December 27th, 2010 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed
Tags: CAM, Chai-Yok, Complementary And Alternative Medicine, Douche, Douching, Dr. Peggy Polaneczky, Female Reproductive Cycle, Fertility Aid, Folk Remedies, Folklore Medicine, Getting Pregnant, Herbal Remedy, Infertility, Korea, Menstrual Cycle, Menstrual Disorders, Mugwort, Natural Remedies, Naturopathy, OB/GYN, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Pelvic Infections, Reproductive Health, Spa Medicine, TBTAM, The Blog That Ate Manhattan, Urinary Tract Infection, UTI, V-Steam, Vaginal Infections, Vaginal Steam Baths, Women's Health, Yeast Infection
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A spa in California is offering vaginal steam baths, in which spa-goers squat or sit on open stools over a tub of hot steam, as a cure-all for menstrual, digestion, and mood disorders:
The V-Steam: Inspired by an ancient ritual practiced for many years in Korea. The steam from the herbal tea rises and absorbs into your skin & orifice. This steaming treatment stimulates the production of hormones to maintain uterine health, aids regular menstrual cycles, helps correct digestive disorders while soothing the nervous system. The natural antibiotic and anti-fungal properties are said to help maintain internal health as well as keeping your skin looking young. (30 min: $50. Series of 6: $180.)
It’s a douche, folks. A $50 douche made with mugwort and 13 other herbs and having a fancy Korean name: Chai-Yok. True, the water gets up there as steam, and if you don’t squat just right over the steam bath, I imagine it may not get up there at all. But in the end, it’s a douche.
We docs strongly advise against douching since we know that women who do it have higher rates of vaginal and pelvic infections. Not to mention that the vaginal mucosa is highly-absorptive surface, meaning anything you put in there is likely to end up in the rest of your body. And so I ask: What herbs are they using, at what doses, and what side effects might they have? Not to mention what might be growing in those wooden tubs they have you squatting over? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at tbtam*
December 27th, 2010 by John Di Saia, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion, Quackery Exposed
Tags: Cosmetic Products, Dermatology, Dr. John Di Saia, False Claims, Healthcare Consumerism, Medical Product Claims, Medical Product Effectiveness, Misleading Healthcare Consumers, OTC, Over-The-Counter Medications, Plastic Surgery, Scar Formation, Scar Prevention, Scarguard, Truth in Cosmetic Surgery
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I saw a Scarguard product on sale at a drugstore locally. The claims on the packaging were over the top as usual:
1. “Guards against new scars forming” – Difficult to prove.
2. “Flattens and shrinks old scars” – Not really.
3. “Scarguard is the #1 choice of plastic surgeons” – Really? Nobody asked me.
Scar treatment is pretty simple. Avoid wounding if you can. If you have plastic surgery, seek a skilled surgeon who will spend the time to do the best. After surgery avoid sunlight and smoking, and consider scar massage as directed by your surgeon. This “Scarguard” product is not going to make a bad scar much better unless it is applied early, and even then the results are debatable.
– John Di Saia, M.D.
*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*
December 23rd, 2010 by BenKavoussi in Opinion, Quackery Exposed
Tags: Acupuncture, Al-Hijamah, Ben Kavoussi, California Department of Consumer Affairs, CAM, Chinese Bloodletting, Chinese Medicine, Complementary And Alternative Medicine, DCA, In Need of Real Medical Attention, Medical Quackery, Medieval Treatments, Misdiagnosis, Pseudomedicine, Public Health, Public Safety, Real Medical Attention, Real Medical Conditions, Science and Medicine, Science Based Medicine, Three-Edged Needle, Undiagnosis
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In November 2010, the California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) finally decided to act responsibly and forbid the prevalent practice of Chinese bloodletting by licensed acupuncturists. The practice became a concern for the DCA when allegations of unsanitary bloodletting at a California (CA) acupuncture school surfaced.
The incident allegedly occurred during a “doctoral” course for licensed practitioners. The instructor was reportedly demonstrating advanced needling and bloodletting techniques. During the process, he took an arrow-like lancing instrument that is called a “three-edged needle” (三棱针), sharpened it with sandpaper, cleaned it with alcohol, and then asked a student-volunteer to roll a towel around his neck. The instructor then cleaned the student’s temporal region with alcohol, and punctured a superficial blood vessel with the arrow-like instrument. The student then held his head over the garbage can, gushing blood for awhile. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
December 14th, 2010 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
Tags: BBC News, Dr. Peggy Polaneczky, Evidence-Based Health Reporting, GYN, Gynecology, Hormone Replacement Therapy, HRT, Lack of Scientific Medical Evidence, Menopause, Misleading Healthcare Readers, Non-Evidence-Based, Responsible Health Reporting, Sex Hormones, TBTAM, The Blog That Ate Manhattan, Women's Health
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Confused about hormone replacement therapy (HRT)? I can’t imagine why…
*This blog post was originally published at tbtam*
November 23rd, 2010 by David H. Gorski, M.D., Ph.D. in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Video
Tags: CAM, Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, Dr. David Gorski, Dr. Jeff Rediger, Energy Medicine, Evidence-Based Medicine Evaded, Faith Healing, False Hopes, Healing The Sick, James Randi, Joe Nickell, John of God, Lack of Scientific Medical Evidence, Medical Miracles, Medical Quackery, Mind-Body Dualism, Misleading Scientific Conclusions, Monica Pignotti, O Magazine, Oprah Winfrey, Pseudomedicine, Pseudoscience, Science and Skepticism, Science And The Media, Science Based Medicine, Woo
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Several of the bloggers on Science-Based Medicine have been — shall we say? — rather critical of Oprah Winfrey. The reason, of course, is quite obvious. Oprah is so famous that if you mention her first name nearly everyone will know exactly of whom you speak.
For the last quarter century, Oprah’s daytime TV talk show has been a ratings juggernaut, leading to the building of a media behemoth and making her one of the richest and most famous women in the world. Unfortunately, part of Oprah’s equation for success has involved the promotion of quackery and New Age woo, so much so that last year I lamented about the Oprah-fication of medicine, which scored me a writing gig in the Toronto Star.
Whether it be promoting bio-identical hormones, The Secret (complete with a testimonial from someone who used The Secret to persuade herself not to pursue conventional therapy for breast cancer), Suzanne Somers, the highly dubious medicine promoted by Dr. Christiane Northrup, or foisting reiki aficionado Dr. Mehmet Oz or anti-vaccine “mother warrior” Jenny McCarthy onto a breathless public, arguably no one is a more powerful force for the promotion of pseudoscience in America, if not the world.
Truly, the ending of Oprah’s TV show in the spring is a very good thing indeed for science and rationality. Or it would be, were it not for the fact that the reason Oprah is wrapping up her show after a quarter of a century is to start up her own cable channel, so that we can have Oprah-branded and -inspired programming 24/7. The mind boggles.
Still, my dislike for how Oprah promotes New Age mysticism and pseudoscience on a distressingly regular basis aside, I actually did think there were limits to how low she would go. I actually thought there were limits to how egregiously vile a quackery Oprah would endorse. The operative word, of course, is “did,” which now needs to be struck off after last Wednesday, which is when Oprah did an entire show entitled Do You Believe in Miracles? (Guess what answer was implicitly, if not explicitly, endorsed.) Featured prominently in that episode were several segments on the faith healer John of God. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
