“energy” healing
Many consumers hold a positive or neutral view of homeopathy. This is primarily because they don’t fully understand what it is, how absurd its assumptions really are, and how dangerous the homeopathic approach to healthcare truly is. A very common misconception, for instance, is that homeopathy is a natural and/or herbal treatment. However, both assumptions are mistaken. Homeopathic remedies are often not derived from natural or herbal substances (see below), and most are so highly diluted they contain no active substance at all. For those who value rational thought, this characteristic alone renders homeopathy utterly absurd.
The “absurdity” of homeopathy stems from several aspects:
- Claims that defy basic scientific principles: Proponents often assert a belief in “water memory” as the mechanism for remedies diluted beyond Avogadro’s number, meaning not a single original molecule remains. This operates outside the realm of scientific reality.
- Attributing any positive outcome to homeopathy: Homeopathy is often credited with curing serious conditions, despite lacking a plausible mechanism. This ignores natural recovery, the placebo effect, or concurrent conventional treatments.
- Dismissing scientific criticism as “Big Pharma conspiracy”: Some proponents frequently use this trope to invalidate negative scientific findings rather than engaging with evidence.
- Making outlandish claims about what homeopathy can cure: Some proponents claim efficacy for virtually everything, including severe infectious diseases, cancer, or even as a substitute for vaccinations. This is widely considered irresponsible and dangerous.
- Using pseudoscientific jargon: Terms like “energetic vibrations,” “quantum fields,” or “miasms” are often employed without clear, testable scientific definitions.
While it’s difficult and perhaps even unfair to name prominent exponents of these absurdities, certain types of proponents and their arguments are easily identified:
- Those who reject conventional medicine entirely for homeopathy: These individuals promote a “gentle” and “holistic” approach, often viewing conventional medicine as harsh and reductionist. This stance can tragically lead patients to forgo evidence-based treatments for serious illnesses (e.g., cancer, severe infections, diabetes) in favor of homeopathy, which has no proven specific effect. The belief that homeopathy alone suffices for all ailments, regardless of severity, is dangerously unscientific.
- Proponents of “new” or “extreme” provings and remedies: These homeopaths expand the materia medica to include unusual substances. Some conduct “provings” (testing remedies on healthy individuals) with incredibly abstract or implausible “substances” like emotions, dreams, vacuum, X-rays, cosmic energies, or even highly diluted Coca-Cola or parts of the Berlin Wall. The idea that these could be potentized into remedies with specific effects moves into the realm of fantasy rather than scientific inquiry.
- Those making grand claims about “water memory” or “quantum healing”: These individuals attempt to provide a theoretical basis for homeopathy that goes beyond the known laws of physics and chemistry. Their explanations often involve misinterpretations or misapplications of complex scientific concepts (like quantum mechanics or the structure of water) to justify a mechanism for which there is no evidence. They frequently speak of “information transfer” or “energetic imprints” without any empirical way to measure or verify these phenomena. The scientific consensus is that such claims are pseudoscientific.
- Promoters of homeopathic “vaccinations” or alternatives to proven public health measures: Offering what they claim are “natural” and “safer” alternatives to conventional vaccines is perhaps one of the most dangerous forms of advocacy. Promoting “homeopathic nosodes” (highly diluted disease products) as equivalents to vaccines is scientifically unfounded and can put individuals and communities at risk by fostering vaccine hesitancy and reducing herd immunity. Public health bodies universally condemn such practices.
Many homeopaths are, in my experience, entirely sincere in their beliefs and genuinely hope to help people (they will even feel ‘hard done by’ when reading this post). However, it’s crucial to remember, I think, that sincerity does not make a charlatan less, but more, dangerous. I have long felt that, if consumers truly understood what homeopathy is all about, their attitude towards it would dramatically change.
Dengue is the most common arthropod-borne viral disease. It can cause various symptoms like fever, muscle pain, joint pain, but often it is asymptomatic. In addition, it may cause potentially fatal sickness and danger signs with severe abdominal pain, vomiting, bleeding from gums and nose, hematuria and hematochezia. Homeopathy is often recommended.
