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80 Comments
- anonymousmedic, on 05/26/2009, -3/+25This is a great article that helps to debunk some of the Anti-Modern Medicine, Pseudoscience ***** that is floating around thanks to a distrust in modern healthcare, and the amount of "new age" and "eastern chinese medicine" practicioners that have spoonfed a despirate public both a paranoia that big pharma is out to make them sick for profit, and a distrust of medical practicioners who the homeopathic and quack-cure community have tried to promote as wasteful, uncaring, and just in it for the almighty dollar, when the truth is farther from the fact. Tell a Mainland Chinese doctor that you want "Traditional Chinese Medicine" and they will laugh you out of their office because of your ignorance. It's killing tens of thousands over there each year, and THEY know it.
Sadly, as long as we have parents who eschew proven treatments that have a very HIGH success and surviviblity rate for herbs from the garden and megadoses of Vitamin *****, we are going to continue to have to fight against these quacks who push quick cures to the despirate for outragous fees.
If you think Big Pharma is out for your money, take a hard look at how much money the homeopathic/naturopathic industry gets each year, and tell me THEY don't have an alternate agenda, in addition to causing harm, disability, and death through misinformation through pushing such devices as magnetic bracelets for cancer, scientology auditing machines for treating mental illness, and "Electrostimulation" machines that "beam healing waves even out of the room to treat cancer". They prey on the despirate and desolate, and need to be stopped at any cost. - anonymousmedic, on 05/26/2009, -2/+18Wrong. the studies have shown a very minor if NO benefit to vitamin megadosing during illness unless it is as a result of illness from a vitamin deficiency. In the very worse case, it can lead to vitamin toxicity.
There are a lot of studies out there showing how flawwed the few homeopathic industry studies on megadoses of Vitamin C have been.
(Oh, btw, just because you say "It's used in asia" doesn't mean it's a good thing. Do you realize how many Asian doctors scoff at "Traditional Chinese Medicine" That is so often pushed here in the west? They see it for what it is, a failure of the system that has continued to kill their people due to their superstision and lack of faith in modern medicine. While Doctors who misinform share the blame, in the end it's the Mother's decision to either believe pseudoscientific homeopathic *****, or to do more research. - Nairebis, on 05/26/2009, -2/+17My favorite pet peeve medical myth: You need to drink 8 eight-ounce glasses of water a day for good health.
The reality is that you need to drink when you're thirsty. Excess water does NOT "flush" anything out, it just gets pissed out. In fact, you really don't need to drink liquids at all, there is usually enough water in food to keep you going (unless you're doing things like strenuous exercise).
[Queue people telling me I'm wrong about this. I'm not wrong. But if you think so, please find a GOOD reference that you need so much fluid, and no, some "nutritionist" repeating what they "just know" is not a good reference. You'll find a lot more scientific references backing me up.] - diemunkiesdie, on 05/26/2009, -0/+15So... which of those myths were doctor approved? Because I saw only 1 that was perpetuated by Doctors, and the title implies that this was going to be a list full of only Doctor perpetuated myths.
- RSMiller, on 05/26/2009, -0/+12It was a crap title for a bad article. Should have been called, "Medical Wives' Tales Wrapped Around the Fear that Your Doctor Doesn't Know *****"
- Nairebis, on 05/26/2009, -1/+13And, of course, the makers of vitamin and herbal quackery ONLY have the patient's best interests at heart, and have no interest in filthy money. THEIR studies are totally unbiased. Oh wait, makers of vitamins and herb remedies don't do studies. They "just know" they work, because people keep buying it.
Even if I accept that every study was paid for by cold medicine companies, it doesn't mean that the results of the double-blind testing were falsified. - DeusNova, on 05/26/2009, -1/+13Hmmmm, time to comment on a few of these myths. Basically some of these myths ruined my childhood.
I ***** hated the wait an hour after you eat to swim rule. ***** you friends mom who actually enforced it! I always knew it was BS.
Anyways, I'm sure a large amount of sugar can make any kid hyper(anyone for that matter) but a moderate amount isn't going to bother them.
Damn I could have played in the rain without catching a fever? I always wanted to play when it was raining outside when I was kid but my mom said I'll get really sick. =(
***** stupid myths people invent!
- MacEnvy, on 05/26/2009, -0/+9I'll meet you there. Paul's mom rocks.
