Medication myths

Kauffman, J.M., Malignant Medical Myths. Infinity Publishing.com, West Conshohocken, PA,... 

A Surgeon Reflects on Medical Myths (New York Simon and Schuster, 2000), esp. pp. 109-134. 

Schabelman E, Witting M The relationship of radiocontrast, iodine, and seafood allergies a medical myth exposed. J Emerg Med 2010 39 701-707. 

The relationship between medicine and biochemistry has important imphcations for the former. As long as medical treatment is firmly grounded in a knowledge of biochemistry and other basic sciences, the practice of medicine will have a rational basis that can be adapted to accommodate new knowledge. This contrasts with unorthodox health cults and at least some alternative medicine practices, which are often founded on httle more than myth and wishftil thinking and generally lack any intellectual basis. 

Bergner P. (1969-1997) Goldenseal and the antibiotic myth. Medical Heberbalism 8 4-6. 

Age can not be tested using urine. There is a rumor that approximate age can be detected in urine, and is tested in medical insurance exams. It s a myth. 

Gender cannot be tested either. As with age, there is a rumor that gender can be detected in urine, and is tested in medical insurance exams. This is another myth. It may be argued that a pregnancy test can be used to detect the gender of the urine provider, but the same test is used to detect prostate cancer in males. 

Miotto K, McCann M, Basch J, Rawson R ling W (2002). Naltrexone and dysphoria fact or myth American Journal of Addictions, 11, 151-60 Mitchell TB, White JM, Somogyi AA Bodmer F (2003). Comparative pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of methadone and slow-release oral morphine for maintenance treatment of opioid dependence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 11, 85-94 Mitchell TB, White JM, Somogyi AA Bochner F (2004). Slow-release oral morphine versus methadone a crossover comparison of patient outcomes and acceptability as maintenance pharmacotherapies for opioid dependence. Addiction, 99, 940-5 Mitka M (2003). Office-based primary care physicians called on to treat the new addict. Journal of the American Medical Association, 290, 735-6... 

The birth of an obscure theory, the molecular-structure determination, the leap to medical technology, the revelation of cerebral mysteries that s the history of magnetic resonance. Could a better case be made for funding research I think not. You can never tell where it will lead — like the destruction of the myth that we use only ten percent of our brains. This claim has been made by some psychics, who suggest that we would be capable of incredible feats if we just learned to use our brains to full capacity, mri has shown that most of us use over ninety percent of our brains, although not necessarily all parts at the same time. But perhaps some people do use just ten percent of their brains — those people who believe in the ten-percent myth. 

Zimmer, Lynn, and John P. Morgan. Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts A Revietv of the Scientific Evidence. New York Lindesmith Center, 1997. Provides a comprehensive overview of what is known about marijuana from the scientific literature and applies it to current policy issues such as medical use and decriminalization. 

In 1953 a junior doctor, Harold Bourne, published a paper in the Lancet medical journal called The insulin myth (Bourne 1953). In this paper he suggested that insulin treatment had no effect on schizophrenia at all, but that people believed it was effective because of its dramatic nature. 

Ingelby 1982). The concept of mental illness as a medical phenomenon, therefore, facilitates a disguised form of social control. As Szasz describes The mandate for contemporary psychiatry. .. is precisely to obscure, indeed to deny the ethical dilemmas of life and to transform these into medicalised and technicalised problems susceptible to "professional" solutions (Szasz 1970, p. 11). Or in Foucault s words Psychiatry is a moral practice, overlaid by the myths of positivism, where positivism refers to an empirical scientific framework (Foucault 1965, p. 276). 

This book summarizes current knowledge of the molecular basis of our interaction with plant defensive components that represents a major aspect of our dance with nature. However, knowledge must be used responsibly and has intrinsic dangers as illustrated in the ancient Greek myth of Pandora s box and as more recently explored in The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. Herbal medicine still represents a major therapeutic resort for a large part of humanity but the potential for deleterious effects of plant bioactive compounds means that expert medical advice should be sought before use of herbal extracts for medical conditions. 

Greece land of myth and beauty, home to some of the greatest minds the world has ever known -Socrates, Plato, Aristotle - birthplace of democracy Greece was all of these and more. It gave the world its first great art, literature, theater, political institutions, sporting events, scientific and medical discoveries - the list is endless. 

There is inadequate documentation about herbal medicine in the cormtry. The plant remedies have not been scientifically validated for safety and efficacy for them to be included in list of essential drugs for natiorral health systems (JJ). Herbal medical practice is also still shrouded in secrecy and perceptions of metaphysical powers. It is essential that research should explode the myths and superstitions associated with herbal remedies by establishing the real basis of the therapeutic properties of the medicirral plants used in herbal remedies (J 2). 

The history of the myths-directed human society is a mine of the irrational consequences of misbeliefs traditionally handed down from generation to generation. It is enough to read a few of the more recent overviews Massacre in History (Levene and Roberts, 1999), In God s Name Genocide and Religion in the Twentieth Century (Bartov, 2001), Modern Hatreds The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War (Kaufman, 2001), The Medical Documentation of Torture (Iacopino and Peel, 2002) to get acquainted with the worst manifestations of malevolently manipulated human brains. 

The reason for choosing an OTC medication instead of a prescription medication should not be based on the strength of the medication. Over-the-counter medications can be just as powerful as prescription ones, however, they are generally dispensed at lower doses (Nordenberg, 1998). Social workers need to be aware of and dispel the myth that increased amounts of a medication can be more effective. It can actually make it worse because at times mixing OTC and prescription medications can be a dangerous combination without the client ever suspecting the problems that can occur from such a combination. 

There are several societal myths with regard to the use of medications to assist those who suffer from physical health and mental health problems. 

Myth 1 Physicians and other health care professionals are familiar with most if not all of the medications on the market, and there is extensive research to explain how the medication will affect the client who is using it. 

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