Voodoo. In Clare? Everywhere?

national | consumer issues | opinion/analysis

Friday June 18, 2004 19:14

by Sean Crudden - IMPERO

impero at iol dot ie

Jenkinstown, Dundalk, Co Louth.

042 93 71310

Exploitation or Science?

Is the medical profession a semi-secret society which is besotted by rules and legalisms which is ripping the community off for big salaries and at the same time doing more to compromise our health than to improve it?

Some people hold out greater hope for alternative than for conventional medicine. Others (like The Irish Times in today’s editorial) would plump for regulation and restriction of the right to practice.

To me it seems that the current high profile cases of Dr Paschal Carmody and Mr William Porter are merely examples where the medical "guild" have picked on two unconventional practitioners making scapegoats of them gratuitously bolsterering up the impression that conventional medicine as it is practiced in 2004 AD is safe.

Are the results of conventional treatment of cancer anything to boast about? How many iatrogenic disorders have arisen in the treatment of the mentally ill in the past half century?

It seems to me that a coldly scientific ongoing assessment of outcomes in medicine in general would be as sobering for the medical profession and its ancillaries as it would be for the rest of us.

Thankfully most general practitioners and many specialists take with a pinch of salt the latest fashion in medicine or the latest "wonder" drug and follow a careful and common sense approach. There are inducements for them to go a different way, as even a vague recollection of the recent Prime-Time program on RTE 1 graphically illustrates for us, in the case of anti-depressant prescription.

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Comments (2 of 2)

Voodoo is an African nature based spirituality

by Paul McAndrew

Tue Jun 22, 2004 14:15

I just want to point out that although "voodoo " is regularly treated as a term of abuse, (its Black and Pagan so it was never going to get a good press), Voodoo or more acuurately Vodoun is a Haitian branch of African Traditional Religion, which also includes Orisha worship, Ifa(Nigerian based), Candomble and Umbanda(based in Brazil), Santeria(based in Cuba), Palo etc.
In Haiti Vodun helped give people strength to overthrow the French rulers in 1803.
ATR is nature-based and acceptance of Women's and Gay rights are widespread in African Traditional Religion, there are many Lesbian and Gay Priests in those religions.
It has been exploited by evil politicians like Duvalier, but what religion (even Marxism) hasn't? Don't accept the racist Hollywood image of Vodoun.
http://altreligion.about.com/library/weekly/aa092402a.htm

WHO warns on alternative medicine

by pat c

Wed Jun 23, 2004 13:41

The World Health Organization warns the unregulated use of alternative medicines can cause unpleasant or potentially dangerous reactions. It has issued new guidelines advising consumers on therapies ranging from acupuncture to herbal medicines and food supplements.

They are aimed at helping those who buy complementary medicines over-the-counter and do not tell doctors. The WHO said such medicines were not "good for everybody all of the time".

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Voodoo. In Clare? Everywhere?

Comments (2 of 2)