Director of ‘ALLIANCE OF HOMEOPATHS’ recommends homeopathy for measles

Steve Scrutton is a UK homeopath on a mission; he seems to want to promote homeopathy at all cost – so much so that he recently ran into trouble with the ASA for breaching CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 12.1, 12.2 and 12.6 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products). Scrutton happens to be a Director of the ‘ALLIANCE OF REGISTERED HOMEOPATHS’ (ARH) which represents nearly 700 homeopaths in the UK. On one of his websites, he promotes homeopathy as a treatment and prevention for measles:

Many homeopaths feel that it is better for children, who are otherwise healthy, to contract measles naturally. Homeopathy is less concerned with doing this as it has remedies to treat measles, especially if it persists, or become severe.Other homeopaths will use the measles nosode, Morbillinum, for prevention.Homeopaths have been treating measles for over 200 years with success.

The main remedies used for the condition, according to Scrutton, are the following: Aconite, Belladonna, Gelsemium, Euphrasia, Bryonia, Pulsatilla, Kali Bich, Sulphur, Apis Mel or Arsenicum – depending on the exact set of presenting symptoms.

At the very end of this revealing post, Scrutton makes the following statement: To my knowledge, there have been no RCTs conducted on either the prevention or treatment of Measles with Homeopathy. However, homeopaths have been treating Measles safely and effectively since the early 19th Century, and through many serious epidemics throughout the world.

Why would anyone write such dangerous nonsense, particularly in the position of a director of the ARH? There can, in my view be only one answer: he must be seriously deluded and bar any knowledge what sound medical evidence looks like. One of his articles seems to confirm this suspicion; in 2008, Scrutton wrote: What ‘scientific’ medicine does not like about homeopathy is not the lack of an evidence base – it is the ability to help people get well – and perhaps even more important, we can do it safely.

Intriguingly, the ARH has a code of ethics which states that members must not claim or imply, orally or in writing, to be able to cure any named disease and that they should be aware of the extent and limits of their clinical skills.

Could it be that a director of the ARH violates his own code of ethics?