Apparently "homeopathic medicine" has changed definition when I wasn't looking. I was thinking homeopathic meant herbal medicine in general, but given the recent ban in Australia, it seems to be a specific sort of "herbs or whatever waved over water" thing. Is there a school of treatment that uses herbal preparations that's more reputable than what's being currently presented as homeopathic?

Homeopathic means that they're using small amounts of something that mimics the symptoms of your illness in the belief that it will cure you.

I think it's a lot different than taking supplements to aid with a particular issue. Some (not all) of those have data to back them up. I'm pretty sure the alleged benefits of homeopathy have been thoroughly debunked.

I've mostly heard of homeopathic medicine as the pseudoscience wherein "Like cures like"... if you have X symptom, find a plant that causes that symptom, make some kind of concoction with the plant then add water to reduce the concentration of plant bits until you might as well have waved the leaves over the water without them actually touching anything, and that water will cure you - really expensive placebos. Herbal folk medicine, on the other hand has not been fully scientifically tested - some herbs have been shown to have some effect, some have been shown to have no effect, and some have not been studied enough for a verdict to be rendered. And many herbal supplements are not reliable for their strengths of the active phytochemicals which might do some good. So herbal medicine has some problems to it, but is not utter hogwash. We use it when we do things like drink ginger ale or peppermint tea for tummy trouble.

I think that that sometimes "Homeopathic" has been used as an umbrella term for both homeopathy and for herbal medicines. I suspect that much of that confusion stems from whatever studies a Doctor of Homeopathic Medicine undergoes also educates such a person on herbal remedies, and they may use both.

"Like to cure like" is literally medieval. I was getting confused because the vast majority of drugs are based on the processes developed from herbal remedies. I'm pretty sure some of these homeopathic things are recipes I've found in actual books of magic. Unfortunately, my stepdaughter follows a bunch of this stuff, and I'm reluctant to make much of a fuss over this on Facebook, where she's one of my friends. Fortunately I have Buffistas!

make some kind of concoction with the plant then add water to reduce the concentration of plant bits until you might as well have waved the leaves over the water without them actually touching anything

It's this part that makes it BS.

It's this part that makes it BS.

Yeah. Take a tisane or tea, make it useless.

I figure by drinking tap water, I'm drinking the homeopathic remedy for everything.

Huh. I've generally thought homeopathic just meant "anything not western medicine" which is a pretty broad spectrum.

Oh, and meara, there is a "turn off notifications" you can select on any given post's drop down. I use it a lot for condolence posts and birthdays and stuff. I just wanted to say my thing, I don't need to see everyone else's thing.

Jesse! Though I am sad that I can't go to NO with you all, I think I will use the Southwest information to see if I can get a good deal to go down to LA for the Bora Bora trip.