Shame on Orrin Hatch - The Patron Saint of Quack Medicine

[Jeff Lebowski]

I think I remember you mentioning that you've taken Phenergan with codeine or Tussionex for cough? Guess what--placebo effect. And a little buzz from the narcotic...but no improvement in cough. I still write it for patients with influenza because they're miserable, they could use the buzz, and they could use the sleep, but not because it will help their cough (at least any more than honey).

Ha. This made me laugh.

[wuapinmon]

I think I remember you mentioning that you've taken Phenergan with codeine or Tussionex for cough? Guess what--placebo effect. And a little buzz from the narcotic...but no improvement in cough. I still write it for patients with influenza because they're miserable, they could use the buzz, and they could use the sleep, but not because it will help their cough (at least any more than honey).

Yeah, I have. Even if a placebo effect, it makes you feel better when you feel like hell. When I had pneumonia, they gave me something called Vi-Q-Tussin that made my tongue go numb and made me feel like Obi Wan at the end of Return of the Jedi, which was a welcome relief from lying in bed thinking that it would be hard to fathom feeling worse than I did at that time.

[wuapinmon]

Yep. My son was explaining to me how you can't look at a double-blind trial in isolation. The best thing to do is sit and wait until a large number of studies are done and then do a comprehensive analysis. There is a name for this, but I forgot what it is.

Don't we have a "Summon doctorcoug" card somewhere?

[ERCougar]

Yep. My son was explaining to me how you can't look at a double-blind trial in isolation. The best thing to do is sit and wait until a large number of studies are done and then do a comprehensive analysis. There is a name for this, but I forgot what it is.

Meta-analysis.
They have their own set of problems, of course, particularly with study selection and differences between studies, but probably better than a single study.
There are a lot of reasons you want multiple studies, but one of my favorite things to point out is that if you look at enough independent variables, normal variation dictates that you SHOULD find at least one association. For instance, if I look at enough characteristics of a cohort with and without breast cancer, I should be able tie one of them to breast cancer. I then throw out everything else I looked at and voila, I have this nice clean study that shows that being left handed causes breast cancer.
So, bad or isolated studies can be worse than no study at all, by giving the illusion of science. Nerium is the latest MLM benefitting from this. Their evidence is AWFUL, but if you don't closely enough, you're not going to know that.

[Flystripper]

My in laws still take airborne. they love that stuff.

My mom tries to get me to take that fizzy crap every time I get a sniffle. So, I tell her I will take it if I mix it with vodka. She usually backs off at that point.

[TripletDaddy]

Yeah, I have. Even if a placebo effect, it makes you feel better when you feel like hell. When I had pneumonia, they gave me something called Vi-Q-Tussin that made my tongue go numb and made me feel like Obi Wan at the end of Return of the Jedi, which was a welcome relief from lying in bed thinking that it would be hard to fathom feeling worse than I did at that time.

not following this one. expound?

[wuapinmon]

Sad that Ponce de León didn't know he was looking for the Wasatch Front.

[wuapinmon]

not following this one. expound?

Out-of-body and extremely happy.

[wuapinmon]

This article is true whether it's true or not: http://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/5...Same-Way-Again

[Katy Lied]

Meh, I think that it's all hogwash, but nothing to get me up in arms. I think I'm with ER. People insist on believing in the miraculous and if you outlaw supplements, it will be miracle water, or a vegan diet, or smells or light incandescence levels. People just want to believe. When the North Korean communists outlawed religion, the masses just substituted it for something else.

At least St. Johns wort is not decimating a species. We should send some of these snake oil salesmen to China. Get the Chinese to stop believing in the recuperative powers of rhinosaurus penis, or narwhale tooth. Leave the endangered animals alone and buy some jojoba.

[Katy Lied]

Hah! Utah just legalized cannabis extract. I guess the Utah Supplements industry is more powerful than the Utah Moral Majority.

[Donuthole]

So the essential oils crazies are now circulating this blogpost about "oil pulling":

So, you may be wondering about #5. Why the hell am I putting a spoonful of coconut oil in my mouth & then getting back into bed with a 20 minute timer.
Two words. Oil Pulling. One word. Obsessed.
Oil pulling has been around for years, which makes me mad I’ve only just found out about it. It’s an ancient Ayurvedic technique that basically involves you swishing oil in your mouth for 20 minutes (no more no less) & it pulls toxins out of your body through your mouth. The idea behind it is pretty simple stupid- the oil is “sticky” and when you swish it around in your mouth bacteria gets stuck in the oil & dissolves.

Personally, I use gum to extract toxins from my body. It, like oil, is also sticky. So the bacteria get stuck in the gum, and then I just spit it out. Caution: don't swallow the bacteria-laden gum, because then all those bacteria will be stuck in your stomach for 6 years!

[Jeff Lebowski]

So the essential oils crazies are now circulating this blogpost about "oil pulling":



Personally, I use gum to extract toxins from my body. It, like oil, is also sticky. So the bacteria get stuck in the gum, and then I just spit it out. Caution: don't swallow the bacteria-laden gum, because then all those bacteria will be stuck in your stomach for 6 years!

Oh my. That is funny. (and kind of sad)

[Jeff Lebowski]

A lady in our ward told my wife last night that she was gone back to school. She is working on a degree in holistic medicine from some online school. She said she was shocked and thrilled that she got accepted!

[falafel]

So the essential oils crazies are now circulating this blogpost about "oil pulling":



Personally, I use gum to extract toxins from my body. It, like oil, is also sticky. So the bacteria get stuck in the gum, and then I just spit it out. Caution: don't swallow the bacteria-laden gum, because then all those bacteria will be stuck in your stomach for 6 years!

I wonder what happens if you swish for longer than 20 minutes. Do the toxins undissolve and re-enter your body? Seems a little risky.