I had intended to write about the positive effects a good pet can have (I’ll do it later) until I came across a web site that makes me angry. I’m angered because the site promotes an incredible form of quackery. It is so outrageous that it’s not allowed in the U.S.

In a nutshell, I’ve learned one can travel to a clinic in Mexico to receive electrical jolts designed to chase worms out of the brain. In addition to Multiple Sclerosis, the “doctor” uses the technique to treat terminal cancer patients and those with a number of other diseases.

As a rational person, you must ask yourself, “How does this person stay in business?”

One would think a lack of clients would end the practice. Or perhaps, a regulatory agency might step in and shut the place down. Apparently, neither have ended this practice. And the quack-technique was developed 17 years ago!

So how does a place like that stay in business for 17 years?

I believe the practice continues for several reasons. Among the reasons are irrational thinking or ignorance, indomitable hope in people who want to be well, and desperation in those for whom a disease is causing continuous misery. In the case of each of these reasons for which a person might try the “treatment”, the person who administers the daily series of electrical shocks is taking advantage of the desire for health and the absence of misery.

If all one needed to cure MS was to rid the brain of worms, a good systemic anthelmintic (or deworming medicine) would likely do the trick.

It’s difficult to wait for a cure. People who commit medical fraud against those with chronic or terminal diseases know this and use it to their advantage.

Caregiver Tip: Be very careful. If you are tempted to arrange an ‘alternative’ treatment for the person for whom you care, always discuss it first with the person’s neurologist and get his or her opinion. If you have a hard time convincing a neurologist that you wish to take your loved one to Mexico to rid the brain of worms, take it that the treatment is wrong for your loved one. It’s just wrong.