Remember the Magic Eight Ball toy? You could ask it a question and shake it and a random answer would float up into a window: yes, no, maybe, definitely, etc. There is even a website where you can ask an Eight Ball questions online. I have been meaning to write… read more "Electrodermal Testing Part I: Fooling Patients with a Computerized Magic Eight Ball"
Zeo Personal Sleep Coach
Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, Chief nourisher in life’s feast. –William Shakespeare, Macbeth The company that makes the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach kindly sent me one of their devices… read more "Zeo Personal Sleep Coach"
The Graston Technique – Inducing Microtrauma with Instruments
The Graston Technique® is a modification of traditional hands-on soft tissue mobilization that uses specifically designed instruments to allow the therapist to introduce a controlled amount of microtrauma into an area of excessive scar and/or soft tissue fibrosis. The hope is that this will invoke an inflammatory response that will… read more "The Graston Technique – Inducing Microtrauma with Instruments"
Neti pots – Ancient Ayurvedic Treatment Validated by Scientific Evidence
Nasal irrigation with salt water is recommended by 87% of family doctors as an adjunctive treatment to relieve the symptoms of nasal congestion and sinusitis. The simplest method is to hold salt water in your cupped hand, block one nostril while you inhale the water into the other nostril, then… read more "Neti pots – Ancient Ayurvedic Treatment Validated by Scientific Evidence"
Science-Based Medicine Meets Medical Ethics
There are four main principles in medical ethics: Autonomy Beneficence Non-maleficence Justice Autonomy means the patient has the right to consent to treatment or to reject it. Autonomy has to be balanced against the good of society. What if a patient’s rejection of treatment or quarantine allows an epidemic to… read more "Science-Based Medicine Meets Medical Ethics"
Re-evaluating Home Monitoring for Diabetes: Science-Based Medicine at Work
There is no question that patients on insulin benefit from home monitoring. They need to adjust their insulin dose based on their blood glucose readings to avoid ketoacidosis or insulin shock. But what about patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes, those who are being treated with diet and lifestyle changes or… read more "Re-evaluating Home Monitoring for Diabetes: Science-Based Medicine at Work"
Biofeedback and Laser for Allergies
AllergiCare Relief Centers are a chain of franchises started by a man called David Tucker who is not listed as having an MD or any other title. They offer diagnosis of allergies by biofeedback and treatment of allergies by laser acupuncture. They admit that the method is not backed by… read more "Biofeedback and Laser for Allergies"
Misleading Ads in Scientific American
I’m frequently asked, “Is what that ad says really true?” Three recent inquiries have been about products advertised in Scientific American. An ad may acquire a certain cachet by appearing in a prestigious science magazine, but that doesn’t mean much. Scientific American’s editorial standards apparently don’t extend to its advertising… read more "Misleading Ads in Scientific American"
4-Minute Exercise Machine
I know I should exercise regularly, but I’m congenitally lazy and am ingenious at coming up with excuses. There’s an exercise machine that sounds like the end of all excuses, a dream come true. You’ve probably seen the ads in various magazines. The ROM Machine: “Exercise in Exactly 4 Minutes… read more "4-Minute Exercise Machine"
Detoxification Quackery – From Footbaths to Fetishism
The last time I went to the Puyallup fair, I passed a booth where an elderly man and woman were sitting with their feet in basins of water. How nice – a chance to rest their tired feet after a day of walking the fairgrounds! Unfortunately, they weren’t just resting,… read more "Detoxification Quackery – From Footbaths to Fetishism"