The present observational study was conducted to determine the clinical sign and symptoms of dengue fever and to observe the patient’s condition after taking homeopathy medicine. It was conducted in Outpatients’ Department (OPD) of Govt. Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Mirpur, Dhaka between the periods of August-October’2023.
A total of 99 patients with dengue fever were included. Data were collected by face-to-face interview with the patients and follow-up was done on 3rd, 6th and 9th day with appropriate investigations required for the follow-up. All patients were treated with homeopathic medicine.
Mean±SD of age of the patients was 27.7±9.4 and range was from 11-60 years. Among the patients 73.74% were male and 26.36% were female. All patients presented with fever. Other presenting symptoms ‘headache’ ‘myalgia’, ‘joint pain’, ‘abdominal pain’, vomiting and pain in the retro-orbital region’ were, 91.92%, 87.88%, 84.85%, 73.74%, 17% and 85.86% respectively. About 46.46% of patients experienced diarrhea, and 21.21% presented with bleeding from different sites. Mean±SD of platelet was 148333.3±29642.31, 137888.9±118516.2 and 177111.1±49194.5, respectively on 3rd, 6th, and 9th day of fever. In this study mean±SD of HCT was 40.67±4.67, 41.62±5.59 and 41.23±3.83, respectively on 3rd, 6th and 9th day of fever. Among the dengue patients, 3.03% were diagnosed with dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). Hemoglobin was 13.63±1.49 gm/dl, 13.6±1.72 gm/dl, and 13.98±1.57 gm/dl on the 3rd, 6th and 9th day, respectively. None of the patients faced shock syndrome of dengue fever.
The authors concluded that conventional medicine currently does not offer a specific treatment or vaccine for dengue, focusing primarily on vector control and supportive measures such as antipyretics and fluid management. Homeopathy may provide additional options through individualized remedies, with medicines like Arsenicum album, Bryonia alba, and Rhus toxicodendron being used based on symptom profiles. Further research is recommended to explore and evaluate the potential role of these approaches.
WHAT?
If ever there was a rubbish paper, it would be this one! We learn virtually nothing about the perceived outcomes of the treatment. Yet the authors boldly entitled their article “OUTCOME OF DENGUE FEVER TREATED WITH HOMEOPATHY MEDICINE: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY”!
Why the authors feel entitled to conclude that “homeopathy may provide additional options through individualized remedies” remains a complete mystery. As the study does not yield any evidence to support the notion, it can only be based on their prior belief.
In essence, therefore, the paper confirms what we have often noted: homeopathy is not medicine, it is a belief-system and a religion, and its proponents worship in the
Holy Church of Hahnemann.
It has been reported that homeopaths in Maharashtra, India, will soon be able to prescribe modern medicines after completing a six months course in pharmacology. The scope of what kinds of medicines and diseases this may include is still undecided.
A notification to this effect was recently issued by the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), allowing homeopathic practitioners who completed the Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) to register with the council. The MMC has been operating without an elected body of doctors since 2022. “We received directions from the government and a clearance from the law and judiciary department regarding the case pending before the court. We will begin registering them starting July 15. Till then, we will be studying what kinds of medicines they will be allowed to prescribe,” said MMC administrator Dr Vinky Rughwani. The controversial decision had its seed sown in 2014, when the state government amended the Maharashtra Homoeopathic Practitioners Act and the Maharashtra Medical Council Act of 1965, allowing homeopaths to prescribe modern medicines under certain conditions.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) challenged the amendments, and the Bombay High Court issued a stay. Since late last year, there were efforts to bypass this stay. In Dec 2024, the Indian Food and Drug Administration (FDA) directed chemists and wholesalers to “sell allopathic medicines to homeopathic registered doctors who completed the CCMP course”.
Dr Santosh Kadam, president, IMA Maharashtra, said, “FDA is a drug regulator but it does not have the authority to recognise who can practice medicine.” That authority lies only with the MMC. The MMC’s circular, Kadam said, gives legal weight to what was until now a toothless directive. In Feb, there was a meeting between medical education minister Hasan Mushrif, BJP MLA Randhir Sawarkar, and representatives from the MMC and homeopathic associations. It was here that MMC was directed to implement the 2014 amendment. “Both FDA and MMC were pressured to pass such order. Many homeopathic colleges are either owned by or indirectly affiliated with politicians in the state,” said Dr Kadam.
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To practice homeopathy in India, one must register with the Central Council of Homoeopathy (CCH) and obtain a license. This requires completing a recognized BHMS program and passing a licensing examination. Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) is a 5.5-year program that includes both classroom instruction and clinical training.
Of course, we shall have to wait and see how this pans out. As it stands, it seems that this is a shrewd move of an Indian province to be at the forefront of quackery worldwide – perhaps only beaten by the relentless quackery that Robert F Kennedy Jr. is producing in the USA. The common motto seems to be:
WHO CARES ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH, AS LONG AS THE LOBBYISTS ARE HAPPY!
Informed consent in healthcare, including homeopathy, requires clear communication of specific topics to ensure patients understand the treatment and can make autonomous decisions. Based on ethical standards and guidelines, the following topics must be included:
- Nature of the Treatment: A clear explanation of what homeopathy entails, including its principles (e.g., “like cures like,” use of remedies bar of active molecules) and mode of action as well as how it differs from conventional medicine.
- Proposed Benefits: Any potential benefits of the treatment, including the acknowledgment that homeopathy’s efficacy is not supported by robust scientific evidence beyond placebo effects.
- Risks and Side Effects: Any known or potential risks, including the possibility that homeopathy may delay or replace more effective treatments for serious conditions.
- Alternatives: Information about other treatment options, including conventional medical approaches, their benefits, and risks, to allow comparison.
- Expected Outcomes: A realistic discussion of what the patient can expect, including the likelihood of success based on available evidence or lack thereof.
- Voluntary Participation: Assurance that the patient’s decision to proceed is voluntary, with the right to refuse or withdraw from treatment at any time without consequences.
- Confidentiality: Explanation of how the patient’s personal and health information will be handled, including any limits to confidentiality.
- Costs and Duration: Details about the cost of treatment, session frequency, and expected duration of care.
- Practitioner Qualifications: Information about the homeopath’s training, certification, or regulatory status to establish trust and transparency.
- Questions and Clarifications: An opportunity for the patient to ask questions and receive clear, understandable answers.
It seems clear to me that lay homeopaths are unable to provide this information in full. For instance, they are not trained or educated to offer the information about other treatment options, including conventional medical approaches, their benefits, and risks, to allow comparison.
But what about doctor homeopaths? They have studied medicine and should know all these things! I am nevertheless certain that they cannot provide all of the above. Can they, for instance, explain what the mode of action of homeopathy is?
No, they can’t!
Why?
Because nobody knows!
Yes, there are theories, I know of 4 of them:
- Vital force: Hahnemann postulated that his remedies work via stimulating a ‘vital force’. Since then, we have long abandoned the nonsense of ‘vitalism’.
- Water memory: This theory suggested that water can retain a “memory” of substances it has come into contact with, even after they’re no longer present. However, this idea is not supported by physics or chemistry.
- Nanoparticles: Some researchers propose that nanoparticles of the original substance might remain in the remedy, even after extreme dilution. However, this theory is entirely speculative.
- Biofield therapy: Some proponents suggest that homeopathy interacts with a biofield or energy field surrounding living organisms. This concept is even more speculative.
Whichever we turn and twist this story, the result is hard to deny:
homeopaths cannot possibly obtain informed consent from their patients.
And guess what – without informed consent,
homeopathy is unethical!
I am always on the lookout for forms of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) with which I am unfamiliar. Today, I found one!
The SINGING BOWL is a bowl-shaped instrument originating in China and Tibet that can be made of various metals, including copper, tin, zinc, iron, silver, gold, and nickel. It is played by hitting or rubbing its edges with wooden or leather mallets. Different frequencies of sound can be produced by hitting singing bowls with different materials and sizes. It was initially utilized by Tibetan
Buddhist monks to conduct religious rites and for healing.
In the 1970s, a Dutch psychotherapist named Hans De Back, who was suffering severe pain due to ankylosing spondylitis, discovered that this instrument helped his condition. He transformed this discovery into a therapeutic modality according to the Tibetan health and rehabilitation theory.
As a type of vibroacoustic therapy, the singing bowl therapy generates vibration on the body surface and emits sounds of varying frequencies depending on the material and size of bowls. It provides a combination of vibration, music listening combined providing a therapeutic interaction. The use of singing bowls can be regarded as a SCAM that combines medicine, psychology and musicology.
But is it effective?
This systematic review aimed to analyze all available clinical evidence, and determine any beneficial or adverse effects of singing bowl in any population.
Databases searched included PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, PsyINFO, CINAHL, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, Sinomed from database inception to July 2024. Clinical studies of singing bowl therapy, regardless of research type, population, and intervention were included. The risk of bias of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was assessed using the Cochrane tool. Data from randomized trials were analyzed and presented as the mean difference with 95% confidence intervals, And the results from two or more separate trials with same study type that evaluated similar populations, interventions, comparisons and outcomes were statistical pooled using meta-analysis.by Stata.16 software.
Nineteen clinical studies originated from eight countries and published between 2008 and July 2024 were identified. Half were RCTs (9), the remainder included case series studies (7), randomized crossover studies (2) and non-RCT (1).
The evidence showed that singing bowl has been applied to a wide range of conditions, including the elderly, surgery, Parkinson’s disease, pain, cancer, neurological function, sleep disorder, depression, anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, as well as physiological and psychological function,and it has mainly focused on outcomes related to mental health.
The authors concluded that singing bowls may have potential to alleviate anxiety, depression, improve quality of sleep and cognitive function in various patient groups, and change autistic behavior. It also shows potential benefits in physiological improvements like electroencephalography.
The authors forgot to mention in their abstract that non-RCTs are nearly worthless for evaluation therapeutic effectiveness and that all RCTs were of poor quality and thus equally worthless. Why then do they bend over backwards to draw a positive conclusion. The answer might lie in their affiliations:
a Centre for Evidence-Based Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
b NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
c Beijing Jingmei Group General Hospital, Beijing, China
d Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
e Monitoring and Statistical Research Center, National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
f Institute of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, London, United Kingdom
What is perhaps even more impressive: the senior author of the review, Nicola Robinson, is a member of our ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE HALL OF FAME!
SAY NO MORE!
Donald Trump has recently made a range of nominations/appointments in the US health sector. They will influence conventional and so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) in the US and beyond. It therefore seems worth to look at the backgrounds and qualifications of these men and women and critically evaluate their suitability for these leadership roles.
In part 1 of this series, I discussed Robert F Kennedy Jr. and Dave Weldon. In part 2 we evaluated Janette Nesheiwat and Casey Means. Today, I will look at Marty Makary and Mehmet Oz.
Marty Makary – Commissioner of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Marty Makary is a surgical oncologist at the Johns Hopkins University, member of the National Academy of Medicine, and author of two bestsellers. He also has published over 250 scientific papers and led World Health Organization patient safety initiatives. In addition, he has expertise in researching medical errors and healthcare transparency. Since his FDA role would involve regulating food safety, drugs, and vaccines, such experience can be relevant.
Yet, there are concerns: Makary opposed both COVID-19 vaccine mandates and child masking. He wrongly predicted herd immunity by April 2021. In an interview with CBS News, he said that the FDA was looking at updated coronavirus vaccines and there was “a bit of a public trust problem.” He has no experience running a large regulatory agency like the FDA.
In summary, Makary is among the more qualified of Trump’s nominees. However, his lack of regulatory experience and controversial views on aspects of the COVID-pandemic are reasons for concern.
Mehmet Oz – Administrator of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Mehmet Oz has already featured several times on my blog, e.g.:
- Donald Trump nominated SCAM promoter, Mehmet Oz, to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Columbia University cut ties with Dr. Mehmet Oz … or did they?
- Quackery promoter, Dr. Mehmet Oz, is running for the U.S. Senate
By training, Oz is a cardiothoracic surgeon and might thus be seem by some to be solidly grounded in evidence based medicine. However, as a talk show host and media personality, he promoted (for good money) every form of medical quackery under the sun. His wife is a Reiki healer, and it can be assumed that she influenced his descent into overt charlatanism. Rational thinkers view Oz as one of America’s foremost purveyor of medical nonsense.
Furthermore, Oz has no experience in managing large government agencies such as Medicare and Medicaid which, after all, serve over 100 million Americans. He therefore is a significant liability for the CMS, which administers a substantial portion of the federal budget.
In summary, Oz’s clinical expertise is dated and overshadowed by his lack of administrative experience as well as his long history of promoting (and profitting from) dangerous quackery. His appointment is likely to be a disaster and not in the interest of the US public.
Donald Trump has recently made a range of appointments in the health sector of the US. They will strongly influence conventional and so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) in the US as well as worldwide. It therefore seems worth to look at the backgrounds and qualifications of these men and women and critically evaluate their fit for leadership roles in healthcare. In part 1 of this series, we looked at Robert F.Kennedy Jr. and David Weldon. Now I will focus on Trumps nominations for Surgeon General
Janette Nesheiwat – Surgeon General
We featured Janette once before. She trained as a family and emergency medicine physician, became the medical director at CityMD and also a Fox News contributor. She has no significant public health leadership experience. As the Surgeon General, she would require shaping national health policy and communicating science to the public, areas where she has no training or experience. She also lacks expertise in public health and epidemiology. Her Fox News role and online vitamin sales raise doubts about her prioritization of evidence-based public health over media-driven health promotion. The Surgeon General is the nation’s leading spokesperson on public health, overseeing the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and issuing science-based health advisories. Nesheiwat would be a disaster for such a position.
Nesheiwat’s nomination was eventually withdrawn by Trump. This suggests internal concerns about her fitness for the job.
Casey Means – Surgeon General
RFK Jr wrote on X: “The Surgeon General is a symbol of moral authority who stands against the financial and institutional gravities that tend to corporatize medicine. Casey Means was born to hold this job. She will provide our country with ethical guidance, wisdom, and gold-standard medical advice.” Yet her suitability for Surgeon General is a contentious issue.
Means holds a 2014 MD from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in human biology. She is an advocate for addressing chronic diseases through nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle changes. Her book “Good Energy”, co-authored with her brother Calley, argues that metabolic dysfunction is a root cause of most chronic illnesses. As a “wellness influencer”, Means has demonstrated an ability to communicate health concepts to a broad audience.
Homeopaths regularly claim that the main reason why homeopathy is not accepted in science or responsible healthcare must be that science is not sufficiently advanced to understand how it works. According to Indian researchers, this obstacle has now been removed: they claim to have found the mechanism by which homeopathy works:
The outcome of the research done during 64 years has revealed that homeopathic potencies are specifically structured water preserved by ethanol. The primary target of homeopathic potencies is structured water in the living body. A potency is capable of converting the water structure in the living body into a different form. The converted water structure interacts with proteins suspended in water in the living body. Water structures in different organs of living organisms are different from each other. Water structures in the entire body of an organisms are interconnected by hydrogen bonded network. Any change at one location due to application of homeopathic potencies brings about rearrangement of the entire hydrogen bonded network of water in the whole body. In this way the effect of a potency spreads throughout the body including the affected organ without actual movement of the molecules of the potentized drug. A well selected homeopathic potency restores health by changing the water structures favorably in the affected organ or part of the body.
The autors concluded that “the phyco-chemical basis of homeopathic potencies are activated specifically structured water. The specificity has been conferred on the potencies by the original drugs, and mechanical agitation applied during the preparation of the potencies has provided activation. Homeopathic potencies are capable of changing the water structure in the living body. Water structures in the entire body of a living organism is not uniform. Different organs / tissues have different water structures. Water structures undergo a change in living tissues during stress / disease. A well selected remedy would change water structures of different tissues in the living body briefly, but its specific action manifests itself in the diseased tissue. The right remedy targets the diseased tissue because it is selected on the basis of the symptoms of the concerned papient. A remedy dropped on the tongue / mouth of a patient would reach the target not by itself, but by changing the hydrogen bonded network of the structured water in the living body. While the primary target of homeopathic potencies is water, the secondary target is protein suspended in the water structures. A changed water structure influences the conformation and function of the protein. Homeopathic potencies act on the binding sites of a protein. Here the potencies serve as ligands. Ordinary water also serves as a ligand in a non-specific way. Homeopathic potency is structured water which is capable of binding a protein in a specific way.”
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I am so glad that, after over 200 years of uncertainty, this is all ceared up. All that is left to do now is to
- firstly show that these concepts have any bearing on reality,
- and secondly demonstrate that homeopathic remedies cause health benefit that differ from placebo.
In other words, this [and all other similarly far-fetched] speculations about the mode of action of homeopathy leave us exactly where Hahnemann left it more than 200 years ago when he proclaimed in his ‘Organon’ that homeopathy’s “actions must be called spirit-like”.
Amelia RANDALL is the owner and director of “MYSTIC PSYCHIC LIMITED“. She sells psychic readings and used to advertise on a porn site. On her website, she informs us:
My psychic abilities have grown as the years have gone by. I love my gifts as it means I can assist many people on their day to day lives. I have been a part of an international psychic line for years, but it is now time that I focus on my own psychic and spiritual business. I do psychic readings with and without tarot cards and Angel Harmony readings. I also do numerology forecasts and am learning astrology. Candle Magic is also something I like to do. Every Christmas I do a spell of hope at an alter that I make, for anyone who needs a moments inspiration. I have had a life of many revelations and I am sure there are more to come, but if I can offer some assurance to my children, it will be; there are many people out there willing to give you the chance to shine if you want it enough.
Amelia Randall is also the Interim Branch Chairman of the right-wing ‘Reform Party’ UK in Herne Bay and Sandwich. In her role as a politician, she states:
When it comes to local politics, Reform UK do not have us under a whip. This means that we can do what is right for our own constituency. I know that I will never be able to please everybody all of the time, but I promise that I will always listen to both sides of an opinion, be open minded and where possible attempt to even find a mutual middle ground that could benefit as many people as possible. There are definitely a few things that I am passionate about on a local level and will strive to get on top of: Affordable Housing – I know what it is like to not be able to afford a decent home and to worry about homelessness. Saving our agricultural land – It is basic common sense that we need farmland as much as we need houses. There is no point in building more and more houses and then not being able to feed the population, because we have built on our agricultural land. Support Networks – I have spoken to residents who would like more support within the community and especially if there was some new form of pandemic. Sewage In Our Seas – We cannot say we are proud of our beaches while there is sewage being pumped into the seas. As a coastal town, our beaches attract tourism so we rely on them and what they have to offer. There are many more issues that we need to look into including potholes, rubbish, job opportunities, safety on our streets and of course our event venues. Having lived in Thanet since I was 13 years old and bringing my boys up here, I have seen first-hand how much things have changed. Leaving school at a young age myself, I have had many jobs locally in restaurants and cafes, insurance, office management and I currently work from home.
Being quite a spiritual person, I am very open minded, non-judgemental and I love motivating people with quotes or creativity.
