There is evil in the world. Those who take advantage of persons with Multiple Sclerosis and other diseases should receive a special punishment. At the very minimum, the pendulum of justice that swings slowly through the universe should whack them in the back of the head as it passes by.
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.
It’s awful, but people have been selling snake oil since the dark ages and I don’t think they’ll stop anytime soon. I think one reason things like this offer a glimmer of hope to rational people is because every once in a great while, it turns out that the “crazy” ideas were right. (The medical community thought Robin Warren was incompetent when he said the bacteria H pylori was responsible for the formation of ulcers). Obviously MS isn’t caused by “worms”, and his cure is on the same level as psychic surgery, but desperation can cause us to make choices we’d scoff at otherwise.
Worms in the brain? Whatever. As far as I know there is no cure for this devastating disease. But since this “clinic” is in Mexico and out of the jurisdiction of the US there is little that can be done, but to work at discouraging others to not go there out of desperation for a glimmer of hope. I see biotechnology as the light at the end of the tunnel.