My first experience with homopathy

We sure wouldn't want that baby to be having any dangerous
placebo effects, would we?

"Doug" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Baby was crying and acting irritable, and two of her top
teeth were just starting to come out, obviously teething.

My wife didn't know what to do, but she remembered an item
in a baby

sample

Quoted message said:

bag we got, labelled 'Teething Relief'. So she got it out
and asked me about it. Her English isn't the best (but far
better than my Japanese),

so

Quoted message said:

she always gets me to read labels and instructions for
medicines and other technical matters. I thought "This is
interesting, 'Contains No Asprin or Paracetomol', I wonder
what it's active ingredient is?"

Turning it over, in small writing on the top right hand
corner on the

back,

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in a smaller font than the rest were the words
'Homoeopathic Product'.

Now

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I understood.

I then explained to my wife what the 6C and 30C meant in
the list of ingredients. "But that means it's useless!"
she exclaimed, "Theres almost nothing in there." She was,
of course, correct.

But not quite, also in the list of ingredients included

'hydroxybenzoates',

Quoted message said:

which would simply provide a pleasant smell. The front
label said 'ALL NATURAL' (in caps), so I wonder how they
get away with using artificial 'hydroxybenzoates'. Unless
they mean that since these can occur

naturally,

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using artificial ones are OK since they are chemically
the same.

Baby got breast fed, put to bed, and is now sleeping
soundly. Teathing relief potion is in the bin.

Doug

Quoted message said:

We sure wouldn't want that baby to be having any dangerous
placebo effects, would we?

Actually, you'd want to baby to have positve effectives from
proven, active, present ingredients. Beyond that, Gymmie B,
you do overlook the dangerously serious nature of
homeopathic dosages. Suppose they used to little and the
baby OD'd?

Quoted message said:

"Doug" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Baby was crying and acting irritable, and two of her top
teeth were just starting to come out, obviously teething.

My wife didn't know what to do, but she remembered an
item in a baby

sample

Quoted message said:

bag we got, labelled 'Teething Relief'. So she got it out
and asked me about it. Her English isn't the best (but
far better than my Japanese),

so

Quoted message said:

she always gets me to read labels and instructions for
medicines and other technical matters. I thought "This is
interesting, 'Contains No Asprin or Paracetomol', I
wonder what it's active ingredient is?"

Turning it over, in small writing on the top right hand
corner on the

back,

Quoted message said:

in a smaller font than the rest were the words
'Homoeopathic Product'.

Now

Quoted message said:

I understood.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug said:

Baby was crying and acting irritable, and two of her top
teeth were just starting to come out, obviously teething.

My wife didn't know what to do, but she remembered an item
in a baby sample bag we got, labelled 'Teething Relief'. So
she got it out and asked me about it. Her English isn't the
best (but far better than my Japanese), so she always gets
me to read labels and instructions for medicines and other
technical matters. I thought "This is interesting,
'Contains No Asprin or Paracetomol', I wonder what it's
active ingredient is?"

Turning it over, in small writing on the top right hand
corner on the back, in a smaller font than the rest were
the words 'Homoeopathic Product'. Now I understood.

I then explained to my wife what the 6C and 30C meant in
the list of ingredients. "But that means it's useless!" she
exclaimed, "Theres almost nothing in there." She was, of
course, correct.

But not quite, also in the list of ingredients included
'hydroxybenzoates', which would simply provide a pleasant
smell. The front label said 'ALL NATURAL' (in caps), so I
wonder how they get away with using artificial
'hydroxybenzoates'. Unless they mean that since these can
occur naturally, using artificial ones are OK since they
are chemically the same.

Baby got breast fed, put to bed, and is now sleeping
soundly. Teething relief potion is in the bin.

Good thinking. Beyond that, "homeopathic" is one of those
terms that is so broad as to be almost meaningless
without context.

For example, somewhere I have a tube of arnica gel, which
is labeled "homeopathic." The dilution is 1X (i.e. 1-in-
10). Well, by a strict definition, that *is* diluted all
right, but it's not as though we're down to sub-molar
concentrations. I don't know if anica is toxic (and I'm
too lazy this afternoon to look it up), but if it is,
it's probably still fairly hazardous even at 1-in-10.
Now, if it were a 30C preparation, the toxicity (at least
of the arnica; who knows what's in the gel) wouldn't
worry me at all.

-- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net These are my
opinions only, but they're almost always correct. "If I
have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were
standing on my shoulders." (Hal Abelson, MIT)