Preliminary evidence suggests a watch may help people with severe nightmares. Of course, more research is needed. Nightmare Disorder is a diagnosis defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) as: …repeated awakenings with recollection of terrifying dreams, usually involving threats to survival, safety or physical integrity According… read more "Treating Nightmares with a Smart Watch"
Joovv and Other Red Light Therapies
The Joovv Go is a handheld device for red light therapy. Red light therapy remains controversial: most of the claims are not supported by credible scientific evidence. I recently received an email urging me to try the Joovv Go, a small handheld device designed to provide red light therapy while… read more "Joovv and Other Red Light Therapies"
Signos Sells a Continuous Glucose Monitor, But Not to Diabetics
Signos is asking customers to pay for the privilege of testing their glucose monitoring system. You may have seen the commercials for FreeStyle Libre devices. Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are intended to help improve management of diabetes in patients whose diabetes is not under good control, and also for patients… read more "Signos Sells a Continuous Glucose Monitor, But Not to Diabetics"
This Scary Mask Is Not for Halloween: It’s for Anti-Aging Skin Care
CurrentBody’s LED mask provides “anti-aging” red and near-infra-red light therapy to the face. It is supposed to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, “clinically proven to reduce wrinkles by 35% in just 4 weeks”. It promises to improve skin tone and texture and firm the skin. It has won… read more "This Scary Mask Is Not for Halloween: It’s for Anti-Aging Skin Care"
Innovo for Bladder Leakage
An expensive pair of shorts promises to cure bladder leaks by using electrical stimulation to produce pelvic floor contractions, essentially doing the Kegel exercises for you. The science is insufficient and the marketing is misleading. My mailbox is a good source of questionable claims. The other day I received a… read more "Innovo for Bladder Leakage"
The Blu Room
Strange messages keep popping up in my email inbox. This one was titled “New Technology Helps Fulfill New Year’s Resolutions”. It said the most popular New Year’s resolutions involved health and invited me to a complimentary session or two in a Blu Room. It went on to explain: The Blu… read more "The Blu Room"
Stupid Videos and Marketing Ploys
Purveyors of so-called complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) don’t have any credible scientific evidence. If they did, their treatments would not be called “alternative” but would have been accepted into mainstream practice and would just be called “medicine.” They tend not to appreciate science or even to understand it. They… read more "Stupid Videos and Marketing Ploys"
Navage Promises Benefits from Cleaning Your Nose with Their Expensive Machine
Navage is a machine that uses salt water to rinse out the sinuses, allegedly alleviating the causes of congestion, allergies, colds, and more. The evidence for their claims is lacking. Navage airs its TV commercials with annoying frequency. They say: Pandemics remind us that germs invade through your nose, the… read more "Navage Promises Benefits from Cleaning Your Nose with Their Expensive Machine"
Virtual Reality Therapy
On November 16, 2021 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it had authorized marketing of EaseVRx, which they described as “a prescription-use immersive virtual reality (VR) system that uses cognitive behavioral therapy and other behavioral methods to help with pain reduction in patients 18 years of age and… read more "Virtual Reality Therapy"
UpWalker: A $649 Solution for a Non-Problem
Sometimes TV commercials are more entertaining than the programs. My husband and I laugh every time we see the commercials for the UPWalker on TV. According to their website: “Unlike walkers that force you to hunch over putting painful pressure on your wrists and back, the UPWalker is designed to… read more "UpWalker: A $649 Solution for a Non-Problem"