- pauldickinson, on 05/26/2009, -0/+8The one about waking the sleepwalker is funny, I'm going to call my mum and give her some abuse!
- lisaawesome, on 05/26/2009, -0/+8That is the first time I have ever read that antibiotics don't interfere with birth control pills. I'm going to have to research this because I know all my antibiotics have a big warning on them about using them with the pill. Personally, I think with the number of accidental pregnancies people have already it might be a good idea to be on the safe side with that one.
- diggB, on 05/26/2009, -0/+8I bet the cash is nothing to sneeze at.
- kingmanic, on 05/26/2009, -0/+8As a scientists you cannot rule out any possibility until you have data. Sometimes it's a weird combination of factors which causes an observable effect and clinical trials may not be broad enough to recreate an exact case. That is why they won't rule out the possibility until they have data. At least good scientists.
- kingmanic, on 05/26/2009, -0/+8My Uncle was a professor of western medicine in China. The reason they use traditional medicines over there is because it's affordable. Given the option; most Chinese will opt for western medicine if they can afford it. In essence most effective eastern medicines are just dilute versions of pharmaceuticals. Most of the effective ones have been studied and distilled into more concentrated pharmaceutical products.
- RobotBuddha, on 05/26/2009, -0/+7I liked how they kept saying "studies say" or "doctors say". Know who I blame, science and medicine reporters who cherrypick and misinterpret studies to make a flash in the pan story.
- sockpuppets, on 05/26/2009, -0/+7Me too.
- mandarin, on 05/26/2009, -0/+5Never heard about the Popsicle theory.
- inactive, on 05/26/2009, -1/+6"Colds and flus are seasonal and tend to strike during the winter. But even when scientists put cold viruses directly into people's noses, people who were chilled were no more likely to become ill than those who were warm and comfortable."
So, I'm just wondering, how hard up for cash do you have to be to let doctors put cold viruses directly into your nose? - AndrewRidgely, on 05/26/2009, -1/+6It's much harder to rule out a small interaction than to rule in a large one. That's just the nature of statistics.
And it's easier for the company making the birth control to slap a label on there to cover their ass than it is to pay for the extra studies to prove within 99.99% there's no chance antibiotics could affect your birth control (and they'd still end up having lawsuits in the end). - Lavarock, on 05/26/2009, -0/+5WATER flushes thing out, but EXCESS water doesn't. When your piss is clear, that means there's simply too much ***** water in your gut and you body is trying to get rid of it. It's flushing out the WATER you loaded yourself with.
- RobotBuddha, on 05/26/2009, -0/+5Yet another reason I'm deeply envious of kids growing up now, compared to when I was young. All they have to do is some googling and they can have an argument complete with primary sources to combat stupid fun destroying myths.
- Ascus, on 05/26/2009, -0/+5Your actually correct, *IF* you eat fresh foods. But people that are living on grain products, need the liquid. Water is a great way to get liquid without calories.
- RobotBuddha, on 05/26/2009, -0/+4"take a hard look at how much money the homeopathic/naturopathic industry gets each year,"
Not to mention that often the naturopathic industry is "big pharma". It's not that uncommon for a pharmacutical company to sell so called alternative medicine as well. - iFrix, on 05/26/2009, -1/+5You know COLD viruses aren't that big a deal.... You probably have them right now, all around you...
- RobotBuddha, on 05/26/2009, -0/+4It's also the expectations of the parents. From the second they're old enough to understand language they're told that candy will make them run around, scream, and have a ton of fun. It's the same reason done large for why the people administering a drug in studies aren't told if it's a placebo or not. The expectations of the researchers influence the subjective effects in the patient.
- nirv117, on 05/26/2009, -0/+4What I've read is it is the excitement of candy that get them excited, not the sugar itself. I've seen kids get excited over sugar free kool-aid - they don't know its sugar free, and obviously it isn't the sugar causing the commotion.
- kingmanic, on 05/26/2009, -2/+5Enough to eat and pay rent if you are unemployed. Or it might be some of that Nazi Germany/Imperial Japanese medical data the US traded their morality to get. The Japanese Unit 731 and Dr. Mengele did horrific experiments on the Chinese and European minorities respectively. The US traded immunity from prosecution for this data. Russia did the same.
- minnecrapolis, on 05/26/2009, -0/+3While I would agree with the majority of your statement, it's not entirely precise.
Yes, we can get fluids from other sources (some vegetables are 90% water as an example). But we should be, on average, urinating 1.5 liters per day. If you aren't then you are probably dehydrated.
Other factors include temperature, exercise/activity level, current health, etc.
I suspect you'll accept the Mayo Clinic as a reliable source:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283
That being said, I have often heard that if you drink water only when you are thirsty then you are drinking water too late. I haven't checked if there is any real evidence on that but it does sound like a reasonable assumption. - Ascus, on 05/26/2009, -0/+3You don't wake a sleepwalker for your own safety not theirs. You never know perception of reality they have when they wake up. If you must wake one, be prepared to defend yourself.
- animalwheeler, on 05/26/2009, -1/+3I also disagree with the "teething doesn't cause fevers". I know both of my girls, when they were teething, spiked fevers. Consistently 100-102* fever for while the tooth was "pushing through".
I have also assumed it's the babies body is getting ready in case of infection from the broken skin. - Angostura, on 05/26/2009, -1/+3"Most people with concussions will not fall into comas if they go to sleep. "
. I love that "most". You know what, Until I'm given the all clear, I think I'll keep them awake. - lisaawesome, on 05/26/2009, -0/+2Good note kingmanic but I had to chuckle a bit because I am a scientist myself. Science is pretty awesome :D
- Lavarock, on 05/26/2009, -0/+2Teething takes a while, and they're likely to get a fever somewhere in there.
- Coffeedemon, on 05/26/2009, -0/+2I imagine a lot of these can be attributed to false correlations. Much like the idea that walking under a ladder or breaking a mirror causes bad luck. Its not "bad luck"... its an increased chance of slashing your hands open on broken glass or getting your head bashed in by a falling paint can because you bumped a ladder. The proverbial awakened sleepwalker probably died from being disoriented/frightened and falling down some stairs.
- kingmanic, on 05/26/2009, -0/+2Just don't buy a hotel or if you do remind me no to go there.
- mparker21311, on 05/26/2009, -1/+3PLACEBO
- lisaawesome, on 05/26/2009, -0/+2The Mayo Clinic says other than rifampin which is not commonly prescribed antibiotics have not been shown in any large studies to decrease the pill's effectiveness, but researchers cannot still rule out this possibility. Interesting.
- Angostura, on 05/26/2009, -0/+2My brother got quite a lot of cash from the UK's cold research place down in Dorset. Used to do it every university holiday.
- WhiskeyLemur, on 06/30/2009, -1/+3My aunt is a big believer in the whole traditional/homeopathic remedy *****... So when her son came down with Hodgkin's lymphoma, she somehow convinced him to try all of that crap instead of the "evil" modern treatments which have been shown to be very effective against this type of cancer (I say "convinced" because he was in his mid to late 20s at the time, and in all honesty should have known better).
Make a long story short: he went through about two years of this "alternative medicine" *****, and developed a slew of attendant health problems as a result. In the end he wound up getting contemporary (i.e., proven and researched) treatments, and has now been cancer-free for some 3-4 years. Except that he still has lingering effects from the two years of virtual neglect of the problem....
Any time people start extolling the virtues of "natural" or homeopathic remedies, I think of my cousin. This ***** is *far* from benign, much along the same lines and for the same reasons that telling people not to inoculate their children for fear of autism is far from benign. We're not living in the middle ages anymore, but there's an apparently growing number of people who didn't get the memo. - animalwheeler, on 05/26/2009, -0/+2@Lavarock:
Yes, when the filtering function of the kidneys is surpassed by the amount of water going through them, you end up urinating clear. But kidney stones start and reside *inside* the kidney. When one is moving its way down the ureter, water helps move it along its course. When the stone is in the bladder, the more often you urinate, the more chance there is the stone will come out. And the more urine you are urinating, the more chance of having a strong ‘stream’ and that stone not getting stuck in the urethra on it’s way out.
At this point it doesn’t matter if your urine is John Deere yellow or clear as a Rocky Mountain stream; ANY water moving from the kidneys, down the ureter, into the bladder and down the urethra helps move a kidney stone out.
