2 – Hoped-for effects that don’t materialize
In this Chapter:
- Introduction (this page)
- Advice on babies’ sleeping position
- Drugs to correct heart rhythm abnormalities in patients having a heart attack
- Diethylstilboestrol
- Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
- Evening primrose oil for eczema
- References (Chapter 2)
Key points
- Neither theory nor professional opinion is a reliable guide to safe, effective treatments
- Just because a treatment is ‘established’ does not mean it does more good than harm
- Even if patients do not suffer from inadequately tested treatments, using them can waste individual and community resources
Introduction
Some treatments are in use for a long time before it is realized that they can do more harm than good.
In this section we explain how this may come about.
Next: Advice on babies’ sleeping position