "vital force," and so rejects the standard medical diagnoses of named diseases.

I regard homeopathy as generally little better than witchcraft or voodoo.

It's not that I don't think some homeopathic remedies are not effective, but I think that they are effective for reasons different from those given by practicioners of homeopathy. The principles of homeopathy are bunk.

Well, my dad is sleeping again and my mom remarked, "He isn't snoring!"

I said, "He hasn't been snoring for most of the time he's been asleep."

But he does have a snoring problem. He's overweight and I mentioned the alcohol. I'm not a doctor, but guessing at sleep apnea doesn't take a huge flight of fancy. He should lose weight and refrain from drinking before sleep and ESPECIALLY WHEN HE'S SICK WITH THE FLU!

But my mom was struck by his lack of snoring for a little bit there. She told me that he's been using a product called "Snorestop Extinguisher."

This product is billed as

Our original formula is now available in a convenient oral spray for fast-acting relief. The SnoreStop Extinguisher has a unique design and system of delivery. Shake well prior to each use. Then spray in the back of throat, which will provide a faster absorption of a potentized-solution. Moreover, SnoreStop Extinguisher may be your night-saver, quickly resolving any accidental snoring flare up!

The SnoreStop Maximum Strength formula is prepared in accordance with the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States (HPUS). The ingredients in SnoreStop Maximum Strength Formula are recognized as an official collection of accepted drug ingredients by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and are manufactured in FDA-approved laboratories. Each natural ingredient comes either from plant, mineral or protein sources and is present only in harmless microscopic amounts in each dose.

That last part is important because the website says that it works by:

SnoreStop has a dual therapeutic action. It shrinks swollen soft tissues in the throat where 90% of non-apnea snoring symptoms occur, and it dries built-up mucous in the sinus passages. SnoreStop's mode of action is decongestive, anti-inflammatory, anti-histaminic and mucolytic. Most other formulas just use various oils blended into water for a lubricating action.

The ingredients listed on the container are as follows:

Nux Vomica (4X), (6X), Belladona (6X), Ephedra Vulgaris (6X), Hydrastis Canadensis (6X), Kali Bichromicum (6X), Teucrium Marum (6X), Histaminum Hydrochloricum (12X). Inactive Ingredients: Purified Water (75%), USP Alcohol (15%), Glycerine (9.9%), Potassium Sorbate (0.1%).

I glanced at the package and saw the word "homeopathy" and I had to check the ingredients. That's when the second, third, and fourth ingredients tipped me off.

I like gardening. I wish I had learned more about horticulture.

Belladonna is poisonous. It's also known as Deadly Nightshade. You don't plant it where kids or animals might get to it because the berries taste sweet and can kill. Just like how we don't leave antifreeze next to the Kool-aid.

Ephedra was a warning to me even though the package says it doesn't contain ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, it seemed wrong. I looked it up and it turns out that it's poisonous, too.

"Canadensis" sounded familiar to me as a species, so I looked it up, too. Another poisonous one.

Oh, and the first one? Nux Vom? AKA Nux Vomica. AKA strychnine.

A few more wiki searches crossed with some googles and I found out that most of the things listed as an active ingredient is toxic.

*sigh*

I wish my parents would stop going to the hippie medicine store.

My dad is poisoning himself to stop snoring.

Lots of medicines can be poisonous in large doses but function well as treatments for illness in smaller doses. Tylenol and aspirin, both, can be poisonous. That in itself does not bother me.

What bothers me is the homeopathy prescribes medicine BECAUSE it's toxic. Homeopathy says, "Well, if this medicine causes congestion when you're well, then it must make you well when you're congested." Treat like with like. That's the foundation of homeopathy.

That's what bothers me. It's wrong from the start. How many things are made worse by this foolish approach to medicine?

Although it helps his snoring, it's certainly not helping my dad's flu.