Vitamin C for colds and more 5 popular, but hopelessly outdated treatments
'03.09.2022'
Source: KP
Medicine is one of the fastest growing sciences. Very often, what was considered useful and correct yesterday, today has been recognized as harmful or completely prohibited.
At the dawn of the development of medicine, healers resorted to such methods of treatment that can not be called otherwise than barbaric now. But what is there at the dawn - at the beginning of the 20th century, many diseases were treated with the help of lobotomy (excision of one of the lobes of the brain), writes KP. For the invention of this method of treating mental disorders, Portuguese scientist Egash Moniz won the Nobel Prize in 1949. But by the middle of 50-ies the widest use of lobotomy quickly declined due to the large number of side effects of the operation, injury, deaths, the development of epilepsy.
And if it seems to you that all this is in the distant past, then what can you say about the recently popular ways to improve health, which are recognized as irrelevant right now.
Vitamin C for colds
Fortify yourself with vitamins - we advise loved ones with colds and stretch out citrus fruits or ascorbic acids. Vitamin C became a popular remedy for the prevention and treatment of colds in the 70s of the last century.
However, upon reasonable consideration, it turned out that, despite the widespread use of evidence, its effectiveness does not exist.
And in the 2007 year, scientists decided to eliminate this gap and began to find out whether taking 200 mg and more of vitamin C after the onset of the disease affects the frequency, duration and severity of ARVI. The study materials for the 60 period have been studied.
Scientists have not revealed any effect of vitamin C on the duration or severity of the disease!
Vitamin C only shortened the duration of the disease - by 8% in adults, and by 14% in children. This means that if an adult patient had a cold 12 days in a year, then taking high doses of vitamin C would cause 11.
The effectiveness of vitamin C in reducing the symptoms of ARVI has been studied in 7 various studies. The results showed that the effectiveness of the vitamin is not higher than that of placebo.
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Banks
Some 40-50 years ago, banks were considered an effective procedure for the treatment of bronchitis, pneumonia and colds. The jars were heated, sucked to the skin - a vacuum was created under them. It was thought to improve blood flow in tissues and heal inflammation more quickly. However, no one was going to confirm this clinically.
In addition, it was found that the use of cans is contraindicated for people with diseases of the blood, heart, autoimmune disorders. And the glass jar can cut yourself ...
Currently, medical cups are used exclusively for massage. They are no longer glass, but plastic. But the method of work is the same - creating a vacuum. And the contraindications are the same.
The mustard
Another popular remedy in Soviet times. Most often, mustard plasters were used for infections of the lower respiratory tract - bronchitis, pneumonia. They were believed to help with dry, lingering coughs.
The mustard plasters have a local irritant effect. The mechanism of action is to release adrenaline in response to irritation. Adrenaline, in turn, increases blood circulation and nutrition in the tissues and internal organs. And this should reduce the processes of inflammation.
However, the effectiveness of this method has not been proven in any clinical study.
And substances contained in mustard plasters are strong allergens and cause skin irritation. Mustard pills are contraindicated for allergy sufferers, as well as patients with bronchial asthma, skin diseases, patients with tuberculosis and oncological diseases. In addition, they can not be put at a temperature above 37 C. In general, there are many risks and contraindications, and the effect is far from obvious.
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Analgin
Metamizole sodium, or analgin was invented in the middle of the last century. Progressive at the time the tool allows you to get rid of the pain, showed excellent antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects.
Today, this well-known anesthetic drug raises many questions. If applied incorrectly, it can be harmful to health and in some European countries is simply banned due to allergenicity and side effects. If you are going to drink it, read the contraindications. In any case, taking the drug is only for short-term effect.
Prolonged use of analgin can provoke:
- Decrease in the number of leukocytes and platelets in the blood;
- Violations of the cardiovascular system;
- Reduced immunity, etc.
It is better to replace analginum with other, safer from the point of view of modern medicine, drugs. For example, on the basis of ibuprofen, paracetamol. They also relieve pain and reduce fever.
Arsenic Tooth
To kill a nerve in a tooth, arsenic was used 20 years ago. A couple of days after the second visit to the dentist, the arsenic was removed and the channels were cleaned. (Modern techniques allow to clean the canals and cure a tooth in one visit).
But arsenic is a cellular poison. And besides the nerves, it destroys the hard tissues of the tooth.
If arsenic was delayed longer than the prescribed time limit, for example, because the patient did not appear, instead of treatment, one had to resort to removal. If arsenic accidentally fell on the mucous membrane, necrosis could begin.
And most importantly, a tooth healed with arsenic usually could still not last long. The poison thinned the walls of the tooth, making them fragile. And after a few years it was necessary (and still is) to put a crown in this place.
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Vasoconstrictor with rhinitis
Vasoconstrictor nasal drops appeared in the first half of the 20 century. They are often used for self-medication. And it is in vain.
With a runny nose, the vessels in the nose are dilated, the mucous membrane is swollen. This causes nasal congestion. Drops constrict blood vessels, eliminate edema - and breathing is restored.
The instructions for all vasoconstrictor drops indicate that they can be used for no longer than 3-5 days. But who reads these warnings!
If you use drops for a long time, addiction develops. The vessels no longer respond to the active substance, and in order to relieve congestion, an increasing amount of medication is required. The mucous membrane is irritated. This can cause its growth, the formation of polyps. In this case, no longer surgical treatment.
In addition, vasoconstrictor drops can cause side effects. Constant chemical effects on the nasal mucosa affects the sense of smell, reduces immunity. They can negatively affect the brain vessels, cause headaches, irritability.
According to modern standards of treatment, doctors in case of rhinitis recommend using sprays containing corticosteroids and doing nasal washing with sea or salt water.
