Category Archives: Homeopathy

Legal threats will get you nowhere.

You may or may not have heard about this shill for Homeopathy called Dana Ullman. He happily promotes the bogus medicine of Homeopathy and has even written some books on it; handy if you happen to run out of toilet paper.

But it seems Dana doesn’t like criticism

However such legal threats will do nothing to suppress criticism. Instead it would appear that a shitstorm is now brewing on Twitter. With more and more people openly accusing @HomeopathicDana (Dana Ullman) of being a “conman”. Apparently Dana had never heard of The Streisand Effect whereby an attempt to silence a critic backfires dramatically. Was Danas tweet supposed to be a legitimate warning? I don’t know but it failed miserably and now he will face the consequences of making it.

Don’t think you can attempt to silence legitimate criticism and get away with it. This is the Internet, using threat of litigation will get you nowhere.

Japan: The Frauds come flooding in.

Japan is currently struggling to deal with a natural disaster that has left thousands of people either Dead, Injured or Missing. However no disaster is tragic enough to deter crooks from taking advantage of the suffering.

An Australian homeopathy syndicate called Homeopathy Plus! sent this newsletter to it’s members.

 

In the wake of the major earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on Friday, an explosion has just occurred at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

 

It was reported that radiation had already leaked from the plant prior to the explosion and Japanese officials now fear a meltdown with further contamination has now taken place.  

 

People are being evacuated from surrounding areas as engineers scramble to contain the damage.

 

Should the situation worsen, radioactive material carried by wind and air currents may spread contaminated material to neighbouring islands and countries.

 

For all concerned, there are protective steps that can be taken with homeopathy.

 

Key remedies that have been used either in research or historically to prevent  or treat radiation poisoning include the following:

 

1. Cadmium iodide

2. Cadmium-sulph

3. Phosphorus

4. Strontium-carbonicum

5. X-ray

 

If at risk of radiation exposure, any one of the above remedies may be taken as an emergency response, three times a day in a 30C potency. Do not exceed 6 doses without guidance from your homeopath. If radiation sickness has developed, your homeopath can also advise on treatment dosages. –Homeopathy Plus; Newsletter

 

Homeopathy Plus is actually recommending that people use Homeopathic treatments to cure them of radiation sickness. These frauds selling fake medicine are going to cost people their lives; I have already written about the tragic case of homeopath Francine Scrayen killing Penelope Dingle by selling her homeopathic remedies that do not work.

 

If the Australian government does not act to shutdown Homeopathy Plus they will only continue to defraud people not only out of money but also out of health. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has already ordered Homeopathy Plus to retract misinformation on it’s website. Unfortunately the TGA is a toothless dragon and I believe people are going to suffer as a result of the frauds who take advantage of sick and vulnerable people. We have seen it before and unfortunate we will continue to see people suffer at the hands of these con-men until the government starts taking it’s responsibility seriously.

Scammed to death: How Francine Scrayen killed Penelope Dingle.

On 25 August 2005 Penelope Dingle passed away from rectal cancer. At the time she was being treated by Homeopath Francine Scrayen. Who told her that homeopathy could cure her cancer. This tragic storey was covered last year.

Perth’s Penelope Dingle, the wife of prominent Perth environmental and nutritional toxicologist Peter Dingle, agreed to be treated with alternative therapies and refused to have surgery to remove the cancer soon after she was diagnosed in 2003.

Instead, she adhered to a strict diet and regular homeopath treatments before becoming so unwell she had to have emergency surgery to remove a bowel obstruction.

By this stage, the cancer had spread and two years later, in 2005, Dingle died from complications of the cancer. –Perth Now

But now the Coroners report has been released and the conclusion is quite damming of Francine Scrayen.

In my view the deceased’s rectal cancer was present and causing bleeding and other symptoms from at least 31 October 2001.  During the period 31 October 2001 until at least the end of November 2002, the deceased regularly described the symptoms of her rectal cancer to a homeopath, Francine Scrayen.  It was not until November 2002 that Mrs Scrayen and the deceased discussed the possibility of reporting her rectal bleeding to a medical practitioner and it was not until 5 December 2002 that she first reported those problems to a doctor.

