Wednesday, September 19, 2007
A Passing Thought on Alternative Autism Treatment
If there were even (subtly) botched scientific evidence pointing to the efficacy of miracle cures for autism, why wouldn't mainstream medicine want to capitalize on it? Especially given that autism spectrum conditions are such a "hot" diagnosis these days.
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4 comments:
Because they do not routinely read up on any scientific study outside of their very narrow specialty, so they do not want to dirty their hands with it.
hmm...maybe...
But there could also be issues of paradigm. Many people become attached to specific paradigms, even though science is supposed to compensate for that.
Placebos, for instance, have been proven to be very effective to encourage healing and produce satisfaction in many patients for whom real drugs are of no use, and even some for whom real drugs are of use. But modern medicine refuses to use pure placebos for anything but double-blind drug trials, when it could save people a lot of trouble and side effects prescribing them when they know there's nothing that can help their patients.
Actually, science uses placebo effect quite often in field applications. More often the not, the influenza vaccine does not cover the strain that becomes prominent. It will protect you against nothing. Yet people attribute their health to the vaccine rather then their own immune system and ability to take responsible care for themselves. The vaccine is nothing more then placebo.
hmm...interesting.
I've only gotten the flu vaccine one year (when bird flu talk was big), but I've rarely gotten the flu since my childhood ended. I can only think of one case of flu I've had in my entire adult life thus far.
When I have colds, I treat myself with placebos - Cold-Eeze and Halls Defense Vitamin C supplements, or both. I also sometimes use sugar as a placebo to encourage an end to hiccuping - and my intention to stop hiccupping and treating myself to that old home remedy I learned as a child satisfy me quite nicely. Last time I did it I stopped hiccupping quite quickly. Sometimes I even stop just before I treat myself to the sugar!
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