Ever get tired of people whining to you about their aches and pains? Well, turns out some doctors do too. In this article, a person went to her doc in hopes he would find her a solution to her recurring sleeping problems. She, like many Americans, was written a prescription to help her stay asleep. However, when she was getting her prescription filled the pharmacist revealed that the medicine prescribed was merely half a Benadryl.
She’s not alone. According to a survey by the University of Chicago, 48% of doctors surveyed admitted prescribing treatments they knew had no benefit. The Chicago Sun-Times defines placebo treatments as “vitamins, supplements, saline infusions, and doses of medicine too low to be effective.”
The American Medical Association says a doctor should only give a placebo if the patient is told and agrees to it. However, some doctors say placebos calm a patient, while others prescribe them just to make the patient to stop complaining.
Now, this isn’t a cause for panic; most doctors take your health with the utmost care. But if you’re prescribed the ‘latest and greatest’ of medicines and the pills have an uncanny resemblance to Flintstone vitamins, you might want to consider another treatment.