I accept that Mrs Scrayen  believed that the deceased had suffered from haemorrhoids years earlier and the bleeding and pain was “an old symptom coming back”, but a competent health professional would have been alarmed by the developing symptoms and would have strongly advised that appropriate medical investigations be conducted without delay.

Mrs Scrayen was not a competent health professional. I accept that Mrs Scrayen had minimal understanding of relevant health issues, unfortunately that did not prevent her from treating the deceased as a patient.

This case has highlighted the importance of patients suffering from cancer making  informed, sound decisions in relation to their treatment.  In this case the deceased paid a terrible price for poor decision making.
 
Unfortunately the deceased was surrounded by misinformation and poor science.  Although her treating surgeon and mainstream general practitioner provided clear and reliable information, she received mixed messages from a number of different sources which caused her to initially delay necessary surgery and ultimately decide not to have surgery until it was too late. –Coronors Report; conclusion.

Until our authorities start taking consumer protection seriously, callous individuals like Francine Scrayen will cheat, exploit and swindle the sick and desperate in the pursuit of profit. Francine Scrayen scammed Penelope Dingle to death by selling ineffective treatments that do not work. Had Penelope Dingle made better choices about treatment she may very well have survived her cancer; unfortunatly she became the victim of a fraud who ultimately took not just her money but also her life.

Francine Scrayen who is not a medical professional killed her victim by selling bogus treatment in place of legitimate medicine. Mrs Scrayen is a fraud happily endangering lives in the pursuit of profit.

#ten23 comes to Perth

As many of you may already know Australia is taking part in the Homeopathy ten23 campaign to raise awareness about Homeopathy and the fact that there is nothing in it. Perth Skeptics will be one of seven skeptical groups in Australia taking part. http://tokenskeptic.org/ten23/

The plan is to meet in Forest Place by 12pm on Saturday the 5th of Feb. We then plan to hand out a Homeopathic solution containing arsenic to the general public along with a flyer explaining why it is ok to overdose on ANY Homeopathic substance, and why Homeopathy is ineffective and cannot work beyond the placebo effect.

We will also overdose on Homeopathic remedies ourselves to show that there is nothing in them. We did this last year however no one got sick. It’s just sugar after all.

More information on Homeopathy:
http://www.1023.org.uk/what-is-homeopathy.php
https://www.drstaceywood.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/SenseAboutHomeopathy.pdf

Join the Perth Skeptics #ten23 event here: Homeopathy ten23 Perth

James Randi on Homeopathy

 

James Randi mathematically demonstrates the implausibly of Homeopathy. This video really sums up the fallacy of Homeopathy and why anyone with even a basic grasp of science knows that it’s a scam.

With the rapid approach of TAM Australia I am planning to host a mass overdose of Homeopathic remedies in Sydney to raise public awareness. The overdose in Sydney is a rare opportunity in Australia because it’s the first time that so many Skeptics have gathered in one city. So this is your chance to join in and help raise public awareness of Homeopathy.

Click here for the #TAMoz mass overdose; I offer 100% safety guarantee. My knowledge of Homeopathy conforms with the laws of Chemistry and Physics I can assure everyone that what we will be doing is perfectly safe. Just watch the video or email me: Dan@danscomp.net if you have doubts.

Theres a point to Homeopathy?

I just read a very unprofessional article titled “Pill protesters are missing the point on homeopathy” written by one Clodagh Sheehy. Of course being a news site there is little if any avenue for feedback so I will make my quick reply here.

 

Swallowing a pile of homeopathic pills to prove it does not work is a bit like standing in hot sun for two minutes and concluding it does not cause sunburn.

To start off this is an absurd analogy, overdosing on magic water is nothing like short term exposure to the sun. When you consume a substance it remains in your system for as long as it takes for the body to process; whereas short term exposure to the sun is just that (short exposure). If you absorb too much sun especially thousands of times more than normal you will be lucky if a sunburn is all you get. Not only is this a silly comparison but it is also an obvious false analogy.

 

The protesters say the remedies are just sugar pills with nothing in them — hence the overdose to prove their point. Homeopathy does not work the same way as conventional medicine and so they are not proving anything.

