What is a placebo. What is the placebo effect? What is the name of the syndrome of self-hypnosis

It is a fact that success in the treatment of almost all diseases depends on whether the patient has a positive or negative attitude towards recovery. Often, in order to recover, the patient is effectively helped by the method of self-hypnosis and the use of dummy preparations. Find out what this effect is based on and how it is applied in psychology and medicine.

What is the placebo effect

This phenomenon became widely known in medical circles in the 19th century, but the term "placebo" appeared much earlier. So, the phrase Placebo Domino, which means "I will please the Lord", in the Middle Ages was used in their funeral songs by mourners at funerals. By analogy, the word "placebo" later began to be called flatterers, saints, sycophants. This term also began to be mentioned in relation to doctors of that time, since most of the drugs that were sold in pharmacies in those days did not contain any components that have a medicinal effect.

For patients, however, taking these drugs brought noticeable relief - the effect of self-hypnosis that this remedy and the procedures prescribed by the doctor were highly effective worked in many cases. On this occasion, the French Renaissance philosopher Michel de Montaigne noted in his writings that for some people, even medical attention alone is already effective.

In 1811, the Concise Oxford Dictionary defines a placebo as a drug that does more to please than to benefit the patient. This does not prevent the widespread use of such a method of treatment, dummy drugs are used as a necessary lie for the benefit of a sick person. In the 20th century, after the discovery of antibiotics and other effective therapies, this approach was sharply criticized, the use of placebos began to be considered unprofessional.

Yet research into the question of why drugs that do not contain any active ingredients, in many cases, showed the ability to effectively relieve pain, continued. In 1955, the term "placebo effect" appeared - such a phrase was used to describe clinical trials, during which the fact was confirmed that about a third of the subjects received relief from dummy drugs. The question why, under the influence of imaginary drugs or methods of treatment, the mechanism of self-healing of the body is launched, continues to be actively studied even now.

Placebo effect in psychology

You need to know that this term means not only taking drugs that do not contain active ingredients, but also a method of suggestion that a certain set of procedures will help the patient recover. The practical application of the placebo effect in psychology has shown that all people are more or less affected by it. This result is based on a person's belief in the professionalism of a doctor. Further, when the doctor's recommendations are followed, self-hypnosis is activated, and the patient recovers faster. This method of treatment is very effective in a number of mental disorders.

How the placebo effect works

Being confident that the treatment is effective, in most cases, patients get the result they expect from the drugs. Understanding the placebo effect - what it is, it is easy to explain why homeopathic remedies work effectively to strengthen immunity, acupuncture as a sedative or laxative as a means for losing weight. Although this method of treatment has not yet been fully studied, some patterns have been identified in its application. Here are a few rules for how the placebo effect works.

• The larger and brighter the dummy pill, the more expensive, according to the patient, it costs, the more effective the treatment will be.
• Taking several pills throughout the day is more effective than drinking 1 pc. 1 time per day. The more complex and painful the treatment process, the more effective it is for patients.
• Injections are more effective than taking pills.
• For some people, a placebo drug causes side effects that are similar to the real drug.
• The positive effect is maintained even when the patient knows that he is actually taking a dummy.

placebo in medicine

Based on this effect, even sham operations may be used instead of traditional treatment in hospitals for some patients. To date, placebo in medicine is used in various branches of medicine.

• In pharmacotherapy, it is prescribed for suspicious patients who tend to look for symptoms of various diseases in themselves so as not to affect the body with unnecessary medicines.
• In pharmacology, it is used as a control agent in clinical trials of new drug developments.
• In evidence-based medicine, placebo components are used as an integral part of various treatment regimens.
• In narcology, in the treatment of alcohol and drug addiction, the techniques “Filing”, “Coding”, etc. are used, built on suggestion and the desire of a person to get rid of addiction.
• In psychiatry, with the help of suggestion, various disorders of the body that are of a mental nature are corrected, for example, insomnia, sexual disorders, and depression.

placebo method

Researchers have found which people are more likely to respond to treatments that contain elements of suggestion. It turned out that according to the placebo method, patients who are characterized by anxiety and a pronounced dependence on others respond well to treatment. When such patients are given an inert substance, but explained that this is a highly effective medicine, then the mechanism of self-healing is activated. This is because the brain triggers the production of pain-reducing endorphins and other substances that are appropriate for the expected effect of the drug.

placebo medicine

Homeopathy and multivitamins can be attributed to this segment of therapeutic agents. A person who starts taking them improves health not only due to the composition of the pill, but also due to the confidence in its positive effect on the body. In traditional medicine, placebo medicines are often made from cornstarch or lactose, sometimes even sugar balls or saline injections can be used. These harmless and practically useless substances from the point of view of medicine, with due conviction of the patient, start the mechanism of curing diseases.

