Doctors prescribing placebos??

I was cruising around for blog ideas when I ran across this interesting article on doctors prescribing placebos. It struck my interest, and I'd really like to hear your opinion on this concept. I copied this article directly from www.cnn.com.




By Elizabeth Cohen CNN Medical Correspondent



(CNN) -- When Dr. Danielle Ofri first read the headlines, she was horrified: Doctors were prescribing placebos to their patients instead of real medicine. How awful, she thought. How deceptive.

Study: Doctors are prescribing placebos, such as vitamins, antibiotics, pain-killers and sedatives to patients

But then, as Ofri read on, she thought, "Wait a second. By the definitions of this study, I've prescribed placebos."

Ofri, an assistant professor of medicine at New York University Medical School, says when patients complain about being tired, for example, she'll sometimes suggest they take a multivitamin, even though there's no proof they work against fatigue.

"First, I'll do the million-dollar workup on the patient," Ofri says. "I check them out for anemia, diabetes, cancer, asthma, depression, and other sorts of other things. When I can't find anything wrong, I'll explain vitamins have worked for some of my patients, and there's no downside. I don't think that's being deceptive."

Last week's study on placebos published in the British Medical Journal has sparked debate: What precisely is a placebo, and might you, the patient, actually in some cases benefit from one? Watch more about doctors prescribing placebos »

Placebos, it turns out, are in the eye of the beholder. Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel, one of the study authors and director of the department of bioethics at the National Institutes of Health, says it's unethical for a doctor to suggest a medication that hasn't been proven to work. Other doctors say it's OK -- and sometimes beneficial -- to prescribe something that hasn't been shown to work in studies, as long as it's not harmful.

Perhaps, they reason, the treatment -- say a vitamin, or an aspirin -- could have a physiological effect not yet found in studies. Or maybe a treatment will have "a placebo effect," meaning it will make you feel better just because you have confidence it will make you feel better.

So how would you even know if your doctor's prescribing you a placebo? And should you take it? "Not all placebos are created equal," says Dr. Christiane Northrup. Below are four placebos that the NIH study found are commonly prescribed, with advice on questions to ask about each of them.


Vitamins
Vitamins have several proven purposes. "If you're a young woman about to become pregnant, it's important you take folate. And Vitamin B12 is necessary to prevent certain medical conditions like anemia," Emanuel says.
Beyond a few solid examples like these, some doctors think vitamins might help for certain conditions, such as fatigue, while others think they don't.
The solution: Ask your doctor if the vitamin has been proven to help your problem. If it hasn't, ask her if she has any reason to think it will work (perhaps, as with Ofri, she's had anecdotal success among her patients). Finally, ask if there's any downside to taking the vitamin, then make your decision.


Over-the-counter painkillers
You've heard of the saying "take two aspirin and call me in the morning"? The most commonly prescribed placebo in Emanuel's study was over-the-counter analgesics, such as aspirin.


Health Library
MayoClinic.com: Health Library
In Emanuel's view, these doctors were prescribing aspirin without any reason other than that that it might elicit the "placebo effect."
But Northrup disagrees. "Why would an over-the-counter analgesic be a placebo? Aspirin's a powerful anti-inflammatory, and inflammation is an important part of many diseases."
The advice here is similar to the advice with vitamins. If your doctor suggests you take aspirin for what ails you, ask if there's any proof the aspirin will work. Even if there is proof, ask if the pain reliever could harm you in any way.


Antibiotics
Everyone agrees there are cases where doctors prescribe antibiotics when they shouldn't, often because the patient insists on them.
In the NIH study, 13 percent of doctors reported using antibiotics as placebos. "Antibiotics for a viral illness may be dangerous, and it's not a good idea," Emanuel says. "If your doctor prescribes an antibiotic, ask if you actually have a bacterial infection."
Ofri adds there's not always a clear answer to that question. "If I had a patient who's had bronchitis for two weeks, it's probably because of a virus. But it's not out of the realm of reasonableness that it could be bacterial," She says it can tough to detect bacterial infections when someone has bronchitis, so sometimes she'll prescribe an antibiotic.


Sedatives
In the study, 13 percent of doctors also said they'd prescribed a sedative as a placebo.
This is the only "placebo" our doctors agreed on: Sedatives can be addictive, and you want to take them only if you have a condition, such as an anxiety disorder, where they're clearly indicated.

"If your doctor prescribes you a sedative, ask them why, and ask if there's some other treatment, something that's not addictive, that you could do instead," Northrup says.
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Contaminated Chocolate Coins?

Like most office environments, my coworkers and I enjoy sharing emails. Some of the "fwds" are of the funny nature, some are inspiring and others are a serious messages meant to serve as a 'heads up' type of forewarning.

I usually skim over them and promptly click delete. It's not that I don't appreciate my coworker's thoughtfulness by keeping me in mind when sending the mass email. I just don't believe half of the information on these forwards.

They seem to be more of urban legend type of infromation: Watch out when you pump gas because a rapist may hop into your back seat..or never put your finger in a coin return because people have been placing HIV injected needles in them, just waiting for you to place your finger on the tip.

Even as a mom of a 4 1/2 year old, I don't take everything I read to be literal. The world wide web is a infinate place for an infinate number of authors to post whatever information they like, and although some may think we can never be too careful, I on the other hand think it's a waste of time to live in paranoia and fear.

However, today I received an email that got my attention. It was an email that was "verified" by http://www.snopes.com/, which if I understand correctly, is the ultimate online rumor verifier, right?

Anyway, it stated Sherwood's Milk Chocolate Pirate's Gold Coins (Halloween candy imported from China) is unsafe and contains melamine, which is is an organic base and a trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 66% nitrogen by mass and, if mixed with resins, has fire retardant properties due to its release of nitrogen gas when burned or charred, and has several other industrial uses.

Two questions: What is your opinion on the Chinese imports that have been found contaminated over the recent years? Do you believe this 'warning' and will you avoid the chocolate coins just to be safe?


Until Next Week,
Kelly

Spooktacular Ideas

With Halloween fast approaching, our weekly blog will be that of an interactive conversation, asking our readers to provide your tips and ideas, likes and dislikes, and traditions for this spooky holiday.

Do you have a favorite meal you like to prepare for your family? Do you always hand out the same home-made treats and dress up for your co-workers? Or… do you turn off your porch light because you prefer not to participate and cringe when you go to bed hoping the neighborhood kids don’t throw toilet paper in your trees?

If you don't have children or are indifferent to Halloween as an adult, maybe you have a fond memory from childhood you would like to share, or a story of something you have experienced as an adult. We look forward to hearing from everyone!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Full Force...

Hello everyone!

For those who may not be aware, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. While we were researching material post an insightful blog relating to Breast Cancer, we were contacted by a representative at bizymoms.com.

Please see below the attached newsletter that was forwarded to us. We hope each of you, male or female find it as informative as we did.

October - The Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast Cancer is a topic of renowned interest in today’s society, mostly due to the more frequent occurrence of this deathly disease in recent times. Due to this same reason, many healthcare related organizations actively participate in awareness programs about this important subject, in the hope of encouraging early detection of breast cancer, upon which the treatment process is proven to be more positive.

The month of October is considered the official month for the awareness of Breast Cancer, mainly due to the wide range of campaigns being organized by many prominent breast cancer charities around the world. The main objectives of these organizations is to increase the awareness of breast cancer, improve chances of early detection, raise funds for breast cancer research, improve treatment options and provide support for affected families.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) organization is the core organization which partners many foundations in the various sectors such as public services, healthcare organizations and government agencies for the cause of breast cancer awareness, while providing the services of an up-to-date resource center (both online and live) all year through. You can visit their website on http://nbcam.org/ for increasing your awareness on breast cancer. It is a great source of information and solace to many patients, survivors, as well as caregivers, relatives and other breast cancer activist groups.

The main focus of NBCAMs awareness programmes on breast cancer is to improve basic public knowledge, improve and provide access to treatment and detection options and encourage early detection by educating women about the importance of practicing regular self-breast exams and conducting annual mammograms.

As you all know or would have observed, one method of cancer awareness is through the popularization of wearing colored ribbons, a unique concept introduced for the purpose of stimulating active participation for the cause. Pink is the color for breast cancer! http://www.pinkforoctober.com/ is another awareness campaign on breast cancer, focusing on online awareness, with the theme color of breast cancer as their slogan.

Many breast cancer survivors have become active participants in awareness programs on breast cancer, with organizations such as ‘Susan G. Komen for the Cure’ cms.komen.org/komen/index.htm dedicated to the cause of breast cancer cure. Former First Lady Betty Ford is another such activist in the movement of breast cancer awareness, and is one of the first ‘breast cancer survivor public figures’ to raise consciousness on the subject through the media, along with her daughter Susan Ford Bales. Her contribution helped create a substantial impact on many awareness campaigns thereafter.

www.bizymoms.com/cares/breastcancer/ is another novel cause dedicated towards breast cancer awareness, providing an online resource particularly for work at home and stay at home moms on this deathly disease.

You too can play your role in supporting breast cancer patients, survivors and potential candidates, by creating awareness amongst your community.

Summery: October is the month of breast cancer awareness, with many public sector, healthcare and government organizations actively participate in awareness campaigns on improving public knowledge, encouraging early detection, increasing treatment options by funding research and providing support to patients, their families and survivors. Bizymoms too will be playing their role in this noble cause, through their new cares section on breast cancer at www.bizymoms.com/cares/breastcancer/ which provides an online resource for work at home and stay at home moms to provide them a wealth of knowledge on the deathly diseases known as breast cancer and a chance to join Bizymoms in fighting it where you can make donation to the Breast Cancer Action organization or Nation Breast Cancer Foundation.

Chicken Soup for the Panda's Soul???

I ran across the following article and found it interesting. Who would have thought?!

This article was found on CNN.com/Health: http://tinyurl.com/3hrszs

BEIJING, China (AP) -- Everyone needs some chicken soup for the soul -- even pandas.

Pandas in the Wuhan Zoo have been fed chicken soup in addition to bamboo for fatigue.

The Wuhan Zoo in central China has been feeding its two pandas home-cooked chicken soup twice in a month to reduce stress and give them a nutritional boost, a zoo official said Friday.

He Zhihua said 3-year-old Xiwang and Weiwei -- literally meaning "Hope" and "Greatness" -- were tired and suffering from a little shock since the start Monday of the weeklong National Day holiday, one of the biggest travel seasons of the year.

On Wednesday, up to 30,000 people swarmed the zoo and about 1,000 tourists packed the panda enclosure, shouting to get the animals' attention, He said. The pandas paced restlessly.

"They had been getting less sleep, and they had to run around more," he said. "We felt it would be good to give them the soup because they were fatigued and had a bit of a shock."

Reflecting the Chinese tradition of drinking slow-cooked chicken soup for health, the zookeepers boiled roosters in water overnight and added a pinch of salt to the concentrated stock.

The pandas were served 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) of soup in giant dishes, in addition to their regular diet of bamboo, milk and buns, He said.

It was a hit.

"They drank it all like they drank their milk. They loved it," he said.

Pandas' diets usually consist mostly of bamboo, but they also can eat meat and He said in the wild they sometimes catch insects and small birds.

Xiwang and Weiwei arrived at the Wuhan Zoo in June from the Wolong Nature Reserve in neighboring Sichuan province. The facility relocated most of its pandas after being damaged by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake on May 12.

The pair were first fed chicken soup on September 28 to help them brave the upcoming cold weather.

"Autumn is coming and we wanted them to have some more nutrition. It will be easier for them to pass the winter," He said. "We just wanted to see whether they liked the soup and whether it's good for their strength and whether they would have stomach problems."

When none appeared, the broth was served for a second time this week.

He said Dudu, another panda at the zoo, lived on milk and ground meat in the last 10 years of his life because his teeth could no longer tear at tough bamboo stalks. He died in 1999.

The giant panda is an unofficial national symbol of China. Only about 1,600 pandas live in the wild, mostly in Sichuan. An additional 180 have been bred in captivity, many of them at Wolong, and scores have been loaned or given to zoos abroad, with the revenues helping fund conservation programs.

Tour De Poway Bike Ride - Sunday, October 5th, 2008

Pristine Planet will be handling the recycling for the Tour De Poway Bike Ride this weekend. Join us if you’re in SoCal!