We know Homeopathy doesn’t have any active ingredients, and the overdose shows this. Homeopathy works as a placebo which does not work that same way as conventional medicine. Add to the fact that different medicines work differently and you can quickly see how foolish the statement “does not work the same way as conventional medicine” really is.

 

If homeopathy is a con involving sugar pills why does the Irish Medicines Board, the regulating body for all medicines in this country, recognise and regulate homeopathic medicines?

Why is homeopathy incorporated into mainstream medical systems in many countries including Britain, which has specialised homeopathic hospitals? Why do health insurers in this country like Quinn Healthcare and Aviva offer cover for their clients for homeopathic treatment?

Just because something is accepted it does not mean it is automatically true. For example the Earth was once thought to be flat without any evidence to suggest that it was. We all know the fate of that belief. My point is that acceptance does not prove that something it true. Most of the Scientific community will tell you that you cannot dilute a substance beyond avagadros number. Widespread acceptance does not constitute evidence you also need to backup your claims.

 

If they were protesting about some kind of poisonous substance or dangerous drug ruining vulnerable people’s health, their indignation would be justified, but this is not the case. If they are concerned that the public is being conned, they are insulting the intelligence of the 30 million people across Europe alone who regularly use homeopathic remedies.

Again with the bandwagon. Unfortunately those 30 million people are being conned through their own ignorance, fortunate we have skeptics to point out the fraudsters who profit by exploiting the sick.

 

The demonstrators argue that patients with a serious illness might shun doctors and rely instead on homeopathy. Are they suggesting that a sizeable group of Europeans, not to mention millions of others worldwide, are incapable of taking proper responsibility for their own health?

I wrote about this in my article titled “Whats the harm in Alternative Medicine?“. Unfortunately it happens to be true not only do unethical practitioners lighten their victims wallet but can also cause serious harm to innocent people who genuinely believe they are being helped.

People should listen to their Doctors who know infinity more than they do when it comes to health. Listening to the professionals is always the most sensible option. Don’t like your Doctors opinion, seek a second opinion from another Doctor just don’t listen to the snake oil salesman who is trying to sell unproven treatments.

 

Scientists, at one point, believed the world was flat but as their knowledge improved they realised they were wrong. It is likely that in the future, quantum physics will deliver the scientific proof for homeopathy. As a gentle system of medicine, without toxic side effects, homeo-pathy is used by thousands of Irish people for both acute and chronic conditions. No one is suggesting that it is the only system of medicine.

This is the “Ad ignorantiam” the most common Logical Fallacy used by purveyors of Woo. It basically goes “We don’t know it does not work, so it must be true” see how illogical that is?

The whole purpose of the ten23 campaign was to raise public awareness that there is Nothing in Homeopathy. We can just as easily prove this fact with Mathematics but the average layperson on the street would not understand as easily as when it is done right in front of them. The ten23 campaign was a practical demonstration that Homeopathy contains no active ingredient.

You can find out more about the ten23 event here: The 10:23 Campaign

Clodagh Sheehy also draws a poor conclusion.

Maybe instead of opening their mouths to swallow a pile of homeopathic pills, these protesters could open their minds to possibilities.

Science is open to knew ideas. Scientific knowledge is constantly advancing and moving forward with new discoveries. But all these discoveries are evidence based, you cannot just invent anything you like and expect it to be accepted. Evidence is a requirement of Science and for Homeopathy there is none.

Homeopathy needs a fanbase?

Have you ever noticed how much marketing hype exists around Homeopathy?

At first I thought is was all a joke. After all we don’t have fansites for Aspirin or Antibiotics. Homeopathy even has an Awareness Week. I have been asking the Homeopathy fans to provide some proof that Homeopathy works, however no such proof seems to exist. I once posted the following in a facebook thread “Since Homeopathy is diluted far beyond avogadro’s number non of the remedies contain any active ingredient as they are just water.” To which the response was

If you are not a believer, please move on… Let the people who believe in it practise it. -Satish Kethineni

I thought this was a fairly bizarre and non-sensical answer. All I asked for was some evidence to support the claims made by Homeopathy. Since when do you hold a belief in Medicine? However the most foolish response I have seen comes from Vikas Verma who writes.

