Comments on: Zap Your Migraine Away With Magnets. http://www.blisstree.com/healthbolt/zap-your-migraine-away-with-magnets/ Health News and Commentary - Weird Health News and Information Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:14:24 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Liz http://www.blisstree.com/healthbolt/zap-your-migraine-away-with-magnets/comment-page-1/#comment-5234 Liz Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:04:06 +0000 http://www.healthbolt.net/2008/06/27/zap-your-migraine-away-with-magnets/#comment-5234 Cranky, I've been lucky not to suffer migraines, but know many people who do so am keeping my fingers crossed that the magnet machine might be effective... Adrian, it's good to be dubious... and it's very early days with this magic machine. No doubt more research and study will be done.... jacnert, magnets would definitely be better than NSAIDs.... Cranky, I’ve been lucky not to suffer migraines, but know many people who do so am keeping my fingers crossed that the magnet machine might be effective…

Adrian, it’s good to be dubious… and it’s very early days with this magic machine. No doubt more research and study will be done….

jacnert, magnets would definitely be better than NSAIDs….

]]> By: jacnert http://www.blisstree.com/healthbolt/zap-your-migraine-away-with-magnets/comment-page-1/#comment-5271 jacnert Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:55:55 +0000 http://www.healthbolt.net/2008/06/27/zap-your-migraine-away-with-magnets/#comment-5271 magnets for zapping migrane? thats cool at least we could get away with the side effects of traditional NSAIDs magnets for zapping migrane? thats cool at least we could get away with the side effects of traditional NSAIDs

]]> By: Adrian http://www.blisstree.com/healthbolt/zap-your-migraine-away-with-magnets/comment-page-1/#comment-5212 Adrian Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:55:03 +0000 http://www.healthbolt.net/2008/06/27/zap-your-migraine-away-with-magnets/#comment-5212 There have been a lot of studies on magnets which turn out to be dead-ends when people fail to replicate them, significant errors turn up in the methodology or there is outright fraud. Of course, no one remembers the outcome they just remember that Magnets Cure Migraines. So they dutifully go out and give tens or hundreds of dollars to some quack who sells them household magnets whose weak field can't even penetrate the skin. For some reason, magnets are the go-to pseudoscience for millions of people even though there is no effect and no physically plausible mechanism by which they could work. That's why, without knowing more details about the study, I'm highly dubious. There is a very high level of prior probability to overcome and it doesn't look like they've done it. A huge warning label needs to be plastered over all reporting on this issue and I can't find anyone that's bothered. The concluding quote in the ABC report said it all: "A therapy using magnets is inexpensive and virtually free of side effects." The magnets used in this study aren't inexpensive but the ones you'll get sold sure will be, and the only therapies which are free of side-effects are those with no benefit. Healing is all about controlled side-effects. Imagine a drug company saying "we don't know what this drug does or how but it's cheap and probably won't hurt you." Where can I sign up? There have been a lot of studies on magnets which turn out to be dead-ends when people fail to replicate them, significant errors turn up in the methodology or there is outright fraud. Of course, no one remembers the outcome they just remember that Magnets Cure Migraines. So they dutifully go out and give tens or hundreds of dollars to some quack who sells them household magnets whose weak field can’t even penetrate the skin.

For some reason, magnets are the go-to pseudoscience for millions of people even though there is no effect and no physically plausible mechanism by which they could work.

That’s why, without knowing more details about the study, I’m highly dubious. There is a very high level of prior probability to overcome and it doesn’t look like they’ve done it. A huge warning label needs to be plastered over all reporting on this issue and I can’t find anyone that’s bothered.

The concluding quote in the ABC report said it all: “A therapy using magnets is inexpensive and virtually free of side effects.” The magnets used in this study aren’t inexpensive but the ones you’ll get sold sure will be, and the only therapies which are free of side-effects are those with no benefit. Healing is all about controlled side-effects. Imagine a drug company saying “we don’t know what this drug does or how but it’s cheap and probably won’t hurt you.” Where can I sign up?

]]> By: Crabby McSlacker http://www.blisstree.com/healthbolt/zap-your-migraine-away-with-magnets/comment-page-1/#comment-5215 Crabby McSlacker Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:26:39 +0000 http://www.healthbolt.net/2008/06/27/zap-your-migraine-away-with-magnets/#comment-5215 Hope this develops into something a bit more effective (39 vs 22% sounds like a good start). I know some migraine sufferers are really miserable, though I thought some of the new migraine-specific drugs were supposed to be better than regular NSAIDS? Or maybe that's all they are, but just with fancier names? I've only had a few migraines in my life, but one was the kind with aphasia--scared me to death! I worried I was having a stroke when I couldn't remember the words for things for about a half hour. (But I found out my mom gets the exact same weird kind). Anyway, hope the magnets work! Hope this develops into something a bit more effective (39 vs 22% sounds like a good start). I know some migraine sufferers are really miserable, though I thought some of the new migraine-specific drugs were supposed to be better than regular NSAIDS? Or maybe that’s all they are, but just with fancier names?

I’ve only had a few migraines in my life, but one was the kind with aphasia–scared me to death! I worried I was having a stroke when I couldn’t remember the words for things for about a half hour. (But I found out my mom gets the exact same weird kind).

Anyway, hope the magnets work!

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