Is there any disease which a member of the Society of Homeopaths won’t claim to be able to treat?

I’m guessing scrofula. So far I haven’t found a homeopath who will claim to cure scrofula. The Queen has nothing to fear. In fact she’s quids in if she catches AIDS because, you’ve guessed it, homeopathy can treat AIDS according to one member of the Society of Homeopaths.

I had five minutes so I thought I’d check my home county. It would at least be a comforting to know that unethical homepaths weren’t on the prowl locally. So I checked the SoH website for Derbyshire [Google Cache] [PDF Print]. The second website on the list was Helen Coles [Google Cache] [PDF Print]. I think she’s convinced me I was far too lenient in my previous post as she says:

People suffering from all kinds of illnesses, from depression to arthritis, migraine to ulcers and the more ‘modern’ illnesses including AIDS and ME, can be helped by homeopathy to regain their health.

Now as last time I could argue ‘regain health’ means alleviate symptoms rather than cure, so she’s not actually saying she can cure AIDS. I may feel a revulsion to the claim but, by itself, it doesn’t break the Society’s Code of Ethics. The next sentence reads:

Good homeopathy will not just drive away the symptoms but help the patient deal with the cause of the illness and regain good health.

Good homeopathy would deal with the cause of AIDS? Now again I could argue that she’s not claiming herself to be a good homeopath. She’s not said “I can cure AIDS and ME” in so many words. She just put the cure concept snugly up against AIDS and ME. On the other hand if you see someone in black clothes, with sinister organ music on their iPod and sharp pointy teeth from a joke shop, you have to accept they want to be seen as a bloodsucker.

I think the Society of Homeopaths is at a crossroads. It’s clear that some members are flouting the Code of Ethics. In each of the four counties sampled there has been at least one problem with the members who have websites. How much faith should we have the Society of Homeopaths stands for high quality healthcare? According to their disclaimer:

The Society of Homeopaths makes no warranties, representations or undertakings about:

(a) any of the content of this web site (including, without limitation, the quality, accuracy, completeness or fitness for any particular purpose of such content), or

(b) any content of any other web site referred to or accessed by hypertext link through this web site (‘third party site’).

You should consult a suitably qualified person on any specific problem or matter, which is covered by any information on this site before taking any further action.

Does that mean none at all?