Is getting better while taking placebos a sign of strong faith in medicine?

Question

Is there actually a medical reason that a placebo would work?

Answer 1

People get better for many reasons, and being hopeful and positive has been shown in studies to help with recovery from everything from a physical sports injury to cancer. So being hopeful and positive is good no matter what medicine you take. ANother reason people get better with placebos is because many people when they have something wrong would get better on their own without any assistance. Studies just need to use them to prove thta the medicine gets better results than the placebo alone.

Answer 2

There are a couple reasons that placebos work. One is that a positive outlook (and the change in hormones associated with less stress) causes the person to heal themselves. Another is that the illness or problem was blown out of proportion or only needed a little time to clear up. Or all they needed was a sugar boost, but it usually depends on what the placebo was mimicking that determines the most accepted reason for a specific placebo's success.

Answer 3

chum !!!! placebo isn't something yet a pseudo or fake drug ... as an occasion, you have high blood pressure & you will a physician ; he will ask your subject and no count if it is not so extreme , he will initiate with a placebo ...... whilst a physician supplies a placebo , he will a quote a fact that " take this drug 2 circumstances an afternoon , for 6 days after foodstuff , your blood tension will come down ... THE believe which you have on the surgeon AND HIS PRESCRIPTION 'the placebo' will make you think of useful because it relatively is a common human psychology to have self assurance medical doctors words ... and with out your experience you have got a psychological feeling that your blood tension will come down " consequence : you will get well quickly with out making use of the surely medicine ......... be conscious : it is the traditional psychology of someone , after taking a drug ..... because of the fact he dont comprehend the undeniable fact that it relatively is a placebo ........ thank you ..... I merely like YOUR question .........

Answer 4

Believing that the placebo is the actual medicine and that it is healing you is an example of how the human mind can control the activities of cells. If you have the same mental reaction each time you take the pill, the cells begin to react in response to receive more of the chemical(s) (i.e. sugar) from the placebo.

Answer 5

Yes, there were especially helpful in the old days, especially for hypochondriacs. The drug companies also use placebos is testing medications. I wouldn't say it is a sign of strong faith in medicine, but if a person really believes something will work on them, chances are it will.

Answer 6

The placebo effect is a mental one.

The mind is the most powerful thing in the human body - it has th power to do anything as long as the owner is willing.

Answer 7

Ever read the side effects on the insert?

I love it when they list both side effects and their opposite:

May cause drowsiness or excitability.
May cause constipation. May cause diarhea.
May cause itching. May cause numbness.
May cause nausea or increased appetite.
etc.

Seems like most of this cr*p is really a placebo anyway.

Answer 8

Often times symptoms are blown out of proportion by our own minds. Which also means that we can convince our mind that things will be better by taking a drug. If we think it will have effect the mind believes and the symptoms we've created ourselves to be larger than they are seem to fade to where they should be.

Answer 9

It's a sign of "mind over matter". A lot of healing takes place because the mind tells the body to restore itself.

Answer 10

Of course, it's called the power of suggestion. You think you're being medicated and this interferes with your psyche and part of you begins to feel better. Perhaps all of you, if your ailment is purely a psychological thing.