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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

“Dr. Seuss monsters”: The quackery that is “battlefield acupuncture” continues to metastasize

“Battlefield acupuncture,” which is really a form of ear acupuncture based essentially on a homunculus on the ear, continues to invade and metastasize in the military, complete with Dr. Seuss monsters.

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Adventures in bad veterinary medicine reported by the local media (2017 edition)

Just because people think that sticking needles into their meridians will somehow unblock their qi and fix whatever ails them doesn’t mean it’s OK to inflict the same nonsense on our pets. Unfortunately, a local TV station disagrees.

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Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

The American College of Physicians integrates quackery with medicine in its recommendations for managing back pain

One of the overarching themes of this blog, if not the overarching theme, is to expose and combat the infiltration of quackery into medicine. What I’m referring to, of course, is the phenomenon that’s risen over the last 25 years or so in which various pseudoscientific alternative medicine therapies (but I repeat myself) have found […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Paranormal Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Alternative medicine for premature ejaculation? Surprise, surprise! It doesn’t work.

I must admit that the last couple of weeks have been rather grim here on the old blog. Betweemn Donald Trump’s White House spewing , an unfortunate patient embracing quackery, pseudoscience at the VA, and more. So it is that I feel as though it might not be a bad idea to step back for […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Naturopathy Quackery

Quackery at the VA: Our veterans deserve real medicine, not fake medicine

A reader recounts his tale of being referred for fake medicine at a VA facility. Unfortunately, the VA seems to be papering over its lack of resources in the same way that Chairman Mao did in the 1950s, by “integrating” fake medicine with real medicine.