How woo is D2?

[jan]

My daughter had some phlegm in her eyes today, so we assumed she has conjunctivitis (hope those are the correct translations). My wife said: "I have some eye drops for this case, let's give it her".

So she hold her, while I applied the drops (my daughter is just one year old, and therefore not too cooperative).

Later it occurred to me to ask: "Those eye drops are not, per chance, some homeopathic medicine?" Wife: "Why, yes!" Me: *explodes*.

Next I checked the package insert (I know, I know — should have done this before).

It reads (except that it says "enthalten" instead of "contains"):

0,5 ml contains:
Euphrasia e planta tota ferm 33c Dil. D2 0,05 g
Rosae aetheroleum Dil. D7 (HAB, Vs. 5a) 0,05 g

...whatever that may mean. If I remember correctly, "D" means "tenth", so "D2" would mean 1/100. That doesn't sound really homeopathic to me. So although the package mentions "homeopathic", I suspect it is really allopathic, based on "natural" ingrediences (that is, based on the plant euphrasia).

Anyway, I prefer if my daughter sees a physician tomorrow. I just would like to know (as the title says): how woo is D2?

[geni]

Originally posted by jan
Anyway, I prefer if my daughter sees a physician tomorrow. I just would like to know (as the title says): how woo is D2?

The answer to that question rather depends on your countries lible laws. Sufice to say depending on what the substance is it is quite posible for it to act through stanrd know biochemical pathways

[Soapy Sam]

jan- It's rarely a good idea to give any adult medicine to an infant, whether homoeopathic or not.

It's possibly safer if it is homoeopathic, as I suspect all you put in her eyes was water.

When I read things like this , I'm glad I'm not a father.
I COULD NOT put drops of anything in a child's eye.
I'm spooked just thinking about it.

[jan]

Originally posted by Soapy Sam
jan- It's rarely a good idea to give any adult medicine to an infant, whether homoeopathic or not.

No, it's not specifically for adults. And it's one of those: "side effects: none known; interactions with other medication: none known". Which sounds a lot like water to me.

But the degree of dilution, if I understand it, makes it possible that it might actually do something.

I suspect it is like this: people used to use the plant Euphrasia to cure eye diseases of various kinds. Maybe there is indeed some stuff in it that works; maybe not. My medicine contains an excerpt of that plant; whether the concentration is sufficient to work or not may or may not have been tested — I suspect it was labeled "homeopathic" a) to circumvent the need of such a test and b) because it sounds good.

When I read things like this , I'm glad I'm not a father.
I COULD NOT put drops of anything in a child's eye.
I'm spooked just thinking about it.

She took it quite brave. But I agree that it's not fun. Especially when you learn that it's quite likely that you tortured her just to drop water in her eyes.

That's what enraged me. I have no problems giving her useless sugar pills.

[jan]

Originally posted by geni
Sufice to say depending on what the substance is it is quite posible for it to act through stanrd know biochemical pathways

Thanks for the answer.

I assume it depends how the extraction of the two plants mentioned is made; unfortunately, the package insert only explains that the process of fabrication entails harvesting, "rhythmification" (?) and potentization, done in "conscious" handiwork (as opposed to unconscious handiwork, I assume).

[Diamond]

Jan,

It does say:

Euphrasia e planta tota ferm 33c Dil. D2 0,05 g
Rosae aetheroleum Dil. D7 (HAB, Vs. 5a) 0,05 g

You put sterile water in her eyes. Proper eye drops for infants are basically sterile dilute saline solution.

Babies often have conjunctivitis at one time or another. Just clear out the "phlegm" with a baby wipe regularly (especially after she's been sleeping) and keep baby's hands clean so that she doesn't rub more dirt into her eyes. The eye infection should go away in a few days.

[Soapy Sam]

Phew! This has been bothering me all night.

I hope she's soon back to normal, jan.

[jan]

Originally posted by Soapy Sam
Phew! This has been bothering me all night.

I hope she's soon back to normal, jan.

Don't worry. Her eye looks much better today, and the physician agreed that it's not a serious case, as of yet.

As Diamond said, it's quite common, not a serious threat.

Originally posted by Diamond
You put sterile water in her eyes. Proper eye drops for infants are basically sterile dilute saline solution.

Thanks for your post, too. I only noticed the "D2" for the first ingredient. So does "33c" actually mean 10^-66? That, of course, would mean something like "one molecule within the observable part of the universe, or less". But why list two formulas for dilution? Is this some secret homeopathic ritual?

[Diamond]

Originally posted by jan
Thanks for your post, too. I only noticed the "D2" for the first ingredient. So does "33c" actually mean 10^-66? That, of course, would mean something like "one molecule within the observable part of the universe, or less". But why list two formulas for dilution? Is this some secret homeopathic ritual?

Yes. Something to bamboozle the scientifically ignorant.

You can get some proper baby eye drops - tell your wife that its homeopathic :rolleyes:

[steenkh]

I do not suppose that this remedy was sterile in the first place, and I do not see any indication that its salinity matches that of the body. Isn't it a rather bad idea to drop anything like that in the eyes of either children or adults?

[jan]

Originally posted by steenkh
I do not suppose that this remedy was sterile in the first place, and I do not see any indication that its salinity matches that of the body.

No, it lists salt as a further ingredient, isotonic to tears. I just deemed that information less important.