Have you ever been cheated but at ease? On the placebo effect - Placebo is kind of lifesaver.

I still remember that the first time I came into contact with the term "placebo" was when I heard it when my classmate reported on Paper during the special report of my junior year. Stupidly, we're even arguing over the pronunciation of the word: place-bo or pla-ce-bo.

It was later confirmed that pla-ce-bo was correct. If I remember correctly, the word Placebo comes from Latin and means "I will please.". So-called placebos are medically useless drugs that often appear in clinical trials or supportive care. In clinical trials, there are usually an experimental group and a control group. The placebo used in the control group may be supportive care, or the current use of drugs for the same disease, depending on the test drug.

To share an interesting story, one of my elder brothers who was a resident once said that when he encountered a patient clamoring for painkillers, he knew very well that his wound did not cause much pain at all. Not a good thing, the worst can cause drug addiction. But you know the medical environment in Taiwan. No matter how much you explain to the patient, he may not be able to ignore you. In order to avoid another letter in the dean's mailbox, the eldest brother said to the patient:

"Okay, then I'll give you one of the most useful painkillers in this hospital, but you mustn't hype it up, it's not something everyone can use."

Of course, the patient was very happy. The medicine went off. Half an hour later, the elder brother went to the bedside to see the patient and asked him how he felt now and whether the pain was relieved.

"Doctor, thank you! I feel much better"

Big brother smiled but said nothing. Can you guess what the most useful painkiller is?

That's right, saline, the Placebo mentioned at the beginning of this article.

Placebo has always had a place in medicine, which may be one of the very important research projects in neuroscience and psychology. But what I want to say is that not only medical drugs can be called placebos, many times in our lives, friends have placebos to participate in.

I think anything that makes you feel "comfortable" can often promote health, both mentally and physically. In other words, by reacting to your thoughts, you may be able to solve most of the troubles . This is also one of the values behind the so-called white lie. When we encounter any difficulties in life today, whether it is religion or numerology, it is the psychological comfort that most human beings will seek, and perhaps this is also an invisible placebo.

 Placebos may not help. Faith is what gets us through it all.

However, is it possible that a placebo that can cause benefits has the opposite effect?

The answer is yes, the so-called "nocebo effect".

In one study, it was found that if Chinese Americans suffered from illness and their birth year was considered unfortunate in the Chinese calendar and TCM theory, then they died significantly earlier than ordinary people, which was not the case for Caucasians. The researchers also found that the more Chinese-Americans were influenced by traditional Chinese folklore, the shorter their life spans. When they analyzed the data, they concluded that the effect could not be attributed to genetics, lifestyle habits, medical standards, or other factors that may exist.

 Placebos may not help, obsession is the underlying cause of harm.

Seeing this, you may ask whether it is possible for a placebo to replace the real medicine.

I personally think it is impossible. After all, drugs have curative effects, and he can truly see their effects on the human body based on pharmacokinetics and biochemistry. The placebo is physiologically, there is no way to have a substantial improvement in the course of the disease.

Otherwise, an experimental drug in a clinical trial will never be able to outperform a placebo. It has also become more difficult to bring new drugs to market.

I am very interested in the psychological effects of placebos, and the actual clinical changes. Might be one of the useful goals for future research.

What kind of placebos have you encountered/used in your life? Welcome to discuss with me!

Placebo paradox : It may be unethical to use a placebo, but also unethical “not to use something that heals”.

The paradox of placebo: The use of placebo in clinical medicine may not be in line with medical ethics, but deliberately not using effective means for healing is also against medical ethics. --------- Brain and Heart

All the best.