Video: placebo pills

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Does it happen, you ask - a medicine that does not heal? After all, even a placebo - a dummy pill, consisting of dyes, flavors and a neutral filler - sometimes does the almost impossible if the patient sincerely believes that he has been prescribed a miraculous drug. It turns out that if you look carefully, such placebo pacifiers can be found among the seemingly time-tested drugs that have been used by more than one generation of people.

In the top, which we bring to your attention, there will be no new products, the effect of which has not yet been fully elucidated, or drugs with dangerous side effects, which, as they say, "one is treated, the other is crippled." No, we have collected exactly your old acquaintances - medicines that are probably in every home first-aid kit, which almost everyone has repeatedly used and which, nevertheless, are absolutely useless.

Validol

Validol is just a mint candy

Probably, in childhood, everyone who had grandmothers at least once tried to steal from them these white tablets, seductively smelling of mint candies. Grandmothers hid the medicine from their grandchildren, not suspecting that in fact, validol, familiar to all hearts, is precisely mint candy. There is no harm from resorption under the tongue of validol, but there is no particular benefit either. Validol can act as a mild sedative, but with severe heart pain, it is absolutely useless.

Valocordin and Corvalol

If the heart is really in danger, then Corvalol will not help in this trouble.

Valocordin and Corvalol - the same validol, only in liquid form. A mild sedative that has no effect on the heart itself. Nevertheless, several generations of "cores" have remained faithful to them.

Hepatoprotectors

Essentiale is a popular hepatoprotector

The widely advertised hepatoprotectors (Essliver, Livolin, Essentiale) do not actually think of restoring cell membranes. The liver decomposes and removes these compounds from the body in the same way as any other garbage that enters with food.

aqua maris

Aqua Maris - a high price for a small bottle of salt water

Sea water, packaged in bottles, is sold with a bang among mothers. Aqua-Maris is advised to drip into the nose of children with a cold. What does it give? Yes, nothing but profit for those who packaged this water in bottles and provided it with a bright label. Water, in which salts are dissolved, can be useful for moisturizing the mucosa during dehydration. And with a runny nose, when it flows from the nose, additional moisture seems like a strange whim.

Arbidol and similar immunomodulators

Arbidol, Anaferon, Bioparox, Viferon, Polyoxidonium, Cycloferon, Ersefuril, Imunomax, Likopid, Isoprinosine, Primadofilus, Engystol, Imudon are immunomodulators with unproven efficacy. They are expensive. It turns out that experts have not recorded any evidence of the effectiveness of arbidol! It could be called a classic example of a placebo, if it were not for the fear that regular use of the drug can disrupt the body's ability to produce interferon on its own. However, these concerns have not yet been confirmed by research.

Probiotics

Bifidumbacterin is one of the numerous and useless drugs to combat dysbacteriosis

Bifidumbacterin, Bifiform, Linex, Hilak Forte, Primadophilus - drugs to combat dysbacteriosis. At first glance, everything is logical and beautiful - if you want to restore the intestinal microflora, battered by long-term use of antibiotics, just settle the beneficial bacteria in your body again - drink probiotics. In fact, not everything is so simple. Firstly, most microorganisms are already killed when they are sealed into capsules. Secondly, the human body is very good at destroying bacteria that enter the stomach. And thirdly, probiotics are often prescribed in parallel with antibiotics. Plus and minus, as you know, gives a complete zero.

Nootropics with unproven effectiveness

Nootropil is one of the representatives of nootropic drugs.

Nootropics, also known as neurometabolic stimulants, are drugs that have a direct activating effect on learning, improve memory and mental activity. Nootropil, Piracetam, Phezam, Aminalon, Phenibut, Pantogam, Picamilon, Instenon, Mildronate, Cinnarizine, Mexidol - in fact, they are only placebo drugs. They have no real effect on brain activity.

Riboxin was widely used in the 70s in sports to improve performance and physical performance.

