Saturday, November 29, 2008

Return of denialism kills

Not just AIDS denialism, either. Vaccine denialism can kill. As can homeopathy and/or naturopathy:
A healing therapist died after a minor injury went gangrenous because his 'inner being' told him not to see a doctor, an inquest has heard.

Russell Jenkins shunned conventional treatment for his foot injury after he trod on an electrical plug at home.

...

Mr Jenkins, who ran the Quiet Mind Centre from his home in Southsea, Hampshire, injured his foot in December 2006 and developed an 2cm-long ulcer.

In April 2007, Mr Jenkins, a diabetic, sought alternative advice from homeopath Susan Finn, who suggested he treat it with Manuka honey.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Manuka Honey is effective in treating infected wounds. There has to be more to this story.

HoneymarkProducts.com

Skemono said...

Manuka Honey is effective in treating infected wounds.
Then I assume you have double-blinded scientific studies demonstrating this assertion. Could you provide them?

There has to be more to this story.
Well, even assuming what you said is accurate, that doesn't mean that your honey cures gangrene. Looking at the front page of the website you linked to, the only claims it makes are that the honey feels good and is an anti-bacterial (plus the anti-wrinkle claim). None of this would help to fight gangrene.