Table of contents:
- What is the placebo effect?
- Factors affecting placebo effect
- If placebos are just empty drugs, why can they have an effect?
A placebo is a medical treatment that looks real, but it is not really a drug at all. These can be pills, injections, or some other type of "fake" medication. What they all have in common is that this "drug" contains no active substance and cannot affect health, which is why placebos are called empty drugs. Scientists often use placebos during research to help them understand the effects of new drugs and distinguish which drug effects are actually taking place, and which are actually mere suggestions.
For example, some people in a study may be given a new drug to lower cholesterol, while others get an empty drug or a placebo. None of the people in the study will know whether they got the real drug or the fake drug. The researchers then compared the effects of the drug and the blank drug in all study participants. That way, they can determine the effectiveness of new drugs and check for side effects.
What is the placebo effect?
Sometimes a person can have a response to a placebo. The response can be positive, it can be negative. Some people have progressed recovery, others have side effects. This response is known as the placebo effect. There are some situations in which an empty drug can make a positive result, even when a person knows that the drug they are taking is actually just a placebo. Studies show that a placebo effect can occur in conditions such as:
- Depression
- Pain
- Sleep disturbance
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Menopause
In one study involving asthma, people taking a placebo inhaler did not have as good an effect on breathing tests as sitting and doing nothing. However, when researchers asked their response to how they felt, the empty inhaler was reported to be effective as a drug that can provide relief.
Factors affecting placebo effect
Several factors influence the placebo effect, including:
- Empty drug characteristics. If the pill looks genuine, people taking it are more likely to believe that it contains medicine. Other studies have shown that larger pills have a stronger dose than smaller pills, and that those who take two pills react more quickly than swallowing one. Generally, the injection has a stronger effect than the pill.
- Attitude of a person. If a person expects treatment to be successful, the chances of a placebo effect will be higher. Some studies suggest that the placebo effect may still last even if the person is skeptical of success. In all likelihood, suggestion power is at work here.
- The relationship between doctor and patient. If someone trusts their doctor, they are more likely to believe that the empty drug will work.
If placebos are just empty drugs, why can they have an effect?
The true physiological mechanisms remain mysterious. Some of the theories that attempt to explain the placebo effect include:
- Disorders that can heal on their own. Many conditions like the common cold go away on their own. They will solve it themselves too, with or without empty drugs and drugs. So that the end of the symptoms is just a coincidence.
- Healing. Symptoms in the form of disorders, such as multiple sclerosis and lupus, can progress gradually. The healing during the use of the empty drug was probably a fluke, and it wasn't due to the placebo at all.
- Changes in behavior. Empty medicine can increase a person's motivation to take better care of oneself. Improved diet, regular exercise, or rest may be the cause of their symptom reduction.
- Perception change. A person's interpretation of their symptoms may change in hopes of feeling better. For example, a sharp pain can be interpreted as an uncomfortable tingling feeling.
- Reduction of anxiety. Drink Empty medication and hoping to feel better can calm the autonomic nervous system and reduce levels of stress chemicals, such as adrenaline.
- Brain chemistry. Empty medication can trigger the release of painkilling chemicals in the body, these brain chemicals known as endorphins.
- Changes in brain condition. Research shows that the brain responds to images of the same situation as it actually is. A placebo can help the brain remember the time before the onset of symptoms, and then bring about physiological changes. This theory is called "remembering health."
