CHEM 183 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Alternative Medicine, Animal Magnetism, Antoine Lavoisier

• School: McGill University
• Department: Chemistry
• Course: CHEM 183
• Professor: David Harpp,Joseph Schwarcz

Document Summary

Lavoisier: 3 men came out with report that patients felt better after treatment, but they dismissed it because the healing was all in the imagination , placebo- i will please - belief --> healing. Reasonable: herbel remedies, ex: st. john"s wort, studies show efficacy in depression treatment, but you don"t know what"s really in the product. Acupuncture: meridians have no anatomical basis, needles stuck into meridians to resolve pain, improve sleep, digestive function, sense of well-being. Cupping: back and neck pain, muscles, anxiety, fatigue, migraines. Urine therapy: consumption of one"s own urine to cure diseases, world conferences with testimonies coffee breaks are urine breaks, 0 evidence benefitting from placebo effect. Candle in ear: wax dripped down at end of candle, supposed to be what is cleansed from body, wax was just from the candle. Alternative medicine is so with a lack of evidence of efficacy: alternative becomes conventional with evidence.