3 ms·

We all laugh at this nowadays, but 100 years later, Radium (or rather Radon, a radioactive gas) is still being used nowadays. I once stumbled on homoeopathic a

by npstr 9y ago

We all laugh at this nowadays, but 100 years later, Radium (or rather Radon, a radioactive gas) is still being used nowadays. I once stumbled on homoeopathic advice to visit a radon cave. While I don't have the original site or link at hand, googling will lead you to sites like this: http://www.gastein.com/en/radon-therapy-austria http://www.gastein.com/en/radon-therapy-austria I have no words for this.

MartinCron 9y ago
Well, if they give you radon in homeopathic doses, you should be fine.
- type0 9y ago
  > homeopathic doses there is no such thing
danbruc 9y ago
Some time ago I read that no radiation exposure might actually be worse for organisms than low radiation exposure like background radiation. We know the effects of high doses and everyone just assumed that the negative effects go to zero as the dose goes to zero and extrapolated it this way from high doses to zero while in reality there might be a very different relation at low doses. I will try to find some sources, I am no longer sure how convincing the argument was. This does not really change the fact that there seems to be no good evidence that walking around in a cave with elevated Radon levels does any good, but it would be less obviously a bad idea if what I mentioned above has any merits. EDIT: Found it, it is called radiation hormesis [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_hormesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_hormesis
- TheGRS 9y ago
  I think what you're getting at is the old adage of doing things in moderation. Little bit of alcohol seems to have more positive effects than none at all, severely negative effects when overdone. Same with many drugs, foods and types of exercises. The one that really comes to mind for me is bacteria. The idea of probiotics is still pretty new to the public. Probably not a great idea to ingest a ton of bacteria all the time, but a little bit can be super beneficial, and much more beneficial than none.

by npstr 9y ago

MartinCron 9y ago

Well, if they give you radon in homeopathic doses, you should be fine.

type0 9y ago
> homeopathic doses there is no such thing

danbruc 9y ago

Some time ago I read that no radiation exposure might actually be worse for organisms than low radiation exposure like background radiation. We know the effects of high doses and everyone just assumed that the negative effects go to zero as the dose goes to zero and extrapolated it this way from high doses to zero while in reality there might be a very different relation at low doses. I will try to find some sources, I am no longer sure how convincing the argument was. This does not really change the fact that there seems to be no good evidence that walking around in a cave with elevated Radon levels does any good, but it would be less obviously a bad idea if what I mentioned above has any merits. EDIT: Found it, it is called radiation hormesis [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_hormesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_hormesis

TheGRS 9y ago
I think what you're getting at is the old adage of doing things in moderation. Little bit of alcohol seems to have more positive effects than none at all, severely negative effects when overdone. Same with many drugs, foods and types of exercises. The one that really comes to mind for me is bacteria. The idea of probiotics is still pretty new to the public. Probably not a great idea to ingest a ton of bacteria all the time, but a little bit can be super beneficial, and much more beneficial than none.