The Placebo Effect You look in the mirror and see that your skin and eyes seem a yellowish color, your legs and ankles are swollen, you have abdominal pain and swelling, your skin is also itchy, you have dark urine, and notice that your stool is a pale color. What do these symptoms mean? These are symptoms of damage to the liver. There are many ways to damage your liver like the use of alcohol, but a way you may not be aware of is the use of medication. Some medications when used repeatedly can cause liver damage, such as acetaminophen, also known as Tylenol. What if we could prevent liver damage by using the placebo effect so there will no longer be liver damage due to medications? What exactly is the placebo effect you may ask? The placebo …show more content…
If the placebo effect is used on common conditions that are associated with the over the counter drugs, people will most likely stop damaging their livers just because they have a headache, fever, feeling sore, and even as pain relievers. There has been a study on cough medicines being related to the placebo effect. “The major benefit of cough medicines for treatment of cough associated with common cold is related to the placebo effect rather than the pharmacological effect of an active ingredient” (Freeman). The researches have finally concluded that, “the idea is developed that a sweet taste may modulate cough at the level of the nucleus tractus solitaries, possibly by influencing the production of endogenous opioids.” In this study it is shown that the medicines effectiveness for the cough was around the same effectiveness as the ones with the placebo effect. Some key factors that help the results of the placebo effect become effective in this study are “the healer-patient interaction, cultural beliefs about traditional treatments, the environment in which the medicine is administered, the properties of the medicine such as taste, color and smell, advertising and claims made about the efficacy of the medicine, the brand name of the medicine, …show more content…
To help humanity better its health and to better understand the placebo effect. If over the counter medicine performs better than the placebo, then it won’t be allowed to enter the market. Scientist should follow the key points to achieve a positive effect of the placebo effect. There are many limits to the placebo effect but to better humanity’s understanding on the placebo effect there should be more research and studies on the placebo effect in accordance to modern medicine, it will be every beneficial for society in the long
The improvement of medicine over the course of the human successes gave great convenience to the people of today. Science has cured and prevented many illnesses from occurring and is on its way to cure some of the most dreadful and harmful illnesses. As the world modernizes due to the industrialization, so does the ways of medicine. Some cures are approached by chance, some, through intense, scientific measures.
Pharmaceuticals have examined and found to ”work by changing the biological functions of the target cells in the body through chemical agents“ (Doweiko, 2015, p. 16). ”Many people in the past have thought that drugs that
Ernst, E., & Resch, K. L. (1995). Concept of true and perceived placebo effects. British Medical
Characterized by progressive tissue injury and scarring, cirrhosis is among the leading causes of chronic liver failure in the United States. Recent research conducted by the National Institutes of Health indicated that the prevalence of cirrhosis, especially in clients diagnosed with Hepatitis C, has increased steadily throughout the past decade and will likely continue to increase in the future (Kanwal et al., 2011). Caused by recurrent tissue damage and inflammation, cirrhosis occurs as healthy hepatocytes (liver cells) are replaced by fibrotic and non-functional scar tissue through natural healing processes. Although liver tissue is normally very resilient, sustained injury eventually outpaces restorative capacity and a majority of functional tissue is replaced with collagenous tissue and liver failure occurs. In the United States, cirrhosis is most commonly caused by Hepatitis C, alcoholism, fatty liver disease, and biliary obstruction (Kanwal et al., 2011). Due to the increase in prevalence and the seriousness of the condition, cirrhosis represents a significant healthcare issue. The treatment and care of clients diagnosed with cirrhosis is complex. The following information addresses several of the major aspects of nursing care associated with the treatment of clients diagnosed with cirrhosis. Additionally, current studies regarding the treatment of cirrhosis will be evaluated in an effort to assess their readiness to be incorporated into current evidenced-based nursing practice.
Liver disease resulting from alcohol affects more than two million Americans and is one of the primary causes of illness and death. The liver frees the body of harmful substances, such as alcohol. While the liver breaks down alcohol, it produces toxins that can be even more dangerous than the alcohol consumed (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 13). “These by-products damage liver cells, promote inflammation, and weaken the body’s natural defenses. Eventually, these problems can disrupt the body’s metabolism and impair the function of other organs” (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 13). A condition called steatosis is the result of fat build up in the liver and is the earliest stage of alcoholic liver disease. This condition causes the liver difficulty breaking down alcohol, potentially resulting in alcoholic hepatitis. Fibrosis of the liver, which is also related to heavy drinking, causes scar tissue to build up in the liver. The alcohol alters chemicals that the liver needs to break down this scar tissue, causing liver dysfunctions. If one does not refrain from drinking during the condition of fibrosis, the scar tissue can build up and create another condition, called cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is deterioration of the liver resulting from heavy scarring, causing the liver to not be able to function properly. If cirrhosis becomes severe, a liver transplant may be the only solution (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 14). It is difficult to calculate when a person would develop cirrhosis, because an alcoholic could never develop the disease, but someone who social drinks could. It is also unknown why cirrhosis is more prevalent in women (...