Cocarboxylase, Riboxin - cardiac preparations, are used in obstetrics, and in neurology, and in intensive care. Actively used in Russia. Not applicable in developed countries. Never tested in serious studies. These drugs should somehow miraculously improve metabolism, help with many diseases and supposedly enhance the effect of other drugs.

Zelenka

The disinfecting properties of greenery, as it turned out, is also a myth. The role of an antiseptic is played by alcohol, in which the brilliant green is dissolved. And the actual green substance is only suitable for applying "war paint" to make it clear to others that you have a real "combat" wound. True, in the case of children with chickenpox, brilliant green can be useful as a marker: parents smear rashes as they appear, knowing exactly which of them are freshly formed, and also fixing the day when new rashes ceased to appear.

And this is not all drugs whose effectiveness has not been confirmed, but which, nevertheless, are popular. So far, no one is thinking of either withdrawing these drugs from production or withdrawing them from sale. Nothing personal just business!

As a reminder, Popular Medicine does not recommend taking any drug, even over-the-counter drug, unless prescribed by your doctor.

Sincerely,

As you know, modern medicine is usually divided into traditional And alternative . And if traditional methods of treatment are used by certified doctors practicing in honey. institutions, then those who “do not fit” into the traditional framework fall into the category of alternative medicine: homeopaths, psychics, as well as healers who practice treatment with biocurrents, holy water, remote exposure, and other methods that are often perceived with skepticism. However, many people still try to heal from severe ailments using such methods.

However, alternative medicine is not always an example of quackery. For example, modern medical centers now widely use acupuncture , which initially, having got to European countries from China, was considered an untested and very strange method.

However, the most interesting thing is that even the most obscure and completely unscientific methods of treatment sometimes help people get rid of serious diseases. In particular, there are many cases when people were cured under the influence of psychics "from the TV", miracle pills or "charged" water. In this case, we are talking about the effect recognized by traditional medicine. This Effect placebo about which many scientific studies have been written. Its mechanism is connected with the healing potential "inside the person". Read more about what is the essence of the placebo effect, and how it works, will be discussed below.

Placebo effect: what is it?

So, a placebo is an inert substance that does not cause harm, which the patient receives under the guise of a drug. Under the guise of a placebo, various manipulations and even surgical interventions can be carried out.

According to Wikipedia, the placebo effect is the effect of a substance without obvious medicinal properties, the effect of which is based on the patient's belief in the effectiveness of the drug. Accordingly, the placebo effect is a direct improvement in health due to the belief in the effectiveness of a certain effect, which is actually neutral.

Speaking about what a placebo effect is, it should be noted that its manifestation directly depends on the degree of suggestibility of a person and certain circumstances of the process of such “treatment”. In particular, the appearance of the “medicine”, its cost, the difficulty of obtaining it, trust in the doctor and the clinic, etc., matter.

Historical Placebo Facts

The fact that suggestion in the treatment of various ailments is very important has been known to doctors for a long time. The description of placebo on Wikipedia contains information that the first time in the context of medicine this name was used in the eighteenth century, when its definition "banal method or medicine" appeared. Later, in 1811, it was already defined as "any medicine chosen for the satisfaction of the patient, rather than for his benefit."

In the nineteenth century, M. Ya. Mudrov, a doctor from Russia, prescribed to his patients the use of special powders, which he “marked” according to the color of the packaging paper and called “plain”, “silver” and “gold”. These funds worked incredibly effectively. But when the doctor died, it was established that ground chalk was wrapped in pieces of paper.

During the Second World War, in 1944, military doctor Henry Beecher, due to an acute shortage, administered to the wounded saline , while reporting that he is injecting a very strong painkiller. The soldiers felt that the pain was subsiding. Thanks to Henry Beecher in medical terminology, the term "placebo" appeared, which he introduced in 1955. The same specialist justified why a mandatory placebo control is necessary in the process of testing new drugs. A little later, in 1962, the US Congress decided that placebo-controlled trials were required in order for a drug to be registered.

As for placebo - surgical interventions, the first such operation was performed in the fifties of the last century by US surgeon Leonard Cobb. This doctor performed skin incisions on the chest of people with, assuring them that he was doing heart surgery. As a result, 9 out of 10 patients said that they felt better after the intervention.

