Could this be the end of all my joint pain?
UPDATE: Did you find this blog by Google searching? Wondering if Dr. Frank's No Pain Spray worked for me? You should definitely go here and have a look at the official blog of the No Pain Challenge. I'll be testing Dr. Frank's No Pain Spray against a spray bottle of water in a blind pain test. Frequent updates will let you know whehter or not this stuff is working on my own (fairly considerable) joint pain. So after reading this post (or before, what do I care), go check out the No Pain Challenge.
Original Post:
So I saw an ad for something called "No Pain Spray" on TV the other night. This is a little bottle of medication that you spray under your tongue three times a day for, basically, the rest of your life. According to the ad (and taken from their website), it will cure
Of course, once the word "homeopathic" came up, I knew that my joint pain was going to be with me for a while longer. From the "formula" page of their website:
So what is this stuff? Well, let's break it down. HPUS just means that homeopaths officially recognize that ingredient as being homeopathically active. There's a rundown of what each ingredient is supposed to do, but if you're new to homeopathy, there's only one thing you need to know: what "30X" and "6X" mean. The X means dilution by a factor of 10, and the number is how many successive dilutions were done.
When they make homeopathic medicine, homeopaths start with a 10% solution in a given solvent (water, for example) of, let's say, Arnica Montana. Then they reduce that to 10% of its original concentration. Then they do that 29 more times, knocking the bottle against a table or something every time (which they call "succussion"). This process is supposed to imbue the water with the essence of the homeopathic remedy.
By contrast, the limit at which there can not possibly be any more of the original molecules of the homeopathic remedy in solution is 24X, based on calculations involving Avogadro's number. That means that there is literally no chance at all that there are any of the active ingredients designated 30X in a spray of Dr. Frank's pain relieving spray. The 6X ingredients are still in there, just at very low concentrations. The objection to those, then, would be that they've never been proven to actually cure anything. That's why Dr. Frank's No Pain Spray has, no doubt, one of those statements on the bottle (there's not one on the website). You know the ones: "this product has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not meant to cure, treat, or prevent any disease", or however it goes.
Essentially, then, Dr. Frank is trying to sell me a spray bottle full of water for $19.95 (plus 6 bucks shipping) that will give me 200 sprays under my tongue. If I were to follow the recommended dosages and take 4 sprays three times per day, the bottle would last me a little over 2 weeks. So how quickly is it supposed to work? According to the FAQ section of Dr. Frank's website, I could see results in as little as an hour, although I shouldn't be discouraged (or stop taking the medication, naturally) if it takes up to two weeks.
This is a scam, pure and simple, designed to separate the credulous from their money. For a minute, I thought about ordering it just to see how serious they were about that money-back guarantee. I decided against it. Since homeopathy relies entirely on the placebo effect, and that wouldn't be a factor for me (since I know it's bullshit to begin with), I'd really just be paying almost thirty dollars for a small spray bottle of water. Dr. Frank should be ashamed of himself, though, for selling a spray that will never cure anybody of anything (other than in a psychological sense). People with joint inflammation need anti-inflammatories and physical therapy, not bullshit quackery, in order to stop their joints from deteriorating. I'll say it again: Dr. Frank's No Pain Spray is a scam. If you found this page by Googling for this worthless product, please save yourself 20 bucks and don't order it.
Better writers than me have written much, much more about how much of a crock homeopathic medicine is. There's also an entire website with an extensive summary dedicated to helping people learn why homeopathic medicine will not make you better. Famous skeptic James Randi has even offered a million dollar prize to anyone who can prove that a homeopathic solution has effects that are any different from the pure solvent. Unsurprisingly, the prize has not been claimed.
If you take anything away from this post, I hope it's this: homeopathic remedies do not work, and Dr. Frank's No Pain Spray is a scam. Any effects it may have are attributable to the placebo effect, and to nothing else; this is true of homeopathic remedies in general. If you're sick, get real treatment, not water that long ago contained some remnant of a plant's root or something. If you've got trouble walking or moving your joints, go to an orthropedic surgeon if you can afford it. And if you run into Dr. Kenneth Frank on the street in Santa Barbara, call him a tool for me, OK?
