My Responses To a Protracted List of Questions From a Disgruntled Homeopath.

Below is a list of questions that a homeopath left in response to a comment by myself urging constraint when advertising homeopathy and putting forth derogatory comments about western medicine.

身在United Kingdom (英國)？碩士學歷嗎？

First up, level of education has nothing to do with the debate about homeopathy. I have an MSc, and soon to get my PhD.

原来你是在大學讀自然科學、為左研究一ｄ有人講係違反科學定論的事、你一定是看到那套以機械来講解順勢療法的可笑節目、所以就寫順勢療法不可信吧～

This is a very ignorant statement, and you have lost my respect a little because of it. No, I did not just watch a few TV shows and came to the conclusion that homeopathy has no scientific basis. I did my own reading in scientific journals, pro and against homeopathy. I have read the Jacques Benveniste Nature paper, as well as the follow up, the Madeleine Ennis paper, which appears to show that water has memory. But the same experiment was not reproducible under more rigorous conditions. I have also read several papers from pro-homeopathy groups, and yes the trials were not blinded, nor were they adequately controlled. Medicine is a serious issue, and if something is not reproducible, it cannot be taken seriously. Western medicine and science are scrutinised heavily until they are accepted. There is absolutely no reason why the rules should be different for homeopathy. In a nut shell, there was no plausible mechanism to explain homeopathy, unless current thinking about pharmacology is torn up. And there is no reason why what science has discovered about pharmacology should be torn up either.

我都有看過BBC那套節目、用機械去模擬人體・・・研究西薬就得。模擬人體的微循環系統・・・・真的可以的話早就有有血有肉的智能機械人啦～你以為西醫洗腎？你知唔知洗腎的病人因為依頼機械去洗血個腎會壊死架？你認為現在科學的進歩真的可以解析這個世界上的所有？

Another interesting statement. At first, homeopaths everywhere were saying that if water memory was true, then homeopathy would also be true. I’d agree with that. It would revolutionise our thinking in chemistry, pharmacology and physiology. However, now that the experiments using flow cytometry showed no difference between control and homeopathic water, you are telling me that the use of scientific equipment is not valid? Madeleine Ennis’s experiments were also quantified using scientific equipment – but it seems to show that water has memory, should we toss that experiment out of the window too?

Furthermore, kidney dialysis has caused deaths, simply because it has helped save many lives. Very often, homeopaths argue that the mortality using homeopathy is less than western medicine. Would that not be due to the large number of people that western medicine has to treat? The picture would be a whole lot different if homeopathy was the only treatment available.

Science does not explain everything, nor can it ever explain everything. But it is a rational form of thinking. Your extremist views on homeopathy is quite different from even those practicing in the UK. Believing something is good, and I hope one day you find the proof to shut me up. Unfortunately, I am a scientist, and homeopathy wants to be considered as a science. So you have to convince the scientific community. And honestly, outbursts like these does not help your case at all.

你是為隨波逐流而跟隨那些講順勢療法不可信但無親身體驗過的消極科學家去寫？

I am starting to hope that this comment will turn into an intellectual debate soon. This is an insult to my integrity and I am not going to dignify it with an answer.

順勢療法是安慰劑效應？

As far as evidence goes and by evidence I do not mean several cases here and there. Yes, there is currently no reason to believe that homeopathy is performing any better than placebo.

那你有無膽得罪那班話順勢療法無效的科學家、和證明順勢療法有效的科學家一起親身證明順勢療法是有效？

The first part of this statement is as naive and ignorant as the one above I deemed an insult. If there are scientists who are keen on doing good science on homeopathy and I tell you there are good scientists out there who have already done good research on homeopathy – they showed nothing.

再者、我不理會你信不信順勢療法、你可以永遠講順勢療法無效、騙人。

Just as the scientific and medical community will continue to not take homeopathy seriously unless there is proof.

我認識和使用順勢療法６年多、我媽媽的高血壓用順勢療法醫好、我的鼻敏感用順勢療法醫好、我朋友的媽媽的胃病用順勢療法醫好、我見過一個小朋友食西薬食到急性類風濕、行唔到、用順勢療法醫番好、識行識走。

You see I can too reel out a list of cases in the UK where patients consulting a homeopath experience no improvement in their conditions. Any success in curing and healing a patient is cause for celebration. It really is, but you still have to be able to explain how it works. Universities are granting science degrees for homeopathy, without which no government will grant licences to practice. Homeopathy wants to join the science club, so it has to play by the rules of science. It is about rational thinking and reasoning. It needs to be logical and certainly not extremist. That is how it works.

我感受過、體驗過、使用過順勢療法、我就是活生生的證據、證明順勢療法是有效的。

如果順勢療法是安慰劑效應、那你不如問一問西醫能不能醫好鼻敏感、哮喘、糖尿和高血壓？

With good psychiatric counselling, there are a group of patients who will improve from the above ailments, because they are sometimes stress related. In the interest of being rational, I have to say that the consultation procedure of homeopathy is something that western medicine can take on board. You do take care of your patients emotionally very well and I think that is what the patients need sometimes, but as far as the concept of remedy goes, it is absurd.

西醫能不能不用做手術、化療和電療便能醫到癌症？

Western medicine and conventional science have made big leaps in the treatment and management of cancer. With early detection, surgery can cure cancer. Please do not be so irresponsible as to say that these treatments do more harm than good. You are doing an injustice to yourself and homeopathy in attacking these treatments.

西醫話得番幾個月命的癌症病人、運用順勢療法来治療他的癌症、現在已活了超過西醫所講的”３個月命”X２０倍、現在還非常精神。這是安慰劑效應？

Doctors make mistakes, everyone makes mistakes. It is an estimation at the end of the day. Sometimes estimations are not accurate. Kudos that a handful of patients found homeopathy useful and showed improvement, but don’t you think it is the mental counselling that is doing the job?

西醫”可　以　嗎”？

With the advancement of science and medicine, life expectancy has increased, we are beginning to understand in detail the pathogenesis of cancers, and other terminal illness. The key term here is we understand.

西醫能醫到大部分的病嗎？

And I can easily say the same about homeopathy – if it can “cure” all diseases, and homeopaths everywhere have solid proof that it does. I don’t think we will be having this discussion.

記住、是”醫”不是”止”。

你認為順勢療法不可信、

你生於澳門、那你知不知道葡萄牙也有用順勢療法？

你在英國生活、那你知道英國的御用醫學是順勢療法嗎？

I will answer both question at the same time. There are homeopaths in practically every country, and in every country, the majority of scientists and medical professionals alike will continue to be sceptical about homeopathy. The fact that the Royal Family has a homeopathic doctor is quite frequently a laughing matter among scientists. The fact that Prince Charles was actively involved in setting up the Royal Homeopathic Hospital does not mean scientists and medical professionals agree with him. Again, in the interest of trying to make this an unbiased discussion, the teachings of homeopathy about eating well and a balanced diet is a good thing and will lead to an improved lifestyle. The medical community has been saying this for years.

你知道這個世界有多少個國家用緊順勢療法嗎？

你有没有認真使用過順勢療法来處理自己的病？

As a matter of fact yes! It didn’t make my flu go away (in any less than the 7 days that it would on its own anyway).

你有感受過比西醫折磨的病人来找我們時的痛苦嗎？

Maybe you should report those doctors who “torture” their patients. Patients are generally a scared group of people. They will try anything when the outlook is bleak. What you should do is to take these patients on and treat them the best you can, but not trying to break their hope belief system in western medicine. Western medicine is not a process of torture. If I am speaking to an extremist here, I am wasting my time.

你有為病人的痛苦、為病人的康服而流過涙嗎？為病人的病情而緊張過？

I have personally worked in a hospital, and in a nursing home. So yes I have had experience with patient contact. I have also witnessed successful surgeries, patients getting better, later reuniting with their family and loved ones. It is not a privilege that homeopaths have. To berate western medicine for the purpose of advertising homeopathy is absolutely irresponsible and despicable, and it calls into question your integrity as someone who is supposed to heal.

你知不知道膽石和腎石是不用開刀或用什麼震散的？

Yes there are drugs which will dissolve the above. Surgery is not the first option! As a matter of fact it is the very last option.

你知不知道腦溢血不用開刀也可處理？

I think there are profound gaps in your knowledge about western medicine. Surgery is not the first option to everything.

你知不知道癌症根本不用做手術、化療和電療？

Please, these are futile arguments. Sometimes small and early tumours will go into remission without any medical intervention.

你知不知道醫學的基楚是整全營養學？

Finally, something I can agree on. Nutrition is important. A healthy lifestyle is important, but haven’t the medical community been saying that for decades?

天外有天、你讀得書多、讀大學、但有好多野你真係未見識過呀。。。

It has been a very long Q&A session and somehow I think it is the worst waste of half an hour. I will state this very loud and clear here, that I will not be giving you anymore of my time and day responding to another list of questions. Feel free to have the final say as many times as you wish. I have made my points very clear.

Advancement of civilisation is about debate, discussion and criticism. These are the essence of the methodology of science. Individualist and extremist views with no solid backing has no place anywhere. My original point was simply to ask you to put forth your beliefs on homeopathy in a more responsible manner, and not berate conventional medicine as a spring board to put your views across.

I think it is very clear from the list of questions that centuries of advancement in the medical field meant absolutely nothing to you. Shall I be expecting the same sort of responses from other homeopaths practicing in Hong Kong and Macau? If so, the outlook is certainly bleak.