Surgeon Bruce Mosley did another study in 1994. It involved 10 army veterans who complained of knee pain. Five of them had operations. Five more under anesthesia cut the skin, after which the incision was sewn up. Patients were convinced that they had had successful surgical interventions. After that, all ten people began to feel much better.

How do placebo drugs work?

Until today, experts cannot explain the effect of the placebo method. A lot of various studies have been carried out, during which scientists have tried to determine what is the mechanism of its influence. When volunteers taking a placebo underwent brain scans, it was noted that areas of the brain responsible for controlling stress and pain are activated at this time. Therefore, the placebo effect is most pronounced if a person experiences:

• pain;
• fatigue and;
• nausea.

In the process of studying this effect, scientists were able to identify a number of very important patterns.

• The size, quantity, shape of tablets matter. So, two pacifier tablets will work better than one. If you take a large tablet, the effect will be better. A bitter drug is more effective than a sweet one.
• The appearance of the drug is very important. For people with depression, yellow pills are more effective, and green pills are more effective for treating anxiety. A placebo in a bright package works better than an inconspicuous one. Pills with engravings are more effective than those without inscriptions.
• It is important to take into account the peculiarities of the nationality and culture of the patient. For example, Americans and Russians are used to considering droppers and injections more effective, while capsules help Europeans better.
• Soother medications are most effective in combating depression . Recent studies confirm that these drugs work about as well as chemical drugs. antidepressants . However, many pharmacological manufacturers refute this fact, since such a high placebo efficacy directly threatens their profits.
• After taking a placebo, a person may feel intoxicated. This is proven by studies in which volunteers received a tonic with lime, while believing that they were drinking alcohol. As a result, all people had a decrease in the speed of reaction, impaired judgment and deterioration of intelligence.
• A drug that is very expensive or difficult to obtain works better than one that is readily available and cheap.
• Children are more susceptible to pacifiers than adults. A favorite parental trick to kiss or hug the baby so that the pain goes away is also a placebo.
• The doctor who prescribes such a medicine is important - if a well-known doctor does it, then the remedy affects the patient more effectively.
• The use of a placebo can cause a cause withdrawal syndrome and addiction.
• Even if the patient knows that he is taking an ordinary "pacifier", the drug still works. This was proved by an experiment in which a group of people suffering from pathological anxiety were given a drug to calm them down. At the same time, people were told: this is ordinary sugar. As a result, 14 out of 15 volunteers noted that they felt better. It turned out that people decided that they were being deceived, and the drugs still contain certain active ingredients. Also, some people were told at the end of the experiments that they actually took chalk or sugar. But even knowing what placebo drugs are, people noted that the positive changes achieved during treatment did not disappear.

That is why much more research is needed to understand exactly how placebo drugs work on the body, what it is and why pacifiers can help people.

What is noncebo

It is interesting that the drug, which is issued as a medicine, can not only treat, but also worsen the state of health. This action in medicine is called nocebo effect .

At various times, many studies have been conducted on this issue. There are a number of interesting conclusions drawn from such experiments.

• Two groups of people received different information about how Wi-Fi radiation affects the body. Some have heard that it is safe, others - that such radiation is very harmful to the body. Further, a group of negative-minded people were allegedly subjected to fifteen minutes of Wi-Fi radiation (in fact, there was none). All the people felt so bad that the session had to be interrupted.
• If a person expects that pain will increase when taking a certain medicine, then this is exactly what happens.
• There is observational evidence that inattentive and rude medical staff. institutions can enhance the negative effects of drugs.
• Those patients who are accustomed to very carefully study the instructions for drugs are three times more likely to develop adverse reactions from their use compared to those who have never heard of side effects provoked by the drug. To avoid the development of the noncebo effect, most doctors try not to focus patients on the side effects of prescribed drugs.

The concept of medical secrecy is also associated with noncebo. In many countries, doctors cannot hide truthful information about their condition from patients, otherwise they will break the law. However, some evidence suggests that this is fraught with a noncebo effect.

So, the famous surgeon Pirogov once diagnosed himself with throat cancer, which at that time meant inevitable death. The doctor became depressed and began to fade before his eyes. Then friends persuaded the surgeon to consult with the famous German surgeon Theodor Billroth. The same one told Pirogov that his tumor was benign, even though he himself knew that this was not true. Pirogov believed in the words of the German so much that he managed to overcome his depression and led a completely normal life for another year.

Does prayer heal?

