All You Need to Know About the Placebo Effect

    The site most commonly used by hypochondriacs, WebMD.com, has pages of info on the placebo effect, but I'm here to do my required weekly blog and give you the abridged version. So here goes nothing....

    A placebo is anything that appears to be an actual medical treatment, but is not. Placebos can include pills, shots, and other various treatments.
    Many people after hearing this would wonder why anyone would ever use a fake treatment. The answer to this question is that scientists use placebos during studies to help them understand what effect a new drug may have on a certain person or ailment. For example, half the people in a study might be given a new drug to improve eyesight. Others would get a placebo. None of the people in the study would know if they were given the placebo or the real drug. After being on either the placebo or real drug for a certain amount of time researchers would compare the effects of the drug and the placebo on the people in the study. This can help them determine the effectiveness of the new drug and check for side effects.

     What I found most interesting in reading about placebos is that some placebos had effects on patients even though they had known they were only taking placebos. The problems that were helped by placebos include depression, pain, sleep disorders, IBS, and menopause. In one study involving asthma, patients using a placebo inhaler did no better on breathing tests than sitting and doing nothing, but when researchers asked the patients how they felt, the placebo inhaler was reported as being as effective as medicine in providing relief.
    Now I know you're wondering, if it's a pill meant to do nothing, how can it help diseases? The most common theory is that a person expects the placebo to do something, and thus the body's own chemistry will produce the same effects. For instance, in one study, people were given a placebo and told it was a stimulant. After taking the pill, their pulse rate sped up, their blood pressure increased, and their reaction speeds improved. When people were given the same pill and told it was to help them get to sleep, they experienced the opposite effects.

    I find the placebo effect to be extremely fascinating as it shows how powerful our own thoughts are, and it proves mind over matter can even help physical problems.


Also the amount of comics on placebos is absolutely insane... Here are a few of my favorites!