What doesn’t kill you ... probably doesn’t do much anyway

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Singer Billy Joel’s daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, lit up the blogosphere today after reportedly swallowing eight pills of Traumeel, ‘distraught over the ending of a recent relationship,’ according to Us Magazine.

Traumeel, marketed as anti-inflammatory medication, contains a mix of herbs and other ingredients in low doses, and can come as a pill or an ointment.

The 23-year-old, who allegedly called 911 in a panic, needn’t have worried -- there’s no overwhelming proof that the homeopathic alternative to ibuprofen does much of anything.

‘If it is a homeopathic preparation, that means it is given in very low dose,’ said Paul Lofholm, a pharmacist based in Marin County. ‘It’s pretty hard to overdose on any homeopathic drug, because it has such a low potency.’
Those of you eyeing your medicine cabinets can breathe easier -- Traumeel probably won’t hurt. But it’s probably wasting your valuable shelf space.

-- Amina Khan