Last updated on August 24th, 2019 at 12:17 pm
Yes, there is a group called Homeopaths without Borders. Apparently, the group that does lifesaving work across the world, Doctors without Borders, are too busy, utilizing real evidence-based medicine with real medications, risking their own lives, and doing great works, to be worried about homeopathy, a pseudoscientific concept, even if this group steals their imprimatur without shame.
Homeopaths without Borders are sending their water magicians to Haiti, a country that has had to suffer so much during the past few years. During their time their, “the team will be in Port-au-Prince to complete the final session of the Fundamentals Program—a foundational curriculum in homeopathic therapeutics incorporating theoretical and clinical training.” Clinical training on the poor residents of Haiti? Have they not suffered enough?
Let’s review the science behind homeopathy:
The first dilution is one part to 100 parts water.
- Homeopathy is based on dilution, based on the belief that diluting a substance increases it’s potency. Of course, there is no evidence for this, and it violates all the laws of quantum physics, but homeopaths believe this nonsense.
- The ridiculousness of their beliefs are based on this dilution effect. First, one part of a substance (whatever it is, it could be duck guts of that is diluted in another 100 parts water. Each dilution is called 1C, so two dilutions would be called 2C, with one part of the similar diluted in 10,000 parts water. But it doesn’t stop there. Homeopathy uses >30C dilutions, which means that the dilution is simply water. At 30C, the dilution is now 1 part substance to 10^60 (or 10 followed by 60 zeroes) parts water. You would need to drink 10^34 (or 10 followed by 34 zeroes) gallons of water (which is about 10 billion times the amount of water on earth) just to get one molecule–one single molecule of the original substance. That’s just impossible.
- Homeopathy is considered quackery by the medical community.
- There is no evidence that homeopathy works in clinical trials.
- And again.
- And again.
- And again.
- And again from Cochrane.
- And again from Cochrane.
- And again from Cochrane.
- In case of overdose, consult a lifeguard.
I could go on.
Well, I guess the people of Haiti need fresh water, and at least we know that homeopathy is good at delivering fresh water. But the sad fact is that anyone in Haiti who is expecting real medical treatment from these quacks isn’t getting it and may be forsaking the great medical treatment from the outstanding physicians at Doctors without Borders. I hope the people of Haiti never confuse the two. Unless they need water. But I think the latter group has water too.
