I'm playing Guinea pig

Skepticism Junk Science and Alternative Medicine
1

I’ve been having the post epic head and neck pain for three weeks.
I suggested, after plenty of googling, that it’s sinus.
Went to the doc, got dosed with hardcore antibiotics and steriods. he too, recons it’s sinus.
The headache was gone, but the rest of my body went through hell in handbasket. so i dropped the meds with only two days to go. took three days to feel human again.
two days of feeling human, and back to square one. neck hurts like hell, head about to asplode.

so, take anti-inflammitories. nothing.
take sinus pills, seems to work a little.
so yesterday, in pure desperation, i go running. (now i had abandoned my training since i felt like dog’s breakfast). the run was hell, couldn’t even get halfway my normal route.

today, i feel like a million bucks. not even a dash of discomfort.

BUT, for the sake of recurrance, i got some muti from the local dischem.
From TIBB herbal health sciences (i’m desperate okay)

so, the idea is. i will take 6 of these tabs per day, for a week, as per the bottle. and continue to do my run once day.
After a week, i will stop the pills, but ocntinue with my excercise.

I will report as i go along, so let’s see what this stuff does, if anything.

It contains per tablet: Sitopaladi Churna [i]Sitopaladi is a recipe of traditional Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia well known and effective in relieving coughs associated with various respiratory disorders. # Best supportive in allergic and viral respiratory infection # Excellent soothing aid in both dry and productive cough # Reduces pharyngeal and chest congestion by stimulating melting of thickened mucous in airways [/i]

Carum Copticum (bishop’s weed, carom)
Ajwain (Carum copticum) is used as a medicine in stomach ailments. It has stimulant, tonic and carminative properties and the anti-spasmodic virtues of asafoetida.
Respiratory problem due to blockage of dried phlegm
Common Cold
Loss of Appetite
Colic Pains,Indigestion,Gas
Kidney-pain,renal colic

Piper nigrum(black pepper)
Piper nigrum has various medicinal properties such as expectorant, stimulant, antipyretic, anthelmintic, carminative, antiperiodic action (internal use). It acts as rubefacient, resolvent and stimulant when used externally. It relieves toothache and paralysis.

ipomoea turpethum
Alcoholic extracts of the fresh fruits of O.turpethum showed antibacterial activity against Micrococcus pyogenes var. aurus and E. coli 1.

Cyperus rotundus - (Purple nutsedge)
According to the Ayurveda, root is pungent, acrid, cooling, astringent, appetizer, stomachic, anthelmintic and useful in treatment of leprosy, thirst, fever, blood diseases, biliousness, dysentery, pruritis, pain, vomiting, epilepsy, opthalmia, erysipelas etc. According to the Unani system of medicine, the root is diuretic, emmenagogue, diaphoretic, anthelmintic, vulnerary and useful for ulcers and sores, fevers, dyspepsia, urinary concretions etc.

piper longum (long pepper)
may be used for diseases of respiratory tract, viz. cough, bronchitis, asthma, etc.; as counter-irritant and analgesic when applied locally for muscular pains and inflammation; as snuff in coma and drowsiness and internally as carminative; as sedative in insomnia and epilepsy; as general tonic and haematinic; as cholagogue in obstruction of bile duct and gall bladder; as an emmenagogue and abortifacient; and for miscellaneous purposes as anthelmintic, and in dysentery and leprosy.

eclipta alba (false daisy)
treat diseases such as liver cirrhosis, jaundice, gallbladder problems and hepatitis. Ecliptas liquid extract is also used for medicinal purposes to help combat everything from memory problems, stress and anxiety to insomnia, chest infections and even eyesight problems, such as short-sightedness.

zingiber officinale (ginger)
Ginger has been used for stomach upset, motion sickness, nausea, and vomiting

ocimum sanctum (holy basil)
for skin conditions like eczema, ringworm and insect bites
used to decrease fevers, improve lung and digestion issues, reduce the effects of colds, eliminate toxins/poisons and also as a preventative antibacterial measure for infections.
The drug is used as a purgative.

