Michael McKitrickBIOL 482L - Parasitology

What is quackery?• Promotion of unproven or fraudulent medical practices. – Wikipedia

• The methods and treatments used by unskillful doctors or by people who

pretend to be doctors.

– Merriam-webster.com

What is a quack?• To utter the cry of a duck or a sound resembling it.

• A person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to skill, knowledge, or

qualifications he or she does not possess; a charlatan.

• Presented falsely as having curative powers: quack medicine.

• to advertise or sell with fraudulent claims. - Dictionary.com

• People overlook the normal healing process of self limiting ailments (common cold etc.).

• People overlook the placebo effect.• Strong will to self help.• An easy solution is appealing.

• Desperation: the chronically ill are particularly vulnerable.

• Quackery plays on fears of disease and parasites.

• Regardless intent, quackery can prevent ill people from receiving actual medical care.

How to recognize a quack

1. The therapist offers medicines that don't work instead of those that do.

2. The therapist doesn't tell you about the dangers of alternative therapies.

3. The therapist makes a fortune off your misfortune.4. The therapist promotes 'magical thinking.‘

Magical thinking: The irrational linking of unrelated circumstances or events.

• Dr. Paul Offit -"Do You Believe in Magic? The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine.“

• In addition to these 4 guidelines, use knowledge of parasite lifecycles to critique a treatments validity.

• Remember the gold standard of diagnosing parasites: You have to see them.

• 3 general categories of alternative treatments.

• Colon health• Cleansing the colon from toxins and parasites leads to health.

• Amalgam fillings• Mercury contamination from amalgam fillings leads to a variety of

health problems including parasite infection.

• Zappers• Realignment of energy fields (magnetic, chi, etc.) to remove

parasites and other ailments.

Claim: toxic build up in the colon leads to numerous health problems including parasites.

In combination of colonics, ingested special clay will remove toxins and parasites from the GI tract.

Applying the concepts1. The therapist offers medicines that don't work instead of those that do.

No cited clinical trials. Rely almost exclusively on anecdotal evidence and customer

testimonials.

2. The therapist doesn't tell you about the dangers of alternative therapies.

Ingestion of clay can slow down absorption of medications leading to drug toxicity.

Colonic procedures can perforate the colon.

3. The therapist makes a fortune off your misfortune. Links to colonic services and products are conveniently provided. $80 for a single treatment. Value packages of 3 for $195.

4. The therapist promotes 'magical thinking.‘ Parasites are assumed, not verified (fails the gold standard).

• Life cycles: Schistosomiasis

• Life cycles: Hookworms

• Life cycles: Ascaris

• Many of these parasites have life stages within tissues rather than the GI tract.

• Life stages outside the GI tract are unaffected by any supposed cleansing of the colon.

• Many of the shown parasites are rare in the United States.

• Diagnosis should be made through clinical procedures rather thanassumption (Gold Standard).

• Rather than regular yearly, monthly, or even weekly cleanses, 1-3 days of appropriate medication can permanently clear a parasite infection.

• Schistosomiasis – Praziquantel• Hookworm or Acariasis – Albendazole and Mebendazole

Blog claim: Amalgam fillings containing mercury leach toxic metals into the body which attracts parasites into tissues.

• Refutation from the National Council Against Health Fraud

• Improper claim of amalgam toxicity.• No evidence that amalgam is dangerous.

• Mercury in amalgam is chemically inert.

• Reported symptoms often attributable as general or psychosomatic.

• Tests used by quacks to detect mercury are ‘dubious’ and misleading.

• Recommendation to consumers to avoid and report any health professionals advising ‘preventative’ amalgam filling removal.

http://www.ncahf.org/pp/amalgampp.pdf

The therapist offers medicines that don't work instead of those that do Removal of amalgam fillings does not directly address any parasites that may

be present in the patient.

The therapist doesn't tell you about the dangers of alternative therapies There is the unnecessary risk of anesthesia during surgery, Additional damage otherwise healthy teeth.

The therapist makes a fortune off your misfortune Replacement materials can be more costly than an amalgam filling. Travel expenses may be necessary (not all dentists will remove fillings without

sound reason). Expensive and unnecessary chelation therapy is often recommended.

The therapist promotes 'magical thinking'. I have found no published studies to verifying a connection between amalgam

and parasites.

The original zapper can be attributed to Dr. Hulda Clark. Zappers supposedly kill parasites in 5 days to 2 weeks

without harming the host. Repeated treatments are essential to fully remove parasites.

Claimed a single intestinal fluke (Fasciolopsis buski) was responsible for all cancers, especially if it infected the liver.

Claimed the zapper to be effective against parasites, bacteria, viruses, advanced and terminal cancers, and AIDS.

Fasciolopsis buski (intestinal fluke) life cycle.• No Liver stage.

• 75mg of Praziquantel over 1 day will remove a Fasciolopsis infection.• No need for two weeks of zapper treatments.

• A pubmed.gov search generated some articles indicating a possible link between liver flukes and bile duct cancer.• No results were returned for a search on F. buski

and cancer.

The Terminator II• Construction

• 9V battery.• Copper coin electrodes.• Amethyst and garnet stone.• An ‘orgone’ enhancer

• “Orgone Enhancers (new invention) are made by putting metal particles in an organic matrix.”• “These have an integrating, modulating effect, according to extensive anecdotal evidence.“• “Though difficult to explain in conventional scientific terms.”

• Rare earth magnet• “Mobius coil” [function not stated]

• Operation• Apply to the skin and switch on multiple times a day.

• Disclaimer• “We do not intend that you use our products as medical devices. “

• Buy Now for $130

• “A session with the Terminator feels pleasantly stimulating to most people.”

What do these quack treatment sites have in common?• Play on real fears of parasites

• It is claimed as a matter of fact that YOU have parasites and THEY have the cure.

• For a small repetitive fee.

• Mix factual, misleading, and inaccurate information together about potential dangers and damage.

• Claim that clinical medicine is inadequate.

• Claims of an alternative treatment’s success are almost exclusively anecdotal rather than clinical.

• Their common solution is to buy conveniently offered alternativeproducts or procedures that will make you well.

What’s the reality?Even if the quack has the best intentions, their treatments do not work and can interfere with legitimate medicine.

Remember the ways to identify a quack.

1. The therapist offers medicines that don't work instead of those that do.2. The therapist doesn't tell you about the dangers of alternative therapies.3. The therapist makes a fortune off your misfortune.4. The therapist promotes ‘magical thinking.’

Use knowledge of life cycles to test validity.Remember the gold standard of parasite diagnosis.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quackery• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page• http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quackery• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quack

• http://www.quackwatch.com/• http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/18/health/alternative-medicine-offit/• http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/

• Colonics• http://www.thenaturalrecoveryplan.com/articles/Parasitic-Worms.html• http://www.oasiscolonics.com/2010/12/how-can-colonics-rinse-out-parasites.html• http://www.aboutclay.com/info/Uses/parasite_removal.htm• The dangers of colon cleansing : The Journal of Family Practice. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2014, from

http://www.jfponline.com/index.php?id=21643&cHash=071010&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=176194• http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20750-colon-cleansing-health-benefits-debunked.html

• Amalgam• http://realitycheck.typepad.com/commentary_news/2012/03/the-risks-of-dental-amalgam-fillings-my-personal-story-part-1.html• http://www.ncahf.org/pp/amalgampp.pdf

• Zappers• http://altered-states.net/barry/newsletter406/• http://www.elixa.com/estim/zap.htm• http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Cancer/clark.html• http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/fasciolopsis/