Homeopathy

[brandelynmarie]

What does the Church teach about homeopathy? I thought I read somewhere that JPII made use of it...

[CatherineM]

We used natural treatments for millenias before the first corner pharmacy existed. Ötzi the ice man found in the Alps carried a fungus with him known to have antibacterial properties. He was also found to have used a form of acupuncture. He had tattooing over joints on his body that showed arthritis.

The problem with things called homeopathy or natural medicine or even Eastern cures, is when we expect alchemical reactions, or when we think that only "natural" medicine is valid and good and that modern pharmaceuticals are bad. There may be flaws in the modern system, but there are also flaws in how some people present natural solutions.

There is a company here in Alberta who is allowed to market a former pig vitamin as a cure for bipolar and schizophrenia. There have been many suicides and even a high profile murder case in B.C. blamed on people going off their prescribed meds to try this cure. Many experts believe that Steve Jobs might still be alive had he treated his cancer with current treatments rather than trying to cure it using alternative treatments.

It's important to remember that as much as we might hate Big Pharma, God gave man the intellect to observe, experiment and discover. Modern medicine is a fruit from this gift from God. However there are treatments or aids that aren't deemed profitable enough for mainstream marketing that still have a very valid value to us.

My husband takes several supplements to help improve his cognitive functioning which was impacted when he developed schizophrenia. The medication that has given him back his life, also has serious side effects that he takes supplements for. The sad thing is that he'd live to talk about the benefit of these supplements when we give speeches, but he can't. The reason he can't is that many schizophrenics are desperate to find a cure or an alternative treatment. He doesn't want to be responsible for someone going off their medication.

So short answer is yes, you can use homeopathy, so long as you make sure it's safe, and aren't using it for the wrong reasons.

[CatherineM]

I received this message after posting, and wanted to add it here because there are obviously many distinctions on the words we use to describe different types of alternative medicines. I made the assumption when asked about homeopathy that we were talking about those things called natural remedies. It's obvious that there are more levels to this issue than the black and white answer I gave.


Nihil Obstat said:

With regards to the homeopathy question, I would like to recommend making a distinction between naturopathic medicine, and homepathic. While naturopathic medicine is much like you described in your answer, the foundation of homeopathy involves diluting 'active ingredients' on the level of orders of magnitude, leaving the final preparation nearly mathematically certain to contain no active ingredients, i.e. only water. For that reason homeopathy is considered pseudoscience by every reputable medical professional.

[Theoketos]

Homeopathy is wack. The Church limits herself to faith and morals though. But every decent scientist and doctor will tell you what Nihil Obstat said.