placebo

UNAM: Huge house, unreproducible dwelling.

The Science It is characterized by conducting accurate and repeatable experiments. These traits explain the reasons for its slow growth. This is how it should be: the power of knowledge, through thick and thin, is endless. Clean water and vaccines versus atomic bombs and climate change. Increased longevity and health versus poor distribution of science, increased poverty and inability to access items whose functions increase the quality of life.

The Medicine, as is known, is not an exact science, largely due to the differences between people. There are those who die or become “seriously” ill due to a particular infection or disease process, while their peers, people of similar ages and health history, suffer no harm. Hence the old saying “There are no diseases…there are patients”.

The placebo, “a substance that in itself lacks a therapeutic effect that produces some positive effect on the patient if he takes it with the conviction that the substance really has such action,” explains the above problem: there are patients who improve thanks to the positive effects of non-medicinal substances, i.e. salt, Sugar, or trusting the doctor. As early as 1572, when medicine had minimal elements, Montaigne“Some people get better just by thinking about medicine,” he commented. This observation was not left in a vacuum. Over time, doctors gave several placebos, among them pills containing sugar or honey, and bitter drinks with varying results. These attitudes have divided the medical community. There are those who think it is unethical to prescribe a placebo while others advocate it.

When the response is adequate and the patient is improving, the doctor, after studying new complaints, can manage his disorders with “simple” medications, which produce fewer side effects. When the answer is not enough, the doctor should review the nature of the problems and focus on the problem with another view. Twelve years ago, it was published in British Medical Journal, a study in which rheumatologists and general practitioners were invited to answer a questionnaire about the links between chronic pain and placebos. I share the results of the investigation. For your better understanding, include them.

The search was conducted by survey. Of the 1,200 physicians who were sent the questionnaire, 679 responded. 1) 62 percent answered that they used a placebo. For them, the practice was appropriate and did not violate ethical principles. 2) Forty percent of the same group described vitamins as sedatives. 3) Thirteen percent indicated antibiotics or sedatives. 4) Send three percent sugar pills. 5) Two-thirds of them answered that patients had been told “they would receive a powerful treatment not normally used for their disease”.

Although the response to placebos has been positive in many studies, there is no consensus on the ethics of their use. highlights the situation. A friendly relationship with the doctor and trust enhances the success of the placebo. The “science” of placebo is interesting. There are no clear answers regarding its effectiveness or regarding Moral to describe them. Placebos have been around for a long time and will continue to be used. Morality when described and its success depend, as (almost) always, on the relationship sick doctor The ethical principles of the physician.

Doctor and writer