Tags: homeopathy, Dr. Frank's No Pain Spray, scams, Dr. Kenneth Frank, skepticism
Original Post:
So I saw an ad for something called "No Pain Spray" on TV the other night. This is a little bottle of medication that you spray under your tongue three times a day for, basically, the rest of your life. According to the ad (and taken from their website), it will cure
"chronic (daily) pain of joints and muscles; pain of the back, neck, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, wrists, hands, fingers, etc. and pain caused from arthritis, fibromyalgia, overuse syndrome (Carpal Tunnel and TMJ), injuries, post surgical extremity pain or pain caused from active sports exercise."This claim made my ears perk up, because as you may know from reading this blog, I've got about half of those kinds of pain, and some of them I'd call chronic (the others come and go). So if it can help me, I'm interested, and I actually paid attention to the rest of the ad.
Of course, once the word "homeopathic" came up, I knew that my joint pain was going to be with me for a while longer. From the "formula" page of their website:
Equal parts HPUS Rhus Toxicondendron, 30X, Bryonia Alba 6X, Ledum Palustre 6X, Sulfur 6X, Arnica Montana 30X, Ruta Graveolens 30X, Aurum Metallicum 30X, Calc Phosphorica 30X, Apis Mellifica 6X, and Rhododendron Chrysanthum 6X. Inactive Ingredients: Purified Water, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid and Natural Flavors.
So what is this stuff? Well, let's break it down. HPUS just means that homeopaths officially recognize that ingredient as being homeopathically active. There's a rundown of what each ingredient is supposed to do, but if you're new to homeopathy, there's only one thing you need to know: what "30X" and "6X" mean. The X means dilution by a factor of 10, and the number is how many successive dilutions were done.
When they make homeopathic medicine, homeopaths start with a 10% solution in a given solvent (water, for example) of, let's say, Arnica Montana. Then they reduce that to 10% of its original concentration. Then they do that 29 more times, knocking the bottle against a table or something every time (which they call "succussion"). This process is supposed to imbue the water with the essence of the homeopathic remedy.
By contrast, the limit at which there can not possibly be any more of the original molecules of the homeopathic remedy in solution is 24X, based on calculations involving Avogadro's number. That means that there is literally no chance at all that there are any of the active ingredients designated 30X in a spray of Dr. Frank's pain relieving spray. The 6X ingredients are still in there, just at very low concentrations. The objection to those, then, would be that they've never been proven to actually cure anything. That's why Dr. Frank's No Pain Spray has, no doubt, one of those statements on the bottle (there's not one on the website). You know the ones: "this product has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not meant to cure, treat, or prevent any disease", or however it goes.
Essentially, then, Dr. Frank is trying to sell me a spray bottle full of water for $19.95 (plus 6 bucks shipping) that will give me 200 sprays under my tongue. If I were to follow the recommended dosages and take 4 sprays three times per day, the bottle would last me a little over 2 weeks. So how quickly is it supposed to work? According to the FAQ section of Dr. Frank's website, I could see results in as little as an hour, although I shouldn't be discouraged (or stop taking the medication, naturally) if it takes up to two weeks.
This is a scam, pure and simple, designed to separate the credulous from their money. For a minute, I thought about ordering it just to see how serious they were about that money-back guarantee. I decided against it. Since homeopathy relies entirely on the placebo effect, and that wouldn't be a factor for me (since I know it's bullshit to begin with), I'd really just be paying almost thirty dollars for a small spray bottle of water. Dr. Frank should be ashamed of himself, though, for selling a spray that will never cure anybody of anything (other than in a psychological sense). People with joint inflammation need anti-inflammatories and physical therapy, not bullshit quackery, in order to stop their joints from deteriorating. I'll say it again: Dr. Frank's No Pain Spray is a scam. If you found this page by Googling for this worthless product, please save yourself 20 bucks and don't order it.
Better writers than me have written much, much more about how much of a crock homeopathic medicine is. There's also an entire website with an extensive summary dedicated to helping people learn why homeopathic medicine will not make you better. Famous skeptic James Randi has even offered a million dollar prize to anyone who can prove that a homeopathic solution has effects that are any different from the pure solvent. Unsurprisingly, the prize has not been claimed.
If you take anything away from this post, I hope it's this: homeopathic remedies do not work, and Dr. Frank's No Pain Spray is a scam. Any effects it may have are attributable to the placebo effect, and to nothing else; this is true of homeopathic remedies in general. If you're sick, get real treatment, not water that long ago contained some remnant of a plant's root or something. If you've got trouble walking or moving your joints, go to an orthropedic surgeon if you can afford it. And if you run into Dr. Kenneth Frank on the street in Santa Barbara, call him a tool for me, OK?
Tags: homeopathy, Dr. Frank's No Pain Spray, scams, Dr. Kenneth Frank, skepticism
posted by The Disgruntled Chemist at
10:39 AM
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