Subtopic: The Dangers of Placebos

I plan to argue that placebos can be harmful to the patient and are becoming more dangerous with every use. The act of prescribing placebos has existed for years but is just recently become so widely used. The treatment, which years ago used to be strictly sugar pills, has now evolved into a much broader pool of possibilities like sedatives, vitamins, antibiotics, saline, analgesics and even what is called sham surgery. In fact, studies show that the percentage of doctors who prescribe antibiotics, over the counter pain killers, sedatives and analgesics is much higher than those who continue to use saline and vitamins. Placebos are defined as not having any specific effect on the patient’s illness but there is never a guarantee for this. It is proven that mixing medications that should not be combined can cause serious problems, including death. If a doctor prescribes low doses of actual drugs to their patient, he/she is putting them at serious risk. Even if the doctor were to research their other medications, what if at home they were to accidentally take this “harmless placebo” with another medication? Once the patient is at home, there is no doctor to guide them in taking the right combinations of medication. In addition to there being the potential of mixing medications, just using these sedatives or antibiotics alone is dangerous. For example, over time the body can develop a resistance to the “placebo” which can cause serious problems later on for the body. In following years, if there is an illness that requires a medication with the same ingredient as their “placebo”, the body could have developed a defense against it causing it to be in-effective for the illness. Finally, there is always the chance that any one of these placebos could alone react poorly with the body even if it is just a low dose. Sham surgeries are much rarer, however do occur. For incurable illnesses or those that have a very low chance of being cured, like Parkinson’s, patients often undergo these surgeries under the impression that it could pro-long their life or fix trivial matters. Again, the chance of coming across a problem while making incisions into the head during a surgery is putting the patient at risk.

Pro/Con

What does the pro side say/think/believe? What does the con side say/think/believe? Which side will you be arguing? Why?

Pro: Those in favor of doctors prescribing placebos for patients to use feel that there is no harm to the practice. The job of a doctor is to help cure a patient and instill hope in them, not to leave them with no suggestions or alternatives when problems arise. By prescribing placebos, which those in favor define as treatments that do not directly cause any physiological changes to the body, the doctors are doing their job by pleasing the patient. If there is any chance at all that the placebos will cause the patients to mentally feel comforted, there is no reason not to use them. Statistics seem to be supporting that when children and adults are given these "pretend" medicine pills, the brain seems to take over and convince them that they are feeling better. Basically, it is a way to satisfy needs without causing any harm that could result in unecessary medication.

Con: For as many people that are for the use of Placebos, there are just as many that feel it is unethical. Patients that were surveyed felt that the relationships that they have with their doctors are vital in feeling comfortable and safe. It is morally wrong for a doctor to prescribe these pills because they are being decietfull and hiding information from their patients. Not only does it create a false sense of trust between the patients and doctors, but when doctors give the pills to parents for their kids the practice of lying continues. Also, recently the definition of placebos has changed. Rather than being strictly sugar pills or vitamins that truly are harmless, stimulants and extremely low doses of medicine that usually have no effect on the body are becoming more popular. This crosses the line completley, putting the patients at risk. Finally, instituting the practice of placebos furthers the latest trends of relience on drugs to fix everything. It creates a dependance even among young children when in reality, letting a cold run its course could be the simple solution.

As of know, I think that I am going to defend those against the practice of placebos however I am still undecided at this point until I research the mind/body relationship more.

Placebo Topic

The topic I am going to research is Placebos and their effect. Placebos are sugar pills or other look a -like medications that have no active medical ingredient but are often used and prescribed to patients to give them the impression that they are being treated. The question of whether it is ethical for doctors to use them has grown increasingly debatable over the years. Not only is the doctor-patient relationship to be considered, but the effects that these “harmless” placebos have is an important aspect as well. Although some patients feel cheated and deceived by being given these pills that they think to be helping them when they really are not, there are some who feel that they have a positive affect on the mind and body and that is a good enough reason for doctors to use them. In addition, over the years the definition of Placebos has been ever changing. The most common placebos the American doctors reported using were headache pills, vitamins and sugar pills but recently, a large number has admitted to using antibiotics and sedatives which do have affects on the body. I will be taking a stance on whether it is ethical and healthy for doctors to use placebos.