Complementary Medicine
If I’m going to subsidise your homeopathic treatment, I want you to subsidise my red wine. At least there is some evidence the wine may have health benefits.
Insurance is basically a controlled gamble. I pay my monthly fees and hope one day I get a terrifically chronic disease that makes it all worthwhile. Then all those suckers I’ve been subsidising with my rude good health will get what’s coming.
We all hate paying insurance, so more people should be incensed that a portion of the money goes on… well, incense. Aromatherapy, along with other feel-good, do-nothing therapies. (Actually, compared to homeopathy, aromatherapy’s practically penicillin.)
Continue reading "Yet another whack at those dastardly quacks" »
If your doctor sent you off to try reiki, coffee enemas, or (my personal favourite) vaginal blowing, you should go straight to the registration board.
But what if they’re recommending St John’s Wort, or acupuncture? Where does medicine end and dodgy science begin?
The latest Medical Journal of Australia delves into these quackery-tainted waters with two pieces on whether doctors should be prescribing complementary and alternative ‘medicines’ (CAM).
Latest 2 of 124 comments
View all comments-
braunman says:
Interesting story. At least in your case they’re going to someone who actually knows what they’re talking about regarding the human body. Suppose that’s one way of getting CAM believers to see a trained medial specialist! How do you carry out your version of reflexology/reiki? Do you pretend to do… Read more »
-
braunman says:
@Richard, I hate to tell you this, but the daily mail isn’t exactly the most reliable news source. They’re a tabloid like The Sun or (until recently) News of the World. You shouldn’t rely on them for unbiased scientific advise. Read more »
I rattle when I walk in the morning after taking all my complementary medicine supplements.
(Tim Minchin explains his frustration at dealing with believers)
Not to mention that I reek of cat-breath from fish oil pills and of neem pounded into my scalp, and have the complexion of a ginko tree root.
Let’s face it, I’m not all that attractive but by my calculation I have fended off high blood pressure, rapid aging, flaky skin and quite possibly a number of varieties of leprosy.
Continue reading "Cat breath’s not the only side effect of complementary pills" »
Latest 2 of 55 comments
View all comments-
lertalArp says:
Feel more excited with women http://hifrino.ru/ Read more »
-
acotrel says:
This documentary proves that homeopathy works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMGIbOGu8q0 Read more »
The controversies that have arisen between complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) and conventional medical practice may come from a difference in their origins.
Conventional medicine is based on evidence, often derived from randomised clinical trials, resulting in detailed knowledge about the likely benefits and side effects. This information can help a patient decide on a treatment recommendation. Moreover, how the medicine works is often known.
CAMs are not supported by the same type of evidence. Their proposed mechanisms of action do not accord with the way modern science believes the body works. “Evidence” is commonly from testimonials or generations of use, with little information that would allow a patient to judge their chance of responding. Although the evidence produced for conventional medicine can create uncertainty, CAMs are often promoted without that uncertainty.
Continue reading "Complementary cancer therapies: Not an alternative" »
Latest 2 of 59 comments
View all comments-
Paul says:
Richard wrote: ” I take objection to being told that I’m too dumb to distinguish between what has helped me and what hasn’t.” The problem is we are all too dumb to distinguish between what has helped us and what hasn’t. It’s all too easy to assume that an improvement… Read more »
-
braunman says:
@Terry, Funny you should mention Heroin. In the past heroin and other poppy derivitives (opium ect) actually were used in medicine. Needless to say there’s several very good reasons they arent anymore… Read more »
The world is full of quacks. Legislation won’t work. Time for MyQuack.
Sorry, scrap that, bad connotations.
Time for a one-stop easy-access online information source where you can click on the name of the healer you’re visiting and see where they sit on a bullshit-barometer. This week the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission lawyers allege a man has claimed he can cure cancer with diet and exercise. The court has heard he claimed this treatment was more effective than surgery, chemotherapy and pharmaceutical drugs.
Continue reading "Crack down on quacks and make them pay the bill" »
Latest 2 of 192 comments
View all comments-
St. Michael says:
I don’t need to or want to look up Google. The burden of proof is on you. Cite some sources or verifiable studies ... for the third time. Third strike, dear. Your Latin also gets a D minus. “Ad hominem” is shorthand for “argumentum ad hominem”, which is an attempt… Read more »
-
Michelle says:
St Michael. OK, I admit it, you’re right: my self-esteem is wrapped up in free-thinking. Call it a crime, if that’s what it is from your padded cell of “controlled studies is all there is, la la la I can’t hear anything else”. Ad hominem = appealing to personal considerations… Read more »
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
It's a Sydney thing, but 95.3FM... Why? It used to be all Bohemian Rhapsody and Walk this Way; now it's Father to Son and Country Road. Wah.
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
We don’t deserve this huge, exciting scientific project
I’d like to be able to say that sharing the world’s largest radio telescope with South Africa…
Mining money talks the loudest in Australian politics
When North Queensland Liberal MP George Christensen got the idea of launching a new political organisation…
Please enter your password
Help! I’ve succumbed to a crippling modern illness that can strike at any moment. Symptoms include:…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
Michael S says:
"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone
Change Up! says:
I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more
Latest 2 of 69 comments
View all commentsAdd your comment