Probably, every person has heard about how certain items related to religion, or special prayers, healed people from dangerous diseases. How exactly prayer affects a person has been studied by many researchers. There are different explanations - from an altered consciousness to a bioresonance created during the reading of a prayer. However, the most likely explanation is an unshakable belief in the power of prayer, which is essentially the same placebo effect.

After all, the main essence of this effect is a persistent belief in success, and, no matter what, as a result of which - the use of pills or the reading of prayers.

However, one must take into account the fact that noncebo also exists in the aspect of religion. As an example, we can recall the “voodoo curse” - if in Africa a shaman, whose authority in the tribe is incredibly high, curses someone, then this leads to the death of the damned. The thing is that a frightened person believes in impending death so much that it becomes almost inevitable.

Does this effect appear in animals?

Interestingly, scientists admit the following: the placebo effect can occur even in animals. Scientists conducted the following experiment: sick dogs were divided into two groups and given medicines. The first group - anticonvulsants, the second - pacifiers. In three similar experiments, it was concluded that among dogs given a placebo, the number of seizures decreased by 79%.

Scientists believe that this action explains several points at once. In particular, animals can be affected by the expectations of their owners, which convey to them confidence in the effectiveness of the treatment by giving the drug. The expectation of an animal that, suffering from epilepsy, has been receiving various medications for many years and already reflexively expects that after the medication it will feel better, also works. However, scientists do not deny that such results may also be associated with the cyclicity of the disease, because the study involved animals at the peak of the disease, which later could simply fade a little.

How is placebo control done?

Back in the seventies of the last century, placebo control was defined as a mandatory procedure in the process of conducting clinical trials of any drug. Types of control can be:

• double blind - when two groups of people receive a medicine that is being tested, but people from one group take the medicine, and from the other they think they are taking it;
• double blind - with such control, neither the doctor who conducts the study, nor the volunteers themselves know which of the groups they fell into.

Now you can find many different opinions about the moral aspects of such inoculations. Some experts believe that giving a patient a pacifier instead of a drug is at least unethical. That is why now, in most cases, comparative clinical trials are being conducted, involving comparisons of a new drug not with a placebo, but with other widely used drugs.

conclusions

Thus, a placebo is not a quackery, but a proof that, in fact, the body's capabilities are far from being fully understood.

In recent years, the interest of scientists in the peculiarities of the effect of dummy preparations has increased significantly in the world. Numerous studies have been conducted, during which scientists have confirmed that a placebo can affect the body in the same way as a medicine. It can provoke changes in the reactions that occur in the body.

Sometimes doctors prescribe pacifiers when they think they have tried all other methods. In some cases, a placebo is given to patients if the desired drug does not exist at all, and also if the doctor fears that the desired drug may provoke very serious side effects. Finally, some patients urgently demand from the doctor that he prescribe them at least some kind of drug, even if, in the opinion of the specialist, this is not necessary. In this case, dummy drugs are sometimes used.

Still, the effectiveness of placebo should not be overestimated. If a dummy pill can help get rid of or relieve pain, then such a remedy can hardly cure serious diseases.

In addition, one must take into account the fact that many pseudo-healers, using this effect, try to make money on people who are easily suggestible.

It is possible that the effectiveness of some non-traditional methods of medicine is based precisely on the placebo effect. That is, if a person believes that this or that remedy helps him, that is exactly what happens.

In some diseases, suggestion is really very effective, so you need to use it in the treatment process. At the same time, it is not always necessary to buy expensive pseudopreparations, sometimes it is enough to use a positive infusion, or turn to prayer or meditation for help. Provided that the person believes in it, such methods can help.

Placebo effect (from Latin placebo - getting better)- this is a very interesting fact, which is well known and used in medicine since ancient times. The essence of this effect is that the patient is given some completely harmless substance (most often water or lactose), which is passed off as a medicine (which the patient does not doubt), but in fact this substance does not have any medicinal properties. That is, a person believes and inspires himself that the drug that he was given will help 100%, and in some cases, a placebo even helps to cure the disease. In other words, our thoughts materialize.