It harmonizes the blood, arranges nutrients, synthesizes proteins, and moves harmful substances out of the body. Prescription drugs, improper diet, and environmental factors can accumulate in the body causing the liver to malfunction. If the liver is not functioning properly serious illnesses and diseases can occur.
The primary cause of hepatic cirrhosis in the United States is long-term alcoholism. Men respond differently than women to alcohol. With women one or two drinks a day can cause them liver damage. Men can consume two to five drinks a day and be ok. One drink a day can create liver scarring. So like everything else in life it varies, it might affect everyone differently. The individual who drinks alcohol on a daily basis, or more often then others have a higher risk of developing cirrhosis. Hepatic cirrhosis has also been linked to serious liver infections such as hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Patients who are HIV positive have died from developing cirrhosis through the hepatitis virus. Other causes of cirrhosis come from reactions to prescribed medications, injuries to the liver, exposure to toxic substances, and episodes of heart failure with liver congestion. Obt...
This case study is about Abdul Chidiac, a 51 year old male, married with 4 children. He had a medical history of hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and cirrhosis with two admissions in the last six months. He is a smoker and drinks beer, 5-6 bottles per day. As Carithers & McClain (2010) explained the patient’s medical history is another indicator of the risk for cirrhosis; the progression to cirrhosis is adaptable and may take time over weeks or many years. Cirrhosis is a liver disease characterized by permanent scarring of the liver that interferes with its normal functions including alcoholism. Most people who drink large amounts of alcohol cause harm to the liver in some way (Heidelbaugh & Bruderly, 2006). The cause of cirrhosis is not yet known, but the connection between cirrhosis and excessive alcohol ingestion is established (Jenkins & Johnson, 2010). Common causes of cirrhosis include: alcohol abuse, hepatitis B infection, hepatitis C infection and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (Schuppan & Afdhal, 2008).
What if you found out the medicine your doctor has been giving you wasn’t proven to make you feel any better but you did get better. This is the placebo effect.
These processes can get interfered due to liver failure, when the liver is damaged to an extent that it won’t function normally for months or years. The main causes for liver failure include hepatitis B, hepatitis C, long-term alcohol consumption, cirrhosis and malnutrition (WebMD, n.d.).
Health psychology is a relatively new concept rapidly growing and could be defined as the biological and psychological influences affect ones behaviour also bringing in social influences of health and illness (MacDonald, 2013). Biological determinants consider genetic and biological factors of an illness whereas psychological determinants focus on the psychological factors such as why people behave the way they do when dealing with issues such as anxiety and stress. Models such as the Health Belief Model and Locus of Control were developed in attempt to try and explain psychological issues around a chronic illness such as breast cancer (Ogden, 2012). Sociological factors can cause an enormous amount of pressure for one to behave in a certain way for example gender roles in society and religious considerations when dealing with health beliefs. Health Beliefs can be defined as one’s own perception to their own personal health and illness and health behaviours (Ogden, 2012). There are also theories and models used to explain pain and coping with diagnosis such as Moos and Schaefer (1984) Crisis theory and Shontz (1975) cycle of grief people go through when being diagnosed with a serious illness.
Although with everything this world has to offer, there are disadvantages, and modern medicine does not fall short but the fact is that there are a lot of advantages that accompanies this course of treatment for the entire society, starting from each individual to the economic state of the modern society, modern medicine is making its mark in a positive way. By identifying and preventing illnesses, modern medicine has greatly improved lives, improved the economy and also diagnosed underlying illnesses in the modern society.
Depression is a serious problem in today’s time world with everyone going through problems of their own, so one should wonder what depression really is. Depression is defined as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Everyone occasionally feels blue or sad. But these feelings are usually short-lived and pass within a couple of days. When you have depression, it interferes with daily life and causes pain for both you and those who care about you. Depression is a common but serious illness. There are even different types of depression such as persistent depressive disorder, psychotic depression, postpartum, seasonal affective disorder, and etc.
Having analyzed a lot of literature on the issues connected to the topic of choosing alternative ways of treatment instead of conventional medicine, I want to say that there are natural treatments for every complaint and what is more, non-traditional medicine attempts to repair balance by removing any barriers and problems, keeping human’s body from healing itself. The only obstacle to recovering process can be a person and, to be precise, his or her attitude to the approach that is applied. A feature of the person, the essence of the disease and other factors more occur in treatment, and not so much which disease is being treated.