Dolivaxil can't "cure" anything.

(Update 10/29/2004: More on Dolivaxil's effectiveness)

I get a lot of searches for things about homeopathy. Following back this one, I got:

Dolivaxil is our #1 remedy to prevent the flu. Safer than other methods to prevent the flu. Safe to use for all ages. Unlike vaccine, there are no contradictions to prevent safe use of Dolivaxil. Each box of Dolivaxil contains the complete treatment for 1 person. Take 1 vial of tiny pellets once a week for 4 weeks. Wait 3 weeks and take the final vial. That's it! Avoid the dangers of the flu shot. We receive many requests now from many families who used Dolivaxil successfully last year. Think of the savings in doctor visits, missed school and work, and worthless over the counter treatments. Includes 5 vials and instructions on how to use to prevent the flu. Purchase one box per person when using as a vaccination alternative. Homeopathy works with your body and strengthens your immune system!

How many misstatements of truth can you find in that paragraph?

Repeat after me: there is no proof that homeopathy works in any way to do anything other than making your wallet lighter.

The quack homeopathic expensive waterremedy referenced above is a product of the Dolisos group, which is a subsidiary of the French health care giant Pierre Fabre

Comments

[Visitor]

Quite the contrary. I always went down with the flu every year for at least a week. I refused to take the flu shot because I am a Nurse and have always been convinced that every patient I gave the shot to ALWAYS got sick within 2-3 weeks. Since using the Dolivaxil flu season defense, my entire family has been FLU-FREE for 3 years. We wouldn't be without it!

[Liz]

The type of evidence you cite isn't acceptable as proof.

1. "have always been convinced that every patient I gave the shot to ALWAYS got sick within 2-3 weeks.".

Well, I am glad you were so attentive to your patients' well-being, but there's a bit of a scientific problem. Without substantive proof (without records of the numbers of persons to whom you administered the medication, and their tempurature and respiratory health for the next 21 days) this is just your feeling. Bias comes in all the time.

2. Since using the Dolivaxil flu season defense, my entire famly has been FLU-FEE for 3 years

I'm glad for your family, but your experience proves nothing. See, we don't use Dolivaxil, but my family has been exposed for the last four years, and has not become infected. I think we've had good luck and practice preventive measures.

Influenza is a complicated viral infection. Only a subset of the population--the rate varies by year-- of the population gets sick anyway. The vaccine prevents infection in exposed individuals, but isn't completely effective. However, it is substantially more effective than homeopathic treatiment.

[Craig]

Dolivax is made from the same 3 flu viri that the World Health Organization predicts will hit each year but is very dilute. Why wouldn't your body make antibodies to it? I first heard about it in my local newspaper as a possible solution to the flu vaccine shortage. So, I decided to look it up on the web. I think it's the word "homeopathic" that makes people dismiss Dolivax as "snake oil." I think it should be considered an oral vaccine rather than a homeopathic prophylactic. Then, maybe people would take it more seriously. I have ordered some for myself after finally finding a site where it wasn't on backorder. I'll let you know how it goes.

Toodles!

[Josh]

OK. I think if her family has been without the flu for 3 years and they had the flu prior to those years... I feel obliged to tell you skeptics that by invalidating someones experiences to "I'm glad for your family, but your experience proves nothing." is a bit like telling someone that even though they have cancer their experiences with radiation treatment prove nothing! And to hear someone trying to prove a point. Invalidate someone elses experiences that do not support your idea. A bit like trying to prove an experiment with any test subjects.

[Liz]

Josh's comments point up the difficulty people have in discerning the difference between case reports (as the Nurse reports) and validated evidence (double-blind studies or quantified longitudinal studies).

I was not INVALIDATING the Nurse's experience, I was merely pointing out it proves nothing. It can't prove anything. You need tens (bare minimum) hundreds (ok) or thousands (better) of families tracked over several years to prove whether or not a protocol "works".

