Muskan

· 08 Feb 2022

Follow Following

What is a Placebo?

A Placebo is a no-value treatment that seems real to the patient. It can be a substance, pill or shot, or some other type of fake treatment. Placebo doesn't have any active substances that adversely affect your health. Let us understand in detail what is a placebo, why is it used and how it works?

How Placebos are used?
Researchers employ Placebos to discover the effectiveness of a new drug or treatment procedure, etc. on living organisms under certain circumstances. For instance, during a study, one group was given a new drug to find its effect on them, and another group was given Placebo.  
The researchers then compared the effects of the drug and placebo given to each group. This way they examined the effectiveness of the new drug and its side effects too.

What is Placebo Effect?
Under certain circumstances, placebos could really have an impact on the person it is administered. The effect can be either positive or negative. On the positive side, the Placebo may work well on them. The placebo effect is psychological in nature i.e. when a person has either a positive outlook for a treatment or belief it is real, they tends to show improvement as if the treatment is really working and shows improvement. And this response is known as the "Placebo Effect". Actually it is not totally psychological but partly neurobiological in nature. The use of placebo treatment is a complex neurobiological reactions which includes a number of process like secretion of dopamine (feel good neurotransmitter) which ultimately elevate mood, emotional state, etc.

Under certain conditions, even after knowing being under placebo treatment, people tends to show positive results and the conditions includes depression, sleep disorders and pain.

An experiment was done on asthma patients, where the people were given Placebo inhalers. Those inhalers didn't cause a much better effect on the breathing test than sitting and doing nothing. But, without giving them the realization that they had a placebo inhaler, they were asked to review their effect. Most of the patients gave a positive review and said that the medicine was effective.

The Placebo Effect: How does it Work?
The placebo effect emphasizes the relationship between mind and body. This effect works on the most common theory that the placebo effect is due to the person's expectations. The body's chemistry causes the person to expect the pill to do something. It causes a similar effect that a real medicine could have caused.
In a study, the people were given Placebo but were told that it was a stimulant. They were closely inspected after they took the pill. It was observed that their pulse rate started speeding up, blood pressure increased, reaction speed improved. When another set of people was given the same placebo and told that it would help them get good sleep, the experience was completely different, and they slept well.
Researchers also say that there is a relationship between how a person expects results whether or not the results occur. It is more likely that the person will experience a positive effect as much as the feeling is strong. But they may show some adverse effects too. If people think of the negative effects like headache, nausea, or drowsiness, then there is a greater chance that they will experience those.


#placebo #placeboeffect #medications #placeboworld #positiveeffect #placeboresearch #placebonoeffect #placeboaddict #worldofplacebo #placebopharmacy