“I’ve Got Nothing to Lose by Trying It”
The British trust, “Sense About Science,” has an extremely useful (and readable) guide available for people considering new and/or unproven treatments for specific health conditions. “I’ve Got Nothing to Lose by Trying It” was written to help readers learn how to “separate the beneficial from the bogus.”
Online adverts and chat-room conversations testify to the ‘incredible’ benefits of new medicines and treatments selling the empty promise of curing the incurable. But the evidence for many treatment claims is unreliable and patients’ yearning for improvement is being exploited. Whilst people must be left to make up their own minds about what treatments to use, doctors and scientists are critical of those who aggressively market – with misleading claims, optimistic testimonials and even pseudo science – to people who are desperate for some source of hope. Leaving them unsure about what to try and uncertain where to draw the line.
The guide, published by Sense About Science with the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Motor Neurone Disease Association, Alzheimer’s Society and Parkinson’s Disease Society, explains how to tell the beneficial from the bogus in the face of the miracle cure stories, new wonder-drugs and breakthrough therapies that are increasingly promoted.
IMHO, the advice in the guide is also applicable to healthy people searching for “fixes” for more general complaints. While your health may not be on the line, your wallet will be.
At any rate, you can download the booklet by visiting the Sense About Science web site, or by clicking here.
