Homeopathy - don't get mad at me just read

Sir N.O. I know all about Hallowe'en (and any other times) and have always been super careful, but the fact is that all my cats (quite a few going back 50 yrs have always been indoor+ ones - they've all gotten to go out (from very young ages), but only ever on a lead with a 4-pt harness (goes under tummies as well as necks), I get my exercise (every day except in winter when no one wants out) and they get to know the neighbourhood just in case. Neighbours have given me odd looks at times , but who cares?

Occasionally we'll hear of some horrific stuff like you've said, but I think not quite as bad (we tend to be less horrific up here for some reason . The trouble with declawing apart from the trauma (and it is traumatic for them) is that when they do get out they're at the mercy of other animals and can't climb trees when they need to...

The fact is that one time Ecco got out (saw a cat on my lawn through the crack and just took off doing 60... I went thru the whole calling, driving, shaking the dry food box stuff (nighttime... blk cat, lots of woody places, some traffic, etc) but in the end he came home 2 hrs later wondering what all the fuss was about. Whew!!

I've never lost a cat to the great 'out there' tho' odds say I probably should have, so have been lucky there too.

What we need to do is figure out how to round up the sickos and put them in crates with crappy food!

Thanks for the tip though - hopefully others will see it.

Julie wrote:Strictly FYI (not in response to anything else) Cuba supposedly has a pretty good health care system...

The healthcare system is well regarded in many ways, but has a reputation for quackery. In particular, they're known for selling "unproven" treatments to foreigners for big bucks. I suspect Fidel is willing to take the capitalist pig dog's hard currency and sell them unproven medical treatments that they are asking for anyway.

Apparently, for their own citizens, the overall healthcare system works pretty well. Apparently, they put the resources where they are needed for the public good in the healthcare system. Sometimes socialist medicine works. It seems that after the fall of the Soviet Union, they are suffering somewhat from the loss of subsidies and imports.

49er wrote:

Little or no science mentioned in the article. "The Cuban Ministry of Health" as a scientific source? Give me a break. "Hey, Fidel, we don't have money for real medicine, but we can give them this cheap magic water."

What if they were quoted as stating the vaccines work? Would you still blow them off because of who they were? By the way, please don't misunderstand as I am not claiming that homepathy works but my point is the evidence should be evaluated on the science and not based on who is making the claims.

Well, the reputation of a source does matter. I freely admit that I don't have a lot of faith in the Cuban Ministry of Health as a source of a scientific article, especially about an article on medical quackery.

My perceived biases of a source matter, too. If MegParmCo has a study showing their new XPC drug is better than the previous drug it replaces, I take it with a grain of salt. If they have a study listing significant side effects of XPC, I tend to believe that those side effects are real.

archangle wrote:

Julie wrote:Strictly FYI (not in response to anything else) Cuba supposedly has a pretty good health care system...

The healthcare system is well regarded in many ways, but has a reputation for quackery. In particular, they're known for selling "unproven" treatments to foreigners for big bucks. I suspect Fidel is willing to take the capitalist pig dog's hard currency and sell them unproven medical treatments that they are asking for anyway.

Apparently, for their own citizens, the overall healthcare system works pretty well. Apparently, they put the resources where they are needed for the public good in the healthcare system. Sometimes socialist medicine works. It seems that after the fall of the Soviet Union, they are suffering somewhat from the loss of subsidies and imports.

49er wrote:

Little or no science mentioned in the article. "The Cuban Ministry of Health" as a scientific source? Give me a break. "Hey, Fidel, we don't have money for real medicine, but we can give them this cheap magic water."

What if they were quoted as stating the vaccines work? Would you still blow them off because of who they were? By the way, please don't misunderstand as I am not claiming that homepathy works but my point is the evidence should be evaluated on the science and not based on who is making the claims.

Well, the reputation of a source does matter. I freely admit that I don't have a lot of faith in the Cuban Ministry of Health as a source of a scientific article, especially about an article on medical quackery.

My perceived biases of a source matter, too. If MegParmCo has a study showing their new XPC drug is better than the previous drug it replaces, I take it with a grain of salt. If they have a study listing significant side effects of XPC, I tend to believe that those side effects are real.

Again, fair points Archangle. Unfortunately, you have hit the crux of the issue as I feel it is impossible to find good studies that truly evaluate the effectiveness of something whether it is a non med or med remedy. Not to bash drug companies but can anyone truly think of a time where they were honest about significant side effects of their med unless they were coerced?

49er

49er wrote:

archangle wrote:

Julie wrote:Strictly FYI (not in response to anything else) Cuba supposedly has a pretty good health care system...

The healthcare system is well regarded in many ways, but has a reputation for quackery. In particular, they're known for selling "unproven" treatments to foreigners for big bucks. I suspect Fidel is willing to take the capitalist pig dog's hard currency and sell them unproven medical treatments that they are asking for anyway.

Apparently, for their own citizens, the overall healthcare system works pretty well. Apparently, they put the resources where they are needed for the public good in the healthcare system. Sometimes socialist medicine works. It seems that after the fall of the Soviet Union, they are suffering somewhat from the loss of subsidies and imports.

49er wrote:

Little or no science mentioned in the article. "The Cuban Ministry of Health" as a scientific source? Give me a break. "Hey, Fidel, we don't have money for real medicine, but we can give them this cheap magic water."

What if they were quoted as stating the vaccines work? Would you still blow them off because of who they were? By the way, please don't misunderstand as I am not claiming that homepathy works but my point is the evidence should be evaluated on the science and not based on who is making the claims.

Well, the reputation of a source does matter. I freely admit that I don't have a lot of faith in the Cuban Ministry of Health as a source of a scientific article, especially about an article on medical quackery.

My perceived biases of a source matter, too. If MegParmCo has a study showing their new XPC drug is better than the previous drug it replaces, I take it with a grain of salt. If they have a study listing significant side effects of XPC, I tend to believe that those side effects are real.

Again, fair points Archangle. Unfortunately, you have hit the crux of the issue as I feel it is impossible to find good studies that truly evaluate the effectiveness of something whether it is a non med or med remedy. Not to bash drug companies but can anyone truly think of a time where they were honest about significant side effects of their med unless they were coerced?

49er

Just because there are problems with big pharma and the medical mafia, that doesn't make the quackery any better.

If you find out there is still some small amount of germs or chemicals in your tap water, it doesn't mean you should go start drinking the water from the pond down the street.