Thread by @chadhayesmd

A #homeopathegg #tweetorial:
It’s Easter again, and for reasons that remain unclear to me, millions of people are spending time and money turning eggs different colors. I’m going to dye some eggs, too…but this year, I’m going to try something different--using #homeopathy. 1/X

Many people think homeopathy is a synonym for “natural." It’s not. Homeopathy is a system of "medicine," developed in the early 1800’s by Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician who had stopped practicing medicine because he felt that he was often doing more harm than good. 2/X

And because he lived during a time when we had very little understanding of what caused diseases or how to treat them, he was probably right. But Sam's hiatus from medicine didn't last long. One day he read about the use of cinchona in the treatment of malaria. 3/X

Cinchona is a 🌳 native to Peru, the bark of which contains a substance called quinine, which is an effective anti-malarial drug. Sam didn’t have malaria, but he decided to try a little cinchona for himself to see what it would do...bc that's how the best science happens. 4/X

Sam found that the symptoms he experienced were similar to those of patients suffering from malaria, so he concluded that substances that *cause* certain symptoms in healthy people can *treat* those same symptoms in sick people–or, more succinctly, “like cures like.” 5/X

But instead of handing out medicines that made people feel like they had malaria, Sam decided to dilute the solution multiple times in a specific ratio–typically 1:10 or 1:100–and striking or vigorously shaking the vial after each step using a technique called “succussion.” 6/X

According to Sam's twisted logic, each dilution makes the effects of the homeopathic remedy stronger, while also minimizing side effects. 🙅‍♂️

Let's review the two principles of homeopathy that contradict everything we understand about the physical universe: 7/X

1) In #homeopathy, symptoms are treated not by giving a medicine that counteracts them, but by giving a substance that *causes* them. For example, if your baby spits up a lot, the homeopathic prescription would be for a substance that *causes* vomiting. 8/X

2) The more times a homeopathic medicine is diluted, the more effective it is believed to become. In real medicine, we believe exactly the opposite; typically (to a point, at least), a medication does more to relieve symptoms if you give a higher dose of the medication. 9/X

Now for my #homeopatheggsperiment. I’ll be dying some eggs blue. In keeping with the principles of homeopathy, in order to cure the eggs of being “not blue” I’ve decided to start with the color orange—which, according to the color wheel, is the opposite of blue. 10/X

I need the orange solution to be very dilute, so I'll use a 10X dilution, which means diluting the original substance 1 part to 10, ten times. (Trust that I succussed.) I’ve also included a control, using the traditional method of dying an egg blue using the color…blue. 11/X

I’ll let you come up with your own hypothesis, but according to Sam’s logic, the diluted orange solution should turn the egg blue. And the more dilute the orange solution, the darker blue the egg should turn. 12/X

(You may notice that after just 3 or 4 dilutions, the homeopathic solutions are indistinguishable from water. That’s because, by the time we get to the tenth dilution, the solution contains *one ten-billionth* as much blue dye as the original solution.) 13/X

After 10 minutes, I was completely unsurprised to find that Sam’s magical thinking didn’t hold up. Orange dye doesn’t turn eggs blue. It turns them orange. And the more you dilute it, the less effect it has. 14/X

If you’re thinking this whole experiment is ridiculous, I agree completely. But it’s no more ridiculous than your friend giving her baby homeopathic gripe water, or your aunt suggesting that you take oscillococcinum for your flu symptoms. 15/X

And it doesn’t take more than a glance down the pharmacy aisles to find numerous #homeopathic treatments, right there beside the actual medicines. 16/X

Homeopathy violates the laws of physics, chemistry, biology, and math. And the evidence for it is homeo-pathetic. it has never been shown to be effective--at least in studies that bothered with details like randomization, blinding, or placebo controls nhmrc.gov.au/file/3191/down… 17/X

So next time someone suggests that you try a homeopathic remedy, feel free to explain to them what an absurd idea that is. Because when it comes to #homeopathy, less is more. And none is even better. 18/18