The Evidence for Homeopathy-A Close Look

A number of defenses of homeopathy have been offered in response to AVMA Resolution 3, declaring homeopathy to be ineffective. The most comprehensive, though not at all compelling or convincing, has been a white paper offered by the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy (AVH), The Evidence for Homeopathy, in response to the CVMA white paper The Case Against Homeopathy. I have taken on the tedious, but I believe important, task of reading through this paper, and all of the references cited, to evaluate the quality of the arguments and the evidence. My response, The Evidence for Homeopathy- A Close Look, illustrates why this attempt to defend homeopathy, with the best evidence the AVH can muster, only confirms and illustrates the problems with homeopathy explicated in the CVMA white paper.

 

This entry was posted in Homeopathy. Bookmark the permalink.

9 Responses to The Evidence for Homeopathy-A Close Look

  1. Art Malernee Dvm says:

    What happened with the Avma vote? What does the AMA say about their members selling medicine with only water in the bottle?
    Art Malernee dvm
    Fla Lic 1820

  2. skeptvet says:

    Rather than vote directly on the resolution, the House of Delegates turfed the topic to the veterinary services committee, which is cheduled to review the overall policy on complementary and alternative medicine later in the year. Death by committee seems the most likely outcome, though not everyoneis as pessimistic as I am about it.

  3. Suzanne says:

    Finally got around to reading the whole thing. Whew. Good job on your response. Having talked to many friends and clients on the subject, I really don’t think most people using these “remedies” actually even know what “homeopathic” means. They just assume it’s another legitimate type of medicine, and it’s a crime that so many practitioners treat it as such.

  4. david says:

    The gao did a study a few years ago on fda staff and found they lacked training in evaluating evidence. The fda allowed vioxx to kill 100;000 people. So much for evidence homeppathy hasnt killed 100;000 people. So called experts in medicine have sold out to pharmaceutical compsnies. Now staes have moved to restrict opioid used doctors and government are not our friends. They are friends of wealthy corporations. Where was govt or meficine when jnj put out faulty hip transplants? Doctors and govrrnment care about money not people.

  5. skeptvet says:

    Even the parts of this that are true are irrelevant. The FDA and other regulatory agencies unquestionably do an inadequate job regulating the pharmaceutical industry. But they do an even worse job regulating homeopathy, and don’t supervise other alternative therapies at all. And pharmaceuticals, like any therapy that does anything at all, do have risks as well as benefits. Homeopathy, however, does nothing, so it has no benefits, and it has the risk that goes with choosing wishful thinking over medicine. The flaws in the regulation of conventional medicine don’t magically make homeopathy work.

  6. Pingback: Evidence Update-Chinese Studies of Acupuncture Are Always Positive: Perfect Medicine or Hidden Bias? | The SkeptVet Blog

  7. Nick says:

    You should export the .docx file to a PDF, much easier to read.

  8. skeptvet says:

    I have it as a .pdf, but the file is too large to upload.

  9. Pingback: Does Chiropractic Treatment Prevent Spondylosis Deformans in Dogs? |

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *