-Submitted by David Durmm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Woo, a term used by scientific skeptics for pseudoscience, alternative medicine and New Age beliefs, or a person who holds such beliefs.
Walmart, through their website, is selling Oscillococcinum, manufactured by Boiron, to be used “for flu-like symptoms.” Their image of the package shows that the product “Reduces [the] Duration and Severity of Flu Symptoms,” including “Fever, Chills, Body Aches and Pains.”
It does no such thing.
According to a report from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center:
There was no evidence that homoeopathic [sic] treatment can prevent influenza-like syndrome …
In a study from the University of Exeter:
Similarly, there was no homeopathic remedy that was demonstrated to yield clinical effects that are convincingly different from placebo.
You might as well buy a dispenser of Tic Tacs, it’s cheaper, too.
Does Walmart not have a shred of ethical obligation? Does Walmart have to exploit the ignorant? The product is also available from Target.
The stupid and their money are soon parted.
H/T: CFI.
“Mayo has created a new specialty (Complementary and Integrative Medicine) to blend the best of both worlds — conventional medicine and complementary and alternative medicine. ”
Yippie! That’s a big WOOHOO!
now if we can only get the insurance companies to do the right thing…
From Science Daily (6/13/2006)
Acupuncture Relieves Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia, Mayo Clinic Study Finds
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060614000759.htm
Excerpt:
ScienceDaily (June 13, 2006) — Evidence suggests acupuncture reduces the symptoms of fibromyalgia, according to a Mayo Clinic study.
Fibromyalgia is a disorder considered disabling by many, and is characterized by chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain and symptoms such as fatigue, joint stiffness and sleep disturbance. No cure is known and available treatments are only partially effective.
Mayo’s study involved 50 fibromyalgia patients enrolled in a randomized, controlled trial to determine if acupuncture improved their symptoms. Symptoms of patients who received acupuncture significantly improved compared with the control group, according to the study published in the June issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
“The results of the study convince me there is something more than the placebo effect to acupuncture,” says David Martin, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the acupuncture article and a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist. “It affirms a lot of clinical impressions that this complementary medical technique is helpful for patients.”
I love the name “Woo-Mart”! Of course, I was thinking about replacing the W with another letter, but it is Sunday!
Nal,
From the Mayo Clinic
Acupuncture Overview
http://www.mayoclinic.org/acupuncture/
Experienced physicians and licensed acupuncturists at Mayo Clinic perform acupuncture to treat various conditions. Acupuncture can be helpful as a stand-alone treatment to provide pain relief, as well as to help maintain general health and well-being, increase energy and improve mood in healthy individuals.
Specialists at Mayo Clinic recognize that complementary and alternative medicine treatments such as acupuncture can help promote physical, mental and spiritual wellness. Mayo has created a new specialty (Complementary and Integrative Medicine) to blend the best of both worlds — conventional medicine and complementary and alternative medicine. Mayo Clinic professionals integrate acupuncture and conventional treatments to help a patient balance mind, body and spirit.
http://www.homeopathyeurope.org/news-and-press/nobel-laureate-montagnier-takes-homeopathy-seriously
Armand: What are you giving him drugs for? What the hell are Pirin tablets?
Agador: It’s aspirin with the “A” and the “S” scraped off.
Armand: My God, what a brilliant idea!
Agador: I know.
Nal,
“But there does appear to be a significant placebo effect, in addition to non-specific effects from relaxation and therapeutic attention, to the ritual of acupuncture.”
Maybe it’s only a placebo effect–but the acupuncture and Chinese herbs helped me with a problem I’d been having for years. Doctors gave me all kinds of tests–CT-Scans, blood tests, etc. They really couldn’t diagnose my problem. They suggested no treatment for my pain and discomfort. I don’t want to go into detail here. Suffice it to say that I was left with no alternative but for alternative medicine. It has helped me to live a better quality life.
Woosty’s still a Cat
well said
The main argument against the research into Oscillococcinum (yes, double-blind randomized clinical trial), is that “it can’t work.”
That’s it. That’s the only argument.
Ah, where to begin.
I would refer you to Sharon Begley’s well-written article about the work of Dr. John Ioannidis whose work is popping most if not all the bubbles about the quality of medical and pharmaceutical research. (http://www.newsweek.com/2011/01/23/why-almost-everything-you-hear-about-medicine-is-wrong.html)
For you acupuncture skeptics, I would refer you to the research of Bruce Pomeranz, PhD. He has done more different lines of research on the methods and effectiveness of acupuncture than have EVER been done on a drug or medical procedure ever. (http://www.medicalacupuncture.org/acu_info/interviews/pomeranzart.html)
If you want to be a real medical skeptic, forget about alternative medicine which hurts or kills a tiny fraction of the number of people killed by modern medicine. In the US alone, somewhere between 80,000 and 180,000 people are killed by medical errors every year. We can’t get accurate numbers because hospitals won’t make them public. (See the work of Lucian Leape, MD). Additionally, many hundreds of thousands are hospitalized or re-hospitalized from these same errors.
