Okay, I should have said "what do they call alternative medicine that is proven to work?"
Magnetic copper bracelets - I'm a sceptic
- Thread starter Salar
- Start date
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Stompier
Senior Member
winjim
Smash the cistern
Willow bark?
Coca leaf?
Stompier
Senior Member
I thought coca leaf was banned? And willow bark isn't really an 'alternative' (assuming you are talking about it's pain killing properties) considering it is a source of salicylate.
winjim
Smash the cistern
Yes, that's the point. We saw it worked, investigated it, refined it, improved it, tested it, regulated it, and now it's just part of normal medicine.
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
Gravity's a myth...the Earth sucks....I thought it was gravity that was holding me down, now you're telling me it's magnetism?
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
Medicine!
BoldonLad
Not part of the Elite
- Location
- South Tyneside
Quite
nickyboy
Norven Mankey
- Location
- You want hills? We got hills
Given that a placebo effect is a good and positive thing (providing it isn't achieved at some reckless cost) why not just let the copper bracelet wearers be? Tugging at the string of scientific method only reduces the placebo effect and, for chronic conditions like arthritis, what then?
I suspect most in the medical profession categorise these bracelets as "not doing any harm and seems to encourage overall well-being". Which can't be a bad thing, can it?
I suspect most in the medical profession categorise these bracelets as "not doing any harm and seems to encourage overall well-being". Which can't be a bad thing, can it?
Globalti
Legendary Member
A placebo story: when I was a student I had a third year job as English Assistant in Spain. I hated it and I was terribly homesick. I noticed that my hair had gone dull and was falling out in handfuls so at Christmas went to see my GP in England. He said I was under stress so gave me some nice little tablets, which made me feel much much better. On the day I left Spain I left the tabs on my bedside table and didn't remember them until a good hour later. Much later I told my sister, who is a nurse, about them and she told me they were just sugar placebos. A lot of reserch has been done to find the most effective size and colour for placebos and generally certain colours are better as uppers and other colours for or downers.
OK, that particular person believes it helps them with air travel. Perhaps it does, scientifically I doubt it does anything except set off alarms at the scanners, but if it makes them feel better and they are calmer whilst flying this 'it works'.
Stompier
Senior Member
If people are convinced they work, then they shouldn't let facts get in the way of their beliefs.
'I suspect' sounds a bit like 'I believe'.
MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
I'm yet to find anything that claims to cure colds and flu... they all treat the symptoms whilst the cold runs its course.
harking back to magnetic bracelets being good for somehow correcting the body's natural magnetic field... that's what the bloke on the market told her, probably after he'd failed to flog her one by going down the arching joints or limbs route. One sales pitch for the elderly, another for the bohemian types.
winjim
Smash the cistern
Maybe, that's your definition. In order to proceed, I would need to agree one with the person making the claim. Ain't gonna happen. Incidentally, I would say that even if it makes only one person feel better, for one condition, in one specific circumstance, as placebo, that could still be considered, scientifically, to 'work'. It just means that to investigate it we would need to look at the placebo effect rather than any property of copper or magnets. It's still science.