And also, any water (even clear ‘excess’ water) going through the kidneys also helps if there is a stone in the kidney, giving a greater chance that it will move out of the kidney and on it’s course out of the renal system. So if there is a small 2mm stone hanging out, the more water that goes through the kidney, the more chance it will go along it’s way as a 2mm stone; instead of hanging out till it gets to be a 4mm stone.
So, as I said, even the “excess” water helps flush things out. - Lavarock, on 05/26/2009, -0/+2I agree, I used to swim 3000-4000 yards everyday, and you can't eat a big stupidass lunch. You'll throw up just like you'll throw up running or anything else aerobic. But you never get cramps and drown.
- ZellD, on 05/27/2009, -0/+2As a lifegaurd I would still reccomend waiting an hour after eating unless you're a fairly confident swimmer.
You won't die from cramps at all but it can aggrravate other situations. For example, many people will swallow or choke on chlorinated water, panic, and vomit. Not only does it make cleaning the pool a more eventful task but it can create an even worse choking situation if vommited food gets stuck in the throat. - trefitch, on 05/27/2009, -0/+2I thought it was mental retardation leads to a lack of vaccination?
- bobbi21, on 05/26/2009, -0/+2lol. As long as the person is checked on at some point, you should be fine. Go to the hospital and check for any bleeding in your brain and if you check out, i'm pretty sure all evidence says you aren't in trouble if you sleep.
You shouldn't be left alone of course cus whether you sleep or not, there is a chance they missed something at the hospital. You're more likely to see signs of problems if the guy is awake I guess but if you have no signs after the hospital has done all its test, it's most likely a slow bleed and you can be identified after you wake up and sent to the hospital without any problems.
Of course I'll still worry about sleeping since there's always a chance you'll miss something.
But I guess the point was the sleep doesn't cause the coma. It's just sleep may mask bad things that could lead to a coma. - animalwheeler, on 05/26/2009, -0/+2Yea sure; but when there is a correlation b/w their: wanting something to teeth on, my (or my wife's) being able to feel the tooth breaking through the skin, their crankiness from the obvious pain of said tooth, and getting a fever; every time a tooth was breaking through the skin?
I'd call that more than coincidence. It wasn't just random inserts of a fever here and there. It was when we could feel the tooth ready to break through, and they were obviously not happy about pain from the tooth; there was an accompanying fever.
So maybe it's just my kids, could be; but it was a constant for them. - DrKeith, on 05/26/2009, -0/+2@Nairebis:
You are exactly right, dead on target, and it is that simple.
Healthy people who drink when they are thirsty will maintain adequate hydration. This advice applies to endurance athletes too. If you are an avid runner or cyclist, start well hydrated, and drink when you are thirsty; if you are an elite endurance athlete, know your sweat rate and replace cc for cc.
Drinking on a schedule can cause hyponatremia, especially when combined with exercise.
Sources: Exercise Associated Hyponatremia Consensus Statement, personal communications with Dr. Timothy Noakes & Dr. Johnathon Dugas, participation in Gatorade Race Medical Directors Summit. - bobbi21, on 05/26/2009, -0/+1Yeah, a lot of stuff just has no studies for so they have to put the warning if there's the slightest possibility a problem could occur, even if there's no real evidence for it (since if it does cause problems there will be lots and lots of suing).
Or there is stuff like using antiseizure meds when you're pregnant. A few of em have been shown to have really bad effects on the kids (neural tube defects) so now all of them are basically banned with pregnancy. For this, I don't think any pregnant mom will be willing to go into a randomized trial to see if this is true or not for any particular anti-seizure med. So drug companies ere on the safe side. - bobbi21, on 05/26/2009, -0/+1I don't buy the big head thing. I think that just doesn't account for all the kids with little heads due to some congenital defect that often includes mental retardation. If that's included, big heads would obvious be smarter since there's less tiny babies with mental retardation in their group.
- DrKeith, on 05/26/2009, -0/+1What you say is true. The majority of athletes who exercise at greater than 70% of their VO2 max will have gastroesophageal reflux. If you have a high gastric residual due to having eaten shortly before exercise, you'll have recent groceries re-visiting your mouth.
Sadly, I swim like a barge. Lots of splash, little forward progress. -
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