3 ms·

I'm going to be as nice and polite as I can be here. Medical science has had a long history, at least a few hundred years and performs studies/experiments/etc.

by omouse 18y ago

I'm going to be as nice and polite as I can be here. Medical science has had a long history, at least a few hundred years and performs studies/experiments/etc. to make sure that things work. Witch doctors try random shit and see what sticks to the wall even if it means the patient dies. Do you see the difference? If doctors were killing a lot of people, I'm sure journalists would have jumped all over it by now and a lot of doctors would have malpractice suits filed against them. Antibiotics do work. There have been studies to prove that. This isn't the small-time, this isn't the minor leagues, these pharma-companies are paying a big chunk of change to make sure something useful happens when you take those pills. If you want lies and deceit, I suggest you go to a "natural" "organic" pharmacy that sells homeopathic garbage.

Alex3917 18y ago
"Medical science has had a long history, at least a few hundred years and performs studies/experiments/etc. to make sure that things work." And when push comes to shove, there's a simple procedure that can cut your risk of dying from surgery in half, and it's illegal for your doctor to use it in the US. As in if they do, they lose their medical license and go to jail. Why? It's insane. "One of the sad realities of ignoring history is that almost every American is ignorant of the fact that medical freedom was tragically left out of the American Constitution. In 1776, Dr. Benjamin Rush, Surgeon General and the only American doctor to sign the Declaration of Independence, tried strenuously, but failed, to have "medical freedom" enshrined in the Constitution. He stated "The constitution of this Republic should make special provisions for Medical Freedom. To restrict the art of healing to one class of men and deny equal privileges to others will constitute the Bastille of medical science. All such laws are un-American and despotic." If this amendment were actually enacted then probably your risk of dying in surgery would be 50% of what it actually is today.
RK 18y ago
these pharma-companies are paying a big chunk of change to make sure something useful happens when you take those pills. Unfortunately, it's not always clear that those drugs do work. The problem isn't in the scientific process, but how it's often carried out and reported by the companies, who know exactly what it takes to get FDA approval (this is BIG business). I'm interested in how this process can be improved. The "alternative/complementary" medicine thing is a red herring, to be polite. Here's an interesting article that discusses some of the less than ideal ways that pharmacy companies report the science behind the drugs they develop, among other things. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22237 http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22237 I think it's an important and interesting issue that needs to be addressed better (probably by the government).
- omouse 18y ago
  You are correct of course. I remember reading about some pill right after WW2 that caused many birth defects but was approved for the public. It is a big business which is precisely why there needs to be an overseeing body. Alternative medicines isn't a red herring, it relates directly to witch doctors. None of these alternative medicines are tested properly in an objective matter to prove that they do in fact work. These people still haven't gotten to step 1 on the stairs of science, while pharma companies are at step 123901823091283 though still need to climb a few more.
  - Alex3917 18y ago
    "None of these alternative medicines are tested properly in an objective matter to prove that they do in fact work." Many have been tested and proven to work. The only reason they are "alternative" is that doctors only prescribe medicines that the pharma companies promote. So they will prescribe people statins to lower their cholesterol, but they would never advise someone to take red rice even though it does the exact same thing with less risk of complications.
    - maximilian 18y ago
      "Many have been tested and proven to work." Are they in the journals though? (i'm asking honestly, i'd be very interested to know)
      - Alex3917 18y ago
        Yes, but I'm not an ND or MD so I don't know which journals are reputable and which are not. I get the feeling that research on botanical medicine mostly gets published in the same journals that publish normal pharmaceutical research, it's just that doctors only prescribe things that come in pill form.
  - RK 18y ago
    I meant a red herring in the sense that alternative medicine is not really an alternative to actual medicine.
ahoyhere 18y ago
There is a problem, in that a medical doctor will often prescribe you expensive irritable bowel syndrome drugs when eating live culture yogurt or swallowing some culture pills (from those "natural" "organic" pharmacies) will solve the problem faster and cheaper. The "natural" stuff is about half real and half hokum. Unfortunately, it seems like regular medicine is, too.
- maximilian 18y ago
  This is where the problem is. How does one properly filter the real from the fake? I find myself quite annoyed with the whole thing. (especially homeopathy)

by omouse 18y ago

Alex3917 18y ago

"Medical science has had a long history, at least a few hundred years and performs studies/experiments/etc. to make sure that things work." And when push comes to shove, there's a simple procedure that can cut your risk of dying from surgery in half, and it's illegal for your doctor to use it in the US. As in if they do, they lose their medical license and go to jail. Why? It's insane. "One of the sad realities of ignoring history is that almost every American is ignorant of the fact that medical freedom was tragically left out of the American Constitution. In 1776, Dr. Benjamin Rush, Surgeon General and the only American doctor to sign the Declaration of Independence, tried strenuously, but failed, to have "medical freedom" enshrined in the Constitution. He stated "The constitution of this Republic should make special provisions for Medical Freedom. To restrict the art of healing to one class of men and deny equal privileges to others will constitute the Bastille of medical science. All such laws are un-American and despotic." If this amendment were actually enacted then probably your risk of dying in surgery would be 50% of what it actually is today.

RK 18y ago

these pharma-companies are paying a big chunk of change to make sure something useful happens when you take those pills. Unfortunately, it's not always clear that those drugs do work. The problem isn't in the scientific process, but how it's often carried out and reported by the companies, who know exactly what it takes to get FDA approval (this is BIG business). I'm interested in how this process can be improved. The "alternative/complementary" medicine thing is a red herring, to be polite. Here's an interesting article that discusses some of the less than ideal ways that pharmacy companies report the science behind the drugs they develop, among other things. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22237 http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22237 I think it's an important and interesting issue that needs to be addressed better (probably by the government).

omouse 18y ago
You are correct of course. I remember reading about some pill right after WW2 that caused many birth defects but was approved for the public. It is a big business which is precisely why there needs to be an overseeing body. Alternative medicines isn't a red herring, it relates directly to witch doctors. None of these alternative medicines are tested properly in an objective matter to prove that they do in fact work. These people still haven't gotten to step 1 on the stairs of science, while pharma companies are at step 123901823091283 though still need to climb a few more.
- Alex3917 18y ago
  "None of these alternative medicines are tested properly in an objective matter to prove that they do in fact work." Many have been tested and proven to work. The only reason they are "alternative" is that doctors only prescribe medicines that the pharma companies promote. So they will prescribe people statins to lower their cholesterol, but they would never advise someone to take red rice even though it does the exact same thing with less risk of complications.
  - maximilian 18y ago
    "Many have been tested and proven to work." Are they in the journals though? (i'm asking honestly, i'd be very interested to know)
    - Alex3917 18y ago
      Yes, but I'm not an ND or MD so I don't know which journals are reputable and which are not. I get the feeling that research on botanical medicine mostly gets published in the same journals that publish normal pharmaceutical research, it's just that doctors only prescribe things that come in pill form.
- RK 18y ago
  I meant a red herring in the sense that alternative medicine is not really an alternative to actual medicine.

ahoyhere 18y ago

There is a problem, in that a medical doctor will often prescribe you expensive irritable bowel syndrome drugs when eating live culture yogurt or swallowing some culture pills (from those "natural" "organic" pharmacies) will solve the problem faster and cheaper. The "natural" stuff is about half real and half hokum. Unfortunately, it seems like regular medicine is, too.

maximilian 18y ago
This is where the problem is. How does one properly filter the real from the fake? I find myself quite annoyed with the whole thing. (especially homeopathy)