5 ms·

Drugs used to be less regulated until 1938, when tainted medication lead to over a hundred deaths: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elixir_sulfanilamide https://

by jfim 6y ago

Drugs used to be less regulated until 1938, when tainted medication lead to over a hundred deaths: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elixir_sulfanilamide https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elixir_sulfanilamide

dilutedh2o 6y ago
Why not just let the natural selection play out
treeman79 6y ago
I have a chronic condition. Medical community has been one of the biggest problems in finding treatment. Multiple years to work through a checklist of tests and medications to try. Flat out can’t get prescriptions for basic things like antibiotics. Even when a round of it always results in a couple months of dramatic symptom relief. At this point massive deregulation would be best gift ever.
- namibj 6y ago
  Generally speaking, antibiotics should be more controlled, to prevent breeding resistant bacteria. I.e., ensuring that the treatment is done in full. You might want to look for bacteriophage treatment, which lacks many downsides (at the cost of needing matching like donor organs, and thus distribution infrastructure).
  - treeman79 6y ago
    If people were serious about this then it would be highly restricted for livestock. Some years ago I suffering extreme chills for many days. I had to beg doctor for a round. She was mortified that I would want them. Next step was full ER visit while on a business trip out of state. So no insurance. Was fine after a few days. This happens every so often. Each time is a nightmare getting a prescription despite history.
- phnofive 6y ago
  You’re talking about something like https://mpkb.org/home/othertreatments/antibacterials/highdose#immunosuppression_of_high-dose_antibiotics https://mpkb.org/home/othertreatments/antibacterials/highdos... ? I know what I said at the top of the thread, but I’d pay handsomely to assume the risk for an off-label prescription for Hizentra. The only probable downside is it wouldn’t work.
yawboakye 6y ago
Regulated drugs have killed, and will likely kill more than unregulated drugs, and with dangerous devastation because the usual skepticism that surrounds anything novel will be assuaged by the stamp of approval. So, if we eventually decide to count death by regulated drugs (not counting death by the regulation process itself) we might not come to a happy conclusion that it has worked as expected.
- jfim 6y ago
  With the current regulations in place, it's definitely possible that regulated drugs have killed more people than unregulated drugs. Would that still be the case without any regulation? All the regulations do is ensure that products intended for pharmaceutical use have a certain level of evidence of safety and efficacy. It doesn't mean that unregulated products are unsafe or do not have a positive effect on health, it just means that one cannot sell them or market them as something that can cure disease. Keep in mind that even with this regulation in place, people still try to sell things like the MMS [0], which the FDA warns against consuming [1]. While regulation isn't perfect, in this case I'd argue that it's a net benefit, all things considered. It's not perfect, but it's better than having no regulation in place. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_Mineral_Supplement https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_Mineral_Supplement [1] https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/danger-dont-drink-miracle-mineral-solution-or-similar-products https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/danger-dont-d...

by jfim 6y ago

dilutedh2o 6y ago

Why not just let the natural selection play out

treeman79 6y ago

I have a chronic condition. Medical community has been one of the biggest problems in finding treatment. Multiple years to work through a checklist of tests and medications to try. Flat out can’t get prescriptions for basic things like antibiotics. Even when a round of it always results in a couple months of dramatic symptom relief. At this point massive deregulation would be best gift ever.

namibj 6y ago
Generally speaking, antibiotics should be more controlled, to prevent breeding resistant bacteria. I.e., ensuring that the treatment is done in full. You might want to look for bacteriophage treatment, which lacks many downsides (at the cost of needing matching like donor organs, and thus distribution infrastructure).
- treeman79 6y ago
  If people were serious about this then it would be highly restricted for livestock. Some years ago I suffering extreme chills for many days. I had to beg doctor for a round. She was mortified that I would want them. Next step was full ER visit while on a business trip out of state. So no insurance. Was fine after a few days. This happens every so often. Each time is a nightmare getting a prescription despite history.
phnofive 6y ago
You’re talking about something like https://mpkb.org/home/othertreatments/antibacterials/highdose#immunosuppression_of_high-dose_antibiotics https://mpkb.org/home/othertreatments/antibacterials/highdos... ? I know what I said at the top of the thread, but I’d pay handsomely to assume the risk for an off-label prescription for Hizentra. The only probable downside is it wouldn’t work.

yawboakye 6y ago

Regulated drugs have killed, and will likely kill more than unregulated drugs, and with dangerous devastation because the usual skepticism that surrounds anything novel will be assuaged by the stamp of approval. So, if we eventually decide to count death by regulated drugs (not counting death by the regulation process itself) we might not come to a happy conclusion that it has worked as expected.

jfim 6y ago
With the current regulations in place, it's definitely possible that regulated drugs have killed more people than unregulated drugs. Would that still be the case without any regulation? All the regulations do is ensure that products intended for pharmaceutical use have a certain level of evidence of safety and efficacy. It doesn't mean that unregulated products are unsafe or do not have a positive effect on health, it just means that one cannot sell them or market them as something that can cure disease. Keep in mind that even with this regulation in place, people still try to sell things like the MMS [0], which the FDA warns against consuming [1]. While regulation isn't perfect, in this case I'd argue that it's a net benefit, all things considered. It's not perfect, but it's better than having no regulation in place. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_Mineral_Supplement https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_Mineral_Supplement [1] https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/danger-dont-drink-miracle-mineral-solution-or-similar-products https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/danger-dont-d...