2

tsk tsk

control group?
statistical sample of 1?
double blinded?

3

douche?

4

I’m sorry (and not to make light of your discomfort and desperation), but this is not the way to evaluate the efficacy of a proposed treatment because there are lots more ways than you might think in which you can fool yourself (and even more reasons why it is easy to fool yourself) in arriving at a verdict, be it positive or negative. The gold standard for such tests is the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, which, if it produces a positive result for a particular treatment, then entitles that treatment to be labelled “clinically proven.” Note also that there’s a difference between “clinically proven” and “clinically tested.” The latter merely says that it is (mostly) harmless but not necessarily that it works.

Remember that the drug/treatment originators have the burden of proof as to whether the stuff they’re selling is effective. Even if you may feel that it is, it’s not actually your task to assess a given nostrum. This is not to say that some treatments work better or worse for you than they do for others, only that you are entitled to a reasonable expectation when you buy a purported remedy that it has been tested and found to be, on the whole, at least slightly better than nothing at all. If it hasn’t been formally tested and found to be effective, the chances are good that you’re wasting your time and money.

The biggest problem with doing such informal tests on yourself is that they usually produce pronouncements of the type, “Well, it works for me!” which serve only to perpetuate the myth that we are good judges of medical matters, especially when they concern ourselves directly. In the broader context, the issue of such casual evaluation also goes towards widespread uncritical support of a whole range of quackeries, including homoeopathy, crystal healing, aromatherapy, et al.

'Luthon64

5

jesus christ on a stick people, im taking the piss FFS

6
“Well, it works for me!”
What is a good counter argument for that? Family member, into homeopathy, always use that one.
7

Okay, but there’s nothing in your OP to suggest that that’s what you were doing, so perhaps you’ll understand the responses that were given.

“It ‘works’ for you only because you like to believe that it does, and I’m happy for you. But you can’t produce any plausible explanation or any objective evidence that it really does work.”

'Luthon64

8

Mefiante for prez, he’s such a diplomat.

Me … I’m a dick, I point and ridicule and laugh. Did that to some Jehovah witnesses who came by my house 2 weekends ago, just couldn’t control myself. I think there should be a dicks anonymous support group for people like me.

9

“It ‘works’ for you only because you like to believe that it does, and I’m happy for you. But you can’t produce any plausible explanation or any objective evidence that it really does work.”

'Luthon64
[/quote]
Thanks. As always, a sharp replay.

10

i thought mefi was a woman?

i know some people on here are serious as a heart-attack, but guys, lighten the eff up.

and seriously, where the would i fall out of nowhere with a random piece of woo-ness? have nobody paid attention to my sense of humour, EVER?

not everything is a war.

11

we’d better back off guys, she’s a trapped wounded animal, and a woman scorned! … highly dangerous.

12

13

Wrong gender, but thanks nonetheless. :-*

'Luthon64

14

Now that’s a much better cure.

15

Here?

Or was that humor too? I must be entirely clueless then.

not everything is a war.

Intention and intonation of voice is hard to read over the internets. Nobody said it was a war or that anyone is taking anything seriously and getting all fumy about it. JUST like it’s impossible to tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.

16

i give up, you people have no sense of humour.

17

don’t worry GCG, Jesus loves You! >:D

18

Kosie van Jozi loves you more.

Ps. Is Kosie van Jozi a Bles Bridges opera?

19

ALL of us??? :-\

I think we tend to have a more refined sense of humour, we laugh at faith for instance, and we find immense pleasure in blasphemy. We also have those wonderful moments where you have to keep in your mirth when someone tells you in all seriousness about some miracle or another. I think this was a funny-bone failure because you’re one of US, and apparently going off the sticks, very serious shit, I think a group prayer meeting is in order.

20

Only if we can hold hands while we pray and sing kum-ba-yaa afterwards.