Ms Randall recently posted a memory on Facebook of her campaigning in London for Reform UK during the 2024 London elections, with the added caption: “A year ago! My first street stall canvassing experience. I think my 4yr plan should be to move nearer to London, find work in greater London and then stand in the London Assembly Elections. I just have to prove to my boys that Hertfordshire is a great place with more opportunities and better than Kent!” Whereupon Labour’s County Council candidate for Birchington, Laurie Hudson, commented: “Ignoring his voters in Clacton while pursuing political stardom elsewhere might work for her boss Nigel Farage, but it beggars belief that Reform UK’s council candidate in Birchington has admitted she wants to dump Thanet for a political career in London at the earliest opportunity. Voters in Thanet need to know that those they elect on 1 May will not just serve for the full term but will stand up for the action that is needed to revitalise our high streets, tackle crime and antisocial behaviour, and fix our pothole-riddled roads. Given Amelia Randall’s open admission that has she has no intention of sticking around for the next four years, it’s clear that only a vote for Labour in the May local elections can deliver the fresh start Thanet desperately needs.”
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I have to admit that I am confused.
As Amelia Randall is such a gifted psychic – a person who is able to know what will happen in the future – she surely already knows:
- where she will be in 4 years;
- that the Reform Party is not going anywhere;
- that her ability as a politician is embarrassingly limited.
But perhaps I am wrong!
Perhaps she is a fraud as a psychic???
PS
In any case, it does not need a psychic to predict that I will never vote for any party led by or associated with Nigel Farage.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is coming out with so much stupidity, ignorance and quackery that it is getting difficult to keep up. A recent article reported that he touted two particular medications that have not been shown to work as first-line treatments for measles:
- the steroid budesonide,
- the antibiotic clarithromycin.
Kennedy claimed on X that the medications had been instrumental in treating around 300 children in Texas, and told Fox News that doctors prescribing them had seen “very, very good results.”
Consequently, families in Texas have turned to questionable remedies — in some cases, also prompted by the recommendation of two Texas doctors, Dr. Ben Edwards and Dr. Richard Bartlett. Kennedy called Edwards and Bartlett “extraordinary healers” who have “treated and healed” hundreds of children with budesonide and clarithromycin, sharing a photo of himself and the doctors with three Mennonite families whose children had become ill. Two of the families had each recently lost a daughter to measles: 6-year-old Kayley Fehr died in February and 8-year-old Daisy Hildebrand died last week. Neither child was vaccinated.
Edwards, a conventionally trained doctor who has shifted to promoting natural remedies and prayer, has been operating a makeshift clinic in Seminole, offering children these unproven treatments — including, according to a video posted by an anti-vaccine group, while he said he was sick with measles. Edwards has allied himself with the anti-vaccine movement in recent months, hosting influencers and activists on his podcast, including Andrew Wakefield.
“There is no evidence to support the use of either aerosolized budesonide or clarithromycin for treatment of children with measles,” said Dr. Adam Ratner, a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Prescribing treatments that have not been vetted in clinical trials amounts to experimenting on patients, added Dr. Susan McLellan, a professor in the infectious diseases division at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
During the measles outbreak, both Edwards and Bartlett have each warned of risks associated with the MMR vaccine: Edwards claimed, falsely, that it causes “potentially” hundreds of deaths a year and Bartlett has said that the complications caused by measles, including brain swelling and pneumonia, can also be caused by the vaccine. In reality, the MMR vaccine, which is only given to children with healthy immune systems, has been overwhelmingly safe since its approval more than five decades ago, and has saved an estimated 94 million lives worldwide.
Public health experts said touting these medications as first-line treatments sends the wrong message. “By mentioning such treatments without that context, RFK Jr. continues to distract away from the prevention measure that incontrovertibly works — the vaccine,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
A national public health organization is calling for RFK Jr. to resign citing “implicit and explicit bias and complete disregard for science.” Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said in a statement that concerns raised during Kennedy’s confirmation hearing last month have been realized, followed by massive reductions in staff at key health agencies.
What’s next? I aslk myself.
Perhaps homeopathy as a savior of the US healthcare system?
Watch this space.
