Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [medical-science]

Use this tag for questions about the science of medicine and its practices. Use [medications] for questions about the actual cures that people take, and use [alternative-medicine] for claims about cures and practices which are claimed to be alternative to official medical science

Medical science is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness.

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Can the placebo effect be observed in experiments conducted on animals or babies?

In a paper defending homeopathy, it is argued that the observed benefits of homeopathic treatments cannot be attributed to the placebo effect because the treatments elicit similar benefits when used on babies and animals, who can have no…
Monkey Tuesday
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Is secondhand smoke dangerous?

There seems to be little doubt in public opinion that second hand smoke is dangerous, and I can see why. But many smokers have claimed to me that it is not dangerous at all and it is all media hype. What is the scientific consensus? I have heard…
Thomas O
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Is duct tape an effective treatment for warts?

HealthTipsSource writes in Natural Ways to Put an End to Moles, Warts, Blackheads, Skin Tags and Age Spots: This is a scientifically proven method of warts removal. In one study, 61 patients with warts received either duct tape treatment or…
Christian
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Death by lack of sleep -- is it possible?

I had an argument with a friend in college who claimed that it was possible to remain awake with little to no detrimental affects for an arbitrarily long period of time. I am wondering, has anybody ever tried to measure the effects of extreme sleep…
Glen Wheeler
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Is pornography addictive?

I saw the Gary Wilson's talk, The Great Porn Experiment, which states that pornography causes arousal addiction which in turn is supposed to have a lot of negative effects like: ADHD Social anxiety Depression Performance anxiety OCD In this talk,…
anon
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Are we eating too many carbs? And do we need to switch to the primal/paleo diet?

TL;DR Accepted knowledge is that high carb low fat diet is good. Paleo diet says opposite, the claims seem solid for the Paleo diet but I am still skeptical as Science seems to think that conventional wisdom is correct but am looking to see if there…
Kingannoy
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Is potassium iodide useful in preventing the harmful effects of radiation?

The Los Angeles Times reports sales of Geiger counters and potassium iodide in the United States are skyrocketing: Sales of Geiger counters and potassium iodide supplements that can block some radiation have surged nationwide since Friday, fueled…
Patches
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Will a small cut heal faster when "aired" periodically, or should it always be bandaged?

I've been told to take the Band-Aid off a small cut every once in a while in order for it to heal faster. Is this good advice, or should I try to keep it covered as much as possible?
Daniel
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Can swimming after having eaten make you drown?

Some people, including my mom, believe that it's very dangerous to bathe after having eaten without waiting approximately 1 hour (the amount of time depends on what you have eaten). I have two questions: Is this a real danger? Are the chances of…
smzs
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Was the virus which causes COVID-19 made in a Chinese lab?

This idea was discussed in the Washington Times (no longer available at the original site: on archive.org. The article discusses whether SARS-CoV-2 (the virus which causes COVID-19) could have been made in a Chinese bio-weapon lab: Dany Shoham, a…
Matas Vaitkevicius
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Is the placebo effect getting stronger?

There has recently been a row about the marketing of pain killers. The makers of Nurofen have been accused of selling the same formulation at different prices for different conditions and claiming in advertising that they are "targeted" at…
matt_black
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Does consuming different types of alcohol make you more sick than others?

A common saying about drinking is this: Beer before liquor, never been sicker. Sometimes this is followed by: Liquor before beer, you're in the clear. Is there any merit to this? Assuming one drinks the exact same amount of beer and harder…
Brian Schroth
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Has increased computer use led to increased myopia?

According to ABC News and this Ophthalmological study there has been a significant increase in the number of people with myopic eyesight over a recent 30 year period. From the ABC article: There are multiple theories. Some say more people are now…
DuckMaestro
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Length of uncoiled human DNA

I recently came across this fact: There's enough DNA in the human body to stretch from the sun to Pluto and back. A couple of "Bollocks!" alarms began to chime in my head. While I expect that it will stretch a long way, Pluto seemed a little…
user7920
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Are "pox parties" safer than vaccines for children?

So-called pox parties have been around in various forms in varying degrees of popularity since the 1980's, and are described on Wikipedia as: A pox party, or flu party or flu fling, is a social activity where children are deliberately exposed to a…
Brian M. Hunt
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