The placebo effect has been used by people for a long time, both for positive and negative results. A negative example is when 2 people sentenced to death were put in one cell and one of them was given poison to drink, and the other was just water. The second convict, watching the first die in agony, began to experience the same thing, and in the end, both died. After studying the placebo effect, there was a revolution in medicine, many pharmacological companies collapsed due to the fact that the patient was helped not so much by their medicine as by the patient's belief in his full recovery. It has been proven, for example, that large and marketed tablets are much more effective than nondescript and not promoted ones. Sometimes doctors (more often psychologists) specifically prescribe placebo if their patient has self-hypnosis of painful sensations. And all because the patient does not need to carry out unnecessary, and sometimes even dangerous for him, pharmacotherapy.

What is a placebo and its mechanism of action.

- this is an absolutely harmless drug or substance, which does not contain substances that can have a therapeutic effect on the human body.

The placebo mechanism of action is based on instilling confidence in the patient in his speedy recovery. To apply the placebo effect, no special skills are required, it is enough just to convince the patient of the healing power of the “pacifier”, by injection or a regular pill. The placebo effect is explained by the fact that as a result of suggestion, the patient's brain sends signals about recovery, after which substances begin to be produced that correspond to an increase in well-being. For example, if a person experienced pain, then in his body hormones begin to be produced in large quantities - endorphins, which suppress this very pain. In addition, it has a beneficial effect on further recovery. The effectiveness of the placebo depends, first of all, on the state of the human nervous system. People with a weakened or excitable nervous system are most likely to achieve results from the use of a placebo.

The placebo effect is also widely used in the testing of a new drug. The group of volunteers who agreed to test a new drug is divided into two subgroups. One group is given the new drug and the other is given a placebo. This is done in order to test the effectiveness of a new drug, if the result in the two groups differs little, then the drug is not effective.

The work of our brain has not been fully studied by scientists so far, so we do not know how to manage our abilities, and when something inexplicable happens to us, we call it a miracle. The power of human suggestion is limitless, which allows, for example, some folk healers to treat patients quite successfully. There are numerous cases when doctors sentenced a person to death, but the patient not only remained alive further, he also became a completely healthy person.

In medicine, cases have been recorded when patients recovered due to taking drugs whose effectiveness has not been proven. Moreover, clinical studies confirm that the medicinal value is approaching zero. In this case, there is a placebo effect - curing yourself with almost the power of thought.

Placebo: what is it

Almost two hundred and fifty years ago, doctors described the facts of the recovery of patients after taking substances that are not drugs, but passed off as such.

In simple words, we can say that the patient receives a "dummy" that imitates a tablet, capsule, injection. There are no medicinal components in its composition and, logically, it should not “work”. But in reality, it turns out that the patient receives “treatment” and recovers.

The phenomenon was called "placebo" and was subjected to repeated study by psychologists and physicians.

For the purity of the experiment, double-blind studies are often carried out. In the experimental group, the experiment is controlled by neutral scientists. At the same time, neither the patients nor the doctors treating them know which of the patients receives drugs, and which - their imitation.

Example 1 Psychiatry

A doctor in a psychiatric clinic located in one of the cities of the United States treated patients suffering from violent attacks. Their behavior was aggressive, threatening the life and health of others.

At the initial stages, most patients of the clinic were kept in conditions of deprivation of activity - in straitjackets.

The management of the clinic went on an experiment in which, by prior arrangement, Dr. Medel's patients began to receive a new, hitherto unknown, but very effective medicine. This medicine allowed to stabilize and socialize violent crazy and mentally deranged patients.

Even the doctor himself didn't know who was getting the pills and who was getting the placebo. After some time, the doctor began to notice that the patients became calmer. They show adequate behavior, make contact and violent attacks become rare.

Patients talked, smiled, and the doctor was able to abandon the guard, which he had not parted with before.

Imagine his surprise when he learned the results of the test treatment. None of the insane asylum patients received medication, all took a placebo.

The therapy paid off because neither side of the experiment (neither the doctor nor the patients) knew who was receiving the medicine. Patients believed that a drug had been found that would help overcome their problems. And so it happened.

The doctor wanted with all his might to see the results, changes in the behavior and consciousness of his wards. He really "saw" them, thereby unwittingly influencing the sick.

A drug reserpine entered the history of psychiatry as the most effective placebo capable of treating people with mental disorders.

Example 2 Tuberculosis

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, patients with pulmonary tuberculosis were observed in one of the German clinics. Scientists have not yet invented a medicine capable of defeating the disease, and mortality was extremely high.

