05-28-2008, 02:27 AM
Filed under: Health & safety, Alcohol & drugs, Home remediesRecently, we had a week where, for various reasons, we were unable to get my son's anxiety medication refilled. He was fine, but MY anxiety level was way up. A friend joking suggested that what we needed was a placebo -- you know, some pretend medication, just to keep him thinking he was taking his meds. "It might make YOU feel better," she said knowingly.Studies show that in some patients, placebos can indeed reduce symptoms, particularly for things like depression, pain, and high blood pressure. Parents also know that kids are sometimes prone to complaining about illness when really they are just fine, thanks, they just don't feel like mowing the lawn or going to Aunt Edwina's for Sunday dinner. And some kids are just hypochondriacs, convinced that they really ARE ill with no real cause.According to an article in today's New York Times, Jennifer Buettner's niece was one of those kids, and her complaints got Buettner thinking. What if she could give the niece a placebo and convincer her that she had taken medicine? Trouble was there were no available placebo pills for kids, so Buettner created Obecalp (placebo spelled backwards), which is essentially a sugar pill. Kid complaining about a headache? Obecalp to the rescue! Problem solved.Maybe. Or maybe not.Continue reading Here, honey, have a placebo; you'll feel better Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on Tue, 27 May 2008 11:00:00 EST at http://www.parentdish.com/2008/05/27/her...el-better/
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Posted on Tue, 27 May 2008 11:00:00 EST at http://www.parentdish.com/2008/05/27/her...el-better/
Comments: http://www.parentdish.com/2008/05/27/her.../#comments