Not me. I wouldn’t trust the internet as a supplier of medication, but many do and it is not illegal.

At the moment there is a scam going on in the US.

FDA WARNS OF FAKE AGENTS SCAMMING DRUG BUYERS

People posing as fake government officials often armed with your address, phone number, Social Security number, date of birth, purchase history and credit card account number highjacked from various online transactions phone an unsuspecting individual who has purchased medication on line or by phone. They demand that substantial fines be paid.

The reason?

They tell the victim that buying medications over the internet is illegal and that if the fine is not paid they may put you in jail, deport you etc.

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Photographed by Adrian Pingstone in January 2005 and placed in the public domain.

I couldn’t make up my mind to whether to categorise this post under the Old Books Icon or the Green Apple Icon, but the green apple won.

I discovered The Quack Doctor recently. It is a wonderful site tapping into all the weird remedies that have been used in the past for various ailments. Illustrations come from old newspapers, posters etc.

THE QUACK DOCTOR

COUNTRY : NOT SURE

It is site that uses historical marketing for entertainment and none of the products mentioned should be taken seriously.

They say:

Welcome to The Quack Doctor, a collection of panacean powders, pills, potions, procedures and pamphlets, as advertised in historical newspapers.

This history of medicine blog is intended for research and entertainment purposes and is not a source of medical advice, nor is it possible to buy any of the products described.

So, why have I chosen to label it with the green apple icon rather than the ancient books indicating it is a medical history site?

Well, its because there are still Quack Doctors about. A few of these people are fully fledged medical practitioners but more often they are not. Many of them do not believe they offer quack services or quack pills and potions because their brains are consumed by blind belief rather than logic. Some are ruthless and just after your money. Check out the green apple signs that will appear from time to time on this blog if you want to find out more about pills, potents and procedures of the modern age that, if not complete and utter quackery, are being promoted without any evidence base that they work other than perhaps by placebo effect.

Nevertheless, the placebo effect is an interesting phenomenon and likely a post or two on this subject will appear here at some time in the future.

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Photographed by Adrian Pingstone in January 2005 and placed in the public domain.

It seems the use of amber beads as teething necklaces is becoming fashionable.

I can see absolutely no reason why they may work and indeed they could be a hazard due to strangling or choking.

A mother in New Zealand who has a scientific background has challenged their use and what she says seems very sensible.

AMBER TEETHING BEADS : A FEW POINTS TO CONSIDER

COUNTRY : NEW ZEALAND

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It is difficult to sort out the wheat from the chaff in the internet. This is particularly true of websites dealing with allergy, one of the commonest medical conditions that has been increasing in prevalence in recent years.

Those searching the internet for allergy information should be very aware that allergy, because it is so common, is big, big business. The allergy sharks infest the water when there is money to be made.

Today, the BBC are issuing a warning regarding “alternative” allergy tests.

ALTERNATIVE ALLERGY TEST OFFERS “MISLEAD PARENTS”

COUNTRY : UK

“There is no scientific evidence that complementary therapies or kits sold through websites can identify allergies, the NHS watchdog NICE says.

It says sites for services such as hair analysis use plausible stories but are not backed up by scientific evidence.”

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© Ian Scott | Dreamstime.com

Here are some mothers and children waiting in the “Immunisation Queue” at their nearest health centre.

The protection offered by immunisation against many common infectious diseases has saved millions of lives and in the case of smallpox has effectively eradicated this terrible disease from the globe.

The internet is a minefield when it comes to assessing information regarding childhood immunisation. Unfortunately the recent flawed hype regarding the MMR vaccine (mumps, measles and rubella) and its possible relationship to autism has resulted in many children not receiving protection from these potentially serious childhood illness.

It is important therefore that any internet or media source regarding immunisation should be carefully scrutinised. Great Ormonde Street provide some information on how to critically assess the source of such information.

IMMUNISATION : TIPS ON HOW TO ACCESS INFORMATION

Unfortunately not all the available sources base their information on sound scientific data. Some is based only on opinion and a small number of cases. To help decide on the reliabiltiy of any information it may be helpful to know some background details about it. Among the things you may wish to ask are:

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© Matt Fowler | Dreamstime.com

The other day, a leaflet came through my door advertising “ear candling” at the local hairdresser. By coincidence, my daughter appeared that same day and told me her friend had tried it on her and “it was amazing what came out of my ears” So I thought I’d better put up a post about this before she managed to burn her eardrum playing about with this procedure.

Don’t be fooled by this – what seems to be coming out of your ears is just  the melted wax and soot from the candle.

Ear candling often known as Hopi Ear Candling has several dangers. These are burns of the skin and hair by candle itself and also the ear drum itself might be damaged.

EAR CANDLING

“Ear candling,” also known as auricular candling or coning, refers to various procedures that involve placing a cone-shaped device in the ear canal and supposedly extracting earwax and other impurities with the help of smoke or a burning wick. The origins of candling are obscure. Ancient Tibet, China, Egypt, the pre-Columbian Americas, and even the mythical city of Atlantis are cited as possible contributors. The procedures supposedly create a low-level vacuum that draws wax and other debris out of the ear canal. Some proponents even claim that impurities are removed from the inner ear, the facial sinuses, or even the brain itself, all of which are somehow connected to the canal. Proponents claim that candling can:

“THE BOTTOM LINE

For most people, ear wax moves along the ear canal and eventually makes it to the outside, taking with it any accumulated dirt or other matter. Compacted ear wax should be removed by a physician or other health professional using legitimate instruments. Candling is both ineffective and dangerous.”

HOPI EAR CANDLING – REMOVING THE GREY GOO BETWEEN YOUR EARS

“Hopi Ear Candling, or thermo-auricular therapy (TAT) as it is known, is a rather strange technique that involves sticking a burning candle in your ear. The mundane reason for doing this is that it can allegedly draw out the nasty wax from your ears. Quacks never like to restrict their techniques to the obvious, so the candle apparently acts on the ‘energetic level’ and can also detoxify you and treat all sorts of ailments unconnected with your ear.”

“The main manufacturer of ear candles is a German company called Biosun. Their web site tells us about the Hopi tribe of native Americans and their ancient wisdom. Pictures on their web site show tribe members and ancient murals showing the Hopi sharing candles. The problem is that all this is just made up nonsense. All of it.”

If you want to read a whole host of references on this procedure you can find them here:

EAR CANDLING

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© Tracy Hebden | Dreamstime.com