Taking a risk, the medical staff informed the patients about the admission to the hospital of a rare, very effective and equally expensive drug that could overcome the disease within a month. The mentioned characteristics of the drug were important: new, effective, expensive.

Under the guise of know-how, patients received acetylsalicylic acid. But the belief in the effectiveness of a new drug delivered to the hospital specifically for them, potential suicide bombers, made it possible to cure 80% of patients.

Example 3 Pediatrics

In the United States, placebo drugs are widely used in pediatrics. American doctors are deeply and unshakably convinced that children should not be stuffed with medicines unless absolutely necessary.

Not only children, but also their parents often need a "magic" pill. Therefore, drugs of this kind are sold in pharmacies and consist of safe components that are allowed even for small children.

Pills "from laziness", "from fear", from diseases developing against a background of uncertainty, phobias are very popular. What is most surprising is that they bear fruit.

List of drugs considered placebo

The list of drugs marked as "dummy" is quite large. According to the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, about a third of drugs on the modern pharmacological market are “dummy”. Many of them have a high cost and are popular with both doctors and patients.

1. Medicines to improve blood circulation, microcirculation - actovegin, cerebrolysin, solcoseryl;
2. Immunomodulatory drugs;
3. "Heart" drugs - ATP, cocarboxylase, riboxin;
4. and (linex, bifidumbacterin, bifidoc, hilak forte and others);
5. Means for improving cerebral circulation - piracetam, nootropil, tenoten, phenibut, pantogam, aminalon, tanakan, preductal;
6. Mildronate, mexidol;
7. Bioparox;
8. Polyoxidonium, grippol, gromecin;
9. Chondroprotectors - chondrosamine, glucosamine, chondroitin;
10. Valocordin, valoserdin, novopassitis;
11. Antithrombotic drug thrombovazim;
12. Essentiale N, mezim forte.

What enhances the placebo effect

Pharmaceutical companies that produce certain groups of drugs know the marketing moves. These methods increase not only the popularity (and hence the level of sales) of dummy drugs. They also help patients, despite the absence of the active substance in the composition of the drug:

• Patients like large, brightly colored tablets more than small, faded, colorless ones. Patients subconsciously develop confidence in outwardly visible drugs;
• A pronounced therapeutic effect is manifested in patients after taking drugs from well-known manufacturers compared to modest competitors, even if the composition contains the same active substance;
• Expensive medicines “treat” faster, more efficiently, and there is more confidence in them than in cheap analogues;
• After the end or interruption of the placebo "treatment" course, 5% of patients experience a withdrawal syndrome with pronounced symptoms;
• From 5 to 10% of patients experience the claimed side effects, although there are no substances that can cause them in the medicine;

Placebo has a better effect on people with a labile psyche, anxious, gullible. They consider the doctor to be the last resort and trust him. Such people, extroverts, are easily suggestible. Low self-esteem and secret readiness for a miracle allow the placebo to "work" in full force.

Patients who are suspicious, suspicious, checking any information “by the tooth”, are less amenable to the influence of a placebo. They do not trust miracles and the charlatans who propagate them. After all, it is the subconscious and the willingness to believe that play a key role in the treatment with pacifiers.

Types of placebo

Placebo treatment is not limited to banal pills with a magical effect. There are several types of placebo:

Preparations

The most popular and extensive group. Under the influence of "powerful" pacifiers, migraines disappear, blood pressure normalizes, bleeding stops, even tumors, including malignant ones, dissolve.

There are many such examples described in the medical literature. In each case, the effectiveness is recorded and cannot be explained only by the impact on the consciousness and subconsciousness.

Imaginary surgical interventions

Surgeons use the placebo effect, replacing the real operation with a sham one, and achieve the same result as with a real intervention.

Surgeon David Callmes has been practicing spinal surgery for many years after severe injuries and fractures. He decided on an experiment, during which some of the patients were actually operated on. The other part was informed about the operation, although in fact there was none.

But what really happened was the reliable preparatory work with patients, the identical surroundings in the operating room.

As a result of a well-played performance, the well-being of patients improved. At the same time, pain disappeared and functions were restored. This means that somewhat different regeneration mechanisms come into play.

Placebo - acupuncture and homeopathy

Inspiring the patient to believe in the possibility of getting rid of a serious illness by inserting needles into the skin and taking homeopathic medicines makes it possible to achieve tremendous success in the treatment of mental and somatic diseases.