<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

There are many web sources out there whose authors' main intent is to scare people out of trusting any treatment other than the author's own specialty, be it conventional medical, homeopathic, herbal, alternative or otherwise.  The truth be known, homeopathic preparations are among the safest treatments available because they are carefully prepared under controlled conditions in the minutest dose possible to produce a desired therapudic response.   



Everyone should understand that almost any substance in excess can be harmful.  Whether a substance is toxic or not, totally depends upon the dosage.  



Did you know that ... 

    

    -the life saving drug, coumadin, is the main ingredient in rat poison? 

    -that the life saving drug, digoxin, derived from the fox glove herb, is deadly if not dosed properly?      

     -an overdose of Tylenol can cause liver failure (and death)?

     -ibuprophen has caused thousands of deaths due to hemorrhage?

     -too much water can cause coma & even death?  (I had a patient in the ER once who was near comatose from water intoxication.)



Should we ask our doctor every time we take a Tylenol or a dose of veratrum?  Of course not, but we should carefully follow directions.  Besides that, if you ask an MD if a specific homeopathic preparation is safe, although he may try, he will not be able to answer accurately unless he's been trained in homeopathy.  (And he may be tempted to tell you to avoid it simply because he's not familiar with it's use.)  Only a homeopathic physician is qualified to recommend treatment with homeopathic preparations.  By the same token, it would be foolish to ask a homeopathic physician to advise on Tylenol or ibuprophen. (Who may also be tempted to scare you out of using it! ha ha ha!)



The skilled physicians who determine the proper dosages for veratrum, Tylenol, coumadin, etc. are well aware of potential toxicity and they base their recommends accordingly.  While no drug is 100% safe for 100% of the population, if sick people carefully follow the recommended dosing directions for all drugs, they will be safe 999,999 times out of 1,000,000.  If needed, I will use veratrum with confidence in its safety as I do many other medications.



Valerie Wells RN in Tacoma  
Visit the Celiac Web Page at Http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html
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