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Snake Oil Gold

Discussion in 'Podiatry Trivia' started by gavw, Jun 13, 2007.

  1. gavw

    gavw Active Member


    Members do not see these Ads. Sign Up.
    This is a website belonging to a respected academic pharmacist, working at University College, London. The stuff he's published on his site is fantastic. Very, very critical of alternative/homeopathy therapies among others. I highly recommend a read. He has picked up on so much snake oil out there in many areas, and has even granted a mention to one of our own number.......see if you can spot it

    http://www.dcscience.net/quack.html
     
  2. loved the Site :D

    Superstition - Something which everyone beleives which is none the less not true. As in, "Walking under ladders is unlucky"
    Substition - Something nobody beleives which none the less IS true. As in "it'll get better quicker if you don't pick it"

    Nice to see somebody substitious out there.

    Could'nt find anyone we know in there. It is a long ass list though! Give us a clue.

    Robert
     
  3. gavw

    gavw Active Member

    Difficult to find specific areas in this blog, but if you scroll down approx. two thirds of the way down, look for the heading 'A Conflict of Interest at the RLHH'. I'll give you a clue.Think...'marigold'....
     
  4. Ian Linane

    Ian Linane Well-Known Member

    Hi

    Having twice suffered very debilitating and long term serious illnesses I am quite happy to acknowlege the value of some of the "quack" snake oil approaches in my case. Several years of listening, complying, obeying and believing in the white coats with their view had only minimal value. Reflecting back now I often wonder if their approaches were more detrimental (long term)than helpful.

    How these things work, if they work, I guess we will all come down to our own opinions.

    Really do not find anything at all clever or uplifting in the way we sometimes seem to want to and do climb on our "beat the alternative bunch" approaches. Equally unimpressed by the way some folks are branded snake oils men in the biomechanics world. At that point I so often switch off from what may have been quite lively debate.

    No doubt a solitary view.

    Ian
     
  5. Ian:

    If you think that we should let individuals who sell insole products make any extraordinary health claim that they desire and intentionally mislead the public with only positive testimonials on their websites and/or infomercials about their insole products, then you are welcome to this opinion. However, from my perspecitive, I feel it is my responsibility, having been trained by very ethical, caring individuals who were themselves considered experts in foot orthosis therapy (Drs. Root, Weed, Sgarlato, Valmassy, Blake, etc), that I need to publicly expose these snake-oil salesmen for what they are so that less educated foot-health clinicians, and the public, are not misled by their outlandish claims.

    I know I don't make many friends this way. I know that I may not be invited to many of their parties. And I know they may not want to shake my hand or buy me a beer at the seminars that they may also be presenting at. I also realize that my way of doing things seems, to some individuals, to be hurtful and unneccessary.

    However, I strongly feel that by my taking on these individuals in a public manner, as I often do, I am honoring my professors. These great podiatrists and great teachers believed, as I do, that in order for podiatry to become a more scientific and respected profession that sometimes tough actions must be taken so that their contemporary colleagues and future generations of podiatrists would benefit from their efforts. I believe I am not alone in my feelings and actions since there are a few other members on this website who are willing to publicly challenge those individuals that make outrageous insole product claims. I am all for innovation, but am not for giving false hope to sick and injured people, all for the purpose of monetary gain.
     
  6. Cameron

    Cameron Well-Known Member

    Quacks and quackery have more association with the history of foot care professionals that we might be aware of, or indeed, comfortable with the thought. Back in the 16th century the syphilis epidemic left many with skin sores which orthodox medics had no cure for. Syphilitic patients were refused treatment by doctors and instead sought care from quacks. Many of which were purveyors of corn cures aka corn cutters or corn operators as the higher echelon preferred to be called. The Quack Act was passed to allow 'alternative medicines' to be used legally by non medical persons. In the absence of a medical cure this was considered important enough to become law in England. Many of the traditional potices , such as made up from cow dung or animals entrails did have efficacious effect but rather like bespoke foot orthoses today, these were inconsistent with no predictable value but in the absence of anything else, prefectly acceptable.

    The website is excellent and does clearly show the errors of our ways in the past, but it should also be borne in mind, when reading through, that 20/20 hindsight has a fabulous way of making things look sillier that they were at the time these things were in vogue. The turn of the twentieth century was a bumper time for quackery as a glance at any old newspaper of the time will attest. Most were banal but some very very dangerous indeed.

    Interesting to note as a general observation changes in medical thinking and in particular, classification of diseases have seen some odd inventions. Most probably the best example being the cure for hysteria (latter day, PMT). Doctors (mostly males) would hand stimultate the clitoris however this was so physically exhausing (for them) that one of the first electrical medical gizmos to be introduced to the world was the vibrator. Sadly if this treatment failed then clitorectomy was common practised and many innocent women were institutionalised.

    toeslayer
     
  7. Toeslayer:

    You definitely show the writing skills of our own Cameron Kippen.....now incognito? :confused:
     
  8. Cameron

    Cameron Well-Known Member

    Kevin

    Age is a terrible thing, I forgot my password and contacted Melbourne several times but got no reply. I rejoined under one of my many nome-de-plumes. The joys of multi-personality.

    Cheers
    Cameron aka toeslayer, Syd, Cam the Man, bla bla
     
  9. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

    Articles:
    8
    I never got them!!!
     
  10. Cameron:

    Even though you are a man of many names, I will always remember you best as my first overseas contact to provide my 12 year old son (now Keegan is 24 y/o, married, with one year old son) with a host of Glasgow Rangers paraphernalia. Those were the good old days, when the boys were young, playing soccer year round...and I was young and still full of youthful energy...
     
  11. Cameron

    Cameron Well-Known Member

    All's well that ends well. I blame George Rendall , myself for filling your head full of nonsense about Hibernian.

    As ever, Kevin if I can help somebody.

    We were on the holiday of a lifetime and travelled through the States ending up in the Big Apple. What a joy it was and would be delighted to resettle, anyday. Further to, I am now doing a series of broadcasts on the history of rock music and combining it with our travelogue. Not sure who gets more pleasure me or the listener.

    Memphis (rockabilly, rock'n'roll and soul) tonight.

    Rock on
    Cameron
     
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