Month: March 2018

Are Rattlesnake Vaccines for Dogs Effective?

A company is now selling a rattlesnake venom vaccine. How much can we trust it when it comes to the health and safety of our dogs? Right now, it's too early to tell.

/ March 16, 2018

More Political Science: Proposed laws protect “Lyme literate” doctors from discipline

"Lyme literate" doctors are scamming patients out of thousands of dollars with needless long-term antibiotics based on a fake diagnosis of "chronic Lyme." So why are state legislators trying to protect these doctors from discipline and make insurers pay for unnecessary treatments?

/ March 15, 2018

Facilitated Communication Rears Its Ugly Head Again

Facilitated communication is pure pseudoscience that was debunked almost 30 years ago, but it keeps coming back, creating new victims.

/ March 14, 2018

Coca’s Pulse Testing to Diagnose “Allergies”

In the 1950s, Dr. Arthur F. Coca invented an elaborate method to diagnose a new kind of "allergy" by testing the pulse rate. He thought "allergies" were the underlying cause of most disease. His method has never been tested, but there is every reason to think it is bogus.

/ March 13, 2018
Daylight Saving Time

The adverse health effects of the lunacy that is Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time has been around for over 100 years. Why does it still persist when there's little or no evidence that it does what it was intended to do (save energy) and growing evidence of adverse health effects related to the twice a year time change? That's a good question. It's time to get rid of this antiquated practice.

/ March 12, 2018

A Miscellany of Medical Malarkey Episode 3: The Revengening

A setback for bogus marketing claims for fancy athletic tape. E-cigarettes aren't a good Christmans stocking stuffer for your kids. An update on the European measles outbreak. That's right, it's time for another miscellany of medical malarkey!

/ March 9, 2018

It doesn’t have to hurt: Strategies to reduce vaccine pain

To address anti-vaccine views, try to understand the underlying motives for these perspectives. Some reject vaccines because of underlying fears of the pain of vaccination. Several strategies can effectively decrease vaccine pain.

/ March 8, 2018

Too Many Too Soon? No!

The results of a study looking at, in part, the "too many, too soon" complaints of antivaccination activists were completely negative. There was no difference in vaccine antigen exposure between two groups who differed in the number of infections over a two year period. Therefore there is no correlation between vaccine antigen exposure and susceptibility to other infections.

/ March 7, 2018

The Debate Is Over: Antidepressants DO Work Better Than Placebo

The idea that antidepressants are no more effective than placebo has been put to rest. They clearly work when used appropriately, although the effect size is not as large as the published studies have suggested.

/ March 6, 2018
Texans for Vaccine Choice

Texas: Ground zero for the politicization of school vaccine mandates

Vaccine policies and school vaccine mandates have traditionally been as close to a nonpartisan issue as there can be in the US. Unfortunately, in Texas antivaccine activists and conservative activists threaten to change that. The antivaccine group Texans for Vaccine Choice has formed an unholy alliance with antiregulation conservative activists to attack school vaccine mandates. Antivaxers all over the country are doing...

/ March 5, 2018