[Michele]

Agree, Liz. However, I do believe in the possibility of homeopathic remedies working, as I have used them for several indications with success. However, I am unaware of anyone even attempting such rigorous research as you suggest. Are you aware of any studies that would prove or disprove the efficacy of homeopathic remedies such as Dolivaxil?

[Ivy]

If you think that injecting Thimerosal into you or your little babies body is okay, then go ahead. Thimerosal (mercury) is the second most toxic ingredient on our plant - So you get the fing flu - big deal - what's the big deal? The media twists this around like everyone on the planet is going to die of the flu - Each time you do get the flu, you increase your immune system to get stronger - I for one will ONLY use homopath remedys. No Thimerosal!

[Liz]

Really clear thinking, Ivy.

Thimerosal has been cleared of any implication of having a connection to autism.

The minute amounts of mercury in the vaccines are far less than one would ingest from eating (say) canned tuna.

The type of flu we are worried about is a new strain which is much more lethal than what we have seen before, so yes, it IS something to worry about.

And no amount of expensive water or alcohol (which is what homeopathic remedies consist of) will protect you or your family from any disease condition.

[freetrinity]

The studies that 'cleared' thimerosal were based on a biased sample: a european population that receives less shots than the people in the US.

It is very suspicious to me that the thimerosal / autism investigation files remain sealed by the government, despite repeated inquiries by the concerned parents. Looks like they are hiding something, OSIT.

As for NO studies supporting homeopathy -- I always like this one. Of course there is no modern day clinical studies, because nobody will pay for it. A clinical study is a VERY expensive proposition, involving a lot of politics, bureacracy, behind the scenes dealing and money changing hands.

Yet, there is plenty of SCIENTIFIC evidence, collected over the years in Europe and also in the US, where large groups of people have been followed and compared to general populations. Those have been published, too.

When everything is said and done, you appear to completely discount homepathy based on what ultimately is a pure BELIEF that it doesn't work. Which is fine. But it is only a belief.

Good health to you and all your readers.

[Noapologies]

The author provides a claasic example of hook, line and sinker big pharma propaganda mongering.

And I suppose that the the author would also have us believe that banning of tryptophan had nothing to do with the big pharma money behind Prosac and other serotonin uptake blockers.

The author must think people are clueless (and yes, I already know that in the author's little mind, they're turning around the "clueless" remark to twist it to mean something else just to prove how clever they are...but, sorry, they've been pre-emptively outed, LOL).

[VK]

It is hard to believe the author's observation is unbiased.

Some people jump and say "oh.. at high homeopathic dilutions there is not even a single molecule of the original remedy... so it can only be a quack". But how are we sure only molecular interaction can initiate a healing action? We don't have such a proof. It is a "thought" based on current level of science.

Homeopathy has astonishing healing power if you go to the right doctor and to the right remedy. Now, the same type of people will jump again and say "..if it works it is only a placebo effect.." If placebo effect was that strong, drug companies could have marketed even ibuprofen for eczema. Because of the placebo effect it must have cured many. I think the "placebo effect" itself is a placebo.

Articles like this will only help deny a simpe cost-effective cure to people. I agree, homeopathy may not be effective for all conditions.

[Henry]

There is a difference between being rational and being positivist.

Perfectly sane people have had definitive experiences of strong cures from homeopathic treatment. Double blind tests have not always borne this out, but it is difficult to design a valid double blind test that also fulfills the requirements of homeopathic treatment, such as individualizing of the treatment to fit the patient.

To dogmatically assert that only "double blind" testing is valid is dogmatic, anyway.

Improvements over this method are possible and may eventually be necessary if medicine is to advance.

[Kucz Urszula]

Dolivax brala moja rodzina i dziecko ktore mialo wtedy 16 miesięcy i tu nie mozna mowic o placebo. Dolivax uchronił nas od grypy, córka nie wzieła, z nami i zachorowala, jak zobaczyła że ją bierze grypa to też wzieła i zaraz jej przeszło. Przechodziła grypę o wiele lzej, więc jak widac jest to dobra szczepionka. Polecam