I would suggest dear fellows not to divulge in any controversy , we don’t need to prove it , it is being practised in almost 88 countries with satisfactory results . Lets do our work with full commitment and let others waste their time in analysing our work if they wish so . Lets do the best & leave the rest . -Vikas Verma

My response if perhaps a bit brash

You don’t need to prove it because the scam is successful? Do you know how stupid that sounds. The fact remains that you con-men CANNOT prove any of your claims. Quit try to make pathetic excuses for you unethical business practices. –Dan Buzzard

To which Vikas Verma responds

U keep on analysing our success , we The homoeopaths will keep on moving forward and always thanks you for postive criticism .Your criticism helps us do even better .Thanks Buddy -Vikas Verma

The only success I acknowledged was their ability to defraud sick people. Did Vikas just acknowledge this. His English doesn’t seem too good; perhaps it’s a second language. So it’s difficult to 100% certain for what such a response might be implying. Even so such a response seems rather baffling, I expected him to at least provide some poor evidence for Homeopathy. Instead he claims skeptical scrutiny is somehow beneficial despite the fact that he is being exposed by it, this is a common response I get from people who are trapped in the corner without a rebuttal.

If homeopathy actually worked it would not need fans to defend it so rigorously. Real Medicine stands up to Scientific Scrutiny, it does not require a fanclub, it works. Homeopathy on the other hand does not stand up to scrutiny. It requires constant defending from fans and the frauds who use it. I invite everyone and anyone to email me with evidence that Homeopathy works and I will gladly retract all previous criticisms. 

 

Thanks Bronwyn; that comeback made my day.

I Overdosed on Magic water and nothing happened: Exposing the fallacy.

Well, the mass overdose went ahead as planned and nothing extraordinary happened. Over dosing on actual medicine would be dangerous so it’s a good thing Homeopathy is bull shit or those of us who survived would have almost certainly been banned from the pub. Last I checked they don’t like people holding mass suicides near their venues.

We overdosed outside the 24 hour pharmacy on Beaufort st, and apart from getting some funny looks from cars waiting at the lights nobody was bothered by the fact that a group of Skeptics was attempting suicide in broad daylight on the street corner.

I have no doubt that absurd accusations that this was all staged by a major pharmaceutical company will begin to emerge from the woo-woo crowd within the next few days. But what can we expect from people who fraudulently support remedies that we (Perth Skeptics) have demonstrated do not work. There are videos of the event which I will post when they become avalible.

Mass Overdose of homeopathic remedies.

In an effort to prove the fallacy of Homeopathic remedies Perth Skeptics are going to take an overdose of Homeopathic remedies to raise public awareness about the fact that there is nothing in them. The “overdose” will take place at The Flying Scotsman in Mount Lawley. On Saturday 30th of January 2010.

This is a part of the 10:23 campain against Homeopathy.

At 10:23am (UK Time) on January 30th, more than three hundred homeopathy sceptics nationwide will be taking part in a mass homeopathic ‘overdose’ in protest at Boots’ continued endorsement and sale of homeopathic remedies, and to raise public awareness about the fact that homeopathic remedies have nothing in them.

Skeptics and consumer rights activists will publicly swallow an entire bottle of homeopathic ‘pillules’ to demonstrate that these ‘remedies’, prepared according to a long-discredited 18th century ritual, are nothing but sugar pills.
The protest will raise public awareness about the reality of homeopathy, and put further pressure on Boots to live up to its responsibilites as the ‘scientist on the high street’ and stop selling treatments which do not work.

Since Homeopathy is a fake medicine with no active ingredients overdosing does nothing more than show Homeopathy for the pseudo-science that it is. We want pharmacies who sell Homeopathy to take notice of the fact that they are selling false medicine to the public.

Although Homeopathy contains no active ingredient it still poses a serious threat to patients suffering from serious illnesses such as cancer because it offers them a false alternative to the real treatment that could save their life. There is nothing harmless about selling fake medicine and there have even been deaths as a result of people refusing genuine treatment in favor of false alternatives.