Research? Do you know that less than 30% of surgical procedures have ever been subjected to the “gold standard” of randomized double-blind clinical trials? And when they have been (arthroscopic knee surgery and a particular kind of spine surgery), it turned out they were no better than the placebo!
When the ACQHA published its research on unnecessary back surgery, the response of the College of Surgeons was to lobby Congress (successfully, sadly) to de-fund the ACQHA.
Beware the so-called medical skeptics. They are a group of doctors whose licenses have lapsed, and a bunch of lapdogs for the pharmaceutical industry and the AMA. They have been fighting to keep chiropractors and other practitioners from getting licensed, and to keep the sick-business in the hands of their own. They continue to question things like acupuncture which is so well-proven that the NIH has published a list of the approved uses.
Finally, a word about placebo research. It is actually quite fascinating if you delve into it. It turns out that nearly every drug and medical procedure is affected by the placebo effect; that there are more effective and less effective placebos (e.g. the placebo shot is more effective than the placebo pill); that over time drugs become less effective because of the placebo effect. And if you think that something can ever be only in your head, then you don’t even begin to understand how this works.
Also, the Gov has studied this ‘fraud’ and has not found the ‘smoking gun’…but they are looking! So for now it seems to be a ‘sanctioned’ fraud…but I will put my money on the claim that the closer and longer they look….the more pissed off and threatened the ‘mainstream’ Pharmacology will become…
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10853874
The EU has done a better job of regulating claims and practices in their markets…’Any claim about treating or curing a disease or malformation is considered as unfair or misleading[i] unless the product is registered as medication and sufficient proof for its efficacy and related claims have been presented to and accepted by the EU or national pharmaceutical authorities.’
http://www.ecso.org/component/content/article/6-topic-article/32-eu-fraud-hom
“Woo, a term used by scientific skeptics for pseudoscience, alternative medicine and New Age beliefs, or a person who holds such beliefs.”
Hoo-hoo
Hoo \Hoo\, interj. 1. See Ho. [Obs.] –Chaucer. 2. Hurrah! — an exclamation of triumphant joy. –Shak. … Definition: hoo. dictionary
Woohoo – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
—used to express exuberant delight or approval.
Again, I disagree…. there is just no decent WooHOO! without the Woo…..even penicillan does not work for everyone…Oscillococcinum, is a homeopathic. Trials and studies following the same clinical standards as other, more ‘mainstream’ for profit pharmaceuticals show that it does indeed produce a positive effect. Of course the standards and methods and enforcements for ALL governmental agencies could probably use a good tightening up….
Another way to look at this….which is more likely to kill you in relation to efficacy of response; Viagra or Oscillococcinum? This is also about risk aversion…and there is 100% agreement in this fact:THERE IS NO CURRENT PROVEN CURE FOR THE COMMON COLD.
The risks we suffer by taking certain medications, however, is usually not mentioned in the same manner as when these substances are being hawked….’Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is evaluating the safety of over-the-counter cold and cough medications in older children.
Keep in mind that acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) can cause serious liver damage or liver failure if taken in doses higher than recommended. It’s common for people to take Tylenol in addition to flu medications that also contain acetaminophen, which can lead to acetaminophen overdoses.’
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cold-remedies/ID00036
More Evidence that Acupuncture is a Placebo
I have written numerous blogs both here and on SBM about the acupuncture literature, which clearly shows that acupuncture, for any indication, is nothing but an elaborate placebo.
…
But there does appear to be a significant placebo effect, in addition to non-specific effects from relaxation and therapeutic attention, to the ritual of acupuncture.
Swarthmore mom,
I’m with you on acupuncture and Chinese herbs. They helped me. My primary care doctor believes in alternative forms of medicine. That said, I’m sure not all forms of alternative medicine are created equal.
Boiron products are sold at all health food stores. Austin is the city of “woo”. People seem pretty healthy there. I like alternative medicine especially acupuncture and chinese herbs. Pfizer isn’t necessarily the solution.
Where do libtards buy their over the counter meds? Is Oscillococcinum not available for sale there too?
All I see here is an article written by a libtard intended to defame the favorite libtard punching bag.
Tongue in cheek Elain M. totally as how could anyone really believe that wally-Mart has a soul eh………………
M. Wrytter,
The SOUL of Walmart??? You’re kidding…right?
LOL @ Woo-Mart, but if the name fits so be it and yes the stupid and their money are soon parted. This does make one ponder where the true soul of Woo-Mart does lie eh???
“Does Walmart not have a shred of ethical obligation? Does Walmart have to exploit the ignorant?”
No and yes, respectively.
They are so adept at it, I suggest they do a name change to reflect their true nature.
Woo-Mart.