How the Placebo Effect Works | HowStuffWorks - Deepstash
How the Placebo Effect Works | HowStuffWorks

How the Placebo Effect Works | HowStuffWorks

science.howstuffworks.com

5 ideas

ยท

3.93K reads

13

2

Deep Dive Into The Fashion Industry

Learn more about health with this collection

The history of fashion

The impact of fashion on society

The future of the fashion industry

Deep Dive Into The Fashion Industry

Discover 34 similar ideas in

It takes just

5 mins to read

The placebo effect

The placebo effect

The placebo effect happens when a person takes medication that he thinks will help, but the medication has not been proven to be effective for the specific condition.

Placebos work in about 30 percent of patients. Some placebos contain no active ingredient. Other placebos do have active ingredients but aren't proven to work on the patient's particular condition. There are even placebos in the form of surgery, injections, and other types of medical therapies.

126

1.45K reads

The subject-expectancy effect

When people know what the result of taking a pill is supposed to be, they might unconsciously change their reaction to cause that result or report that result has taken place even if it hasn't.

However, studies show that a placebo doesn't trick the brain - the brain reacts differently to a drug than a placebo. A 2004 study showed that the expectation of pain relief causes the brain's relief system to activate.

123

835 reads

Placebos in research

Placebos are often used in clinical drug trials to determine how well a potential medicine will work.

  • There are two different groups of subjects in a placebo-controlled trial - one receives the experimental drug and the other the placebo. Neither researchers nor subjects know which group is receiving the real drug or the placebo.
  • Some researchers are questioning the placebo-controlled trial. Not everyone thinks a drug is ineffective if the placebo performs better.
  • Other critics of the placebo-controlled trial state it's wrong to attribute all positive outcomes to the placebo because many illnesses can resolve without any treatment.
  • When a patient takes a placebo and experiences adverse side effects, it's called a nocebo effect. Patients taking active drugs have also been known to have side effects that can't be directly attributed to the drug.

113

593 reads

Prescribing placebos

A 2007 study revealed that 45 percent of doctors had prescribed a placebo at some point. Doctors believed that placebos had a therapeutic effect.

The most commonly prescribed placebos are aspirin, vitamins, and antibiotics. Doctors prescribe placebos because they have no other form of relief to offer the patient. Other times, the patient insists on taking some type of medication.

109

532 reads

The placebo prescribing controversy

The American Medical Association created a policy concerning placebos that states that "physicians may use placebos for diagnosis or treatment only if the patient is informed of and agrees to its use."

  • Generally, doctors who prescribe placebos say that they have something they believe may help, but they don't know exactly how it will work. They don't believe they are lying to the patient, because the patient could still benefit from the placebo effect.
  • Another problem in prescribing placebos is that they have been shown to only work on half the population. The placebo effect is also short-term - it doesn't work for chronic conditions.
  • Prescribing drugs such as sedatives and antibiotics as placebos could do more harm than good. Many sedatives are habit-forming, and prescribing antibiotics may contribute to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

107

515 reads

CURATED BY

embp

Runner and yoga aficionado.

stash-superman-illustration

Explore the Worldโ€™s

Best Ideas

200,000+ ideas on pretty much any topic. Created by the smartest people around & well-organized so you can explore at will.

An Idea for Everything

Explore the biggest library of insights. And we've infused it with powerful filtering tools so you can easily find what you need.

Knowledge Library

Powerful Saving & Organizational Tools

Save ideas for later reading, for personalized stashes, or for remembering it later.

# Personal Growth

Take Your Ideas

Anywhere

Organize your ideas & listen on the go. And with Pro, there are no limits.

Listen on the go

Just press play and we take care of the words.

Never worry about spotty connections

No Internet access? No problem. Within the mobile app, all your ideas are available, even when offline.

Get Organized with Stashes

Ideas for your next work project? Quotes that inspire you? Put them in the right place so you never lose them.

Join

2 Million Stashers

4.8

5,740 Reviews

App Store

4.7

72,690 Reviews

Google Play

Ashley Anthony

This app is LOADED with RELEVANT, HELPFUL, AND EDUCATIONAL material. It is creatively intellectual, yet minimal enough to not overstimulate and create a learning block. I am exceptionally impressed with this app!

โ€œ

Shankul Varada

Best app ever! You heard it right. This app has helped me get back on my quest to get things done while equipping myself with knowledge everyday.

โ€œ

Sean Green

Great interesting short snippets of informative articles. Highly recommended to anyone who loves information and lacks patience.

โ€œ

samz905

Donโ€™t look further if you love learning new things. A refreshing concept that provides quick ideas for busy thought leaders.

โ€œ

Giovanna Scalzone

Brilliant. It feels fresh and encouraging. So many interesting pieces of information that are just enough to absorb and apply. So happy I found this.

โ€œ

Ghazala Begum

Even five minutes a day will improve your thinking. I've come across new ideas and learnt to improve existing ways to become more motivated, confident and happier.

โ€œ

Jamyson Haug

Great for quick bits of information and interesting ideas around whatever topics you are interested in. Visually, it looks great as well.

โ€œ

Laetitia Berton

I have only been using it for a few days now, but I have found answers to questions I had never consciously formulated, or to problems I face everyday at work or at home. I wish I had found this earlier, highly recommended!

โ€œ

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Access to 200,000+ ideas

โ€”

Access to the mobile app

โ€”

Unlimited idea saving & library

โ€”

โ€”

Unlimited history

โ€”

โ€”

Unlimited listening to ideas

โ€”

โ€”

Downloading & offline access

โ€”

โ€”

Personalized recommendations

โ€”

โ€”

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates