A Poll on woo

[Douglas Carpenter]

Which statement comes closest to you attitude regarding healthcare treatment that is not fully and formally accepted and supported by officially recognized medical authority

17 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	I trust only medical treatment that has been formally investigated and approved by proper and recognized medical authority
	1 (6%)
	I primarily trust medical treatment that has been formally investigated and approved by proper and fully recognized medical authority. But I do think there is some value to some nontraditional therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic and some forms of herbal, nutrient and vitamin therapy.
	8 (47%)
	I primarily trust medical treatment that has been formally investigated and approved by proper and fully recognized medical authority. But I do make an exception for one specific mode of alternative therapy because of a personal experience that has convinced me that it has value.
	0 (0%)
	I pretty much trust only medical treatment that has been formally investigated and approved by proper and fully recognized medical authority. But I am open minded to the possibility that there are some alternative therapies that have genuine value.
	5 (29%)
	I have little trust is mainstream medicine and primarily trust nontraditional therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic and some forms of herbal, nutrient and vitamin therapy.
	2 (12%)
	I don't know enough about the issue to form an informed opinion
	0 (0%)
	I really love whole wheat pancakes with fresh wild blueberries - covered with freshly churned raw butter and real maple syrup.
	1 (6%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[HubertHeaver]

1. I wholly agree with #7 except for the raw butter.

[Douglas Carpenter]

2. I think we will attempt a few more results

[treestar]

3. I've never tried acupuncture etc

and probably wouldn't, but have run across people who swear by it. There may be something to those things. They persist. Mere fads would go away.

[Douglas Carpenter]

4. another

[Locut0s]

5. I like your poll Douglas. One small nit pick I have though...

And that is with the term "supported by officially recognized medical authority". I'd prefer something along the lines of "supported by multiple peer reviewed scientific studies" or something to that effect. The only reason I say that is that the studies may be, and hopefully are from separate institutions and authorities. It's the collective consensus of the studies, assuming they are properly performed, that is convincing and not the endorsement by an authority. Hopefully the medical authority mentioned in your OP would come to their position of support based on the same data, but that's not guaranteed and it might vary from authority to authority.

[TBF]

6. I chose medical treatment plus "some alternative therapies" -

thinking mostly of diet/exercise which can help dramatically with some conditions. I've seen it help others with diabetes and I've found it helps with my own arthritis. Keeping in mind that I don't replace medical advice with my own ideas ... just supplement with foods that are thought to be anti-inflammatory, exercise, and take the recommended meds.

When it comes to things like chiropractics I'm not much of a believer and would view those as anecdotal ...

[TBF]

7. Also, plenty of blueberries. :) nt

[bemildred]

8. Trust is unscientific. Science is about verification. Therefore trusting science is an oxymoron. nt

[L0oniX]

9. Indeed. Might as well say you have "faith".

[geek tragedy]

12. but trust is also essential to living, whereas one can intellectually refuse to trust

anything--including one's own senses--life is untenable if one refuses to trust information coming from others in that we need to rely on such information and have it form the basis of our actions.

[bemildred]

13. Right, but this is about science.

I do distrust my own senses, they are very useful but not reliable.

[Douglas Carpenter]

10. knr

[geek tragedy]

11. placebo effect alone means alternate therapies can have some medical value.

also, there's quality of life value which is very hard to quantify.

[meow2u3]

14. What the hell is woo?

In other words, what does woo mean? I'm totally ignorant on this subject.

[Douglas Carpenter]

15. what is commonly called "alternative medicine" - For example acupuncture, chiropractic,

vitamin therapy, naturopathic medicine, aromatherapy and etc.

[Quixote1818]

16. Your poll shows that most of the arguing around here is mostly people arguing passed one another

The problem is the term woo means so many thing to so many people. Two people might completely agree on what is science etc. but have two different standards for what they think woo means and so you end up with a big fucking argument over nothing.

[Capt. Obvious]

17. tldv

[Douglas Carpenter]

18. one last

[Egalitarian Thug]

19. No vote as I'm between 4 and 5. Traditional western medicine is wonderful for the mechanical issues,

if I break my leg, I want pain killers, the bone(s) set & screwed, and the comfort of knowing that it will heal and I won't be crippled for the rest of my life. However. the further away from straight mechanical issues I get, the less I trust these same practitioners.

The overwhelming problem I see in medicine is money. while it is true that we don't have enough doctors, a far worse problem is that we have a whole bunch of doctors that are in the field for no reason beyond money. This extends and amplifies as you move further out into the various supporting industries such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

For-profit medicine is bad and dangerous, at best. If you were born normally healthy, the further you can stay away from it, the more likely you are to live a comfortable, healthy life. Medical practices do not make any money from telling you that there is no problem that you can't fix yourself, and since their whole purpose is to make money, rather than delivering health care, you can pretty well count on having them do or give you something every time you walk through the door. It's all about the billing, baby!

[Douglas Carpenter]

20. one more for the halibut